Why Do You Think The Old Stories Tell Of Men Who Set Out On Great Journeys To Impress The Gods? Because Trying To Impress People Just Isn't Worth The Time And Effort.

-Henry Rollins

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Why Do You Think

Henry Rollins

Why Do You Think The Old Stories Tell Of Men Who Set Out On Great Journeys To Impress The Gods? Because Trying To Impress People Just Isn't Worth The Time And Effort.

Topic

Journey

Men

Thinking

More From Henry Rollins

I Don't Have Talent. I Have Tenacity.

Talent

Tenacity

If I'm Jetlagging, And I've Missed Some Meals, And It Gets To That Point In A Movie That You're Supposed To Cry, I'll Let My Defences Down From Around My Inherent Standing Level Of Cynicism, And I'll Cry.

Meals

Levels

Cry

I Don't Want To Pass Through Life Like A Smooth Plane Ride.

Want

Smooth

Planes

Sometimes You Can Get So Far In Yourself That You Don't Know Who You Are.

Self

Sometimes

Knows

I Don't Have Any Spiritual Anything.you Shoot A Guy With A Gun, He Dies. You Step On A Bug, The Bug Dies. There Is No Heaven For Me And No Hell. And Certainly Not Any Karma.

Karma

Spiritual

Gun

I Remember When Martin Luther King Was Assassinated. I Was Up Early Watching Television And Watched The Announcement. I Didn't Understand What The Word 'assassinated' Meant.

Kings

Up Early

Television

Never Once Have I Thought That Social Security Would Be Something That Would Ever Be Available To Me.

Would Be

Social

Available

Texas Is A Hotbed Of Insanely Good Bands And Musicians.

Texas

Musician

Band

I Get Tired Of Talking When I Want To Be Silent.

Tired

Talking

Want

I Would Like To Become A Better Photographer. I'm Working On That.

Photographer

Don't Go To Summer Camp. Bury Your Parents In The Backyard And Have The Place To Yourself.

Summer

Parent

Independence

For Me, Memphis Has Always Been A City That Holds A Great Deal Of Meaning And Also Leads Me To A Lot Of Thinking. Besides Sun Studio, Which Helped Put Rock N' Roll On The Map All Over The World, The Legendary Stax Studio Also Called Memphis Home.

Home

Thinking

Rocks

Pizza Makes Me Think That Anything Is Possible.

Thinking

Pizza

Anything Is Possible

The Arts In America Exist In Spite Of America, Not Because Of America.

Art

America

Spite

I Like How I Write Better Than How I Speak.

Writing

Speak

Guns Are Part Of The American Identity.

Gun

Identity

American Identity

I Don't Want To Fail The Audience. I Don't Want To Let Them Down.

Want

Failing

Audience

Help Me To Withstand Your Beauty As It Stands Out Of Reach. Give Me The Capacity To Forget Ever Having Felt Your Touch.

Giving

Helping

Forget

The Bible Saw That Can Get A Lot Of People Killed, So Let's Try And Steer People Away From That. I Am Not An Expert On The Bible. I Am Just Saying.

People

Trying

Saws

I Don't Get A Rush From Anything. I Did Music As Hard As I Could. Acting For Me At Least, Is A Far More Restrained Performance Than Music. It Requires A Lot Of Skill And Discipline. I'm Not Any Good At It But I Enjoy Trying To Be Good At It.

Skills

Discipline

Trying

Music Keeps You Young. Having Music In Your Life Keeps You Open To Things.

Young

When You Start Thinking As Far As What's A Good Photo, Unfortunately Everything Starts Looking Like A Good Photo.

Thinking

Good Photo

If You Paid Americans A Living Wage, They Would Be Able To Pay For Products Made By Americans In America.

America

Would Be

Pay

The Talking Shows Are Like Free Jazz. I'm Just Gonna Go Out There And Blow With The Idea Of Keeping It Streamlined And Not Wasting Time. It's Wild. And It's A Great Thing When You See A Performer Really Able To.

Blow

Talking

Ideas

I’m Packed With Broken Glass And Memories And It All Hurts.

Hurt

Memories

Glasses

I Travel Because I Want To Know. Books And Documentaries Will Only Get You So Far. If You Want To Know, You Will Have To Go.

Book

Want

Documentaries

What Stands Out To Me In America Was All The Police Vs. Citizens Turmoil. It's Decades Of Bad Policing, Bad Schooling, Racism, Bigotry And Other Factors Finally Spilling Into Mainstream Culture. I Would Like To See America Evolve On How The Laws Are Enforced On The Streets.

Law

Mainstream Culture

America

The Opportunity To Write For The 'l.a. Weekly' Has Been One Of The Better Breaks That Has Come My Way In A Long Time.

Writing

Opportunity

Long

So I'm More At Home With My Backpack, Sleeping In A Hotel Room Or On A Bus Or On An Airplane, Than I Am Necessarily On A Bed. It's Weird Being Here. It Feels Like I'm Standing Next To My Real Life.

