Christmas morning, I'm going to open presents with my kids. I'm going to take pictures

of them opening the presents. Then I'm going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work.
Kobe Bryant

The fact that the theatregoing public likes my music is no credit to me. There are many other composers who write better music that the public doesn't like.
Jerome Kern

It's nearly impossible to believe just how provincial the wine world was in 1978, the year I launched my journal, 'The Wine Advocate.' There were no wines exported from New Zealand and virtually none from Australia (including Penfolds Grange, one of the greatest wines in existence).
Robert M. Parker, Jr.

I started taking all these cooking classes. I learned a lot in them, but you think you're going to retain it, and you don't. Under the pressure, it's hard to retain everything.
Judy Gold

Vampires are pretty frightening. Knowing they can 'glamor' you is pretty weird. And you shake hands or hug them and they're cold. I wouldn't like that.
Todd Lowe

The scientific effort to inform the public about landslide risks often runs head-on into powerful economic interests.
Bill Dedman

Is the purpose of free elections to allow the most clever and vicious person to aggregate power, or is the purpose of free elections to enable the American people to have a serious conversation about their country's future and try to find both a policy and a personality that they think will carry to them that better future?
Newt Gingrich

The Republicans find their faith imperiled by Barney Frank's marriage. There is always a shadow on the wall, a monster in the closet, a mysterious rustling in the teeming underbrush of the conservative Id.
Charlie Pierce

When I was starring as Roxie Hart in 'Chicago,' I got my stiletto heel caught in my fishnet tights and fell flat on my face. It was incredibly painful and not something you can cover up.
Birgitte Hjort Sorensen

Madonna is completely down-to-earth. She's an absolute professional.
Natalie Dormer

The Hulk was a unique character because of his strength and power. He doesn't have a costume like Spiderman or like Superman - The Hulk is more visual. His passion and his strength, that is what separates him from anything else.
Lou Ferrigno

Gemeoss

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 ...

I came to the United States in the early '80s and was welcomed with open

arms and given the opportunity to pursue my dreams. God has been very kind to us. My family and I are fortunate enough to be successful and we feel a tremendous responsibility and obligation to give back to our great country. Naveen Jain I like to move forward and notice things along the roadside that indicate where I should go. Josh Homme We knew that you don't get to be world champions without a struggle. Eric Cantona I can't speak for all women, but I do think that... I mean, me and my girlfriends, we definitely... we're in crisis on a continuous basis...or at least monthly, for sure, I don't know. Helen Slater I left school at 16 but I wish I'd gone to university - I think I would have studied English literature. I had a knack for that. But I don't think you have the kind of wisdom at 16 to make that decision. Brendan Coyle The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell. Simone We...

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 have always maintained that it's not the quantity of work, but the quality that

should speak. I have maintained the same for my music albums, too. I have always released them after a gap of two to three years.Adnan Sami In all my days of schooling, from preschool all the way up to 12th grade, there was not one white person in my class. Literally zero.Kendrick Lamar The truth is that searching for our commonality instead of our differences could transform our dysfunctional politics.Raja Krishnamoorthi It came down to the AHCA or the continued disaster of Obamacare, which was an easy choice. The AHCA is a major improvement, because a federal one-size-fits-all approach to health care isn't the answer.Cathy McMorris Rodgers I'm really glad I had the chance to live in Jensen Beach and Stuart before everything exploded. I'm always going to be fond of that area. For me, it was a sleepy little fishing town, and it kind of represents what Florida was before the development explosion.Judge Reinhold Space is much stiffer than you imagine; it's ...

I can't say I'm a full-on gamer, since, basically, I just don't have time for it. I know

nowadays, gaming can be a lot like social media. People just stay on it all day long. Like they're logged into the Matrix. But yeah, I enjoy it. When I get the time. Roman Reigns I'll hear us on classic rock radio stations, and I'll go, 'Oh, my God, we're getting old!' Mike McCready Thin applications and small amounts in the right places is kind of the way to go with metallics for every day. Pat McGrath Lynyrd Skynyrd is not a political band, but you know what? We believe in this country. We have a soft spot for our military. We love the red, white and blue, and every night we dedicate a portion of our show to our fighting men. Rickey Medlocke My mom was a high school science teacher for decades. She just never made it feel like we had to choose between the arts and the sciences. We had bookshelves full of novels, and she also had Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold and Carl Sagan. Anthony Doerr After a workout, you definitely have to have a protein shake. I drink ...

