Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.

I've always been intrigued by color and by interesting hair. I was one of those weird little girls doing my own hair at the age of 9. I was like getting weird gels and new brushes and cornrow holders. I would tweak and perm at the age of 13.

You live in a deranged age more deranged that usual because in spite of great scientific and technological advances man has not the faintest idea of who he is or what he is doing.

I never wanted to do TV. I just did what I was trained to do through the Special Forces and I've been doing that from a very young age.

I was living on the wrong side of the tracks in Evanston Illinois in a home for boys. We had these Jackson 5 records. I really related to their voices - they were about my age but they were doing it.

You hit a certain age and - especially because of TV - the young cooks coming up say 'You're a sellout because you're doing something other than what you should be doing.' 'Top Chef' is a double-edged sword for me: There's a whole group of people who will not come to the restaurants because they assume I'm not in them anymore all I do is TV.

I love physical kinds of comedy and getting down and dirty and doing stunts. When I was growing up I was always getting into fights with guys and usually punching out boys my age because I was a lot bigger and tougher. So I'm naturally accustomed to putting myself into the headspace of a girl who can take care of herself.

We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer the only way of reproducing books. Reading them however has not changed.

No but way before that I've been doing little dances in movies for years. Yeah that was an amazing chance. You know at my age to be able to do a music dance video very unusual.

The idea of regretting not doing this seemed insane to me. Sitting in the corner at a bar at age 60 saying: 'I could've been Bond. Buy me a drink.' That's the saddest place I could be. At least now at 60 I can say: 'I was Bond. Now buy me a drink.'

I wanted to do two things when I was growing up about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over and that is what I am doing now.

I'm not skinny for the wrong reasons. It's not because I'm bulimic or anorexic or doing drugs. Compared to a lot of actresses my age I'm actually overweight.

Age gives you a great sense of proportion. You can be very hard on yourself when you're younger but now I just think 'well everybody's absolutely mad and I'm doing quite well'.

I'm at peace with myself and where I am. In the past I was always looking to see how everybody else was doing. I wasn't competitive I was comparative. I just wanted to be where everybody else was. Now I've gotten to an age when I am not comparing anymore.

What turns me on about the digital age what excited me personally is that you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing. You see it used to be that if you wanted to make a record of a song you needed a studio and a producer. Now you need a laptop.

Nearly all the powerful people of this age are unbelievers the best of them in doubt and misery the most in plodding hesitation doing as well as they can what practical work lies at hand.