Fiction's essential activity is to imagine how others feel, what a Saturday afternoon in an

Italian town in the 2nd Century looked like. My ambition is solely to get some effect, as of light on stone in a forest on a September day.
Guy Davenport

There's a huge latent market for software development that's just flat-out honest.
Kent Beck

I don't think a reporter necessarily becomes an arm of law enforcement. I think a reporter is like any other citizen. If a citizen can do his or her duty as a witness, if they have information about a crime, or if they have information about a criminal group, I think that there's a duty on the part of the citizen.
Edwin Meese

The notion of the infinite variety of detail and the multiplicity of forms is a pleasing one; in complexity are the fringes of beauty, and in variety are generosity and exuberance.
Annie Dillard

I am fortunate that I get sent scripts and get to meet people I would never have met had I not done 'Harry Potter.' But I feel I had to come out of that show and prove that I am not a one trick pony and can do other stuff.
Matthew Lewis

I've done all these historical epics and chivalrous roles, but there's an odder, quirkier side to me that nobody knows about.
Orlando Bloom

You always want to come back with an image that's interesting visually, and you hope to get something from the person you photograph that's different than other images you know of these people.
Anton Corbijn

I teach a lecture course on American poetry to as many as 150 students. For a lot of them, it's their only elective, so this is their one shot. They'll take the Russian Novel or American Poetry, so I want to give them the high points, the inescapable poets.
Robert Hass

I try not to put messages in my songs. My only message is man's communication with his fellow man. I want to narrow the gap of strangeness and alienation.
Rod McKuen

My parents were both storytellers. They always spoke with metaphorical richness.
Alice Walker

Don't ever criticize yourself. Don't go around all day long thinking, 'I'm unattractive, I'm slow, I'm not as smart as my brother.' God wasn't having a bad day when he made you... If you don't love yourself in the right way, you can't love your neighbour. You can't be as good as you are supposed to be.
Joel Osteen

Gemeoss

While the past asks only to be remembered, a woman's memory alters on her behalf

and in her best interests. Memory - the vain old biddy - cannot resist penciling a few slight, cosmetic revisions in the margins of the past.Sarah Ban Breathnach Between 1958 and 1963, I sold about 40 million records - to the shock of my mother and father because I was always playing Beethoven. But I bought my mother a mink stole. She was very happy, and she said, 'I think this is better than Beethoven.'Neil Sedaka I am a huge advocate for anti-bullying in our youth. What I have seen with the rise of social media is that children are not facing bullying on a playground, they are facing it on their cell phones.Whitney Wolfe Herd I enjoy fighting. It's one of my favorite things to do in the world, so I'm just enjoying every minute of it.Donald Cerrone No American should have to live in constant fear that their employer can fire them just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.Jared Polis There's a lot of stuff out there that government s...

Throughout its history, the members of Shearith Israel have observed Thanksgiving by reciting in synagogue

the same psalms of praise and gratitude sung by Jews all over the world on festive days like Hanukkah. Meir Soloveichik A sequel is such a daunting thing, because you don't want to lose the magic and the charm of the first one. Sandra Bullock Having a loving relationship with our spouse or with our children is what leads to the long-term happiness we all seek. Clayton Christensen My finding of myself as an artist, which I think in itself helped me to find just who I am and how I want to express myself, is entirely - in conjunction, of course, with my family, particularly my mom - founded on teachers. Uzo Aduba Agatha Christie never wrote books that just started with a dead body, and a 'Let's find out who the murderer is', which is kind of mysterious but not that mysterious. She always started with, 'How can this thing be happening; isn't it strange?' Sophie Hannah I very much want to do things my way, and I want to control the result. Hiam Ab...

I can play guitar - but I can't really. I wouldn't say I'm talented at

it. I just kind of watch videos on YouTube, and I follow the instructions... OK, yeah, my hidden talent: I'm good at following instructions!Chloe Kim I change my beauty routine every six months, but I make sure to use products that are light and gentle.Chiara Ferragni I loved playing with a doll as a youngster. I liked dressing her up and combing her hair. This one doll had a really big face and hair and earrings. I had her for a long time and only got rid of her when I was at high school.Michelle Carter In 2008, Senator John McCain forbid his staff from using an ad that referred to his opponent Barack Obama's inflammatory former pastor Jeremiah Wright or from raising that issue in any other way. He believed it was a sneaky way to use Obama's race against him.John Dickerson Nom is a place for food lovers.Steve Chen I thank Secretary Clinton and her team for recommending me to serve as the permanent chair of the 2016 Democratic National Convention. It is an ho...

Remember the rights of the savage, as we call him. Remember that the happiness of

his humble home, remember that the sanctity of life in the hill villages of Afghanistan, among the winter snows, is as inviolable in the eye of Almighty God, as can be your own. William E. Gladstone It's nice to have a lot of people in the field. Independent, third party, Libertarian, Reform and other party candidates can do what they want to do. I welcome them to the race. John Murray To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind of food that it is very good but that most people can't eat it. Leo Tolstoy We're aligning ourselves with Kerry. Our allegiance will be for peace, against war, no more deaths for oil, and for a dialogue between the government of Spain and the new Kerry administration. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero I endeavor to be wise when I cannot be merry, easy when I cannot be glad, content with what cannot be mended and patient when there be no redress. Elizabeth Montagu Someti...

