“There's this great Ron Carlson story, "A Note on the Type," and it's about this guy who keeps escaping from prison. He's really good at escaping, but he gets caught all the time, because he can't stop writing his name on underpasses where he's running from the law. And there's this whole beautiful paragraph about how to run is to write. And, you know, it's obviously about the writer's life.” KnowsWritingWholeStoriesRunningBeautifulLawGuyNamesTypePrisonNotesCaughtThis GuyEscapingParagraphCarlson Author:Pam Houston
“There's this group online that I frequent. It's a group of prop crazies just like me called the Replica Props Forum, and it's people who trade, make and travel in information about movie props.” PeopleGroupsInformationTradeLike MeOnlinePropsForumsReplica Author:Adam Savage
“There's this huge controversy over the fact that President Bush apparently received credit for National Guard service in Alabama in '72 and '73 even though his commanding officers are saying he never reported. I think what's even more disturbing is that he received enough credits to graduate from Yale.” ThinkingEnoughFactsPresidentHugeCreditOfficersGraduatesControversyDisturbingPresident BushAlabamaYaleNational Guard Author:Jay Leno
“There's this huge number of desperate people.” PeopleNumbersHugeDesperateHuge Numbers Author:Lloyd Alexander
“There's this idea like feminism is humorless and humorless in a way that's like a whistleblower. Like you're going to - you're going to make sure that nobody has any fun. And that's not true at all. I think feminism allows me to do what I do, and I'm so grateful to the idea of it and grateful to all the women that came before.” ThinkingWayIdeasFunFeminismLike YouGratefulSo GratefulWhistleblowers Author:Margaret Cho
“There's this idea of shifting baselines. It was coined by a guy named Jeremy Jackson. It's the idea that every generation takes what it sees, and says, "Okay, well, that's the norm."” WellsIdeasGuyGenerationsOkayNormShifting Author:Elizabeth Kolbert
“There's this idea that artists are free and that means that we can do whatever we want to do. And it's very important to engage with this idea, just as human beings, that we are free to do what we wanna do. So the real question becomes, then, what do we wanna do? And as one gets to know oneself, one finds that there are things that return again and again that you wanna do.” KnowsWantHumansMeanImportantIdeasRealArtistCan DoHuman BeingsReturnOneselfAgain And AgainKnowing OneselfReal Questions Author:Chris Martin
“There's this idea that everybody has to have everything right away... I wasn't the superstar. I had to work really long hours for it.” LongIdeasHoursLife ChangingSuperstarReally LongLong Hours Author:Jenna Lyons
“There's this idea that if you take your clothes off, somehow you must have loose morals.” IfsIdeasMoralClothesSeductive Author:Demi Moore
“There's this idea that if you take your clothes off, somehow you must have loose morals. There's still a negative attitude in our society towards women who use a strength that's inherent - their femininity - in any way that might be considered seductive.” IfsWayStillsIdeasUseMightAttitudeMoralClothesNegativeOur SocietyInherentFemininitySeductiveNegative Attitude Author:Demi Moore
“There's this idea that it's all natural, but everything's been staged to look natural. It is also an invention. It's just that my inventions are different. I often get asked about my artifice, but isn't fashion based on the idea that we can create a fantasy?” LooksIdeasDifferentNaturalFantasyFashionInventionArtifice Author:Lady Gaga
“There's this idea that photography is a kind of testimony and therefore we're forbidden to tell lies with it. I think that's nonsense. Photography isn't testimony.” ThinkingKindIdeasLyingPhotographyNonsenseTestimonyForbidden Author:Frank Horvat
“There's this idea that somebody's job could be more important than somebody else's, and to me, that's not true.” ImportantIdeasJobs Author:Kenny Chesney
“There's this idea that there was a point in our childhood when we were in some way better than we are now and we should try to hang on to that.” WayShouldTryingIdeasChildhoodOur Children Author:John Darnielle
“There's this idea that when you turn 40, you automatically go to adult contemporary heaven, but I want to try and challenge that.” WantTryingIdeasTurnsHeavenChallengesAdultsContemporary Author:Jordan Knight
