For me, the Immaculate Conception is the feast of 'passive action,' the action

that functions simply by the transmission through us of divine energy. Purity, in spite of outward appearances, is essentially an active virtue, because it concentrates God in us and on those who are subject to our influence.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The apparatus has to serve our improbability and improvisation. Being good and playing the songs is not enough.
Flea

I like sports. I'm a big football fan. When I was a kid, I was a... I don't even know how to describe it... I was an obsessed Brooklyn Dodgers fan. And I think when they left Brooklyn, which was simultaneous with me starting college, everything changed, and I haven't had the same passion for sports.
Brian Dennehy

I hope that, when I leave this planet, I will have touched a few people in a positive way. That's really what I hope I am remembered for the most.
Will Rothhaar

Congressional Republicans are dismantling the limited environmental protections initiated by Richard Nixon, who would be something of a dangerous radical in today's political scene.
Noam Chomsky

Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without charge, under torture, which is what solitary confinement is.
Noam Chomsky

Music has always been around with me.
Eddie Murphy

When you are nominated for the best player in Europe, the Ballon d'Or, playing in the Champions League, there is so much pressure. You don't know what will happen. This pressure is inside you - you always have it.
Cristiano Ronaldo

There are always young bands playing in their garages. A lot of punk rock is not going to be in the mainstream. It's below the radar. The beauty of it is that you're not supposed to always know. It's subterranean.
Billie Joe Armstrong

I would love to do Rihanna's makeup. I love her cupid's bow!
Tyra Banks

Solemnity in politicians is not only tiresome but may even mask those twin sins - self-righteousness and intolerance - for the opinions of others. If I couldn't laugh, I couldn't live, especially in politics.
Ralph Bellamy

Gemeoss

We underestimate children and the people who work with them. I swear - so often, I tell

people I am a children's author, and it's like they want to pat me on the head: 'Aw, isn't that sweet.' Kathi Appelt There is a disconnect in education and work. And corporates don't do a great job of skilling. In future, corporates and educational institutions will work closely. Shiv Nadar I played semi-professionally for a season, and there's an element of performance to being a footballer, stepping onto the pitch: you feel like a gladiator walking into a colosseum. Callum Turner We used to indulge hopelessly as a family at Christmas. When the children were little, I dressed up as Father Christmas. They knew it was a gag, but they loved it. I remember stealing into their bedrooms at 1 A.M. and filling the stockings up at the end of the bed. Richard Attenborough What we, as black people, need to do is we need to worry about our education. Charles Barkley I was never the person who came up with a boom somehow. I worked slowly and consistently, making my wa...

I like George W. At a time when this country was hit hard, he

stood up for America. He's been the leader of the free world during the hardest time America's ever had. Johnny Van Zant In the 21st century, our adversaries will continue to use cyberattacks against us. We need to be prepared to defend our networks against this growing threat to our democracy, especially the most fundamental part of our political system: our elections. Amy Klobuchar I grew up in a lot of different places, mostly in Kansas, I really started thinking seriously about acting in high school; I just did it better than most of the other activities in school. Paul Rudd I thought, 'Nobody wants this book, and I'm an idiot for having worked on it so hard.' But to succeed in writing, you must be willing to look stupid for a long time. 'Pachinko' took so long because I got it wrong so many times. Min Jin Lee The most calmest place I can be is the studio. And like, I stay in there 'cause I know, when I come out, it...

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 ...

At the end of the day, the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott had to be converted into the 1964

Civil Rights Act. We don't want politicians who've gotta be coaxed, cajoled and protested. We want them on our side from the beginning. Keith Ellison I'm not having to go outside and switch the role model hat on. It's me, and it's important for me to leave that legacy to help inspire younger players because I didn't have a role model growing up. Carli Lloyd The song 'I Feel the Earth Move' brings me back to those younger years when I was taking my first strides on the ice. Hilary Knight I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana. It's not a black-and-white type of thing down there. It's a very cultural place. Everybody has the same accent. It's not like if you're white we can't hang with you or anything like that. So it's easy for us to call each other out on our things. Jason Mitchell My original perception of wrestling was not a very positive one. I didn't understand it at all, and I thought it was kind of silly and ridiculous. Bu...

