It's from um, my Nokia phone user guide.
— lori Apr 8, 05:07 PM #
"This is our world, lit with crescents and stars of light; and great petals half transparent block the opening like purple windows."
— Seth Apr 8, 05:56 PM #
"She led them through the gullet of the airship to the prow, where stairs so steep they had to be climbed on all fours like a ladder rose to the pilothouse."

Hmm.
— Steve Apr 8, 06:27 PM #
Wow. Who knew Artaud could be so coherent?
— Patrick Apr 8, 07:40 PM #
His "Lancelot" is the flower of the courtly tradition in France, as it was in its early maturity.
— Dylan Apr 8, 07:46 PM #
Alas, the nearest book was Printing with Wood Blocks, Stencils & Engravings by Alan & Gill Bridgewater, and has an illustration on page 23 with a very short caption.

Taking the path of least resistance, the 5th sentence on page 25 is:


I have chosen to illustrate the printing of a Japanese figure motif in the recognised style and manner, but your choice of design subject should relate more to technical ability and the required end result than to ay preconceived ideas of what a print should look like.

— Bill Tozier Apr 9, 02:55 AM #
"Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people."

NRSV
— boloboffin Apr 9, 05:41 AM #
What this flat thud (which never fails to send a shudder through the theater) has in common with the noise in Cavani's film is that it transforms the human being into a thing, into vile, inert, disposable matter, with its entrails and osseous cavities.
— Nick F Apr 9, 07:20 AM #
They can forecast accurately what percentage of a goup of people will perish in auto accidents, but cannot name the individuals who will die.

From an article in the marketing annual editions entitled THe customer profitability Conundrum: When to love 'em or Leave 'em by Booz Allen Hamilton, which is just a cool name.
— bethanne Apr 9, 07:54 AM #
But the beggar stayed, and nobody drove him away.

from Kalpa Imperial: the Greatest Empire that never was
by Angelica Gorodischer, trans. by Ursula K. Le Guin
— christy Apr 9, 08:11 AM #
He ruled north of the Forth-Clyde line while his younger brother David (later David I) controlled southern Scotland in his name.

Chambers Dictionary of World History (adopting a certain flexibility as to what counts as a sentence)
— Tim May Apr 9, 08:37 AM #
"Even though nothing is animated, the story should be clear, and the jokes should make sense."

Flash MX Design for TV and Video by Janet Galore and Todd Kelsey
— J. Pinkham Apr 9, 12:39 PM #
As the small press publisher who originally published Chip's Wagner/Artaud and the anthologist who first brought Angelica Gorodischer's Kalpa Imperial (trans. U. K. Le Guin) to American attention, I am beginning to feel oppressed by my own works. Do you suppose Long Story, Short Pier could discuss the residue of somebody else's life for a while?
— Patrick Nielsen Hayden Apr 9, 05:48 PM #
Well, you know, Mr. Nielsen Hayden, you could stop leaving your residue scattered around by other people's computers...
— --k. Apr 9, 08:40 PM #
Hey Patrick: "What? I'm not going to stick this in your ear." (Maureen McHugh, Mission Child).

Now I just need to get myself a journal . . .
— Mr Ripley Apr 9, 08:48 PM #
'But I,' he continued with the utmost complacency, 'have discovered a definition which will, I think, meet with general acceptance.'
— Ray Apr 10, 06:44 AM #
"Don't tell me --"

Walker Percy, The Moviegoer.
— sara Apr 11, 07:53 AM #
"I was just going to send a boat down the river for you, Ratty, with strict orders that you were to be fetched up here at once, whatever you were doing."

-- The Wind in the Willows
— cussing is good for you Apr 11, 05:08 PM #
"On the whole, such political audacities could be ventured only in a great cosmopolitan like Paris."

-- Mozart: A Cultural Biography
— daniel-mark Apr 11, 05:35 PM #
Memery
1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.From Galatea 2.2, by Richard Powers: After that, we left...
— leuschke.org Apr 12, 03:33 AM #
Patrick: Purely coincidence or serendipity or good taste, I suppose. I discovered Kalpa Imperial because of the Library Journal review. Next I'm going to read Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain. I've obviously been neglecting some wonderful writers.
— christy Apr 12, 04:51 AM #
Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues give us:

"If anything, he thought the straight-shooter in the cowboy hat might produce a pair of handcuffs."

Now, for an exercise, string all the resulting quotes into a new short story.
— R W Potter Apr 12, 09:37 AM #
The easy habit of configuration which had lasted through several centuries yields with the Renaissance to continuous, lineal, and uniform sequences for time and space and personal relationship alike.

- Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy
— alex Apr 12, 09:41 AM #
Memery
Caterina points us to Memery, an experiment in distributed literary collage (a la William S. Burroughs' famous "cut-up" technique). Instructions: Grab the nearest book Open to page 23 Read the fifth sentence Post it Here's mine: "The easy habit of...
— alex wright Apr 12, 09:49 AM #
Book Meme
I thought today we could play a literary game.
— foldedspace.org Apr 12, 11:48 AM #
Ripley (Weaver) returns to the Alien's planet with a bunch of ultramacho Marines (and a Kid!) to wipe out the beast once and for all, or at least until Alien3.
— James Apr 12, 10:48 PM #
Remove unused unzipped files and other duplicate files.
from "Degunking Windows" by Joli Ballew and Jeff Duntemann

Sandy McMurray, Editor
www.TechStuff.ca/
— Sandy Apr 13, 06:01 AM #
who's minding the counter?
Trivial Neat exercise to see what people are reading. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Mine: "Aquinas would say...
— 100 unfair and unbalanced monkeys typing Apr 13, 06:31 AM #
Nifty Reading Trick
From Kerry (who got it here: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along...
— A View from the Classroom -- Lehmann's Log Apr 13, 07:07 AM #
Fun With Random Quotes
One day, I hope to concoct a fabulous traffic-generating scheme like this, which I found through About Last Night and Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant. Here's the deal: 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page...
— Infinite Monkeys Apr 13, 07:36 AM #
Another?
Instructions: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the...
— Mercurial Apr 13, 10:30 AM #
When attaching a lens other than an EF-S lens, align the lens with the red EF lens index mark
- my camera's instruction manual.
— CS Apr 13, 11:35 AM #
You need robust dialogue to surface the realities of the business.

~ Larry Bossidy, Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done
— Jackie Apr 13, 06:10 PM #
After selecting the route offered by Barney, Fred has to inform its neighbors about the new route.

From EIGRP Network Design Solutions
— Jeremy Apr 14, 07:44 AM #
Certainly individuals afflicted with serious hereditary deficiencies--the feeble-minded, the insane, the epileptic--should be restricted from reproduction, though even then there is the possible danger of ascribing too much to heredity and too little to environmental factors in the causation of these diseases. --A Marriage Manual: A Practical Guide-Book to Sex and Marriage, Drs. Hannah and Abraham Stone (1939)
— Righteously Indignant Apr 14, 07:47 AM #
One gloved hand kept the heavy, well-patched curtain open; the other held a notepad, curled protectively within the crook of an arm.

