Quotes about start
page 15

Timothy Leary photo
John Mayer photo

“It was so frightening at the time to be seventeen and have heart monitors hooked up to you. That was the moment the songwriter in me was born. I discovered a whole other side of me. I came home that night and started writing lyrics. I discovered it all at once: It was like opening up a lockbox, and inside was a depth that I didn't even know I had as a person, or a writer — incredible creativity and vision and neurosis, complete neurosis. They all go together in a package.”

John Mayer (1977) guitarist and singer/songwriter

On the effects of having a critical cardiac arrhythmia at age 17
Hiatt, Brian (2006-09-21), "My Big Mouth Strikes Again" http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11515443/john_mayer_speaks_listen_to_his_hilarious_takes_on_paris_hilton_brad__angelina_living_in_ny. Rolling Stone. (1009): 66-70

“When I met Wittgenstein, I saw that Schlick's warnings were fully justified. But his behavior was not caused by any arrogance. In general, he was of a sympathetic temperament and very kind; but he was hypersensitive and easily irritated. Whatever he said was always interesting and stimulating and the way in which he expressed it was often fascinating. His point of view and his attitude toward people and problems, even theoretical problems, were much more similar to those of a creative artist than to those of a scientist; one might almost say, similar to those of a religious prophet or a seer. When he started to formulate his view on some specific problem, we often felt the internal struggle that occurred in him at that very moment, a struggle by which he tried to penetrate from darkness to light under an intense and painful strain, which was even visible on his most expressive face. When finally, sometimes after a prolonged arduous effort, his answers came forth, his statement stood before us like a newly created piece of art or a divine revelation. Not that he asserted his views dogmatically … But the impression he made on us was as if insight came to him as through divine inspiration, so that we could not help feeling that any sober rational comment of analysis of it would be a profanation.”

Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970) German philosopher

Rudolf Carnap, as quoted in The Philosophy of Rudolf Carnap (1963) by Paul Arthur Schilpp, p. 25, and in Ludwig Wittgenstein : The Duty of Genius (1991) by Ray Monk, p. 244

John Heywood photo

“Who hopeth in Gods helpe, his helpe can not starte:
Nothing is impossible to a willyng hart,
And will maie wyn my herte, herein to consent,
To take all thinges as it cometh, and be content.”

John Heywood (1497–1580) English writer known for plays, poems and a collection of proverbs

Who hopes in God's help, his help can not start:
Nothing is impossible to a willing heart,
And will may win my heart, herein to consent,
To take all things as it comes, and be content.
Part I, chapter 4.
Proverbs (1546)

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi photo

“What's happened recently in Pakistan, India and Kuwait only goes to show that it's futile to imitate Western democracy. They've ended up exactly where they started.”

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) Shah of Iran

As quoted in Asadollah Alam (1991), The Shah and I: The Confidential Diary of Iran's Royal Court, 1968-77, page 506
Attributed

Karl Denninger photo
Kurt Schwitters photo
James Van Allen photo

“As soon as we started looking at them, we saw the most remarkable situation. My first thought was, "Great guns! Something's gone wrong with the apparatus!" But then we got later North American tapes and everything seemed normal again.”

James Van Allen (1914–2006) American nuclear physicist

On the first results from Explorer I, Reach Into Space http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,892531,00.html, Time, 1959-05-04.

Chester W. Nimitz photo

“The enemy of our games was always Japan, and the courses were so thorough that after the start of World War II, nothing that happened in the Pacific was strange or unexpected.”

Chester W. Nimitz (1885–1966) United States Navy fleet admiral

On his training for warfare in the Pacific at the Naval War college in 1922, as quoted at The American Experience (PBS) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/peopleevents/pandeAMEX90.html

Philip Rosedale photo
Gerhard Richter photo
David Brooks photo

“Donald Trump betrays. It can start with Trump University, where Trump betrayed schoolteachers and others who dreamed of building a better life for themselves.”

David Brooks (1961) American journalist, commentator and editor

"Donald Trump, the Great Betrayer" http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/opinion/donald-trump-the-great-betrayer.html?rref=opinion The New York Times (4 March 2016)
2010s

Roger Ebert photo
Francis Thompson photo

“The angels keep their ancient places;—
Turn but a stone, and start a wing!
‘Tis ye, ‘tis your estrangèd faces,
That miss the many-splendoured thing.”

Francis Thompson (1859–1907) British poet

St. 4.
The Kingdom of God http://www.bartleby.com/236/245.html (1913)

Robert Skidelsky photo

“What started Keynes on the road to the Keynesian Revolution was the incomplete British recovery from the depression of 1920 to 1922.”

