I'm a very goal-oriented person in certain ways, and then in certain ways I understand

that there's nothing at all that I can do about certain things. In other words, I would never set a goal that I don't have control over achieving.
Casey James

Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity, it should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.
John Keats

My sense was that most of the elected officials in Washington - in their heart of hearts - really believe that the system can't be too bad because it produced them.
DeForest Soaries

People in power have to be careful about what comes out of their mouth. They have to find exactly the right word that can't be attacked.
Anna Deavere Smith

I have often supported Israel, I have often visited the country and want the country to exist and at last find peace with its neighbours.
Gunter Grass

You've got to get out and pray to the sky to appreciate the sunshine; otherwise you're just a lizard standing there with the sun shining on you.
Ken Kesey

I want to play a character I've never been before-a crazy serial killer like Charlize Theron in Monster. I'd love to have to shave my head.
Jennifer Lawrence

There's an absolute prejudice that good movies are dramas and comedies are more dismissable. But I couldn't disagree more.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Gemeoss

It's nice coming to Nashville, and we have four-bedroom house and a dog, and we

go swimming a lot. We get down here and spread out a lot, and I miss my sweet tea and my cornbread and my good southern cooking - but I'm down here eating pretty for two weeks and I'm ready to go back to New York City. Justin Townes Earle I hope everybody will go back to the negotiating table. I've always said this is the only way forward. Mohamed ElBaradei I'm the type of artist who touches people, that's the type of artist that I am. Jacob Lusk Writing is a fine therapy for people who are perpetually scared of nameless threats... for jittery people. William Styron Comedy wasn't something I chose - it chose me. Pauly Shore When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do. Whitney Houston When I see old photos of me on the beach I don't look too bad... but it's hard trying to breathe in for such a long time when I spot the photographers! Gary Lineker St...

I think every athlete has their window of opportunity, and you just have to jump

on it. You never know when it can end. So I'm just trying to live large while I have the opportunity. Hope Solo With the first act of cruelty committed in the name of revolution, with the first murder, with the first purge and execution, we have lost the revolution. Kate Millett I had to find a diet that would kick me back into dating shape, because I know that I can't date at size 8. I have to date at size 2. And it's just a fact of nature. Go get your injections and your chemical peels. You gotta look good to attract a man. Patti Stanger What's a soup kitchen? Paris Hilton Islam is a dangerous religion. Michel Houellebecq Who hears me, who understands me, becomes mine, a possession for all time. Ralph Waldo Emerson Quality is easy to talk but hard to make. Terry Gou Nothing matures a military force quicker than actual military operations. Duncan Hunter TV was my hobby. I loved the glitz. I loved how hot everybody was. Andy Cohen I think the ...

I am honored to have served as our great nation's first National Ambassador for Young

People's Literature. I will continue to serve as Ambassador Emeritus. And I will make good on my Ambassadorial promise to my wife to stop playing the 'Fanfare' every time I walk into or out of a room. Jon Scieszka No collection without compensation. Jeff Rich The worst is still ahead of us. But no one in Washington has the spine to tell you that. Glenn Beck I love any and all situations where you celebrate creativity. Brad Paisley At the time, we thought it was a nice way to say something unique about the group to make us different from all the other bands kicking around in London. Gerry Beckley The joy of the mind is the measure of its strength. Ninon de L'Enclos And then, when I left Princeton in the middle of my sophomore year, I went into the navy. Harry Mathews Cary and I are working together on another movie, Charlotte's Web. Thomas Haden Church The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which ar...

According to the perverse aesthetics of artistic guilty pleasure, certain books and movies are so

bad - so crudely conceived, despicably motivated and atrociously executed - that they're actually rather good. Walter Kirn The Hillary Clinton foreign policy has cost America thousands of lives and trillions of dollars - and unleashed ISIS across the world. No Secretary of State has been more wrong, more often, and in more places than Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump I was on vacation in New York when my agent called asking if I wanted to go right in and audition for 'Billy Elliot,' so I was lucky to be there. Lilla Crawford I was the first actress who branded her own line at a time when everyone just lent their name to a product. Everyone said I shouldn't do it, but it was probably the best thing I've ever done. Jaclyn Smith When I write songs, I like to write lyrics first, and I think that's different from a lot of singer-songwriters. But I heard Sammy Cahn was asked what comes first, the lyrics or the music, and he said, 'The paycheck.' Jill...

The U.S. has been living in a situation of excesses for too long. Consumers were

out spending more than their income and the country was spending more than its income, running up large current-account deficits. Now we have to tighten our belts and save more. Nouriel Roubini We spend our spare time taking care of little things. I can watch a little bit of college and professional football if I want to... Our favorite pastime is trying to take pictures of our hometowns from space. Kevin A. Ford I get along great with directors, but I think some producers would tell you I'm a pain. They may say I'm tough to work with, but I have a great passion for what I do. I believe in fighting for it. Amy Irving I was born on the eighteenth of December, 1935, in the town Bourg-en-Bresse, about thirty miles northeast of Lyon, the second of three sons of Jeanne and Jean-Victor Pepin. Weighing only two and one half pounds, I nearly died at birth. Jacques Pepin Anytime someone says your God is ugly and you release your God and join their God, there is no hope for y...

It's Toby Jones playing Alfred Hitchcock, not Alfred Hitchcock. We all felt that

his silhouette was crucial, so his nose and lips were crucial as well. We had to build it out a bit to get the silhouette. But, with my nose being so small within the proportion of my face, the first nose was too big. I felt like a nose on parade. Toby Jones I feel less alone when I read the books of Ratzinger. Oriana Fallaci I never was obsessive about anything I watched when I was a kid, except maybe 'The A-Team' and 'Airwolf'... And I loved 'Knight Rider' and then later 'Baywatch.' Benedict Cumberbatch I'm like a shark. I've got to be constantly moving. Kenny Chesney For behaviorist films, that's been much more useful - the change of technology - but for my kind of films, doing them on film is much better, because it's more beautiful. Michael Apted Even when I was in my 20s and at my most beautiful, I was never obsessed with my looks. I didn't dye my hair or wear make-up. Koo Stark A lot of times when you keep it ...

George Carlin's album, 'Class Clown,' came out when I was in high school. I memorized

a lot of that album. I'd come home from school, put it on, and listen over and over. I started memorizing it. I don't even know why. I loved it so much I memorized it. Steven Wright Old Filey lies around the Ravine, a glacial gash running down to Coble Landing. This is the fishing Filey of centuries past, with neat little terraced cottages and a cluster of attractive 18th century houses. David Hewson I am a member of the London Library, and on almost every single job I do, there is some benefit to be had in going there and pulling two or three books off the shelves. Ed Stoppard A well-designed 401(k) plan is an enormous competitive edge when recruiting and retaining employees. Barry Ritholtz Well, unfortunately, my father passed away before my first book was published, so he never lived to see me as an author. But I think my mum was suitably pleased because she was mad about words. If she ever came across a word that she didn't know, she would always look it up ...

I grew up listening to John Coltrane and jazz, so they were subtle influences. I

sometimes think about doing some kind of weird jazz record, but I don't know... It's on my list of things to do. I don't want to have to then go promote it. Kim Gordon Fly flight is just a great phenomenon to study. It has everything - from the most sophisticated sensory biology; really, really interesting physics; really interesting muscle physiology; really interesting neural computations. Michael Dickinson Before 'Local Hero,' I'd been knocking about Glasgow in rock bands, drinking too much and generally being 21. My opinion of actors was that they were straight and boring, so you see, I was completely unprepared for being one. Peter Capaldi I think I'm the same dancer everywhere. But I've learned a lot with Bolshoi - the history of the theater, the technique of the theater, different nuances in my technique. David Hallberg Electronic Accounting Systems processed my little payrolls like one big payroll. I did the selling, and the people I ...

The really cool challenge of '24' was learning on camera how to be a dramatic

actress. The biggest difficulty was the industry side of things. I was very lucky that I had Joel Surnow, one of the creators of '24,' in my corner. Early on, the Fox executives couldn't believe that I was on the show. Mary Lynn Rajskub For a child, reading a book can be such an intense experience. Michelle Paver I definitely do want a family. The idea of being a father and providing the type of love, guidance and support that my parents have given me is definitely down the road. Ryan Kavanaugh I think most co-directors and co-writers just hold hands. Jim Rash You can't observe as much if you're observed by others. Chevy Chase You gotta have a pocket square, I think. Ric Flair There's a final exam in venture every four to six years. The scary thing is you need to get an 'A' in every discipline. You need to be on generational planning, need to be on great deal flow, need be on great outcomes, you need to be on great company building. Da...

Almost everyone shuts down when science becomes too technical; you've got to infuse it with

entertainment and storytelling to make it effective. From high school on, science is taught in a very dry manner, which isn't as potent. Greg Graffin In Los Angeles, you drive around, and you're coming back from a club or something, and all of a sudden, you'll encounter a coyote. And they're very lean, hungry-looking animals. Dan Gilroy All the Tauruses I know have this connection to the earth and the environment. We are very curious people, very loyal, very aware of and respectful of our surroundings. Also, we're stubborn, but that's our way. We understand what we want, which is not bad. Francisco Costa I'm confident in who I am. I've come to a place in my life where I've accepted things that are me, as opposed to feeling pressure to explain myself to people around me. That's just the way I've always tried to be. It didn't change when I became a star. Lady Gaga After the war, I went to the BBC monitoring service in Caversham,...