"My mom is the backbone not just of my family but of many families."

"I just wish the crowd I was associated with was more passionate about what they were doing and less consumed with the commerce of the art form."

"I enjoy what I'm able to give my family."

"The best movies are simple."

"When I was a young musician, the only option available to pursue secondary education in music was to attend a classical conservatory."

"But we will say something else. That for far too long in this country, people who can work, people who are able to work, and people who choose not to work: you cannot go on claiming welfare like you are now."

"Environmental concern is a little like dieting or paying off credit-card debt - an episodically terrific idea that burns brightly and then seems to fade when we realize there's a reason we need to diet or pay down our debt. The reason is that it's really, really hard, and too many of us in too many spheres of life choose the easy over the hard."

"The pursuit of excellence requires knowing that every choice we make paints the canvas of our life."