Van Wyck Brooks Quotes
Nothing is so soothing to our self-esteem as to find our bad traits in our forebears. It seems to absolve us.

Quotes to Explore
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Perfection is immutable. But for things imperfect, change is the way to perfect them.
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I love to sit and watch people. I love to sit and listen to people.
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The signs of climate change are visible across the nation, from the drought-stricken fields of Central California to the flooded streets of Michigan. Extreme weather is turning people's lives upside down and costing communities millions of dollars in damaged infrastructure and added health care costs.
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But you see, I have played more good guys than I have played villains.
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I think if you give in and accept society's stereotypes, then you start thinking, 'I cannot dance till late at night because I'm 70.'
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I'm a wuss - a complete wuss!
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People don't like to vote against something that's so incredibly popular.
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I started wearing all black around the time I got into Nirvana. I first heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' when I was about 12, and I remember jumping on my bed, so excited about it.
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I was never offended that people underestimated me because of my appearance or that they thought I was pretty and discouraged me from fighting because they didn't want me to risk hurting my looks.
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Get me well so I can get on television and tell people to stop smoking.
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If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.
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I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic. A Buick radiator grille is as much a political statement as a Rolls Royce radiator grille, one enshrining a machine aesthetic driven by a populist optimism, the other enshrining a hierarchical and exclusive social order.
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I am a very loyal man and always keep my promises when I commit to something.
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I love the fact that everyone's trying to be good-looking in L.A. - then I turn up and I get work.
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Ironically, I find it harder to get a foothold in Australia than I do in the U.S. When I was in Australia, I struggled. It can be a bit of a closed shop; it can be hard for a newcomer to break in, whereas in the U.S., it has much more of an open-door policy, and they will give anyone a shot.
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It's funny; people get so doctrinaire about music. It should be the last thing you don't have an open mind about.
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For an introvert his environment is himself and can never be subject to startling or unforeseen change.
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Everybody sees me as this sullen and insecure little thing. Those are just the sides of me that I feel it's necessary to show because no one else seems to be showing them.
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Buzz and the right publicist are not only important but crucial in show business.
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Theater was just what I was supposed to do.
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I actually really suck at naming books, so lots of years ago, readers were sending in their ideas for titles, and what we realized is that they were smarter than us. So we thought, Hey, go for it. So now we have a contest every year.
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I think it's mainly when I need inspiration I look at the old pictures. I don't find it as much in the new stuff. I love Carole Lombard. I think she's wonderful. Gloria Grahame was really great. Garbo. Dietrich. People knew how to create an illusion. Now everything is very realistic and straightforward. Everyone's grunge.
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It was messed up, because in 1947 my family moved to Seattle and I had to get up at 5:00 o'clock in the morning to catch the ferry back to Bremerton every morning because I was Boys Club president.
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Nothing is so soothing to our self-esteem as to find our bad traits in our forebears. It seems to absolve us.