Real

Home

Airplane

Go Without A Coat When It's Cold; Find Out What Cold Is. Go Hungry; Keep Your Existence Lean. Wear Away The Fat, Get Down To The Lean Tissue And See What It's All About. The Only Time You Define Your Character Is When You Go Without. In Times Of Hardship, You Find Out What You're Made Of And What You're Capable Of. If You're Never Tested, You'll Never Define You Character.

Character

Hardship

Tissues

Discipline Is Money In The Bank. A Real Friend, True Strength.

Real

Real Friends

Discipline

Humans Will Take A Rain Forest And Lose It And Cover It With Concrete. They Will Take The Woods And Turn It Into A Parking Garage And I Am Not Saying That's Bad. I Am Just Saying That's What We Do. We Occupy The Planet With A Vengeance. We Seek To Dominate It.

Rain

Forests

Woods

People Look At Things Differently. Imagine Going To A Village In Southern Sudan And Try To Explain To Someone There The Concept Of Life Insurance Or Retirement. Go To Vietnam And Say Retirement. Retirement In Another Country Is Your Body Is Too Racked With Pain And Your Hands Are Too Arthritic From The Life In The Rice Patty Fields, So You Can't Work Anymore. So You Move In With Your Son And His New Wife Takes Care Of You Because That's How Families Work There.

Country

Retirement

Pain

Miles Davis Would Have This Lineup Of All These Amazing Musicians And One Day Would Just Say, 'we're Done.' After Tons Of Great Records And Tickets Sold, He Said, 'now I'm Going To Grow My Hair Out And Play My Horn Through A Wah-wah Pedal.' Rather Than Play It Safe, He Went On.

Hair

Play

One Day

If I Think Of The Audience Too Much, Then I'm Going To Start Catering To Them...and It Turns Into Entertainment. And I've Got Time For Entertainment; I'm Just Not At All That Interested In Doing It Myself. I'd Rather Go For Some Pretty Raw Expression.

Thinking

Expression

Too Much

An Adult Has The Opportunity To Enjoy The Wisdom Gleaned From Previous Decades Of Living And Experience.

Opportunity

Adults

Enjoy

I've Never Heard Daft Punk; I've Never Heard A Track Of Theirs In My Life. They're The Two Guys With Motorcycle Helmets On?

Two

Track

Guy

I Don't Mind Bees And Think We Are All The Better For Having Them Around. I Like The Taste Of Honey.

Thinking

Mind

Honey

The Material You Work With Is That Which You Will Come To Resemble. That Which You Work Against Will Always Work Against You, Including Yourself.

Materials

Including

I Could Fall In Love With A Cruel Desert That Kills Without Passion, A Canyon Full Of Scorpions, One Thousand Blinding Arctic Storms, A Century Sealed In A Cave, A River Of Molten Salt Flowing Down My Throat. But Never With You.

Falling In Love

Passion

Rivers

My Understanding Of First-degree Murder Is That Premeditation Needs To Be Proven.

Understanding

Degrees

Needs

I Think There Will Always Be Great New Music And Bands. As Long As There's People Around, There's Going To Be Great Music. I Think There's Bands Like Wolf Eyes, Q & Not U, The Evens And Many Others That Are Doing Great Stuff. The Music That Doesn't Please You, You Just Don't Listen. No One Makes Me Listen To Nickelback, So Long May They Wave.

Eye

Thinking

Long

Retirement In Another Country Is Your Body Is Too Racked With Pain And Your Hands Are Too Arthritic From The Life In The Rice Patty Fields, So You Can't Work Anymore.

Country

Retirement

Pain

I'm Not Trying To Amass People In The Streets. I Just Want Them To Be More Aware. So Many Americans, For One Reason Or Another, They Watch The News And It Doesn't Really Give Them The Idea Of The World. Or They Don't Read Or Travel. They Have No Idea That America Is Part Of The World And Not The World Itself. And So Anything From The Travel Stories I Tell, That's What I'm Trying To Get Across.

People

Giving

Trying

One Of The Most Insane Environments I Have Ever Spent Time In Is A Gun Range. There We Are, All In A Line, Armed To The Teeth, Firing Away.

Gun

Insane

Lines

I'm Mellower Now, I'm Over 50. But I Don't Think I'm Too Mellow. I'm Still Angry At A Lot Of Things.

Thinking

Mellow

Stills

As So Much Music Is Listened To Via Mp3 Download, Many Will Never Experience The Joy Of Analog Playback, And For Them, I Feel Sorry. They Are Missing Out.

Sorry

Mp3

Joy

Without The Blues, Modern Music Would Be Nothing Like It Is Now - Not Remotely.

Would Be

Modern

Modern Music

I Don't Try To Be Angry To Prove Something. I Wouldn't Try To Intimidate You For Any Reason Unless You Were Trying To Intimidate Me, And Then I Would Show You That You Can't Do That To Me.

