For people familiar with Eastern Europe, Marci Shore's 'The Taste of Ashes' is, in spite

of its subject matter, delicious. A professor at Yale with much experience in Eastern Europe, she writes with great sureness of touch, weaving personal recollections with intellectual commentary and ideas with emotions, including her own.
Norman Davies

The thing about a music career is that it ain't over until the fat lady sings. Look at all the times people threw in the towel on Dylan - or Neil Young. Remember when Young was doing things in the '80s like 'Trans' and the rockabilly album and being completely lambasted by critics who now think he is wonderful again?
Jeff Buckley

I've been really lucky not to have a duff experience with a director.
Jane Goldman

I'm very much a realist.
Leanne Caret

Life stuff happens. You get knocked down, and you get back up. That's just always been my mentality. I'm not really fazed by anything. It's in the past. There's nothing I can really do about it now. You learn from it, and you move on.
Odell Beckham, Jr.

Fighting, especially at this level, is about getting through adversity. You position yourself mentally to go out and take on obstacles that stand in your way. In the Octagon and in life, you face tough situations and have every chance to quit, but the more adversity you push through, the more likely you are to be successful.
Tyron Woodley

We just couldn't seem to get the love from the Nashville awards shows... So Grammys really gave us validation, and so that's why they're such a big deal for us.
Zac Brown

I don't attend costume parties.
Sam Shepard

I lean traditional, but 'Head Over Boots,' it's pretty country.
Jon Pardi

I don't believe in letting fear dictate what you do, but that doesn't mean you don't feel afraid or frightened. I think it's normal and healthy to be afraid in situations.
Anderson Cooper

Gemeoss

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...

It's a different thing playing in a smaller venue where you can actually see people's

faces and reactions. It's so much more intimate. You walk away with a more personal experience. Jann Klose I love the theater. I love being on stage; I love the live audience. I also love dressing up and all of the make-believe. Nicole Ari Parker This is sort of not expected, but I would love to produce a record for Missy Elliott. It would be totally different, but she makes party music. 'Lose Control' was my favorite song when I was in 5th or 6th grade. Ansel Elgort I sculpted for four or five years. Mostly for my own amusement, I decided to do a picture book, and that was kind of a turning point. Chris Van Allsburg Circumstances in life often take us places that we never intended to go. We visit some places of beauty, others of pain and desolation. Kristin Armstrong I like John McCain. He can always be counted on for a good quote. Ted Cruz Practices such as arranged marriages and restrictions on girls attending school have deep roots, and changing them i...

There's this wonderful first assistant and he'll be saying, 'Now Harry goes down among the

dragons.' You have to hold yourself together. Because if you lose it for a second then you're sunk. Maggie Smith We believe we've got the skill base and the techniques to supply the chips that really enable the end manufacturers to develop exciting, innovative products themselves. David Milne Oscar Wilde said the rich and the poor are equal - they can both sleep under the bridge. Right? Do they have a right? You're damn right they have a right! Al Lewis If we'd have said we were not upset, they would have thought we were so rich it meant nothing to us, and if we say we're upset about it, they'll say money is all we care about. John Bonham We... are not really free if we can't control our own government and its policies. And we will never do that if we remain ignorant. Charley Reese Our universities and museums are respected around the country. Jane Byrne George W. Bush bought the election - period. End of story. There is no argument. Yo...

The only advice I would give Christians entering the world of arts: give yourself a

period of time, maybe three or four years. If you haven't made it in your chosen art form, dump it. Cliff Richard If most American cities are about the consumption of culture, Los Angeles and New York are about the production of culture - not only national culture but global culture. Barbara Kruger When we finished the tour we had been writing together for a year. We moved forward from there and have just now finished our record. We're having a new record out in the Spring. Kathy Valentine I hate the idea of getting in a building that someone else has designed and having to do something to it yourself to sort of dress it up - it's like using presets in your tracks. Sean Booth The Indian Summer of life should be a little sunny and a little sad, like the season, and infinite in wealth and depth of tone, but never hustled. Henry Adams Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. Peter Drucker E...

Being scared is really a good thing. It's being scared of being scared that's bad.

