Some years ago, I was lucky enough invited to a gathering of great and good people: artists and scientists, writers and discoverers of things. And I felt that at any moment they would realise that I didn’t qualify to be there, among these people who had really done things.

On my second or third night there, I was standing at the back of the hall, while a musical entertainment happened, and I started talking to a very nice, polite, elderly gentleman about several things, including our shared first name*. And then he pointed to the hall of people, and said words to the effect of, “I just look at all these people, and I think, what the heck am I doing here? They’ve made amazing things. I just went where I was sent.”

And I said, “Yes. But you were the first man on the moon. I think that counts for something.”

And I felt a bit better. Because if Neil Armstrong felt like an imposter, maybe everyone did. Maybe there weren’t any grown-ups, only people who had worked hard and also got lucky and were slightly out of their depth, all of us doing the best job we could, which is all we can really hope for.

#blog_post #neil_gaiman #quotes #life_truths

We are the people of the book. We love our books. We fill our houses with books. We treasure books we inherit from our parents, and we cherish the idea of passing those books on to our children. Indeed, how many of us started reading with a beloved book that belonged to one of our parents? We force worthy books on our friends, and we insist that they read them. We even feel a weird kinship for the people we see on buses or airplanes reading our books, the books that we claim. If anyone tries to take away our books—some oppressive government, some censor gone off the rails—we would defend them with everything that we have. We know our tribespeople when we visit their homes because every wall is lined with books. There are teetering piles of books beside the bed and on the floor; there are masses of swollen paperbacks in the bathroom. Our books are us. They are our outboard memory banks and they contain the moral, intellectual, and imaginative influences that make us the people we are today.

#quotes #cory_doctorow #lectures #books #reading #copyright #censorship

"Look, I have one job on this lousy ship. It's stupid, but I'm going to do it, okay?"

#tumblr_post #image_post #memes #quotes #scifi #galaxy_quest

"No man is free who has to work for a living, but I'm available."

#memes #quotes #the_man_from_uncle #screencaps

You can make up traditions if you do it with conviction, and remember to do it next year too. #quotes #neil_gaiman #blog_post #halloween #ritual

Brooks Otterlake @i_zzzzzz Jun 25, 2021 Inventing a new lifestyle philosophy called “The Nine Delights” where each day you try to experience at least three of the nine delights Brooks Otterlake @i_zzzzzz9 Jun 25, 2021 THE NINE DELIGHTS Walking Around Fellowship Deliciousness Transcendence Goofing Amelioration Coitus Enthrallment ** WILDCARD ** #quotes #twits #life

there’s a ton of shit you can get in life if you’re willing to submit yourself to the mortifying horror of asking for it. #tumblr_post #quotes #life