Trying

Intimidating

Reason

Somewhere Someone Is Thinking Of You. Someone Is Calling You An Angel. This Person Is Using Celestial Colors To Paint Your Image. Someone Is Making You Into A Vision So Beautiful That It Can Only Live In The Mind.

Beautiful

Thinking Of You

Angel

If You Have An Idea Of What You Want To Do In Your Future, You Must Go At It With Almost Monastic Obsession. [...] You Have To Go At It Single-mindedly And Let Nothing Get In Your Way.

Ideas

Hustle

Want

I Just Travel The World With My Backpack And My Cameras And A Bunch Of Clif Bars.

Travel

Cameras

Bars

Cynicism Is Only Intellectual Sloth.

Intellectual

Sloth

Cynicism

I'm Disappointed By Bands Left And Right, Every Day.

Band

Disappointed

Left

Sarah Palin Embarrasses Herself Almost Immediately Upon Opening Her Mouth To Speak Or Upon Moving Her Fingers To Send Messages To Her Dull Flock.

Moving

Mouths

Dull

You Can Say, "well, I Have A Question," And Someone Will Say, "oh, So You Hate America." And It Has Nothing To Do With The Discussion At All.

Hate

America

Wells

Loneliness Adds Beauty To Life. It Puts A Special Burn On Sunsets And Makes Night Air Smell Better.

Life

Lonely

Depressing

Motivation Has Always Been A Fascinating Factor When Considering A Touring Artist, Especially When The Years Stack Up. What Keeps One Out There Year After Year?

Motivation

Artist

Years

As Far As What People Think Of Me, Maybe My Stuff Should Just Be Put Online For Free Downloads When I'm Gone.

Thinking

People

Gone

Chris Christie Is New Jersey's Concern, Not America's.

America

Jersey

Concern

South Sudan Is One Of The Most Hard-put Places In The World.

World

South

Hard

I Want To Change Things For The Better, Just Like Everybody Else.

Want

Things Change

Disharmony

Entertainment's Hard On The Ego. I See Why Actors Are So Psycho Now. Because There's So Much 'we Don't Want You' Going On In Acting. Even Big People Get Rejected But The Smaller People - They Really Get Rejected. Trust Me - I Know.

People

Ego

Acting

War Is Very Sad And Small Life Is Pathetically Fragile At Times.

War

Life Is

Very Sad

Nothing Brings People Together More, Than Mutual Hatred.

Anger

People

Hatred

While I Disagree With Our Presence In Iraq And Afghanistan, I Have Nothing But Respect And Admiration For The Men And Women Deployed In These Places.

Men

Iraq

Admiration

Stockholders Are Used To A Certain Kind Of Global Capitalism. This Version Is Very Hard On The Environment And Very Hard On People Below A Certain Fiscal Level. It Is A Calculated, Systematic Weakening Of People. Many Labour, A Few Benefit. Try Talking About Cleaning Up The Place With These People. The Hostility Is Incredible.

Talking

People

Trying

I Live My Life Through The Prism Of Capitalism And Physiological Limits And Eventualities. In All Of That, There Is No Spirituality Required. No God And Karma Is Needed For The Numbers. I Live My Life By The Numbers. Not Only Am I An American, I Am An Americanist.

Karma

Numbers

Limits

I Don't Need Music For The Good Times. I Don't Have That Kind Of Need. Music Doesn't Serve Me Like That.

Needs

Good Times

Kind

I Have Found The Iron To Be My Greatest Friend. It Never Freaks Out On Me, Never Runs. Friends May Come And Go. But Two Hundred Pounds Is Always Two Hundred Pounds

Strength

Running

Workout

I Am Primarily A Loner. I Don't Go To Clubs. I Don't Hang Out With People. I Don't Know Many People. It's Just The Way It Ended Up. It's Not A Sob Story; It's Fine For Me.

People

Loner

Stories

A Lot Of Americans Don't Have A Passport, Never Will Have A Passport. Not Only Will They Not Travel, They Don't Want To Travel.

Want

Passports

Want To Travel

Watching A Documentary With People Hacking Their Way Through Some Polar Wasteland Is Merely A Visual. Actually Trying To Deal With Cold That Can Literally Kill You Is Quite A Different Thing.

People

Trying

Different

The Scars Will Take Me Far, They Always Do.

Scar

Take Me

I Slept In Uday Hussein's Bed - That Was Just So Strange. Went To Saddam's Palace, Was In A Mortar Attack - Crazy Stuff. And Like Three Days Later You're Back In Traffic On Sunset Boulevard. It's All Kind Of Behind You, Which Is Kind Of Perfect For A Guy Like Me Because I Can Take That And Turn It Into Quite The Tale.

Crazy

Sunset

Perfect

The Talking Shows Allow Me To Come Out Of My Cave And That's Why Those Shows Go On For So Long. I Hate Walking Off Stage. Sometimes I Walk Off And I Miss Them As I'm Walking Off The Stage. I Wonder If They'll Let Me Go Another Hour. That's Why I Do It: To Communicate, To Get Points Across.