~ Julie E. Czerneda - In the Company of Others
— d Apr 14, 08:07 AM #
"Are they what they appear to be, genuine phenomena that transcend the usual boundaries of space and time, or are they better understood as conventional psychological and physical effects?"

— Dead Radin, PhD - "The Conscious Universe," pg. 25 par. 5
— Fluffernutter Apr 14, 09:35 AM #
"After this he waited for his chance to destroy the leaders of the Orsini, having already dispersed those of the Colonna."

-- Niccolo Machiavelli, "The Prince", page 23, fifth complete sentence
— Alex Freeman Apr 14, 10:10 AM #
The 23rd page game.
Here's an interesting game. 1. Take the closest book to you. 2. Turn to page 23. 3. Type out the fifth sentence. "The gravitational body force acting on an element of volume, dV, is given by rho(g)(dV), where rho is...
— Manifest Inanity Apr 14, 10:11 AM #
Page 23 Meme
A cool meme. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. "Secondly, although an English carrier or short-faced tumbler differs immensely...
— Subzero Blue Apr 14, 10:21 AM #
"None escaped that way."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
— Adam B Apr 14, 10:29 AM #
First, our inferences rest on a statistical model, a set of assumptions about the population of scores.
— John Apr 14, 10:48 AM #
"Leonard dragged up a clod of dirt and broke it in his hands."

The Sheep Look Up - John Brunner
— Skin Apr 14, 10:59 AM #
At Hwy. E, turn north, following curves in road to Camp Branch Road.

-April Issue of the Calontir Mews
— Eosha Apr 14, 11:26 AM #
- Growing up brought responsibilities, he found.

-Jude The Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
— Jimbo Apr 14, 11:44 AM #
I was yawning all over the place.

Thanks, Holden.
— sixswitch Apr 14, 11:50 AM #
Le Corbusier in his plans and writings took what he saw as the possibilities inherent in the machine, factory, and automobile age and projected them into some utopian future.

~ David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity
— Ur|el Apr 14, 12:15 PM #
"Afterwards, I told the lawyer, 'I ain't joining no army,' and he says, 'You don't have to. I just said that to get you off"

Underboss - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's story of life in the mafia, as told by Peter Maas.
— Lou Cabrazzi Apr 14, 12:26 PM #
You have been my only friend on this planet - the only soul to sense and seek for me within the repellent form which lies on this couch.
— jt Apr 14, 12:28 PM #
I don't like the way he smells or that horrible monotone voice or anything.

~ Alan Moore, Watchmen
— Jon Apr 14, 12:29 PM #
This takes the fuss out of downsizing, the employee doesn't even have to clean out a desk.

[The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams
— Mark Apr 14, 12:31 PM #
He spoke with the comfortable irony of a man who had in his time been completely exclusive, who had in fact excluded from his solitary table in the Protectorate everyone but himself.

Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter
— sarah Apr 14, 01:55 PM #
I would like to point out that I mistakenly typed "pg. 25" previously. It is actually from pg 23, par 5, as requested.

Signed,
Complete Douchebag
— Fluffernutter Apr 14, 02:01 PM #
"She could place a child in a bucket/ and bathe it, could stitch the mouth/ in the red shirt closed."
— Ryan Apr 14, 02:42 PM #
"Near the end of a race, when economy deteriorates due to fatigue, you mae sense that your pedaling and technical handling skills are 'getting sloppy.'"
— Dave Apr 14, 02:48 PM #
Pale yellowish worms which are found under manure piles look like angleworms, but are really a distinct species.

Dateline: Toronto

E.Hemingway
— rod Apr 14, 02:50 PM #
"The people who really run organizations are usually found several levels down, where it's still possible to get things done."

- Terry Pratchett, _Small Gods_
— alkahest Apr 14, 03:30 PM #
"Teresa had said that Adolf Hitler had raised her country from the dead, freed it from its enemies, made it the strongest nation in the world and delivered it from fear. Delivered it from fear!"

G. Gordon Liddy - Will (Don't ask)
— Sasha Apr 14, 03:58 PM #
"But it will shortly be clear that the sense of 'model' and 'pattern' that permits the appropriation is not quite the one usual in defining 'paradigm.'"
-Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
— Keith Anselm Apr 14, 04:46 PM #
The study however appears to have found a correlation between the length of bra wearing time and breast cancer.

Human Sexuality Textbook
— David Apr 14, 04:57 PM #
Experience had told her that this was the minimum necessary temperature increase.
— Joe Apr 14, 06:10 PM #
Discuss situations in which these artifacts matter, and those in which they do not.

-Computer Graphics Principles and Practice
— Mike Apr 14, 07:11 PM #
1.?Aprendes tu' mucho en tus clases? (si')
(For the gringos, "Do you (informal) learn much in your classes?"icon_wink.gif
Page 23: Present Tense of -er and -ir from New Edition Nassi Level 1 Spanish First Year Workbook, a most intriguing tome indeed.
— Em Apr 15, 02:33 AM #
Ist Euch vielleicht ein Viertelchen Eidechs gefällig oder ein Froschschenkelein?

(Eng: Would you like a quarter of a lizard or a small frog leg?)

Wilhelm Hauff, Die Karawane - Märchen, Die Geschichte von Kalif Storch
(Eng: Wilhelm Hauff, The Caravan - Fairy Tales, The Tale of Caliph Stork)
— Kixx Apr 15, 05:43 AM #
PeopleCode webcast student guide from PeopleSoft, page 23, sentence 5:

You have already built several applications using this process in PeopleTools I and PeopleTools II.
— karen Apr 15, 06:18 AM #
Slumpmening
"Pick up the nearest book. Open it to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions." Ok: "Each boy saw the other was coated up to his neck in
— Trams! Apr 15, 06:22 AM #
Instant Bibliomancy!
Caught a link through PLSJ to a little fun with instant bibliomancy (the art of foretelling the future by reading...
— Blog de Halavais Apr 15, 07:05 AM #
Pressing this claim, the Israelis denied the Mixed Armistice Commission any jurisdiction over the DZ's (Syrian representatives sat on the MAC) and declared them off-limits to Syrian farmers.

This from "Six Days of War" by Michael B. Oren
— Ben Apr 15, 08:51 AM #
"Press firmly, gently, insistently, languorously, slowly, then faster."

From 203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed, by Olivia St. Claire
— Tree Apr 15, 09:31 AM #
beautiful adj. utsukushii; kirei na; beautifully utsukushiku

closest book was: Webster's New World Compact Japanese Direction, 23rd page, 5th entry




— Arlo Apr 15, 09:48 AM #
The rain, sleet, snow, and hail melting and mixing had left the ground sodden; still, there was an obvious area where the earth had been freshly manipulated.

From: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
— [No author Apr 15, 12:50 PM #
Même, meme pas?
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Apr 15, 01:41 PM #
You can use it, along with the alert() method, to write a function that desplays a list of names and values of all properties of an object, for example.

-Javascript: The Definitive Guide (3rd Edition)
by: David Flanagan
— J. Boles Apr 15, 05:16 PM #
What might have appeared to an outsider to be flaws or restrictions were seen by Blairlogie as advantages.

