Pearce Quotes

We may think of volcanic islands like Ascension as unusual because their recent origin and remoteness mean their ecosystems are made up of a motley crew of mariner migrants. But much of the world is like that. Nature is constantly in flux, and few ecosystems go back very far. Only ten thousand years ago, much of Europe and North America were covered in thick ice. All soil had been scraped away and with it most forms of life. Everything we see today in these former glaciated zones has either returned or arrived for the first time since the ice retreated.
Looked at from this perspective, the spread of alien species today is merely a continuation of a natural process of the colonization begun when the ice retreated. A broad time horizon shows there is no such thing as a native species. All lodgings are temporary and all ecosystems in a constant flux, the victims of circumstance and geological accident. As the pioneer British ecologist Charles Elton argued, "Were it not for the ice age, we [in Britain] should probably have wonderful mixed forests with wild magnolias and laurels and epiphytic orchids, such as . . . in China. ~ Fred Pearce

I am not a teacher in my heart," she said. "I am a doer, and all these little shitheads in front of me are do-nothings. There is racism in the world and they acknowledge it, but they sit in class listening to bullshit professors. Give me a bricklayer with a racist attitude. It is just more honest. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

To work in America or other places is more about curiosity, because I'm dealing with cultures and sensibilities that I don't really know. So I'm having to sort of investigate them, which I'm fascinated in, but it comes from a place of curiosity rather than a real need to get something out of my system. ~ Guy Pearce

You need some help, Rosie?"
His footsteps quicken behind me, and before I can respond, I feel his calloused hands on my waist. I accidently slide back against his chest and inhale the scent that has always clung to his whole family - something like forests, damp leaves, and sunshine. I suppose when your father is a woodsman you're bound to carry the scent of oak in your veins. One breath is all I get the chance for, though; he kicks the door open and sets me down on the front stoop, then takes a step back. I turn to face him, hoping to thank him for the help and in the same sentence admonish him for carrying me like a little girl.
Instead, I smile. He's still Silas - Silas who left a year ago, the boy just a little older than my sister. His eyes are still sparkling and expressive, hair still the brown-black color of pine bark, body broad-shouldered and a little too willowy for his features. He's still there, but it's as if someone new has been layered on top of him. Someone older and stronger who isn't looking a me as if I'm Scarlett's kid sister . . . someone who makes me feel dizzy and quivery. How did this happen?
Calm down. It's just Silas. Sort of.
"You're staring," he says cautiously, looking worried.
"Oh. Um, sorry," I say, shaking my head. Silas shoves his hands into his pockets with a familiar sway. "It's just been a while, that's all."
"Yeah, no kidding. You're heavier than I remember."
I frown, mortified.
"Oh, no, wait. I di ~ Jackson Pearce

Dads. Do you not realize that a child is what you tell them they are? That people almost always become what they are labeled? Was whatever your child just did really the "dumbest thing you've ever seen somebody do"? Was it really the "most ridiculous thing they ever could have done"? Do you really believe that your child is an idiot? Because she now does. Think about that. Because you said it, she now believes it. Bravo. ~ Dan Pearce

To live a creative life we must forget our fear of being wrong. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

My problem is I'm an addictive personality. I can't have one coffee. I can't eat one piece of chocolate. ~ Guy Pearce

My entire life, I've never been able to understand the concept of not being happy or excited when others were successful or had something good happen to them. It quite honestly is a concept that I cannot grasp. ~ Dan Pearce

I'm not an idiot: I know that I can sing and I know that I can act. ~ Lindsay Pearce

Some things are so powerful and so beautiful that to see them will turn your soul inside out. ~ Dan Pearce

I am blessed, personally, beyond measure, and yet oddly enough, I, too, struggle to feel His love for me every day. When I stack my obstacles against others' they seem to frivolous to be authentic. And yet, this mortal existence is designed by a genius, so that we all will, no matter our circumstances or parentage or gifts, have to exercise our agency to come to Him. And so though my problems may seem small to an outsider, they are big enough for me to desperately need Him. ~ Virginia H. Pearce

