Subtle Quotations

Being a parent is weird. It changes people in subtle and unsubtle ways. In my case, it awoke a kind of manic sentinel in my brain. Anything in the house that might be a threat to the kids or to my wife gets terminated - food, sharp edges, poor wiring.

Even when I begin with a situation that's basically funny or sad, I like to keep poking around in it. I like to get into the middle of a relationship, to explore the subtle places.

People are much more complicated in real life, but my characters are as subtle and nuanced as I can make them. But if you say my characters are too black and white, you've missed the point. Villains are meant to be black-hearted in popular novels. If you say I have a grey-hearted villain, then I've failed.

I don't sing to people. I sing for them. I told that once to Elvis Presley. He bought it. After that Elvis sang not to but for the audience. A subtle difference.

Copywriting cuts the communication cord between word and feeling. By offering instant gratification, it atrophies more subtle emotions.

It's a good note for any young hopeful in this business to take: study up and make sure you are informed at all times because knowing how to anticipate someone's subtle nuances in a performance will only elevate your own art!

Over the time that I followed Warren Buffett, one CFO told me, it's very important to pay attention not only to what Warren Buffett says and what he actually does - often there are subtle differences between the two.

I think that 'Mary Poppins' needs a subtle reader, in many respects, to grasp all its implications, and I understand that these cannot be translated in terms of the film.

The matter of international relations is very subtle and exquisite.

Quantum theory also tells us that the world is not simply objective; somehow it's something more subtle than that. In some sense it is veiled from us, but it has a structure that we can understand.

'What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal' was thrilling in its light, deceptive tone, its subtle but irresistible momentum.

When you shop online, wouldn't you like to sample the bouquet of wines, the aroma of cigars, or the subtle fragrance of flowers before surrendering your credit card number? Surely more companies will want to aromatize their Web presence when they realize there's a device that can produce genuinely pleasing, authentic fragrances.

The more refined and subtle our minds, the more vulnerable they are.

Monopoly may also end in tears, but its tensions are cruder, lacking the infinitely subtle shadings of irritation and acrimony provided by Scrabble.

With a play, for me, there's no time to sit back on it. You're living on your instincts. And every night there are subtle changes and adjustments, because what's in front of you is a living, breathing audience.

There's a lot to be said for doing what you're not supposed to do, and the rewards of doing what you're supposed to do are more subtle and take longer to become apparent, which maybe makes it less attractive. But your life is the blueprint you make after the building is built.

Sexual harassment is complex, subtle, and highly subjective.

Amplifying atoms is more subtle than amplifying electromagnetic waves because atoms can only change their quantum state and cannot be created. Therefore, even if one could amplify gold atoms, one would not realize the dreams of medieval alchemy.

No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will cramp his style.

The fact I have an education forms my lyrical style, I'm sure. I studied the social sciences, history, stuff like that. I have an interest in politics, which maybe works its way into the songs in small, subtle ways.

It's a really subtle kind of thing. It makes me feel like Randy Harrison is not a human being to them.

These are very subtle things, of course, and I don't expect everyone to pick them up consciously, but I think that there is something there that you must be able to feel, there is an energy at work that I must trust my audience will be able to pick up at some level.

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power without morality is no longer power.

I'll see a photograph of a character and try to copy them on to my face. I think I'm really observant, and thinking how a person is put together, seeing them on the street and noticing subtle things about them that make them who they are.

When I was a little kid, no matter what my parents told me, I would always argue - even if I agreed with them. And I've always been a show-off. As I've gotten older, I've found ways to be more subtle about it, but that's the way I am. I suppose that has something to do with why I write and direct.

I like very masculine smells. I like wood scents on men. I just like a man to smell great, but I don't like very strong cologne. I don't like when a man is overpowered by cologne. I think subtle and sexy is always best.

You can learn the subtle language of interior style, but many people simply buy it. If you put yourself in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, you can be confident it will look good.

There is no reason to suppose that taste is in any way a lower sense than the other four; a fine palate is as much a gift as an eye that discerns beauty or an ear that appreciates and enjoys subtle harmonies of sound, and we are quite right to value the pleasures that all our senses give us and educate their perceptions.

Strangely enough, I wasn't into fast guitarists. I preferred Peter Green's subtle touch. I saw him with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at the Marquee Club in London and was very impressed. He was the only guitarist I've ever seen to turn the volume control on his guitar down during a solo.

Myself, I happen to be married to an African-American woman, and we're together 17 years. We took a few trips to the South 15 years ago, and we were sobered by some of the reactions people had - how subtle or not-so-subtle their reactions were.

Each successive period of progress is a period more humane and spiritual. The only logical conclusion is that all is Mind and its manifestation, from the rolling of worlds, in the most subtle ether, to a potato-patch.

I find I can write for two lines, and then I have nothing else to say. For me, the only way to find something comes through the sentence level and sticking with the sentences that give a subtle feeling that there's something more to say.

The reactions of the human heart are not mechanical and predictable but infinitely subtle and delicate.

