Some commoners are less common than others.

Its plot is loose and tortuous and will take some time for its stars to emerge.

Some commoners are less common than others.

The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.

Every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic.

Every man who rises above the common level has received two educations: the first from his teachers; the second, more personal and important, from himself.

We have a fair on our farm every year - a gymkhana and a dog show and a funfair and a heavy-horse show. It was my idea. Be careful what you wish for - it's a monster.

While other kids were out playing and doing healthy things, I read an ancient judo book with a neck hold that was fatal to so many people, they finally dropped it from judo.

The reality in the neighborhood that I live in is: if I don't constantly reconcile what I have against what other people don't, either I need to leave and be around other people who have what I have, or I'm constantly engaged in this kind of dynamic flow of opportunity and sharing.

Technologies like Ayasdi's exist now to automatically discover information from data without having someone making guesses up front.

That mighty Being, who heaped up these craggy rocks, and reared these stupendous mountains, and poured out these streams in all directions, and scattered immortal beings throughout these deserts - He is present, by the influence of his Holy Spirit, and accompanies the sound of the gospel with converting, sanctifying power.

Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be 'constitutional' does not make it so.

Playing in New England and the Boston area, the fans are so passionate about their sports if you don't play well, they'll let you know so I know it's not something that they take lightly.

I got all the schooling any actress needs. That is, I learned to write enough to sign contract.

I don't expect that because I was successful in one field that I will then get a ride of passage into another.

I read a lot about her. I read a lot of bios. I read bios about the royal family; I read this little novella called 'The Uncommon Reader,' which is a fiction: it's about Queen Elizabeth going on this library bus and choosing books and reading them, but it's so sweet.

I do not diminish the incredible symbolic importance of a black man getting elected president. But my euphoria was a smart guy getting elected president. Maybe for the first time in my lifetime we had elected one of the thousand smartest Americans president.

You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an honest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy.

Look, I'm a huge supporter of Obama's - he's the first president I ever donated money to. But I think in terms of climate change and the environment, he's been, at best, disappointing.

The Dominican is a real nice place to go for vacation. It is a poor country, but it has another side. Beautiful beaches. It's like every country. You're going to have a lot of poor people, but there's a beautiful side, too.

In a previous life I wrote the software that controlled my physics experiments. That software had to deal with all kinds of possible failures in equipment. That is probably where I learned to rely on multiple safety nets inside and around my systems.

When a sports movie really works, it gets you on all levels, because the stakes are high. It's black and white. It's win or lose.

I enjoyed so much working with the guys from Wilco, and riffing off of them, and having someone come up to me with ideas, because normally in the studio it's me who has to come up with all the ideas.

If you sell diamonds you cannot expect to have many customers. But a diamond is a diamond even if there are no customers.

Bob Corker's a very reasonable person.

Democracy like liberty justice and other social and political rights are not given. They are earned through courage resolution and sacrifice.

As a child I always steered clear of science fiction, but in the autumn of 1977, the bow-wave of publicity for the first 'Star Wars' movie had already reached me, so I was eager for anything science-fictional.