Robertson Davies _What's Bred in the Bone_
— Charles Bull Apr 15, 05:40 PM #
You're saying that if you put in a year at Runway you'll save yourself three more years of bull assistant work somewhere else?
— Keith Apr 16, 02:33 AM #
Sidan 23
Jag tror att sidan 23 fenomenet som dykt upp på många bloggar de senaste dagarna har sitt ursprung här: longstoryshortpier.com. Rätta mig om jag har fel. Här kommer mitt bidrag: Ta den bok som ligger närmast. Öppna boken på sidan...
— weblog#petern Apr 16, 02:48 AM #
Bibliomancy/Memery
Alex points to a fun meme on Long Story Short Pier. Here's what you do: Grab the nearest book.Open the book to page 23.Find the...
— Fragments Apr 16, 03:15 AM #
Inane Blogging Fun
Robert Prather via Pejman, which I traced back to Long story; short pier , comes the following challenge:1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the...
— PoliBlog Apr 16, 03:40 AM #
Pulling teeth (a mimetic fiction)
The dentist liked black women, first because they said things that could have got a KO'd boxer back on his feet, and second because they didn't sweat in bed. It wasn’t that he had a racial preference, per se. Rather,...
— onepotmeal Apr 16, 04:15 AM #
Finally men can no longer deposit memories of past love affairs with their dirty underwear in our hampers.
— elaine Apr 16, 05:26 AM #
Time Waster
Long Story; Short Pier wants to start a meme: 1) Grab the nearest book. 2) Open the book to page...
— Ipse Dixit Apr 16, 07:35 AM #
from Douglas Adams' posthumously published Salmon of Doubt:

The law descended on me.
— ali leslie Apr 16, 07:38 AM #
"Guy recalled that he was an ugly kid."
Every Breath You Take -- Ann Rule.
— Juliet Apr 16, 07:55 AM #
FOR THE THRILL OF IT ALL
Satisfying the meme indulgence. 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. For example, include any JDBC...
— The SmarterCop Apr 16, 08:01 AM #
"Secure their agreement that the assumptions of the plan are sound and that all involved are willing to do their part."
— dave Apr 16, 08:26 AM #
Say What You Meme
Here, it says this: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the...
— blogoSFERICS Apr 16, 10:16 AM #
Même, meme pas?
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Apr 16, 10:17 AM #
"That is not a real bearded lady", cried a paying customer at Barnum's Museum.

- Uncle John's Unstoppable Bathroom Reader
— Jonco Apr 16, 10:46 AM #
It's Friday, Why Not?
It's Friday finally so I'll waste a minute or two and play along to help Long Story;Short Pier start his meme: 1.Grab the nearest book. 2.Open the book to page 23. 3.Find the fifth sentence. 4.Post the text of the...
— Scilicet Apr 16, 12:00 PM #
'But that could be quite a trick, behind a stack of octagons'

Case attempts to control his paranoia in William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' (1984)
— Doba Apr 16, 04:18 PM #
MemeTracking
For some reason, I am particularly curious about the origins of this meme. I only found out about it today,...
— Lady Crumpet's Armoire Apr 16, 07:05 PM #
23/5 meme
The meme infecting the entire world of blogs is the following: 1.
— David Harris' Science Apr 16, 07:27 PM #
Some of us have a better chance of defeating Tiger Woods at the Masters than fixing our famiilies.
— Matt Apr 16, 07 bugging Building Services and making sure that all design supplies are kept well stored in other places."

from The Graduate School of Design Student Handbook 003 / 004
— miranda Apr 17, 06:35 AM #
"Misanthrope" is someone who dislikes everybody, not just men.
(from Contact by Carl Sagan)
— Jo-Ellen Apr 17, 08:49 AM #
The thread of a meme
Well, ok, I'll play - 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.Following the directions explicitly -...
— Silent Running Apr 17, 10:45 AM #
"And the fact, the almost infinitely unlikely fact, of actually being Cézanne makes no difference."

The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley
— ChefQuix Apr 17, 03:28 PM #
"Contemplate reality... you are going down a paved road at any legal speed."

Preston, Dave. 2003. _Motorcycle 101_. Seattle, WA: Mixed Media (www.mm411.com)
— Plain Jim Apr 17, 07:10 PM #
Because I'm a slave to fashion:
Long Story, Short Pier wants it, and here it is: 2) Open the book to page 23. 3) Find the fifth sentence. 4) Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. It just happens that...
— slartibartfast Apr 18, 03:36 AM #
"Aggression Level: 5 (Very High)"

-Manual, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests, The Mongols.

(Note synchronicity of number 5)
— MJ Apr 18, 09:32 AM #
From now on, the world's gonna know exactly what I think of it!

- The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes -
— Shane M. Kathol Apr 18, 05:29 PM #
The chief topic they discussed was how to make sure, in Stimson's words, Japan "fired the first shot."

- "The New Dealers' War" by Thomas Fleming
— Robin Roberts Apr 18, 06:07 PM #
Nearest book
The nearest book
— selling waves Apr 18, 06:52 PM #
Memery
Requiring this kind of confirmation is as draconian as it is futile According to this meme about grabbing the nearest book and looking up the 5th sentence on page 23. (the book is The Humane Interface by Jef Raskin) [ via FrozenSkies, via the Textpatte...
— Jens-Christian Fischer's Blog Apr 18, 11:45 PM #
In this manner, the Orions manipulated and studied dozens of primitive societies within their sector, trying to duplicate the conflict the Elder Civilizations faced in myriad small scale scenarios.

From the manual for the computer game "Master of Orion 3"

(I am amazed at the kind of books other people had closest to their computer)
— Rob Newshutz Apr 19, 01:36 AM #
MemeTracking
For some reason, I am particularly curious about the origins of this meme. I only found out about it yesterday,...
— Lady Crumpet's Armoire Apr 19, 04:12 AM #
"Tras sumar ahora el tiempo total transcurrido en cualquier etapa momento de la carrera, advertiremos que después de dos etapas la suma es 1 + 1/2, después de tres 1 + 3/4, después de cuatro 1 + 7/8, etc."

'LA HISTORIA DEFINITIVA DEL INFINITO' - Richard Morris
Original title: 'Achilles in the Quantum Universe'
— Neil Apr 19, 04:17 AM #
anodyne- n. any treatment or drug that soothes and eases pain.

The Bantam Medical Dictionary (rev 1990)
— gena m. Apr 19, 05:24 AM #
"He's bad, Mama," Jake said, his face pressed into her neck. "Make that bad guy go away."
— Sylvie Apr 19, 07:05 AM #
In the following example, the first line shows the sting /tmp being assigned to the variable DIR.
— gina Apr 19, 09:12 AM #
"Why is he there day after day?"

Charles Van Loan, "Baseball as the Bleachers Like It" (1909), quoted in "Baseball: A Literary Anthology".
— Andrew Rogers Apr 19, 11:52 AM #
Do this by gathering the spinnaker from forward and leeward of the companionway hatch and feeding it aft to the Squirrel stationed in the hatch.

