It’s not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand. ~ Brian Stimpson, Clockwise
You do realize as you grow older that almost nobody knows what they are talking about.
If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play
The idea that you have to be protected from any kind of uncomfortable emotion is what I absolutely do not subscribe to.
This is the extraordinary thing about creativity: If just you keep your mind resting against the subject in a friendly but persistent way, sooner or later you will get a reward from your unconscious.
One of our professors described a lecture as ‘a mystical process by which the notes on the pad of the lecturer pass on to the pad of the student, without passing through the mind of either’.
Why write about the past? Well, there’s more of it.
Terry Gilliam has spoken scathingly about my preference for physical comfort. I have come to the conclusion that this is very much his problem.
The sad thing about true stupidity is that you can do absolutely nothing about it.
I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.
I was always a sports nut but I’ve lost interest now in whether one bunch of mercenaries in north London is going to beat another bunch of mercenaries from west London.
If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?
If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth.
Michael Palin decided to give up on his considerable comedy talents to make those dreadfully tedious travel shows. Have you ever tried to watch one?
I was very sad to hear of the death of Ronnie Barker, who was such a warm, friendly and encouraging presence to have when I started in television. He was also a great comic actor to learn from.
You don’t have to be the Dalai Lama to tell people that life’s about change.