For me, the real earth is that chosen part of the universe, still almost universally

dispersed and in course of gradual segregation, but which is little by little taking on body and form in Christ.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I can understand the allure of a venerable Big Six imprint, of a shot at the New York Times list, of a publisher-sponsored book tour, of seeing your hardbacks in bookstores and your paperbacks in supermarkets.
Barry Eisler

Nothing I do is thought out or planned or premeditated. It's just that I'm breathing and living! You just have to breathe and live.
Banks

I'm often troubled by a very strong instinct to share everything that's going on with me. I want to feel that connection, even with people I don't know. Then this other voice says, 'That's not prudent. People will use what you've said to hurt you.'
Rivers Cuomo

We think, each of us, that we're much more rational than we are. And we think that we make our decisions because we have good reasons to make them. Even when it's the other way around. We believe in the reasons, because we've already made the decision.
Daniel Kahneman

The 'fiscal cliff' is a ruse, an invention by the right and the rich, to try and keep their huge tax breaks.
Michael Moore

My mother seemed to undermine so much of what I did, subtly belittling my choices and my activities in light of her greater, more important ones.
Katharine Graham

Before Jason Bourne, before Jack Ryan, there was Bond, James Bond, the original two-dimensional, world-saving secret agent.
Alex Berenson

I've learned from my pets that it's okay to sit around, and people don't love you any less if you sit around all the time. In fact they might love you more, 'cos they always know where you're always going to be: you're always going to be laying in bed.
Maria Bamford

Flash and HTML have co-existed, and they're going to continue to co-exist.
Kevin Lynch

In 1992, I was an official of the Angolan regime. I was appointed by that country to oversee the organization of the raw diamond market and responsible for the governmental authority that later controlled this market.
Arcadi Gaydamak

Gemeoss

Real science is the greatest, most exciting springboard I have available to me as

a writer, and I don't feel the least bit constrained by it. Mark Waid I said I reject any form of bigotry, bigotry of all kinds. Steve Scalise I'm trying to enjoy my time at home and be around my kids. Rey Mysterio The thing that I love about 'Scandal' is every character, it's not clear if they're good or bad. Everyone is both good and bad. Nazanin Boniadi Many of the basic lessons of business, such as the critical value of customer service or measuring risk against reward when investing capital, have essential application in government, but not in a vacuum. John Hickenlooper I grew up in London, one of four children. We were a very loud family, not a lot of listening, plenty of talking. My mum was a hearth mother: she loved to gather us all around her - Sunday lunches were a big thing. She was very good at thinking on her feet - people used to say she should go into politics. Damian Lewis When you're an independent artist, you need as much play or promotio...

There is constant talk about the intermarriage crisis: who is a Jew and how

we define a Jew. That doesn't go over well with young Jews trying to figure out whether they want to be a part of this thing or not. Tahl Raz I've been studying voice for quite a while, especially opera, for at least seven or eight years. Shelly Burch Like anything, I remember who I work for. You work for the people who sent you to office. Darryl Glenn For the bourgeoisie, the main danger against which it had to be protected, that which had to be avoided at all costs, was armed uprising, was the armed people, was the workers taking to the streets in an assault against the government. Michel Foucault My grandmother is a huge part of my life. She's just a great woman: a woman of the church. Chance The Rapper I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords. Matthew Desmond One of my best friends since I was eleven years old is a gay man, and I knew his struggle. It was a tough life, you ...

I love being in the studio, and I am a huge fan of live music.

Without writing good stuff in the studio, you have nothing to play live. Anthony Hamilton I purposely don't talk about money, because people are already skeptical about TV preachers. But I do say that I want you to be blessed. To me, prosperity is having health, having great children, having peace, good relationships. It's not about the money. Joel Osteen When I was between 2 and 3 years old, I got to know my first non-human being. The non-human was a cocker spaniel named Baba. We weren't friends, Baba and I, nor enemies. He wasn't my dog. He belonged to the people my mother worked for, and he lived in the house with them and us. Octavia E. Butler I was considered the luckiest of all the female gypsies since I landed the job as social secretary to Ambassador and Mrs. David Bruce at the American Embassy. Letitia Baldrige Some musicians like to decorate their walls with discs saying: '1 million records sold in America.' I prefer to put up discs marking...

Persuasiveness is really just about getting your ideas across without being forceful.

It's a skill that can be learned and is useful for anyone who works in a team environment. Amanda de Cadenet I was an extra in a Tia Carrere music video. Adam Scott When people start to think they're figuring out 'The Vampire Diaries,' it switches on you. Kat Graham It's a huge blessing to know you've done something that has affected people the way 'The Matrix' has. It's like, there's 'Star Wars,' and then there's 'The Matrix.' It's cool to be a part of that. Laurence Fishburne Voters aren't asking to be pandered to and aren't asking to be tricked. Jason Kander I'm a pretty controlled and disciplined person, but my real vice is buying plants and food shopping. Zac Posen Barack Obama was a president who understood not only how technology could transform the way government services worked but also technology itself. He got it. Steven Levy Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up...