Paradoxically, those who call for family values also tout the wonders of an unregulated market without observing the subtle cultural links between the family they seek to regulate and the market they hold free.

From the subtle to the extreme, our culture and our values are under unrelenting attack from the media.

I used to steal my father's cologne, and it was so strong. My mother would always know when I did because it was so intrusive. That's why I like Evolution - it's a strong yet subtle scent.

I learned that you don't have to be all over the place, that you can be subtle and you can say what you say. The words that you put together can be just as hilarious as falling all over the place or doing something.

Trying to understand the way nature works involves a most terrible test of human reasoning ability. It involves subtle trickery, beautiful tightropes of logic on which one has to walk in order not to make a mistake in predicting what will happen. The quantum mechanical and the relativity ideas are examples of this.

There are other writers who try for subtle and minimalists effects, but I don't travel in that tribe.

Anything seen on TV is, in a subtle and sinister sense, thereby endorsed.

Negative thinking is subtle and deceptive. It wears many faces and hides behind the mask of excuses. It is important to strip away the mask and discover the real, root emotion.

I grew up listening to John Coltrane and jazz, so they were subtle influences. I sometimes think about doing some kind of weird jazz record, but I don't know... It's on my list of things to do. I don't want to have to then go promote it.

Wearing a bold print gets harder as you get older. It's safer to stick to subtle prints or block colours. I have always found prints quite tricky. My daughter Carly, who is on the design team at Stella McCartney, is obsessed with them.

Manouri is a Greek ewes' milk cheese that's light in colour and texture. It's fresh and milky, and goes well with other subtle flavours.

A very subtle difference can make the picture or not.

My approach to parenting is that everything is open - everything. I'm not very good at covert, or subtle, and I've had to learn timing. I do blunder in a bit.

The Patriot Act is ludicrous. Terrorists have proved that they are interested in total genocide, not subtle little hacks of the U.S. infrastructure, yet the government wants a blank search warrant to spy and snoop on everyone's communications.

The Citizens United ruling did not invent special-interest spending; it enables corporations and unions to advocate directly on behalf of a candidate rather than running more subtle 'issue ads.'

A lot of my music is slow and subtle. The subtly is what I enjoy about making music.

The history of the Internet is not, as some people have tried to make it, a libertarian just-so story. It is a messy tale in which the government played a significant role. That role was, however, far more subtle than the plans of industrial policy gurus or techno-boosting politicians.

We didn't care if we were well-liked as long as the movies were good. We served the movie - that was our master at Miramax. In our second incarnation, the movie is still the master but we're getting the same results in more subtle ways.

I was the most subtle person in the world.

I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

I usually control the environment I'm in, but my control is very quiet and subtle.

Just knowing that there's somebody else out there - that what's happened on this planet has also happened in many other places - that might change our lives in a very subtle way, but it's interesting to know and worth looking for.

Using the word 'bossy' for girls can be quite harmful. What is that saying - that being focused, being assertive, being the boss has a negative attribute? And I have heard that term associated more with women than with men. 'He's so bossy' - you don't hear that. It's a very subtle thing.

My concern is if Katrina were not to have happened, I'm wondering if people would realize the continuing relevance of pieces such as this. I really think a lot of white folks just get tired of being reminded that race is still an issue, because today it is so subtle and kind of masked.

If we're talking about someone creating something new, those rights are fairly well defined (in the United States, at least) under existing copyright law. But then there's often discussion about the rights of people who produce works under work-for-hire arrangements, which can be far more subtle and nuanced.

Leeks, like other oniony things, reach a certain peak when fried. It's the subtle sweetness that suddenly becomes evident and works so well with their creamy texture.

Love makes a subtle man out of a crude one, it gives eloquence to the mute, it gives courage the cowardly and makes the idle quick and sharp.

There are two camps at the Bank of England: one that thinks there is too much liquidity in the market, and the other is concerned about a lack of growth. The report tends to have subtle changes that lay the groundwork for the next three months. It's more about the message.

Men are the enemies of women. Promising sublime intimacy, unequalled passion, amazing security and grace, they nevertheless exploit and injure in a myriad subtle ways. Without men the world would be a better place: softer, kinder, more loving; calmer, quieter, more humane.

Many bad artists will tell you that art is life. There's a subtle difference however. You can turn your back on art

Self is ingenious, crooked, and, governed by subtle and snaky desire, admits of endless turnings and qualifications, and the deluded worshippers of self vainly imagine that they can gratify every worldly desire, and at the same time possess the Truth

Secretary Rice has implemented a subtle but important shift in U.S. policy, ... There is no question that the lack of flexibility for the negotiators precluded any possibility of getting a deal for the past three years. Clearly, we are now in a period of give-and-take and genuine negotiations.

Secretary Rice has implemented a subtle but important shift in U.S. policy. There is no question that the lack of flexibility for the negotiators precluded any possibility of getting a deal for the past three years. Clearly, we are now in a period of give-and-take and genuine negotiations.

There are subtle differences. Marketers should think about what type of company fits their business best. You want to think about the model-self-service, collaborative, hosted partner, agency. How much hands-on help do you need?