She could only do what farmers had done for time out of mind; tend her crops, care for her livestock and help her neighbors when and as she could. ~ Michael Tinker Pearce

There's a sense of humor within the Australian culture that prevails when one is in a rather difficult situation. ~ Guy Pearce

Think of prayer as a fundamental exercise we use to build core spiritual strength. Like exercise for our bodies, it has to be consistent - every single day - to build strength. ~ Virginia H. Pearce

English is no problem for me because I am actually English. My whole family are English; I was brought up listening to various forms of the English accent. ~ Guy Pearce

But to me the bottom line is the more education you can give yourself, and the more preparation you can do, the less chance of failing. ~ Stuart Pearce

What does it hurt to be sociable? ~ Allan Dare Pearce

Brain, maybe you should take a brief vacation. Take two aspirin and sit on the bench. Someone just smacked a line drive up the middle of the heart. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

Who I am is not the same minute to minute or day to day. There are far too many variables for that to ever be true, for me, or for anyone. ~ Dan Pearce

As Dutch, British and French explorers literally put this Great Southern Land on the map it would be ridiculous to say that modern day Australia is anything other than a grand - and successful - outpost of
Euro-colonialism and, more specifically Anglo-Celt British colonialism. It's a fact of life like the Euro-colonization of the Americas etc. If it was an outpost of, let's say, Iranian or Zimbabwean colonialism would so many people still be so desperately trying to get into Australia by any means necessary, legal or otherwise? It's doubtful. Thank the Gods for Euro-colonialism! ~ Douglas Pearce

Manners count. Be polite and seek out the common ground, not just the high ground. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

It's time we stand up and demand more of the fathers of this world. It's time we stop buying into their rationalizations and their sorry explanations. It's time we give our kids a fighting chance. ~ Dan Pearce

The more you put your arm around those that you might naturally look down on, the more you will love yourself. And the more you love yourself, the less need you'll ever have to find fault or be better than others. And the less we all find fault or have a need to be better than others, the quicker this world becomes a far better place to live. ~ Dan Pearce

And he took the slap like a man. No whining. What else do you want from a fella? ~ Allan Dare Pearce

The murder of Robert Krentz - whose family had been ranching in Arizona since 1907 - by illegal alien drug dealers was the final straw for many Arizonans. But there are dozens and dozens of other citizens of our state who had been murdered by illegal aliens. Currently 95 illegal aliens are in Maricopa County jail for murder. ~ Russell Pearce

The song sounds like the ocean- it rises and falls, notes splash forward and harmonize with the sea behind me. ~ Jackson Pearce

Let the lowest white man count for more than the highest negro. ~ Thomas Pearce Bailey

My 30 year attempt (and subsequent failure) to reach "normal" has brought me to ponder whether "normal" even exists, or if it is nothing more than delusional grandeur based in the sounds of those sweet sirens drawing my ship in all the wrong directions. ~ Dan Pearce

Who do you want to surround yourself with? People who can pull you up to their level of greatness? Or people who will happily pull you down to theirs? ~ Dan Pearce

Where do you even draw the line between genres? ~ Guy Pearce

You'd be hard-pressed to find an old person who would trade in a true friend for any amount of popularity or fame. You'd also be hard-pressed to find a young person who wouldn't. ~ Dan Pearce

The 'anchor baby' thing needs to be fixed ... Anchor babies are an unconstitutional declaration of citizenship to those born of non-Americans. It's wrong, and it's immoral. ~ Russell Pearce

Function and man appear synonymous because the function can only be pointed toward by being the function. There is no being except in a mode of being. [ ... ] Both scholar and Christian are functioning in identical ways, just under different metaphor, and both are evading the mechanics of being. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

It is easy to romanticise, say, tigers or lions and cats. We admire their magnificent beauty, strength and agility. But we would regard their notional human counterparts as wanton psychopaths of the worst kind. ~ David Pearce

Does anyone like a fat old cow?"

