When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived — Opening lines

"Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen."

"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried, As he landed his crew with care;"

"Dirk Moeller didnt know if he could fart his way into a major diplomatic incident. But he was ready to find out."

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

"I have no intention of explaining how the correspondence which I now offer to the public fell into my hands."

"RIGHT HERE AND NOW, as an old friend used to say, we are in the fluid present, where clear-sightedness never guarantees perfect vision."

"Our concern with environment cannot be reduced to what can be used, to what can be grasped. Environment includes not only the inkstand and the blotting paper, but also the impenetrable stillness in the air, the stars, the clouds, the quiet passing of time, the wonder of my own being. I am an end as well as a means, and so is the world: an end as well as a means. My view of the world and my understanding of the self determine each other. The complete manipulation of the world results in the complete instrumentalization of the self."

"[Relationships] never seem to work out, I mean it gets to the point where I have to be extremely cautious. You have to understand, this stardom thing is still new to me, I dont even consider myself "famous". Its 2008: if you have a blog, a mixtape and two pairs of skinny jeans you, too, can be famous."

"Critics of the war plans (including myself) have pointed to the disastrous political results that must be expected: Iraq would break into three parts (Kurds in the north, Sunnis in the center, Shi’ites in the south), the Middle East would be exposed to the onslaught of Iranian fanaticism, pro-Western Arab regimes would collapse. Israel would be surrounded by aggressive Islamic fundamentalism, like the Crusader kingdom with the advent of Saladin."

"There can be no self-government without self-discipline. There can be no self-government without self-control. There can be no liberty unless it is grounded in moral discipline and the ability to do what is right."

"Whenever the press quits abusing me I know Im in the wrong pew. I dont mind it because when they throw bricks at me—Im a pretty good shot myself and I usually throw em back at em."

"Josef Alberss [a former art teacher of Rauschenberg, on Black Mountain College ] rule is to make order. As for me, I consider myself successful when I do something that resembles the lack of order I sense. (around 1949 during Black Mountain College, fh)."