I think it's very important that we instill in our kids that it has nothing

to do with their name or their situation that they're growing up in; it has to do with who they are as an individual.
Melinda Gates

How some of the writers I come across get through their books without dying of boredom is beyond me.
William Gaddis

The beautiful seems right by force of beauty, and the feeble wrong because of weakness.
Virginia Woolf

I'm not aiming for the Nobel Peace Prize!
Omar Bongo

Maimed but still magnificent... Europe's mightiest medieval cathedral.
R. W. Apple, Jr.

I was just standing around and suddenly I was cast as an extra. I hated it because I was so shy.
Dwayne Hickman

Philosophy is the highest music.
Plato

Gemeoss

It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose

sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical person fears - the fall into knowledge exhaustion, obsolescence, techno-fuddy-duddyism - there was no reason to think I could escape it forever. Ellen Ullman Innovation and its allure can be dangerous. It can draw you away from the user, from the intended outcome, and may be the ultimate demise of otherwise great intentions. Mark Brand My voice is different, but I don't think I'm the only one with a different take on pop music. Charli XCX In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada. Jodi Balfour Mexico has 44 treaties with other countries that make it very advantageous to do international shipping from Mexico rather than from the United States. Wilbur Ross Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of ...

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

That's what I think our jobs as parents are, to educate as much as possible...

I tell them to follow their bliss. The people who follow their bliss in this world tend to be the more happier people. Art Alexakis The only time I waste is time I spend doing something that, in my gut, I know I shouldn't. If I choose to spend time playing video games or sleeping in, then it's time well spent, because I chose to do it. I did it for a reason - to relax, to decompress or to feel good, and that was what I wanted to do. Simon Sinek Meat workers may have been looked down upon socially, but at least they were well-paid and were a fit and lively bunch as a result of hard, honest physical work. Michael Leunig I decided that I wanted a farm back in 1940 when I was with the Dodgers. I tried to find one within commuting distance of New York. Larry MacPhail Oh God, are you supposed to collect things? I don't collect things. I like throwing things away. Caitlin Moran My first phone was two tin cans tied together with string, and it worked pretty good. Do...

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

How great is the mystery of the first cells which were one day animated by

the breath of our souls! How impossible to decipher the welding of successive influences in which we are forever incorporated! In each one of us, through matter, the whole history of the world is in part reflected. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Part of being innovative in government is sometimes not trying to plot out the last chapter of the book, but to be open and see what comes back. Anthony Foxx Bray is where I live; it's a seaside resort. It's a nice place to walk up there and stuff, on the coast. There's crosses along on top of it. Tristan MacManus The decisive factor for the future of Europe - and before all things, for the 'restoration' of Europe - will be whether political thought and national feelings are influenced by the reality of internationalism. Ellen Key In the ancient times, bards went around singing the epics, which were storehouses of philosophy. Amish Tripathi Once I started singing, I didn't have to try to be cool. I was just on...

The class has become over the years fairly large, running to three hundred or more,

but I always insist upon reading all the student folklore collections myself. Although this is a tall order, I look forward to it because I learn so much from it. Alan Dundes I'd like to thank the BBC for allowing me to work here. And I'd like to thank the wife and kids for making it necessary. Les Dawson Many slaves on this continent are oppressed, and their cries have reached the ears of the Most High. Such are the purity and certainty of his judgments, that he cannot be partial in our favor. John Woolman A talent somewhat above mediocrity, shrewd and not too sensitive, is more likely to rise in the world than genius. Charles Horton Cooley I didn't really want to act. Gerard Depardieu discovered me when I was 14 and asked if I wanted to make movies and I said, 'Why not?' Melanie Laurent People think when you have a, quote, 'bank failure,' that that is the end of the bank. And it isn't necessarily. Michele Bachmann Some broad themes br...

You come across words all the time that are everyday sexism. I was described as

'competently bossy' and 'bossily competent' by a male journalist, and I thought, 'Gosh, 'bossy' is never used of a man.' Clare Balding I think that anyone who likes writing views 'The New Yorker' as the, you know, pinnacle of the publishing world. If you get 50 words published in 'The New Yorker,' it's more important than 50 articles in other places. So, would I love to one day write for them? I guess. But that's not my sole ambition. Lauren Weisberger While Ebola's deadly reach has proven to be a complex and unique international challenge, the many uncertainties surrounding this virus continue to threaten U.S. national security. Marco Rubio I crave deadlines. If I don't have a deadline, I become a total slacker, which is why I always have so much on my plate. Lori Wilde I can't take much pride in my childhood acting. It feels like it happened in another lifetime, and even then, it felt like a hobby. Mara ...

The Blossoms were actually the first black background singers that did recording sessions in California,

but we had to start giving work away. We just couldn't do it all. Darlene Love Foreign policy is about the execution of ideas as much as their formulation. David Ignatius I love everything John Carpenter's ever done. D. J. Cotrona Playing clubs is the ultimate - you see the faces; you hear the 'clicking' glasses - I love all that atmosphere and seeing people's mouths singing the words to the songs. Vonda Shepard I've always had self-belief, though my sensitive side has never been fully appreciated. For every 'Down in the Tube Station at Midnight,' I've written an 'English Rose.' People forget. Paul Weller For me, motivation is a person who has the capability to recruit the resources he needs to achieve a goal. Arsene Wenger The chance to play a romantic character who kisses somebody onscreen was one of the elements that made me want to do 'The Stand.' The more you can do, the better, and I've been known as a char...

If you want to do interesting software, you have to have a bunch of people

do it, because the amount of software that one person can do isn't that interesting. Nathan Myhrvold I mean, I think I liked every band I ever played in because each band was different, each band had a different concept, and each band leader was different... different personalities and musical tastes. Buddy Rich I still want to be as approachable and relatable as possible - when I meet fans and they're crying, I'll say, 'Calm down, there's nothing to cry about.' Katy Perry There's an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you just have to stop, and start writing. David McCullough My upbringing was absolutely not the archetypal writer's upbringing. Even, arguably, the opposite. Graham Swift I'm not afraid of werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels, I'm afraid of what real human beings to do other real human beings. Walter Jon Williams When I'm writing, I try to have the mask of my character o...