About Hal’s Quotes & Notes: General Introduction

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Q&N introduction:
general
index pages
topical chains
sources
accessibility
selections
language/content
accuracy
typography
graphics
page data
Hal

Index pages:
authors
titles
categories
topics
translators

“Hal’s Quotes & Notes” (Q&N, for short) is an online reading journal. Mostly, it’s a collection of quotations, along with some notes. The quotes were picked for no better reason than that I wanted to remember them, and track where they came from. I started this collection in late 2002; a lot of my favorite readings are missing because I haven’t (yet!) re-read them since.

Some selections are humorous – at least, I think they’re funny. Some express, describe, or explain some notion particularly well. Some offer memorable representations of literary or historical characters or settings. Most are short, but I have allowed myself the peculiar (and doubtful) privilege of transcribing some longer passages. All are here because I like them or think they are important, and because I want to share them. This collection also helps me track the sources.

None of the quotes can be assumed to represent my own views. I might find something worth remembering because it is well said, whether I agree with it or not. Many express the fictional opinions of literary characters; I may enjoy reading about them, but that doesn’t mean I agree with them (or would even want to meet them). For similar reasons, the author of a quote cannot always be assumed to agree with it, either.

To avoid confusion, my own notes and comments are placed inside double-walled boxes like this one. When the notes are interjected into a set of quotes, this purely visual effect is usually supplemented by marking them “Note (Hal’s):” at the beginning, and “— end note” at the end.

Frequently, cross-reference links appear to the right of a quote. Most are topical links to other quotes; see the page about “topical chains” for an explanation. Other links (any not under a “Topic(s)” heading) highlight connections between sources, or other relationships between texts. Additional connections are linked directly from my notes.

The entire collection has been redesigned, page by page, to improve accessibility. The work required, on only two years’ accumulation of material, was extensive; this might be my last all-over redesign.

During that process, I reorganized for longterm maintenance, and added some new features: among them are separate category and author index pages, hierarchical categories, cross-referenced topical chains, a translator index, and documentation of my transcription practices.

Earlier versions included a list of recent additions and changes. This has been abandoned as too time-consuming, part of an attempt to revive the journal after a long hiatus.

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Background graphic copyright © 2004 by Hal Keen