Hate

Talking

Long

All I Can Do Is Just Do Stuff While I Am Alive And Hopefully That Track Record Will Speak For Itself.

Track

Records

Alive

So Many Americans, For One Reason Or Another, They Watch The News And It Doesn't Really Give Them The Idea Of The World. Or They Don't Read Or Travel. They Have No Idea That America Is Part Of The World And Not The World Itself.

Ideas

America

Giving

Now, If Someone Wants To Spit On Me, I Just Roll Up The Window Of My Bmw 540i.

Spit Up

Bmw

Want

I Believe That One Defines Oneself By Reinvention. To Not Be Like Your Parents. To Not Be Like Your Friends. To Be Yourself. To Cut Yourself Out Of Stone.

Inspirational

Life

Friends

I Take The Work Seriously, Just Not Myself In It.

Respect Is Not A One Way Street

Way

Streets

One Way

To My Ears, Jazz Sounds Better In Warm Weather And After The Sun Has Gone Down. While I Will Listen To Some Of My Favorite Jazz Records In Cooler Weather, It's The Warmer Nights That Really Make Them Come Alive. Something About Those Sounds And The Heat Of The Night Really Makes It Happen For Me.

Night

Weather

Sound

I Find It Takes A Lot Of Strength To Endure Myself.

Endure

I've Been In Iraq, And It Never Occurred To Me To Go, 'hey, This War Is Bogus,' To Some Guy Who's 24 Hours A Day Trying Not To Get Shot At Or Blown Up.

War

Iraq

Guy

I Guess I Am Famous In A Way. I Would Rather Consider It Recognizable - I Think That Is More Logical. I Don't Feel Famous.

Thinking

Way

Logical

I'm Always Looking, People Are Always Presenting And I Have Found That Every Year Of My Life There's Been Great Bands. All Over The World, All The Time. So When Someone Goes, "music Sucks Now!" I'll Go, "i Don't Think So. Not Over At My House."

Thinking

Years

People

I'd Like To Rid Myself Of Writing, To Surrender, To Release The Venom. And Hopefully At Some Point, I'll Be A Happy, Well-adjusted Guy And I'll Have No Need For All That 'art.'

Art

Writing

Guy

What I'm Saying Is America Has A Job Deficit Because Hundreds Of Thousands Of Jobs Went Elsewhere. Not Because [barack] Obama Raised Your Taxes. He, In Fact, Lowered Them. They Are Lower.

Jobs

America

Facts

I'm Not A Thrill Seeker. I'm Not Looking To Get Kidnapped. I'm Not Looking To Get A Shot At. I've Been Shot At. I Didn't Like It.

Thrill

Shots

Kidnapped

If The Constitution Was A Movie, The Preamble Would Be The Trailer, The First Amendment The Establishing Shot, The 13th The Crowd Pleaser And The 14th The Ultimate Hero Scene.

Hero

Would Be

Crowds

I'd Like To Talk To Sean Hannity In A Controlled Environment And Say, 'o.k., You Can't Interrupt And Jump Up And Down Like A Professional Wrestler.'

Environment

Wrestler

Up And Down

I Can't Imagine Being Sixty Years Of Age And Playing Music I Wrote When I Was In My Twenties. I Would Rather Sail The Sea Of Consequence To New Lands. Laps Around The Shallow End Of The Pool, Not For Me.

Years

Sea

Land

Literally Thousands Of Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against The Nfl By Retired Players, Many Of Whom Say That Information On Brain Injury In Football Was Withheld From Them.

Football

Player

Nfl

I Just Work, To The Exclusion Of Most Other Things. I Rarely Work In A Frenzied Manner, Just Kind Of - If You Take The Beater That Whips The Icing Or The Eggs Into Shape - On The Upper End Of Medium Speed, That's Kind Of How I Am About Seven Days A Week.

Eggs

Shapes

Icing

The Fact Is, In The Minds Of Many, Trayvon Martin Received The Appropriate Punishment For A True Crime: He Was Black, Male And Dared To Walk Outside. In Life, Young Trayvon Was Just A Teenager; In Death, He Has Been Transformed Into A Scary, Lurking, Suspicious, Prone-to-violence Spook.

Teenager

Punishment

Scary

Everyone Who Knows Me Knows That I'm A Hopeless Romantic Who Listens To Love Ballads And Doo-wop Songs All The Time.

Romantic

Song

Hopeless

Through The Years, I Have Combined Meditation, Action, And The Iron Into A Single Strength. I Believe That When The Body Is Strong, The Mind Thinks Strong Thoughts. Time Spent Away From The Iron Makes My Mind Degenerate. I Wallow In A Thick Depression. My Body Shuts Down My Mind.

Strong

Workout

Believe

Nowadays, The Media Have To Be There To Keep You From Asking Too Many Questions, From Getting Together With Other People Who Might Want To Do The Jeffersonian Thing And Call Out The Government.

