Quotes about try
page 66

“I think even if I did try to write something that had nothing to do with women or race, which are two pretty broad topics, I don’t know how I would do that. I don’t think there’s a way that I could write a buddy cop drama, or something really far from anything I’ve written, that didn’t have pieces of race and gender. Those are parts of the world we live in, and they are things I think about. It all comes into the voice of your writing, and you can’t write about someone else’s voice. You can only write in your own.”

Celeste Ng (1980) American novelist

On why she revisits certain themes in “AN INTERVIEW WITH CELESTE NG, THE 2018 INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY AMBASSADOR” https://bookriot.com/2018/04/27/celeste-ng-interview/ in BookRiot (2018 Apr 27)

Women, World, Way, Thinking

“People who resist authority, who defend the rights of the individual, who try in a period of increasing totalitarianism and centralization to reclaim these rights—this is the true left in the United States. Whether they are anarcho-communists, anarcho-syndicalists, or libertarians who believe in free enterprise, I regard theirs as the real legacy of the left, and I feel much closer, ideologically, to such individuals than I do to the totalitarian liberals and Marxist-Leninists of today.”

Murray Bookchin (1921–2006) American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher

“Reason Interview: Murray Bookchin: A controversial anarchist talks about government, the Libertarian Party, Ayn Rand, and the evolution of his own ideas” http://reason.com/archives/1979/10/01/interview-with-murray-bookchin/1, Leslee J. Newman, Reason magazine, (October 1979) pp. 34-39.

People, Feeling

“Now, I know that the left and all the little gatekeepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term "replacement," if you suggest that the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World. But they become hysterical because that's what's happening, actually.”

Tucker Carlson (1969) American political commentator

Tucker Carlson Tonight, Every time they import a new voter they dilute citizens power" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VfWGwAxxFI, April 9, 2021 2020s, 2021

People, World

“Your experience has so much to do with how you view difference and how you approach being in the world. For example, in the grocery store, if someone comes down the aisle, I always preemptively move to the side—I’ve had many experiences where I get a glare or a huffy scolding or even a racial slur if the person feels I’m in the way. My parents did the same; years of experience as part of a racial minority taught them that to be noticed often means being harassed, so they try to avoid attention of any kind. On the other hand my husband, who is white, continues whatever he’s doing. His reasoning is ‘If I’m in the way, they’ll just ask me to move,’ and he’s right. The world treats him differently, so he sees it very differently.”

Celeste Ng (1980) American novelist

On how she approaches the world differently than her Caucasian husband in “’Memory at its Core’: An Interview with Celeste Ng” https://www.loc.gov/poetry/interviews/celeste-ng.html (Library of Congress; Summer 2018)

World, Way, Feeling, Parent

“Was he trying to frighten you?”

Leigh Brackett book The Long Tomorrow

“I don’t think so,” said Len. “I think he was just telling me the truth.”
Source: The Long Tomorrow (1955), Chapter 23

“The carnivorous life is denounced by the tenderer and more enlightened elements of mankind, and so those under indictment begin to rake and scrape to see what they can turn up in vindication of their beloved and imperilled rapacities. They find, happily, that Nature is 'red in tooth and claw,' that man has 'canine teeth,' and that human beings are without the five stomachs of the ruminantia. Of course, man is a carnivorous animal; couldn't be anything else if he wanted to be; would probably peter out if he attempted it; and it is not necessary to try to be anything else, anyway, if he could be, for he is in harmony with the all-wise and perfectly lovely regime of bloody Nature already. Mighty slim pegs on which to suspend a life of crime, considering that their substance is purely imaginary! But sufficient for those who have made up their minds beforehand to be satisfied with whatever there is.”

J. Howard Moore (1862–1916)

Source: The New Ethics (1907), Is Man a Plant-Eater?, pp. 111–112

Love, Life, Making love, Nature

“Often we try to bring about change through sheer effort and we put all of our energy into a new initiative. But you can’t beat stress using the same techniques that created the stress in the first place.”

Greg McKeown (author) book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Popular Quotes, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Journal Articles

Effort, Change

“I think it's important, if you are an artist, to use your music to stand up for what you believe in…That's what everyone should do with their lives…stand up for what they believe in, or try to do some good in the world. I don't think artists have a greater responsibility than anyone else.”

