I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts.

Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised.

James Thurber

Of course, everyone's parents are embarrassing. It goes with the territory. The nature of parents is to embarrass merely by existing, just as it is the nature of children of a certain age to cringe with embarrassment, shame, and mortification should their parents so much as speak to them on the street.

Neil Gaiman

I love the sport of snowboarding so much, but I just don't want to talk about it, ever.

Shaun White

I'm famous for being nicer to my fans than anyone on the face of the earth because I figure, a) They pay my salary, and b) It's probably like a big moment in your life to meet somebody so I would say, 'Just come on up.'

James Wood

Whoso loves beauty is unable for that very reason to love deformity. One may not believe in our gods, but it is possible to love them...

Henryk Sienkiewicz

Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative.

Maurice Chevalier

Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life.

Voltaire (FrançoisMarie Arouet)

Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life.

Denzel Washington

The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself.

George Bernard Shaw

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

George Washington

That man is the noblest creature may also be inferred from the fact that no other creature has yet contested this claim.

G. C. (Georg Christoph) Lichtenb

I understand the damage the expenses crisis has done to Parliament, and the paramount importance of restoring trust in our politics.

George Osborne