Snippets 91 

Oryx and Crake-Margaret Atwood 

“The male frog, in mating season,” said Crake, “makes as much noise at it can. The females are attracted to the male frog with the biggest, deepest voice because it suggests a more powerful frog, one with superior genes. Small male frogs–it’s been documented–discover that if they position themselves in empty drainpipes, the pipe acts as a voice amplifier, and the small frog appears much larger than it really is.”


“So that’s what art is, for the artist,” said Crake. “An empty drainpipe. An amplifier. A stab at getting laid.” (168) 

Snippets 93

The Three Musketeers-Alexander Dumas 

“To ask me if I want money.”

“That’s true. How much do you want?”

“All you have in gold.”

“I have five hundred pistoles, or thereabouts.”

“I have as much. With a thousand pistoles one may face everything. Empty your pockets.” 


“Right. And you go–” 

“In an hour–time to eat a morsel, during which I shall send for a post horse.” 

“Capital! Adieu, Chevalier” 

“Adieu, Countess.” 

“Commend me to the cardinal.”

“Commend me to Satan.” 

Milady and Rochefort exchanged a smile and separated. (1137) 

Snippets 90

The End of Eternity-Isaac Asimov 

Cooper, coming from an era in which advertisement was not as wildly proliferation as it was in the later Centuries of Primitive tiles, found this all difficult to appreciate. He said, “Isn’t it rather disgusting the way these people blow their own horn? Who would be fool enough to believe a person’s boasting about his own products? Would he admit defects? Is he likely to stop at any exaggeration?” 

Snippets 88

Brave New World-Aldous Huxley 

The Savage’s face lit up with a sudden pleasure. “Have you read it too?” he asked. “I thought nobody knew about that book here, in England.” 

“Almost nobody. I’m one of the very few. It’s prohibited, you see. But as I make the laws here, I can also break them. With impunity, Mr. Marx,” he added, turning to Bernard. Which I’m afraid you can’t do.” 

Bernard sank into a yet more hopeless misery.

“But why is it prohibited?” asked the Savage. In the excitement of meeting a man who had read Shakespeare he had momentarily forgotten everything else. 

The Controller shrugged his shoulders. “Because it’s old; that’s the chief reason. We haven’t any use for old things here.” (219) 

New Wrestler 

Boys just discovered professional wrestling. I’ll hear them up in their room, rasslin, playing the characters. The oldest does the announcer voice and commentary. The one rule of play wrestling is no one get hurts! 

Today as I had one of them wrapped up in a bear hug I thought of a new character. Johnny Real. He would come out, no music, just like the light the janitor uses to sweep the place out on. Probably just wearing jeans, non branded grey t-shirt. He would enter the ring carefully and then stand in one corner. Every once in a while a flash of disgust would cross his face, but generally he would just look bored. 

Bell rings, he would engage and then do the most basic, and yet adaqaute self defense to disable his opponent. Arm bars, rear chokes, joint work, Krav Maga. Just competent collegiate style wrestling, pin, submission, break stuff, then just out he goes. No lights. No music. Just back up the ramp and out to his publicly parked Honda Civic.  

And his opponents would do all the usual stuff, but he just wouldn’t react. Guy off the ropes he’s just move out of the way. That stomp punching, he’d laugh at. “That doesn’t hurt,” he’d taunt the crowd. “He’s not even hitting me!” 







