People took such awful chances with chemicals and their bodies because they wanted the quality of their lives to improve. They lived in ugly places where there were only ugly things to do. They didn't own doodley-squat, so they couldn't improve their surroundings. so they did their best to make their insides beautiful instead.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Related What the culture of get rich quick does to our people is People forget that they have to create thei... SUNDAY ADELAJA If everyone knows their roles in the organisation, do their best in their role, then success is defi... ZENG HAN JUN The villains were always ugly in books and movies. Necessarily so, it seemed. Because if they were a... NENIA CAMPBELL In the old days in France, they had beheadings of people who commit heinous crimes, ... Nevada Newsm... OSCAR GOODMAN I think this is one of the greatest strengths of this school. Not only do the students go on to achi... MICHAEL N. CASTLE Or maybe they just accept that it's wrong in God's eyes, although not in their own, and they'll worr... CRAIG GROESCHEL They often said the years they spent in Dothan were the best of their lives. They had lived in many ... RALPH PURVIS They took the time to write about themselves, their families, their school. All of the letters were ... BRUCE NICOLETTA There's nothing to mourn about death any more than there is to mourn about the growing of a flower. ... CHARLES BUKOWSKI And even if their language skills didn't improve, which they all did, they became more confident in ... JOAN NEILSEN And what do they want!? DEYTH BANGER Their actions were morally ugly. After spending so much time among us, they stabbed us in the back, ILHAM ALIYEV Judgment refers to a sound mind. When there is no sound mind in a society, people in that society do... SUNDAY ADELAJA The Protestant teachings caused people to view their work as a way of proving their love to God so t... SUNDAY ADELAJA Everyone has crap in their background, everyone has things they wish they could undo. But most peopl... NICHOLAS SPARKS I don't have time for their judgement and their stupidity and you know they lay down with their ... CHARLIE SHEEN They do quality work, and they understand and care about their school and the program they developed... INGRID MCCLELLAN Societies where there are worthy men and women of God, not necessarily preachers or religious men, b... SUNDAY ADELAJA Leaders inform, inspire and improve people. They educate, empower and enrich the value of their foll... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR I wonder if other mothers feel a tug at their insides, watching their children grow up into the peop... JODI PICOULT I'm certain that it was an incredible gift for me to not only be friends with some of the greatest b... BONNIE RAITT There are just not that many things you do that so dramatically change peoples' lives. They recoup t... LYNN SULLIVAN Most people do not take care of their lives, because they don’t value life. SUNDAY ADELAJA The privileged Victorians who did most to improve the lives of the poor were not ashamed of their pi... MICHEL FABER I laugh at people who think their spontaneous, yet plan their spontaneous moments. SONYA.E.WILLIAMS Words can change their meaning, just by repeating them. DEYTH BANGER To be poetic is how u get somebody as a girl around you... "Dexter: You seem uncertain. I... DEYTH BANGER The kids were so concerned with how they looked when they came to see us. They would pass down their... LARISSA FIGARI Women who start out as ugly ducklings don't become beautiful swans. What they mainly become is c... MAEVE BINCHY But if people want to swim in the Thames, if they want to take their lives into their own hands, the... BORIS JOHNSON Everyone is their own, though they are so alone. They all sit on their imagined thrones, made only o... HUBERT MARTIN That's why actors can take on other lives, because I think basically, at the bottom of everything, t... ANJELICA HUSTON The old-timers knew where their roots were, where they got their start and they like to interact wit... BILL DILLER A lot of young people feel that they are not part of society, they do not have access to land, educa... EDWARD WINTER I love Siberians because they are so beautiful to look at. They are certainly not pushovers, though;... CONNIE STEVENS Great leaders are most wanted. They are most wanted for what they do with their gifts and talents. T... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR The tax base will shift more to where they have their residences, instead of where they work. That's... LOREN SCOTT They were from two different worlds. Two entirely different people. But upon their coming together, ... C. JOYBELL C. Simply expanding Medicaid does not improve health care outcomes. In Louisiana, instead we're hel... BOBBY JINDAL It devastated their lives and they worked very hard to keep their marriage together. They were both ... LISA HUGGARD It was horrifying. You wouldn't believe how people are treated there. You could see that these p... KATE MILLETT People seem to follow a pattern. They go on, they check their own house, then houses where they've l... AMY BOHUTINSKY Female artists are the perfect example of a creator: They know how to make life and art with their b... BRANDON BOYD The greats - they protect their sleep because it's where the best work comes from. They say no t... RYAN HOLIDAY We have had longtime quilters come in to volunteer their time, but because the quilts are so ugly th... LOUISE HALL We still have many stories to report ahead of us. How do people start to rebuild their lives? How do... MARCY MCGINNIS It's in their best interests. . . so they take every step they need to protect their poultry. ALAIN CHARETTE Most German perpetrators were never punished or rewarded for their behavior, but they had learned so... FERN SCHUMER CHAPMAN The lords themselves are responsible for making the poor people their enemy. They do not want to rem... THOMAS MüNTZER If Australia want to regain the Ashes they would dramatically improve their chances by appointing Sh... DENNIS LILLEE They had perfected their team nagging to a level where they no longer had to confer and felt they wo... THOMM QUACKENBUSH I can’t trust beautiful girls