There are subtle effects of hearing loss on memory and cognitive function in older adults. The effect of expending extra effort comprehending words means there are fewer cognitive resources for higher level comprehension.

He knows how to handle the subtle inner feelings in a Eastern way while retaining the American way of telling the story.

I can't imagine Japanese food without dashi, a broth made with kelp and dried bonito flakes. It has the aroma of the sea, tinged with a subtle smokiness, and adds a very important, distinct flavor.

If you are embracing violence, if you insist on maintaining an independent militia, if you reject the idea of coexistence, you are not a partner and we will not deal with you, ... The point is to be very clear; don't try to be overly subtle on this one.

I don't think it will ever be my style to take a big mallet and just ... bust the window with it, ... I have to get there in a more subtle way.

Celebrities don't seem to care as much about looking bad anymore. In the old era, people would be very careful endorsing any products making it look like they were out there to prostitute their name. Celebrities have a different M.O. these days, and there's nothing subtle or sophisticated about it.

But for women, there are more subtle advantages like the financial benefits of marriage, better access to health care and generally less stress and fewer economic worries.

I have been aware since my youth that I am a Hebrew through my mother, and that is something that has played a subtle but important role in my development.

If teachers attempt to control boys by subtle means, such as raised eyebrows, and the boys ignore these cues, it may be that they simply are not able to read them and decode them accurately,

He is a very clever and subtle negotiator.

He is a very clever and subtle negotiator. What makes him so great is his ability to see a situation from different points of view.

He's close to being a volume shooter. As I see his game . . . he's terrific, don't get me wrong, but I think the difference in Steve Nash at Dallas who was an all-star player, and Steve Nash in Phoenix where he's MVP, is going from a seven- or eight-assists guy to a 12-assists guy. That's the little subtle change that I think he could make. If I had the skills of T.J. Ford, I wouldn't be satisfied with six assists.

I'm always looking for silhouettes that seem 'invisible' to the eye, as in that it's so well-tailored to your body that you won't even notice what you're wearing. It needs to be dramatic in a subtle way.

God knows we are subtle creatures who are more than able to use candour to avoid acknowledging our deceptions of others and ourselves.

He has such an incredible range, ... He can be very, very subtle or he can be explosive, depending on what the character is, and he has an incredible human compassion thing that I read off him on-screen.

He doesn't put in the equal sign. But it's not so subtle that any Future Farmer of America wouldn't catch on pretty quickly.

I watched season four of 'The Wire.' They have subtle performances that they do through their eyes. You could watch season four with the audio off and still understand what's happening through their eyes.

My mother wanted me to be a writer. But she was a child of the Depression and never understood that she wasn't poor. So, you know, the idea of not having a job, it would creep through. But she tried very hard to be subtle about it.

Like many physical diseases, anti-Semitism is highly infectious, and can become endemic in certain localities and societies. Though a disease of the mind, it is by no means confined to weak, feeble, or commonplace intellects; as history sadly records, its carriers have included men and women of otherwise powerful and subtle thoughts.

Some of those subtle things, you're not going to get by mistake. The rest, you kind of assess with that Hollywood aspect of it.

Part of the problem is if the word is out that they're using your list, there's a sort of subtle insinuation that you're endorsing the candidate - and I'm not,

I think experience helps a lot out here. The greens have a lot of tendencies and subtle breaks. I've been about everywhere on this golf course, both good and bad.

James Ivory is very, very subtle in his study of human behavior. I think that he's very aware of the subtleties of women behavior.

My wife is a Christian and is extraordinary patient, logical, and philosophical. For years, I would challenge and condemn her beliefs, battering the structure of her conclusions with every argument, analogy, and evidence I could bring to bear. I am a very argumentative man, and I am as fell and subtle as a serpent in debate.

It is easier to crush me than to investigate the role of France itself, which benefited greatly from this subtle game of shadows and light, which I inherited but did not start or gain from,

is to have a brand integration that is effective enough to have resonance but - and it's a big but - subtle enough so that it doesn't offend.

I'm impressed. I thought we would have had more of a subtle day, but the financials are up strong, so that is helping us out here.

I suppose 'My Hollywood' is only as politically meaningful as it is deeply inside the least powerful of its characters. I wanted it to reveal scenes of subtle exploitation, odd instances of accidental power and challenges to decency specific to its time, but also impulses of generosity that transcend our particular era's messes.

It is basically a subtle way to flash to the market that the negative economic consequences are resonating and that the Fed may not just look at this as a temporary soft patch this time.

I think there's been an Angela Merkel -factor, as well as something more subtle happening.

I think one thing that helped the sound change, it's a real subtle thing; it's just one switch on my bass, it has three positions, and I usually boost the mid-range frequency, I lowered the frequency that I boost, and that goes out to the sound system, too.

It fits him really well because he doesn't wear much jewelry, so it's a subtle change. I'm so glad he found something he is comfortable wearing.

I think it's probably a good move. One of the subtle dimensions of this is that when you move like that, not everybody moves. That's an automatic opportunity to significantly restructure.