I spent most of the '60s, when I was starting to try to write novels,

living and working in Greece and Turkey. These are countries where the ancient past is interfused with the daily present, and I remember being struck with wonder at the constant sense of continuity and connection, the reminders that lie in wait for you at every turn. Barry Unsworth

Intel continues... to abuse their monopoly, and that's why, around the world, governments and regulatory agencies continue to go after them. Hector Ruiz

I wish people would realize that animals are totally dependent on us, helpless, like children, a trust that is put upon us. James Herriot

When a documentary filmmaker, working in the style that I do, suggests that there has been a shooting ratio of 40 hours to every one hour of finished film, that doesn't mean that the other 39 are bad. Ken Burns

I am happiest when I am with my wife, Susi, and our two boys exploring and loving something for the first time. Mario Batali

I hope I will be able to paint as long as I live. Margrethe II of Denmark

A round of golf is the ideal antidote to stress. Bruce Forsyth

Anyone can love a perfect place. Loving Baltimore takes some resilience. Laura Lippman

Athletes tend to have less of a sense of humor than most people. They are heroes to so many. That might be part of it. Jeff Ross

So I delegate a lot and I make my family come first, my husband and our kids. Kelly Preston

Gemeoss

Sisters are always drying their hair. Locked into rooms, alone, they pose at the mirror,

shoulders bare, trying this way and that their hair, or fly importunate down the stair to answer the telephone. Phyllis McGinley When our Lord says, we must be converted and become as little children, I suppose he means also, that we must be sensible of our weakness, comparatively speaking, as a little child. George Whitefield There's no dancing girls. We're kinda like secondary to the thing. It's a story about these two guys that are in love with this one girl and how it unfolds and what happens. Eric Carr There are men who would quickly love each other if once they were speak to each other; for when they spoke they would discover that their souls had only separated by phantoms and delusions. Ernest Hello If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad. Denis Waitley Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting. John Russell If there is...

I remember, for the first time, sitting down and consuming books in a matter of

hours. This was such a new experience for me because reading, up until that point, had been such a struggle and source of stress. I think I just needed to find the right kind of stories with which I could identify. John Corey Whaley Having children showed me a whole different kind of love that I had never known. It was something that had always been missing. Complete love. I would die for them. Scott Weiland If I hadn't won at the Worlds and claimed so many ranking points, I would have been struggling for Rio. I'm in a good place now, though, and having the chance to fight for gold in Rio after everything I've been through would be a dream. Bianca Walkden To me, it is like a diabetic with insulin. If that diabetic stops taking insulin, they will die, and I believe that if I don't follow the 12-step programme, I will regress, and that could eventually be the death of me. Trinny Woodall There are maybe 100 actors I look up to, but my first two favourite actors...

Persuasiveness is really just about getting your ideas across without being forceful.

It's a skill that can be learned and is useful for anyone who works in a team environment. Amanda de Cadenet I was an extra in a Tia Carrere music video. Adam Scott When people start to think they're figuring out 'The Vampire Diaries,' it switches on you. Kat Graham It's a huge blessing to know you've done something that has affected people the way 'The Matrix' has. It's like, there's 'Star Wars,' and then there's 'The Matrix.' It's cool to be a part of that. Laurence Fishburne Voters aren't asking to be pandered to and aren't asking to be tricked. Jason Kander I'm a pretty controlled and disciplined person, but my real vice is buying plants and food shopping. Zac Posen Barack Obama was a president who understood not only how technology could transform the way government services worked but also technology itself. He got it. Steven Levy Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up...

By the time I land in Iowa, I feel like my mind is more open

to the reality of being back home and focusing on the problems of the people in my district. Bruce Braley How many artists subscribe to the notion that creative success depends on input from the fickle muse or her modern avatar, mental illness? Probably very few. Kathryn Harrison Before I was on 'Idol,' I just sat at home and played video games all day long. Now I get to travel and work towards my dream. It's the best feeling ever. Jessica Sanchez Harvard was also a little bit of a villain in my first book, 'The Dante Club.' I guess there might be a way to make Harvard more of a sympathetic presence, but it's such a powerful institution that it more naturally lends itself toward not necessarily a negative but an obstructionist element in a story. Matthew Pearl I've always been interested in invisible worlds, and I like to visit digital worlds, you know, any world that's imposed on us. Leos Carax I try to take normal things - whether it...