Government

Media

People

If You Are A Kid In Beverly Hills, (i Am Not Putting Down People Who Live In Beverly Hills) If That Kid Knows Private School And A Credit Card... You Can't Say The Kid Is Taking Life For Granted. He Is Taking The Life That Was Given To Him.

School

Kids

People

Ramones Music Has A Pavlovian Effect On Me - The Song Starts, And The World Blurs Around The Sound.

Song

Sound

World

Rock N' Roll Unchained A Nation And Revolutionized Radio And The Record Industry, Not To Mention The Motion Picture Business.

Rocks

Records

Radio

I'm Just A Guy. I Get Treated Like I'm Famous But I Don't Take It Seriously. I Take The Time People Take Out To Check Me Out Very, Very Seriously.

People

Guy

Checks

If The Death Of Osama Bin Laden Brings Any Peace To Those Who Lost Loved Ones On That Awful Day In September 2001, That Is A Great Thing. It Is More Likely, However, Just A Painful Reminder Of What Was Lost.

Lost Love

Awful

September

If I Lose The Light Of The Sun, I Will Write By Candlelight, Moonlight, No Light. If I Lose Paper And Ink, I Will Write In Blood On Forgotten Walls. I Will Write Always. I Will Capture Nights All Over The World And Bring Them To You

Wall

Writing

Night

I Am Always Interested In An Opportunity To Learn Something.

Opportunity

Opportunities To Learn

Each Year, Every City In The World That Can Should Have A Multiday Festival. More People Meeting Each Other, Digging New Types Of Music, New Foods, New Ideas. You Want To Stop Having So Many Wars? This Could Be A Step In The Right Direction.

War

Years

Cities

If An American Company Has A Drop Of Patriotic Blood Coursing Through Its System, Then Surely It Would Set Up In America And Employ Americans, Right?

Patriotic

Blood

America

I Get Letters From Young People Telling Me That They're Broke And Download My Albums For Free. They Ask Me What I Think About That. I Now Have A Standard Line. I Tell Them, 'i Would Rather Be Heard Than Paid.'

Thinking

People

Albums

My Father Did Not Rock. He Just Earned And Hated. Don't End Up Like This Man.

Father

Men

Rocks

All Of The Things That The Bible Warns You Of Being: Jealous, Covetous, Murderous, Selfish, Etc., That's Kind Of How Humans Are.

Selfish

Jealous

Etc

When You Start To Doubt Yourself The Real World Will Eat You Alive.

Real

Doubt

Alive

I've Always Seen It As The Role Of An Artist To Drag His Inside Out, Give The Audience All You've Got. Writers, Actors, Singers, All Good Artists Do The Same. It Isn't Supposed To Be Easy.

Artist

Giving

Roles

A Rose Trapped Inside A Fist.

Rose

Fists

Trapped

Creativity Requires A Lot Of Pass/fail/start Again And It Is Often Hard On The Psyche.

Creativity

Failing

Hard

Football Is At Least As 'gay' As Rugby, Greco-roman Wrestling And The Film '300.'

Football

Wrestling

Gay

I Like The Idea Of Someone Else’s Love Safely Sealed In A Song Or A Book.

Song

Book

Ideas

I've Never Been In A Situation Where I Had To Run For My Life, But I've Been Bitten By A Lot Of Poisonous Snakes Where It Was Fairly Painful. Pythons Of Size Have A Lot Of Teeth In That Mouth, It's A Painful Bite And Those Wounds Get Infected Fairly Easily. I've Got Snake Wounds From These Animals That Have Lasted Quite A While Where It'll Ache For Several Days. Having Said That, I've Been Lucky; It's Not Like I'm Looking For Trouble With These Animals Either. It's Not An Envelope I'm Willing To Push.

Running

Animal

Python

Pride Is A Thing That I Have Tried To Abandon Completely. Try As I Might, Pride Still Creeps Into Many Of The Things I Do.

Pride

Trying

Might

The Fact Is That I Am Always Thinking Of Something To Build. A New Book, Radio Show, Plans For A Trip Somewhere. I Am Not A Very Happy Person But I Feel Pretty Even When I Am Working, So I Guess That Is How I Am Wired.

Book

Thinking

Radio

I Have A House, I Try To Spend As Little Time In It As Possible. Not Always Easy On The Mind And Body, But It's How I Got Myself To 80-plus Countries. This Kind Of Routine Forces One To Reinvent And Improvise. The Older I Get, The More Important This Is To Me.

Country

House

Mind

Weakness Is What Brings Ignorance, Cheapness, Racism, Homophobia, Desperation, Cruelty, Brutality, All These Things That Will Keep A Society Chained To The Ground, One Foot Nailed To The Floor.

Ignorance

Feet

Racism

I Don't Wish To Be Anything More Or Less Than What I Am. If This Is How It Is, Then So Be It.

Wish

Ifs

If I'm In L.a. For Longer Than 20 Days, I'm Looking For Work, Because I Don't Do Vacations.

Vacation

Ifs

Looking For Work

To This Day, My Haircut Is The Number Two Clippers, Which I Apply To Myself Every Month.

