Ludwig

“So long as there is a finalistic conception of life and death, the soul, the afterlife and immortality are given, like the world, and there is no cause to believe in them. Do you believe in reality [le réel]? No, of course not: it exists but we do not believe in it. It is like God. Do you believe in God? No, of course not: God exists, but I don't believe in him. To wager that God exists and to believe in him - or that he doesn't exist and not to believe in him - is of such banality as almost to make us doubt the question, while the two propositions 'God exists, but I don't believe in him' and 'God doesn't exist, but I believe in him' both, paradoxically, suggest that, if God exists, there is no need to believe in him, but that if he does not exist, there is every need to believe in him. If something does not exist, you have to believe in it. Belief is not the reflection of existence, it is there for existence, just as language is not the reflection of meaning, it is there in place of meaning.”
― Jean Baudrillard, The Illusion of the End

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

[Kung Fu Monkey -- Ephemera, blog post, March 19, 2009]”
― John Rogers

“History that repeats itself turns to farce. Farce that repeats itself turns to history.”
― Jean Baudrillard, The Agony of Power

“What a fine weather today! Can’t choose whether to drink tea or to hang myself.”
― A.P. Chekhov