Tracy Chapman (1964) American singer-songwriter

On how artist expression can be a form of political activism in “A militant mellows” https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/28/artsfeatures.popandrock in The Guardian (27 Sep 2002)

World, Music, Thinking

“I was in school studying civil engineering. A guy approached me on the street and said that I had a interesting look-very exotic. He told me I should try to be in the industry.”

Thuy Trang (1973–2001) Vietnamese actress (1973-2001)

Power Rangers Unlimited: Thuy Trang Interview https://myriahac.tripod.com/id8.html (December 24, 1994)

School, Guy, Study

“I didn't want to be known as the reality-show star trying to be an actress, so I kept a lot of the failed auditions to myself.”

Jamie Chung (1983) American actress

Star, Reality

“And my intention is to try to form a collection of many such things, which would not be quite unworthy of the title 'heads of the people.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

By working hard, boy, I hope to succeed in making something good. It isn't there yet, but I aim at it, and struggle for it. I want something serious, - some thing fresh - something with soul in it! Forward - forward - quote in his letter to brother Theo, from The Hague, The Netherlands, 3 Jan. 1883; as quoted in Vincent van Gogh, edited by Alfred H. Barr; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935 https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1996_300061887.pdf, (letter 257), pp. 20-21 1880s, 1883

People

“Could you try not aiming so much?" he asked me, still standing there. "If you hit him when you aim, it'll just be luck.”

Jerome David Salinger book Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction

He was speaking, communicating, and yet not breaking the spell. I then broke it. Quite deliberately. "How can it be luck if I aim?" I said back to him, not loud (despite the italics) but with rather more irritation in my voice than I was actually feeling. He didn't say anything for a moment but simply stood balanced on the curb, looking at me, I knew imperfectly, with love. "Because it will be," he said. "You'll be glad if you hit his marble — Ira's marble — won't you? Won't you be glad? And if you're glad when you hit somebody's marble, then you sort of secretly didn't expect too much to do it. So there'd have to be some luck in it, there'd have to be slightly quite a lot of accident in it."
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963), Seymour: An Introduction (1959)

Bad luck

“Take some time and put the Bible on your summer reading list. Try and stick with it cover to cover.”

Penn Jillette (1955) American magician

Not because it teaches history; we've shown you it doesn't. Read it because you'll see for yourself what the Bible is all about. It sure isn't great literature. If it were published as fiction, no reviewer would give it a passing grade. There are some vivid scenes and some quotable phrases, but there's no plot, no structure, there's a tremendous amount of filler, and the characters are painfully one-dimensional. Whatever you do, don't read the Bible for a moral code: it advocates prejudice, cruelty, superstition, and murder. Read it because: we need more atheists — and nothin will get you there faster than readin' the damn Bible.
"The Bible: Fact or Fiction?" Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, season 2 episode 6 (6 May 2004)
2000s

Time, Reading, Summer

“We reap as we sow. In trying to control others, we find ourselves controlled. In failing to honor our neighbor's choice, we create a world of poverty and strife.”

Mary Ruwart (1949) American scientist and libertarian activist

Source: Healing Our World: The Other Piece of the Puzzle, (1993), p. 260

World

“… we have begun trying to reorder our societies not in line with facts we know from science but based on political falsehoods pushed by activists in the social sciences.”

Douglas Murray (1979) British political commentator and far-right activist

Source: The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity (2019)

Science

“Conservatism means we take the things that we know work and we keep and maintain them. If you want to try something new... you're careful... you're cautious... you're skeptical of it.”

David Cay Johnston (1948) Investigative journalist and author

David Cay Johnston; How The One Percent Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (Jun 23, 2009)

“We have found that it's a good idea to read as many authors and as many different genres as possible. That way, we can learn more about writing and it gives us ideas to try different things.”

Marcia Jones (writer) (1958) American author

Marcia Thornton Jones Interview https://web.archive.org/web/20121024121117/http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/marcia-thornton-jones-interview-transcript (1997)

Way, Idea, Learning, Reading

“The bitter, yet merciful, lesson which death teaches us is to distinguish the gold from the tinsel, the true values from the worthless chaff.
The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know, but which habitually we try to ignore — namely, that really we have no claim on a long life ; that we are each of us liable to be called off at any moment, and that the main point is not how long we live, but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span — for short it is at best.”