Two

Numbers

Months

I Would Like Go To Palestine And Interview People There About What Their Lives Are Like; Same Thing In Iran.

Iran

People

Interviews

The Destructive Power Of A Lie Is Stronger Than The Truth.

Lying

Stronger

Adages

Your Commander Would Never Lie To You. That's The Vice President's Job.

Jobs

Lying

President

I Plan To Be A Part Of Haiti's Reconstruction And Future.

Haiti

Reconstruction

Plans

Everyone Should Have The Right To Go Off And Do Their Music Or Do Their Books. The People Who Are In The Position To Censor They're Really Not Down To Reality Where That Certain Artists Are Coming From.

Book

Artist

Reality

There Are Other People, Other Economies, Governments, Cultures, Religions, And Destinies Going On At The Same Time As Yours. You Have To Widen The Scope Of Your Lens And Start Seeing More. Because Americans, It's Easy To Make Us Freak Out. When The Going Gets Rough, You Have To Get Conservative. That's What's Happened To America In The Last Eight Years. I Just Try To Point Out That There's More Going On Than Most People Pay Attention To.

Destiny

People

Trying

My Love Runs Deeper Than The Wounds.

Running

Deeper

Wounds

I Am Not Immune To The Lure Of A Signed Record, Flier Or Set List. The Fact That Your Music Heroes Potentially Had, In Their Own Hands, The Record You Now Have In Yours Is Kind Of Cool. When The Musician Has Departed, It Can Give The Thing A Unique Power.

Hero

Unique

Hands

Could It Be That Violence Is As Much A Part Of The American Identity As The Constitution, And A Vital Component To Its Economic Stability?

Identity

Violence

Constitution

Michele Bachmann Is Always A Great Person To Go To For An Opinion About Anything. She Has A Very Active And Interesting Mind.

Interesting

Mind

Opinion

Knowledge Without Mileage Equals Bullshit.

Bullshit

Mileage

Like A Lot Of Inwardly Drawn Young People, I Spent A Lot Of Time In Libraries. At My High School, I Often Spent My Lunch Breaks There.

School

Lunch Break

People

I Have Not The Smarts Or Patience For Political Office.

Patience

Smart

Office

More Than 30 Years Ago, In Washington, D.c., I Secured A Copy Of A Single By A Los Angeles Band Called The Bags. The Two-song 7-inch, Released On Dangerhouse, Had A Girl On The Cover Who Looked Right At You With Huge Eyes. The Songs, 'survive' And 'babylonian Gorgon,' Were Great And Made Many Of My Mix Tapes.

Girl

Song

Eye

I Lay Off A Lot Modern Fiction And Only Rely On Living Writers For Non-fiction Work.

Fiction

Modern

Rely

I Have Built My Life To Pursue The New. I Don't Have Family, Don't Know Many People And I Am Usually Ready To Leave Within An Hour.

People

Hours

Ready

Citizens United Didn't Work. Hey, Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, Shellgame Adelson: Democracy Trumps Money Sometimes.

Brother

Democracy

Citizens United

I Don't Consider Myself An Actor, For Me It's Employment. Like The Actor Who's A Waiter A Lot, I'm An Actor When I'm Not On Tour, In That That's A Job I Can Do.

Jobs

Employment

Actors

With Age, Life Becomes Complex And Difficult, Often Fraught With Risk On Several Levels, From The Practical To The Fiscal.

Risk

Age

Levels

How Memories Lie To Us. How Time Coats The Ordinary With Gold. How It Breaks The Heart To Go Back And Attempt To Re-live Them. How Crushed We Are When We Discover That The Gold Was Merely Gold-plating Thinly Coated Over Lead, Chalk And Peeling Paint.

Memories

Lying

Heart

The Ecstatic Insanity Of Romantic Pursuit Can Be So Enhanced By Music That Entire Romantic Conquests, Victories And Ruinous, Crushing Defeats Can Be Tied To Songs To Such A Degree That It's Almost Unbearable To Listen To Them Again, As They Bring Back The Memories So Vividly.

Crush

Song

Memories

The Ruts Were A Great Punk Rock Band From England Whose Songs Were As Excellent As Their Time Together Was Short.

Song

Rocks

Together

It's So Painful To Be Next To Someone You Feel Strongly About And Know You Can't Say The Things You Want To.

Want

Painful

I Definitely Learned A Lesson This Time. I Know That I Can Be Broken. I Am Not As Tough As I Thought. I See It Now. At This Point, It's The Only Thing Good That Came Out Of All Of This. I Know Myself Better Now And Know What I Have To Do.

Broken

Lessons

Tough

The Kid Who Throws His Spaghetti From The High Chair Onto His Father's Face, He's Pushing Back. He's Sticking It To The Man As He Sees It. I Like That. So That Is Punk.

Father

Kids

Men

I Think Marriage Is A Boring And Fault-ridden Contractual Obligation.

