Jake Halpern > Quotes

“Ultimately, our obsession with celebrities isn't about them; it's about us and our needs. Many of us look at these people—who have glamour, beauty, wealth, and youth—and familiarize ourselves with them until they begin to feel like real people in our lives. We discuss them at work, in the park, and over dinner. We develop feelings for them. We love them, or hate them, or pity them, or profess not to care but secretly do.”
― Jake Halpern

“Only facts will help you escape -- not hopes, fears or wishes.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall

“Silvery moonlight illuminated the landscape around them, which was an undulating terrain of treetops as far as the eye could see.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall

“Night has fallen. And it will last for a very long time.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall

“During one of my many conversations with Robert Thompson, of Syracuse University, he described the vindication he felt when he heard from old high school acquaintances who had once snubbed him. "I will get e-mails from people who have seen me on TV. Occasionally they'll come from someone I knew in high school—someone who didn't go to the prom with me, or slighted me in some other way—and those are some of the most satisfying e-mails I get. In fact, one could argue that the desire to be famous is simply the desire to alleviate pain—the pain of being bullied, the pain of feeling like a nobody, the pain of not getting the dates you want, and the misery of being”
― Jake Halpern, Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America's Favorite Addiction

“What do you say when I sneeze?"Anton repeated. "Bless you," Kana replied. "Right, but why do you say it?" Kana shrugged. "Sometimes in life, we do things simply because we have always done them,' explained Anton. "Perhaps there were once reasons, but we have forgotten them. A very long time ago, people believed that whenever a person sneezed, their soul exploded out through their mouths and into the air. They also believed that the devil was always lurking about and might snatch up that soul. So they said bless you, to stall the devil until the soul could shoot back down into the person's body." "That's nonsense," said Marin, throwing her hands in the air. "You're probably right," said Anton. "But you still say bless you. And until a moment ago, you didn't even know why.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall

“I’d be a bum on the street with a tin cup if the markets were efficient.”
― Jake Halpern, Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld

“Too much hope could make it harder to accept reality when the time came.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall

“…only children entertain the fantasy that adults know how and why everything works. Being an adult is accepting the not knowing.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall

“Only children entertain the fantasy that adults know how and why everything works. Being an adult is accepting the not knowing.”
― Jake Halpern

“The interlocking of their fingers was the only scrap of comfort left to them.”
― Jake Halpern, Nightfall