“There's this idea, particularly in pop music and a lot of these pop father/manager types, that you're selling the person instead of the song. You basically want to create something that the fans relate to because it's exactly like them. So there's a lot of art that's made to be in the image of the audience, but then the audience is imitating this version of themselves. It's a really weird cultural feedback loop, and it's kind of strange to watch. It's a new thing since I was a kid, really a different thing.” KindArtDifferentKidsSongFatherAudienceStrangeSellingFeedbackPop MusicReally Weird Author:Win Butler
“There's this illusion that homosexuals have sex and heterosexuals fall in love. That's completely untrue. Everybody wants to be loved.” WantFallSexGayIllusionFalling In LoveLgbtHomosexualityHomosexualOrientationGay RightsUntrueBeing GayGay PrideLgbt Pride Author:Boy George
“There's this incredible pressure, especially on teens, to be perfect, look right, have the right clothes, date the right people, get into the right school, have the right home life, and so on.” PeopleLooksHomeSchoolPerfectClothesPressureIncrediblesTeensHome Life Author:Deborah Reber
“There's this index that tallies up how much your movies have made, and if they haven't grossed a certain amount, then you're not bankable. I know I'm not Will Smith but, you know, my ranking's pretty low. The only studio picture I've done is Zodiac, and that didn't perform that well.” IfsKnowsWellsMadeDoneCertainHavensAmountLowsStudiosRankingZodiac Author:Chloe Sevigny
“There's this Indian fellow who worked out a cycle like the idea of stone-age, bronze-age, only he did it on an Indian one. The cycle goes from nothing until now and 20th century and then on and right around the cycle until the people are really grooving and then just sinks back into ignorance until it gets back into the beginning again. So the 20th century is a fraction of that cycle, and how many of those cycles has it done yet? It's done as many as you think and all these times it's been through exactly the same things, and it'll be this again.” PeopleThinkingIdeasDoneAgeCenturyIgnoranceStonesFellowsIndianCyclesGet Back20th CenturyFractionsBegin AgainBronzeStone Age Author:George Harrison
“There's this kind of almost - kind of a weird kind of elitism that says well maybe - maybe certain people in certain parts of the world shouldn't be free; maybe it's best just to let them sit in these tyrannical societies. And our foreign policy rejects that concept. And we don't accept it. And so we're working.” PeopleWorldWellsKindCertainAcceptingPolicyConceptsRejectsForeign PolicyElitism Author:George W. Bush
“There's this kind of incredibly mistaken idea that because it's so much cheaper to roll the camera than it used to be and it's so much easier to accumulate a ton of footage, that then you can just go shoot a ton of footage and the editor will make sense out of it. But if you don't have something deliberate made, you're not gonna save it in the editing room.” IfsKindMadeIdeasUsedRoomsEasierCamerasUsed To BeMake SenseEditorsEditingMistakenDeliberateCheaper Author:Ethan Hawke
“There's this kind of strange mythology about me in the media because I've done unusual things.” KindDoneMediaStrangeMythologyUnusualUnusual Things Author:Werner Herzog
“There's this large trend - I think the next trend in the Web, sort of Web 2.0 - which is to have users really express, offer, and market their own content, their own persona, their identity.” ThinkingNextIdentityOffersTrendsUsersPersonaWeb 2.0 Author:John Doerr
“There's this Lebanese lady I dearly loved who raised 13 children in Toledo, and she retired in Phoenix. She said, I get up every morning and say, Thank you, God. I do the same thing now.” ChildrenSaidMorningRaisedGet UpEvery MorningRetiredPhoenixSaying Thank YouThank You GodLebaneseToledo Author:Jamie Farr
“There's this line between propriety and how we really speak and how we really think. And I'm just trying to have fun with that stuff.” ThinkingTryingSpeakFunStuffLinesHaving FunPropriety Author:Paul Beatty
“There's this man who lives in the sky, and he has ten things he doesn't want you to do, and you'll burn for a long time if you do them. But he loves you.” IfsMenWantLongSkyLove YouTenLong Time Author:George Carlin
