“Then came human beings, they wanted to cling but there was nothing to cling to. Thus I progressed on the surface of life, in the realm of words as it were, never in reality. All those books barely read, those friends barely loved, those cities barely visited, those women barely possessed! I went through the gestures out of boredom or absent-mindedness. Then came the human beings, they wanted to cling, but there was nothing to cling to, and that was unfortunate - for them. As for me, I forgot. I never remembered anything but myself.”

“We set out to recruit a smaller class this year due to the fact that we brought in fifteen freshmen last year. We are thrilled with the overall progress that we have made as a program and feel good about what our class of 2010 adds to our team. Without exception they demonstrate the attributes of character, academic and athletic excellence that we are looking for in a student-athlete at Cornell and we are looking forward to their contribution in our pursuit of winning an Ivy League Championship.”

“As the night progressed, ... I noticed that every 50-something guest felt obligated to pull Leslie aside and offer advice. The doctors named the tests and procedures she should have done. The lawyers advised her about tax and estate planning. The artists recommended exhibits to see or specific masterpieces to view. The professors encouraged her to read specific books, while the financial professionals scribbled stock tips on napkins and told her how to restructure her portfolio.”

“We are disappointed obviously that the union decided today to set a strike date. Our hope had been that we could get an agreement with the players without the players taking this step that causes such concern to so many of our fans. Our disappointment is magnified by the fact that as a result of compromises by both sides we made substantial progress towards a new agreement over the past weeks. A number of important issues have been resolved and we are close on many others.”

“A one-size-fits-all approach to globalization is neither acceptable nor workable in a world where people take pride in their cultural heritage and do not want to see it eroded in the name of progress. By accepting that people and their societies differ from country to country and by regarding their customs and cultures as national assets, we can seek to identify the factors that are common to all peoples of the world and utilize them to promote sustainable economic growth with maximum effect. This year's forum will highlight and encourage this critical approach to globalization.”

“He has a very tough match this coming weekend against another freshman. If we can win some of those toss-up battles, and I consider that a toss-up, then I think we have a good chance to beat them this weekend. But if it goes the other way, it's going to be a tough, tough weekend for us. But we're ready for them. We've been progressing and getting better, and our freshman, sophomores are getting a little bit more battle-tested.”

“With our new prostate cancer initiative, we are once again taking a forward-looking approach to our underwriting because we expect that the significant progress made against this disease will continue. We hope to make a difference in people's lives with our expertise and our actions. Early screening and detection are critical for beating prostate cancer. We hope every man in America who is age 50 and older will undergo regular screenings and remain vigilant against this disease.”

When you leave home to follow your dreams, your road will probably be riddled with potholes, not always paved in happy Technicolor bricks. You'll probably be kicked to the ground 150 million times and told you're nuts by friends and strangers alike. As you progress you may feel lonely or terrified for your physical and emotional safety. You may overestimate your own capabilities or fail to live up to them, and you'll surely fall flat on your face once in a while.

The paramount doctrine of the economic and technological euphoria of recent decades has been that everything depends on innovation. It was understood as desirable, and even necessary, that we should go on and on from one technological innovation to the next, which would cause the economy to "grow" and make everything better and better. This of course implied at every point a hatred of the past, of all things inherited and free. All things superceded in our progress of innovations, whatever their value might have been, were discounted as of no value at all.

Positive legacy of the 1960s was the revolutions in civil rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, and gay rights, which began to consolidate power in the 1990s as the baby boomers became the establishment. Their targeting of rape, battering, hate crimes, gay-bashing, and child abuse reframed law-and-order from a reactionary cause to a progressive one, and their efforts to make the home, workplace, schools, and streets safer for vulnerable groups (as in the feminist “Take Back the Night” protests) made these environments safer for everyone.