“When I wouldn't leave home without my blue contacts or when I was bleaching my hair, I didn't have the language to articulate that I was trying to assimilate to whiteness. If anything, I was trying to "look normal."” IfsTryingLooksHomeLanguageHairNormalBlueContactWhitenessBleaching Author:Vivek Shraya
“In no organized sport do the participants have to endure days of struggle just to get to the starting line of their event. The option to drop out of a race that is going badly does not exist for a climber halfway up a big route, and may entail more risk than pushing on. A team of volunteers will not be waiting with warm blankets and hot food at the next bivy ledge. When you reach the summit, having overcome the challenges that inspired you for months or years, you are not at the finish line. The race is not over. You can't relax and let your guard down like a normal athlete.” YearsMayDoeBigsNextSportsWaitingChallengesLinesRaceStruggleRiskTeamEventsMonthsNormalOvercomingHotEndureInspiredStartingAthleteWarmOrganizedRelaxPushingOver YouVolunteerRoutesSummitHalfwayBlanketParticipantsFinish LineClimbersLedgesPushing OnOrganized Sports Author:Steve House
“Wyatt Earp and the Holy Grail: The Tale of the Three Gates is a look at humankind's relationship to the elements which surround them. Oftentimes, these elements encroach on them in a way that is not normal.” WayLooksThreeHolyElementsNormalTalesGatesSurroundHumankindHoly Grail Author:Evan Jacobs
“When the internet came along, everybody said it would mean the death of television, newspapers. There is a dip, and it comes back to a new normal. We're in the dip; we're waiting to see what the new normal is.” MeanSaidWaitingTelevisionInternetNormalNewspapersDipNew Normal Author:Maria Rodale
“The people at the NSA aren't trying to ruin your life. They're not trying to put you in authoritarian dystopia. These are normal people trying to do good work in hard circumstances.” PeopleTryingHardCircumstancesNormalRuinsGood WorkDystopiaNsa Author:Edward Snowden
“That's one of the biggest issues that we see in the question of governments right now, I think, in the Western world. Is that increasingly all of our elected officials are pulled from the same class. These aren't normal people. I don't want to say they're all terrible people, but at the same time, they're not like you and me. These are people who have sort of a nine to five working history.” PeopleThinkingWorldWantGovernmentClassIssuesFiveLike YouTerribleRight NowNormalWesternNineOfficialsWestern WorldElected Officials Author:Edward Snowden
“If you're looking for a book that will spike in sales and then go away and then spike again when it comes out in paperback, your normal model, I definitely won't give you that.” IfsGivingBookNormalModelsGoing Away Author:Simon Sinek
“I haven't seen any claim that Piraha lacks recursion, that is, that there are a finite number of sentences or sentence frames. If that's so, it would mean that the speakers of this language aren't making use of a capacity that they surely have, a normal situation; plenty of people throughout history would drown if they fall into water.” PeopleIfsMeanUseFallLanguageWaterNumbersSituationHavensNormalCapacityClaimsSentencesPlentySpeakersFiniteRecursionFinite Number Author:Noam Chomsky
“It's my hope that as you dip your toe into the Bible's story and viewpoint, you'll find yourself feeling that the Good Book knows more about the world - and about you - than any normal book does.” KnowsWorldDoeBookStoriesFeelingsNormalFinding YourselfToesGood BookViewpointsDip Author:Max Lucado
“I'm feeling better than anybody expected me to so I'm still maintaining a pretty normal schedule, I'd say.” StillsFeelingsNormalExpectedFeel BetterSchedulesMaintaining Author:Jimmy Carter
“You never have a normal family relationship in the White House; it's an impossible thing to have. You live in a goldfish bubble, and you snatch what you can for a personal life, but you never have a normal, natural existence.” HouseNaturalWhiteExistenceImpossibleNormalWhite HouseBubblesPersonal LifeImpossible ThingsFamily RelationshipGoldfishNormal Family Author:Eleanor Roosevelt
“Donald Trump didn't emerge from the orthodoxy of the Republican Party. And so there's going to be bigger differences than normal.” DifferencesPartyTrumpRepublicanNormalBiggerRepublican PartyOrthodoxy Author:David Brooks
“You can't make decisions if there are no charges or issues to deal with. So it's quite normal to wait until there is some reason to react.” IfsReasonWaitingDecisionDealsIssuesNormal Author:Bernie Ecclestone
“Russia's inclination toward authoritarianism undoubtedly strengthened the leaders in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Kazakhstan, as they are afraid of normal democratic procedures.” LeaderNormalDemocraticRussiaInclinationProceduresAuthoritarianismArmeniaAzerbaijan Author:Garry Kasparov