because everyone want them;
I can’t trust ugly girls
because they ... KAGABO BURANGA JACQUES For many people who are so lost in their minds, so much involved in their thought processes, the onl... ECKHART TOLLE And I think the rolling polls put more pressure on them to sustain their beliefs and to improve thei... JIM BOLGER Organic foods are richer in nutrients. This means they improve satiety and naturally help regulate b... CYNTHIA SASS Young people cannot contribute to the betterment of society if they are constantly focusing on how t... ERALDO BANOVAC They're so anxious to finish the work quickly so they can make money, they will risk their lives. ESTHER SANTIAGO They were retired people who worked all their lives. They were all very close friends some lifelong ... ELI PERLMAN Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that th... LEMONY SNICKET Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in ... MARGARET YOUNG Florida has its own rhythm, too. People go to work, they watch their children learn and grow and sta... JEB BUSH He hated the men floating in sleep in the big stone houses. Because their lives were ordered and the... LEONARD COHEN But to me, they were beautiful, like their own constellation. AVA DELLAIRA There are guys in the game only because of steroids. They couldn't make it with their natural ta... DAVID WELLS I choose to mind my own business. In order to improve my life & to be happy, Rather than focusin... DE PHILOSOPHER DJ KYOS There are three houses that the ultimate adult must leave: their parents' house, their employer's ho... AGONA APELL Viking women, if they were left behind, were ruling their town. They were earls in their own right; ... ALYSSA SUTHERLAND But they need to improve their relationship with Motorola for this product to succeed. ALBERT LIN When I ask French parents what they most want for their children, they say things like "to feel comf... PAMELA DRUCKERMAN The difference was, they were hungry on their chances. They had a bit more zip on their chances and ... MARC CRAWFORD Don't think that this people are stupid, probably you have caught one, but you didn't finish your wo... DEYTH BANGER They are heroes because they protect us, you know? They go in where people are in danger, and they s... DAVID BLANKENHORN You should always listen to your heart if you don't want any regret in life. People will give their ... BHAWANA JAIN When we finish the season, I tell all the players at our breakup dinner there are three things they ... BOB HAMILTON Because our children had had the privilege of growing up where they'd raised a lot of food. They wer... ELLA BAKER They are very healthy. Yes, they were sucking and breathing on their own and everything when they ca... CHERYL TIEGS So many desire to know the complicated will of God for their lives, yet they do not do the simple th... RIAAN VAN WYK Wise people put as much distance between themselves and sexual temptation as possible. They not only... CRAIG GROESCHEL I am convinced that people that commit suicide do it not only to end their pain but to hurt those pe... CARL WHITE We are trying to bring to the world what is happening there and how innocent people are killed just ... DR. REZVAN MOHRAGI Job training empowers people to realize their dreams and improve their lives. SYLVIA MATHEWS BURWELL Research shows that if patients believe they are taking the real drug, they are more confident of im... JOHN CORNWELL They won't live their lives... They see things they don't wanna see Yet they won't shut t... FLONJA AKSHIJA They never had a better computer. They never had better lights. They never had better communication ... ERNEST AGYEMANG YEBOAH Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they theref... JAMES ALLEN Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to
improve themselves; they theref... JAMES ALLEN Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they theref... JAMES ALLEN I'm not one to grieve too hard or too long over golf. I'm disappointed, mostly for the girls. They t... CATRIN NILSMARK People don't understand that not only can they make a difference, it's their responsibility to do so FLORENCE ROBINSON The fairies, as their custom, clapped their hands with delight over their cleverness, and they were ... J.M. BARRIE Most were beginning to feel they had learned enough to last for the rest of their lives. They remain... BENOIT MANDELBROT They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their minds, yet they are in tha... C.S. LEWIS Marines care for their own. And that is in life and in death. And so they see their duty not complet... GORDON RITCHIE If men could regard the events of their own lives with more open minds, they would frequently discov... ANDRE MAUROIS When two people fall in love, they not only give up their genuine authority over their own lives, bu... ABHIJIT NASKAR They joined because they wanted to serve their country, and deployment meets their expectations of s... JAMES HOSEK They joined because they wanted to serve their country, and deployment meets their expectations of s... JAMES HOSEK They took their chances and we didn't create enough. DAVE BURGESS When people cheat in any arena, they diminish themselves-they threaten their own self-esteem and the... CHERYL HUGHES We were looking to improve on last week's conference game and work on some things at this tournament... JEAN ANDERSON
More Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
