Monday, February 26, 2007

Things Fall Apart

"God will not permit it," said Okonkwo. "I do not know how to thank you."

"I can tell you," said Obierika. "Kill one of your sons for me."

"That will not be enough," said Okonkwo.

"Then kill yourself," said Obierika.

"Forgive me," said Okonkwo, smiling. "I shall not talk about thanking you any more."


from Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
Fawcett Crest, 1969 (originally published 1958)

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Friday, February 16, 2007

The Murder Room

"Please sit down. Can I offer you anything? Coffee? Tea? I know you're not supposed to drink on duty."

To Kate's ears her tone managed to subtly convey that off duty they were commonly drunk in an alcoholic stupor.


from The Murder Room
by P.D. James
Alfred A. Knopf, 2003

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Test your skill with words!

Can you use language to obfuscate the facts? Test your skills with this one-question quiz. Fill in the blanks:

The LA Times reported that White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters, "The _______ is, in fact, an official arm of the ______ government and, as such, the government bears responsibility and accountability for its actions, as you would expect of any sovereign government."

A. CIA mission in Italy .......... American
B. 372nd Military Police Co. at Abu Ghraib .......... American
C. Quds Force .......... Iranian