America was first colonized by Puritans. Most of our earliest immigrants, and many since, have

come here in order to practice their religious beliefs as they please. Our culture has always been, and will most likely always be, profoundly influenced by religion.
James Frey

They basically said that if I didn't show up for school they'd mark me present, they wouldn't send the truant officer after me. At 16 I enrolled in something called continuing education. Once a month I'd go out to Jamaica, but I didn't take it seriously.
Dave Van Ronk

Scotland is my country, the nation that shaped me, that taught me my values. A nation whose achievements inspired and inspire me, a community whose failings drive me - drive my overwhelming desire to fight for social justice and equality.
Johann Lamont

Beauty is produced by the pleasing appearance and good taste of the whole, and by the dimensions of all the parts being duly proportioned to each other.
Vitruvius

You start thinking the world is a certain way and forgetting that there's another world outside of the campus boundaries that has nothing to do with what is your world at the time.
James Van Der Beek

To be an actress and act crazy is really fun for me, to be able to be acting like you'd never be able to act in your real life and scream and freak out. It's an interesting test for an actor.
Alexandra Daddario

I think you tend to try, during the time you've got off, to forget about the film. It was such a total world. I mean, the sets were claustrophobic, and as soon as you were on there, you were right back into it.
Rosamund Pike

Measured by any standard, white or black, Washington must be regarded today as one of the great men of this country: and in the future he will be so honored.
Ray Stannard Baker

I was fantasising about my own death, I started thinking what my funeral would be like and what music would be played, I was at that level of insanity.
Billy Corgan

Gemeoss

The monetary impacts of malaria from the household to the global level are significant.

Malaria tends to strike during harvest season, rendering families too sick and too weak to perform the work necessary to earn a living. Malaria-stricken families spend an average of over a quarter of their income on malaria treatment. Tedros Adhanom It's not in the interest of most mapping companies to make those changes as they occur, but if you give the power to local people, you can be sure that you're always getting the best information from the folks that actually drive those roads every day. Noam Bardin We are all pleased when our names are pronounced and spelled correctly. Russell M. Nelson Music and dance is part of everything in New Orleans. So I grew up appreciating it all. Dawn Richard I get things out of my system through my songs, but, because they can be about so many different things, it takes me a while to get through them emotionally. Sharon Van Etten I like to think I've changed the centre of gravity on lots of national debates. Nigel Farage I was a membe...

One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for descriptions. Words or compounds

which describe precisely, and which convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are essential. H. P. Lovecraft I got scars on my face that tell some kind of story. I'm looking in the mirror, and I got one scar that's really two scars - half from a baseball bat and half from playing football in college. I'll tell you, though, after a while, your face gets so wrinkled up you can hardly see them. Kris Kristofferson One of the things my father taught me was you should not exclude those who are opposed to your ideas. Benigno Aquino III Sometimes when it comes to the iconic kind of moments, when I read the script for the first time, you get little goose bumps or something because it really is kind of exciting. Aaron Ashmore Knowing that my ancestry had all been quite wealthy and owned their own businesses probably left me with the ambition to replicate what they'd done. John Caudwell I designed the miniskirt that caused so much havoc in the ...

I remember the first time I heard a co-worker refer to himself as a foodie.

It immediately irritated me. Was he implying that he appreciated food more than other people? That his love of eating was somehow more evolved than mine? Don't all people love the thing we can't live without? Jessi Klein Many writers will get a contract by selling chapters and outlines or something like that. I wrote the entire novel, and when it was all finished, I would give it to my agent and say, 'Well, here's a novel; sell it if you can.' And they would do that, and it was good because I never had anyone looking over my shoulder. George R. R. Martin Death and genitals are things that frighten people, and when people are frightened, they develop means of concealment and aggression. It is common sense. Noam Chomsky Although fostering a peaceful, prosperous and equitable hemisphere is clearly in the best interest of the United States, Washington has not always supported Central America's struggle for economic survival. Óscar Arias I wanted to be a...