Felix Adler (1851–1933) German American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, and lecturer

Life and Destiny (1913)

Life, Death, Learning

“I’m not conscious, what I’m really trying to do when I shoot a movie. I was just looking at it as more or less like a toy, something which I like to play with and try to impress people. I think that is actually something not so bad. I mean like doing it for the fun of it, instead of doing it as a real sacred job. I think it should be both.”

Ann Hui (1947) Hong Kong film director

as a comparison of her artistic filmmaking ethos in relation to the Hong Kong New Wave and the Taiwanese New Wave In Conversation with Ann Hui & Man Lim Chung | SGIFF 2020 - 15 Dec 2020 at 39 Min 32 Sec https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-7lyGwm5k Interview at the 31st Singapore International Film Festival

Bad luck, People, Thinking

“I’m trying to do what’s right, whether or not that measures up with what men call honorable. There’s a gap between those, you know?”

Brent Weeks book The Way of Shadows

Source: The Way of Shadows (2008), Chapter 32 (p. 277)

Men

“We are trying to maintain who we are. We want to praise Jesus using the language and the customs with which we first encountered Him.”

Francis Y. Kalabat (1970) American bishop

Chaldean bishop urges solidarity with suffering Christians of Middle East https://cathstan.org/news/local/chaldean-bishop-urges-solidarity-with-suffering-christians-of-middle-east (November 28, 2016)

“We don't set out to deliberately scare with our creatures, we try to make them as awe-inspiring as possible.”

Ray Harryhausen (1920–2013) American animator

Harryhausen on Horror

Making love

“I try to never lose that part of me because I know that in the beginning, when you come to a new country, you want to feel comfortable and feel normal, but now as I get older, all I want to do is get back to it. It’s fun finding that balance in my journey.”

Odeya Rush (1997) Israeli actress

INTERVIEW: LET IT SNOW’S ODEYA RUSH https://brieftake.com/interview-let-it-snow-odeya-rush/ (November 8, 2019)

Feeling, Parting, Country

“I think a lot of times in our adult lives, we either block out or straight-up forget about the challenges of being a kid. We know it's all going to work out, but when you're a kid in that moment, it feels like the whole world is coming down on you. I'm going to try to look back and remember that when my kids get in those situations.”

Pierre Bouvier (1979) Canadian musician

Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/pierre-bouvier-of-simple-plan (February 6, 2020)

World, Feeling, Thinking, Time

“There was no knowledge on my part about his specific actions, but… There was just energy. And that type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed
..
When your primary male figure couldn't care less to show up, that can become a theme in your life where you’re trying to fill this gap with these different men”

Lisa Bonet (1967) American actress

9 March 2018 https://www.net-a-porter.com/en-gb/porter/article-33a55e73f6c7ac7b/cover-stories/cover-stories/lisa-bonet?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-Magazine-_-20180309&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-I7e_rfvO9ni1Csr6IiWfpw&Skimlinks.com=Skimlinks.com interview regarding Bill Cosby

Life, Men, Knowledge, Parting

“I try not to look up to people who are Filipino for the sake of their nationality. There seems to be a shortage of diversity in the arts in general, including publishing, so whenever I see a person of color doing something to further their culture or cause I tend to root for them.”

Jason Tanamor (1975) Filipino-American Author and Writer

Good News Pilipinas Interview (2020)

People, Art, Color, Personality

“I never point a finger. If we reach people's brains and hearts and we try to come up with ideas, we can help them go in a direction which will solve a lot of the problems we've created. And you know, then again, whether it's in government or industries, these people have families and they care. They want to do the right thing, but we need to help. And thanks to science and new technologies, we can make that happen.”

Jean-Michel Cousteau (1938) French explorer and environmentalist; son of Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Q&A with Jean-Michel Cousteau: "The Future of Water - The Challenges and Solutions" https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qa-with-jean-michel-cousteau-the-future-of-water---the-challenges-and-solutions-271822971.html (August 19, 2014)

People, Making love, Family, Idea

“If we want to give back to future generations what we have taken for granted, we have to understand the planet as a natural resource bank account. In other words, we need to start investing in depleted capital and live off the interest instead. There are plenty of individuals from both countries who are conscious of these things and trying to do better. But, we need to do much better as a global society. All countries need to communicate the importance of this life support system and protect this web of life. We must be able to live with the planet and not on it.”