From a manual on sailing an assymetrical spinnaker on a larger vessel.
— lauren Apr 19, 01:30 PM #
(D) be unable to adjust and suffer harm

--From Kaplan's SAT II Biology E/M 2003-4 Edition
— bryan Apr 19, 04:26 PM #
"the god-damned thing is over."
C. Bukowski: Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way
— Bernie Apr 20, 04:53 AM #
Because I'm Trendy
Look ma! Another pointless internet thingy I've opted to get involved with: Long Story, Short Pier wants it, and here it is: 1) Grab the nearest book. 2) Open the book to page 23. 3) Find the fifth sentence. 4)...
— Anticipatory Retaliation Apr 20, 08:16 AM #
Memery
I tracked down what seems to be the source of this meme, and thought I would join in. 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of...
— Chubby Momma's Blog Apr 20, 09:57 AM #
"Yeah?" Huddie asked.
— Mark Apr 20, 10:09 AM #
Sniffing out Page 23
Tracking the Page 23 Meme to its source, starting from where I first saw it: OKCalvin < Tulipgirl < Thinklings < Jared < Elfin Ethicist...
— How Now, Brownpau? Apr 20, 11:01 AM #
"A low rumble."

...

Words escape me.

B...
— Ben Apr 20, 11:05 AM #
On the one hand, the dispersed naure of solar energy is a disadvantage in that it requires concentration; on the other hand, it is an advantage in that it does not require a distribution system from a central source.

-Herman Daly, Steady State Economics, 1991
— todd Apr 20, 01:37 PM #
This made the boys shake their heads.

--Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
— Tom Apr 20, 02:31 PM #
17. Did the children blow up some balloons?

--Understanding and Using English Grammar 2nd Ed. by, Betty Schrampfer Azar
— Todd Apr 20, 06:17 PM #
So, very early, a pattern had been established that endures to this day: people dislike Microsoft, which is okay; but they dislike it for reasons that are poorly considered, and in the end, self-defeating.
~ In the Beginning... Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson
— Sandy Apr 20, 09:10 PM #
A month later they were all at Nicopolis on the Danube, boasting they could hold the sky up with their lances.
— Chris Apr 21, 05:57 AM #
Page 23 only contains two sentences. - Beyond the Farthest Star, Edgar Rice Burroughs
— Rask Apr 22, 09:03 AM #
Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unaswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneassy sleep.
— Martin Apr 22, 02:06 PM #
Shake Both hands vigorously at the wrists, as if trying to shake them off, then wriggle and bend your fingers in many different directions.

from - "Learning to Draw Drawing to Learn."
— Jason Apr 23, 05:15 AM #
─はて、女子たちにどう言って聞かせよう。

From 「孤剣」(Koken), by Fujisawa Shuuhei.
— bjh Apr 25, 01:05 AM #
Straight grade is a mixture of R2 to R5
(From Artisan Baking Across America)
— jim Apr 25, 07:32 AM #
Hmm.. I got possibly the shortest, most boring sentance in what is one of my favorite books:
I see he is right.
- Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M Persig.

— Ian Apr 26, 11:57 AM #
When we have these substances available in the pure state we ought to be able to deal with many departures from the normal sexual life, ranging from gross perversion to a woman's inability to suckle her children; since lactation, as well as the normal instincts, appears to depend on the presence of definite substances in the blood.
— Ollie Apr 28, 06:13 AM #
"They slept on soft furs in the lower bunks."

The Death and Rebirth of the Senica, by A.F.C. Wallace.
— Eric Scott Apr 28, 05:02 PM #
"It was a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage."

-- Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
— Dontera Apr 29, 08:34 PM #
It takes only a few large programs to learn that ou can avoid a lot of stress by planning ahead.
— Adam May 1, 09:54 AM #
Grab Book Page 23 Sentence 5 Meme
Spreading to a blog near you: 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Okay, here goes....
— cogdogblog May 5, 04:08 PM #
I wonder what I shall be then?

~ Lewis Carroll,
"Alice in Wonderland"
— Helden May 7, 10:07 PM #
I've read that Augustine said that to look for God is to find him, but I was not looking for God, not really.

-- "Traveling Mercies" Anne Lamott
— Julia May 9, 06:11 PM #
View filters box Enables you to view only custom recipients, distribution lists, mailboxes, public folders, or all of these combined.

"Getting Started: The Business - Critical Messaging and Collaboration Server, Exchange Server"
— raneking22 May 10, 10:18 AM #
I've seen this stuff on various blogs for weeks but hadn't found the original until tonight. I am a bit surprised, as I was sure it must have begun as a Discordian conspiracy. They uphold "The Law of Fives" and "the holy 23." Anyway, here's my contribution:

Consciousness is taken by surprise and split into two levels, one conventional and one unconventional.

- Robert Grudin, On Dialogue: An Essay in Free Thought

Anyone interested in creative literary devices like this one might also want to check out the Oulipo, Grown Dodo, and the Internet Anagram Server.
— Tyson Vaughan May 12, 05:17 AM #
My page 23, 5th sentence:

The new species of being is the thought of the essence of actuality itself: the absolute termination of the construction of the world: the absolute itself the middle term, qua existential matter: the absolute itself the articulated (complex) essence: the word itself thought itself: matter itself unconditionally essential (the elemental constituents of the absolute essentially absolute): the perfection itself of experience now essentially not yet itself the body itself, but yet experience itself essentially unconditioned.

(From "Foundation: Matter the Body Itself" by D.G. Leahy)
— t1ernd0g May 26, 08:29 PM #
Illusionism is thus sporadic rather than permanent.
— peter May 28, 08:07 AM #
God's people are doubly His children, they are His offspring by creation, and are His sons by adoption in Christ.

Morning by Morning. by: Charles H. Spurgeon
— Lucy Jul 11, 06:14 PM #
Page 23

— Web Log di Adrian Florea Aug 27, 09:13 AM #
The herbs has a pharmacological base; she was becoming a new-world scientist.

From China Boy by Gus Lee
— Jamesy Sep 2, 10:31 AM #
Helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooothere peopldjf;alksdjf;laksjdf;laksjdf;laskdjf;laskjdf;alskdjf;alskjdf;laksdfj;laksdfja;sldkfja;slkdjfa;skjdalskjdfa;lskdjf;aslkdjfsa;lkdjfa;jf;askdjfas;ldkfjas;lkdfja;lkfja;lskdjfa;slkdfjas;ldkfja;lskdjkdfj faskjfk fifafiifasf8arfagahjqfvgfgkdfgiadf;gahfj gaajkfdi d jfi kfjals afjasjfifj sfjaskdfj ajasdk fja;lkdfadkljfalkfjaslk fadfadfgasd
this has bee =n typed reas fast and injapanese so ha ha ha ur page in sucks you dumb ass piece of crap
— Jbbb Nov 3, 04:28 PM #
"Some of these devices enable disabled people to control household and workplace appliances that most of us operate by hand."

- from the computer science ethics textbook, A Gift of Fire, by Sara Baase
— dldld Nov 18, 12:46 PM #
Page 23
Avec beaucoup de retard, je poste la mienne.

C?est probablement une analogie à la fois formelle et sémantique qui a aligné l?horloge autrefois masculine sur la montre et la pendule.

