"I dislike that premise implies that a fiction writer is incapable of dreaming up stories that can bring readers to tears, that if you are lucky enough to be living a pretty sedate life ,as I am, you've got nothing worthy of writing about, that you're incapable of making a reader's gut wrench.Frankly, that's what makes readers nervous, the sorcery of you or me or any good fiction writer making up characters who feel like real people, of telling a story that feels true but isn't."

“Put any two people together and each will seek ways of feeling superior to the other. If a ship went down in the Pacific and a single sailor managed to swim to a desert island, would he be pleased to see, ten minutes later, another sailor emerging from the surf? Quite possibly - but only if the new arrival accepted that the first man was now a landed aristocrat while he himself was an illegal immigrant.”

Source : Michael Foley (2012). “Embracing the Ordinary: Lessons From the Champions of Everyday Life”, p.254, Simon and Schuster

“North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms has signed a deal with Random House to write his memoirs. Scholars will no doubt benefit from the reflections of a man who was wrong on every major issue for 40 years. Helms' aides say the proceeds from the book will be donated to the non-profit Jesse Helms Center where they apparently have more experience burning than publishing them.”

“The present order is the disorder of the future.”

Source : Ian Hamilton Finlay, Alec Finlay (2012). “Ian Hamilton Finlay: Selections”, p.53, Univ of California Press

“One person's view is not to be sniffed at. Everybody is entitled to have their view and people are entitled to have a different view from the view the [American] Government has arrived at and they're entitled to express their view.”

Source : Interview with George Negus, www.sbs.com.au. August 23, 2013.

“Careers don't seem to be built up in the same way as they were in the 80s.”

“Encouragement of higher education for our youth is critical to the success of our collective future.”

Source : "Advancing the Dream Through Education" by Rep. Charles Rangel, www.huffingtonpost.com. April 4, 2013.

“I'm not a good collaborator in general.”

“This is critical to the region. Every other major city has public transportation going downtown. We have a world-class airport now, and this could be an important additional piece to the airport development. This is a significant investment and one that should be seen as a significant long-term commitment to making this a reality.”