Robert Skidelsky (1939) Economist and author

John Maynard Keynes: 1883-1946: Economist, Philosopher, Statesman (2003), Ch. 21. Monetary Reform

Richard Brautigan photo
David Gerrold photo
Shreya Ghoshal photo
Ian Brown photo

“We started out to finish groups like U2 - that was what it was all about. And they're still the biggest band in the world, so we failed. We didn't really do anything, people wore flares for a year or two, d'you know what I mean? That's all we did.”

Ian Brown (1963) English musician and singer of The Stone Roses

Interview by Lindsay Baker, "The Unsinkable Ian Brown" http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2002/feb/02/shopping.popandrock?INTCMP=SRCH, The Guardian, 2 February 2002, retrieved 2011-08-13

Eric Maskin photo
Madonna photo
Bruce Timm photo
Peter Sloterdijk photo
Orson Welles photo
Henry Adams photo

“…but he distinctly remembered standing at the house door one summer morning in a passionate outburst of rebellion against going to school. Naturally his mother was the immediate victim of his rage; that is what mothers are for, and boys also; but in this case the boy had his mother at unfair disadvantage, for she was a guest, and had no means of enforcing obedience. Henry showed a certain tactical ability by refusing to start, and he met all efforts at compulsion by successful, though too vehement protest. He was in fair way to win, and was holding his own, with sufficient energy, at the bottom of the long staircase which led up to the door of the President's library, when the door opened, and the old man slowly came down. Putting on his hat, he took the boy's hand without a word, and walked with him, paralyzed by awe, up the road to the town. After the first moments of consternation at this interference in a domestic dispute, the boy reflected that an old gentleman close on eighty would never trouble himself to walk near a mile on a hot summer morning over a shadeless road to take a boy to school, and that it would be strange if a lad imbued with the passion of freedom could not find a corner to dodge around, somewhere before reaching the school door. Then and always, the boy insisted that this reasoning justified his apparent submission; but the old man did not stop, and the boy saw all his strategical points turned, one after another, until he found himself seated inside the school, and obviously the centre of curious if not malevolent criticism. Not till then did the President release his hand and depart.”

Henry Adams (1838–1918) journalist, historian, academic, novelist

The Education of Henry Adams (1907)

Suze Robertson photo

“Dear Richard, I was just coming home from [painting] an interior [with people! ]. It was terribly dark today and yesterday, but today I made a pretty good study. I still sleep badly and feel nervous because of that... I don't need to come to The Hague for my drawing lessons... How long we will stay here [in nl:Heeze ], I don't know. I will write you at least in advance. If I don't start sleeping better I will not stay much longer, I think.”

Suze Robertson (1855–1922) Dutch painter

translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018
(version in original Dutch / origineel citaat van Suze Robertson's brief:) Lieve Richard, Zo eeven kom ik thuis van een interieur [met mensen!]. Het was vandaag en gisteren vreeslijk donker toch heb ik vandaag nogal een goede studie gemaakt. Ik slaap altijd nog slecht en voel me daardoor zenuwachtig.. .Ik hoef nu niet voor lessen [tekenlessen die ze geeft] naar Den Haag te komen.. .hoe lang we hier [in Heeze] blijven, weet ik niet. Ik schrijf het je in elk geval vooruit. Als ik niet beter slaap denk ik voor mij niet lang meer.
Quote of a letter of Suze Robertson from Heeze, July/August 1904, to her husband Richard Bisschop in The Hague; as cited in Suze Robertson 1855-1922 – Schilderes van het harde en zware leven, exhibition catalog, ed. Peter Thoben; Museum Kemperland, Eindhoven, 2008, p. 11
1900 - 1922

Robert A. Heinlein photo
Heidi Klum photo

“I never really have any major resolutions. I do try to be a good person, to be a good mom, to be a good wife, I don't really start the year off on January 1, 'Oh, I am now going to make a big change.' I try every day when I wake up to be good to the people around me.”

Heidi Klum (1973) German model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and actress

Discussing New Year's resolutions. From The Morning Call http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/zap-celeb-new-years-resolutions-2011-pics,0,7643845.photogallery, 5 January 2011

Wilt Chamberlain photo
Mark Burns (televangelist) photo

“As a young man starting my church in Greenville, South Carolina, I overstated several details of my biography because I was worried I wouldn't be taken seriously as a new pastor. This was wrong, I wasn't truthful then and I have to take full responsibility for my actions”

Mark Burns (televangelist) (1979) Christian pastor and founder of the NOW Television Network

Statement released in response to allegations that he had falsified his professional accomplishments http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/03/politics/mark-burns-donald-trump-interview/index.html

Ann Coulter photo

“A cruise missile is more important than Head Start.”

