Writers tend to write stories as a kind of holiday between novels, or as preliminary

steps towards a novel. Stories just don't often make up a writer's main body of work, and that's not because they don't see the market for it.
James Lasdun

People will say that it's some kind of evasion, but I would never want to have a kid for me. I'd want to have the child for the child's sake, if that makes sense.
Jeremy Northam

I find comedy to be really scary, because it can go so wrong so easily, and the margin for error is so huge - and I guess that's what makes it funny, that tension.
Tatiana Maslany

Garry Trudeau put me in the Doonesbury strip many years ago. So I've been a cartoon once.
Steve Cropper

When you see a silent movie, you understand everything that's going on from the images because the images are so strong.
Monica Bellucci

And the White Album is important to me for different reasons. One - I had left the band on the White Album.
Ringo Starr

The artist does not illustrate science (but) he frequently responds to the same interests that a scientist does.
Lewis Mumford

America must be the teacher of democracy, not the advertiser of the consumer society. It is unrealistic for the rest of the world to reach the American living standard.
Mikhail Gorbachev

Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove, That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
Christopher Marlowe

Even though NASA tries to simulate launch, and we practice in simulators, it's not the same - it's not even close to the same.
Sally Ride

Gemeoss

I remember at 16 years old, growing up in Queens, we were punks, but hey,

when we went to the theater, we wore a shirt and tie! Similarly, I believe that to keep movie theaters in existence, they're gonna have to make 'em an event, have a couch, a table and drinks or something. Otherwise, there's no reason to get out of your bed! James Caan The only reason I went to college was to play basketball. I injured my knee and couldn't play. Jeffrey Dean Morgan Going out and playing football or baseball with the boys, when I was a tomboy, was a great way to learn about winning and losing, and most girls didn't have that experience. Hillary Clinton If I wasn't performing, I wasn't alive. That's the truth. My parents had absolutely no interest in the business, but they knew it made me happy, so they said 'Go for it, girl!' Samantha Barks When approved, the SAFE Port Act will make progress toward protecting the physical infrastructure of our seaports as well as our national economy which is so clearly dependent on the com...

My first joke was about a company called Five Star Parking that was all over

Philadelphia: 'Who's reviewing parking lots?' Adam McKay I don't have to try to be perfect because I know that my fans like me for who I am. They like me because I am weird and kind of funky, but still really calm. Bella Thorne It's a funny feeling to work with people who you consider your colleagues and to realize that they actually are young enough to be your children. Alan Alda There was a time when cowboys respected their horses instead of riding them to death just to show off for a crowd. Tommy Lee My friends and family are amazed I've done so well. I was not a model student. No one expected that I'd build a Fortune 500 company at Symantec. John W. Thompson Before 'Moonrise,' I never thought I would be in a movie where I would be struck by lightning. Jared Gilman The theme of sisters - of missing sisters, of needing sisters, the special love that sisters share or the antagonism sisters share - is something that is very close to...

Photographic memory is often confused with another bizarre - but real - perceptual phenomenon called

eidetic memory, which occurs in between 2 and 15 percent of children and very rarely in adults. An eidetic image is essentially a vivid afterimage that lingers in the mind's eye for up to a few minutes before fading away. Joshua Foer One of my favorite films is 'Dumb and Dumber.' I'd love to do some really silly comedy someday. Paul Dano In my family, as in most middle-class Indian families I knew when I was growing up, science and mathematics were held in awe. Aravind Adiga I give the spectator the possibility of participating. The audience completes the film by thinking about it; those who watch must not be just consumers ingesting spoon-fed images. Michael Haneke Even The Impostors, as silly as it is, is a very intimate film, in a way. Stanley Tucci There's no doubt I'm emotional. Sidney Crosby Knowledge is ancient error reflecting on its youth. Francis Picabia I can only be who I am. Enya The South African government, unlike a lot of ...

That's the great thing about university: you've got people around you who are taking a

risk and trying things out themselves. It gives you the confidence to try and take it to the next step, which was drama school. Adam Rayner I'm not afraid to have a character say, 'I am a Christian,' or, 'I believe in God,' because I think they represent real people on this Earth. Tyler Perry My tutorial videos are educational, but they're goofy - I'm just being myself. Rosanna Pansino Despite the fact that feminists say they're not getting a fair deal, women are still very powerful. Les Dawson Being home schooled is awesome because you can make your own schedule, so as far as time management, it's up to you how much you get done and when you get it done. It's all got to get done; how you do it is up to you. You need a lot of self-discipline, but luckily, I have it. Jason Dolley I would have loved to have another 10 Eric Ambler books. Alan Furst I want to have all that scientific information that we're building be used in de...

