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

I have not made any suggestions about climate change. This is more about blending or

shifting the conversation about the environment versus the economy. It's just such an old, outdated conversation. Jennifer Granholm Sometimes shooting on a smaller scale, as long as things don't blow out of proportion, is very liberating. Daniel Craig Because I'm so known as a meat-chef, when I talk about Meatless Monday some people look at me like I've lost my mind. I'm like, look, I'm not saying beef and pork is bad, I love it and I eat it six days a week. Michael Symon I think character is permanent, and issues are transient. James Stockdale It is true that I was born in Iowa, but I can't speak for my twin sister. Pauline Phillips I came from a town of maybe 30,000 people. Jim Caviezel The rights of homosexual people are human rights, and human rights are for everyone. Ricky Martin I'm pretty much honest to a fault. It's my best and my worst quality. Jennifer Westfeldt I loved Australia. I was very successful there. Todd B...

When 'The Dark Side of the Moon' was a new album in 1973, a friend

of mine walked into my room where I was working with a copy in his hand and said, 'You really have to do a play about this album.' Tom Stoppard I realised success as an actor alone wouldn't make me happy. I needed to explore my spiritual side in more depth. Linus Roache I think 'lunch' is one of the funniest words in the world. Stephen Sondheim Because there's no structural barrier to joining 4chan, the community is really dynamic; for every five people that leave, five new people join, bringing their perspective and culture. A lot of other communities get set in their ways. Christopher Poole Money has never been my drive. I have never seen the shortage of money in my life, so for me, I don't want to buy a silk pillow or a private jet... My drive is to achieve more than what my grandfather achieved; my drive is to make a name for myself, get rid of this 'star son' tag that has been attached to me. Ranbir Kapoor I used to work as a volu...

I've gone through that with my mother and father and here I was in a

similar situation. I've wronged her and I've wronged the family. Because when these things happen, it doesn't just happen to you, it happens to the people around you and the family. John Prescott Before I was an actor I was a break dancer, one of those street performers you see. I guess my introduction into the professional world of performing was a stint as back up dancer for Lionel Richie and I performed at the closing ceremony at the '84 Olympics. Cuba Gooding, Jr. Frank Morley, who had worked in London at Faber and Faber, was the new head of Harcourt Brace, and he hired me to start in 1940. The early years at Harcourt were wonderful. Almost my first assignment was Virginia Woolf's novel 'Between the Acts.' Robert Giroux I suspect that many corporations have begun to understand that they have an important role to play in the lives of their communities, and that allocating funds to support local groups helps them discharge that function and also b...

The New Testament is of full authority and open to the understanding of simple men

as to the points most needful to salvation. John Wycliffe It's funny, because there are so many stereotypes out there about actors and movie stars in general, but I've had a great opportunity to meet a lot of them, and maybe it's just because they don't behave that way around me, but I rarely see that kind of abuse of power. Ryan Reynolds At the suggestion of Professor Itaru Watanabe, and with his help, I left Japan at the age of twenty-three to pursue graduate study at the University of California at San Diego. Susumu Tonegawa Not everybody is a great rapper; not everybody lives for the art of lyricism. Wale From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments of sadness or fear. That's what I believe, and it was very, very strong in the forest. Jane Goodall You must make some decisions Wall Street dislikes. Nelson Peltz Debt, we've learned, is the match th...

I feel my work is made for one being, one individual. You could say that's

me, but that's not really true. It's for an idealized viewer. James Turrell The only thing we know for sure about superiority in sports in the United States of America in the 20th century is that Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics teams he led stand alone as the ultimate winners. Frank Deford I love yoga. There's a lot of stretching involved, which helps with my flexibility and injury prevention. Vinyasa is my favorite as a recovery tool and for me to continue having my legs feel good. Alex Morgan When you get on the back side of your 60s, most people aren't working. Tom Petty God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Leanne Caret For as long as I can remember, I've just loved Chanel. Lily-Rose Depp I always dreamed of going to the Olympics. To be going to the Games in your own country is another thing; to do it as a potential medallist is another thing again. Hannah Mills To me, Berlin is as much a conceit as a reality. Why? Because t...

