#ran

I am a cage, in search of a bird. ↗

— Franz Kafka

#birds

But human beings are not machines, and however powerful the pressure to conform, they sometimes are so moved by what they see as injustice that they dare to declare their independence. In that historical possibility lies hope. ↗

— Howard Zinn

#conformity #declaration-of-independence #hope #individuality #non-conformity

My parents had torn through my innocence and left me with a tar-like substance that was corrupting what was left of me. I could feel it at night; slithering and curling around my soul as it slowly devoured me. It was draining my energy and replacing it with an evil I was afraid to confront. ↗

— J.D. Stroube

#devour #energy #horror #innocence #paranormal-ya

The articles were extremely eye-opening. Not just in Teen Vogue but in Seventeen and CosmoGirl as well. They were all about being yourself, staying natural, loving your body as is, and going green! The messages were the exact opposite of Vik and Viv's. Hmmmmm. Frankie turned to face the full-length mirror that was up against the yellow wardrobe. She opened her robe and examined her body. Fit, muscular, and exquisitely proportioned, she agreed with the magazines. So what if her skin was mint? Or her limbs were attached with seams? According to the magazines, which were - no offense! - way more in touch with the times than her parents were, she was suppose to love her body just the way it was. And she did! Therefor if the normies read magazines (which obviously they did, because they were in them), then they would love her, too. Natural was in. Besides she was Daddy's perfect little girl. And who didn't love perfect? ↗

— Lisi Harrison

#confidence #fashion #frankenstein #magazines #mirrors

Know what you're trying to do before you do it. Turning knobs at random isn't enlightening any more than throwing paint at a wall blindfolded will let you paint a nice picture. ↗

— Steve Albini

#before #blindfolded #enlightening #know #more

And frankly, I don't understand - I mean, I'm obviously a card-carrying Democrat - but I can't understand why any woman would want to vote for Mitt Romney, except maybe Mrs. Romney. ↗

— Madeleine Albright

#democrat #except #frankly #i #maybe

Using the device of an imaginary world allows me in some strange way to go to the central issues - it's one of many ways to express feelings about real people, about real human relationships. ↗

— Lloyd Alexander

#allows #central #device #express #feelings

However, I was a restaurant critic at Chicago magazine before I worked at Esquire, and I've been a really enthusiastic home cook for a long time. It's just something I'm passionate about. ↗

— Ted Allen

#been #before #chicago #cook #critic

Al Qaeda has significance beyond its numbers, frankly. And so for us, our 24-hour-a-day objective is to seek out those al Qaeda cells. And, as we seek them out, to target them and eliminate them. And we're doing that 24 hours a day. ↗

— John R. Allen

#beyond #cells #day #doing #eliminate

Naming a transition team varies with the intentions of the candidate; some candidates have been careful to name a transition team as much as a year in advance. ↗

— Richard V. Allen

#been #candidate #candidates #careful #intentions