When you become successful on the level that Fleetwood Mac did, it gives you financial

freedom, which should allow you to follow your impulses. But oddly enough, they become much harder to follow. Lindsey Buckingham All of a sudden I discovered that I'm allergic to caviar. It was the perfect metaphor for my life. When I was only able to afford bad caviar, I could certainly eat my fill of it. Larry David My symphonies would have reached Opus 100 if I had but written them down... Sometimes I am so full of music, and so overflowing with melody, that I find it simply impossible to write down anything. Robert Schumann Historically, terrorism falls in a category different from crimes that concern a criminal court judge. Jurgen Habermas We started this band as kids, and as time has gone on, we've grown and are learning to accommodate each others' differences. Layne Staley Sometimes the greatest meals on vacations are the ones you find when Plan A falls through. Anthony Bourdain Lipitor is one of the most researched medicines. I'm glad I take Li...

Interested listeners have only to hear the recording to find out if those guys, who

go to such pains to undervalue my work, are right. All people have to do is listen to realize it is a beautiful record. Bill Dixon You look at the world around you, and you take it apart into all its components. Then you take some of those components, throw them away, and plug in different ones, start it up and see what happens. Frederik Pohl More are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which He may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship Him, through them you will realise Him. Ramakrishna I stayed with them for about a year up there and, at night, worked over in Long Island at a club called The High Hat Club which was like a pseudo jazz / blues place. William Bell You can only hold your stomach in for so many years. Burt Reynolds Personality is reduced and deformed with depleted thoughts and stagnant mind. Hussein of Jordan When you start out without a record nobody knows you, but if you have a record it's a lot easier. John Deacon

If the part isn't always there on the page, I've had good relationships with writers

where there's an openness to bring more to the role. Felicity Jones When you're seven feet tall on set, people give you respect. Alan Tudyk 'Paris, Texas' gave me a chance to play compassion, and I'm spelling that with a capital C. Harry Dean Stanton I love all genres of music. I think it helps you become a better performer if you know the different types of music. Diana DeGarmo Change is incremental. Change is small. Theodore Melfi Having students was so inspiring. Alex Guarnaschelli I've been in 'Avengers' films, but I don't do a lot of the action parts. There are superheroes in the movie! People would much rather see them fight each other! Cobie Smulders When I was a kid, I really wanted a metal detector for Christmas, convinced I was going to find buried treasure and could retire at 12. Santa Claus brought me one, but sadly, that treasure was never realized. It's amazing how many bottle caps you have to dig up. But to be ...

I have done for my country, and for all mankind, all that I

could do, and I now resign my soul, without fear, to my God - my daughter to my country. Thomas Jefferson The saddest moment as Prime Minister is writing letters to families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan or those who we have tried to help in hostage situations but it hasn't worked out. David Cameron My son, Gio, wanted to do a horseback trip in Mongolia, but he didn't want to do an Abercrombie & Fitch-type tour, where they show you around while you sleep in B&Bs. John Fusco Location is all about the efficiency of work for me. Michelle Grabner I always think it's hard for any young actor to make that transition to more grown-up roles. Because you don't want to alienate your audience who has been supportive of you for so many years, so you kind of have to tiptoe through that process. Alexa Vega I dress like a 7-year-old space pilot. I have clothes that I still wear regularly from high school. Kirsten Vangsness I think when you're a ...

I haven't done as many films as I would have liked. A lot of my

contemporaries have done more. I don't have 'I will be a movie star' emblazoned on anything, but I'd like do a bit more screen stuff and then when the time is right come back to theatre. When it is good, theatre takes a lot of beating both to watch and perform. Dan Stevens You can't stop what comes into a country, you can be influenced, but you can't stop it, you shouldn't, because it makes all the others interesting, we all get muddled up together, and produce something that belongs to everyone. Ninette de Valois Yes, peace can and must be won, to save the world from the terrible destruction of World War III. Paul Robeson Fools act on imagination without knowledge, pedants act on knowledge without imagination. Alfred North Whitehead I'm very outgoing and social. Emma Roberts Misery's fine - as long as you know you can get out of it when you want to. Arthur Adamov My comedy isn't going to solve problems; I'm not that deep. ...

When you're in the throes of this romantic love, it's overwhelming - you're out of

control, you're irrational, you're going to the gym at 6 A.M. every day - Why? Because she's there. Helen Fisher I didn't come out until 5 or 6 o'clock in the evening. Sleep all day, sleep and cook and eat, stay in the house. That sun is hot, anyway. It ain't right out there. David Edwards Since hydrogen is a constituent of most of our electrolytic solvents, the definition of an acid or base as a substance which gives up or takes up hydrogen ion would be more general than the one we used before, but it would not be universal. Gilbert Newton Lewis All of my songs are autobiographical. Taylor Swift You can't help but feel all the human-rights issues. Sally Field How many big businesses don't resort to underhand means? Mohsin Hamid One thing I learned about people is that they love to give their opinions about things. Katharine McPhee They are able because they think they are able. Virgil Sometimes the person who is the most logical ...