In order to be an actor you really have to be one of those types

of people who are risk-takers and have what is considered an actor's arrogance, which is not to say an arrogance in your personal life. But you have to be the type of person who wants the ball with seconds left in the game. Bryan Cranston One principle I've been fighting for that doesn't endear me to a lot of people is that black people can be just as complicated and screwed up as white people. Our motives can be just as base and violent. Suffering does not necessarily ennoble you. Henry Louis Gates I did have reconstructive plastic surgery and a tummy tuck. And from hip to hip, there's a very big scar. It looks better than it did... So I say, if you don't like that skin, have it removed. This is my advice: if you're gonna do it - just go for it. Carnie Wilson But what is striking about this, in a town that often talks about tax cuts, we could quite easily, Republicans and Democrats working together, do something that everybody in America desires, and t...

I basically have needed to go to the piano and give voice periodically to, you

know - I'm always afraid to describe it as a kind of therapeutic process, but nevertheless it was a type of unloading that had to occur due to my personal life with my mother's health or just my professional trials and tribulations. Rufus Wainwright Retailing has gone from an information-scarce to an information-rich environment. Erik Brynjolfsson It is the goal of the American university to be the brains of the republic. Johan Huizinga Let me just say, I've seen a pub or two. Don Johnson Despite our differences, I know that both Republicans and Democrats love America. Marco Rubio The purest expression of the doctrine of Liberalism was probably that of Benjamin Constant. Francis Parker Yockey People care about my fame, not me. But that's fine. I have my own life. Josh Hartnett If we wish our state's growth to continue, then our future will increasingly be with industries that require a highly skilled and technically proficient workforce. Jay We...

I'm looking at some comedic horror films because I have often been accused of being

too dark. I'm not dark, not compared with 'Saw' or anything like that. So I'm looking at live-action horror films, but not slasher ones - ones that have humor and maybe some social satire. Henry Selick You know it's funny that none of the regular late-night shows now use guest hosts the way Johnny did. No one talks about it much, but it's curious that they don't do it. They would each have to be asked the reason why they don't. Garry Shandling To put it simply - you know, a lot of people believe that the benefit of this job is fame and fortune. I believe that you pay for the fortune through the fame. I don't buy into the notion that being famous is somehow a good thing, or an exciting thing, or a wonderful thing. Evangeline Lilly I have run two Olympic 'A' standard times over the past 12 months and with the time I ran at the African Championships last week I know my speed and fitness are constantly improving so that I will peak in ti...

It is time that we provide clarity for our seniors, informing them of the services

available that will lower the costs of their prescription drugs and strengthen the overall integrity of the Medicare entitlement. Olympia Snowe The view of the local scene through the eyes of a native participant in that scene is a different window. Kenneth L. Pike Money costs too much. Ross MacDonald Beauty is only skin deep, but it's a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense. Vernon Howard She put her hands around the neck of our production manager, and you know, started to choke him. David Gest How vain, without the merit, is the name. Homer I fell off stage and bruised some ribs. The worst part was that the audience didn't realize I was gone. Richard Marx

There is a great suspicion of saying that anyone, especially a child, is 'the product

of destiny,' or 'formed by fate,' or 'predestined for a certain life.' I am suspicious, too, of efforts to cage children or adults in preconceived ideas of who they are or should be. Michael Gurian I'm drawn to almost any piece of writing with the words 'divine love' and 'impeachment' in the first sentence. But I know the word 'divine' makes many progressive people run screaming for their cute little lives, and so one hesitates to use it. Anne Lamott Music is great; it all depends on what mood you're in, what you want to listen to. If it's party time, you listen to, you know, party music, if you want to dance with somebody. But then again, if it's a slow dance, you need something slow. Tom Jones Cars have a large engine in the front and you have a gearbox, which is cumbersome. Electric cars don't have this problem. The motor is much smaller, the battery is below you. This will allow you to play with different shap...

I feel proud when a player from Jammu and Kashmir plays for India. This

shows cricket has reached all corners of the country. Sharad Pawar By the time people came to realize that free, Web-based email was indeed a hot idea, Hotmail was adding 1 million new subscribers a month. Steve Jurvetson Probably one of the most surreal moments of my career was acting in front of Notre Dame with a mime. Eric McCormack When my fans and actors like Rajinikanth and Amitabh garu wished that I do films once again, I thought I should do. I had some skepticism in me, initially. But looking at the encouragement, I grew in confidence. Chiranjeevi I don't mind if my performances get dissected and people criticise what I've done on the pitch. They can talk about my game 24/7 for all I care. And a lot of those opinions and criticisms may actually be right. So I don't mind that. Robin Van Persie What I'm very concerned about is how do we bolster our self-awareness as humans, as biological organisms? Mae Jemison I don't want to be someone else...