Put yourself in the position of an up-and-coming artist living in early-sixteenth-century Italy. Now imagine

trying to distinguish yourself from the other artists living in your town: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, or Titian. Is it any wonder that the Italian High Renaissance lasted only 30 years? Jerry Saltz

If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has been lost. Jaron Lanier

I've seen so many people in this business that made a fortune. They get old and broke and can't make any money. I tell you something... no one's going to play a benefit for Jimmy Dean. Jimmy Dean

If I can surround myself with hilarious people every day, I will always want to go to work. Rashida Jones

As Oscar Wilde should have said, when bad ideas have nowhere else to go, they emigrate to America and become university courses. Frederic Raphael

There is an integrity to INXS, in the music, that makes it worthwhile. Michael Hutchence

Music's the one thing I try not to analyze. I don't want to destroy the magic that has always been there for me. Dwight Yoakam

I tell people not to write too soon about their lives. Writing about yourself too young is loaded with psychological complexities. Mary Karr

Where ignorance is bliss it's foolish to borrow your neighbor's newspaper. Kin Hubbard

My grandmother had this high-tech security system - a rusty nail she used to lock the door. Quincy Jones

Gemeoss

There may be no issue that better illustrates the differences between Republicans and Democrats than

energy. Consider it the 'all of the above' strategy for reducing gas prices, versus the 'all pain, no gain' plan for punishing those who emit carbon (like you). Roy Blunt I don't believe in 'thinking' old. Although I've transitioned through many bodies - a baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, mid-life and older adult - my spirit is unchanged. I support my body with exercise, my mind with reading and writing, and my spirit with the knowing that I am part of the Divine source of all life. Wayne Dyer The spiritual (i.e. the supersensory) has many degrees; thus, the term 'spiritual' is used both for the scale of degrees away from the physical towards the spirit, but also only for the spiritual proper. Piet Mondrian I always say: 'If I'm lucky enough to be given the opportunity to work again, that's it, I'm being wheeled on, sitting on a sofa, and someone's going to feed me grapes, and I'm not getting up.' Mic...

I have hundreds and hundreds of people from Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Argentina,

every day, buying my music and telling me about it online. Gabrielle Aplin The best way to look stylish on a budget is to try second-hand, bargain hunting, and vintage. Orlando Bloom It's actually the minority of religious people who rejects science or feel threatened by it or want to sort of undo or restrict the... where science can go. The rest, you know, are just fine with science. And it has been that way ever since the beginning. Neil deGrasse Tyson To ask a country with 750 million people living on less than a dollar a day to optimize their development for the environment as opposed to getting food in the mouths of these people and giving them a decent lifestyle, that's just a little bit too much to ask. Thomas P.M. Barnett I try to get away from the pits as quickly as I can. I speak to my engineer when I get out of the car, usually there's some press to do, then I will go off and have a shower and get my dry, clean overalls and clothing on. I'll have ...

I checked myself out in that funeral parlour scene. I saw myself laughing, because there

was a shot of Ed and I together and Mary was right in back of us. My head turned from the camera and I saw myself laughing, because Mary was absolutely brilliant in that thing. Gavin MacLeod It's funny, when I'm not on the road or doing stuff with Bad Company - or whatever- I've always written songs galore... a lot of stuff people don't even hear. Mick Ralphs Once you get yourselves into things that are working on a deeper level, you just have to keep going. When you reach that deeper level, you can't go back. Matt Stone I am making amends and seeking forgiveness. My only hope is that some good can come out of my situation. Jayson Blair We're not perfect. We're a work in progress. But man, America has gotten a lot of things right. Donna Edwards The world is starving for a new spiritual truth - a truth that works in sustaining life, not a truth that brings an end to life. Neale Donald Walsch Along the borders to Ethiopia and Somalia, anarchy...

Theo van Doesburg wanted to teach in the Bauhaus in 1922. I refused, however, to

appoint him since I considered him to be too aggressive and too rigidly theoretical: he would have wrought havoc in the Bauhaus through his fanatic attitude, which ran counter to my own broader approach. Walter Gropius I'm surprised how many people are into vinyl. Stephen Morris The first time I went to Cannes, Gus Van Sant was there in competition with 'Last Days.' Justin Kurzel My goal is to make a movie that no one would sort of expect me to make. Anya Taylor-Joy One of the depressing things one realizes as one gets older is how much of one's tastes and attitudes are simply products of economic circumstance at the time. Nick Hornby We worked with Max Martin's team, MXM, who are the best in the business as well. We worked with Stargate, which was phenomenal, and Victoria Monet. Ally Brooke I was going to go to a midnight screening of 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' in college, and it's the sort of thing where people dress up. So I got dressed up, and t...