Native Americans' families experience living surrounded, living in increasingly small reservations surrounded by the society

that destroyed their civilization, and are still stigmatized. For decades and decades, for hundreds of years except in Indian schools, they weren't allowed to speak their language. That stigma takes a terrible toll. Joshua Oppenheimer Someone once accused me of slumming. I don't know what that means. I play basketball. And through that, I get to see a world that is not smart-kid world. Nick McDonell My father had a piano that was a nickelodeon - put a nickel, and the roller would play. Frank Sinatra As a child, I spent a lot of time at the library. Tracy Chapman It's such a cliche thing to say. I want to choreograph, I want to direct, I want to act, I want to write music, I want to play music, I want to sing. For me, it's never-ending. I want to do it all, really. Derek Hough Before someone can change his ideas, he has to open his heart. Maajid Nawaz In the IPL, you are often single-handedly responsible for the fortunes of your team. It makes you more ...

Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol',

but we're going to teach them how much hard work goes into it. Bo Bice As an example, one of the schools I have been studying is too small to compete effectively in most sports, but participates with vigor each year in the state music contests. James S. Coleman Randy said I could call him for anything, Paula said that she loved me and said how much of a star I was. Simon was like, keep up the good work and I'll have nothing to worry about. LaToya London When I was growing up, rock & roll helped give me my sense of identity, but I had to search for it. Trent Reznor I've learned a huge amount because I've been tested and, more importantly, I've been trusted. Pete Townshend I was a little self-centered gutter punk in the early 1980s and all I wanted to do was diss everybody. Anthony Kiedis Noah and his family were the only loyal and obedient subjects to the legal power: they alone were saved. Orson Pratt I am so thrilled by the privilege of lif...

My songs have always been frustrating themes, relationships that I've had. And now that I'm

in love, I expect it to be really happy, or at least there won't be half as much anger as there was. Kurt Cobain My house is solar powered. I tell Republicans, 'You can hate the subsidies - I hate the subsidies, too - but you can't hate solar panels.' Thomas Massie Fortunately, I grew up in a family that was grounded. My mother and father knew how to guide my career and look out for my best interests. Larenz Tate Perhaps the greatest Maya mystery of all is the cause of the civilization's abrupt decline. The last dated stela erected at Tikal was put up in A.D. 869; the last anywhere in the Maya world, in 909. David Roberts In the end, punk inevitably burned itself out and acted as a bridge across which the New Romantics could sashay in their chiffon and glossy hair. Jo Brand I want to be the player who hits home runs, drives in runs. Mark Teixeira Humorists are using Twitter to tell jokes in an interesting way. It doesn't have to be profound, an...

When I turned 25, something changed in me. I see children in my future 100%.

Soon. I started thinking I want my kids to look back and say, 'Wasn't Mummy amazing?' I've really started thinking about what I'm leaving for them. Jessie J No one except Hollywood stars and very rich Texans wore Indian jewelry. And there was a plethora of dozens if not hundreds of athletic teams that in essence were insulting us, from grade schools to college. That's all changed. Russell Means Acting is something I'm extremely passionate about. Bindi Irwin Some of my Democratic friends don't like it when I say that, but Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat and still a leader. He brought strong people around him, and he had a vision for where he wanted to take the country. Jim Webb One thing an exceptional employee never says is, 'That's not in my job description.' Exceptional employees work outside the boundaries of job descriptions. Travis Bradberry Live albums are very important for Rush, and they became sort of a closing chapt...

I was not good at team sports, I have to say. I'm quite good at

individual sports, but I was not good at team sports, so I wasn't good at baseball and football. Tom Ford I think sports are a wonderful diversion. People can relate to sports very easily. It's a quick study. William Clay Ford, Sr. The fight against child slavery is the fight against traditional mindset, policy deficit, and lack of accountability and urgency for children across the globe. Kailash Satyarthi I worship God. Religion and worship are two different things to me. Religion is by the book. I think too many people rely on the textbook: 'OK, it says to do this and it says to do that, so if I do this, this, and that, then I still can go out and do wrong because I did this, this, and that.' Eve I find it fascinating that sport has such a strong connection to success in business. Arguably, C-suite women are some of the most successful women, and more than half of them played at a more advanced level than just the general population of women in business th...