“There's this message to comedians in particular, that you shouldn't write it, and a television writer should write it. And that's a prevailing conventional wisdom that I think is really wrong. That's not to say that television writers aren't great, but I think that the belief that some comedy writer's going to be able to capture your voice is naive.” ThinkingShouldWritingAbleBeliefVoiceComedyTelevisionParticularMessagesComedianCaptureConventionalNaivePrevailingConventional Wisdom Author:Jim Gaffigan
“There's this misconception that the Navy is this cruise ship, and you get to go out and sail around, and every now and then, you have to swab the deck. But, no, it is a very impressive group of young people that live at sea, in this place that's very uncomfortable. They exude a pride that is well-deserved.” PeopleWellsYoungGroupsSeaPrideShipsUncomfortableNow And ThenSailNavyImpressiveMisconceptionDeckCruiseCruise ShipsVery Impressive Author:Tom Hanks
“There's this moment sometimes, when you do a crossword puzzle and you have the one really long word. And once you get that, the whole thing kind of comes into focus. Sometimes it's just working things over in your mind and then finding that one line that kind of ties the song together, and now it works. It's a puzzle of sorts.” MindKindLongSometimesWholeMomentsTogetherSongLinesFocusFindingsTiesWorking ItPuzzlesOne LineReally LongCrosswordsLong WordsWorking Things Author:Craig Finn
“There's this morbid side to the way many represent Christianity today, where you don't smile, because it's too serious, and you can't expect to see God - that kind of stuff. If there is God, we must see Him, and I don't believe in the idea you find in most churches, where they say, "No, you're not going to see Him. He's way up above you. Just believe what we tell you and shut up."” IfsWayBelieveKindIdeasTodayStuffSidesChurchChristianitySeriousDon't BelieveShut UpMorbidJust BelieveSmile Because Author:George Harrison
“There's this myth that has been exacerbated by others that Starbucks means a $4 cup of coffee, which is not true.” MeanHas BeensMythCoffeeCupsCoffee CupStarbucks Author:Howard Schultz
“There's this notion that actors choose their career. After a certain level, I think that that's true. I still take way more jobs than I turn down, and the reason that I turn down a job is that I just can't find anything in it that charges me or excites me or challenges me about moving to the next phase of where I'm headed.” ThinkingWayStillsReasonJobsMovingCertainTurnsNextActorsChallengesLevelsCareersDown AndNotionPhases Author:Dallas Roberts
“There's this notion that allows people to create their own collection of songs, so it rewrites what a song is. They may only want 10 seconds of something, or they may only want this particular song, or they want this group of songs. It becomes much more user-controlled.” PeopleWantMaySongGroupsParticularNotionCollectionsControlledSecondsUsers Author:Michael Nesmith
“There's this notion that in order to draw attention and to be considered for roles I want to be considered for, you need a certain amount of notoriety.” WantNeedsCertainOrderAttentionRolesAmountDrawsNotionNotoriety Author:Bryan Cranston
“There's this notion that Republicans are the party of Jesus and the Democrats are the Godless party. Let's be clear for a minute. One party wants to give health insurance to the poor and the weak and the dispossessed, and one party wants to take away that health insurance and give tax breaks to rich people. You tell me: which side would Jesus fall on that argument?” PeopleWantGivingFallJesusSidesPoorPartyBreakRichClearMinutesRepublicanTaxesArgumentWeakDemocratNotionRich PeopleTax Breaks Author:Reza Aslan
“There's this old line the wise folks in Washington have that "it's not the crime, but the cover-up." But only fools believe that. It's always about the crime. The whole point of the cover-up is that a full revelation of the underlying crime is not survivable.” BelieveWholeLinesWiseCrimeFoolFolksRevelationsCover Ups Author:Josh Marshall
“There's this old saying that, if you aren't particularly gifted in natural sciences, if you don't want to become a teacher or pastor or doctor, and don't know what else to do, then you become a lawyer. But I've never regretted it.” IfsKnowsWantNaturalTeacherDoctorsLawyerGiftedPastorNatural ScienceOld SayingNever Regret Author:Bernhard Schlink