Ann Coulter (1961) author, political commentator

Remarks during an address (November 2001), rebroadcast by C-SPAN in January 2002, quoted in "Amy Goodman vs. Ann Coulter" in High Timber Times (29 September 2009) http://www.hightimbertimes.com/content/amy-goodman-vs-ann-coulter.
2001

George Santayana photo

“All his life he [the American] jumps into the train after it has started and jumps out before it has stopped; and he never once gets left behind, or breaks a leg.”

George Santayana (1863–1952) 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with Pragmatism

"Materialism and Idealism" p. 175 ( Hathi Trust http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3923968?urlappend=%3Bseq=191)
Character and Opinion in the United States (1920)

Warren Farrell photo

“Helping men express feelings starts with understanding why men don’t express them.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say (2000)

Hunter S. Thompson photo

“I was also drunk, crazy and heavily armed at all times. People trembled and cursed when I came into a public room and started screaming in German.”

Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) American journalist and author

2000s, Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century (2004)

Ernst Mayr photo

“Evolution, thus, is merely contingent on certain processes articulated by Darwin: variation and selection. No longer is a fixed object transformed, as in transformational evolution, but an entirely new start is, so to speak, made in every generation.”

Ernst Mayr (1904–2005) German-American Evolutionary Biologist

Ernst Mayr (1988) Toward a new philosophy of biology: observations of an evolutionist. p. 457

Kumar Sangakkara photo

“Disappointing to get only 150 after the start we got. Time now to take stock and reassess our squad to ensure the right combo for the t20 WC”

Kumar Sangakkara (1977) Sri Lankan cricketer

Referring to the lose of Sri Lanka from a game against Pakistan (cricket), quoted on ZNews.India, "Kumar Sangakkara calls for reassessment of Sri Lankan team ahead of World Twenty20" http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket/asia-cup-2016/kumar-sangakkara-sri-lankan-legend-calls-for-reassessment-ahead-of-world-twenty20_1862556.html, March 5, 2016.

Rutherford B. Hayes photo
Nelson Mandela photo
Julia Butterfly Hill photo
Aldous Huxley photo
Jake Shields photo
Steve Jobs photo
Isa Genzken photo
Wilhelm Reich photo
Václav Havel photo
Tim Shieff photo
Sugar Ray Leonard photo

“I had a drug problem. I'd go to parties, take a leak, and there was cocaine right there. I was 25 when it started, rich, famous, and retired.”

Sugar Ray Leonard (1956) American boxer

Sugar Ray Leonard talking about drugshttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20061006/ai_n16774982/pg_3

Shah Jahan photo
Trip Hawkins photo
Jim Gaffigan photo

“Of course what makes breakfast in bed so special is you're lying down and eating bacon, the most beautiful thing on Earth. Bacon's the best, even the frying of bacon sounds like an applause. (sizzling sounds) YEAAAA BACON!!!! You wanna hear how good bacon is? To improve other food they wrap it in bacon. If it wasn't for bacon we wouldn't even know what a water chestnut is. "Thank you bacon. Sincerely, Water Chestnut the third". And those bits of bacon, bits of bacon are like the fairy dust of the food community. "you don't want this baked potato," bbbrrriinnnggg! it's now your favorite part of the meal. "not interested in a salad?" bippady boppidy bacon! Just turned it into an entre. And once you put bacon into a salad it's no longer a salad, it just becomes a game of find the bacon in the lettuce. It's like you're panning for gold, hmmmmm, EUREKA! bacon! not many ways to prepare bacon, you can either fry it or get botulism. It's amazing the shrinkage that occurs. You start with a pound you end up with a book mark. You know the only bad part about bacon is it makes you thirsty… for more bacon! I never feel like I get enough bacon. at breakfast it's like they're rationalizing it. "Here's your two strips of bacon." "But I want more! More bacon!" Whenever you're at a brunch buffet and you see that metal tray filled with the four thousand strips of bacon, don't you almost expect a rainbow to be coming out of it? "I found it I found the source of all bacon!"”

Jim Gaffigan (1966) comedian, actor, author

That bacon tray is always at the end of the buffet, you always regret all the stuff on your plate. "What am I doing with all this worthless fruit? I should have waited! If I had known you were here I would've waited...."
King Baby

Mark Satin photo

“Scott wants us each to talk about "the kind of society we'd like to live in." … From the start I am very nervous. Phil goes on about "the redistribution of wealth"; nearly everyone comes out for "socialism" of one kind or another; Brick even hints at "another revolution." When it is my time to speak I am moved to say, "I think people's tolerance is the main issue, even more than socialism. I mean, look at the people who are for the war. Look at the courthouse square."”