I feel like my music has become a lot of things. It's hard to label

the evolution, but I like there to be an evolution. I just like to paint with all different kinds of colors. Taylor Swift Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it be like that?' because you will get 'down the drain,' into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped. Nobody knows how it can be like that. Richard P. Feynman During the Olympics they're really strict about what you're allowed to wear. You get a lot of clothes, but everything is pre-ordered. We had a fitting over the summer. You're not allowed to wear your own clothes. No logos, nothing. You get fined if you wear something you're not supposed to wear. Henrik Lundqvist When I am back in old Blighty, I am surrounded by the old and familiar concerns: New Labour, Europe, the Middle East and the rest. If you live in Britain, you will know what I mean - except you won't, because you will take it for granted that this is what the world is all abo...

I never stopped DJing through the entire 'Game of Thrones' process. I never saw the

need to stop because I do love it so much. Kristian Nairn R-rated comedies make as much money as PG-13. And I think the audiences wanna be shocked. Especially with comedy. Nicholas Stoller In 'Maaya,' I'm going shirtless for the first time in my career. My producer requested me to take off my shirt in one of the scenes. I have been working extremely hard to flaunt a perfect body for the scene. Harshvardhan Rane When every word is parsed for ill intention, regardless of who is speaking or why, we become so afraid we'll offend that we stop trying to communicate with people we don't understand. Marti Noxon I don't understand when you say I'm a man or I have a deep voice. I know I'm a female, so there's no question for me. Caster Semenya We had a field day before anyone knew anything about shorting. It was almost a license to steal. Nowadays, it's a license to get hosed. Julian Robertson Now we're dealing with a younger generation of terrorists ...

The South Africans decided that they would like to prove to the world they did

not have any nuclear weapons and their decision was not doubted because it was the end of the Cold War, it was also the end of apartheid. Hans Blix I shot a lot of close-ups on this movie 'cause there's like a dual mystery, she's searching through her haunted past to find some truth and she's also following an external mystery where she comes to think she might be the killer. Philip Kaufman I don't understand the actor who plays the same role from movie to movie. Maybe it's because I worked on long-running television when I was in my teens, and so the idea of playing the same role just bores me intensely. I'd rather not do it at all. Guy Pearce We assume that everything's becoming more efficient, and in an immediate sense that's true; our lives are better in many ways. But that improvement has been gained through a massively inefficient use of natural resources. Paul Hawken I hope to live long enough to see my surviving comrades march sid...

We need to establish boundaries between our personal and professional lives. When we don't, our

work, our health, and our personal lives suffer. Travis Bradberry Originality is dangerous. Salman Rushdie I think the War on Terror is really absurd, especially coming from a country that is founded on terrorism. Alice Walker If I hear about a tsunami that hit Asia, hundreds of people have lost their lives, and you see it and you hear about it, but you still brush your teeth, still have to go on with your day. But let you get information about one person who you're close to or you're intimate with, it has an almost paralyzing effect. Ryan Coogler Once you have a computer that can do a few things - strictly speaking, one that has a certain 'sufficient set' of basic procedures - it can do basically anything any other computer can do. This, loosely, is the basis of the great principle of 'Universality'. Richard P. Feynman My plays are always pushing towards cinema anyway. They're down and dirty, real and more fun. Martin McDonagh I consider m...

I bought the VHS of 'Into the Woods' at the Suncoast in the Park City Mall and watched

it in the basement when I got home. And when it was over, I rewound it and immediately watched it again. Jonathan Groff To tell you the truth, if you're looking at rising pretty high, then you need to find a way of taking care of these problems and not taking time off. At the end of the day, it is a very tough competition. And in a very tough competition, if you just take breaks, then it's going to become much, much more difficult. Arundhati Bhattacharya No greater privilege than I had as a soldier and then as a spymaster and to some degree now in the business world. David Petraeus I'm just another non-native whose mom told him we were part-Cherokee. W. Kamau Bell Attacking school segregation requires all hands on deck. We in the charter sector must move beyond our traditional comfort zone, serving disadvantaged students, and meet the demands of parents who have other high quality options. Eva Moskowitz Since I was, like, an infant... I remember being in love with televisi...

I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to

advance policies that level the playing field for American workers and incentivize investing in jobs here at home.Elizabeth Esty Every woman needs a private pin money stash. That is her own personal stash of cash to do with whatever she wants. It gives a woman freedom even if she doesn't spend it - especially if she doesn't spend it.Sarah Ban Breathnach For each project I do, I try to surprise myself, do the unexpected, and change my own status quo. From the One Laptop Per Child, the Herman Miller Sayl, or the latest Movado watch collection, there is always an insecurity about being able to do something important. I think each of those projects makes me feel like we have progressed.Yves Behar If you're going to be a big tent party as we are, and you're going to help elect democrats who have generated support in their communities... the will of those voters is the will that we must respect.Tom Perez There is an obvious truth here that must be spoken. The trut...