I got interested in the question of literacy because writers are always moaning about why

more people don't read books.
Robert Hass

Ang Lee is very precise. He will show you everything, and will let you know what he is thinking about the whole project. There are a lot of rehearsals before shooting, and you already reach a certain standard. Then he will ask for more.
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai

America before the 1960s was a pretty innocent place. We were the Lone Ranger galloping off to the rescue of the needy and the oppressed of the world, and we could get things done.
Tim O'Brien

You don't come to work going, 'Oh my God, I've got all this money I have to worry about'. You come to work going, 'I need more time and more money'. Because whatever resources you're given, you're always trying to push the envelope.
Jonathan Mostow

There's an energy and excitement when you're building a company. You have so much tail wind. You're planting new seeds. But it's also scary, because there's no safety net.
Howard Schultz

Almost any job can make us better human beings if we do it with passion.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego

I remember that - you know, I didn't receive a formal education. I was educated in the Montevideo cafe, in the cafes of Montevideo. There, I received my first lessons in the art of telling stories, storytelling.
Eduardo Galeano

The truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Joan Didion

You have to make your own decisions. That's what the freedom in America is all about.
Richard Simmons

My retirement is both voluntary and involuntary. One reason, and this is voluntary, is the impact of television. All old movies are turning up on television, and frankly, making pictures doesn't interest me anymore. Another reason is that the film industry is in a declining state.
Randolph Scott

I'm the wife. I'm the mom. I'm the friend. And, you know, my friends call me 'Mama T,' or 'Dr. T,' and that's, guess, what I am - the Mama T and the Dr. T. That's who I am.
Teresa Heinz

Gemeoss

It's nice coming to Nashville, and we have four-bedroom house and a dog, and we

go swimming a lot. We get down here and spread out a lot, and I miss my sweet tea and my cornbread and my good southern cooking - but I'm down here eating pretty for two weeks and I'm ready to go back to New York City. Justin Townes Earle I hope everybody will go back to the negotiating table. I've always said this is the only way forward. Mohamed ElBaradei I'm the type of artist who touches people, that's the type of artist that I am. Jacob Lusk Writing is a fine therapy for people who are perpetually scared of nameless threats... for jittery people. William Styron Comedy wasn't something I chose - it chose me. Pauly Shore When I heard Aretha, I could feel her emotional delivery so clearly. It came from down deep within. That's what I wanted to do. Whitney Houston When I see old photos of me on the beach I don't look too bad... but it's hard trying to breathe in for such a long time when I spot the photographers! Gary Lineker St...

'Clueless' is an adaptation of 'Emma' by Jane Austen. It works either way: if you

know the book and if you don't. Jason Moore Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards. Jules Verne My favorite foods are things that aren't great to eat, like pizza. Stephen Pagliuca My martial arts came a lot from my uncle, who actually taught martial arts through the military. He was a black belt in tae kwon do, but also, he used a lot of military-style fighting where it's not the high kicks or anything like that. It's basically defeat your opponent as fast as possible. Brian Tee Memory is not pure. Memories told are not pure memories; memories told are stories. The storyteller will change them. I've always been interested in that. Alice McDermott It was always a dream as I was growing up. I would watch movies, mostly American movies, and be so engrossed in those stories, all I wanted to do was be there. I wanted to be part of that romance or that fantasy or be that warrior or that struggling soul who finally makes it g...

When you're writing, you're only a brain and some fingers, but drumming, you're involving all

four limbs, and you're hearing stuff and you're converting your ideas into physical motions, getting physical feedback from things you are touching - it's pretty cool. It's a really a nice contrast to writing. Michael Azerrad The work of artists is to find what's humanly possible - possibility's furthest reaches. Tony Kushner If you look at the way people behave at shows, icons are now musicians; they are the people that we worship. Grimes As much as I long for a sort of security and consistency sometimes, I do enjoy sort of being busted around. I really don't know what's happening sometimes next week, let alone this year. Matthew Macfadyen On Wall Street, fraudulent schemes tend to thrive during economic booms, and to blow up when times turn tough. James Surowiecki I want a guy who can clean my gutters and kill my spiders - who's simple yet layered. Kelli Garner Politics is the art of controlling your environment. Hunter S. Thomps...

Until every soul is freely permitted to investigate every book and creed and dogma for

itself, the world cannot be free. Robert Green Ingersoll Exercise is about being grateful for the body you have and sustaining the life you have. Nicole Ari Parker From the days of biplanes and silk scarves, the aviator has been the archetype of masculine glamour. Aviators have personified national ideals, from French elan to Soviet party discipline. They've inspired lust and admiration. They've turned sunglasses and short, utilitarian leather jackets into fashion statements. Virginia Postrel The great thing about making picture books is that you can make absolutely anything you want happen. It's a bit like making a film, but you don't need lots of money for actors and costumes - you just need pens, paper, and your imagination. Mini Grey If you're famous, I don't - for the life of me - I don't understand why any famous person would ever be on Twitter. George Clooney I would definitely like to start working with more people over age 7. Beck Be...