“It is rather difficult to envisage a scenario that could change the domestic situation in the countries of the South Caucasus without solving the problems constantly hindering normal cooperation in the region.” CountryProblemDifficultSituationNormalSouthRegionsCooperationScenariosCaucasus Author:Garry Kasparov
“The idea that Russia felt emboldened and apparently fearless to go into our election and manipulate our own election process, whether successfully or not, is a sign that they are outside the norms of normal society.” IdeasFeltProcessNormalElectionRussiaFearlessNormManipulateElection Process Author:David Brooks
“It was great for me getting a chance to grow up as a normal kid just out of the spotlight, versus all of them growing up in New York. They always had that intense media and spotlight on them.” KidsGrowsChanceGrowing UpGrowingMediaNew YorkNormalIntenseVersusSpotlight Author:Tiffany Trump
“The first mistake is believing that transformational initiatives can be accomplished through normal channels and means. This cannot be done because there are too many conflicting interests that are competing to impede. The second is mistaking incubation for transformation and concluding that failure to achieve escape velocity is due to lack of innovation. It never is. It is always do to lack of leadership focus and, especially, fortitude.” FirstsBelieveMeanDoneInterestMistakeFocusAchieveNormalTransformationInnovationDuesAccomplishedInitiativeCompetingFortitudeVelocityConcludingIncubationLack Of Leadership Author:Geoffrey Moore
“I was travelling with Bruce Sterling on our mutual Difference Engine tour and he became aware from the experience of travelling with me that I would distinguish among the shoes in a perfectly normal fashion, but form him it was a revelation. There's a very lyrical passage in Holy Fire about old wealthy European men and their shoes, and how beautiful their shoes are, and how there have never been shoes as beautiful. I think that that was probably as close as Bruce will ever get to homage in my direction. I made him aware of footwear fashion.” ThinkingMenMadeBeautifulFormDifferencesFireFashionHolyNormalShoesRevelationsMutualWealthyPassagesEnginesHomageLyricalSterlingFootwearPerfectly Normal Author:William Gibson
“The challenge is that if you stimulate your immune system, it might get over-stimulated. And it might actually start causing harm to normal cells in your body. So we have to work a balance between attacking the cancer and not attacking yourself.” IfsBodyMightChallengesBalanceNormalCancerHarmYour BodyCellsGet OverAttackingImmuneImmune System Author:Tyler Jacks
“One of my central approaches to writing speculative fiction is to take an absurd situation, which we presently feel is normal, and then push it to an even further absurdity. It's only in this light that we can see the reflection of the disturbing state of our present-day affairs.” FeelsWritingStatesLightFictionSituationNormalApproachReflectionAffairAbsurdAbsurdityDisturbingPresent DaySpeculative Fiction Author:Alexander Weinstein
“Parents are already telling their kids about falling in love online - there's nothing "frightening" or "dystopian" about this. So, the critique doesn't work, because we already consider our dystopic state of affairs normal.” StatesKidsFallParentNormalFalling In LoveAffairOnlineFrighteningDystopianCritique Author:Alexander Weinstein
“The environmental catastrophes we're presently seeing are considered "normal" though they're horrific. Fracking has made drinking water flammable, families are dying from planned lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan, mountaintop removal is killing families throughout Appalachia, and oil/mining companies continue to denigrate Native American and indigenous rights throughout the world (see North Dakota Pipeline presently). This is horrific - and yet we somehow consider it normal.” WorldMadeWaterCompanyRightsSeeingDyingNormalDrinkingEnvironmentalKillingOilNativeNative AmericanCatastropheIndigenousMichiganPoisoningHorrificRemovalMiningDrinking WaterPipelineDakotaAppalachiaFrackingNorth Dakota Author:Alexander Weinstein
“If you're up there [on stage] thinking about what you're doing, you're just not there and it's not going to happen.So trying to learn how to overcome those - which is a normal thing to do. You're in front of a lot of people. People are going to get very self-conscious. So you have to learn to sort of overcome that tendency towards self-consciousness and just blow it wide open. And you jump in and join all those people that are out there enjoying what you're doing together.” PeopleIfsThinkingTryingSelfHappensTogetherEnjoyConsciousnessStageFrontsNormalConsciousOvercomingBlowWideTendenciesThings To DoSelf ConsciousDoing YouSelf ConsciousnessNormal Things Author:Bruce Springsteen