Mark Satin (1946) American political theorist, author, and newsletter publisher

I am afraid to go on and say what I don't like about socialism. ...
Pages 93–94. It's the spring of 1965. Satin had dropped out of college to become a volunteer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Holly Springs, Mississippi. The meeting above had been called by SNCC to explore SNCC workers' views.
Confessions of a Young Exile (1976)

Daniel Tosh photo
Larry Wall photo
Neal Stephenson photo
Henry Adams photo
Lauryn Hill photo
John Crowley photo
Jef Raskin photo
Yves Klein photo

“Your honoured letter regarding suppression of the Jats has arrived. Allah is merciful, and it is hoped that he will crush the enemy. You should rest assured… You should forge unity with Musa Khan and other Muslim groups, and put to use this friendship and unity for facing the enemies. I hope for sure that on account of this unity among Muslims and their nobility, victory will be achieved.
The reason for the rise of enemies and the fall of Muslims is nothing except that, led by their lower nature, Muslims have shared their (Muslims’) concerns with Hindus. It is obvious that Hindus will not tolerate the suppression of non-Muslims. Being farsighted and practising patience are praiseworthy things, but not to the extent that non-Muslims take possession of Muslim cities, and go on occupying one (such) city every day… This is no time for farsightedness and patience. This is the time for putting trust in Allah, for manifesting the might of the sword, and for arousing the Muslim sense of honour. If you will do that, it is possible that winds of favour will start blowing. Whatever this recluse knows is this that war with the Jats is a magic spell which appears fearful at first but which, if you depend fully on the power of Allah and draw His attention towards this (war), will turn out to be no more than a mere show. Let me hope that you will keep me informed of developments and the faring of your arms…”

Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703–1762) Indian muslim scholar

To Taj Muhammad Khan Baluch Translated from the Urdu version of K.A. Nizami, Shãh Walîullah Dehlvî ke Siyãsî Maktûbãt, Second Edition, Delhi, 1969, pp. 150-51.
From his letters

Temple Grandin photo
David Brin photo
Ron White photo

“You ever smoke so much pot your wife starts to make sense? Me neither.”

Ron White (1956) American comedian

A Little Unprofessional

John Scalzi photo
John Oliver photo
Sarah Chang photo
Devin Townsend photo
Jopie Huisman photo

“Just six kilometers – never my world was bigger than that, actually. That starting time [of his painting & drawing, c. 1946], to which I return now; watercolor; I prefer a bit foggy, a small world - and not the cows themselves, but only their traces in the mist. The tenderness... I am currently [1993] deeply immersed in little trees and in the reeds. You have to experience it as mysticism, as a miracle. And afterwards: passing it on..”

Jopie Huisman (1922–2000) Dutch painter

translation, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018
version in original Dutch / citaat van Jopie Huisman, in het Nederlands: Maar een straal van zes kilometer, groter is mijn wereld eigenlijk nooit geweest. Die begintijd [c. 1946], waar ik nu [1993] weer naar terugkeer; waterverf; het liefst een beetje mistig, een klein wereldje, en dan niet de koeien zelf, maar hun sporen in die damp. De tederheid.. .Ik verdiep me op het moment erg in boompjes, en in het riet. Dat moet je als mystiek, als een wonder ondergaan. En vervolgens doorgeven.
Mens & Gevoelens: Jopie Huisman', 1993

Warren Farrell photo
Imelda Marcos photo

“It so coincided that Marcos had money. After the Bretton Woods agreement he started buying gold from Fort Knox. Three thousand tons, then 4,000 tons. I have documents for these: 7,000 tons. Marcos was so smart. He had it all. It's funny; America didn't understand him.”

Imelda Marcos (1929) Former First Lady of the Philippines

Quoted in " Queen of the Quirky, Imelda Marcos Holds Court http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EED81E39F937A35750C0A960958260" at the New York Times (4 March 1996).

William F. Buckley Jr. photo

“One must recently have lived on or close to a college campus to have a vivid intimation of what has happened. It is there that we see how a number of energetic social innovators, plugging their grand designs, succeeded over the years in capturing the liberal intellectual imagination. And since ideas rule the world, the ideologues, having won over the intellectual class, simply walked in and started to run things. Run just about everything.”

William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008) American conservative author and commentator

There never was an age of conformity quite like this one, or a camaraderie quite like the Liberals'.
"Publisher's Statement", in the first issue of National Review (19 November 1955) http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/buckley200406290949.asp.

