#shock

I'd hoped the language might come on its own, the way it comes to babies, but people don't talk to foreigners the way they talk to babies. They don't hypnotize you with bright objects and repeat the same words over and over, handing out little treats when you finally say "potty" or "wawa." It got to the point where I'd see a baby in the bakery or grocery store and instinctively ball up my fists, jealous over how easy he had it. I wanted to lie in a French crib and start from scratch, learning the language from the ground floor up. I wanted to be a baby, but instead, I was an adult who talked like one, a spooky man-child demanding more than his fair share of attention. Rather than admit defeat, I decided to change my goals. I told myself that I'd never really cared about learning the language. My main priority was to get the house in shape. The verbs would come in due time, but until then I needed a comfortable place to hide. ↗

— David Sedaris

#language-learning #change

But there were too many points at which the other self could invade the self he wanted to preserve, and there were too many forms of invasion: certain words, sounds, lights, actions his hands or feet performed, and if he did nothing at all, heard and saw nothing, the shouting of some triumphant inner voice that shocked him and cowed him. ↗

— Patricia Highsmith

#inner-voice #inner-voicery #invasion #life #lights

The rich fop Francis of Assisi was bored all his life―until he fell in love with Christ and gave all his stuff away and became the troubadour of Lady Poverty. ↗

— Peter Kreeft

#catholicism #christ #christianity #francis-of-assisi #jesus-shock

It does not do to rely too much on silent majorities, Evey, for silence is a fragile thing, one loud noise, and its gone. But the people are so cowed and disorganised. A few might take the opportunity to protest, but it'll just be a voice crying in the wilderness. Noise is relative to the silence preceding it. The more absolute the hush, the more shocking the thunderclap. Our masters have not heard the people's voice for generations, Evey and it is much, much louder than they care to remember. ↗

— Alan Moore

#revolution #shock #silence #revolution

I am to provide the public with beneficial shocks. ↗

— Alfred Hitchcock

#beneficial #i #i am #provide #public

Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives. ↗

— William Throsby Bridges

#disenchantment #into #lives #major #minor

People would be shocked to know... that despite the nature of my TV character, I am actually a nice guy. ↗

— James Lafferty

#am #character #despite #guy #i

I remember all too well the premiere of Ecstasy when I watched my bare bottom bounce across the screen and my mother and father sat there in shock. ↗

— Hedy Lamarr

#bare #bottom #bounce #ecstasy #father

The photographs of Iraqi prisoners being subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment by their captors, and the reports of acts of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other acts of maltreatment shock the conscience. ↗

— Ed Markey

#acts #being #captors #conscience #degrading

I tell you what, I was so shocked because I didn't think the ball had enough to get out. It's an absolutely incredible feeling. I can honestly say I did it. ↗

— Mark McGwire

#ball #because #did #enough #feeling