Marina Yaguello, Le sexe des mots (ISBN : 2-02-021095-9)...
— Empyrée Nov 24, 05:42 AM #
Même, meme pas?
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...

— zboïng! Dec 3, 06:41 AM #
Before you install Vcontroller software, make sure you gather all of the network addressing information that represents your new Firebox Vclass security appliance.
— Gil Dec 28, 06:12 AM #
i agree

It's from um, my Nokia phone user guide.
— lori Apr 8, 05:07 PM #
"This is our world, lit with crescents and stars of light; and great petals half transparent block the opening like purple windows."
— Seth Apr 8, 05:56 PM #
"She led them through the gullet of the airship to the prow, where stairs so steep they had to be climbed on all fours like a ladder rose to the pilothouse."

Hmm.
— Steve Apr 8, 06:27 PM #
Wow. Who knew Artaud could be so coherent?
— Patrick Apr 8, 07:40 PM #
His "Lancelot" is the flower of the courtly tradition in France, as it was in its early maturity.
— Dylan Apr 8, 07:46 PM #
Alas, the nearest book was Printing with Wood Blocks, Stencils & Engravings by Alan & Gill Bridgewater, and has an illustration on page 23 with a very short caption.

Taking the path of least resistance, the 5th sentence on page 25 is:


I have chosen to illustrate the printing of a Japanese figure motif in the recognised style and manner, but your choice of design subject should relate more to technical ability and the required end result than to ay preconceived ideas of what a print should look like.

— Bill Tozier Apr 9, 02:55 AM #
"Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people."

NRSV
— boloboffin Apr 9, 05:41 AM #
What this flat thud (which never fails to send a shudder through the theater) has in common with the noise in Cavani's film is that it transforms the human being into a thing, into vile, inert, disposable matter, with its entrails and osseous cavities.
— Nick F Apr 9, 07:20 AM #
They can forecast accurately what percentage of a goup of people will perish in auto accidents, but cannot name the individuals who will die.

From an article in the marketing annual editions entitled THe customer profitability Conundrum: When to love 'em or Leave 'em by Booz Allen Hamilton, which is just a cool name.
— bethanne Apr 9, 07:54 AM #
But the beggar stayed, and nobody drove him away.

from Kalpa Imperial: the Greatest Empire that never was
by Angelica Gorodischer, trans. by Ursula K. Le Guin
— christy Apr 9, 08:11 AM #
He ruled north of the Forth-Clyde line while his younger brother David (later David I) controlled southern Scotland in his name.

Chambers Dictionary of World History (adopting a certain flexibility as to what counts as a sentence)
— Tim May Apr 9, 08:37 AM #
"Even though nothing is animated, the story should be clear, and the jokes should make sense."

Flash MX Design for TV and Video by Janet Galore and Todd Kelsey
— J. Pinkham Apr 9, 12:39 PM #
As the small press publisher who originally published Chip's Wagner/Artaud and the anthologist who first brought Angelica Gorodischer's Kalpa Imperial (trans. U. K. Le Guin) to American attention, I am beginning to feel oppressed by my own works. Do you suppose Long Story, Short Pier could discuss the residue of somebody else's life for a while?
— Patrick Nielsen Hayden Apr 9, 05:48 PM #
Well, you know, Mr. Nielsen Hayden, you could stop leaving your residue scattered around by other people's computers...
— --k. Apr 9, 08:40 PM #
Hey Patrick: "What? I'm not going to stick this in your ear." (Maureen McHugh, Mission Child).

Now I just need to get myself a journal . . .
— Mr Ripley Apr 9, 08:48 PM #
'But I,' he continued with the utmost complacency, 'have discovered a definition which will, I think, meet with general acceptance.'
— Ray Apr 10, 06:44 AM #
"Don't tell me --"

Walker Percy, The Moviegoer.
— sara Apr 11, 07:53 AM #
"I was just going to send a boat down the river for you, Ratty, with strict orders that you were to be fetched up here at once, whatever you were doing."

-- The Wind in the Willows
— cussing is good for you Apr 11, 05:08 PM #
"On the whole, such political audacities could be ventured only in a great cosmopolitan like Paris."

-- Mozart: A Cultural Biography
— daniel-mark Apr 11, 05:35 PM #
Memery
1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.From Galatea 2.2, by Richard Powers: After that, we left...
— leuschke.org Apr 12, 03:33 AM #
Patrick: Purely coincidence or serendipity or good taste, I suppose. I discovered Kalpa Imperial because of the Library Journal review. Next I'm going to read Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain. I've obviously been neglecting some wonderful writers.
— christy Apr 12, 04:51 AM #
Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues give us:

"If anything, he thought the straight-shooter in the cowboy hat might produce a pair of handcuffs."

Now, for an exercise, string all the resulting quotes into a new short story.
— R W Potter Apr 12, 09:37 AM #
The easy habit of configuration which had lasted through several centuries yields with the Renaissance to continuous, lineal, and uniform sequences for time and space and personal relationship alike.

- Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy
— alex Apr 12, 09:41 AM #
Memery
Caterina points us to Memery, an experiment in distributed literary collage (a la William S. Burroughs' famous "cut-up" technique). Instructions: Grab the nearest book Open to page 23 Read the fifth sentence Post it Here's mine: "The easy habit of...
— alex wright Apr 12, 09:49 AM #
Book Meme
I thought today we could play a literary game.
— foldedspace.org Apr 12, 11:48 AM #
Ripley (Weaver) returns to the Alien's planet with a bunch of ultramacho Marines (and a Kid!) to wipe out the beast once and for all, or at least until Alien3.
— James Apr 12, 10:48 PM #
Remove unused unzipped files and other duplicate files.
from "Degunking Windows" by Joli Ballew and Jeff Duntemann

Sandy McMurray, Editor
www.TechStuff.ca/
— Sandy Apr 13, 06:01 AM #
who's minding the counter?
Trivial Neat exercise to see what people are reading. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Mine: "Aquinas would say...
— 100 unfair and unbalanced monkeys typing Apr 13, 06:31 AM #
Nifty Reading Trick
From Kerry (who got it here: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along...
— A View from the Classroom -- Lehmann's Log Apr 13, 07:07 AM #
Fun With Random Quotes
One day, I hope to concoct a fabulous traffic-generating scheme like this, which I found through About Last Night and Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant. Here's the deal: 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page...
— Infinite Monkeys Apr 13, 07:36 AM #
Another?
Instructions: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the...
— Mercurial Apr 13, 10:30 AM #
When attaching a lens other than an EF-S lens, align the lens with the red EF lens index mark
- my camera's instruction manual.
— CS Apr 13, 11:35 AM #
You need robust dialogue to surface the realities of the business.

~ Larry Bossidy, Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done
— Jackie Apr 13, 06:10 PM #
After selecting the route offered by Barney, Fred has to inform its neighbors about the new route.

From EIGRP Network Design Solutions
— Jeremy Apr 14, 07:44 AM #
Certainly individuals afflicted with serious hereditary deficiencies--the feeble-minded, the insane, the epileptic--should be restricted from reproduction, though even then there is the possible danger of ascribing too much to heredity and too little to environmental factors in the causation of these diseases. --A Marriage Manual: A Practical Guide-Book to Sex and Marriage, Drs. Hannah and Abraham Stone (1939)
— Righteously Indignant Apr 14, 07:47 AM #
One gloved hand kept the heavy, well-patched curtain open; the other held a notepad, curled protectively within the crook of an arm.