Being scared of walking through your fear, going to a place of true creativity - that's what an artist is, that's what he does. If you do that, then being inspired by your contemporaries or people from the past is really great. Lawrence Bender The good news is that parents are the leading influence on kids' decision not to drink alcohol. Xavier Becerra When you're on a movie set and you are hopefully making a comedy, everyone's stifling their laughter. You're looking at the crew guys, hoping someone is making that face like, and not like, this is not working out, man. Dane Cook Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion. Stephen Hawking It's less about what you do and more about who you are doing it with. Joseph Gordon-Levitt I saw clearly that war was upon us when I learned that my young men had been secretly buying ammunition. Chief Joseph I've been writing since I was 7, but before that, I was orally mak...

There is constant talk about the intermarriage crisis: who is a Jew and how

we define a Jew. That doesn't go over well with young Jews trying to figure out whether they want to be a part of this thing or not. Tahl Raz I've been studying voice for quite a while, especially opera, for at least seven or eight years. Shelly Burch Like anything, I remember who I work for. You work for the people who sent you to office. Darryl Glenn For the bourgeoisie, the main danger against which it had to be protected, that which had to be avoided at all costs, was armed uprising, was the armed people, was the workers taking to the streets in an assault against the government. Michel Foucault My grandmother is a huge part of my life. She's just a great woman: a woman of the church. Chance The Rapper I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords. Matthew Desmond One of my best friends since I was eleven years old is a gay man, and I knew his struggle. It was a tough life, you ...

I think there's a difference between somebody who grows up in Paris or London and

goes to Los Angeles. But if you grow up in the green fields, and you rarely go into the city, you're so overprotected that when you do go to L.A., it's almost a bigger slap in the head. Dolores O'Riordan Digital companies can reach new customers immediately and at virtually zero marginal cost. They can compete in new sectors by collaborating with peers and competitors. They can massively improve quality and productivity by converging technologies and sources of data. Pierre Nanterme It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people - women as well as men. Susan B. Anthony We are a nation of laws, and breaking those laws have consequences. Scott DesJarlais '99.9%' is the end product of years and years of me going through mult...

If you are handed something, it's a blessing and a curse. Look at hip hop

artists, they produced everything themselves. Even people like Robert De Niro are getting into production. Again, it's art vs. marketing. Not everyone can take the risk. You have to break a few eggs to make a good omelet. Michael Winslow All of life and human relations have become so incomprehensibly complex that, when you think about it, it becomes terrifying and your heart stands still. Anton Chekhov I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man. Billy Graham Nobody criticised me when we qualified for the World Cup when I decided that the best shape for us going forward was three men at the back and stretching the pitch width-wise, which gives you options. Glenn Hoddle Sometimes I think the playing field is certainly not even. You know, it's just not. Rod Stewart I remember people who'd had a lot of hardship during the war....

I did really well at school, and I would have loved to have gone to

Oxford or Cambridge. I would have read English, and I'm really interested in politics. Emma Rigby Every book in the 'Dreams' cycle dramatizes a particular epoch in the ongoing cultural collision between North America's native peoples and its European colonizers. Tom Bissell I cannot live without art: it excites me, it challenges me, and it leads me to the next thing. Francisco Costa I understand there's damage control to do on my image, but people are always gonna have their opinion of me no matter what. I understand 100 people may like me and 1,000 people may hate me. That's fine. Ndamukong Suh I did not want to write one of those sequels that famous first-book authors get into where everybody says, 'Oh yeah.' Robert M. Pirsig I am always happiest in an ensemble. Blythe Danner The first thing I said to myself on 9/11 was, 'There go our civil rights.' I found out by comparing notes later that George Carlin and I both said that a...

I love the way this sport has evolved and impacted every segment of society.

Now you have cross training and weight training in every sport and from middle school kids to senior citizens. Lee Haney People make a mistake thinking that two people with identical mindset gel well. Gautam Gambhir If money is tight, or you're on a limited budget, then consider DIY or used gifts. DIY could be something like baked goods for your friends, family, and neighbors. Plus, if you have children, it's a great activity to do with them during the holidays. John Rampton The custom of clasping hands is thought to date back thousands of years, as proof of not holding any weapons. Faith Salie I believe in term limits. I believe the country would be hugely better off if we had more turnover in Congress. Bill Flores When we demand Woman Suffrage, we can only do so on the ground, not that it should be a right attached to the possession of a certain amount of property, but that it should be inherent in the woman herself. Clara Zetkin I stopped acting a long time ago and my prim...