When I was 24 I went to Nigeria and it was such a culture shock, growing up in Australia and suddenly being the only white man in this unit full of black men.

Everyone has seen photographs of Mexicans wearing those big sombreros. When you come to Mexico, the astonishing thing is, nobody wears these hats at all.

When the music and the characters are flawlessly synchronized, the opera develops an emotional force that movies and plays cannot match.

In Australia, they set up a special fund to kick films off. It was quite an enlightened sort of move. You could go to this government bureau with scripts and and get finance for films.

There were movies that always made me want to be a director. You see brilliant scenes and the way the emotions were handled. I thought, I'd really like to do that.

With a film, I do my best to understand the author's intentions and try to bring the characters to life.

Film is shot in fragments, and the same moments can be shot again and again until the director is satisfied.

The music of the most popular operas is so highly esteemed, it can stand endless revivals.

It's not enough to hit the notes. There is no point in the singers just standing there and sounding wonderful if they're not connecting with the characters they are portraying.

On stage, the audience watches from a fixed viewpoint and the director cannot retake something he doesn't like. It has to work straight through.

Directing an opera is similar to directing a play. The singing must not get in the way of the drama.

A wise quote may not be famous and a famous quote may not be wise! Stick to the wise as the other one is just a bubble!

She was alive. She was alive, and she had found her power — or it had found her.Tomorrow’s problems she’d take care of tomorrow.

Anytime there is Mexican food around, you can bet I'll be eating it.

Most one-run games are lost, not won.

It is easy to write unthinking music.

I would never write a memoir, because it would be too boring.

The life you had is nothing. It is the life you have that is important.

130 of Automattic's 150 employees work outside of our San Francisco headquarters. Why are so many companies stuck in this factory model of working?

The only way to be happy and be a more enjoyable person to be around is to embrace what you've got. Everyone has issues about their body, but I feel confident now. I'm healthy and happy.

And he dreamed the dream of all those who publish books, which was to have so much gold in your pockets that you would have to employ two people just to hold your trousers up.