I've been doing this 17 years but I can tell you I have more websites

now than I have ever had devoted to me or my past career or my character. When I got this show, I think I had two fans out there that had created websites on my behalf. Robert Patrick You were there all day long, 12 hours a day. So there was none of this, 'I'm going back to my trailer, my trailer's bigger than your trailer,' that kind of Hollywood nonsense. John C. Reilly I used to get some flack from my agents because I wouldn't even audition for parts where the hero uses violent force to be a hero. Mackenzie Astin Socialism must come down from the brain and reach the heart. Jules Renard Judges are appointed often through the political process. Stephen Breyer Good things happen to those who hustle. Chuck Noll If the Cowboys and Titans ain't playing, I'm not interested. Tanya Tucker

Republicans can be a funny bunch. They're against affirmative action, but they always seem to

be able to find people of color to fill a slot just when they're most needed. John Ridley I have to have coffee in the morning. Olivia Culpo More and more, I enjoy hearing people who are good at their instruments and who've found a distinctive voice. In death metal, a lot of guys are Eddie Van Halen disciples, but they take his style to really expressionistic places. It's a real pleasure for me to hear people pushing their craft. John Darnielle I think we live a culture that's obsessed with people, you know, 'Celebrities are just like us!' Everything I do except my job is critically analyzed online. Pete Wentz The amazing thing is that the more money it takes for a movie to get made, the more you feel like everybody wants you to fail. Alfonso Cuaron I think that Jersey Shore is awesome. I've gone to Cape May every summer of my life. Anne Hathaway I have a strong attachment to Harvard. Eric Maskin I am attracted to intelligence, a witty s...

I don't want to give up living, because I enjoy it so much, and I

love working - I don't expect I'll ever have to stop. But Alzheimer's or something like that would render me pretty useless. Donald Sutherland I had a condition called gynecomastia - I had really big man-boobs, and I got a surgery for it. Josh Trank The idea of music coming from the Church is not new. Morgan Neville My life was filled with family in South Sudan. I am the seventh of nine children, and we grew up in what would be considered a middle-class family. We did not have a lot, but we did have more than a lot of other people. Alek Wek The long journey I've taken from where I started, and to end up at the Governors Awards as a governor - it was an emotional and powerful moment for me. Roger Ross Williams We have to be as good as we want to be as a nation. Brad Paisley My dad passed away when I was 10. Sterling K. Brown There is no better way to create a confident and meaningful connection with someone than to be self-assured and true to yoursel...

I never planned to be a model at all. I moved to Paris to study

art, and I was there working as an artist, taking classes, and I had a little sick dog that I was using up all of my money to try and heal. It was right at that point that this photographer, Errol Sawyer, saw me at the phoning office and convinced me to let him take my photo. Christie Brinkley In academia in general, there's this push toward using comics as an educational tool. Gene Luen Yang Writers divide into those who write biting their nails and those who don't. Some writers write licking their finger. Italo Calvino In addition to my cousin, there were 30 or 40 guys I grew up with who became firefighters as well. So, I've been around firefighters all my life. Denis Leary For me, it's important to stay healthy more than it is to have one good victory. Lukas Rosol Some things in literature are inexplicable. Halldor Laxness Sometimes your parents are the ones with the biggest mouths of all time. Dakota Johnson The World Bank can only survive if it...

This summer, we need to let our kids go play and we need to stop

worrying about whether or not it's going to ruin their chances of getting into college. Darell Hammond If necessity is the mother of invention, it's the father of cooperation. And we're cooperating like never before. John Ashcroft Tennis was always there for me, which was lucky. I would go play baseball, basketball, football, hang with my brother, do whatever, and at the end of the day I'd come back and say, 'Hey, Mom, would you hit 15 minutes worth of balls with me?' Jimmy Connors Very dangerous things, theories. Dorothy L. Sayers It's great to blow the image that people have of me out of the water. Hugo Weaving I'm just very obsessed with Japanese stuff in general. Grimes Journalists never make it clear when you are joking. David Bailey A good story is a good story no matter who wrote it. Anne McCaffrey The gray has gone away. I am living in bright Technicolor. Rosie O'Donnell I'm a guy that people look at me not only...

I'm a guy who has problems with moderation. All or nothing. Binge and purge. Kill

or be killed. Gray is not a color I wear well. I should be dead. I know that. I should not be successful. I know that too. My daily existence is a toss of the coin - one side, fear, the other side, gratitude. Kurt Sutter I was asked to act when I couldn't act. I was asked to sing 'Funny Face' when I couldn't sing, and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn't dance - and do all kinds of things I wasn't prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it. Audrey Hepburn But I remember the moment when my father died. I wasn't a very committed Catholic beforehand, but when that happened it suddenly all felt so obvious: I now believe religion is our attempt to find an explanation, for us to feel more protected. Javier Bardem Landowners and influential men of all kinds, especially members of political councils, ought to set an example to the people. The young members of rich families should offer themselves for military service. If not one of two sons, at ...