I look at my music in the beginning, and the sexual songs, the partying songs,

those are the realities because those things happen.
R. Kelly

I've known my two best girlfriends since junior high school.
Leslie Mann

Human nature doesn't change. When enough people are comfortable enough financially, there is going to be human nature that wants to spend more money on better quality and, to some degree, status symbols as well.
Danny Meyer

In my stunted career as a scholar, I'd read promissory notes, papal bulls and guidelines for Inquisitorial interrogation. Dante, too. Boccaccio... But after 1400? Nihil.
Cathleen Schine

That's what my dad always said. 'If you're very lucky, it'll work out.' I love what it is I do, and I realize how blessed I am. So now it's just about doing the work as good as possible and enjoying the ride.
Brian Dietzen

God is decisively drawn to the humble.
C. J. Mahaney

When I was young, I used to wear a lot of wigs, and I was running on stage at a gig and tripped over and it fell off. It was in the 1970s, and Swansea were doing really well in the league, and most of the team were there. I almost died, but I picked it up, put it back on my head and carried on.
Bonnie Tyler

It's unnatural to believe death usually has a beauty and a concordance and is usually a coming together of your life's work. It leads to frustration for the patient. And it leaves grieving families convinced they did something wrong.
Sherwin B. Nuland

I was a confused young girl with so much tragedy. Sometimes when you're going through stuff, the last person you're thinking exists is God. I mean, it was my confusion, the anger that was in my heart, all that drama. But thank God I know God now, okay?
Tasha Smith

I have no problem selling ebooks for authors directly as an agent, but partnering with them is another matter.
Robert Gottlieb

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...

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...

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 ...

'Clueless' is an adaptation of 'Emma' by Jane Austen. It works either way: if you

know the book and if you don't. Jason Moore Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards. Jules Verne My favorite foods are things that aren't great to eat, like pizza. Stephen Pagliuca My martial arts came a lot from my uncle, who actually taught martial arts through the military. He was a black belt in tae kwon do, but also, he used a lot of military-style fighting where it's not the high kicks or anything like that. It's basically defeat your opponent as fast as possible. Brian Tee Memory is not pure. Memories told are not pure memories; memories told are stories. The storyteller will change them. I've always been interested in that. Alice McDermott It was always a dream as I was growing up. I would watch movies, mostly American movies, and be so engrossed in those stories, all I wanted to do was be there. I wanted to be part of that romance or that fantasy or be that warrior or that struggling soul who finally makes it g...

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...

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...

Most people hugely underestimate the amount of 'empty space' we have in our

country. Fly over the U.K., and you see that human settlement does not fill up the U.K. at all. It accounts for something of the order of 15 per cent of the landmass. Evan Davis The most impactful way consumers can assert their power is to become mindful shoppers, giving their dollars only to socially responsible companies. In today's world of social media and smart phones, this is easy to do. Simon Mainwaring I was the deputy Chairman of the Democratic Union of the Pacific, and we started at 8 I think and I was called to the telephone and to be told there's a coup, the government has been overthrown - it was round about 9, 10 when the Parliament sat they had done then. Kamisese Mara One of my inspirations, Harry Houdini, remains an icon of the art because he defied our primal fears. His demonstrations in the early 20th century, especially his escape from the Chinese water torture cell, represented triumph over suffocation, drowning, disorientation and helplessness. C...

If the government announced that it was going to allocate a vast tranche

of education funding purely to the pupils at the best public schools, there would be a national outcry - and yet this is precisely what the Olympics represents in terms of sports funding. Will Self When you hear someone criticize a policy on the other side, that's fine. But when you start hearing motive-mongering and demonization, stand up to it just as you would if it were something that was racist or sexist. If we avoid the demonization, disagreements can be positive. Jonathan Haidt California has the highest number of illegal immigrants residing in its borders. The estimated number of illegal alien residents in California was about 2.2 million, or nearly 32 percent of the total number of illegal immigrants in the United States. Gary Miller The greatest gift of all time is that you can make creation infectious because people spend less time being negative... If you log all the time with negativity in the while world, I wonder how much better the world would be if people ...