flattery is a most sinuous form of incapacitation. - Rupert Holmes

It was absolutely the worst way she could have phrased it, as if her voice had been hijacked by what Edgar Allan Poe called the Imp of the Perverse.

When a man dies from a bullet entering his chest, it’s a homicide. When a man dies from a meteorite landing on his head, it’s a tragedy. Don’t use bullets. Use meteorites. Don’t commit a homicide. Commit a tragedy.

It is simplicity itself to fire one’s employer. All it takes is some kindling and a match.