Pico Iyer Quotes
Japan functions on the basis of everyone sharing certain assumptions, where each person knows his part in a larger whole. The foreigner sits outside and is threatening. If he comes in, that's the most threatening of all.
Quotes to Explore
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I get depressed at airports.
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Inflicting emotional distress has typically been treated as a civil action. How 'substantial' does the distress have to be for it to turn criminal?
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My manager's biggest dream is for me to be on Letterman. She says, 'Oh, Maggie, will you promise me you'll be on 'Letterman?' What can I say? I just tell her I can't promise, but I'll try my best.
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I haven't been brought down because people are focused on who I'm dating, what I'm eating, or what handbag is the best handbag - that's so cheap to me. But if others want to open up about their personal lives, that is their choice. It's not for me to judge.
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I'm tall, fat, rather bald, red-faced, double-chinned, black-haired, have a deep voice, and wear glasses for reading.
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I pride myself on definitely being more than a dunker.
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Girls have an unfair advantage over men: if they can't get what they want by being smart, they can get it by being dumb.
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I think Mickey Gall's going to be really good.
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My mother taught me to drive using the 'Detroit Method,' where speed limits and traffic lights are taken as cute suggestions.
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For the undocumented immigrants, the big priority is just to get out from the shadows, be able to get a driver's license, buy an airplane ticket and stop worrying about sudden deportation. But for the country as a whole, it's crucial that everybody have a citizen's stake in the nation's welfare.
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Fame is definitely a monster: it can suck you in and spit you out and change you. The biggest challenge is to remain yourself regardless of what people say about you.
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There are two ways to fight the United States military: asymmetrically and stupid. Asymmetrically means you're going to try to avoid our strengths. In the 1991 Gulf War, it's like we called Saddam's army out into the schoolyard and beat up that army.
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People like to see a guy being built up; they like to see a guy go from the bottom to the top, but then once you're on the top for a little bit, people wait to see you fail, and they want you to fail, so they find flaws and they find reasons, whether it's being too nice or trying to make you out to be fake - that's what they do.
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In every respect, fantasy is like doing abstract paintings.
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He who wants to govern must have insight into the hearts of men and act accordingly.
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A man becomes successful by repressing his feelings, not expressing his feelings.
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He could find no cure for his grief; but he did know that continued occupation would relieve him, and therefore he occupied himself continually.
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I went into acting because I'm easily bored. Acting seemed to give vent to a lot of different feelings.
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I have not been without battle. Bitter affliction was frequent Between me and my cousins. Frequent trials fell Between me and my fellow-countrymen. There was frequent contention Between me and the wretched.
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I wake up in the morning, and I look in a mirror, and I go, 'Is this really all I got? Is this all the universe has given me?'
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The strength that comes from human collaboration is the central truth behind civilisation's success and the primary reason why cities existwe must free ourselves from our tendency to see cities as their buildings, and remember that the real city is made of flesh, not concrete.
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Japan functions on the basis of everyone sharing certain assumptions, where each person knows his part in a larger whole. The foreigner sits outside and is threatening. If he comes in, that's the most threatening of all.
