We know that genes shape human cultures and human societies: The DNA we inherited from

our ancestors makes certain foods taste better, affects the way we care for children, influences what colors we find vibrant, and contributes to our love of socializing, among other examples.
Sam Kean

I want to take time for myself, because all my life is ta-ta-ta-ta. So I don't want nothing special, just to breathe. I'd like to work maybe a half day and then take my bicycle and go by the riverside.
Renzo Rosso

I always set out to tell a good story, to create a character that young people can relate to, place them in a situation that will be interesting, intriguing, eventually suspenseful. But what I find is that after I do that, then there are themes that emerge, which teachers can then use to provoke discussion and debate.
Lois Lowry

I love pampering myself, so going for a massage or getting a mani-pedi makes me feel instantly better. When my nails are done I feel so much better - it's the little things that make me so happy, and you literally feel polished.
Jessica Lowndes

I believe the answers to most problems that confront us around the world can and should be approached by engaging both friend and foe in dialogue. No, I don't naively think that dialogue always works, but I believe we should avoid the rigidity of saying that dialogue never works.
Rand Paul

My father did not rock. He just earned and hated. Don't end up like this man.
Henry Rollins

Because God gave you your makeup and superintended every moment of your past, including all the hardship, pain, and struggles, He wants to use your words in a unique manner. No one else can speak through your vocal cords, and, equally important, no one else has your story.
Charles R. Swindoll

I've been lucky enough to be involved in a number of great startups, including eBay and Wikia as an entrepreneur and LinkedIn and Paypal as an investor.
Gil Penchina

My adolescence was a kind of motorway pile-up. I wish I had known that one day the geek would inherit the Earth.
Peter Capaldi

I don't think people cry reading 'Midnight's Children,' but a lot of people seem to cry watching the movie.
Salman Rushdie

Gemeoss

This battle for 'common-sense' gun control laws pits emotion and passion against logic and reason.

All too often in such a contest, logic loses. So, expect more meaningless, if not harmful, 'gun control' legislation. Good news - if you're a crook. Larry Elder I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead. Frank Black You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again. Tom Petty We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. J. William Fulbright Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. Mary Shelley Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such fr...

We hope and we've made clear that the forces need to come out. It needs

to be full and complete withdrawal. Our position is it needs to be done as soon as possible so that the elections can be free, fair and free of outside influence. Stephen Hadley Parks said, he's guilty and that's the end of the story. Tommy Bond We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later. Louis Aragon Welcome to the Salvation Army. I've never been associated with an offense so nice about giving the ball away. Hayden Fry I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination. John Keats Russia has gone through eight years of continuing economic pain. Jeffrey Sachs It's nice to get a response from the artists that I cover. Joe Cocker

If we can take Harry Reid out, we can take our country back. I'm not

here to preach to the choir. I'm here to organize the army. Sharron Angle I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next. Jonathan Ive Heaven is a very distinct place, where only God's elect will go. It's the place where the only One who deserves any glory lives and reigns. Monica Johnson Most Americans want their government to be smaller, not larger; they want their taxes to be lower, not higher. John Barrasso The more established you are, the less likely you are to do something ridiculous, which is one reason I'm proud to put out a wrestling album. If you stop and you go, 'Well, what if people don't like it?,' if you're already established in what you do, that'll strike fear into your heart. John Darnielle The whole point of art school is that you're going to be able to have nudes all day long and a teacher who...

If you do something really well, the entire world beats a path to your door.

The number three, number five, number 400 player gets nothing. It's almost a winner take all. Lloyd Blankfein Winning 'Motor Trend' Car of the year is probably the closest thing to winning the Oscar or Emmy of the car industry. Elon Musk If you watch any John Hughes film of the eighties, that was my childhood experience. Aimee Mullins Without any formal personal finance instruction in our high school or college curricula, many college seniors who graduate in the red will continue to make common financial mistakes that only exacerbate their debt burdens. Alexa Von Tobel I guess Tom Cruise - everything he does, everything he touches, is kind of a success. Kevin Dillon The term 'overachiever' sort of makes it look like the person has mediocre talent and he just works so hard that he achieves beyond what you would think. 'Overachiever' is sort of a - it's sort of an incorrect term. An overachiever is someone that's just willing to pay the ...

