People From Edmonton

"We’re lynched on the rope of company credit."

"Her weapon is her mouth. And it’s loaded and fully automatic."

"If everyone’s thinking the same thing, that’s only because no one’s thinking at all."

"There’re two reasons those cubs were able to help anybody. They believed the same thing, and they were organised. That’s the rule of history. Without people, Harq, nothing happens… but without organisation, nothing lasts."

"The more things change, the more the speed up in changing."

"The creature with the strongest armour has the softest innards."

"J*Justice: “Justice is equality of rights in treatment, proportionate compensation for labour and punishment for crime, and compassion and relief for sufferers.”"

"T*Truth: “Truth means that which actually is, as opposed to lies, incorrect beliefs, fantasies or foolishness, and exists independently of thinkers.”"

"And then once you started overturning everything, how are you sposta to know when you could stop?"

"We expect you to debate everything. Question it all. Turn it upside down. They are your tools for investigating the universe. Don’t hide em away. Use them, all the time. The truth can always be questioned. Only lies die in the light."

"“C’mon, now. You know I’m right. Look at history. How many butchers got butchered? How many super-thieves paid back the people they ripped off and then set the people up in mansions? And how could anybody ever pay you back for taking the life of someone you loved? “So Golden Falcon prepares us. Says, ‘forget payback. Forget ‘good triumphs over evil. Ain’gon happen. South Africa after apartheid? Right. Got millions who can’t even count on water or electricity. “So the story shoves our faces right in it: what it takes to turn people into the Destroyer. That if we keep lusting for revenge cuz justice is denied, we will become Destroyers. Probably of everything we believe in and everybody we care about.”"

"She is being like jewelled dagger. Dazzles eye, but slits throat."

"Your spirituality is what you do with the fires that burn within."

"“You’re still down with NWA?” “Why not?” He didn’t even mess with Moon’s implication. “The beats are dope. And they’ve got great flow. You can’t deny that.” “Hitler had great flow, too. And way more fans.”"

"But khetiuta as insane as they were? They slithered with snakes just as full of isfet as they were. Khetiuta looking to make names for themselves, who didn’t know shit about cause and effect, or that every time they aimed the barrel, it stared back at them. And men too stupid to know that were dangerous beyond measure."

"Them boys are so street they aint got asses—they got asphalt!"

"“Raiders?” “Gun men. Men who plannedt to kill us or rape us or sell us into slavery, or rape us and then kill us—” “Who were they? I mean, which side were they on?” “Men with guns are always on the same side,” she said. “Whoever paidt for the guns.”"

"Maybe if they weren’t constantly being injection-fed MTV/MuchMusic bling and videhoes, some of them’d dream of becoming scientists instead of…whatever the hell it was they dreamed of."

"But why? I asked. Since before I was born, why this mission of destruction? What threat could we possibly pose to him? Anyone who shows he can survive outside the realm of Set, proves it can be done. That another, better world is possible…there is no greater threat to a tyrant than this truth."

"“We have a maxim,” says Thag. “Find the tallest structure, and you will know who runs the world.”"

"“You know what supernovas are?” “Yeah,” said JC. “Like, super-duper huge mega-stars. That explode.” “That’s right, young brother. Where’d you learn that?” “Star Trek,” he said. “Good,” chuckled Mr. Ani. “Me too, probably. In the olden days. So let’s transform all this. “People are born lead, and most people stay that way their whole lives. They’re the Leadites. “And they’re easily led astray by those who’re turned into—or who turn themselves into—the Pyrites. The Pyrites are like pirates because they hijack people, keep em hostage, steal their treasure, and prevent them from ever getting where they’re supposed to go, even dumping them on islands in the middle of nowhere or drowning them at sea. “And any gold they find, they steal it and hoard it, and even bury it in chests under the sand.” The boys nodded, grasping fragments, knowing that others were just beyond their fingertips. “So who’s left? Gold. From supernovas, light-sources so powerful they can outshine entire galaxies. Gold is knowledge: the most precious thing in the universe. “If you have everything and don’t have knowledge, you can’t use what you do have or appreciate how much it’s worth, so to you, it’s actually worthless. If you don’t have true gold, you spend your whole life chasing after and stockpiling pyrite thinking it’s worth something, when actually, it’s worth nothing.”"

"There’re two types of the people in the world. Those who do what they say they’re gonna do, and everybody else."

"“You think this is what the gods want? What the gods won’t punish?” Great. One of those religious weirdos. “Gods this” and “punish that.” At least in my mum’s camp, I didn’t have to listen to that crap. She used to laugh at people like that. “What good are the gods?” she’d say. “Don’t be thanking them. I’m the one who got you this food.”"

"When people are suffering, they usually hurt the people closest to them, because those are the only ones left around."

"That diabolical deviant is smarter than he smells."

