One of my books is a hallucinogen, an aphrodisiac, a mood elevator, an intellectual garage

door opener, and a metaphysical trash compactor. They'll do everything except rotate your tires.
Tom Robbins

I do crazy amounts of research. I want this stuff to 'work,' so to speak. I need to be, at least to me, believable - because if I feel - if I cannot invest some element of verisimilitude, the reader is absolutely not going to buy in.
Greg Rucka

There's a difference between describing and evoking something. You can describe something and be quite clinical about it. To evoke it, you call it up in the reader. That's what writers do when they're good.
Margaret Atwood

Sometimes you resent the people you love and need the most. Love is so fascinating in all its forms, and I think everyone who has ever been a mother will relate to this.
Barbra Streisand

I have something called exercise bulimia, which is where you rid of your calories by over-exercising.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler

All of my friends in the business ask, 'Why is this woman not a star? Why is she not a household name?'
Annie Golden

The most important message that I can give to you and to all the world is to keep the commandments of God.
Harold B. Lee

Build your self-esteem by recalling all the ways you have succeeded, and your brain will be filled with images of you making your achievements happen again and again. Give yourself permission to toot your own horn, and don't wait for anyone to praise you.
Jack Canfield

We all evolved out of the same three or four groups in Africa, as black Africans.
Craig Venter

I feel like the better version of myself is on paper... I'd rather have people know me on paper.
Aaron Sorkin

One of the things you learn as a journalist is that when there's no accountability, we humans are capable of tremendous avarice and venality. That's true of union bosses - and of corporate tycoons. Unions, even flawed ones, can provide checks and balances for flawed corporations.
Nicholas Kristof

Gemeoss

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose

sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical person fears - the fall into knowledge exhaustion, obsolescence, techno-fuddy-duddyism - there was no reason to think I could escape it forever. Ellen Ullman Innovation and its allure can be dangerous. It can draw you away from the user, from the intended outcome, and may be the ultimate demise of otherwise great intentions. Mark Brand My voice is different, but I don't think I'm the only one with a different take on pop music. Charli XCX In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada. Jodi Balfour Mexico has 44 treaties with other countries that make it very advantageous to do international shipping from Mexico rather than from the United States. Wilbur Ross Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of ...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

How great is the mystery of the first cells which were one day animated by

the breath of our souls! How impossible to decipher the welding of successive influences in which we are forever incorporated! In each one of us, through matter, the whole history of the world is in part reflected. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Part of being innovative in government is sometimes not trying to plot out the last chapter of the book, but to be open and see what comes back. Anthony Foxx Bray is where I live; it's a seaside resort. It's a nice place to walk up there and stuff, on the coast. There's crosses along on top of it. Tristan MacManus The decisive factor for the future of Europe - and before all things, for the 'restoration' of Europe - will be whether political thought and national feelings are influenced by the reality of internationalism. Ellen Key In the ancient times, bards went around singing the epics, which were storehouses of philosophy. Amish Tripathi Once I started singing, I didn't have to try to be cool. I was just on...

I saw my dad doing it and thought to myself, 'I can do that.' I would be backstage

watching him and running around the country with him singing to children. He would sing songs that taught children really good morals: like, 'Teaching Peace' was a song he used to sing to kids a lot. Andy Grammer I wanted to be an attorney all the way up until I was 17. Mark Foster I am not bothered about if my role in a film is small or big. Because if the character I am offered is sensible, I would do it even if it is small. Nithya Menen He's known as Sting. I have my own personal name for him, but that shall remain a personal name. Trudie Styler I wanted to play for United; I wanted to play at Old Trafford. It was always my goal. Bastian Schweinsteiger I grew up in a very middle-class life. I'm grateful for it - it has given me a lot of stability. Carrie-Anne Moss I am a human being: sometimes I am happy, but sometimes I am not feeling that great or not in a mood. Shaheer Sheikh The first time I heard the Mars Volta, I had a feeling I was experiencing something that...

I love the way this sport has evolved and impacted every segment of society.

Now you have cross training and weight training in every sport and from middle school kids to senior citizens. Lee Haney People make a mistake thinking that two people with identical mindset gel well. Gautam Gambhir If money is tight, or you're on a limited budget, then consider DIY or used gifts. DIY could be something like baked goods for your friends, family, and neighbors. Plus, if you have children, it's a great activity to do with them during the holidays. John Rampton The custom of clasping hands is thought to date back thousands of years, as proof of not holding any weapons. Faith Salie I believe in term limits. I believe the country would be hugely better off if we had more turnover in Congress. Bill Flores When we demand Woman Suffrage, we can only do so on the ground, not that it should be a right attached to the possession of a certain amount of property, but that it should be inherent in the woman herself. Clara Zetkin I stopped acting a long time ago and my prim...

If most people were to take a moment to picture in their minds the average,

not-for-profit, save-the-world girl, they... well, they probably wouldn't, because who wants to think about hemp, hairy legs, and Birkenstocks? But I'd rather eat a pair of Birkenstocks than put them on my feet, and I love, love, love my Christian Louboutins. Nancy Lublin Every morning when I woke up, my mother was already in the kitchen making breakfast. It was always the same: steamed rice, pickled vegetables, grilled fish and miso soup. Each day there was something different in the soup such as tofu or potatoes. Nobu Matsuhisa My son was born during my last semester in college. His due date was Thanksgiving, but he didn't show up until finals week. I brought my books to the hospital and didn't think anything of it. That is what a father is supposed to do. LZ Granderson Unless it's a dead-straight short putt, you should focus on a spot somewhere along the line you want to roll the ball on. Ernie Els Ukippers are the kinds of fools who haven't notic...

I remember when I was in third grade, I was in a classroom, and the teacher said,

'What do you want to do when you get older?' We were going around the room. I said, 'I want to be a professional basketball player.' She's like, 'That's not realistic.' I thought to myself, 'OK, watch.' Zach LaVine Professional wrestling is my first love, and I will continue to do that, but if I get a good offer for a film or a show, I would love to take it up. Sangram Singh I had this dream in my head of, if I got hired by 'SNL, what that moment would be like. And I dreamed that I would, like, collapse on the sidewalk and cry to the heavens. I got this call, and it didn't happen naturally. But I did it anyway because I wanted to have that moment. So I did collapse. Kate McKinnon It's funny: I don't feel like I have any particular privileged feeling for the Fifties. Todd Haynes Stock market goes up or down, and you can't adjust your portfolio based on the whims of the market, so you have to have a strategy in a position and s...

Man, anytime the ball goes through the basket. It doesn't matter if it's a jumper

or a drive. Any time the ball goes through the basket, and it's going through consistently, it's demoralizing for any opponent. Dwyane Wade When taxpayers are subsidizing low wages, people should be aware of that. We're subsidizing an economy. We're not subsidizing people. They are doing a hard day's work. When we're not rewarding work actively, there's something wrong with the system. Nancy Pelosi When a writer makes something, it's theirs forever. That is the magic for me. Ellen Gallagher Mayors of New York have been elected not because of their party label, but because of their philosophy and their approach overall, and that has been since time immemorial in New York, that people are not party-oriented in New York. Joe Lhota I'm personally attracted to great writing - that's what turns me on the most. Michael Mando Music is the medium that has taken me around the world, and I would be lying if I said I could live without music. ...