Fabien Cousteau (1967) French filmmaker and oceanographer

Deep Sea Rendez-Vous with Fabien Cousteau https://beautyandwellbeing.com/well-being/deep-sea-rendez-vous-with-celine-fabien-cousteau/ (September 30, 2020)

Life, Communication, Understanding, Support

“I grew up watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and used to dream that I would grow up to be just like her. In a way, Teen Wolf has a lot of those kinds of characters. We're just kids by day, and yet we're trying to fight demons and werewolves and bad people and save people that we love.”

Arden Cho (1985) Korean-American actress and singer

As quoted in "Arden Cho Talks Teen Wolf, Her Audition Process, Her Favorite Scene and Episode This Season, and More" in Collider (3 March 2014) https://collider.com/arden-cho-teen-wolf-interview/

Love, People, Dreams, Way

“You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.”

Marian Wright Edelman (1939) American children's rights activist

“True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.”

Daisaku Ikeda (1928) Japanese writer

Happiness, Strong

“You can only grow if you're willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”

Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer

Feeling

“The rule of friendship means there should be mutual sympathy between them, each supplying what the other lacks and trying to benefit the other, always using friendly and sincere words.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero (-106–-43 BC) Roman philosopher and statesman

Friendship, Sincerity

“If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) 32nd President of the United States

Sense

“Unlike utilitarianism, republican theory does not take people's existing preferences, whatever they may be, and try to satisfy them. It seeks instead to cultivate in citizens the qualities of character necessary to the common good of self-government. Insofar as certain dispositions, attachments, and commitments are essential to the realization of self-government, republican politics regards moral character as a public, not merely private, concern. In this sense, it attends to the identity, not just the interests, of its citizens.”

Michael J. Sandel (1953) American political philosopher

Chap. 2. Rights and the Neutral States
Democracy's Discontent (1996)

People, Sense

“I try to be a jovial person but, unfortunately, to a great extent that depends on willpower.”

Chulpan Khamatova (1975) Russian actress

As quoted in "An interview with Chulpan Khamatova" in Mariinsky Theatre (28 February 2012) https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/interview1/interview_with_chulpan_khamatova/

Dependency, Personality

“I wanted to try to be a real live person, rather than just singing songs about them.”

Thao Nguyen (1984) American singer-songwriter

As quoted in "The Rumpus Interview with Thao Nguyen" in The Rumpus (5 August 2013) https://therumpus.net/2013/08/the-rumpus-interview-with-thao-nguyen/

Singing, Personality

“Only five days on this benighted world, and already total strangers are trying to kill me.
Sadly, it wasn’t even a record.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Source: Vorkosigan Saga, Cryoburn (2010), Chapter 1 (p. 4)

World

“A journalist covering politics,most of us are aware of the necessity to try to be sure we're unbiased in our reporting.That's one of the fundamentals of good journalism.”

Walter Cronkite (1916–2009) American broadcast journalist

Free the Airwaves! (2002)

“It’s always easy to blame others. You can spend your entire life blaming the world, but your successes or failures are entirely your own responsibility. You can try to stop time, but it’s a complete waste of energy.”

Paulo Coelho book Aleph

Aleph (2011)

Life, World, Failure, Time

“Some people suggested that I should try something else. It was a lot of things, but nothing really stood out for me. Nothing felt right, and this job as an actor happened by coincidence.”

Claudia Kim (1985) South Korean actress

"I hope I am representing Asians well: Claudia Kim (IANS Interview)" in Business Standard (23 November 2018) https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-88149

People

“You do what you can with what you've got, but you also have to know you're part in the ensemble. If you have no lines, you can't be in the background trying to steal the scene.”

