Binyavanga Wainaina Quotes
Living in South Africa and periodically coming back to Kenya, my relationship with officialdom in Kenya was just insane.
Quotes to Explore
-
When I was younger we had a grape arbor, and my mom would go out and pick grapes and make grape jam in the sink - boil it, put it in jars, and give it away as gifts.
-
When something happens far back in the past, people often can't recall exact details. Blame depends upon point of view. There may be a villain, but reality is frustrating because it's often ambiguous.
-
It's very hard to teach someone how to write a song if to begin with there's no creative crop to harvest.
-
I want to stop transforming and just start being.
-
Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation.
-
A mom can't afford to be sick.
-
I know there are some people in British Columbia who are still holding a vigil for '3rd Rock'.
-
Everybody feels up sometimes, they feel down sometimes, sometimes they feel sideways, sometimes they feel weird. And the beauty of music is you can express all those different feelings in all the different songs you write. And hopefully, people can identify with those.
-
We shot 'Telusa Telusa' song in Bolivia. It took us 50 hours to get to the location. We shot in high altitudes, and oxygen cylinders were kept handy.
-
The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse.
-
Happiness is a mysterious concept. It seems to work best as futurity: at that point I will be happy, et cetera. I feel like I experience small pieces of joy day to day.
-
There is no better way to bring people together than with desserts.
-
I take my work seriously, but I don't necessarily take myself seriously.
-
I don't think people are fools, and I think they deserve a good attitude and smart entertainment.
-
The eyes get lost in 3-D. With 3-D, your eyes are looking for the plane of focus, right? And the problem is, when you do quick cuts, your eyes can't find it.
-
The service of philosophy, of speculative culture, towards the human spirit, is to rouse, to startle it to a life of constant and eager observation.
-
When I go home, I play with my baby dolls and strollers and diaper bags, and play with my sisters.
-
Bullies always have another target.
-
Young people in Israel are encouraged to design, produce and sell their products from high school. Technical universities also matter. Teach and introduce entrepreneurship courses in technical universities.
-
I'm a young dude from Chicago who grew up with Kanye as my image of hip-hop. Finding your voice in a room where you have to challenge Kanye is scary - but it's also life-affirming.
-
Filibusters should require 35 senators to... make a commitment to continually debate an issue in reality, not just in theory. The number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster should be reduced to 55 from 60.
-
I was never the girl in high school who had a boyfriend for years. My longest relationship has been 18 months. I've thought maybe I'm really superficial and unable to have a relationship. What I've found is that people are attracted by my independence, and then they try to squelch it.
-
I'll have wine or a piece of cake once in a while, but I don't look at it as sliding backwards, even if I go a whole week without working out. I don't dwell on it and beat myself up - I just try to have a healthier day tomorrow.
-
Living in South Africa and periodically coming back to Kenya, my relationship with officialdom in Kenya was just insane.
