It is always interesting and sometimes even important to have intimate knowledge of a composer's

life, but it is not essential in order to understand the composer's works.
Daniel Barenboim

Enough to using Texas as a political laboratory for testing far-right ideas. Enough to using Texas as a workshop for fattening the wallets of their special interest friends and supporters. And enough of politicians listening only to each other, rather than real Texans.
Wendy Davis

In 'We Were the Mulvaneys,' animals are almost as important as people. I wanted to show the tenderness in our relationships with cats, dogs, and horses. Especially cats.
Joyce Carol Oates

A dog doesn't care if you're tired or it's raining. It wants to go out - and if it doesn't go out, it's going to be mournfully following you around the house for the whole evening.
Mark Barrowcliffe

The beauty of 'The Hunger Games' and also 'Game of Thrones,' in fairness, both projects have really complex, three-dimensional, contradictory, strong women... The writing of female characters is extraordinary and equal to the men.
Natalie Dormer

It's got to be harder in real life to win a World Cup. But depending on if you play World Class level on FIFA, it's going to be difficult to win in the video game, too.
Landon Donovan

One thing I don't want to feel is marketplace pressure, so I'm really glad I enjoy teaching because I can rely on that for a salary. I think it would be such a different game if I had to write a book that has to sell well.
Aimee Bender

There is nothing intrinsic linking any religion with any act of violence. The crusades don't prove that Christianity was violent. The Inquisition doesn't prove that Christianity tortures people. But that Christianity did torture people.
Salman Rushdie

I'm a guy who's had great good fortune in his life. And everything has kind of gone in my direction.
Tom Brokaw

I love every type of martial arts, but with Muay Thai in general, I want to see it being brought to the public more. There is no movie that has Muay Thai incorporated into it, so I want to bring that to the public.
Tony Jaa

The Internet is the most liberating tool for humanity ever invented, and also the best for surveillance. It's not one or the other. It's both.
John Perry Barlow

Gemeoss

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...

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job,

experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving. Jodi Benson It almost goes without saying that when you are a startup, one of the first things you do is you start setting aside money to defend yourself from patent lawsuits, because any successful company, even moderately successful, is going to get hit by a patent lawsuit from someone who's just trying to look for a payout. Charles Duhigg People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me. Callie Khouri I've never really understood the term 'Post-Impressionism' as more tha...

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...

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...

This battle for 'common-sense' gun control laws pits emotion and passion against logic and reason.

All too often in such a contest, logic loses. So, expect more meaningless, if not harmful, 'gun control' legislation. Good news - if you're a crook. Larry Elder I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead. Frank Black You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again. Tom Petty We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. J. William Fulbright Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. Mary Shelley Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such fr...

Music was the one thing that was just mine, and no one could take it

from me. I created it, dictated it, and it made me not able to let go of it. Mitski I'll be reaching across the aisle to find opportunities to work with Democrats on the issues that desperately need to be addressed. Thom Tillis Any sympathy won for Aileen Wuornos based on a lie is not sympathy at all. The question is, can we have sympathy for the circumstances of someone's life? That's what I was interested in. Patty Jenkins God only made one thing in this world that's perfect - and that's my boxing record. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The fan mail I get every day is incredible. It piles through the door from not just Britain but everywhere. It is so great to have that support behind me - everyone says I am an inspiration. It is great. Charlotte Dujardin I'm not a natural. I had to teach myself - or be taught - everything I do. I just spent hours and hours in the mirror mimicking Michael Jackson. Ne-Yo For me, age doesn't matte...

I like that I'm in shape but still look like a woman. I don't feel

like I've had to give up my femininity to be an athlete. I feel good about my body because I work hard every day, and I still look and carry myself as a woman - a strong woman. Miesha Tate People become writers in the first place by those things that hurt you into art, as Yeats said it. Then they become separated from what started out affecting them. Journalism forces you to look at the world so you don't get cut off. Pete Hamill Every revolutionary poet or lyricist has been criticised for something. If you come up with something new, there will always be people who will object to it. Yo Yo Honey Singh It's no secret I'm a shy person. Britney Spears My mom and dad have always, always, and continue to be the most incredible citizens of the world and most generous in quiet ways, that I strive to do even a fraction of what they do. Gavin Creel I had to want to lose weight myself. Nell Carter I wouldn't apply high frame rates to a love...

I think 'austerity' is a much abused word. I prefer to call it 'fiscal discipline'

or financial, 'financial competency.' Enda Kenny Poetry is almost like my foundation for everything. I almost feel I am a better actor and writer because of it. Omari Hardwick It's interesting for me to sell Comme des Garcons in places it's never been sold before to people who might not have heard of Comme des Garcons. Rei Kawakubo I look around, and 50 percent of the big-budget entertainment you are seeing these days is dystopian. This is the era of 'Hunger Games' and blasted landscapes and 'The Walking Dead.' John Lithgow Just know what's inside your food. Venus Williams I'm first and foremost a scientist. Dean Ornish I've been a video game guy since I was eight years old and got my first Nintendo. I've been addicted to video games ever since. A.J. Styles Petraeus is the finest general I have ever worked for; Holly Petraeus is a great American hero. William H. McRaven Sometimes I'm like Dory from 'Finding...

I love figuring out a stranger, sitting down and learning about their loves and struggles

and everything. People are my jam.Cara Delevingne We're in Kentucky, dude. How many variations of Bevin are there? Many. Bevins, Blevins, Belvin, Belvins, I'm sure. Or Bevin even with an -eavin or... Bivin or Bivins. And we're probably all cousins if you go back far enough.Matt Bevin Sports teaches you to understand the meaning of a team. You need to be able to work with everybody; you don't have to be their best friend. You can experience the fun of competition and driving toward a common goal without pushing to bond in some major way with each individual on a project.Kathleen Kennedy Inside all the computers of any large corporation is every decision that gets made. But people spend a huge amount of time trying to find the correct piece of information.Stewart Butterfield We must bring the issue of mental illness out into the sunlight, out of the shadow, out of the closet, deal with it, treat people, have centers where people can get the necessary help.John...

In France we have a law which doesn't allow the press to publish a photo

that you didn't approve. It lets the paparazzi take the picture, but if they publish this picture, you have the choice to sue the newspaper. So me, I always sued them. Audrey Tautou Weigh the meaning and look not at the words. Ben Jonson The last thing we need is to turn in on ourselves rather than face us up to what we have to do in the world. Peter Mandelson We are African in origin and American in birth. Timothy Thomas Fortune Where there is mystery, it is generally suspected there must also be evil. Lord Byron You had to make an appointment to see her. But it was just a crazy spectacle, people filing past. Eddie Campbell And there are a lot more people reading poetry, but there are not so many people reading an individual poet. Peter Davison