“Then there was a new epidemic—of fear,” said Dr. Sam Okware, Commissioner of Health Services, when I visited him in Kampala a month later. Among Dr. Okware’s other duties, he served as chairman of the national Ebola virus task force. “That was the most difficult to contain,” he said. “There was a new epidemic—of panic.”
― Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus
― Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus
“It’s always the most patriotic asshole in the room that has absolutely no concept of what patriotism actually means.”
― John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster
― John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster
“Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”
― Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
― Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
“Religion is the theological equivalent of a quick-buck insurance scam, where you pay in your premium year after year, and then, when you need the benefits you paid for so—pardon the pun—so religiously, you discover the company that took your money does not, in fact, exist.”
― Revival
― Revival
“In Shia lore, Fatima lives on in another dimension to witness her sons’ suffering and to weep for them. She is the Holy Mother, whose younger son would sacrifice himself to redeem humanity just as had the son of that other great mother, Mary. Like her, Fatima is often called the Virgin as a sign of her spiritual purity. Like her, she will mourn her offspring until the Day of Judgment,”
― After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam
― After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam
Brian’s 2025 Year in Books
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