You have to remember what a super PAC is: a bunch of wealthy donors who

want to send a message traditionally other campaigns don't do. This is the problem with the dark money that's involved in politics right now. Corey Lewandowski I really never thought about the way I looked until boys came into the picture. Then it starts to be like, 'Am I wearing the right outfit? I have to do my makeup for school!' Georgia May Jagger My first job was working at Benihana as kitchen help. In college, I was a telemarketer for a company at the same time I was a bike messenger for this greasy fast-food place. Steve Aoki Despite the growing evidence of health benefits associated with coffee consumption, I still don't recommend my patients drink it - not because it's not healthy, but because there are even healthier choices. Michael Greger I was a little chubby, rosy-cheeked kid. Brad Goreski If you've had something for more than six months, and it's still not repaired, it's clutter. Gretchen Rubin I never wanted to be th...

I'm into something that definitely does require your attention, and with that, you're not going

to run out of things to do. You're never going to be the master of music. Roscoe Mitchell I am introverted and a complete klutz. Amy Gerstler I carry out my full duties as Deputy First Minister and accept I have tinnitus but appreciate the hearing that I do have and that it does not limit me in a professional or personal capacity. Martin McGuinness I'm not sure what it means fully to be a parent. Brie Larson I'm an old, white-haired guy. If I'm not recognized, I'm treated pretty much like every other elderly. But if people recognize me, it's a whole different thing. Dick Van Dyke I like to do things that I want to see myself. With 'Defending Your Life,' I wanted to see some aspect of death other than angels and the thing that 'Ghost' was about, because that didn't make any sense to me. So that's the reason: it fills a hole. Albert Brooks At high school, instead of the weekly essay, I would write a poem, and the teacher a...

Remember that we can only in our forebrains handle 5-7 items. Our backbrains can handle

massive amounts. So when you're given a problem, think about it before you go sleep, and chances are you can solve it by the next morning. Nolan Bushnell I got one letter at the very beginning, like, in the first season, saying - from a woman who was very religious, very Christian, saying how wrong she thought the show was, but she thinks it's the funniest show on television. Sean Hayes The way I look at - speaking as a woman - I understand what it means to be a daughter, and to be a wife, and to be a mother, and also to be a career woman. The multiple roles that women can play in a society if given the opportunity is really a tremendous asset. Margaret Chan Being chronically shy I needed to create a persona for myself and be involved with a band where I could be ruler of my own kingdom. Then Pulp became hugely popular and I lost control of it, which is when it all went wrong. Jarvis Cocker The advanced levels which the democratic world has attained at the end of le...

The reaction to 'Aftermath' has been far worse than to 'A Life's Work,' yet I

find I'm perhaps a little less touched by it. In both cases, I've coped artistically by believing the criticisms weren't right. They upset me, but they didn't challenge my understanding of how to write, nor of how morality functions in literature. Rachel Cusk I'm not one to take revenge. If someone does something wrong to me I leave it in the hands of the universe to take care of that person. Lana Parrilla At the end of the day, I think that I'm making music for me as that 12-year-old kid in front of my boombox every day. I try to think about, if I'm that little kid, what would he like? Danny Brown I can't see where there is anywhere left to move. If you don't have a recount it's hard to receive any more votes. Robert Torricelli I have no friends and no enemies - only competitors. Aristotle Onassis I don't know anyone who enjoys going to the hospital. To help remedy this, I got an idea to create what a Laugh Room in the pediatr...

Right now, there is no way that the federal government can prevent someone who's on

the terror watch list from buying a gun - none. Ted Deutch Of course we want to pocket Fisker. But we will bid rationally. Whatever the result, nothing can stop us from making electric cars. Lu Guanqiu Next to religion, baseball has had a greater impact on our American way of life than any other American institution. Herbert Hoover One of the favorite conservative themes is that the cure for poverty is more marriage and earlier marriage. We hear that all the time; there have been billions of dollars now, between the Bush administration and the Obama administration, which has continued the marriage education program, on trying to get more people to get married. Rebecca Traister It's troubling that by eliminating weekend voting hours, the state of Ohio specifically banned a popular voting time of choice for minorities. In Cuyahoga County, which I represent, 56 percent of weekend voters in 2008 were African American while adult African Americans comprise 28 percent of the ...

Remember that just because major publishing is having trouble, that doesn't mean people

have stopped reading books. Printed books won't go away, but ebooks won't go away, either. David Morrell The thing about HD-DVD that is attractive to Microsoft is that it's very pro-consumer in letting you copy all movies up onto the hard disk. Bill Gates My individual power is limited. I want to use my high-profile way to wake people up to take action together to do good things. I can only awake them with my performance art and creativity. Chen Guangbiao Your conscious brain cannot multitask. If I'm speaking to you and checking my I-Phone at the same time, I'm doing neither. This is why our society is frazzled; this misconception that we can consciously do more than one thing at a time effectively. Deepak Chopra When I'm not acting, I'm at the beach. I like to spend a lot of time in the water, surfing. Brenton Thwaites While the sciences are hugely important, let us not leave behind a child's imagination. Kevin Spacey Shorts wager on p...