If you're getting different prescriptions from different doctors, there has to be some sort of

check and balance in there somewhere. Nikki Sixx I glory in the fact that a human being has multiple talents and exercises them all with a degree of integrity and artistic proficiency. That's what I do. Theodore Bikel In surveys, many borrowers say reverse mortgages have improved their lives and provided money they needed for retirement. Charles Duhigg I don't want to disrupt anything. We never conceive of our products as disruptive - we don't look at something and say, 'Let's disrupt that.' It's always about how we can evolve this and make this better. Evan Spiegel People get numbed when they see picture after picture, year in and year out, of people starving. Iman I love 'Die Hard,' man. It's the best. Reid Carolin In a weird way, if you look at all the 'Apes' movies, they all seem like different stories in the same universe. 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' is definitely a continuation, but the other ones jump...

In business, every phase of things counts. Companies that just yell out a low price

today to win business aren't going to make money in the long term. Zhang Jindong California's drought affects everyone in the state, from farmers to fishermen, business owners to suburban residents, and everyone has a role to play in using precious water resources as wisely and efficiently as possible. Frances Beinecke I do think 'Gogglebox' is extraordinarily insightful, and I think if politicians want to understand how we are viewed at home, it's quite recommended viewing. David Cameron I always feel compelled to lend my voice to things I strongly believe in. Keri Hilson It's never easy getting an independent film made and distributed - even when it's easy. Paul Dinello Those who elected Hamas in Palestine did so on the basis of its political platform. Hassan Nasrallah Everyone wants quick deals. They don't want to invest. Dan Gertler It is a rule of international law that weapons and methods of warfare which do not discriminate be...

There are many individuals, companies and even countries operating in what I call a 'me

first' mentality, which is effectively a purely competitive approach to life, treating the planet as if it has infinite resources and pitting one country against another for supremacy. Simon Mainwaring Religiosity turns out to be the best indicator of civic involvement: it's more accurate than education, age, income, gender or race. Jonathan Sacks I'm very good at delegating - people work much better when they have a real sense of responsibility. But at the same time, I don't like surprises. I don't pore over every shoot, but I do like to be aware at all times of what's going on. Anna Wintour Art is the close scrutiny of reality and therefore I put on the stage only those things that I know happen in our society. Edward Bond All too often the Democratic Party has taken the black vote for granted, and all too often the Republican Party has written it off. Jack Kemp Honestly, most of the stuff I made for 'TV on the Radio,' I write in the stu...

When I talk football with my friends, I don't talk about Tom Brady's hair. I

talk about how he handles the blitz, or how he runs his offense. I talk as a fan. I don't want pink jerseys, and I don't want dumbed-down content. I want to be treated as a real fan - because I am proud to be one. Indra Nooyi Abandoned homes are everyone's problem, afflicting communities all over the state. Eric Schneiderman I know how to deal with jet lag, and I know just how much rest I need and when I need to take naps. When you walk on stage, you need your brain working at its highest and most fully-functioning, so it's not always easy, but I sort of figure it out. Joshua Bell It's all about being comfortable, being easy and having you be able to wear something and not having it wear you. It's classic. Every time I've tried to be bold and crazy, I feel like a Japanese animated cartoon character. Jennifer Aniston Silverstone is challenging, but it has a good feel. It's one of the quickest tracks of the year, with legendary corners like the...

I feel my work is made for one being, one individual. You could say that's

me, but that's not really true. It's for an idealized viewer. James Turrell The only thing we know for sure about superiority in sports in the United States of America in the 20th century is that Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics teams he led stand alone as the ultimate winners. Frank Deford I love yoga. There's a lot of stretching involved, which helps with my flexibility and injury prevention. Vinyasa is my favorite as a recovery tool and for me to continue having my legs feel good. Alex Morgan When you get on the back side of your 60s, most people aren't working. Tom Petty God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Leanne Caret For as long as I can remember, I've just loved Chanel. Lily-Rose Depp I always dreamed of going to the Olympics. To be going to the Games in your own country is another thing; to do it as a potential medallist is another thing again. Hannah Mills To me, Berlin is as much a conceit as a reality. Why? Because t...

I remember very little about writing the first series of 'Hitchhiker's.' It's almost as if

someone else wrote it. Douglas Adams Betting on the success of innovative technologies in the marketplace can carry all the uncertainty and risk that betting on the next card in the deck does at a blackjack table in Las Vegas. There is a factor of randomness that must be factored in, but precisely how to do so is anyone's guess. Henry Petroski I'm more interested in having a place to work out my voice and my body than I am in having furniture. Wendy O. Williams I have a lot of friends who are trying to clean up their act, or that are still making trouble for themselves, so I'm definitely well-versed on what goes on in the mind and the heart of a person who self-destructs as their coping mechanism, and also what they're like when you take their preferred substance away. Natasha Lyonne The end of a story must be stronger rather than weaker than the beginning, since it is the end which contains the denouement or culmination and which will leave the strongest im...