Thinking

Faults

Boring

I Have To Keep Moving I Don't Want To Think I'm Going To Work All Day Today I Don't Want To Stop Don't Want To Let My Brain Catch Up My Thoughts How Will I Be Able To Tell Them That I'm A Shadow A Grey Patch Of Cold Rotting Life

Moving

Thinking

Brain

I Don't Mean To Be Arrogant And I Really Appreciate My Fans But Talking About What I Am Doing Is Not Something I'm Good At. I Do What I Do And That's It. I Want To Get Back To My Work And Do More Of It Instead Of Talking About It.

Mean

Talking

Appreciate

There's Nothing New About The Government Protecting Corporations And Calling It The Freeing Of The World Or Bringing Democracy To Bereft Nations.

Government

Democracy

Calling

Music Files And Downloading Have Indeed Changed The Currency Of Music To A Great Degree.

Degrees

Currency

Changed

Break From Self Rejection, Try Some Introspection.

Inspirational

Self

Rejection

I Have Always Maintained That Iggy Pop Is The Heavyweight Champion Of Rock & Roll.

Rocks

Champion

Heavyweights

While I Have No Empirical Evidence To Back This Up, I Bet That The Number Of Homosexual People Per Thousand Has Not Fluctuated All That Much Over The Centuries. I Do Not Believe The Dented Wisdom My Father Used To Extol, That Homosexuality Was A Sure Sign Of A Civilization In Decline.

Father

Believe

Civilization

You’ll Never Know That Just Sitting Across A Room Full Of People, I Have Transformed You Into A Goddess. A Destroyer Of Despair.

People

Despair

Sitting

I'm A Big Fan Of The American Tapes Label. But That's Very Hard To Keep A Grip On That Because You Blink Your Eyes And They've Released Three Records, All Of Which Are Limited Edition, All Sold At One Show. So You Have To Follow In Drips And Drops On Ebay, Which I Do.

Eye

Ebay

Tape

Sitting In A Room, Alone, Listening To A Cd Is To Be Lonely. Sitting In A Room Alone With An Lp Crackling Away, Or Sitting Next To The Turntable Listening To A Song At A Time Via 7-inch Single Is Enjoying The Sublime State Of Solitude.

Song

Lonely

Cds

I Just Write What I Think Is Good And Keep It At A Thousand Words.

Writing

Thinking

Thousand

Dinosaur Jr. In Their Live Capacity Are A Band That Put Me In A State Of Such Overwhelming Rock That It Often Takes Quite A While To Come Down.

Rocks

Band

Dinosaurs

I Never Had Any Interest In Being Involved With The Boy Scouts.

Boys

Boy Scout

Interest

I Was In Pakistan In Islamabad When Bhutto Was Assassinated, And The Next Day, You Know, There's Just Plumes Of Smoke Everywhere. I Mean, Islamabad Is On Fire.

Mean

Fire

Next Day

I Get Along With Australians Really Well. Everyone's Usually Really Cool, And It's Always A Drag To Leave.

Really Cool

Drag

Wells

'the Great Gatsby' Is A Book I Have Read A Few Times, And It Seems To Get Heavier Every Time I Come To Visit.

Book

Seems

I Remain Hopeful That Science, Innovation And Kindness Will Come To The Fore As Things Become More And More Tense In Parts Of The World. I Think What You Are Seeing In The World Right Now Is Kind Of A Leveling Or An Attempt To Level The Playing Field.

Kindness

Thinking

Hopeful

When I Am In Africa, I Always Have The Feeling That It's Where Everything Started. When I Am In New York, I Know It Is Where Everything Ended Up.

New York

Feelings

Knows

Before Any American Points A Finger At President Putin And Calls Him Nasty Names, They Should Recognize That A Lot Of Americans Agree With Putin On His Stance Against Homosexual And Transgender People.

Names

People

President

Listen To The Stage Manager And Get On Stage When They Tell You To. No One Has Time For The Rock Star Bullshit. None Of The Techs Backstage Care If You're David Bowie Or The Milkman. When You Act Like A Jerk, They Are Completely Unimpressed With The Infantile Display That You Might Think Comes With Your Dubious Status. They Were There Hours Before You Building The Stage, And They Will Be There Hours After You Leave Tearing It Down. They Should Get Your Salary, And You Should Get Theirs.

Stars

Thinking

Rocks

If I Was Gay, There Would Be No Closet. You Would Never See The Closet I Came Out Of. Why? Because I'd Have Burned It For Kindling By The Time I Was Twelve... If I Was Gay, At This Stage Of The Game?age 37, Aging Alternative Icon?i'd Be Taking Out Ads.

Gay

Games

Icons

The More I Learn About Mr. Romney, The Less There Is To Admire.

Admire

Romney

I Was A Very Repressed Young Person. I Wasn't Good At School. I Didn't Fit In.

School

Fit

Young

To Justify Being Listened To, I Try To Be As Well Informed As I Can. Hence, The Travel. Reading Is Good Too. Reading Gets You Part Way There, And I Do Read Pretty Voraciously For A Guy Who's Trying To Write So Much.

