I've had a carry permit for 30 years, and I would say off and on in different instances where I have, you know, felt it was appropriate, I would carry the weapon on myself.
I think I'm still chewing on my years as a foreign correspondent. I found myself covering catastrophes - war, uprising, famine, refugee crises - and witnessing how people were affected by dire situations. When I find a story from the past, I bring some of those lessons to bear on the narrative.
I would describe myself as outspoken. Not political. Outspoken about what I want to say. There are things that need to be said... and I think it's my obligation to say them.
I like to create something that's unique and kind of true to myself and authentic and everything. I don't really like to mirror myself after different artists.
I do like to make things difficult for myself and my team, just from taking on a challenge, if you like.
I said to myself, 'I don't want to be coming sixth or seventh, and being the best in Britain. I want to be the best in the world and race against these Kenyan guys.'
When I write songs, I try to remove myself a little bit. Obviously, they're very personal to me, but it feels easier if I feel like I'm writing characters.
I'm calling myself 'The Doodler,' and with the simple addition of a small burglar's mask, I achieve utter anonymity.
To be honest, I'm not even thinking about America. If I was to start thinking about the enormity of 'Downton' and the size of the project, then I wouldn't be able to be very truthful to the work. I would start to watch myself too much. I'm not even thinking about it. Who knows what will happen.
I dabbled in football myself until the age of 14, but I didn't have as much love for the sport as I did track and field. I would never have been good enough to take it to the highest level.
It's what I do best - pry into people's business and mind their business. I can't help myself. I can't even go through the grocery line of the grocery store without talking to people and then giving them my opinion.
Once 'Walk Two Moons' received the Newbery Medal, I decided to write full-time. Partly because there seemed to be an audience out there who wanted to read what I wanted to write, and partly because I could now support myself financially through writing.
In middle school, we are all so damn insecure. It was the worst time for me, really destructive, like slapping myself across the face but loving it. Now I have to be an adult and change myself. I have to be a bigger person.
I wake up around nine, drink a cup of coffee, answer some emails, and ease myself into the day.
I found a scrap book that my mom had given to me, and inside was a letter that I wrote to myself at age 19. The letter included my goals and dreams for my life, and even then, I was writing about the management company that I built today.
I had no inclination to perform as a kid. I was a shy child - I always had my nose in a library book. I didn't start acting until I went to college. Once I started, it seemed to fit like a glove. I felt completely at home on stage. It was the perfect way for me to express myself, even better than writing.
The older I get, the more I'm starting to believe in myself.
I always like to look at things and think, 'Would I be proud to bring my grandma and grandpa to come see me in this?' And if I wouldn't want them to see it, then it's not something that I should immortalize myself on film in.
For the last couple of years, as the economic ground beneath all I've accomplished and cherished has shifted so profoundly in a life-shattering reversal of fortune, I've trained myself to stay alert when the roar and the rumbling of what could be catastrophic change begins.
For years I exercised to be thinner, and I never got the results I wanted. When I finally started working out to be healthier, I saw a transformation. I've even quit weighing myself so I don't obsess over the numbers.
I really didn't consider myself happy or unhappy.
I turned 54 this year and I find myself feeling like I'm in a bit of a race to get down on paper the way I really feel about life - or the way it has presented to me. And because it has presented to me very beautifully, this is hard. It is technically very hard to show positive manifestations.
The Shins is, in a way, a recording project that turned into a live band. So I don't really keep myself beholden to any rules when I'm in the studio for Shins. I just gotta get it done as best I can.
I had spent years thinking about one thing while I was doing another. I had, in fact, prided myself on being able to do two things at once.
When I was a teenager, my dad used to put a lot of pressure on me to be successful, and I'd really beat myself up about things like losing martial arts competitions.
I was never less alone than when by myself.
For me, making films is about trying to work something out by myself in quite a lonely way. I find the whole thing very lonely really.
My mind is constantly creating and searching, but I can't make myself put the right words on paper until I'm ready. Once I'm ready, I'm a focused, disciplined writer who will put in twelve hours a day at the computer, but I also spend a lot of time away from the computer getting to that point.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm a character being written, or if I'm writing myself.
You know, it's amazing. I don't even have a car, would you believe it? I had a motorbike and it got stolen last year. So I've got to buy another one of those, I suppose. I can treat myself to that.
I've never been one to make plans, because I never wanted to disappoint myself.
When I watch myself on TV, it's impossible not to say, 'Is that really what my neck looks like?'
I could definitely see myself living back in Australia again. If I had a family, I could move back.
The thing is, 'Discworld' had been going on for a very long time, and I've written children's books as well. Usually when people have a really big series they franchise it, which I thought is a bit of a no-no, so I thought what I'd do is I'd franchise it to myself.
Sometimes, I get afraid it has defined me, that sense of grief, loss and illness. But actually, it is about allowing myself to take hold and say: 'This is part of who I am, but not only who I am.'
I ain't giving up on myself, so if you give up on me, I ain't got nothing else to say for you.
