I don't ask for much...
There's an essay about H.G. Wells by David Langford I keep re-reading (it's rather good and not afraid to point out his faults) that never fails to make me laugh so hard my ribs hurt... For a couple of years, Wells hooked up with the Fabians - Langford says this about that:
The Fabians had named themselves for Fabius Cunctator, the Roman general who used shrewd tactics of delay. They wanted a gradual, almost imperceptible introduction of socialism into English politics. A traditional gibe was the supposed Fabian rallying call as the crowd was whipped into a frenzy of moderation:
"What do we want?"
"GRADUAL CHANGE!"
"When do we want it?"
"IN DUE COURSE!"
I guess I couldn't tell you exactly why that *always* sets me off into riotous fits of hysterical laughter... It just does. My co-workers think I'm quite mad... MAD, I TELLS YA!
I simply *MUST* remember to read up on the Fabians - I keep pushing it aside for other things.