“With a normal president like President [Barack] Obama, he says a word, and that's because there has been some thought that he's done and there had been policy papers and there's been aides and there's been advisers and then there is a connection to an actual set of policies. And so, the words like have roots into actual stuff.” Has BeensDoneStuffPresidentPolicyNormalPaperRootsConnectionsBarackPapersPresident Barack ObamaAdviser Author:David Brooks
“I'm an athlete, my job is not negotiating, it's not my field of expertise. I'm an emotional guy - it's normal, a lot of athletes are, and we're very susceptible to get our ego cut because of that.” JobsGuyCuttingFieldsEmotionalEgoNormalAthleteExpertiseSusceptibleNegotiating Author:Georges St-Pierre
“I will never blame a fighter if he doesn't fight me because he takes care of his own interest first, and prioritize the interests of his family first, that's completely normal.” IfsFirstsCareFightingInterestNormalBlameTake CareFighterPrioritizeFamily First Author:Georges St-Pierre
“I hope my kids understand that they're not operating in a normal world. And yet there are principles they have to adhere to that are normal - like decency, choosing between right and wrong, and honesty. That's important stuff, whether you're flying first-class or not.” WorldFirstsImportantKidsStuffClassPrinciplesHonestyNormalFlyingDecencyFirst Class Author:Tom Hanks
“We can't allow ourselves to become inured to terrorist attacks to see it as the new normal.” NormalTerroristTerrorist AttacksNew Normal Author:Kellyanne Conway
“[Christian from the Fifty Shades Darker] is definitely a good person. I mean, he's flawed like all of us, you know? And I guess all of his wounds or his trauma, he acts out sexually. Which is pretty normal. People have different wounds, people act different things out.” PeopleKnowsMeanPersonsDifferentChristianNormalTraumaWoundsFiftyDifferent ThingsShadeFlawedGood PersonSexuallyFifty Shades Author:Bella Heathcote
“Jeff Sessions has some problematic spots on his history, but he has been a pretty normal, respectable senator, more conservative than a lot of us, but a respectable senator for a long period of time.” LongHas BeensPeriodsNormalConservativeSpotsSenatorsSessionRespectableLong Periods Of Time Author:David Brooks
“Trying to make your own sound is hard. When I was producing for other artists, I could just produce and write songs as a normal songwriter, and almost make them generic. The artists themselves, whoever is singing that song, can put their own twist on it. When it came to my own material, I had to really dig deep, because I was just writing generic stuff. It sounded like everybody else, like Justin Timberlake, like Usher. I never wanted to sound like someone, that's when you know it's not going to work.” KnowsWritingTryingHardWantedArtistSongStuffSoundMy OwnProduceMaterialsNormalSingingSongwritersGoing To WorkTwistsJustinDig DeepGeneric Author:Karl Wolf
“As long as experiencing your optimal level of good stress doesn't damage others, it's hard to objectively define where normal enjoyment of stimulation becomes adrenaline junkiehood.” LongHardLevelsNormalStressEnjoymentDamageAdrenalineStimulationOptimal Author:Robert M. Sapolsky
“I'm just living a normal life - a regular life, as people would call it. I'm enjoying it.” PeopleEnjoyNormalNormal Life Author:Prince Fielder
“The fact that there are no longer large units of Al Qaeda running around means you don't need B-52s. You need intelligence and special forces. And, most importantly, you need to resurrect Afghanistan from what is literally the graveyard of countries and transform it into a normal country, which the Afghans want.” WantNeedsMeanCountryFactsRunningForceSpecialNormalAlsAfghanistanUnitsAl QaedaGraveyardSpecial Forces Author:Ahmed Rashid
“I already enjoy cooking. I like different flavors and putting different things together and really like taking normal recipes to a higher level.” DifferentTogetherEnjoyLevelsHigherNormalCookingDifferent ThingsFlavorRecipesHigher Level Author:Queen Latifah
“Everybody knows that fraternities are a normal culture in all colleges. It exists in all colleges. President Clinton was a member of a fraternity. In fact, anybody who goes to College in the United States is a member of a College fraternity. There is absolutely nothing evil or occultic about fraternity.” KnowsStatesFactsCultureEvilPresidentUnitedUnited StatesCollegeMembersNormalClintonAbsolutely NothingFraternityPresident Clinton Author:Wole Soyinka
“I'd rather be one of the devotees of God than one of the straight, so-called sane or normal people who just don't understand that man is a spiritual being, that he has a soul.” PeopleMenSoulSpiritualNormalSaneDevoteeSpiritual Beings Author:George Harrison
“I never put myself on another level and that's done well for me. Just spending time with fans and acting normal and talking to them just like I was one of their boys, that's what it's all about.” WellsDoneLevelsActingTalkingBoysFansNormalSpendingSpending Time Author:Jeff Hardy