"Maybe other fat old cows? ~ Allan Dare Pearce

The world is so obsessed with defining sexuality for everyone and attaching labels to it. Any time any person openly leaves the sexual norm, their sexuality becomes, more often than not, the absolute defining characteristic of that person. It becomes the first thing people think about and often the first thing they mention. Every other part of that person all but disappears. ~ Dan Pearce

Forgiveness is possible even when there is no restitution, no remorse on the part of the perpetrator. ~ Virginia H. Pearce

A lot of people are going to hate me for saying this, but one of my least favorite kinds of music, or the kind of music that I feel I've so got out of my system, is musicals music. ~ Guy Pearce

I don't really relate to certain blokey men who just want to talk about blokey things. I never really know what to say and I always feel I have to act blokey in order to have them not say, 'You're a weirdo.' ~ Guy Pearce

When the city burns down and people are shot dead, people think of a riot. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

For twenty-one years, I have been paralyzed by the fear of what this society will do with me if they ever were to know of the thoughts that I continually push away. For more than two decades, I have made a choice to be straight. After all, it's as easy as making a choice, isn't it? This culture has made sure that I know that. Anyone who is anything other than straight was just someone deceived by the devil. He is unnatural. He is confused. He is mistaken. He is weak. He can control it if he desires to control it. Such a compelling and ongoing argument has been made that I have always trusted it.
I believed that if I hid it long enough, and ran from it long enough, and refused to acknowledge it for long enough, I could indeed succeed at living up to their decrees. I believed that I could force myself to never be anything else. ~ Dan Pearce

Explain to me how you having a problem with me is my problem ... ~ Dan Pearce

Your repressed feelings desperately try to climb to the surface but fail to do so, and in therapy we seek to reveal -- to uncloak, if you will -- these unconscious desires, the things that your mind tries to repress, those secrets of your soul. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

Dear Artie: "The young fellow has disappeared into a dead end. I think the long-necked bastard planned to wind up in Paris and sent him there but he may also have used the underground railroad. Ask your round-heeled contact. Maybe you can find more than I could. "Roy ~ John Pearce

I shouldn't be jealous because it's not real
she's like a math problem, the kind where you got the right answer but didn't show any of your work. She is the right answer, but she didn't get there by going through anything difficult, by questioning, by doubting. She landed there by playing a part, but she's never done the work.
I'm still jealous. ~ Jackson Pearce

She placed her hands, one on each of his shoulders, stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. He waited, enjoying the moment like none before. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

The mistakes of my youth have allowed me to see what true love is through the experience of its absence. They have allowed me to see that love is not a feeling but an action. It is the laying down of one's life for the beloved. It is not the laying down of someone else's life or body for our own gratification. Ultimately, as a Christian, I have come to see that love is not merely an action but a commandment. We are commanded to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor - and our enemy. Clearly true love has nothing to do with selfishness in any ~ Joseph Pearce

I've been asked to do action-oriented movies in the past and they just haven't been right for me. ~ Guy Pearce

I am an educated black woman in a time when educated black people will be called upon to risk everything for the rights of black people everywhere. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

You do feel kind of nervous about any film you take on. ~ Guy Pearce

Smile! Make them comfortable with your size. Deal with their fears and your fears will go away. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

I recognize the look in Silas's eyes
adoration. I furrow my eyebrows and try to shake away the feeling of being punched in the face. ~ Jackson Pearce

My fantasy was that I was the long-lost switched-at-birth child of wealthy eccentrics. One day, they would find me and take me away from the gypsy caravan that was my life, and give me hot meals, a decent dress, and a pony. ~ Roberta Pearce

