Social media is a giant distraction to the ultimate aim, which is honing your craft

as a songwriter. There are people who are exceptional at it, however, and if you can do both things, then that's fantastic, but if you are a writer, the time is better spent on a clever lyric than a clever tweet.
Bryan Adams

Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.
Quentin Crisp

Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.
Thomas Jefferson

I've looked on many women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.
Jimmy Carter

Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.
Norman Maclean

A child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to be right but also to be wrong.
Thomas Szasz

Most dramatically, and perhaps least noticed, is the violence inside Saudi Arabia itself.
Michael Scheuer

The way to screw up somebody's life is to give them what they want.
Patrick Swayze

Can you imagine Simon as a kid? His imaginary friends probably never wanted to play with him.
Paula Abdul

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...

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 ...

We've got fifty people at Gitmo that are too dangerous to be let go that

will never go through a normal criminal trial. Let's create a new legal system, so they'll have their day in court. Lindsey Graham I am a living illustration of Bosnian mixing and converting. My grandparents lived in eastern Herzegovina. Very poor. The Turks came and brought Islam. There were three brothers in the family. One was Orthodox Christian. The other two took Islam to survive. Emir Kusturica I was a typical farm boy. I liked the farm. I enjoyed the things that you do on a farm, go down to the drainage ditch and fish, and look at the crawfish and pick a little cotton. Sam Donaldson You always have certain strengths and certain weaknesses, and you want to compensate for your weaknesses... I have a real duty to earn the trust of the faculty. I don't just deserve it. I have to earn it. Erskine Bowles The report of this made me exceedingly angry, for I could not see why information which a middle-class woman could get from her doctor should be withheld from ...

I get marriage proposals, maybe one a week. Women do flirt, yes. They just want

someone from the telly. They come and talk to you, and I guess baking is more attractive, and so they feel they have something in common with me. But I'm just a man from Liverpool. I enjoy what I do, and if that gets people baking, then even better. Paul Hollywood You hear all these people saying, 'Oh, Pep, what a good manager he is.' Forget about it. Cruyff was the best, by far. Pep Guardiola If we can find a way to enforce our laws and keep people from coming into our country illegally while maintaining a strong legal immigration system, I think that's going to benefit everyone. If you come here illegally, and you commit a crime, you're not going to be able to stay in our country. Ronna McDaniel The white working class wants jobs. They don't want to be stuck trying to make ends meet with part-time work and government assistance. They want a good paying job that they can take pride in. The type of job that has fled America thanks to the Left. Milo Yia...

People have to understand one thing: at the age of 18, I arrived at a

dream club like Manchester United. It was a dream come true. But, even at that moment, I was thinking about playing in England for some years and then going to play in Spain. Even at that time I was thinking that way, and I always gave 100% everything. Cristiano Ronaldo An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original. Jean Cocteau I know a lot of athletes and models are written off as just bodies. I never felt used for my body. Arnold Schwarzenegger It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing, but the habits he has accumulated during the first half. Fyodor Dostoevsky It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll; I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley Damn the great executives, the men of measured merriment, damn the men with careful smiles oh, damn their measured merriment. Sinclair Lewis There are, believe it or not, g...

It's very important that people know that I really enjoy everything that has happened to

me. And I tell my kids... you're not going to be the tallest, fastest, prettiest, the best track runner, but you can be the nicest human being that someone has ever met in their life. And I just want to leave that legacy that being nice is a true treasure. George Foreman I try to stay away from all the blogs and messages boards. Joanne Kelly If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play. Tom Stoppard We'll set our approach to borrowing, to spending, to taxation, in a sensible way on a sensible timescale. Douglas Alexander Once in a while, I bump into a knitter, and we have a lovely conversation. But if you figure out the number of people who know me and the people who don't, it's really a small number. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee I'm not normally very adventurous with food. Bethany Mota I am thrilled to be joining 'CBS News' and to have the opportunity to collaborate with some of our profession's most talented jo...

The Devil in the White City' - the 'White City' was the nickname for the World's

Fair of 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Erik Larson One of my biggest drawbacks is my inability to maintain my physique. I put on weight for 'Soodhu Kavvum' and never managed to shed it. Luckily, that look suited a few films, including 'Orange Mittai.' Vijay Sethupathi We live in this era where we really enjoy being offended, although only on the Internet. I don't know how beneficial it is. I wonder if we live in an age where we don't have power, yet somehow feel we have virtual power. But I feel like it's a distraction from real life. Michaela Coel Marriage, to women as to men, must be a luxury, not a necessity; an incident of life, not all of it. Susan B. Anthony Men lie all the time. Sam Shepard As a global media company, A+E Networks continually seeks to create new and exciting content that will attract audiences today, tomorrow, and beyond. By investing in Vice, we are thrilled about our potential to further deliver content that ...