~ Julie E. Czerneda - In the Company of Others
— d Apr 14, 08:07 AM #
"Are they what they appear to be, genuine phenomena that transcend the usual boundaries of space and time, or are they better understood as conventional psychological and physical effects?"

— Dead Radin, PhD - "The Conscious Universe," pg. 25 par. 5
— Fluffernutter Apr 14, 09:35 AM #
"After this he waited for his chance to destroy the leaders of the Orsini, having already dispersed those of the Colonna."

-- Niccolo Machiavelli, "The Prince", page 23, fifth complete sentence
— Alex Freeman Apr 14, 10:10 AM #
The 23rd page game.
Here's an interesting game. 1. Take the closest book to you. 2. Turn to page 23. 3. Type out the fifth sentence. "The gravitational body force acting on an element of volume, dV, is given by rho(g)(dV), where rho is...
— Manifest Inanity Apr 14, 10:11 AM #
Page 23 Meme
A cool meme. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. "Secondly, although an English carrier or short-faced tumbler differs immensely...
— Subzero Blue Apr 14, 10:21 AM #
"None escaped that way."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
— Adam B Apr 14, 10:29 AM #
First, our inferences rest on a statistical model, a set of assumptions about the population of scores.
— John Apr 14, 10:48 AM #
"Leonard dragged up a clod of dirt and broke it in his hands."

The Sheep Look Up - John Brunner
— Skin Apr 14, 10:59 AM #
At Hwy. E, turn north, following curves in road to Camp Branch Road.

-April Issue of the Calontir Mews
— Eosha Apr 14, 11:26 AM #
- Growing up brought responsibilities, he found.

-Jude The Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
— Jimbo Apr 14, 11:44 AM #
I was yawning all over the place.

Thanks, Holden.
— sixswitch Apr 14, 11:50 AM #
Le Corbusier in his plans and writings took what he saw as the possibilities inherent in the machine, factory, and automobile age and projected them into some utopian future.

~ David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity
— Ur|el Apr 14, 12:15 PM #
"Afterwards, I told the lawyer, 'I ain't joining no army,' and he says, 'You don't have to. I just said that to get you off"

Underboss - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's story of life in the mafia, as told by Peter Maas.
— Lou Cabrazzi Apr 14, 12:26 PM #
You have been my only friend on this planet - the only soul to sense and seek for me within the repellent form which lies on this couch.
— jt Apr 14, 12:28 PM #
I don't like the way he smells or that horrible monotone voice or anything.

~ Alan Moore, Watchmen
— Jon Apr 14, 12:29 PM #
This takes the fuss out of downsizing, the employee doesn't even have to clean out a desk.

[The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams
— Mark Apr 14, 12:31 PM #
He spoke with the comfortable irony of a man who had in his time been completely exclusive, who had in fact excluded from his solitary table in the Protectorate everyone but himself.

Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter
— sarah Apr 14, 01:55 PM #
I would like to point out that I mistakenly typed "pg. 25" previously. It is actually from pg 23, par 5, as requested.

Signed,
Complete Douchebag
— Fluffernutter Apr 14, 02:01 PM #
"She could place a child in a bucket/ and bathe it, could stitch the mouth/ in the red shirt closed."
— Ryan Apr 14, 02:42 PM #
"Near the end of a race, when economy deteriorates due to fatigue, you mae sense that your pedaling and technical handling skills are 'getting sloppy.'"
— Dave Apr 14, 02:48 PM #
Pale yellowish worms which are found under manure piles look like angleworms, but are really a distinct species.

Dateline: Toronto

E.Hemingway
— rod Apr 14, 02:50 PM #
"The people who really run organizations are usually found several levels down, where it's still possible to get things done."

- Terry Pratchett, _Small Gods_
— alkahest Apr 14, 03:30 PM #
"Teresa had said that Adolf Hitler had raised her country from the dead, freed it from its enemies, made it the strongest nation in the world and delivered it from fear. Delivered it from fear!"

G. Gordon Liddy - Will (Don't ask)
— Sasha Apr 14, 03:58 PM #
"But it will shortly be clear that the sense of 'model' and 'pattern' that permits the appropriation is not quite the one usual in defining 'paradigm.'"
-Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
— Keith Anselm Apr 14, 04:46 PM #
The study however appears to have found a correlation between the length of bra wearing time and breast cancer.

Human Sexuality Textbook
— David Apr 14, 04:57 PM #
Experience had told her that this was the minimum necessary temperature increase.
— Joe Apr 14, 06:10 PM #
Discuss situations in which these artifacts matter, and those in which they do not.

-Computer Graphics Principles and Practice
— Mike Apr 14, 07:11 PM #
1.?Aprendes tu' mucho en tus clases? (si')
(For the gringos, "Do you (informal) learn much in your classes?"icon_wink.gif
Page 23: Present Tense of -er and -ir from New Edition Nassi Level 1 Spanish First Year Workbook, a most intriguing tome indeed.
— Em Apr 15, 02:33 AM #
Ist Euch vielleicht ein Viertelchen Eidechs gefällig oder ein Froschschenkelein?

(Eng: Would you like a quarter of a lizard or a small frog leg?)

Wilhelm Hauff, Die Karawane - Märchen, Die Geschichte von Kalif Storch
(Eng: Wilhelm Hauff, The Caravan - Fairy Tales, The Tale of Caliph Stork)
— Kixx Apr 15, 05:43 AM #
PeopleCode webcast student guide from PeopleSoft, page 23, sentence 5:

You have already built several applications using this process in PeopleTools I and PeopleTools II.
— karen Apr 15, 06:18 AM #
Slumpmening
"Pick up the nearest book. Open it to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions." Ok: "Each boy saw the other was coated up to his neck in
— Trams! Apr 15, 06:22 AM #
Instant Bibliomancy!
Caught a link through PLSJ to a little fun with instant bibliomancy (the art of foretelling the future by reading...
— Blog de Halavais Apr 15, 07:05 AM #
Pressing this claim, the Israelis denied the Mixed Armistice Commission any jurisdiction over the DZ's (Syrian representatives sat on the MAC) and declared them off-limits to Syrian farmers.

This from "Six Days of War" by Michael B. Oren
— Ben Apr 15, 08:51 AM #
"Press firmly, gently, insistently, languorously, slowly, then faster."

From 203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed, by Olivia St. Claire
— Tree Apr 15, 09:31 AM #
beautiful adj. utsukushii; kirei na; beautifully utsukushiku

closest book was: Webster's New World Compact Japanese Direction, 23rd page, 5th entry




— Arlo Apr 15, 09:48 AM #
The rain, sleet, snow, and hail melting and mixing had left the ground sodden; still, there was an obvious area where the earth had been freshly manipulated.

From: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
— [No author Apr 15, 12:50 PM #
Même, meme pas?
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Apr 15, 01:41 PM #
You can use it, along with the alert() method, to write a function that desplays a list of names and values of all properties of an object, for example.

