“There's that saying, ‘Pointless thinking is worse than no thinking at all.’” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“Don’t wait until you’re excited. Become available to being interested.” - ChatGPT

“The myths and the lies which swirled around him were the fake news of their day […] Yet the consequences reveal the phenomenon, all too often overlooked by historians, that rumour and conspiracy theories can produce even more powerful effects than reality.” - Antony Beevor

“for of course, the more dressed up you were to begin with, the worse you look after you’ve crawled out of a smashed hansom-cab and fallen into a muddy brook.” - from The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis

"Perhaps most people in the world aren't trying to be free, Kafka. They just think they are. It's all an illusion. If they really were set free, most people would be in a real bind. You'd better remember that. People actually prefer not being free.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“If you are going to lose, you lose with your identity.” - Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the conclusion of extra time, Netherlands vs. Morocco, World Cup 2026

“Houston’s incessant credo took hold of the impressionable young man: ‘A lawyer’s either a social engineer or he’s a parasite on society.’” - from Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, by Gilbert King

“The cohesion of human associations is a fragile thing, and the charisma of a single personality, however powerful, rarely suffices to sustain it over the longer term.” - from A Scandal in Königsberg, by Christopher Clark

“Ain’t no point getting outta bed, if you ain’t living the dream / It’s like making a big ol’ pot of coffee when you ain’t got no cream” - Sturgill Simpson, Living the Dream

“‘All systems should be familiarised, one with the other, [so] their combined impact and interaction can be appreciated as a single complex system,’ said […] van Eyck, talking about modern cities but sounding uncannily as though he might be laying down a template for the Ajax football system.”

“As we know, the English historically struggle here in Massachusetts.” - Fox Sports commentator for England vs. Ghana in Boston, World Cup 2026

"As long as there's such a thing as time, everybody's damaged in the end, changed into something else. It always happens, sooner or later. But even if that happens, you've got to have a place you can retrace your steps to.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“The biggest star in Dallas today isn’t on the Cowboys’ helmet. He’s wearing number 10 and the captain’s armband for Argentina.” FS1 World Cup Commentary, Argentina vs. Austria

“Any good novel enlivens our ability to think about ambiguous situations and to judge the intentions of others.” - Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny

“Footballers and anarchist revolutionaries alike have always denied any connection whatsoever between each other.” David Winner, Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer

"this is a pretty weird thing to ask, but do you think it's possible for someone to become a ghost while they're still alive?" - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

"All kinds of things are happening to me […] Some I chose, some I didn't. I don't know how to tell one from the other anymore […] it feels like everything's been decided in advance—that I'm following a path somebody else has already mapped out for me.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“soccer is a kind of sporting Galapagos filled with an astonishing array of species.” - Franklin Foer, in his Introduction to David Winners’ Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer

"Things change every day, Mr. Nakata. With each new dawn it's not the same world as the day before. And you're not the same person you were, either. You get what I'm saying?" - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“Of course, anybody who follows soccer also becomes part Brazilian.” - George Vecsey, Eight World Cups: My Journey Through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer

“I have come to think that soccer lends itself to great writing because it thrives in the imagination, like so much of life. Great writers put themselves into the possibilities of the sport—pondering.” - George Vecsey, Eight World Cups: My Journey Through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer

“I try imagining myself in forty years, but it's like trying to picture what lies beyond the universe.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“‘Kafka, in everybody's life there's a point of no return. And in a very few cases, a point where you can't go forward anymore. And when we reach that point, all we can do is quietly accept the fact. That's how we survive.’” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“reality's just the accumulation of ominous prophecies come to life. All you have to do is open a newspaper on any given day and weigh the good news versus the bad news, and you'll see what I mean.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” The Dhammapada

“You're afraid of imagination. And even more afraid of dreams. Afraid of the responsibility that begins in dreams. But you have to sleep, and dreams are a part of sleep. When you're awake you can suppress imagination. But you can't suppress dreams.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

1/2 “I like to listen to Schubert while I'm driving […] A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect piece while I'm driving, I might want to close my eyes and die right then and there.“

2/2 “But listening to the D major, I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of—that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“Works that have a certain imperfection to them have an appeal for that very reason—or at least they appeal to certain types of people […] There's something in it that draws you in […] You discover something about that work that tugs at your heart—or maybe we should say the work discovers you.”