If we lived in a time where people couldn't watch 'Lost' on Hulu or record

it on their DVR, we wouldn't necessarily have succeeded. We need people to be able to catch up. Now you choose when you watch TV. We wouldn't have survived in the old days because people would have missed episodes. Carlton Cuse In science, if you don't do it, somebody else will. Whereas in art, if Beethoven didn't compose the 'Ninth Symphony,' no one else before or after is going to compose the 'Ninth Symphony' that he composed; no one else is going to paint 'Starry Night' by van Gogh. Neil deGrasse Tyson I would like to be known as one of the best actors in the world because that is something that I would have earned. And being sexiest would come from my genes... it is something I was born with and not earned it for myself. Randeep Hooda Fundamental discoveries can and should be made in industry or academies, but to carry that knowledge forward and to develop a new drug to the market has to depend on the resources of industry. John Van...

In the past some of the most influential Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians, such as

Maimonides, Aquinas and Ibn Sina, made it clear that it was very difficult to speak about God, because when we confront the ultimate, we are at the end of what words or thoughts can do. Karen Armstrong I need to be in a stable environment right now in my career. What I mean by that is a place where I can play and not have too much pressure on me and a place I can develop. Monaco wanted me and did whatever they could to get me so I feel very very good about that. Freddy Adu To be an artist, you don't have to compose music or paint or be in the movies or write books. It's just a way of living. It has to do with paying attention, remembering, filtering what you see and answering back, participating in life. Viggo Mortensen The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference. Audre Lorde Th...

If you're poor, you don't often live near a good school. If it's a competitive

public school program, our kids are not prepared to enter those programs. Sonia Sotomayor I'm a middle-class, middle-brow novelist. And that's it. It amuses me. Anita Brookner I have always had a very natural connection to the water, and that connection stems from the ocean itself. Aaron Peirsol I got married at a very young age, and of course, for all the wrong reasons, and ended up divorced and lost everything. It was a very difficult time in my life. Willie Aames We have 11 great potato flavors, and customers have been clamoring for tortilla. For over a year, we worked to develop the four flavors of tortilla popchips: chili limon, nacho cheese, ranch and salsa. They're made with traditional stoneground masa, are gluten-free, and have less than half the fat of other chips. Keith Belling I never won anything by myself. I was always strong because of help that gave me extra strength to win. Dan Gable There's a toxicity within gaming culture, and also i...

If you strive toward the perfect run, accepting that you will always come up short

of that is very intriguing. It makes me think about how in life in general, we always want to strive toward perfection, but sometimes perfection would be the worst thing. Mikaela Shiffrin The Green Lanterns are very forward and very courageous, very forceful. The Red Lanterns are out of control, and they're not in their right mind because when we're angry or in rage, we say things and we do things we wouldn't normally do. Geoff Johns Not to be weirdly glib, but as a reporter, you should be honest all the time. Sarah Koenig There's no sense in making life seem like it's a struggle, because that doesn't make anybody feel better. Ashton Kutcher My mom did not have money. She was a single mom, on and off in periods between marriages. My husband, however, grew up on a wonderful farm in Tuscany, in Florence, and his family was so entertaining in terms of growing their own food and using the fruit of their land. We have very, very different experiences. De...

If you don't have the confidence in baking, commit to making the recipe three times.

The first two, do it exactly the way I've told you to make it. Twice. The first time you'll screw it up. The second time it will come out pretty good, and then the third time, make your adjustments. Tom Douglas People feel repressed by their own governments; they feel unfairly treated by the outside world; they wake up in the morning, and who do they see - they see people being shot and killed: all Muslims from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Darfur. Mohamed ElBaradei Every actor hopes that the character that they're playing continues to be a challenge throughout their tenure of their show. Reshma Shetty In a world where irony reigns, where you have to separate, protect and laugh at anything that is honest or has an emotional charge, I bet for catharsis. I like to invest emotionally in things. And catharsis, when it touches the emotional vein, can open the doors of even those who protect themselves. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu In every single culture I encoun...

I hate these reality TV shows where people walk off Big Brother and think they're

A-list celebrities when they've done nothing in their lives, it really does my head in. Kevin Pietersen Success is just being happy. And I try so many different things. I do a lot of different things. Because I think God has helped me to love myself. I know who God is, and I love God. Herschel Walker Jumping genes are fundamental because they're agents of change. Everybody knows that organisms evolve. What makes them evolve is that their genes are dynamic and in motion. A familiar example is the stripe-y corn - called Indian corn - that you buy in the fall. Nina Fedoroff I feel like any single woman of color who's been onstage has a Shakespeare monologue in her back pocket, and a monologue from 'For Colored Girls.' It's just part of what you should have, as a woman of color. Kerry Washington As a parent, your perspective of childhood is through the eyes of this person that you care so much about and you just want the world to be great for them. You w...