"“Never,” said the man to Rap’s silent consideration, “underestimate the stupidity of anybody who wants to be a saviour.”"

"The Master said, “The ancestors scatter their wisdom like a sower his seeds, and those who would feast must first sweat beneath the sun.”"

"We spent too much damn time getting down. Now it’s time to get up."

"When dysfunctional self-distraction devolves into delusional self-destruction, neurosis turns into psychosis."

"The two former lovers finally looked at each other, their faces crawling with the crabs of conflicting emotion."

"Lack of verifiability was a paranoiac’s playground paradise."

"The self-delusion that mysterious forces and persons unknown are conspiring against us is, surprisingly, a comforting belief, because it means we’re significant enough in this anarchic world to warrant someone’s enmity. That delusion saves us from the far more difficult to accept reality: that we’re not that important to anyone. That the universe just isn’t “into” us. Paranoia is the emotive-psychestructure’s response to feeling ignored, unloved, or forgotten in an existence filled with random acts of destructive indifference emphasizing the inherent futility of life and struggle. If you’re ever to achieve serenity, ultimately you must accept that in such a vast cosmos, you simply don’t matter very much."

"All of them cite that toxic spew, even though there’s not a syllable of supporting evidence. Because the controversy itself became news. Save a country, save a world, save a child—it doesn’t matter. You don’t need proof or even evidence to burn down a man’s soul. All you need is accusation."

"Hnossi glowered at her daughter, a look cold enough to freeze sunshine and shatter it on the pavement."

"But women aren’t like, like…computers or suh’m. You can’t just get an access code and then programme em to do what you want em to. Trust me. About three billion guys’ve had to learn the same lesson."

"The id isn’t satisfied with “enough,” because enough is never enough. The id always needs more, or specifically, more than anybody else. So “enough” becomes “more than” which becomes “all.” And even then, the id fears that all can be taken away; therefore crushing the capacity of others to resist becomes paramount."

"I never sought glory. Basic respect would suffice."

"It’s inevitable that worship decays into contempt, because worship is ultimately about being trapped, being a slave."

"As Carl Jung said, avoidance of legitimate suffering is the root of all mental illness. And one truth you must suffer is that everything and everyone you love will eventually die. Even gods."

"“What do I ‘feel’?” he sneered...Did you actually ask me what I ‘feel’? I ‘feel’ I’m surrounded by morons!”"

"Even if victory were possible, it still couldn’t provide meaning or genuine happiness, because saying “I want to be the best” is simply the polite way of saying “I want everyone else to be worse.”"

"Believing in anyone more than you believe in yourself causes you to suspend your own judgment, which leads to counter-self-actualization, or self-deactivation."

"“You know, in my experience,” said Kareem, caging his fingers and drawing out his words, “the jokers...who talk the most about ‘playing the race card’...are the people who own all the diamonds...who’ve picked up the clubs...to beat down the spades...because they’ve got no heart.”"

"The history of human development can neatly be divided into two epochs: (1) the feminine, yin, agro-sedentary pastoral idyll of the old-to-late Paleolithic Mother-Earth-Goddess religions and (2) the masculine, yang, technomobile hunter-gatherer-warrior field effect of urbanized, late-Neolithic-to-Modern Father-Sky-God religions."

"Paranoia speaks to a deeper drive than fear. Paranoia is a defiant charge to a cold, unfeeling cosmos: “Hear me! I exist! I’m important!” Because after all, if someone is actually orchestrating the chaos of the universe against you personally, then you do matter. When no one seems to care anymore, at least “enemies” give you the comforting illusion that you count."

"That uncountable myths and legends and ecclesiastical operas and dirges have at their core, if not in their trappings, near identical mechanisms, performances, and outcomes is proof most solid of the centrality of the panhuman subconscious—or superconscious—experience of the myriad and manifold wonders and terrors of the cosmos."

"I know I’m not the same man I was eight days ago. And I know it’s time to find out who I am."

"Much has been dissected from among the myths to explore the significance of the mortal endurance and experience of pain. Pain, we are told, purifies the body, expands the mind, prepares the novice for the tests of life and therefore for initiation into the clan, the sect, the tribe, the gang, the squadron, the priesthood, the academy, the coven, or the board. It is clear that such suppositions regarding physical or emotional pain are true; little more need be said on such matters."

"“Babydoll, when ain’nuthin funny, eat what’s sweet. That’s my philosophy.”"

"Take responsibility for your own happiness, rather than claiming telepathy you don’t have (unless you are telepathic) or ascribing to others ugly thoughts you can’t verify, and aiming endless, nonspecific blame for your mediocrity at the Trilateral Commission, “the media,” SKULL, the RAND Corporation, the long-disbanded Treemasons, the MAN, the Black Helicopter Legion, or the perennial favorite of paranoiacs, “Them.”"