The past is an old armchair in the attic the present an ominous ticking sound and the future is anybody's guess.

Not only our future economic soundness but the very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men.

I auditioned for a solo in church and got it. I was about seven and I sang a song called 'Jesus I Heard You Had a Big House' and I remember people standing up at the end and me thinking 'Oh I think I'm going to like this.' That's how it all began. Sounds funny to say you got your start in church but I did.

Well in the book Carrie was my alter ego. In real life Sarah Jessica and I don't look anything alike. But people do say that we sound alike. Sarah Jessica is an adorable girl and she is very funny.

This may sound funny but as much as the 'Today' show matured me it also was something of a cocoon. I'd been happy there. I never went into the boss's office and pounded my fist on the desk saying 'Give me more money! Give me a prime-time show!'

It sounds funny but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast you can't ask for much more.

I'm so single. It's funny. I'm usually a relationship girl. I love being in love and having a partner in crime. But it's good to be your own partner in crime. God that makes me sound like I have multiple-personality disorder.

It's funny. When I saw the script in my inbox and it said 'Sparkle ' I thought 'For real? It's really called 'Sparkle?'' I was wondering too how does 'Jordin Sparks as Sparkle' sound?

This is going to sound really funny. I have a poster of Zac Efron on my wall! I think every girl has a poster of him in their room so why not join the club!

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

True friendship is like sound health the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.

I always wanted to make a children's album because you have the freedom to explore so many wonderful topics and sounds.

Maybe a part of me recognized how right the improvising spirit of jazz is. Not the sounds but the freedom to work with musicians who work that way. It felt very natural to me but I think there's a way to do it without it being a jazz record.

The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom.

Not to sound overly cheesy but I really appreciate the freedom we have in America - especially as a female.

Back then I didn't think a woman like that or a relationship like that could exist with complete freedom and no jealousy or possessiveness. I thought it sounded too good to be true and I was certainly convinced it wasn't the life for me!

If only I wasn't an atheist I could get away with anything. You'd just ask for forgiveness and then you'd be forgiven. It sounds much better than having to live with guilt.

Without sound conservation and management measures fisheries will quickly become depleted and a basic component of global food security will be lost.

I suffer panic attacks which has made me really conscious about my fitness and I have become addicted to jogging. It might sound odd but a lot of good has come out of it. My fans send letters saying they have taken up jogging because I do it.

It is a sound principle of finance and a still sounder principle of government that those who have the duty of expending the revenue of a country should also be saddled with the responsibility of levying and providing it.

Most fears are basic: fear of the dark fear of going down in the basement fear of weird sounds fear that somebody is waiting for you in your closet. Those kinds of things stay with you no matter what age.

Let no man fear to die we love to sleep all and death is but the sounder sleep.

Whenever somebody says they need an angle for their story I always fear that they've got an idea and they want me to fit into it or they want me to come up with an idea myself or I'm supposed to be more revealing than I've been and to me it just sounds like something I don't want to do.

The world is full of a lot of fear and a lot of negativity and a lot of judgment. I just think people need to start shifting into joy and happiness. As corny as it sounds we need to make a shift.