People often ask me how I developed my vocal sound, and the answer usually disappoints

them: 'It's just the way I sound when I sing.'
Michael Franks

I have no doubt that I'd be a marvelous father. Maybe not when they're tiny, but when they're a little bit older, I think I'd be rather good.
Hugh Grant

As for myself, 'total liberal outlook on life and politics' is not an accurate description.
John Harwood

The easiest way to not believe your own hype is to not know what people are saying about you.
Debby Ryan

I like comedy that's not political but social, dealing with issues of people talking to each other. No matter what your politics, we still have to live with each other. Politics is taking a side. I'm not running for office, you know?
Michael Che

I started calling myself the Pied Piper, when I started using the flute sound in my music.
R. Kelly

Women are very different to men, and that hasn't been respected. So when people say there's never been a good woman painter or poet or engineer or whatever, they don't understand that our skills are many simultaneously and men's skills are single.
Joanna Lumley

Business is not a spiritual matter, and my business decisions are not based on spiritual considerations. When I founded the Essence of Life, a project aimed at teaching tolerance and respectful dialogue, the person appointed to head it was Irit Atzmon, a former colonel in the army. Can anything be more down-to-earth than that?
Shari Arison

Everybody forgets names and faces, and it's just inconsiderate to expect someone who isn't your boss or your sister-in-law to know exactly who you are.
Letitia Baldrige

Gemeoss

We live in a society bloated with data yet starved for wisdom. We're connected 24/7,

yet anxiety, fear, depression and loneliness is at an all-time high. We must course-correct. Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey While not my personal favorite of the Disney princess films, 'The Little Mermaid' wins hands-down in my book for best Disney adaptation. Little girls waited for more than 150 years for Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid' to have a happy ending. Walt Disney finally gave it to her. Alethea Kontis We cannot get by Auschwitz. We should not even try, as great as the temptation is, because Auschwitz belongs to us, is branded into our history, and - to our benefit! - has made possible an insight that could be summarized as, 'Now we finally know ourselves.' Gunter Grass In countries operating a largely capitalist system, there does not appear to be a wide understanding among its actors and overseers of either its advantages or its hazards. Edmund Phelps Mix CDs are interesting. I'm known more for my artist albums...

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 remember my brother Nash had just directed me in 'The Square,' and I was

sitting in Australia going: 'No one's called me about working for ages. I don't know if I'm ever going to get another job.' Joel Edgerton For me, being a starter doesn't matter. Of course, I'd like to be in at the end of the game, to be a big part of the team, and to play as many minutes as I can play. But starting and coming off the bench are two different challenges. Sue Wicks Now while the German money is over for Hollywood, I still have $80 million to make movies, and we will have two things coming up: less major movies and the price for actors will go down. Uwe Boll They put chains on me; they chained my waist, my legs. Put me in the back of a squad car, and I literally blacked out. I didn't even - there's whole pieces missing. Jim Bakker Obama has been attacked repeatedly for not wearing a flag pin, with Republicans claiming that his patriotism is in question. It's all a bit silly. Will Thomas I understand why people achieve ...

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...

Both my parents said they never got so many emails from friends and colleagues -

with all the theater work that I've done - than when I was on 'The Good Wife.' Sarah Steele I'm not interested in seeing dance die. It's not to my advantage. Nor is it to our culture's advantage or anybody else's. Twyla Tharp You can be creative in anything - in math, science, engineering, philosophy - as much as you can in music or in painting or in dance. Ken Robinson I actually came to New York because it was very tolerant. You know, it seems preposterous, ludicrous thing to say in an interview, but I came for the anonymity particularly. Deborah Eisenberg There is no doubt in the sanctity of Mecca, but a donkey won't become a Hajj pilgrim by just going through the motions. Rahman Baba One afternoon, on my way to the campus - I was majoring in political science at Nairobi University - a photographer by the name of Peter Beard stopped me in the street and asked me if I'd ever been photographed. Iman Being in the pop group Eternal 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...

Random people, celebrities of note come to your shows over the years, and I've had

some really strange ones. Like the guy from Kiss. Gene Simmons has literally been in the audience at my shows, like, four times. I don't know if he knows me; he's just a big fan of comedy. Mike Birbiglia There's massive government initiatives going around the world, and you see that there's a real enthusiasm for genetics. Anne Wojcicki I'm attempting to broaden my novels' scope through landscape and weather, leaves falling off trees, overnight storms, timeless elements which, irrespective of human endeavour, have always been there and, as long as there is life and snow, will always be there. Kent Haruf I don't feel comfortable with the kind of celebrity that has come my way - and I'm not very good at it, either. Brian O'Driscoll If you believe that your best years are behind you, you've guaranteed they are; I'm going to dance into that good night, with the oldies turned up loud. Gina Barreca Be the weirdest little weird in all ...

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 ...