“Over past years we have seen unrelenting pressure from advocates of homosexuality to accept as normal what is not normal, and to characterize those who disagree as narrow-minded, bigoted and unreasonable. Such advocates are quick to demand freedom of speech and thought for themselves, but equally quick to criticize those with a different view and, if possible, to silence them by applying labels like "homophobic."” IfsYearsDifferentPastViewsSilenceAcceptingDemandSpeechNormalPressureLabelsCriticizeDisagreeFreedom Of SpeechHomosexualityUnreasonableNarrow-mindedHomophobicDifferent ViewsUnrelenting Author:Dallin H. Oaks
“The weird thing was that I went to Trump rallies thinking I was going to run into militant, right wing, racist people and mostly I didn't. That should have been a clue to me. The people I talked to were not, on the surface level, crazy. They were quite nice, quite normal, employed, and actually were wealthier than the press at that time would have led us to believe. At that time, the narrative was that these were all working poor but these were not working poor. That should've been a clue to me that this was a little bigger than I thought.” PeopleThinkingShouldBelieveLittlesHas BeensRunningPoorLevelsNiceCrazyTrumpNormalShould HaveBiggerPressesWingsSurfaceNarrativeRacistClueEmployedShould Have BeenRight WingMilitantWeird Things Author:George Saunders
“What was the worst thing [making Twiligh]? Playing the part where you can't get hurt and you can't die because there's no framework. There are too many possibilities if you can't die. If you're playing a normal human being, there's always that.” IfsHumansDiesHurtHuman BeingsWorstPossibilityNormalWorst ThingsFrameworkBeing There Author:Robert Pattinson
“The economy and its dismal status is the result of policy decisions that Obama has made and put into place. It's not the quirk of fate. It's not that America's best days are over. It's not that America's past was a fad or a quirk. It's not that the great economic days of the eighties were illegitimate or unreal. It's not that this is the new normal. It's not that all of the greatness in the past was undeserved. It is precisely because of Obama policies implemented since 2009 that this country is in the shape it's in.” MadeCountryAmericaPastDecisionResultsEconomyFateEconomicPolicyGreatnessShapesNormalOver ItEightyUnrealFadsQuirksNew Normal Author:Rush Limbaugh
“The Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment agree and accept that the media is an equal player in the ruling class. Trump has blown all of that out the window. As such, the normal ways that people in politics are controlled, the normal way that people are contained - the ways people are promoted, punished, destroyed, what have you - are all out the window where Trump is concerned. And therefore the media is considered by the ruling class to be one of the great leveling factors.” PeopleWayAcceptingClassPlayerMediaTrumpRepublicanEqualNormalConcernedWindowAgreeDemocratFactorsDestroyedControlledEstablishmentRuling Author:Rush Limbaugh
“Steve Bannon is clearly somebody who has studied not-normal politics and the Constitution and the Electoral College. He is somebody who has studied Hitler and Lenin and a lot of people who have seized power and unleashed blitzkriegs from above and created tiny cabals of power concentrated in a tiny group at the top. That's what authoritarians do. It's right out of the playbook.” PeopleGroupsCollegeNormalConstitutionTinyUnleashedElectoral CollegeCabalPlaybooks Author:Van Jones
“The world of psychology and the world of normal life tends to look down on obsession. It's not good for you, and certainly not good for your relationships. It's not good for a lot of things, but it's the only way to make a work of art.” WorldWayLooksArtPsychologyNormalObsessionWorks Of ArtOur RelationshipNormal Life Author:Michael Ventura
“The trouble is nowadays that parts of the media operate in a very partisan way. There's no point in complaining about it, that's the way it is. But let's be clear, a lot of it is driven by the views of a pretty small number of people, rather than a normal standard of journalism.” PeopleWayViewsNumbersClearTroubleMediaNormalStandardsDrivenComplainingJournalismNo PointPartisansSmall Numbers Author:Tony Blair
“I often think about the idea that augmentation has become the new normal. When you start to augment and filter yourself because you think you should, you're kind of putting your worth in other people's hands, rather than having that worth come from within.” PeopleThinkingShouldKindIdeasHandsNormalFiltersNew Normal Author:Nelly Furtado
“How is it possible that in just the last ten years all of these things which were taboo throughout our culture, throughout the culture, things that were taboo are now not only normal but celebrated, and people who were not really supportive of them are called kooks and the new weirdos?” PeopleYearsLastsCultureTenNormalSupportiveTabooWeirdo Author:Rush Limbaugh