I Like . . .
Below, you'll find some lines from books, songs and other quotes that I've come across over the years and which have either made me smile, laugh or think. I'll change them from time to time.
​
Let me know what you think.
I Hate . . .
In addition to the ever-increasing number of people who annoy me there are a few other things that really piss me off, like personalised number plates and most adages, aphorisms and similarly stupid sayings.
​
A few of my favourite hates are shown below.
Like of the Month
​
Never forget that all citizens deserve the regime they are willing to endure
​
Ian McKewan, in Lessons
Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.
From, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.
Donald Rumsfeld
US Defence Secretary (2002)
When I was young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years decribed me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever. I fear the disease is incurable.
From, Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck
Men marry because they are tired; women marry because they are curious; both are disappointed.
​
From, Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
If you get a good wife you will be happy. If you get a bad wife you will be a philosopher.
​
Socrates
Hate of the Month
Well-being is about the combination of our love for what we do each day, the quality of our relationships, the security of our finances, the vibrancy of our physical health, and the pride we take in what we have contributed to our communities. Most importantly, it’s about how these five elements interact
​
Tom Rath
Personalised number plates
​
Late at night I once saw a car drive by with the number plate, THE 805S. I checked out the driver. Could it really be The Boss? Was Bruce Springsteen really driving through my village? No, it was just another smug bastard. And I’m sure you can guess what car he was driving. What else but a BMW.
Personalised number plates are only purchased by inadequate individuals, desperate people with no taste or refinement. A personalised number plate is the ultimate display of vulgarity.
And with some personalised number plates costing more than many family cars it is also an unnecessary ostentatious display of wealth. As my old mum would have said, some people have more money than sense. It’s crass and it simply tells the world that the car’s owner is a pretentious, egotistical loser.
It is what it is
​
You’re having a conversation with a group of people; a healthy debate in which opposing points of view are aired and discussed. And then out of the mouth of someone, who can only be described as an idiot, comes one of the most annoying five letter phrases in the English language – It is what it is.
It’s a phrase used by someone with the intellectual capacity of a three year old. The person uttering this ridiculous expression is effectively saying that the they don’t agree with what you or the other people are saying and that the conversation is, therefore, at an end. And that person is a dickhead.
You can do anything you want
​
I admire and congratulate anyone who has climbed from the gutter to reach the peak. I take my hat off to them. I'm pleased when I hear, for example, that someone has represented England at the World Tiddly Wink Championships despite not having any thumbs.
But, please don't say that anyone can do anything if they try. It's just not true. There are millions of people who, like me, will never be able to get beyond where they are, no matter how hard or how long they try.
I could practice every day for the rest of my life but I am never going to be a professional footballer or score even one point against Ronnie O'Sullivan in a snooker match.