One thing that I think works in 'Casablanca' and which I've lectured a lot about - in terms of what I've been trying to achieve as a designer - is the film's creation of its own form of reality.
I got cast on 'MADtv' as one of eight permanent cast members chosen from 8,000 comics who'd been screened. For any comic trying to make something of themselves, that was like hitting triple 7s-jackpot.
I played for Almendares in Cuba. Guess who was trying out for the team? Castro. Fidel Castro, as a pitcher. He could throw pretty hard, but he was wild. He didn't have any control.
I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet.
I want to have a catalogue or a share in a company. I’m trying to take my family’s name from lower-middle class to aristocracy. I have my sights set high.
I'm not trying to take Cate Blanchett down.
I do not want to say I'm a product designer. I've been trying all my life to not be categorized, to learn something and then to forget about it.
I've been interested in Eastern religions since I went to college because I was trying to figure out where I stood with Catholicism.
My biggest problem in middle school was catty girls, cliques, and trying to figure out if I wanted to be a part of one of those, just figuring out who I was and all that.
A transvestite spends her entire life trying to look as feminine as possible and I have clearly spent mine celebrating my masculinity.
I spent the '90s trying to hide out, trying to duck the full celebrity cacophony.
I'm involved in Project ALS which is trying to get money for stem cell research. That's one I've been pretty involved with because if you can cure that, you can cure so many other diseases.
There are limits to how much sound a cello can make. That's part of the framing of acoustical instruments. Finding what those limits might be, and then trying to suggest perhaps even the illusion of going beyond is part of that kind of effort.
I'm all about leaving a legacy behind and trying to cement myself as one of the greats. I don't just want to be remembered as the guy who beat Michael Phelps at the 2012 London Olympics - a one-hit wonder - I want to be an inspiration to the kids.
I'm trying to figure out, Chairman of what Board? People come up to me and seriously say: 'Well, what are you Chairman of?' And I can't answer them.
I'm the non-executive chairman of nine or so major companies, and on the nine companies, it's a little trying because you jump from one industry to another, as the case might be. But one had the reasonable knowledge of those nine activities, and it's been an exciting job.
I like the challenge, week in, week out, of trying to play good, consistent footy.
We are living in very challenging times. Pressured in the workplace and stressed out at home, people are trying to make sense of their lives.
Like so many families, we were dealing with limited means. We weren't poor at all, but we had some challenging times financially. When my stepdad got laid off... we were really trying to find our footing for a couple of years.
The importance of building relationships among colleagues, of trying to create coalitions behind the issues that you are championing, was not something I ever had much insight into until I was elected and started serving in the Senate.
