Alan Jacobs:

Often we may find that the modes of attention we prefer are in tension with the environments of attention in which we find ourselves.

Sue Halpern:

Among these enchanted objects ... [is] a jacket that gives you a hug every time someone likes your Facebook post.

Ta-Nehisi Coates:

I don't have many writing regrets. But this is one of them. I regret not saying what I thought of the accusations, and then pursuing those thoughts. I regret it because the lack of pursuit puts me in league with people who either looked away, or did not look hard enough. I take it as a personal admonition to always go there, to never flinch, to never look away.

Chelsea Wald:

Studies have shown that mirrors can improve the lives of a variety of laboratory, zoo, farm, and companion animals. Isolated cows and sheep have lower stress reactions when mirrors are around.

Julia Baird:

Our social media have narrowed the definition of beauty to that which can be photographed and posted, usually by ourselves. And what we have done is neglect charm in the pursuit of beauty.

An exchange:

Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy, but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

Jules: Well, we'd have to be talkin' about one charming motherfucking pig. I mean, he'd have to be ten times more charming than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm saying?

Amy Davidson:

It is an article of faith with [Bush family supporters] that Jeb Bush is a natural leader. And yet his presence reminds one of Play-Doh left out of the container too long.

Paul Luikart:

So now I see that the deer is looking out beyond me, out into the shadows of Tom's apartment. Then I feel the deer's gaze. Feel it suddenly looking at me. I suck in a little breath, find myself actually bowing my head, and even though I'm thinking, "What the hell are you doing?" I still do it. I let it look at what I have been as it considers every glass of beer I've ever poured down my throat, every bottle of whiskey, knowing even the time I drank the mouthwash at the dentist's office years ago. I feel the need to make the atmosphere more sacred so I yank the pullcord on the light of the ceiling fan and now, in the dark of Tom's living room, there is a hazy shiny mellow golden color on the antlers from the streetlight outside. A crown. I kneel.

Iris Murdoch:

After a while I began to have an uneasy feeling of being observed. I am very sensitive to observation, and often have this feeling not only in the presence of human beings but in that of small animals.

Once I even traced the source of it to a large spider whose mysterious eyes were fixed upon me. In my experience the spider is the smallest creature whose gaze can be felt.