H. L. Mencken Quotes
It seems to me that you are better off, as a writer and as an American, in a small town than you'd be in New York. I thoroughly detest New York, though I have to go there very often.... Have you ever noticed that no American writer of any consequence lives in Manhattan? Dreiser tried it (after many years in the Bronx), but finally moved to California.
Quotes to Explore
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Be present. Be meditative. Form real friendships. Stay away from business networking events or friendships where there is always an underlying business angle.
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I like quiet. No television cameras. I'm not the Hollywood type.
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No one could ad lib like Peter. You would think that it was all scripted, he was so poetic, but it wasn't.
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The first time I thought I should be an actor was in school. I thought, 'At least this is something for which I won't have to study.' But I've realised that an actor needs to be constantly unsure about what he's doing and about what's going on around him. The moment you think you've nailed it, you're dead.
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In those days, even as a boy, I watched some people that I knew were living way beyond their means.
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You can't take yourself too seriously; it's important to poke fun at yourself. Once in a while, it is great to show your inadequacies, too.
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You have to fight for your health and stay on top of it. Our bodies are meant to be healthy.
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Death is a zero sum game for which there is no cure.
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I remember being a teenager and seeing Seymour Cassel across a crowded room and being incredibly star struck, and not having the courage to say, 'Hello.'
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The physicians of one class feel the patients and go away, merely prescribing medicine. As they leave the room they simply ask the patient to take the medicine. They are the poorest class of physicians.
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My reading and drawing drew me away from the ordinary interests, and I lived a great deal in the world of imagination, feeding upon any book that fell into my hands. When I had got hold of a really thick book like Hugo's 'Les Miserables,' I was happy and would go off into a corner to devour it.
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It's weird how people were always asking us, 'Are you real? Are you joking?' That seems like something Americans care about a lot. You can't answer the question 'Are you real?' If we're anything, we're documentary fiction.
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There have been periods of my life when I was heavier, like right after high school I definitely gained that freshman 15. It was tough to lose. Ever since then, I know that I can gain weight, so I try to be careful.
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We need to remember that politics is all about people, not programs. We shouldn't want to take the humanness out of the political arena.
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I never sing in the shower either.
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I was interested in aerospace and flying, and the U.S. is really the best place in the world for flying.
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The truth is that the history of Mexico is a history in the image of its geography: abrupt and tortuous. Each historical period is like a plateau surrounded by tall mountains and separated from the other plateaus by precipices and divides.
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I go on a good many adventure-type trips. Whenever I go on one, it's always potentially going to be the setting for one of my books. I pay more attention to certain aspects than some other people might. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't. Most of the books I write are based on experiences I've had to some extent.
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When you're imagining peace, you can't kill anyone. That's good isn't it?
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Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others.
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I am going to embarrass myself. I have accepted that fact, and that's just how it's going to be.
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As a Christian, I'm passionately opposed to American pretensions that we have special standing with God; to political office-seekers who play on our religious differences; and to the religious arrogance that says, 'Our truth is the only truth.'
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I went to an all boys' school in South London and the only god was sport.
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It seems to me that you are better off, as a writer and as an American, in a small town than you'd be in New York. I thoroughly detest New York, though I have to go there very often.... Have you ever noticed that no American writer of any consequence lives in Manhattan? Dreiser tried it (after many years in the Bronx), but finally moved to California.