Claudette Mink (1971) Canadian actress

HitFix Interview: 'Harper's Island's' deceased Single Girl and Stepmother speak Amber Borycki and Claudette Mink discuss their recent 'Harper's Island' demise https://web.archive.org/web/20090618163737/http://www.hitfix.com/articles/2009-6-16-hitfix-interview-harper-s-island-s-deceased-single-girl-and-stepmother-speak (June 18, 2009)

Parting

“My friends, all I'm trying to say is that if we are to go forward today, we've got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values that we've left behind. That's the only way that we would be able to make of our world a better world, and to make of this world what God wants it to be and the real purpose and meaning of it.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1950s, Rediscovering Lost Values (1954)

God, World, Way

“At least try to see my motives. Granted that I was foolish—criminally foolish—can’t you understand? Can’t you try not to hate me?”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

She said softly, “I have tried not to love you and, as you see, I have failed.”
Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Stars, Like Dust (1951), Chapter 19 “Defeat!” (p. 163)

Hate, Motivation, Understanding

“Just because the US is trying to suppress us does not mean we do not recognize it as a teacher. This will lead to isolation.”

Ren Zhengfei (1944) Chinese businessman

Speech at Huawei’s internal online forum (June 26, 2021)

Teachers

“Don't try to change the world, find something that you love
And do it every day
Do that for the rest of your life
And eventually, the world will change”

Macklemore (1983) American rapper from Washington

Source: Song Growing Up

Love, Life, World, Change

“But as an actor you do want to challenge yourself and step outside what you have done in the past and that what I like to do, I like to jump around and try different things and stretch myself.”

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (1984) American actress and singer

"Exclusive Mary Elizabeth Winstead Interview (Page 2)" in Female First (29 July 2008) https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/Exclusive+Mary+Elizabeth+Winstead+Interview-153677-page2.html

Past

“Censors will try to censor a little bit more each year”

Wilfrid Sheed (1930–2011) English-American novelist and essayist

because, like editors and other officious people, censors don't feel they are getting anywhere unless they are up and doing
"Dirty Business" (1973), p. 83
The Good Word & Other Words (1978)

“I mean what I say and I try to say what I mean.”

Bowinn Ma (1985) Canadian politician

Daily Hive: MLA Bowinn Ma claps back at “fragile” BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson (2020)

“I carefully follow your creativity expressed by your soul, trying to capture every possible emotion or sensation of yours. Your essence is pure art given as a gift to the whole world.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Seguo con attenzione la tua creatività espressa dalla tua anima, cercando di catturarne ogni tua possibile emozione o sensazione. La tua essenza, è pura arte resa in dono al mondo intero.
Source: prevale.net

World, Art, Soul

“The secret to solving a problem always lies in finding the most suitable path: reflect, try, don't give up, be constant and you will get it.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Il segreto per risolvere un problema sta sempre nel trovare la strada più adatta: rifletti, prova, non arrenderti, sii costante ed otterrai.
Source: prevale.net

Secret, Problem

“They’re trying to keep the populists of both left and right apart with cultural issues, and they’re doing it to insulate themselves from any combination or constituency that can come after their power, perks and wealth. They’re dividing and conquering.”

Thaddeus McCotter (1965) American politician

Exclusive — Thaddeus McCotter: Elites’ Greatest Fear Is Left-Right Populist Unity https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2021/07/27/exclusive-thaddeus-mccotter-elites-greatest-fear-is-left-right-populist-unity/ (27 July 2021)

Wealth

“I hope leftist teachers have stepped on their toes. I have a fundamental problem with teachers trying to impose their opinion. A teacher must be neutral.”

Tom Van Grieken (1986) Belgian politician

Fuss about TikTok video Tom Van Grieken (Vlaams Belang): "In 2024 we will present a bill to left-wing teachers". https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2021/09/01/ophef-over-tiktok-filmpje-tom-van-grieken/

Hope, Problem, Teachers

“The only way to have real success in science, the field I'm familiar with, is to describe the evidence very carefully without regard to the way you feel it should be. If you have a theory, you must try to explain what's good and what's bad about it equally. In science, you learn a kind of standard integrity and honesty.”

Richard Feynman (1918–1988) American theoretical physicist

Way, Feeling, Learning, Science

“America has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die. This is U.S. policy. The U.S. should step back and review its policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries.”

Mohammed Omar (1959–2013) Founder and former leader of the Taliban

Interview by Spozhmai Maiwandi

World, Evil, Country

“I don’t have any particular work. I pray for the Jesuits, relatives and friends. Every morning I give communion to the senior and sick fathers in the infirmary. Sometimes Jesuit fathers and brothers come to me for spiritual advice. I try my best to help them.”

