Everyone who appears in a scene gets paid.

And if you can offer an explanation as to why it doesn't work then you've got to the whole root of comedy.

I defy anyone to get a decision that quickly these days.

There's an unseen force which lets birds know when you've just washed your car.

I used to like writing for comedians - I enjoyed the challenge of making other people funny.

If the laughter of the audience was malicious we wouldn't show it.

Then after that came word processors and it's hard to make those laugh.

Frank liked administrative work and was good at it.

The comedians all finished their acts with a song. They would get a certain amount of money from the song publishers and would use that money to pay the writers. None of them paid very much for their comedy material, but it all added up.

Everyone who appears in a scene gets paid.

It's like your children talking about holidays, you find they have a quite different memory of it from you. Perhaps everything is not how it is, but how it's remembered.

And when you're on your own there is that terrifying possibility that you may be the only person on the planet who thinks it's funny - and you have no way of finding out.

I broke with my religion in college.

I love telling stories. I like the challenges presented to me on a daily basis. There's nothing resting about acting.

I love the smell of paper in the morning; it smells like victory.

The interesting thing about fiction from a writer's standpoint is that the characters come to life within you. And yet who are they and where are they? They seem to have as much or more vitality and complexity as the people around you.

Nature runs a restuarant called Karma. It's a place where there is no need to place any order. You are autimatically served what you deserve.

When I joined the SEALs, no one knew what a SEAL was. What intrigued me was the level of commitment, the love of country and desire to be the best in the world at your vocation. Watching American exceptionalism in action.

Once a conflict has dragged on for a decade, most people are tired of war - and the troubles that flow from it.

No one is guaranteed their next moment, or their next breath; yet, humanity has a habit of thinking of its existence on the earth as eternal. Those who are rooted and grounded in Christ know that life is just a vapor.

For a year, I had all sorts of weirdos coming on to me.

Power is the ability to get things done.

Few scientists acquainted with the chemistry of biological systems at the molecular level can avoid being inspired.

We are really living the American dream, to be a successful brand in the States and in Europe and to steep ourselves in our heritage. But we do it with a sense of humor. We don't take ourselves too seriously in fashion.

When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.

I just want to keep things going. I just love testing myself.

Failure in Afghanistan would have profound consequences for our national security. It would undermine the NATO alliance structure that has been the bedrock of Britain's defence for the last 60 years... I will not allow this to happen on my watch.

I'm for people bettering themselves, no matter who they are and where they are, doing all they can to be all they can be.

It is easier for a tutor to command than to teach.

Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.

When I sit down and play guitar, I melt into the instrument. I can play for hours by myself. Playing guitar has given me such a wonderful life, and I'm grateful for it.

In fact, I think that Governor Clinton, when he was running, and President Clinton, when he was serving, actually governed with a wide range of advisors and a perspective that blended the best of ideas from the center and the left.

If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.

I never met anybody in my life who says, I want to be a critic. People want to be a fireman, poet, novelist.

The failure of Christianity in the areas west from Sicily was even greater, and was increased by the spread of Arab outlooks and influence to that area, and especially to Spain.

You have to put yourself in a position to be lucky.