“There's this one photograph of guy I know named Simon. The way he's standing, the background, the way his tie's flipping in the wind-it looks good in the small version, but in the big version, he looks like some kind of Italian fashion superhero or something. Like if the fashion police couldn't handle it, they'd call Simon, wearing a big S on his chest for some kind of fashion superhero.” KindGuyFashionPolicePhotographItalianSuperhero Author:Scott Schuman
“There's this other girl called Lykke Li from Sweden - I really want to collaborate with her, that'd be great. Obviously Kanye West as well, and Drake would be pretty amazing.” WantWellsWould BeGirlWestSwedenOther Girl Author:Tinie Tempah
“There's this other half of him I don't know of, it's like he is trying to keep it a secret... if he would just let me inside so I can help.” IfsKnowsTryingI CanHelpingSecretHalfLet MeOther Half Author:Sarah Dessen
“There's this other world where all comedians want to do is make funny videos. Typically what's happened in the past is that a comedian gets a standup career and over the course of 20 years builds it up to the point where Comedy Central gives them a sketch show.” WorldWantGivingYearsShowsPastCoursesCareersComedyHappenedVideoComedianOther WorldsFunny Videos Author:Gavin McInnes
“There's this overly friendly sense of community built up by very isolated people, and there's this Lutheran humbleness that keeps people from talking about their own feelings and asking about yours. What does that do in this modern age where everyone takes pictures of their food, and they share every thought they've ever had in real time?” PeopleDoeRealFeelingsAgeCommunityTalkingShareModernBuiltAskingFriendlyIsolatedHumblenessModern AgeLutherans Author:Noah Hawley
“There's this part of Judaism that I like. Tikun Alum. It said that the world is broken into pieces and everyone has to find it.” WorldSaidPiecesBrokenJudaism Author:Lorene Scafaria
“There's this perception that if you worry a lot and if you look really busy and stressed out then you'll be more successful. You talk about how little sleep you get and how tensed you are and how you're not getting the appreciation you deserve.” IfsLooksLittlesSleepWorrySuccessfulPerceptionDeserveStressBusyAppreciationStressedStressed Out Author:Nancy Meyers
“There's this pet phrase about writing that is bandied around particularly in workshops about "finding your own voice as a poet", which I suppose means that you come out from under the direct influence of other poets and have perhaps found a way to combine those influences so that it appears to be your own voice.” WayWritingMeanFoundVoiceInfluencePoetFindingsDirectPhrasesPetWorkshops Author:Billy Collins
“There's this pet phrase about writing that is bandied around particularly in workshops about "finding your own voice as a poet", which I suppose means that you come out from under the direct influence of other poets and have perhaps found a way to combine those influences so that it appears to be your own voice. But I think you could also put it a different way. You, quote, find your voice, unquote, when you are able to invent this one character who resembles you, obviously, and probably is more like you than anyone else on earth, but is not the equivalent to you.” ThinkingWayWritingMeanDifferentCharacterAbleEarthFoundVoiceInfluencePoetLike YouFindingsDirectDifferent WaysPhrasesPetWorkshops Author:Billy Collins
“There's this phase in the middle of the process where there's still the potential that this will be great, but it's not a blank sheet of paper anymore, and that phase is always my favorite part and the part that I tend to want to stretch out and spend as much time in as possible.” WantStillsProcessMiddlePaperMy FavoritePhasesBlankSheets Author:Charlie Clouser
“There's this phenomenon where people do like to announce movies that they think I'm doing that I'm not.” PeopleThinkingPhenomenon Author:James Franco
“There's this point between conscious and subconscious when you realize you were asleep and resting, and you were having all kinds of anxiety dreams about the film and all the things that can go wrong. You get in this hypnagogic state, where you're waking up and realizing, "Oh, it was just a dream."” KindStatesDreamFilmRealizingAnxietyConsciousWake UpAll KindsWakingSubconsciousJust A Dream Author:David Slade