Linus Nirmal Gomes (1921–2021) Roman Catholic Bishop

Centenarian Jesuit bishop inspires generations with his profound faith https://www.ucanews.com/news/centenarian-jesuit-bishop-inspires-generations-with-his-profound-faith/89539# (September 16, 2020)

Help

“I thought that if I changed the things I did, it could help me play at a higher level for longer. I knew I could not expect immediate results. I did it because I had to try. I knew if I started at the top level a little later, I could be there for longer.”

Robert Lewandowski (1988) Polish association football player

Change, Help

“I think moviemakers in every country are looking for ideas. It’s interactive. And sometimes we remake a lot of Hollywood films but we don’t buy the rights, we just try to imitate those films.”

Tony Leung (1962) Hong Kong actor

"Lust, Caution – Tony Leung interview" (2007) https://tonyleung.info/tony/?p=237

Idea, Thinking, Country

“What I try to do with my images is just give the reader a real feel for a place…It's very visceral. You open the page, and you are right there in the moment.”

Joe Sacco (1960) Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist; pioneer of the Non-Fiction Graphic Novel (b. 1960)

On what he aimed for with his book The Great War in “A Panorama Of Devastation: Drawing Of WWI Battle Spans 24 Feet” https://www.npr.org/2013/11/10/243068448/a-panorama-of-devastation-drawing-of-wwi-battle-spans-24-feet in NPR (2013 Nov 10)

Feeling

“You try to cope with the mass audience, but in fact you are not doing something for them—I would be fighting with myself. I thought, I don’t have to make big films, I can make small films that I can be happy with. I can find my own audience.”

Wong Kar-wai (1958) Hong Kong screenwriter, film producer and film director

"Wong Kar-wai by Han Ong" in Bomb Magazine (1 Janaury 1998) https://bombmagazine.org/articles/wong-kar-wai-1/

Happiness, Fight

“Your first question must always be: what is the most difficult part of this problem that I am trying to solve and then try and solve that. If you can't solve the most difficult bit, give up! Seek advice, find somebody who can solve it!”

Joe Armstrong (1950–2019) British computer scientist

The Forgotten Ideas in Computer Science

Question, Problem, Parting

“I try to have as much fun as possible, because I am sure that if I have fun, if I let it happen naturally, it flows.”

Rayssa Leal (2008) Youngest Brazilian skateboarder and athlete to win a medal at the Olympics

Rayssa Leal. Mateus Baeta: Conto de fadas à brasileira: Rayssa Leal é prata no skate street http://rededoesporte.gov.br/pt-br/noticias/conto-de-fadas-a-brasileira-rayssa-leal-conquista-prata-no-skate-street, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Brazil https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en.

Nature

“If people are criticising your work, take it in the right spirit and try to find out what is wrong. I made a lot of mistakes on my first film and told myself not to do it again. Remember that you’re not making a film to keep it in a box, it’s for the people.”

Rima Das (1982) Indian Assamese film maker

Film Companion Article - Rima Das Gives Tips On Zero Budget Filmmaking - 4 November 2017 https://www.filmcompanion.in/interviews/bollywood-interview/rima-das-gives-tips-on-zero-budget-filmmaking/ - Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20210728182917/https://www.filmcompanion.in/interviews/bollywood-interview/rima-das-gives-tips-on-zero-budget-filmmaking/

People, Box

“You spend your whole life trying to work out where you fit.”

Tim Winton (1960) Australian writer

Source: Novels, That Eye, the Sky (1986), Ch.4 - p.25

Life

“If you know anything about Buddhism, you will know that the most important point is to be yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already. Buddhism is fundamentally about being in touch with your own deepest nature and letting it flow out of you unimpeded.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944) American academic

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (2005)

Nature

“Of course, you can sit down and have something you want to say. But then you must let its expression be born in you and on the paper. Don't hold too tight; allow it to come out how it needs to rather than trying to control it.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "Writing is not a McDonald's hamburger". p.39
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

“That is what love is for me, trying harder for each other.”

Alok Vaid-Menon (1991) American performance artist, and LGBTQ rights activist

ALOK: The Urgent Need for Compassion | The Man Enough Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq3C9R8HNUQ, 26 July 2021

Love

“I think that people have put too much responsibility on me. People are forgetting that a year ago I was just a mother, not at all involved in politics. I have had to study a lot and I’m trying to do what I can, where I am … But the responsibility isn’t just on me, it’s on all Belarusians.”

