Why do we take pleasure in gruesome death, neatly packaged as a puzzle to which we may find a satisfactory solution through clues - or if we are not clever enough, have it revealed by the all-powerful tale-teller at the end of the book? It is something to do with being reduced to, and comforted by, playing by the rules.
I am not sure how much good is done by moralising about fairy tales. This can be unsubtle - telling children that virtue will be rewarded, when in fact it is mostly simply the fact of being the central character that ensures a favourable outcome. Fairy tales are not, on the whole, parables.
I always say I write my own novels and the characters don't take control of me, but in fact, I look at the characters in the early stages and I think, 'What is he or she like,' and they slowly come together and they become the person they are.
I think the thing that I get most excited about is the fact that I know I'm gonna have a great match. That's when I get the butterflies. When it's just a regular match or something like that, I may not get that.
Feminism is sort of like God. Many people profess to believe in it, but no one seems to be able to define it to everyone's satisfaction.
My father was trained as a saddler, but in fact as a young man worked in his father's business of rearing and selling cattle, so he grew up in the countryside.
We have to confront the very scary fact that the president is a moron. He's really dumb.
Before Mint.com, I was a long-time user of 'Microsoft Money' and Intuit's 'Quicken.' Both were powerful tools, loaded with features and functionality around taxes, investment, budgeting - too feature-laden, in fact. They took hours to set up, forever to learn, and an hour a week to maintain.
I know the fact that I was born means I have to die, so my only aim is to reach out and help someone along the way.
The main factor in joining Arsenal was meeting with Arsene Wenger and to hear what his plans were for me.
