These insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. 

 1. “He had delusions of adequacy.” – Walter Kerr

 2. “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” – Winston Churchill

3. “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” – Clarence Darrow

4. “He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” – William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

5. “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?” – Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

6. “Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” – Moses Hadas

7. “I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” – Mark Twain

8. “He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.” – Oscar Wilde

 9. “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.” – George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

10. “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second… if there is one.” – Winston Churchill, in response

11. “I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.” – Stephen Bishop

12. “He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” – John Bright

13. “I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.” – Irvin S. Cobb

 14. “He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.” – Samuel Johnson

 15. “He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.” – Paul Keating

16. “He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.” – Forrest Tucker

17.  “Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” – Mark Twain

18. “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” – Mae West

19. “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” – Oscar Wilde 

20. “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.” – Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

21. “He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” – Billy Wilder

22. “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But I’m afraid this wasn’t it.” – Groucho Marx

23. The exchange between Winston Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, “If you were my husband I’d give you poison.” He said, “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

24. “He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.” – Abraham Lincoln

25. “There’s nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won’t cure.” – Jack E. Leonard

26. “They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.” – Thomas Brackett Reed

27. “He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them.” – James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: The 60 Minutes Interview

Zelensky: ‘We are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world.’ In a “60 Minutes” interview with CBS on April 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the world is responsible for what is happening in Ukraine, comparing its inaction to that of countries that stood aside during the Second World War. “Are those countries who did not participate in the war responsible? The countries who let German forces march through Europe?

Does the world carry responsibility for the genocide? Yes. Yes, it does.”

A good case for social media, finally

I find this to be a seriously good idea. I never thought of this before. Imagine if more huge celebrities give up their social media platforms to Ukrainian heroes, to help spread the truth in the world. Highly inspired development.

I suddenly have a lot of admiration for David Beckham. We all think these celebs are so precious about their social media branding. Wow – this kind of reach could inspire positive momentum. What a brilliant idea indeed.

Imagine now if more high profile people join this idea. Talk about driving a conversation and changing minds. And the funny thing is : it will come back to Beckham in spades.

Good on him !

I reckon Ukraine is winning the information war. Never before has information been on so many platforms and been able to spread so quickly, and to so many people.

George Saunders’s Advice to Graduates

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.

Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope: Who, in your life, do you remember most fondly, with the most undeniable feelings of warmth?

Those who were kindest to you, I bet.

It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder.

Now, the million-dollar question: What’s our problem? Why aren’t we kinder?