William T. Vollmann Quotes
Are you a censor? Do you tell people not to say “girl”? Shame on you! If nothing offends you, you’re a saint or you’re psychotic. If a few things offend you, deal with them--fairly. If you’re often offended by things, you’re probably a self-righteous asshole and it’s too bad you weren’t censored yourself--by your mother in an abortion clinic.
Quotes to Explore
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I remember when I was growing up. My great wish was to understand who I was and how I fit in the world.
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I never thought I would be standing here, married to an All-American guy, living in Oklahoma. What a country.
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At times, it seems as if the only women effortlessly balancing their jobs, kids, husbands and homes are the ones on TV.
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America makes prodigious mistakes, America has colossal faults, but one thing cannot be denied: America is always on the move. She may be going to Hell, of course, but at least she isn't standing still.
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I like walking in Golden Gate Park.
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You have to interpret what's hot to make it work on yourself. If tweed suits are in, but you're not a suit kind of girl, wear the jacket with jeans and a pair of Converses.
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The only thing that permits human beings to collaborate with one another in a truly open-ended way is their willingness to have their beliefs modified by new facts. Only openness to evidence and argument will secure a common world for us.
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My mother is a beautiful writer. Writing letters back and forth with her was an athletic endeavor, and it became something I really looked forward to.
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People do not lack strength; they lack will.
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I have this first album that sells more than 100,000 copies in its first week, debuts at number two, goes gold, the single goes platinum, we're doing Madison Square Garden.
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I am always worried that over-planning and outlining will kill the magic of writing; most of the world I created in 'California' occurred via good old sexy sentence-making.
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Over the years, I've heard a lot of people who don't feel that they have it in them to do anything creative. They shrug and claim that they 'have no talent.' They say things like, 'Don't quit your day job' or 'Leave it to the professionals.' In the steampunk subculture, I don't hear those things.
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If you're taking an antidepressant, it's working, and you're not experiencing side effects, go on taking it. But if it's not working, or not working well enough, or if you have side effects you don't like, talk to your doctor about an alternative approach.
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I'm not Ang Lee who knows so much about western market and the taste of western audiences.
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I've refined my mechanics, refined my pitches. I've gotten more confidence, and I've gotten more determination. I've got a better idea what I'm doing out there.
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I always preferred my father's pasta the next day, when he'd put it in a hot oven with heaps of extra cheese. It would emerge slightly burned and very crisp on top.
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It's interesting for me because in my work, a lot of times, I like to scrutinize the clothes and think what's going to make them look dated, and I do the same with vintage. In vintage, you want something unique and different, but at the same time, something that doesn't make you look like you dress like a grandpa.
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I didn't realise how my life was changing. When I was 17, 18, 20, I didn't realise how big football was and everything around football. How many people live for football and love football. I was a professional, but I was a supporter.
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You can't manufacture the feeling of being in a small crowd and connecting on every single level to the very last person in the very last row in the back.
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Galileo wasn't put in prison because he was wrong about anything he discovered looking through his telescope; rather, he was incarcerated simply because he saw what others didn't wish to see.
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The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people.
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The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.
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We were both [ with Russel Crowe] hand-plucked to do [The Quick and the Death]. He had done Romper Stomper and I had done Gilbert Grape and so we were hand- plucked to do this big budget film. So we were both very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
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Are you a censor? Do you tell people not to say “girl”? Shame on you! If nothing offends you, you’re a saint or you’re psychotic. If a few things offend you, deal with them--fairly. If you’re often offended by things, you’re probably a self-righteous asshole and it’s too bad you weren’t censored yourself--by your mother in an abortion clinic.