The only way physical comedy works is if you don't see it coming. And the

harder the fall, the funnier it is. You have to really take some shots, and I've walked away with some bumps and bruises. Chris Pratt Passion is the thing that sustains you in acting. If you're doing it for fame and money, don't even bother because it will never happen. The last thing I ever expected was to be paid for this. Scott Patterson 'The Princess Bride' is by far the most popular film I've ever done. I don't think I'll ever top it. Wallace Shawn When I moved to New York, I fell head over heels back into country music and probably 'cause I missed something about Texas. Norah Jones To me, religion is an agreement between a group of people about what God is. Spirituality is a one-on-one relationship. Steve Earle For me, you say the words 'concept record,' and the first thing I think of is theater or the opera or something. Chester Bennington Almost all our desires, when examined, contain something too shameful to reveal...

I just enjoy going to the games, but if you're watching the Lakers play, it

feels good to be rooting for the Lakers. You're on the winning end of things most of the time. Diane Lane The trouble with blaming powerless people is that although it's not nearly as scary as blaming the powerful, it does miss the point. Poor people do not shut down factories... Poor people didn't decide to use 'contract employees' because they cost less and don't get any benefits. Molly Ivins I always turn to Frank O'Hara and David Berman's 'Actual Air,' which came out in 1999. He's a poet I haven't tired of. Terrance Hayes I love playing Blair Cramer, and I'm thrilled to see what more they have in store for her. After playing this role for so many years, I still feel like there is so much about her that is still untold. Kassie DePaiva I'm not Gloria Steinem, but I mean, I'm definitely all for powerful women. Mariah Carey The Nondiscriminatory Transportation Screening Act provides a commonsense approach for th...

The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were

an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. John Adams The sincere friends of this world are as ship lights in the stormiest of nights. Giotto di Bondone I kind of have a rededication in my life now to acting because I'm very fond of being in this movie. Thomas Haden Church I've had this sneaking feeling throughout the game that it's there to be won. Ron Atkinson A friendship that like love is warm; A love like friendship, steady. Thomas Moore There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is, seeing something that isn't there. Thomas Hardy You don't realize how easy this game is until you get up in that broadcasting booth. Mickey Mantle

I try to surround myself with the people who genuinely believe in changing things, that are

angry about it and want to make changes and want to make a change and are willing. Lauren Southern Each holiday season, as family members arrive and couches are unfolded, my household settles into a palpable nostalgia. Poorly designed photo albums are pulled from the shelves. Home videos of prepubescent siblings in matching pajamas dance across the television screen. Clint Smith I think movies are overdeveloped in Hollywood. There's a big benefit to not overdeveloping and not being so precious about what you're doing. I think you lose a kind of vitality if you develop something into the ground. Jason Blum I like mash-ups, taking contemporary songs and making them old... old songs, making them new. Bria Skonberg Living in L.A. keeps me in my car a lot, and I'm constantly flipping back and forth between the following Sirius/XM Radio stations: NFL Radio, MLB Radio, POTUS, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. R. J. Cutler We're part of creating this world in which we live, but we...

I stand here today as the first woman first minister of our country. Every day I hold this

office, I will work to ensure that every woman, every wee girl across this country, gets a chance to do what I've done and follow their dream. Nicola Sturgeon When a president was elected with foreign policy experience, it was usually less about his foreign policy experience than other things. H. W. Brands The result may not be perfect. But our forefathers wanted us to compromise to get things done for America. Gene Green I do believe in the old saying, 'What does not kill you makes you stronger.' Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity. Angelina Jolie Tennis has opened a number of possibilities for me, and in future, it would be great to give something back. Ana Ivanovic No good writer ever merely cheered us up. But there's an unblinking stare into the darkness of things we have to go elsewhere to find. Jane Austen was made of strong stuff. She was too satiric for D. H. Lawrence's taste and too u...