“Mathematics is a world of eternal truths and abstract perfection. Exploring its transcendent beauty can be a spiritual experience”
“If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree or the wings of a vulture—that is immortality enough for me. And as much as anyone deserves.”
“Trickster is the mythic embodiment of ambiguity and ambivalence, doubleness and duplicity, contradiction and paradox… A boundary-crosser”
“The only visible sign of his power was a woman lying beside him, unmoving, her head resting on his lap, eyes closed, arms hidden under a loose red robe that spread around her, like a flame, on the ash-coloured mat”
“Don't let them make you feel stupid, just because you are happy to play down in the dark with your flashlight. The mystical world depends on you and your tolerance for the absurd. Be strong, my darling ones, and believe!”
“Somewhere in the world there is a magical book. What does this book do? It simply changes itself to become the book you most need at this point in your life”
“There was hardly a door, barely a wall: only a flap of bark, a screen of sticks and mud. There was no need of lock, of door, of wall: this was a prison whose bars were ten thousand miles of water”
“What is the fascination of an island? Why do we experience such a thrill at being surrounded by water, cut off from the rest of mankind, imprisoned on a miniature world”
“I thought about flying, stood sometimes on the edge of the rock and wondered. But much as I’d of liked to, and young as I was, I had the sense to know I’d have to wait for some other way to fly”
“Ungraspable Loki flamed amazement and pleased himself. He was the god of endings. He provided resolutions for stories – if he chose to. The endings he made often led to more problems”
David Eagleman at the School of Life
“'It’s very hard to live in a studio apartment in San Jose with a man who’s learning to play the violin.’ That’s what she told the police when she handed them the empty revolver”
“Legally, a big sister can throw out a younger brother because she’s bigger than he is, and he bugs her all the time and she can do it, and I did it!!! (And if you’re smart, you won’t get involved)”
“The bullets came fast, too fast to feel. That’s how it should be done, each shot coming quick after the last so you can’t even try to recover, which is when it hurts”
“RECIPE FOR MURDER: Throw all the ingredients into a big pot and simmer slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon for a few years. Add the ducks, chillies and brandy towards the end and turn up the heat”
“17 Orchard Lane is the home of the Radleys and, despite their very best efforts, they are anything but normal”
“Was this the beginning, was this the true moment of conception? Was this the distant early meeting place that had engendered the pure gold baby?”
“She was like those girls who learned to dance with other girls, taking turns to be the man. They never got the hang of following, once they knew what it was like to lead”
“Hello and welcome to the new, handy, easy-to-wield Pocket Book of Boosh”
Simon’s Cat in ‘cat man do’
Simon Tofield walks us through how to draw the famous cat