Diana, Princess of Wales photo
Richard Stallman photo
Nigella Lawson photo

“The thing I liked about writing about food when I started it was that I felt I was writing about food in a different way. Not like a food writer.”

Nigella Lawson (1960) British food writer, journalist and broadcaster

As quoted in "Reality bites" by Simon Hattenstone in The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,784535,00.html (2 September 2002)

Kent Hovind photo
Margaret Thatcher photo
William Luther Pierce photo

“If we're going to consider failure to comply with UN directives a good reason for wrecking a country with cruise missiles, hey, I can think of a country in the Middle East which is in violation of a lot more UN directives than Iraq is. Israel has consistently thumbed its nose at UN directives, and no one in Washington has ever told Israel, "Comply or get hit." Let's understand one fundamental fact. This crusade against Iraq isn't about the United Nations or international security or stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It's about making the Middle East safe for Israel to continue bullying its neighbors and stealing from them. Every other explanation is lies and hypocrisy. And we really can expect a bigger dose of lies and hypocrisy than usual as the warmongers work to get this war against Iraq started. The media bosses will trot more generals and politicians in front of the TV cameras and have them bluster patriotically about how we're not going to let Saddam Hussein get away with it any longer, by god, and they'll show groups of military personnel cheering when they're told that they're being shipped out to the Persian Gulf to kick Saddam Hussein's behind and keep him from getting away with whatever it is he's getting away with, which mainly seems to be running his country the way he wants to instead of the way the United Nations tells him. They will work overtime at convincing the couch potatoes and the mindless yahoos who like to wave flags and shout patriotic slogans that destroying Iraq really is an act of American patriotism. And as long as the number of Americans killed in a Jewish war against Iraq remains small, the flag-waving yahoos and the bought politicians ought to be able to drown out any dissent from Americans like me who believe that we don't have any reasonable justification for waging such a war. And keeping casualties small ought to be easy, so long as it remains strictly a high-tech war, with us launching missiles against defenseless targets from many miles away. Of course, sometimes wars get out of hand, and unexpected things happen. If the Jews manage to get Iran involved in the war also -- and that's what they really want to do, what they really need to do -- then I think we stand a pretty good chance of seeing some major terrorist activity in the United States. I know that if I were Osama bin Laden, I'd have been spending my time getting ready for just such a development ever since Bill Clinton blew up that pharmaceutical factory in Sudan. I'd be putting my teams into place in the United States, assembling materials, choosing targets, and waiting for the Jews to provide justification for me to begin killing Americans on a significant scale. Of course, whether Osama bin Laden is as resourceful and as capable as he's said to be remains to be seen. Personally, I have very little faith in the ability of these flea-bitten Muslims to get things done. But we'll see.”

William Luther Pierce (1933–2002) American white nationalist

Why War? (November 21, 1998) http://web.archive.org/web/20070324011124/http://www.natvan.com/pub/1998/112198.txt, American Dissident Voices Broadcast of November 21, 1998 http://archive.org/details/DrWilliamPierceAudioArchive308RadioBroadcasts.
1990s, 1990

Rush Limbaugh photo
Halldór Laxness photo
Theo de Raadt photo
Ellen Page photo
Michele Bachmann photo

“I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, "Are you going to start listening to me here? Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. Because they know what needs to be done. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."”

Michele Bachmann (1956) American politician

political rally, 2011-08-29, quoted in * Michele Bachmann rally draws over 1,000 in Sarasota, but some prefer Rick Perry
St. Petersburg Times
2011-08-29
Adam C.
Smith
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/hundreds-turn-out-for-bachmann-rally-in-sarasota-but-some-prefer-perry/1188559
2011-09-03
2010s

Madonna photo

“I've never really lived a conventional life, so I think it's quite foolish for me or anyone else to start thinking that I am going to start making conventional choices.”

Madonna (1958) American singer, songwriter, and actress

Madonna Misses "Certain Things" About Being Married, OK!, 2012-01-12 http://www.okmagazine.com/news/madonna-misses-certain-things-about-being-married,

Ken Thompson photo

“When the three of us [Thompson, Rob Pike, and Robert Griesemer] got started, it was pure research. The three of us got together and decided that we hated C++. [laughter] … [Returning to Go, ] we started off with the idea that all three of us had to be talked into every feature in the language, so there was no extraneous garbage put into the language for any reason.”

Ken Thompson (1943) American computer scientist, creator of the Unix operating system

Ken Thompson, talking about the origins of the Go programming language
Dr. Dobb's: Interview with Ken Thompson, 18 May 2011, 7 February 2014 http://www.drdobbs.com/open-source/interview-with-ken-thompson/229502480,
"Interview with Ken Thompson", 2011

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo