I guess my first professional experience was when my church choir director told my mother

that I had a gift with my voice and said that I should think about auditioning, at 11 years old, for the chorus of our regional opera company.
Sondra Radvanovsky

I find it endlessly interesting, endlessly funny, the fact that we're rather arbitrarily divided up into these discrete humans and that your physical self, your physical attributes, your moment of history and the place where you were born determine who you are as much as all that indefinable stuff that's inside of you.
Deborah Eisenberg

What's odd is that nobody in my family is an artist. My cousins are, like, secretaries at law firms or nurses or just more blue collar. And I was in a baseball team. I used to be, like, a really big tomboy.
Melonie Diaz

I was dyslexic and uneducated and left school at 14. I grew up in Finsbury Park, which was a pretty bad place where you had to fight and be beaten. It was just a constant roundabout of violence.
Don McCullin

I do like to have guns around. I don't like to carry them. But I like - if somebody is going to come into my house and I have not put out the welcome mat, I want to stop them.
Maya Angelou

Pleasures take to themselves wings and fly away; true knowledge remains forever.
Dorothea Dix

So many Christmas films either are twee, or try and go super edgy, then stick on something Christmassy at the end of the movie.
Peter Baynham

Children touch all of our lives. We all have the opportunity to sow seeds into the next generation, and there's nothing more important that we can leave on this earth than a legacy of faith, hope, and confidence in our God.
Victoria Osteen

I think it quite likely that we are the only civilization within several hundred light years; otherwise we would have heard radio waves.
Stephen Hawking

Gemeoss

If you... scaled down human beings, scaled down society, if you land with a group

of little boys, they are more like a scaled-down version of society than a group of little girls would be. William Golding I've been performing since I was a child; my mother would have to pull me aside and tell me that I wasn't onstage. I was a cheerleader, president of choir, and in the school play. Aja Naomi King I am a very strong supporter of our government's view that it is important to engage with all countries around the world - very much including Russia. Chrystia Freeland I was wrapping up my stint on 'Daredevil' co-writing with Andy Diggle during the Shadowland story, when Marvel asked if I was interested in doing something else with DD but a bit different. When they explained the purpose of the 'Season One' books, I was intrigued - I'm a big advocate of books for people new to the medium - and said yes. Antony Johnston Spike Lee gave me the greatest reaction to the fact that I was this athlete-meets-artist, because I think he saw ...

The PhD system is the real root of the evil of academic snobbery. People who

have PhDs consider themselves a priesthood, and inventors generally don't have PhDs. Freeman Dyson I don't know nothing about communism. But I know the Albanians loved me. Same reason as anyone else loves me. Because I made them laugh. Norman Wisdom I am proud to be an American, and proud that such beliefs are at the core of our country and its citizens. John Linder I have tried for much of my life to write as if I was composing my sentences to be read posthumously. Christopher Hitchens I think it's not inaccurate to say that I had a perfectly happy childhood during which I was very unhappy. Joss Whedon People that have been interested in our work for awhile... those are the last people you want to disappoint. Joel Coen I write music people enjoy playing and listening to, and I have a group that loves playing the music. Chuck Mangione Our choices are going to determine the future for our children, our children's children, and their children. I take ...

I was required by Capital to release one every six months and the fastest I

could do with all my touring was every nine months, and it would spook me every time because I never had what I needed and I really didn't want to do covers. Leo Kottke I don't think my spirituality has affected my character. I feel like my character is much more cynical about his beliefs, and I think I have to kind of drop what I believe in order to play him. Jason Ritter I believe that the first 8 years are most important and the time in a child's life when parents must be absolutely and completely present. Dirk Benedict Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff. Ralph Waldo Emerson If your theory is found to be against the second law of theromodynamics, I give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation. Arthur Eddington Space is the breath of art. Frank Lloyd Wright Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of ex...

It's not a country of articulate people, sophisticated people. There's too little subtlety. Men and

women don't enjoy each other very much in Australia. I don't find very many men sexy in Australia. Of course, I'm married and out of it, but still. Judy Davis We asked ourselves and the world to base decisions on good science, and I really believe the United States can be the leader in delivering that message to our international trading partners. Mike Johanns Preaching is effective as long as the preacher expects something to happen-not because of the sermon, not even because of the preacher, but because of God. John Hines You know, this is a business where only 15% make a living wage and only 9% of those are women. But I figured somebody has to be that 15%, somebody's got to be one of those women. Marcia Wallace Family trips to Yellowstone and to what are now national parks in Southern Utah, driving the primitive roads and cars of that day, were real adventures. Paul D. Boyer The dread of criticism is the death of genius. William Gilmore Simms A mask...

Indians mock their corrupt politicians relentlessly, but they regard their honest politicians with

silent suspicion. The first thing they do when they hear of a supposedly 'clean' politician is to grin. It is a cliche that honest politicians in India tend to have dishonest sons, who collect money from people seeking an audience with Dad. Aravind Adiga Be able to recognize the dangerous snakes, spiders, insects, and plants that live in your area of the country. Marilyn vos Savant I might survive a few days at sea. Probably not as long as Pi. Suraj Sharma I want to show little girls that the possibilities are endless. That's my goal - to not only do it for myself, but to show them I can do whatever I put my mind to. Nicki Minaj If I had my way, I'd wear jewelry, a great pair of heels and nothing else. Jada Pinkett Smith Bangalore has become a centre for healthcare. Geoff Mulgan I'm not actually teaching any more, but I am writing pieces for schools all the time, and for kids. Peter Maxwell Davies To be great we need to win games we aren't s...

Show business is one of the few businesses that the devil will actually agree to

own just a portion of your soul because he knows if you have a performer's ego you were probably working for him all along. Marc Maron I like everything perfect. Everything has to be neat. My sister is 5, and she's more messy than I am. I make my bed every morning, everything's perfect. My shoes are all arranged. It's sad. I'm a little like Ray, a little bit. Dakota Fanning All we know is that, at times, fighting the Russians, we had to remove the piles of enemy bodies from before our trenches, so as to get a clear field of fire against new waves of assault. Paul von Hindenburg Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade! Tony Robbins My politics are of a practical kind - the integrity of the country, the supremacy of the Federal government, an honorable peace, or none at all. Winfield Scott Hancock He who knows ho...

A friend of mine had his own theater company, and he jumped me in like

I was in a gang. And once I came in, it was just that simple. For the first time in my life, I felt, 'This is a career, this is a life that I think I can grow old doing.' It was love at first sight. I loved being on stage and reading these plays. It was great. David Alan Grier In school all I wanted to do was build technology. That's what I loved. Marc Benioff I tend to build bulk and muscle easily, and running seems to make sure I stay kind of stringy, if that makes sense. Apolo Ohno That's one of the reasons I moved to Florida. Of course, the main reason is the weather and the training. But there's more jealousy in Switzerland because it's so little and they don't have so many athletes. Martina Hingis But we can also take the radical view that the test of an economy has to do with the extent to which it is providing everybody with a decent means of living. David Korten I think I came to see Islam, or at least one part of Islam, as an importa...

We all have to start somewhere, and doing something is better than nothing at all.

Start small so you don't get discouraged and give up. Remember it is all about consistency. Khloe Kardashian I have to say, I'm sort of always obsessed with Norah Jones. I just love her voice, but I don't really have an album - I have a playlist. Heather Dubrow Why am I a star? It can't be because of looks. Clint Eastwood Social media has shaken up the world of sales, with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter offering new ways to hound leads and unprecedented insights into clients. Ryan Holmes All roads for me lead back to Mozart. In his tragically short life, he breathed new life, fire and meaning into every form of music that existed in his time. Charles Hazlewood I was captain of Wales; I've been captain of numerous football clubs. Vinnie Jones When my kids were very young, I have seen them crying, as they didn't want to go to school. Nita Ambani Some of the most untidy writers have also been the most productive. Iris Murdoch, for instance, wro...

Iraq... has also had contacts with al-Qaida. Their ties may be limited by divergent ideologies,

but the two sides' mutual antipathy toward the United States and the Saudi royal family suggests that tactical cooperation between them is possible. George Tenet My chief gifts are - naturally good at all sports with a raw talent for pretty much everything, which if nurtured could develop into improper talent. Michael Sheen We must not fail to recognise that television can be a hugely positive influence in children's lives, one of the greatest educators in contemporary society and an increasing influence on all the children followed in 'Child of Our Time.' Robert Winston Redd Foxx was the same gruff old codger you saw on television. Charley Pride One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them. Thomas Jefferson I want to know what the difference between the essence of a man and woman is. Tina Turner I see badly, I hear badly, and I feel bad, but everything's fine. Jeanne Calment I am not ready to fit into the mould of...

As costs mount, in lives and dollars, it is natural to second guess, but one

lesson I hope we have learned is that the U.S. cannot go it alone in a policy that leaves American troops taking all the risk and American taxpayers paying all of the costs. John Spratt It is by presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of man is tested. James Russell Lowell I feel uncomfortable because I'm insecure about who I am. Trent Reznor Home is the most popular, and will be the most enduring of all earthly establishments. Channing Pollock We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless. Mark Rothko I'd like to see anyone do what I do for one week. GG Allin I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house. Yogi Berra