Quotations Weblog

I was sitting in the audience when Jimmy Wales said this famous phrase. He was talking about his experience with mediating things on Wikipedia, but this quote covers life outside of the Internet as well.

All of the people I’ve met in person, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, are either reasonable or jerks. It’s a pretty easy line to draw. I’ve met reasonable Democrats and Republicans. I’ve met jerks in both categories as well.

Next time you find yourself in an argument, either online or in real life. Think to yourself, “Am I being a jerk? Am I being reasonable? Is the other person being a jerk or reasonable?” If you find yourself in an argument with a jerk, just drop it. They just want to raise your hackles.

If you find yourself being a jerk, stop it and go exercise. You’ll feel better afterward and maybe keep your friend.

The first in the Hungry City Chronicles, Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve looks like a great book. It was featured on Unshelved a couple of months ago.

• Unshelved comic strip – Mortal Engines

If you can imagine London as a moving city that chases towns, consuming them for energy and power to move across the planet, then this just might be the series for you.

Here are a few reviews from Amazon:

“I really like this book because it built suspense in every chapter and it was nerve racking. I would recommend it to fans of science fiction and fantasy because I’m a fantasy fan and I loved this book”

“‘…the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried bed of the old North Sea.’ This is up there on my list of favorite book beginnings. You jump right into the idea that cities are now on tractor wheels and have to migrate to find resources to stay alive. Or another way of putting it is that cities chase small towns and eat them. How cool is that? The basic idea is really fun – one con is that there are quite a few characters, sometimes hard to keep track of who is doing what. Still, I was sorry when the story finished and quite grateful for the sequel.”

After consuming the final Harry Potter book, I’m ready for a new series of fantasy books set in Great Britain. This one sounds right up my alley.

All the presidential wrangling has made me weary of elections before they have even started. If this quotation from John Adams is true, why are so many scrambling for the opportunity?

To see more Get Fuzzy Comics:

• Get Fuzzy

Back in June, Unshelved did a comic on P. G. Wodehouse’s Summer Moonshine:

• Unshelved comic strip – Summer Moonshine by P. G. Wodehouse

There were many times when I saw P. G. Wodehouse books at the library and the bookstore. They are considered classics. Based on the cover alone, I decided that they might be interesting, but they weren’t for me.

Maybe it’s because the covers make the Wodehouse books look so interminably boring. Summer Moonshine isn’t available on Amazon right now, but the Jeeves books are still in print. Even though the Jeeves books became a very popular British television series, I STILL didn’t want to read any Wodehouse books.

After seeing the Unshelved interpretation of the novel, I’m suddenly interested. Since I can’t get one at Amazon, I guess I’ll have to hunt it down at my local library.

Update: Although this one is still under copyright, we do have some other Wodehouse works online at the Literature Page:

• Literature Page: P. G. Wodehouse