Mike Schur knows exactly what everything should look like but, at the same time,

is super collaborative and loves working with actors that make choices and bring stuff to the table. D'Arcy Carden Effective cybersecurity policy will depend on active and continued collaboration between public and private sectors. Dan Lipinski There was certain points shooting 'Spring Breakers' where I wasn't uncomfortable at all, and that let me be free. It allowed me to play with what I love, so that's what I wanted to do with my music. Selena Gomez Don't wait for inspiration. Learn to cultivate it. Nick Petrie All Western cities face significant challenges on social integration. Our populations are booming, but social integration is not keeping pace. Rapid growth is a sign of our success, but it also puts stress on housing, infrastructure - and on communities. Sadiq Khan What I tell myself is that there is never going to be another 'Gone Girl' for me. I mean, I really believe that. I think I'll write other good books; I have faith in that. Gilli...

I remember someone saying to my mom that it must be so glamorous to have

a child acting in movies. They had no idea how hard it was for her. Douglas Booth The No. 1 thing is the product. The goods have to be good, but I care about how you feel about it. Mickey Drexler I'm much more interested in lesser-known eccentrics and characters and performers. Like Matthew Buchinger, who was born in Germany in 1674, had no arms or legs and yet did magic, and had 14 kids, and made the most extraordinary calligraphy. Ricky Jay A career for me is something like building a bridge. You know, where to put the lifts. You have a plan. I have a blueprint for each film, but not for my life. Claire Denis I'm terribly nostalgic, but I'm with the Elizabethans who thought nostalgia was a disease. It's a dangerous place to be because you can get caught up in it. Mark Gatiss I deal with the human psychology and evil. They are my twin issues. Greg Iles I've been encouraging documentary filmmakers to use more and more humor, and they're loath t...

I remember seeing war hero Jimmy Doolittle fly a Gee Bee racer there. He was

my childhood hero. Many years later, I was lucky enough to go hunting with him. Wally Schirra House Democrats have tried to increase port security funding on this House floor four times over the last 4 years, and House Republicans have defeated our efforts every single time. Dennis Cardoza Conway Twitty was always our local hero while I was growing up. He had a series of good bands. I wanted to sit in, if Conway would let me. And he did a couple of times. Levon Helm I've been lucky enough to work with extraordinary teachers along the way, and I'm excited to share what I've learned with graduate students at SNHU. I'm just as excited for what I'll learn from them. Leslie Jamison I took all my wax studies and threw them in the fire... that's the way it is when something unpleasant happens to me. I take my hammer and I squash a figure. Camille Claudel Better treatment and detection methods have also improved the survival rate for people with cancer, a...

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 remember, at MIT, we had to write an essay about something mathematical that you do

in your extra time. I basically wrote about how dance, to me, was geometry: it was all shapes. Payal Kadakia I know everything that I do is going to be more powerful and touch more people in a positive way than if I go out there and cause havoc. Trevor Jackson I think I've had an illustrious career. Paul Pierce For me, it's always the same: worrying about how I can get better, the techniques I can do. Robbie Lawler Jean Thompson's short-story collection 'Who Do You Love' is a beautiful book, but a hell of a sad one. Jeff Giles You know what's funny? There's times when you catch a ball and really didn't even see that ball. You're like, 'That couldn't have been all me.' Calvin Johnson I wasn't a fanboy of horror. I didn't grow up on horror movies. I grew up loving all movies. I still love all movies, but I particularly love scary movies - as much for the culture around them as the movies themselves. Jason Blum I always sang in scho...

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...

When you find a song that you love, you just have to do it -

why would I try to match it? When I wrote more of the songs in the '90s - 'Nick of Time' and other songs I was surprised I came up with - it was because nobody else was saying what I wanted to say. Bonnie Raitt When journalists and politicians speak of a dwindling middle class that's under economic assault and a poor community that's getting bigger, they're talking about Ferguson. Independent of the racial demographics and dynamics of Ferguson, Missouri, there's a 'Ferguson' near you. Jesse Jackson It's become impossible to enjoy most quality television shows because the hurt or endangered women device is so frequently used. Jessica Valenti I was 65 in May, and when I have just shaved, I see my father. I realise that I now have the same facial idiosyncrasies he had: little twitches here and there, mouth and nose movements, even the way he would tilt his head. Rick Wakeman It's how the '70s were for movies, the 2000s are for TV...