Keep it small. Keep it simple. Give it time. An exercise program such as yoga is a slow process. It is slow by design. But, in order to secure the gains and add to them, you have to keep it up. And guess what, the more you do it, the more your desire to do it grows. It is the same with building core spiritual muscles. You may have a period of intense growth - perhaps some adversity that drives you to your knees and calls forth the blessings of heaven. But to secure those gains, we must continue to invite the Holy Ghost into our lives - daily. ~ Virginia H. Pearce

Making fake promises while wearing a fancy dress ... that isn't enough. Promises take more work than that. ~ Jackson Pearce

Books didn't make me wallow in darkness, darkness made me wallow in books. ~ Jackson Pearce

I've watched my dad move our family from extreme poverty to extreme wealth and then everywhere in between. Never once did I see or hear him be anything but a cheerleader for the accomplishments of others. It didn't matter if he was down or up in life, he wanted everybody around him to succeed. I've even watched him praise the very people that have tried to destroy him over the years and then very publicly wish them success and happiness. He taught me the enthusiasm that should always come at the success of others. He constantly taught me that when others succeed, it gives us all more opportunity to succeed. He taught me that when there is conflict, minor or major, you can almost always walk away at the end with a handshake. ~ Dan Pearce

I just can't talk about things before I do them, because just for me ... I give energy away before I've put energy into the job. ~ Guy Pearce

I wonder if he still hates me," Silas says as the cat edges out from the couch, pale green eyes like little limes in the dark. As if to answer Silas's question, Screwtape takes a flying leap onto his lap and begins to purr wildly.
"I'm not falling for this anymore," Silas says firmly. He moves to push Screwtape away, but as soon as his palms are within a few inches of Screwtape's wild fur, the cat extends his claws into Silas's thighs. Silas winces and muffles a yelp.
"Need some help?" I say, trying to hide my laughter.
"That'd be great," he answered tensely. I hurry over and scoop Screwtape into my arms. The cat instantly melts against me and rubs his face against mine, the scent of catnip on his breath. I crinkle my nose.
"Thanks." Silas sighs in relief. "I can hunt wolves, but it's a cat I can't handle. Not terrible manly of me, is it?"
"I won't tell anyone," I answer with a soft smile that he returns. ~ Jackson Pearce

I predict we will abolish suffering throughout the living world. Our descendants will be animated by gradients of genetically pre-programmed well-being that are orders of magnitude richer than today's peak experiences. ~ David Pearce

Scarlett doesn't want to go to the hospital. Not surprising, really, since we have to come up with an elaborate story about how we all got so severely wounded.
"Dogfight. We broke one up," my sister answers for us as a horrified emergency room receptionist looks at Scarlett's raw, bleeding shoulders.
"Dogs dislike us." Silas shrugs, clutching the wound on his chest. He glances down at the burn wounds on my legs. I think they might scar, but it's hard to say. The receptionist speaks into a walkie-talkie, then lets her eyes travel from the fresh wounds to the ancient scars on Scarlett's body.
"Dogs pretty much hate me," Scarlett says testily. The poor receptionist looks relieved when the ER doctors appear and usher us down the hall. ~ Jackson Pearce

She was without a doubt the girl I would marry one day; I knew that. Not next month or even next year, but one day. I had never in my life ever felt the peace I had when I was anywhere near Olivia. She made all the shit seem like it was miles away. In her eyes, I wasn't the poor boy from Texas who had some shit family. I was just Keeton Pearce, the man she loved. She was free of judgement, and nothing felt better than the love of a woman so pure and compassionate. Olivia Sawyer was an amazing woman, and in that moment I found myself falling even deeper than I already was. Falling felt natural, uncontrollable, and I wanted it so badly I could feel it in my bones. ~ C.A. Harms

We must accept that this creative pulse within us is God's creative pulse itself. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

The candle of liberty has always been kept lit by a vigilant few. ~ Russell Pearce