"I know who I used to be, and I know who I am now."

“I’m interested in the intersection of technology and storytelling, and seeing how that can push the bounds of creativity […] Remember, cinema is a young medium, only around 125 years old, so we have to be open to how it can evolve.” - Martin Scorsese www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/b...

“the creative work of millions of people — writers, artists, musicians, journalists, teachers, scientists and ordinary citizens — has essentially been stolen by some of the wealthiest people in the world. It’s time for us to reclaim it.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/o...

“People are calling it the “Arc de Trump,” like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. That one was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte, just before such strokes of military genius as the Peninsular War, the invasion of Russia and the Hundred Days campaign of 1815.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/o...

“What's this life for What's this life for What's this life for What's this life for” - Creed, What’s This Life For

“If it makes you happy / It can’t be that bad / If it makes you happy / Then why the hell are you so sad?” - Sheryl Crow, If It Makes You Happy

“There're all sorts of cats—just like there're all sorts of people.” - from Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami

“So I’ll meet you at the bottom if there really is one / They always told me when you hit it you’ll know it / But I’ve been falling so long, it’s like gravity’s gone and I’m just floatin’” - Drive-By Truckers, Gravity’s Gone

Life imitating a Dan Brown novel: Peter Thiel “arrived in Rome to deliver four lectures on the Antichrist […] exploring ‘how occult forces are ceaselessly at work, intent on destroying what remains of the West,’ according to the conservative Christian group hosting him.” - The NYT, March 17, 2026

“The answer I think is that most young people should be studying the humanities […] People should be reading Tolstoy in their spare time to understand the human soul.” - filmmaker James Gray, regarding concerns in the industry over AI, quoted in the AP, June 1, 2026

“A Chinese company has been trying to develop artificial intelligence-powered technology that would enable authoritarian governments to not just monitor dissidents but potentially predict who would become one in the future.” - Julian E. Barnes, reporting in The NYT, June 1, 2026

“Ukrainians became patriots because cruel life taught them there are no alternatives” - Yurii Makarov, the former editor in chief of Ukraine’s public broadcasting company, quoted in The New York Times, May 24, 2026

“progress is measured by the dignity of each person and the good of all peoples.” - Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas

“Over the centuries, technological development has significantly improved the living conditions of humanity. At the same time, each phase of progress has also revealed the ambiguity of tools that can cause harm when not oriented toward the good.” - Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas

Thurgood “Marshall would later say, ‘There is very little truth in the old refrain that one cannot legislate equality. Laws not only provide concrete benefits, they can even change the hearts of men—some men, anyhow—for good or evil.’” - Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove

“[Trump and his family/friends] have won the presidency twice, emasculated Congress, created a supportive high court, and reshaped the law and institutions to absolve them of any wrongdoing, while making billions of ill-gotten dollars.” - presidential scholar Barbara A. Perry, The NYT, May 22, 2026

“And really, the end goal is to never replace you.” - Thomson Reuters, Westlaw training for attorneys regarding the use of AI

“President Trump mused about his $10 billion lawsuit against the I.R.S. ‘I’m supposed to work out a settlement with myself,’ he said. Mr. Trump is a tough negotiator, and, looking in the mirror, he faced an equally tenacious adversary.” - Adam Liptak, in The New York Times, May 21, 2026 😂

“As we learn to our cost, language always approximates, never seizes completely whatever it is that it wants to tell.” - Alberto Manguel, Packing My Library

“All it takes is one believer ‘til the anarchy’s restored.” - Flogging Molly, ‘Til the Anarchy’s Restored

“So, so you think you can tell? Heaven from Hell? Blue skies from pain?” - Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here