Kalapos Tibor Quotes

I'm not against beauty, it just sounds boring to me. ~ Tibor Kalman

To me, nothing is more vibrant than having the power to do something but not having the experience of knowing what's right and what's wrong. ~ Tibor Kalman

It is only within a free society that the crucial moral features of human life can be protected and preserved ~ Tibor R. Machan

I'm not the most prolific writer in the world, and, sadly, writing a novel involves a lot of effort. ~ Tibor Fischer

As suburbs go, Bromley's not bad. But as David Bowie and Hanif Kureishi have observed, you do want to get out of there quickly. ~ Tibor Fischer

When I was 20, journalists would ask me what I would do when I retire from waterpolo. For me this is not just a five- or ten-year-period in my life. This is life itself. ~ Tibor Benedek

Some years ago, I fired my agent, Andrew Wylie, alias The Jackal. I want to stress this wasn't an amicable parting of the ways or a hankering on my part for fresh representation. I fired him because his agency wasn't doing enough for me. ~ Tibor Fischer

Travelling is difficult, and writers tend to want to stay at home and do their work. ~ Tibor Fischer

I went to a British Council event a while back and there were lots of German professors of literature. About half of them were convinced I had a German sense of humour and the other half were sure it was British. They are probably still arguing about it now. ~ Tibor Fischer

We might not want to share our food or our money, but we do want to share our judgement. We want others to think we have more fun.But we need meeting-places of the mind. A Kilimanjaro of spirit that we've all visited so we can say of other things: it's shorter, or taller, or the same height as Kilimanjaro. ~ Tibor Fischer

You don't really have to go anywhere in particular in New York City to have a good time. In every part of town, there's always something going on. It helps to know people there, too, because everything changes so fast, and they will be able to point out what's hot this month. ~ Tibor Fischer

The way British publishing works is that you go from not being published no matter how good you are, to being published no matter how bad you are. ~ Tibor Fischer

Once you've been backstage at a theater, the theater is never the same for you. Once you've noticed the crack in the vase, the vase is never the same for. Once you've seen a friend do something appalling, the friendship is never the same. That does not mean you won't go to the theater, or keep the vase or the friend. You can choose. ~ Tibor Fischer

Waterpolo is my life. Our relationship is that of predetermination I'll never be better at anything than waterpolo and that is why it is my duty to pursue this sport as long as I can, and to the best of my abilities. ~ Tibor Benedek

If someone is going to permit me to make a publication that is politically and culturally progressive and not tell me to put their favorite movie stars on the cover, if I get to do what I want in an honest way - as I did in the beginning at 'Colors' - then I'm going to do it. ~ Tibor Kalman

Pictures are so good at giving people information that they're not looking for. ~ Tibor Kalman

No amount of intelligence can save you from stupidity. ~ Tibor Fischer

One of the reasons why I don't write the same kind of book again and again is that I get bored very easily, so I like to make things interesting for myself. ~ Tibor Fischer

Gyuri had dropped church much in the same way he had stopped believing in Santa Claus; there came a point where it was impossible to take it seriously. ~ Tibor Fischer

I don't take much notice of reviews now - obviously you'd like to have straight worship but you're never going to get that. ~ Tibor Fischer

If welfare and equality are to be primary aims of law, some people must necessarily possess a greater power of coercion in order to force redistribution of material goods. Political power alone should be equal among human beings; yet striving for other kinds of equality absolutely requires political inequality. ~ Tibor R. Machan

It's like training dogs. You want the dog to obey you, but you can't have real respect for a dog that always obeys you. You want a dog that occasionally goes over the wall or bites the postman without your permission; you want to be reminded that you command a subdued yet wild animal, not a crawler. A man should be strong enough to kill you with his bare hands. ~ Tibor Fischer

Think like an artist. Dress like an insurance salesman. ~ Tibor Kalman

One of my proudest achievements is that when an authoritative book about Hungarian literature came out about a decade ago, there was a little article about me which said I was a Hungarian writer but pretending not to be. Bearing in mind I can hardly write a cheque in Hungarian, I was delighted to be included in the pantheon of Hungarian writers. ~ Tibor Fischer

I don't know why they call it life, it's just a moment with memories. ~ Tibor Fischer

Many of us, I suppose, see our existences not as lives, but as life-holders, zarfs, waiting for the job, the person, the event to fill it. ~ Tibor Fischer

I never could get a proper job. ~ Tibor Fischer

The impossible lives next door to the possible; people ring its door bell by accident all the time. ~ Tibor Fischer

We live in a society and a culture and an economic model that tries to make everything look right. Look at computers. Why are they all putty-colored or off-fucking-white? You make something off-white or beige because you are afraid to use any other color – because you don't want to offend anybody. But by definition, when you make something no one hates, no one loves it. So I am interested in imperfections, quirkiness, insanity, unpredictability. That's what we really pay attention to anyway. We don't talk about planes flying; we talk about them crashing. ~ Tibor Kalman

Opening the fridge door, I found a rat eating the cheese. My dealings with rodents, particularly those tagged verminous, have been few, but generally the pattern has been one of man, the boss, the caretaker of creation, the namer, appearing and the lower orders hitting the road. ~ Tibor Fischer

Even those with unspendable fortunes only have one mind, one mouth, two ears, two eyes and one pleasure station. There's only so much fun you can take. ~ Tibor Fischer

What is said determines who listens and who understands. Graphic design is a language, but graphic designers are so busy worrying about the nuances - accents, punctuation and so on - that they spend little time thinking about what the words add up to. I'm interested in using our communication skills to change the way things are. ~ Tibor Kalman

I use contrary-ism in every part of my life. ~ Tibor Kalman

When I think of Hungarian films, I think of despair and bleakness, and what's more, despair and bleakness of indefensible duration. ~ Tibor Fischer

Good designers are no longer satisfied in taking the manuscript from someone and making it look nice. One of the things that I've tried to do is move from being a designer to a content provider. ~ Tibor Kalman

New York City has fantastic restaurants and, unlike London, a lot of the best restaurants are relatively cheap. ~ Tibor Fischer

No one wants a masterpiece knocking around when your own book is looking for attention. ~ Tibor Fischer

Most books reviews aren't very well-written. They tend to be more about the reviewer than the book. ~ Tibor Fischer

The perfect state of creative bliss is having power (you are 50) and knowing nothing (you are 9). This assures an interesting and successful outcome. ~ Tibor Kalman