Donald Byrd Quotes
My work sometimes can be abstract and appear not to have a direct relationship to Afro-American concerns, but, in fact, it is based on that.
Quotes to Explore
-
I used to sing in jazz clubs with a friend until she went another way.
-
We went from journalism, in newspapers that gets heavily edited, to blogs, where you can express your opinions, to tweeting, where you can say anything, and it gets repeated and becomes fact when it isn't. It's something the entire world is going to have to come to grips with.
-
I've been told I have an aggressive driving style.
-
Because we're able to adjust for compatibility - and what that means is we've already normalized for how well we think each person is going to get along with the other person - the only factor left in determining response rate, really, is the aesthetic appearance of the person who sent you that message.
-
I have spent a lot of time listening to people who are serving life sentences and getting to know them and the circumstances of their lives. I have never met anyone serving a long prison sentence who had anything close to what I could call a childhood; instead, the upbringings always - always - involve extreme situations of poverty and abuse.
-
I went to this little performing arts school in downtown Phoenix. You had to dance or act, and everyone sang in choir. I started out playing the saxophone, but I always wanted to be in an orchestra. That was a dream as a kid, and there aren't a lot of saxophones in an orchestra.
-
I feel quite connected to the past, and my memory. Everything that I've ever done I can still relate to, and feel connected to it in a way. There's no part of my life that I look at and go, 'I don't recognize that person at all.'
-
I put on whatever is comfortable on me. Suit, jeans and tee as long as it's comfortable. It doesn't matter what brand. If it looks good I buy it.
-
I know girlfriends of mine who, when they were approaching pregnancy and starting a family, consistently went through a period right beforehand that was a last gasp kind of thing where they just wreak havoc. They fall apart, in a profound way, because there's some awareness that that's the last time they can do that for awhile.
-
I live a very normal regimented life that focuses on my training and my private life so I squeeze the insane stuff in around that.
-
I don't understand why young entrepreneurs feel this pressure to take venture capital or go public. Don't get me wrong: Public companies are A-OK with me. I just think there is another way. Staying private is a lot more sane.
-
When you're a mom to three children, nothing bothers you. Trust me. Who cares what people say? I've got other things to deal with.
-
Well, yes, as I was a rather bad actor then and I wasn't making enough money, I thought, to make enough money to not make money as an actor, I'd better do some writing.
-
Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you are not bringing the same voice to every book. I think that keeps you alive as a writer.
-
I have always believed that life is too short for rows and disagreements. Even if I think I'm right, I would prefer to apologize and remain friends rather than win and be an enemy.
-
I've never been in a relationship before. I've only been in unrequited relationships where people haven't loved me back. I guess I'm a little bit attracted to that in a bad way.
-
I am a contradiction myself. I'm always looking for something that scares me because when I'm not scared, I'm not stimulated.
-
And we reduce almost all male-female problems by working on both the female and the male. And that usually means having both sexes take responsibility.
-
(On seeing a former lover for the first time in years) I thought I told you to wait in the car.
-
What is the relationship between spirituality and ethical practice? Since love and compassion and similar qualities all, by definition, presume some level of concern for others' well-being, they presume ethical restraint. We cannot be loving and compassionate unless at the same time we curb our own harmful impulses and desires.
-
As a Marine officer in combat, I was responsible for the lives and safety of all the Marines who served with me.
-
My theory about why Hemingway killed himself is that he heard his own voice; that he reached the point where he couldn't write without feeling he was repeating himself. That's the worst thing that can happen to a writer.
-
I got obsessed with classical music, I got obsessed with Chopin, with playing the piano.
-
My work sometimes can be abstract and appear not to have a direct relationship to Afro-American concerns, but, in fact, it is based on that.