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (1982) Belarusian politician and educator

"Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: ‘Belarusians weren’t ready for this level of cruelty’" in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/09/sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya-belarusians-not-ready-cruelty-lukashenko-belarus (9 August 2021)

People, Thinking, Study, Forgetting

“If I could talk face to face with the pilot who dropped the bomb, I could tell him we cannot change history. But we should try to do good things for the present and for the future to promote peace.”

Phan Thi Kim Phuc (1963) Child depicted in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972

"`Time To Heal, Time For Peace'" in Chicago Tribune https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6VPc2Y8SsL4J:https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-11-12-9611120185-story.html+&cd=21&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us (12 November 1996)

Peace, History, Change, Future

“The surest way to be unhappy is try to be happy all the time.”

Rudy Rucker book Master of Space and Time

Source: Master of Space and Time (1984), Chapter 23, “The Way Uptown” (p. 180)

Happiness, Way, Time

“Now I'm going into darkness
trying to find my light
my heart is like an eclipse
every hour's midnight
Feel like time is running out
I need to break free
cos I'm going into darkness
and you're the only one who can't see”

Example (musician) (1982) English rapper and singer

"Into Darkness" (song) ("Into Darkness" on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbZu6nL3IeE Mixtapes, Bangers & Ballads (2018)

Feeling, Light, Time, Heart

“If only I could fly away
Revel in the moonlight
Try to find a good life
Find a way to break the chains
Find a way to break the chains
Struggle just to hear the call
It's easy now, easy now
Heaven is a mile away
I'll burn it all and leave today”

Example (musician) (1982) English rapper and singer

"Break the Chains" (song), with Rationale (Tinashé Fazakerley) ("Break the Chains" on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvosF7mbrnE Studio albums, Some Nights Last for Days (2020)

Life, Way, Flying

“If you long for exceptional health, then try to forget about gaining wealth at the same time.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Health, Time, Forgetting, Wealth

“Instead of paying more attention upon self-improvement. Nowadays, people are spending their valuable time to pray for LOVE. These people are similar to children who're trying to hold water firmly into their hands. Which will prove impossible at the end of the day!”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Love, Children, People, Water

“It seems like we can’t experience reality no matter how hard we try. Because illusion is always waiting at the end of the tunnel.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Reality, Waiting

“My ignorance is trying to flatter me that I know everything.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“The source of all the conflicts in the world is in trying to convince everyone that you’re always correct.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

World

“You can try to mix capitalism and socialism together, but you cannot be both at the same time! In the end, one system will always take over the other. Resulting in a true/false friendship.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Friendship, Time, Falseness

“Comparing the sun with the moon is similar to those who try to compare God with the devil.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

God, Sun

“Einstein was just a genius of theoretical physics. If you introduced him to biology or chemistry, he would look like a fish trying to climb a tree.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Fish, Tree

“I can easily give away everything I own, but don't sin against yourself by trying to interfere with my freedom of choice.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Freedom

“My God can neither be imagined nor described. He is infinite. Tall or short, fat or thin, old or young, black or white. These are the human attributes that we try to apply to God into our limited minds.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

God, Imagination

“Respect is like trust. Difficult to achieve, but easily broken whenever you try to get out of line.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“Scientific experiences and practices can easily lead to spirituality, rather than trying to memorize more facts.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“Try to work so hard for your benefit that you can compress a week into one day.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“To categorize some people as indigenous and others as alien, to argue about the identity of the first inhabitants of the subcontinent, and to try and sort out these categories for the remote past, is to attempt the impossible.”

Romila Thapar (1931) Indian historian

Introduction, xxiv.
Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300

People, Past

“Ideas and opinions, like living organisms, have a normal rate of growth which cannot be either checked or forced beyond a certain point. They can be held in check more safely than they can be hurried. They can also be killed; and one of the surest ways to kill them is to try to hurry them.”

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) novelist

The Art of Propagating Opinion
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part X - The Position of a HomoUnius Libri

Way, Idea

“Every poem is political. In poems not obviously political, the writer is trying to avoid something…”

Danez Smith American poet

“We relate the poems and plays and novels we read and see, not to the men who wrote them, nor even directly to ourselves; we relate them to each other. Literature is a world that we try to build up and enter at the same time.”