Most rules are made by people with no authority who want to control and limit you from reaching your true potential. Ignore them, break their rules, and wave at them as you soar past them to greatness. ~ Dan Pearce

Good fathers, and by that I mean real fathers who are there, have the ability to change almost every social problem we now find ourselves facing. I'd be assumptive enough to say that there isn't a single type of crime or a single problem so big that it couldn't be fixed or wiped out if fathers would just step up. ~ Dan Pearce

I peered around the corner into the main recovery ward. All I could see were surgeons. Surgeons filling out those incessant forms. Surgeons bringing cups of tea and little sandwich triangles to patients. Surgeons laying in a lethargic stupor, recovering from eye surgery. ~ Lauren Pearce

You can have a great time on a film and the chemistry can seem great but then you look at the finished film and it just doesn't quite gel, something doesn't quite work. ~ Guy Pearce

I don't think New Mexicans know how many people vote illegally. ~ Steve Pearce

Speaking of which, about assuming you had a condom - I just meant that you, with your experience, would be prepared for responsible sex, even if it were on the fly. An intelligent man is prepared for spontaneity. ~ Roberta Pearce

When I really want to learn about something, I write a book on it. Then the real research begins, as I begin to hear people's stories, and huge amounts of information begins to comes straight to my doorstep. Then I can write an even better book the next time! ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Saturday mornings, I've learned, are a great opportunity for kids to sneak into your bed, fall back asleep, and kick you in the face. ~ Dan Pearce

You meet these people who are confident all the time. They annoy me. And I wonder if it's because I'm envious or if it's because they're shallow. ~ Guy Pearce

I don't understand the actor that chooses to play the same role in everything all the time. ~ Guy Pearce

When they attack her, I scream until my voice is hoarse so I don't have to hear the shredding sounds. ~ Jackson Pearce

For better or worse, humans or our descendants will be responsible for life on Earth for the indefinite future. Despite the initially daunting technical challenges, the biggest obstacle to compassionate stewardship of the world's free-living nonhuman animal population is not technical or even financial but ideological. ~ David Pearce

Every person is attractive to somebody. You are. I am. Jim Bob over there is, too. Every person is probably ugly to somebody, too. You are. I am. Jim Bob over there is, too. Don't take it personally.
And, we all need to do ourselves a favor. We need to believe people when they tell us we're beautiful, handsome, sexy, attractive, hot, or hunkalicious, especially when that someone is somebody that we think is beautiful, handsome, sexy, attractive, hot, or babealicious.
Because you know what? They probably really think so. They probably aren't lying. They probably don't give a damn that you don't look like Pamela Anderson. ~ Dan Pearce

Please, Jonas. Men got brute strength and size. Women got hot bodies and steel-trap minds. It's our leg up in your little male-dominated society. ~ Jackson Pearce

As a child, reality is whatever one makes of it. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Loving my son, building my son, touching my son, playing with my son, being with my son ... these aren't tasks that only super dads can perform. These are tasks that every dad should perform. Always. Without fail. ~ Dan Pearce

(Guy) Pearce, as the hero, makes the mistake of trying to give a good and realistic performance. (Jeremy) Irons at least knows what kind of movie he's in, and hams it up accordingly. ~ Roger Ebert

If they die, we bury them; if they don't, we won't. ~ Allan Dare Pearce

Most of the time when I'm in Australia I'm not really working, it seems. I'm just at home, getting on with renovating my house or writing music or whatever. So I get back to doing all the stuff that I naturally do. Whereas if I'm away working, that's all there is to do, is to concentrate on the work. ~ Guy Pearce

The majority of people who join law enforcement are doing it for good, moral reasons, but then there are the few who get through, where you go, 'Whoa, hold on a second. What's this guy doing here?' ~ Guy Pearce

Fishing is much less about the fishing, and much more about the time alone with your kid, away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday. ~ Dan Pearce