Reading

Writing

Guy

If You Listen To The Way I Speak And Watch The Way I Conduct Myself - There's Nothing About Me That's Rock N' Roll. It's Like, 'hello, I'm In A Rock N' Roll Band'. 'no, You're A Narc.'

Rocks

Watches

Band

Even Though I Am Not Hungry When I Get Up, I Try To Eat To Get Me Ready For The Day. Within An Hour Of Getting Up.

Trying

Hungry

Hours

Voting Is Completely Important. People In America Think Democracy Is A Given. I Think Of It As An Ecosystem, And What Gets In The Way Of It Is Politicians And Apathy.

Thinking

Ecosystems

America

As You Do With Any Band You're In, You Get To Know Everyone Too Well All Too Soon. When You're Crammed Into A Small Space, Proximity Leads To Familiarity.

Space

Band

Proximity

Rush Limbaugh Makes Money Getting Simpleminded People To Feel Good About Their Intellectually Undernourished Brain Spasms. He's Very Good At It, And I Scarcely Believe A Fraction Of What He Says.

Believe

People

Feel Good

The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Was Vigorously And Vociferously Opposed By The Southern States. President Lyndon B. Johnson Signed It Into Law Nonetheless.

Rights

Law

Southern

You Could Split Hairs And Bring Up Words Like 'doo-wop' And Terms Like 'soul' Or 'r&b', But I Think Pop Music Is What You Want It To Be - That's Why It's Pop.

Thinking

Hair

Soul

That's Where The Economy Is Going. It Went Somewhere. Just Not To America. And The Money Made? That Went To The Cayman Islands And Switzerland. Not Back Here. Never To Be Taxed.

America

Islands

Switzerland

Strength Is The Product Of Struggle, You Must Do What Others Don't To Achieve What Others Won't.

Struggle

Bodybuilding

Achieve

I Feel Close To People Like Jimi Hendrix Because I Connect With His Music. Not The Man But What He Did.

Men

People

He Man

We All Learn Lessons In Life. Some Stick, Some Don't. I Have Always Learned More From Rejection And Failure Than From Acceptance And Success.

Life Lesson

Acceptance

Rejection

My Acting Range Is Incredibly Limited And Narrow, But I'm A Good Heavy. I'm A Good Authoritarian Figure; I Don't Know Why. "can You Be A Cop?" Sure. "can You Be A Marine?" Absolutely. Well, At Least In A Movie.

Marine

Acting

Cop

It's Hard To Get People At A Record Company To Talk About Music. They Don't Seem To Want To Talk About Music, It's All Marketing, And That's Part Of A Record, You Gotta Get It Out There, People Have Gotta Hear It, But You Could Do It In A Way That's Not Repulsive.

People

Marketing

Records

For Many Years, I Tried To Make New Year's Resolutions. I Made Lists And Shot For Great Heights: I Would Show Altruism And Exert Moral Strength, Patience And All Those Other Great Attributes.

New Year

Years

Height

Mr. Christ, I Read You As An Infinitely Patient Entity Who, As They Say, Often Works In Mysterious Ways, A Rebel Unafraid To Take The Tougher, Less Traveled Paths. Seems To Me You're Playing The Long Game. Is That Why More States Are Coming Out In Favor Of Marriage Equality? Is That Why The Affordable Care Act Is Now With Us?

Games

Long

Care

For Me, Jazz Will Always Be The Soundtrack Of The Civil Rights Movement.

Rights

Movement

Jazz

Am I Self-righteous? Why Not? It's Not Like I Can Count On You To Be Righteous For Me.

Self

Alcohol

Why Not

I Mean Black Flag Happened. I Was Lucky. I Don't Think I Could Have Put Together Something With One Percent Of That Oomph On My Own.

Mean

Thinking

Black

I Was Very Lucky To Have Had The Opportunity To Tour With The Beastie Boys And Watched Almost Every Set They Played On All Those Dates. Why Not? You Do Your Set And Then You Get To See The Beasties Play? Best Deal In Town.

Boys

Opportunity

Play

'fox News' Will One Day Come To An End. Led Zeppelin Will Not. It's As Simple As That.

Simple

One Day

News

If You Really Want To Rebel Against Your Parents: Outearn Them, Outlive Them, And Know More Than They Do.

Parent

Rebel

Want

Some People Tell Me That They Like What I Do, Which Is Great, Of Course. The Perfect Irony And Truth Is That I Need Them Much More Than They Need Me.

People

Perfect

Needs

I Think More Airtime Should Be Given To Donald Trump And Orly Taitz. They Should Run For Office Together. They Should Open For Charlie Sheen.

Running

Thinking

Office

I Wonder If It Is Australia's Great Distance From More Populated Land Masses That Allows Its Inhabitants To Be Left To Their Own Devices, To Be Incredibly Creative And, At Times, To Be Wonderfully Weird.

Distance

Australia

Land

I Guess, Topic To Topic, You Could Consider Me A Left-leaning Person.

Topics

Persons

Left

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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