-Javascript: The Definitive Guide (3rd Edition)
by: David Flanagan
— J. Boles Apr 15, 05:16 PM #
What might have appeared to an outsider to be flaws or restrictions were seen by Blairlogie as advantages.

Robertson Davies _What's Bred in the Bone_
— Charles Bull Apr 15, 05:40 PM #
You're saying that if you put in a year at Runway you'll save yourself three more years of bull assistant work somewhere else?
— Keith Apr 16, 02:33 AM #
Sidan 23
Jag tror att sidan 23 fenomenet som dykt upp på många bloggar de senaste dagarna har sitt ursprung här: longstoryshortpier.com. Rätta mig om jag har fel. Här kommer mitt bidrag: Ta den bok som ligger närmast. Öppna boken på sidan...
— weblog#petern Apr 16, 02:48 AM #
Bibliomancy/Memery
Alex points to a fun meme on Long Story Short Pier. Here's what you do: Grab the nearest book.Open the book to page 23.Find the...
— Fragments Apr 16, 03:15 AM #
Inane Blogging Fun
Robert Prather via Pejman, which I traced back to Long story; short pier , comes the following challenge:1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the...
— PoliBlog Apr 16, 03:40 AM #
Pulling teeth (a mimetic fiction)
The dentist liked black women, first because they said things that could have got a KO'd boxer back on his feet, and second because they didn't sweat in bed. It wasn’t that he had a racial preference, per se. Rather,...
— onepotmeal Apr 16, 04:15 AM #
Finally men can no longer deposit memories of past love affairs with their dirty underwear in our hampers.
— elaine Apr 16, 05:26 AM #
Time Waster
Long Story; Short Pier wants to start a meme: 1) Grab the nearest book. 2) Open the book to page...
— Ipse Dixit Apr 16, 07:35 AM #
from Douglas Adams' posthumously published Salmon of Doubt:

The law descended on me.
— ali leslie Apr 16, 07:38 AM #
"Guy recalled that he was an ugly kid."
Every Breath You Take -- Ann Rule.
— Juliet Apr 16, 07:55 AM #
FOR THE THRILL OF IT ALL
Satisfying the meme indulgence. 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. For example, include any JDBC...
— The SmarterCop Apr 16, 08:01 AM #
"Secure their agreement that the assumptions of the plan are sound and that all involved are willing to do their part."
— dave Apr 16, 08:26 AM #
Say What You Meme
Here, it says this: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the...
— blogoSFERICS Apr 16, 10:16 AM #
Même, meme pas?
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Apr 16, 10:17 AM #
"That is not a real bearded lady", cried a paying customer at Barnum's Museum.

- Uncle John's Unstoppable Bathroom Reader
— Jonco Apr 16, 10:46 AM #
It's Friday, Why Not?
It's Friday finally so I'll waste a minute or two and play along to help Long Story;Short Pier start his meme: 1.Grab the nearest book. 2.Open the book to page 23. 3.Find the fifth sentence. 4.Post the text of the...
— Scilicet Apr 16, 12:00 PM #
'But that could be quite a trick, behind a stack of octagons'

Case attempts to control his paranoia in William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' (1984)
— Doba Apr 16, 04:18 PM #
MemeTracking
For some reason, I am particularly curious about the origins of this meme. I only found out about it today,...
— Lady Crumpet's Armoire Apr 16, 07:05 PM #
23/5 meme
The meme infecting the entire world of blogs is the following: 1.
— David Harris' Science Apr 16, 07:27 PM #
Some of us have a better chance of defeating Tiger Woods at the Masters than fixing our famiilies.
— Matt Apr 16, 07 bugging Building Services and making sure that all design supplies are kept well stored in other places."

from The Graduate School of Design Student Handbook 003 / 004
— miranda Apr 17, 06:35 AM #
"Misanthrope" is someone who dislikes everybody, not just men.
(from Contact by Carl Sagan)
— Jo-Ellen Apr 17, 08:49 AM #
The thread of a meme
Well, ok, I'll play - 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.Following the directions explicitly -...
— Silent Running Apr 17, 10:45 AM #
"And the fact, the almost infinitely unlikely fact, of actually being Cézanne makes no difference."

The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley
— ChefQuix Apr 17, 03:28 PM #
"Contemplate reality... you are going down a paved road at any legal speed."

Preston, Dave. 2003. _Motorcycle 101_. Seattle, WA: Mixed Media (www.mm411.com)
— Plain Jim Apr 17, 07:10 PM #
Because I'm a slave to fashion:
Long Story, Short Pier wants it, and here it is: 2) Open the book to page 23. 3) Find the fifth sentence. 4) Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. It just happens that...
— slartibartfast Apr 18, 03:36 AM #
"Aggression Level: 5 (Very High)"

-Manual, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests, The Mongols.

(Note synchronicity of number 5)
— MJ Apr 18, 09:32 AM #
From now on, the world's gonna know exactly what I think of it!

- The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes -
— Shane M. Kathol Apr 18, 05:29 PM #
The chief topic they discussed was how to make sure, in Stimson's words, Japan "fired the first shot."

- "The New Dealers' War" by Thomas Fleming
— Robin Roberts Apr 18, 06:07 PM #
Nearest book
The nearest book
— selling waves Apr 18, 06:52 PM #
Memery
Requiring this kind of confirmation is as draconian as it is futile According to this meme about grabbing the nearest book and looking up the 5th sentence on page 23. (the book is The Humane Interface by Jef Raskin) [ via FrozenSkies, via the Textpatte...
— Jens-Christian Fischer's Blog Apr 18, 11:45 PM #
In this manner, the Orions manipulated and studied dozens of primitive societies within their sector, trying to duplicate the conflict the Elder Civilizations faced in myriad small scale scenarios.

From the manual for the computer game "Master of Orion 3"

(I am amazed at the kind of books other people had closest to their computer)
— Rob Newshutz Apr 19, 01:36 AM #
MemeTracking
For some reason, I am particularly curious about the origins of this meme. I only found out about it yesterday,...
— Lady Crumpet's Armoire Apr 19, 04:12 AM #
"Tras sumar ahora el tiempo total transcurrido en cualquier etapa momento de la carrera, advertiremos que después de dos etapas la suma es 1 + 1/2, después de tres 1 + 3/4, después de cuatro 1 + 7/8, etc."

'LA HISTORIA DEFINITIVA DEL INFINITO' - Richard Morris
Original title: 'Achilles in the Quantum Universe'
— Neil Apr 19, 04:17 AM #
anodyne- n. any treatment or drug that soothes and eases pain.

The Bantam Medical Dictionary (rev 1990)
— gena m. Apr 19, 05:24 AM #
"He's bad, Mama," Jake said, his face pressed into her neck. "Make that bad guy go away."
— Sylvie Apr 19, 07:05 AM #
In the following example, the first line shows the sting /tmp being assigned to the variable DIR.
— gina Apr 19, 09:12 AM #
"Why is he there day after day?"