I want to put the ever-rushing world on pause
Slow it down, so that I can breathe.
These bones are aching to tell me something
But I cannot hear them. ~ Lucy H. Pearce

You never say never, but I don't think I'd want to do a long-running series. ~ Guy Pearce

Smile at people everywhere you go. Don't just give them one of those half-smirk/head nod things. Raise your eyebrows, show those teeth, and chuckle while you smile. Next time you're at the store, give a full-hearted smile to at least three complete strangers. You'll be amazed at what this does for them and for you. ~ Dan Pearce

The skinnier and more toned I got, the fatter I felt.
The more in shape I got, the more out of shape I felt like I was.
And the more I made myself look good to the masses, the less attractive I felt like I was. ~ Dan Pearce

Silas talks about San Francisco, so avidly that I think he's trying to fill the air with words before it can be consumed with awkward silences. I don't know why I feel those silences lurking all around us, but every time Silas and I make eye contact, I can sense them there, waiting to slip in and make me blush. I try to avoid his eyes, stealing glances at his arched brows and bow-shaped lips whenever he's looking away. ~ Jackson Pearce

Any representation of God produces accordingly. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

I tend to project my father figure onto any director that I'm working with, or mother, if I'm working with a female, or it can be confused. ~ Guy Pearce

Dads. Do you honestly expect anybody to believe that you can't find 20 minutes to step away from your computer or turn off the television to play with your child? It has to happen every single day. Do you not understand that children will hinge their entire facet of trust on whether or not their dad plays with them and how involved he is when he plays with them? Do you know the damage you do by not playing with your children every day? ~ Dan Pearce

A lot of action characters are a little bit too serious as well. They take themselves a bit too seriously, which I don't find particularly interesting, whereas I like the fact that there was at least some humor in this because really it's a piece of entertainment. ~ Guy Pearce

Yes. When I want to fill my heart with His love, I open my eyes to the creations of His hand, especially the ones that seem outrageously and uselessly beautiful--sunsets, sunrises, ice crystals, patterns in drying mud, golden cottonwood leaves against red rock cliffs, the melancholy sound of the first cricket in August, moss-covered rocks in a mountain stream, the way a baby laughs before she can do useful things such as talking or walking. ~ Virginia H. Pearce

I look back at Silas, who is adding more sugar to his coffee. "Okay. Fine. One class, but only because I might not get another chance once we're back in Ellison. And you have to promise not to tell Scarlett."
"Only if you let me pay for it," he counters.
"Silas," I say threateningly.
He shrugs. "You and Lett are broke. And besides, if you pay for it, Scarlett will know the money is missing."
"Fine," I say dismissively.
"Great. Let's go get you signed up, then," he says, rising and dropping a few crumbled dollars onto the tabletop. I remain seated, mouth open.
"Now?"
"No time like the present. I suppose I've taken Operation Rosie-Gets-a-Life as a personal mission. It's too similar to Operation Silas-Gets-a-Life for me to ignore." He extends a hand to me, and, without thinking, I take it. My heart rate quickens and I want to pull him toward me.
Oh god. What am I thinking? I pull my hand away again and smile nervously. Silas smiles almost sheepishly. Did he feel the same stirring sensation? ~ Jackson Pearce

Any idea seriously entertained tends to bring about the realization of itself. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Dads. It's time to tell our kids that we love them. Constantly. It's time to show our kids that we love them. Constantly. It's time to take joy in their twenty-thousand daily questions and their inability to do things as quickly as we'd like. It's time to take joy in their quirks and their ticks. It's time to take joy in their facial expressions and their mispronounced words. It's time to take joy in everything that our kids are. ~ Dan Pearce

The word 'comfort' comes from the Latin words for 'with' and 'strength' and originally meant operating from a position of power. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Just because there are things I don't remember, doesn't mean my actions are meaningless. The whole world doesn't just disappear when you close your eyes, does it? ~ Guy Pearce