Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
My greatest hope for a future without another Deepwater Horizon disaster lies in our schools, living rooms and community centers, not in boardrooms, political chambers and big industry. If this happens again, we won't have the luxury of the unknown to shield us from answering 'Why?'
The science-fictional motif of lethal, infectious information - bad memes - is a fascinating one, with an extended history. One of the earliest instances is Robert W. Chambers's 'The King in Yellow' from 1895. Chambers's conceit is a malevolent play: read beyond Act II, and you go mad.
I occasionally rapped along to some homegrown Korean rap. And then a friend introduced me to Wu-Tang and played me 'Enter the 36th Chambers.' It was very shocking. And then I started to look for different albums. This was pre-Internet, so it's hard to find the music, and it was even harder to find music videos.
New fathers, political prisoners, traumatised presidential aides, resolute schoolboys, MEPs addressing unfriendly chambers - we all find that Shakespeare has magically anticipated our precise circumstances. How he was possible, I still don't understand; but there isn't a day I'm not grateful that he speaks to me in my own language.