To be sure, Kennedy did not discount the importance of words in rallying the nation

to meet its foreign and domestic challenges. Winston Churchill's powerful exhortations during World War II set a standard he had long admired. Kennedy was hardly unmindful of how important a great inaugural address could be. Robert Dallek If you have a pair of shoes that hurt, don't wear them. The ugliest thing that I think I've seen is a woman walk like her feet hurt. It's awful, so make sure your shoes fit. Kelly Rowland I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man; I am a vegetable man, anyway. Magic Johnson When people tell me they are going to go scrapbooking, I say, 'Why don't you make it yourself.' It's like chocolate-chip cookies. People buy the cookie-dough roll and slice it, and then they lay it on a cookie sheet. That's not making chocolate-chip cookies. Amy Sedaris Dear Chicago, when I wake up in the morning and see your skyline - the terra cotta of the Wrigley Building, the height of the Willis ...

A 5-acre school each in Noida and Gurgaon is what we have; it costs Rs.

50 crore to buy the land and another Rs. 50 crore to build the property. That's the capital cost alone.Shiv Nadar What is it like to get in someone's head and hunt them from inside their eyes? That's so freaky to me.Brian J. Smith I fell in love with L.A. To me, it is the most quintessentially American city.Jeremy Scott I don't understand how those old bands did it. We worked out early on that if we did three gigs in a row and went out afterwards, we'd lose our voices. We know our limits.Winston Marshall Coos Bay is a sports-minded town. You had to be an athlete to be somebody.Steve Prefontaine When I was in desperate trouble for maybe eight or nine years, I went to a neuropsychiatrist.Gene Wilder The digitisation of money, the rapid expansion of internet access and, of course, the adoption of mobile phones have created the perfect conditions to make it easier, secure, and affordable to save, spend, give, and borrow.Dan Schulman Playing football...

In his second Inaugural Address, on March 5, 1821, Monroe admitted at last to a

general depression of prices, but only as a means of explaining the great decline in the federal revenue. Despite this, he asserted that the situation of America presented a 'gratifying spectacle.' Murray Rothbard My mission is to support our service members. They're volunteers, and if they're going to go to a hostile place like Afghanistan, I think we owe it to them to back them up and try to help them get through it. Gary Sinise I lived in Cuba - I was there for one year in the 1950s. We built the famous nightclub, which is still there, Tropicana, and a restaurant, Montecatini, that I opened is still there. I was there when the U.S. ambassador said everyone must leave because Castro was arriving the next morning. Sirio Maccioni Facebook is looking to help you distribute content to who you want to distribute to. Facebook gets a lot better if you put each of your friends into either your 'close friend' or 'acquaintance' list. Robert Scoble I ...

You have to have a ton of passion for what you're doing because being an

entrepreneur is probably twice as hard as you think it's going to be. The good news is that it's probably twice as much fun when it's going well. Keith Belling The fact that I'm on 'Essex Anthems' makes me happy, especially because half of my family's from Essex. Jess Glynne I find it very easy to be alone. I'm a writer, for heaven's sakes! Simon Mawer I burned down my backyard as a seven-year-old. I poured kerosene over dried leaves and set the whole place on fire, just for fun. Yeah, not a very normal thing to do. Emraan Hashmi If you're somebody who writes songs or writes fiction, a writer that people pay for your opinion in any way, you shouldn't be the least bit uncomfortable giving it to them. People want songwriters to tell them how they think and how they feel. That's what a song is. That's what I want to hear in a song. Jason Isbell I would say I'm a goof ball, but not a comedian. Jake Lacy In many previ...

Since I was shot, everything is such a dream to me. Like I don't know

whether I'm alive or whether I died. I wasn't afraid before. And having been dead once, I shouldn't feel fear. But I am afraid. I don't understand why. Andy Warhol There's nothing wrong with having a collection, but it becomes a problem when it overwhelms your space. When you're not displaying it properly, you're not enjoying it and it turns into clutter. Niecy Nash If you wait to see how much money you have left at the end of the month to put toward savings, the answer may be zero. So, set up an automated monthly transfer from your checking to savings account. Once you lock into that commitment, you'll be forced to scale back spending to make ends meet. Suze Orman I am so very honored to be the recipient of MIPCOM's 2011 Personality of the Year. However, the accomplishments that have led to this honor are not mine alone. They are the result of the tireless efforts of so very many talented colleagues. Anne Sweeney I'm not the kind tha...

I grew up listening to John Coltrane and jazz, so they were subtle influences. I

sometimes think about doing some kind of weird jazz record, but I don't know... It's on my list of things to do. I don't want to have to then go promote it. Kim Gordon Fly flight is just a great phenomenon to study. It has everything - from the most sophisticated sensory biology; really, really interesting physics; really interesting muscle physiology; really interesting neural computations. Michael Dickinson Before 'Local Hero,' I'd been knocking about Glasgow in rock bands, drinking too much and generally being 21. My opinion of actors was that they were straight and boring, so you see, I was completely unprepared for being one. Peter Capaldi I think I'm the same dancer everywhere. But I've learned a lot with Bolshoi - the history of the theater, the technique of the theater, different nuances in my technique. David Hallberg Electronic Accounting Systems processed my little payrolls like one big payroll. I did the selling, and the people I ...