A chair's function is not just to provide a place to sit; it is to

provide a medium for self-expression. Chairs are about status, for example. Or signalling something about oneself. That's why the words chair, seat and bench have found themselves used to describe high status professions, from academia to Parliament to the law. Evan Davis

For me, my training is a key part of my work as so often my life has depended on being able to move fast and haul myself up and out of something fast! Bear Grylls

My goal wasn't to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers. Steve Wozniak

They are unique in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life that they enclose. Marjory Stoneman Douglas

What the mind cannot retain, the body will have to endure. Edwin Louis Cole

Singing is like a celebration of oxygen. Bjork

Usually when you see females in movies, they feel like they have these metallic structures around them, they are caged in by male energy. Bjork

As you lecture, you keep watching the faces, and information keeps coming back to you all the time. George Wald

Books should make somebody look at how they feel, be honest with themselves. Clive Barker

Gemeoss

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...

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job,

experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving. Jodi Benson It almost goes without saying that when you are a startup, one of the first things you do is you start setting aside money to defend yourself from patent lawsuits, because any successful company, even moderately successful, is going to get hit by a patent lawsuit from someone who's just trying to look for a payout. Charles Duhigg People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me. Callie Khouri I've never really understood the term 'Post-Impressionism' as more tha...

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...

This battle for 'common-sense' gun control laws pits emotion and passion against logic and reason.

All too often in such a contest, logic loses. So, expect more meaningless, if not harmful, 'gun control' legislation. Good news - if you're a crook. Larry Elder I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead. Frank Black You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again. Tom Petty We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. J. William Fulbright Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. Mary Shelley Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such fr...

It is illegal for foreign entities to buy political ads in the United States. But

that didn't stop the purchase of thousands of political ads on Facebook, paid for - in rubles - by foreigners.Amy Klobuchar Meeting my wife Amanda was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. She wasn't going to let me screw around my life anymore, so I stopped drinking and started behaving like a decent human being.Jason Bateman I grew up on Dilla, Timbaland, Pharrell, all these drums that are super pocketed, so all those influences come out on a song like 'Ungrateful Eyes,' with all the crazy drum swing.Jon Bellion Try to do 100 percent, do my job, and that's all.Asdrubal Cabrera I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other people about theirs, reading training advice or eating the perfect balance of carbs and protein.Sadiq Khan I'm an OK singer.Dakin Matthews With innovative companies and products like Tencent's WeChat messaging ...

Once I'd reached the point where I could squirrel away more than 30 digits a

minute in memory palaces, I still only sporadically used the techniques to memorize the phone numbers of people I actually wanted to call. I found it was just too simple to punch them into my cell phone. Joshua Foer I grew up very nice. But after college, my father said you're on you own. So I was dead broke for years. So I know what it's - I lived on 600 dollars a month for six years. I know what it's like to be dead broke. I feel bad for people who are struggling now. Jon Lovitz When you're in a very specific kind of wardrobe, it kind of dictates your movement; it also kind of enables you - or, I guess, disables you - from certain kinds of movement. Sarah Gadon We need a human presence at the border and a humane presence at the border. David Dewhurst My idea of a romantic night is to watch action films. Corey Hart My sisters and mom raised me to respect women and open doors for them. Milo Ventimiglia The best way to get along is never to forgive an e...

I have always been fascinated by the human mind, conscious and unconscious - that is

what writing and reading is about, too. The why of your life and the why of your choices and the what has happened that you know and the what that you don't know is really riveting, and psychoanalysts share my wonder at how it all unfolds. Anne Roiphe In 1994, when I came to PepsiCo, there were really three businesses. They were soft drinks, which included both bottling and the concentrate company. There were salted snacks - Frito Lay. And restaurants where we had, we all talk of them, Pizza Hut, KFC and a whole bunch of casual dining chains. Indra Nooyi When I was just starting out in the business, I used to love to watch Lorne Greene doing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I said right then, 'That's what I want to do someday,' and it's been one dream that has come true. Willard Scott One thing I really envy about my friends who have kids is that as their children develop, they're able to revisit their own developmental stages and recognise thems...

I teach at the Stanford Business School, and about half of my students are foreign,

many of whom, I hope, will stay and build businesses in U.S. But I must tell you that they also have opportunities to come back to India and start great companies and operations. Safra A. Catz I knew I loved dancing with my friends. Amy Purdy Artists don't think archivally. Eva Hesse Rural voters believed the Democrats traded millions in campaign cash at their expense. Along came a guy named Trump to give these voters a political voice. Bob Beckel I think 2017 is going to be the year of the grand return of the nation-state, the control of borders and currencies. Marine Le Pen It's not what Apple and Beats are doing today. It's what we believe pairing the two together can produce for the future. Tim Cook I don't feel that as human beings we have an obligation to dislike someone based on their beliefs, and it's OK to have a human reaction to someone even if you feel what they do is hideous and objectionable. You can still enjoy their company and find...

I think 'austerity' is a much abused word. I prefer to call it 'fiscal discipline'

or financial, 'financial competency.' Enda Kenny Poetry is almost like my foundation for everything. I almost feel I am a better actor and writer because of it. Omari Hardwick It's interesting for me to sell Comme des Garcons in places it's never been sold before to people who might not have heard of Comme des Garcons. Rei Kawakubo I look around, and 50 percent of the big-budget entertainment you are seeing these days is dystopian. This is the era of 'Hunger Games' and blasted landscapes and 'The Walking Dead.' John Lithgow Just know what's inside your food. Venus Williams I'm first and foremost a scientist. Dean Ornish I've been a video game guy since I was eight years old and got my first Nintendo. I've been addicted to video games ever since. A.J. Styles Petraeus is the finest general I have ever worked for; Holly Petraeus is a great American hero. William H. McRaven Sometimes I'm like Dory from 'Finding...