Northrop Frye (1912–1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist

The Educated Imagination (1963), Talk 3: Giants in Time

Men, World, Literature, Time

“Science books go out of date. We throw the old one away when a newer one comes out, when we have new theories. But we don't throw away our old data; we merely interpret them differently. New theories try to account for old data (and new data) in new ways.”

Guy Consolmagno (1952) American Jesuit, Catholic Priest, research astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory.

[Consolmagno, Guy, Mueller, Paul, https://www.google.com/books?id=lf5vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16, 9780804136952, Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?: And Other Questions from the Astronomers' In-Box at the Vatican Observatory, 16, 2014, Image]

Books, Way, Science

“We're making a mountain out of a mole hill. We're creating laws. We're trying to deal with this. Deal with the obvious: We do not seem as a nation to be able to solve this problem the way we've been approaching it.”

Mike Gravel (1930–2021) American politician; United States Senator

NPR Democratic Candidates Debate

Law, Way, Mountain, Problem

“Trying to, you know, persuade others to join our side. Trying to make the other side look bad. Just like the Internet always was.”

Neal Stephenson book Seveneves

“Endurance” (pp. 518-519)
Seveneves (2015), Part Two

“No. I have run away from a lot of publicity. I have tried my best to come back to my desk again. I needed a peaceful corner of my own for my next work. But it took time. Now I am adjusting myself to these new circumstances. I will try to write my next book as soon as possible.”

Han Kang (1970) South Korean writer

On the issue of her publicity in "Korea's Kafka? Man Booker winner Han Kang on why she turns a woman into a plant" in Deutsche Welle (September 12, 2016) https://www.dw.com/en/koreas-kafka-man-booker-winner-han-kang-on-why-she-turns-a-woman-into-a-plant/a-19543017

Books, Peace, Time

“I don’t outline anything in advance. That can be really scary. I liken it to walking blindfolded. I’m trying to head towards somewhere, but I have no idea how to get there. I don’t write in order, either. I’m taking things as they come, following my fancy.”

Jenny Han (1980) American writer

As quoted in "Why Jenny Han Thinks We Should Judge To All The Boys I Loved Before By Its Cover" in Refinery 29 (9 August 2018) https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/08/206826/jenny-han-to-all-the-boys-i-loved-before-author-interview

Idea

“I try to get everybody to enter my world real quickly. I think the audience starts to see that it’s a person going through a struggle, (and) with each performance piece, the exchange just keeps growing.”

Lane Nishikawa American actor and filmmaker

On his writing technique in “‘Mission’ Accomplished? Not Yet, but Closer: Theater: Lane Nishikawa, star of a one-man show about diversity, says mainstream representation of Asian Americans is better than it was.” https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-18-ca-55954-story.html in Los Angeles Times (1995 Apr 18)

World, Thinking, Personality

“What if trying to avoid the future is what triggers it all?”

David Mitchell book Cloud Atlas

"Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery", p. 401
Cloud Atlas (2004), Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 2)

Future

“There’s a side of me that seeks a stable life, but I tend to not fear change. And as time passes, rather than settle for one thing, I’m growing more inclined to challenge myself and try new things.”

Park So-dam (1991) South Korean actress

As quoted in "Parasite Star Park So-dam on Life Since the Oscars and New Korean Drama Record of Youth" in Time Magazine (16 September 2020) https://time.com/5889002/park-sodam-parasite-record-of-youth-interview/

Life, Fear, Change, Time

“I'm just going to continue to think about what kind of films I want to do and what's out there for me to audition for, and I love trying.”

Claudia Kim (1985) South Korean actress

As quoted in "‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Is the Next Big Step for Claudia Kim" in The Wall Street Journal (24 April 2015) https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-88149

Love, Thinking

“I want to try new creative things and find refreshing stories. That's how I've come to choose the roles that I've done.”

Song Kang-ho (1967) South Korean actor

As quoted in "Song Kang Ho and Ko Asung Talk SNOWPIERCER, Working with Director Bong Joon Ho, Reuniting to Play Father and Daughter & Working with Hollywood Stars" in Collider (28 June 2014) https://collider.com/song-kang-ho-ko-asung-snowpiercer-interview/

Quotes about try page 66

Quotes about try
page 66