Overheard

“People are our most important asset.” Businessman Paul LaFontaine, on the most common lie in business today

“JDate lists the following relationship status choices: Single, Divorced, Separated, and Widowed. It seems that most young adults on the site seem to shy away from meeting widows. If you ask me, ‘Separated’ sounds like it would be more trouble.” ShaBot 6000

“That’s the one thing we’ve always had in common. It’s what made us what we are. More than anyone in the world, when you scratch everything else away from Batman, you’re left with someone who doesn’t want to see anybody die.” Superman, Kingdom Come #3

“When MLS kicked off in 1996, it did so with team names like the Crew, the Mutiny and the Rapids — American names. After the 2004 season, the thinking shifted to accommodate the league’s fastest growing fan base. The Dallas Burn was renamed FC Dallas (‘F’ for futbol rather than football), acknowledging that the club’s core support came from the Latino community. An expansion franchise aimed at Los Angeles’s Spanish speakers was named Deportivo Chivas. Another in Utah, where Latinos make up more than one-tenth of the population, was dubbed Real Salt Lake. Most white Utahns, even the soccer fans, mistakenly pronounced it ‘Reel’ instead of ‘Ray-al.’” Toronto Star’s Cathal Kelly, on Major League Soccer’s recent interest in ethnic fans

“The Christian thing freaks out my Jewish friends, who know me as a know-it-all, self-educated Marxist intellectual with leftist tendencies. My response to them is that throughout history, potent political force comes when spiritual fervour is mixed with the struggle for social justice. That’s the essence of Jewish and African-American traditional music. This is a dark time in human history. In the face of fear and oppression we can find joy in spiritual music. It reaches for transcendence. It’s about trying to break out of the present and reaching a universal place.” Jewish vocalist David Wall, on singing traditional gospel music

“The Gnostics’ beliefs were often viewed by bishops and early church leaders as unorthodox, and they were frequently denounced as heretics. The discoveries of Gnostic texts… have produced a new generation of Christians who now regard the Bible not as the literal word of God, but as a product of historical and political forces that determined which texts should be included in the canon, and which edited out. For that reason, the discoveries have proved deeply troubling for many believers. The Gospel of Judas portrays Judas Iscariot not as a betrayer of Jesus, but as his most favored disciple and willing collaborator.” New York Times, “‘Gospel of Judas’ Surfaces After 1,700 Years”

“I’ve got my kids brainwashed: You don’t use Google, and you don’t use an iPod.” Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft

“I stopped talking directely to the camera and started interacting more with my neighbours, which is one of the things that some people later said seemed to bother them.” Canadian Tire Guy actor Ted Simonett, on how his role has shifted over the years

“So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies.” South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, in a statement to the Daily Variety

“Anything that gets people talking about Jesus is good… People are very interested in the idea that the Church has secret information they are hiding. It demonstrates that we no longer live in the ‘modernist’ world. You can not take some rational points and reason up from them. The saddest thing is that a lot of people are desperate for spiritual answers but the last place they’d look for them is in the church. That’s a real indictment.” Early Christianity historian Dr. Tom Wright, on The Da Vinci Code