People use technology only to mean digital technology. Technology is actually everything we make.

Thy only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die, John and Mary die, John and Mary die.

There's nothing like a shovel full of dirt to encourage literacy.

Better not to invent her in her absence. Better to wait until she's actually here. Then he can make her up as she goes along.

It made him feel invisible—not that he wanted to feel anything else.

You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you're on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine.

Canadians and Americans may look alike, but the contents of their heads are quite different. Americans experience themselves, individually, as small toads in the biggest and most powerful puddle in the world. Their sense of power comes from identifying with the puddle. Canadians as individuals may have more power within the puddle, since there are fewer toads in it; it's the puddle that's seen as powerless.