Twitter syntax hint:Nabokov's 2-word parenthesis "mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) when I was three." Spare, informative.

— Edward Tufte (@EdwardTufte) November 17, 2012

Oh, that’s too good.

And so Russian: the maximum amount of misery and dark humor into the minimum space, dispensed casually.

Brilliant. I’m absolutely stealing that.