Gaffe-focused journalism: revenge of intelligent people who know true evils are out there but lack the access/time to get to them.

The only possible way to begin a book is to tell oneself that its eventual failure is guaranteed — but survivable.

It seems, in fact, that the more advanced a society is, the greater will be its interest in ruined things, for it will see in them a redemptively sobering reminder of the fragility of its own achievements. Ruins pose a direct challenge to our concern with power and rank, with bustle and fame. They puncture the inflated folly of our exhaustive and frenetic pursuit of wealth.

An argument in a couple: 2 people attempting to introduce each other to important truths - by panicked shouting.

One of our major flaws, and causes of unhappiness, is that we find it hard to take note of appreciate and be grateful for what is always around us. We suffer because we lose sight of the value of what is before us and yearn, often unfairly, for the imagined attraction elsewhere.

One of love's greatest drawbacks is that, for a while at least, it is in danger of making us happy.

We may seek a fortune for no greater reason than to secure the respect and attention of people who would otherwise look straight through us.