I am forced to say that I have many fiercer critics than myself.
Journalism was looked upon as a more noble thing than it is now. I don't know if it carries the same cachet that it did then.
I think that some books are more successful than others to certain readers. People who read my books for the humor, they're going to love one book. People who read my books for the mystery, they might not like that book quite as much.
Gray Davis can run a dirty campaign better than anyone, but he can't run a state.
I can cook a little bit. I can cook a few Spanish dishes. But, in movies, it looks like I cook much better than I cook.
Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you are not bringing the same voice to every book. I think that keeps you alive as a writer.
Because publishing is becoming more business-oriented each day with more examination of the bottom line, it's harder to break out than ever.
Women are choosing to stay single rather than marry men who can't step up and provide.
You have to give everybody another recourse as some means other than violence, no matter how distasteful it may be to have to deal with them and what they represent.
I put a lot of pressure on myself, more than anyone else.
I'm not trying to clock scores in this lifetime, it's just that things are better now than they were like five, ten years ago. Music has gotten a lot better. There's a lot of people who are committed to - soulfully.
For less than the cost of a Big Mac, fries and a Coke, you can buy a loaf of fresh bread and some good cheese or roast beef, which you will enjoy much more.
How much cooler was Oz than seeing the little dude behind the curtain?
I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.
The humor is essentially dark for a cartoon and sophisticated. But at the same time, being a cartoon gives the writers more freedom than in a normal sitcom. It always pushes the line that, despite human failings, the Simpsons are really decent people.
Actions lie louder than words.
I think what makes our marriage work amid all the glare is that my husband is my best friend. He inspires everything in my life and enables me to do the best that I can. I want to hang out with him more than anyone.
People have to see play as more important than what it currently is. We don't want to get boxed into thinking play only happens on a playground. The best type of play is all kinds of play.
First of all, as a man the most important thing you have in your life now is your child that you're carrying. That's it. Everything else comes second; personally, for me, other than your relationship with God and your wife.
It is more noble by silence to avoid an injury than by argument to overcome it.
There will always be disputes between nations which, at times, will inflame the public and threaten conflicts, but the main thing is to educate the people of the world to be ever mindful that there are better means of settling such disputes than by war.
What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way.
I prefer to die rather than eat beef.
Initially I had intended to study medicine, but before going to University I had decided that I would be better suited to a career in which I could concentrate my activities and interests more on a single goal than appeared to be possible in my father's profession.
History is a way of interpreting, rather than, say, knowing, the past. It is usually a set of disputes between those who have access to the same sources. It depends on ideology as much as voting in an election does.
Of all the sicknesses, there is probably none more abusive than homophobia.
Yes. Otherwise I could have done a lot of Hollywood movies. After Crouching Tiger I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles - poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever. I know I have the ability to go deeper, to take on more original roles than that.
Despite its flaws, Marxism still seems to explain the material world better than anything else.
I was raised Christian; I was raised in the South where everybody's raised Christian, but at this point, I'm 41 years old, and I've been an atheist, at this point, a little more than half my life.
I start with the story, almost in the old campfire sense, and the story leads to both the characters, which actors should best be cast in this story, and the language. The choice of words, more than anything else, creates the feeling that the story gives off.
I had to seal off my feelings about Stevie while seeing her every day and having to help her, too. But you get on with it. What was happening to the band was much bigger than any of that.
In 1790 we had less than eight hundred thousand slaves. Under our mild and humane administration of the system they have increased above four millions.
I can't even say Puff and me are like brothers, 'cause we closer than that.
My earlier poems were sadder than my poems are today, perhaps because I wrote them in confusion or when I was unhappy. But I am not a melancholy person, quite the contrary, no one enjoys laughing more than I do.
Christmas to a child is the first terrible proof that to travel hopefully is better than to arrive.
I don't believe there's a red state in America where people believe you should cut Medicare, Social Security and veterans' benefits rather than doing away with corporate tax loopholes.