The Fourteenth Book is entitled, "What can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Exp... KURT VONNEGUT JR. No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our re... KURT VONNEGUT JR. Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintena... KURT VONNEGUT JR. The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet... KURT VONNEGUT JR. And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physica... KURT VONNEGUT JR. The darkest secret of this country, I am afraid, is that too many of its citizens imagine that they ... KURT VONNEGUT JR. You know — we've had to imagine the war here, and we have imagined that it was being fought by agi... KURT VONNEGUT, JR. Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it,
and finds himself no wiser than bef... KURT VONNEGUT, JR. To pay homage to beauty is to admire Nature; to admire Nature is to worship God KURT VONNEGUT, JR. Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand. KURT VONNEGUT JR. We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. KURT VONNEGUT JR. God damn it, you've got to be kind. KURT VONNEGUT JR. For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, o... KURT VONNEGUT JR. If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE... KURT VONNEGUT JR. If you want to really hurt you parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do... KURT VONNEGUT JR. One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have ... KURT VONNEGUT JR. Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why. KURT VONNEGUT JR. Her pleasure went on and on, and so did Ben's. 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Men want a lot of pals—and they don’t want people to get mad at them. KURT VONNEGUT JR. One sort of optional thing you might do is to realize there are six seasons instead of four. The poe... KURT VONNEGUT JR. My cash cows, the slick magazines, were put out of business by TV. KURT VONNEGUT I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the ki... KURT VONNEGUT Oh, sure, we have another world war coming, and another great depression, but where are the leaders ... KURT VONNEGUT Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been... KURT VONNEGUT If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely y... KURT VONNEGUT There is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look. KURT VONNEGUT I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep. KURT VONNEGUT I let the dog out, or I let him in, and we talk some. I let him know I like him, and he lets me know... KURT VONNEGUT If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind. KURT VONNEGUT I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. KURT VONNEGUT Human beings will be happier - not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudic... KURT VONNEGUT What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thin... KURT VONNEGUT Everyone now knows how to find the meaning of life within himself. But mankind wasn't always so ... KURT VONNEGUT People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll h... KURT VONNEGUT If somebody says, I love you, to me, I feel as though I had a pistol pointed at my head. What can an... KURT VONNEGUT I get up at 7:30 and work four hours a day. Nine to twelve in the morning, five to six in the evenin... KURT VONNEGUT Thinking doesn't seem to help very much. The human brain is too high-powered to have many practical ... KURT VONNEGUT What war has always been is a puberty ceremony. It's a very rough one, but you went away a boy and c... KURT VONNEGUT The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don't acknowled... KURT VONNEGUT Being American is to eat a lot of beef steak, and boy, we've got a lot more beef steak than any othe... KURT VONNEGUT ... this is a hard world to be ludicrous in, with so many human beings so reluctant to laugh, so inc... KURT VONNEGUT The feeling about a soldier is, when all is said and done, he wasn't really going to do very much wi... KURT VONNEGUT We are all what we pretend to be, but, we had better be very careful what we pretend. KURT VONNEGUT I was taught that the human brain was the crowning glory of evolution so far, but I think it's a ver... KURT VONNEGUT I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds o... KURT VONNEGUT We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. KURT VONNEGUT Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than befo... KURT VONNEGUT People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order, so they'll have... KURT VONNEGUT There is no order in the world around us, we must adapt ourselves to the requirements of chaos inste... KURT VONNEGUT There's only one me, and I'm stuck with him. KURT VONNEGUT I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled Science Fiction and I would like out, par... KURT VONNEGUT Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be. KURT VONNEGUT Artists use frauds to make human beings seem more wonderful than they really are. Dancers show us hu... KURT VONNEGUT There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, I said, but no good reason ever to have without reser... KURT VONNEGUT Life happens too fast for you ever to think about it. If you could just persuade people of this, but... KURT VONNEGUT It was a thunderingly beautiful experience -- voluptuous, sexual, dangerous, and expensive as hell. KURT VONNEGUT We would be a lot safer if the Government would take its money out of science and put it into astrol... KURT VONNEGUT Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why. KURT VONNEGUT Still and all, why bother? Here's my answer. Many people need desperately to receive this messag... KURT VONNEGUT Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to rem... KURT VONNEGUT I have no degree in biochemistry, neither do I have one in mechanical engineering, as the Army saw f... KURT VONNEGUT True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the countr... KURT VONNEGUT What troubles me most about my lovely country is that its children are seldom taught that American f... KURT VONNEGUT Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since... KURT VONNEGUT