Charles Van Loan, "Baseball as the Bleachers Like It" (1909), quoted in "Baseball: A Literary Anthology".
— Andrew Rogers Apr 19, 11:52 AM #
Do this by gathering the spinnaker from forward and leeward of the companionway hatch and feeding it aft to the Squirrel stationed in the hatch.

From a manual on sailing an assymetrical spinnaker on a larger vessel.
— lauren Apr 19, 01:30 PM #
(D) be unable to adjust and suffer harm

--From Kaplan's SAT II Biology E/M 2003-4 Edition
— bryan Apr 19, 04:26 PM #
"the god-damned thing is over."
C. Bukowski: Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way
— Bernie Apr 20, 04:53 AM #
Because I'm Trendy
Look ma! Another pointless internet thingy I've opted to get involved with: Long Story, Short Pier wants it, and here it is: 1) Grab the nearest book. 2) Open the book to page 23. 3) Find the fifth sentence. 4)...
— Anticipatory Retaliation Apr 20, 08:16 AM #
Memery
I tracked down what seems to be the source of this meme, and thought I would join in. 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of...
— Chubby Momma's Blog Apr 20, 09:57 AM #
"Yeah?" Huddie asked.
— Mark Apr 20, 10:09 AM #
Sniffing out Page 23
Tracking the Page 23 Meme to its source, starting from where I first saw it: OKCalvin < Tulipgirl < Thinklings < Jared < Elfin Ethicist...
— How Now, Brownpau? Apr 20, 11:01 AM #
"A low rumble."

...

Words escape me.

B...
— Ben Apr 20, 11:05 AM #
On the one hand, the dispersed naure of solar energy is a disadvantage in that it requires concentration; on the other hand, it is an advantage in that it does not require a distribution system from a central source.

-Herman Daly, Steady State Economics, 1991
— todd Apr 20, 01:37 PM #
This made the boys shake their heads.

--Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
— Tom Apr 20, 02:31 PM #
17. Did the children blow up some balloons?

--Understanding and Using English Grammar 2nd Ed. by, Betty Schrampfer Azar
— Todd Apr 20, 06:17 PM #
So, very early, a pattern had been established that endures to this day: people dislike Microsoft, which is okay; but they dislike it for reasons that are poorly considered, and in the end, self-defeating.
~ In the Beginning... Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson
— Sandy Apr 20, 09:10 PM #
A month later they were all at Nicopolis on the Danube, boasting they could hold the sky up with their lances.
— Chris Apr 21, 05:57 AM #
Page 23 only contains two sentences. - Beyond the Farthest Star, Edgar Rice Burroughs
— Rask Apr 22, 09:03 AM #
Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unaswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneassy sleep.
— Martin Apr 22, 02:06 PM #
Shake Both hands vigorously at the wrists, as if trying to shake them off, then wriggle and bend your fingers in many different directions.

from - "Learning to Draw Drawing to Learn."
— Jason Apr 23, 05:15 AM #
─はて、女子たちにどう言って聞かせよう。

From 「孤剣」(Koken), by Fujisawa Shuuhei.
— bjh Apr 25, 01:05 AM #
Straight grade is a mixture of R2 to R5
(From Artisan Baking Across America)
— jim Apr 25, 07:32 AM #
Hmm.. I got possibly the shortest, most boring sentance in what is one of my favorite books:
I see he is right.
- Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M Persig.

— Ian Apr 26, 11:57 AM #
When we have these substances available in the pure state we ought to be able to deal with many departures from the normal sexual life, ranging from gross perversion to a woman's inability to suckle her children; since lactation, as well as the normal instincts, appears to depend on the presence of definite substances in the blood.
— Ollie Apr 28, 06:13 AM #
"They slept on soft furs in the lower bunks."

The Death and Rebirth of the Senica, by A.F.C. Wallace.
— Eric Scott Apr 28, 05:02 PM #
"It was a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage."

-- Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
— Dontera Apr 29, 08:34 PM #
It takes only a few large programs to learn that ou can avoid a lot of stress by planning ahead.
— Adam May 1, 09:54 AM #
Grab Book Page 23 Sentence 5 Meme
Spreading to a blog near you: 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Okay, here goes....
— cogdogblog May 5, 04:08 PM #
I wonder what I shall be then?

~ Lewis Carroll,
"Alice in Wonderland"
— Helden May 7, 10:07 PM #
I've read that Augustine said that to look for God is to find him, but I was not looking for God, not really.

-- "Traveling Mercies" Anne Lamott
— Julia May 9, 06:11 PM #
View filters box Enables you to view only custom recipients, distribution lists, mailboxes, public folders, or all of these combined.

"Getting Started: The Business - Critical Messaging and Collaboration Server, Exchange Server"
— raneking22 May 10, 10:18 AM #
I've seen this stuff on various blogs for weeks but hadn't found the original until tonight. I am a bit surprised, as I was sure it must have begun as a Discordian conspiracy. They uphold "The Law of Fives" and "the holy 23." Anyway, here's my contribution:

Consciousness is taken by surprise and split into two levels, one conventional and one unconventional.

- Robert Grudin, On Dialogue: An Essay in Free Thought

Anyone interested in creative literary devices like this one might also want to check out the Oulipo, Grown Dodo, and the Internet Anagram Server.
— Tyson Vaughan May 12, 05:17 AM #
My page 23, 5th sentence:

The new species of being is the thought of the essence of actuality itself: the absolute termination of the construction of the world: the absolute itself the middle term, qua existential matter: the absolute itself the articulated (complex) essence: the word itself thought itself: matter itself unconditionally essential (the elemental constituents of the absolute essentially absolute): the perfection itself of experience now essentially not yet itself the body itself, but yet experience itself essentially unconditioned.

(From "Foundation: Matter the Body Itself" by D.G. Leahy)
— t1ernd0g May 26, 08:29 PM #
Illusionism is thus sporadic rather than permanent.
— peter May 28, 08:07 AM #
God's people are doubly His children, they are His offspring by creation, and are His sons by adoption in Christ.

Morning by Morning. by: Charles H. Spurgeon
— Lucy Jul 11, 06:14 PM #
Page 23

— Web Log di Adrian Florea Aug 27, 09:13 AM #
The herbs has a pharmacological base; she was becoming a new-world scientist.

From China Boy by Gus Lee
— Jamesy Sep 2, 10:31 AM #
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this has bee =n typed reas fast and injapanese so ha ha ha ur page in sucks you dumb ass piece of crap
— Jbbb Nov 3, 04:28 PM #
"Some of these devices enable disabled people to control household and workplace appliances that most of us operate by hand."

- from the computer science ethics textbook, A Gift of Fire, by Sara Baase
— dldld Nov 18, 12:46 PM #
Page 23
Avec beaucoup de retard, je poste la mienne.

C?est probablement une analogie à la fois formelle et sémantique qui a aligné l?horloge autrefois masculine sur la montre et la pendule.

Marina Yaguello, Le sexe des mots (ISBN : 2-02-021095-9)...
— Empyrée Nov 24, 05:42 AM #
Même, meme pas?
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...

— zboïng! Dec 3, 06:41 AM #
Before you install Vcontroller software, make sure you gather all of the network addressing information that represents your new Firebox Vclass security appliance.
— Gil Dec 28, 06:12 AM #
i agree