People From New York City

"It is said that nature abhors a vacuum (a saying that has always struck this author as unusually dumb—since the vast majority of the natural universe is in fact a splendid vacuum, nature must in fact love a vacuum), but any perceived voids in the law books do tend to get filled in due course."

"The practice of law must once have been different—though George Washington was president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, more than half the attendees were lawyers. Yet the Constitution is both readable and a marvelous achievement in balancing conflicting interests, while still producing a blueprint for a functioning government. If the government seems dysfunctional now, it is our fault, not theirs."

"Even while I was studying at [Manhattan School of Music], I was learning about melody and rhythm, and theory, and harmony, and all the great composers like Scriabin, Khatchaturian, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev...Bach and Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schoenberg, Alan Berg...Boulez, Stockhausen...We would listen, for example, to Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, or a Bach Cantata or the Prelude and Fugue, and so on. And then the teacher, Ludmila Ulehla, picked the essential 20 composers in music history, from...Mozart...and so on, up through...Debussy, Scriabin...and Stockhousen...Eventually, my goal became to put all that I had absorbed from these studies into jazz, into, say, "Stella By Starlight," to integrate the harmony, the melodic ideas, and so on. I continued doing that for about twenty years afterwards. I spent hours and hours at the piano, sleeping as little [as] three hours a night. But I loved it, so it wasn't arduous work."

"Very often the things that we consider to be new are not new. They're just new combinations or reanimations and reimaginations of things that have already been done, put together in a different way."

"You must remember that it was a different time...It was before everyone was looking into their smartphones. There were computers but it wasn't such a dominant vibe in the air. People talked to each other, met in bars, and went out to hear music...In Greenwich Village...there were at least six clubs within a few walking minutes...Around that time there were at least 10 functioning clubs just in Manhattan, not even counting Brooklyn, that featured music seven nights a week...People would go out to the the clubs, not just musicians. There was a real sense of community...We were very lucky to live in this time."

"Being curious is an absolute rule of life. If you don’t have that, I don’t know what you're doing in this music."

"Man is a symbol-forming organism. He has constant need of a meaningful inner formulation of self and world in which his own actions, and even his impulses, have some kind of "fit" with the "outside" as he perceives it."

"Harold was tops as a cavalier; every day he sent me more gardenias than most people go to the grave with."

"I know myself well enough to be positive that I couldn't have lived through a whole year, or even a whole week, without finding something enjoyable about being alive, some-thing that made it more than just surviving. And if it might seem that I have got Polly Adler confused with Pollyanna, I can only say that I am one of those people who just can't help getting a kick out of life — even when it's a kick in the teeth."

"I was just recalling the pet saying of an old madam named Vicki Shaw." "Oh? And what was that?" "Too many cooks," I said glumly, "spoil the brothel."

"The women who take husbands not out of love but out of greed, to get their bills paid, to get a fine house and clothes and jewels; the women who marry to get out of a tiresome job, or to get away from disagreeable relatives, or to avoid being called an old maid — these are whores in everything but name. The only difference between them and my girls is that my girls gave a man his money's worth."

"Your heart often knows things before your mind does, and I think from this time on, psychologically speaking, I was already retired from the business I had been in so long."

"What it comes down to is this: the grocer, the butcher, the baker, the merchant, the landlord, the druggist, the liquor dealer, the policeman, the doctor, the city father and the politician – these are the people who make money out of prostitution, these are the real reapers of the wages of sin."

"As with the individual, so with the nation dost Thou deal most mercifully. With the breath of Thy love Thou hast called it into existence. Thou didst bless it with wise and prudent founders. Thou hast implanted in the breasts of its citizens a sense of right, a love of justice. Thou hast watched over its beginnings. Thou hast brought it, in a brief space of time, to a height of unparalleled prosperity. Thou hast, when its existence was endangered, either by attacks from without or by dissensions within, filled the hearts of its faithful children with love and devotion, and Thou hast raised from among them valiant men to defend its interests. Thou hast led them to victory, and when Thou didst make them victorious, Thou didst, too, inspire them with mercy and compassion for the vanquished. For all this, Oh Heavenly Father, we return loving thanks."

"Under his careful and prudent administration the diocese has prospered and acquired order and solidity."

"A people who are to govern themselves need virtue and morality much more than intellectual knowledge to appreciate and preserve the form of self-government. Hence it is so truly said that a Republic needs moral and virtuous citizens."

"sometimes I think people cast people on an intuitive level, they don’t even know they’re doing it, but this has happened a lot where you have a real connection with the person"

"she is every mother regardless of race"

"TV is starting to look like the world we live in"

"Even though I’m happy about the Oscars this year and there were so many black nominees, film has a ways to go. It’s not looking like the world we’re living in. We’re making progress — I’ve seen it firsthand. But it’s not reflecting this melting pot just yet."

"I almost made my Broadway debut much sooner"

"When I first started in the business 20 years ago, I could count on one hand how many black actresses were working, and now I don’t even know them all"

"The greatest character actor is going to bring an aspect of themselves"

"I definitely am more spiritual than I am religious"

"I’ve read the Koran, I’ve read Indian scriptures and I really like taking from them all"

"A person who knows how to act can better direct an actor"

"It crossed all racial and cultural lines."

"The more vivid an imagination you have, [the more it] brings reality to the story that you’re telling, and the more the audience will be brought in"

"I think it’s important for people to have somebody who’s objective, and who’s not necessarily a friend or family"

"When you’re going through a hard time on the opposite side of the struggle there’s always the beauty of the gift that comes from the struggle"

"Having faith is being grateful and finding the gratitude"

"After my Tween modeling years, I started filling out, and my mother became my biggest critic. She always put me on diets and was obsessed with my appearance. My reaction was to become anorexic and bulimic. Once I realized the risks associated with this destructive behavior, I began to honestly evaluate the source of my self-loathing and finally concluded that the damage I was doing was to myself. By blaming my parents, and rebelling against everything else in my life, I was accepting a victim mentality. I could not ignore this revelation. I stopped purging and threw it all into my artwork, which has emotionally carried me for the last 30 years."

"As a child model from the age of five, with a bipolar stage mother, I was exposed to the superficial and manipulative world of objectification, filled with competition and exploitation."

"I have suffered from insecurity, depression, and low self-esteem. I believe these are the symptoms of being raised by a bi-polar mother and father who did not make the effort to protect me. Also, being thrust in the modeling world at a very young age put unrealistic emphasis on my physicality, resulting in a food disorder. I've worked tirelessly to reverse my negative programming, rearrange my values, and accept myself with all my imperfections."

"I have healed my deepest wounds by painting, writing music and singing. These activities have allowed me not only to express myself, but to sit with the painful issues, providing space, and enabling me to see with a broader perspective. Sometimes, I'm lucky enough to release the neurotic patterns and move through those tender areas. My twenty-six year relationship with my husband has been an anchor and has helped me grow. Marriage makes one accountable and reflects back whatever you're dishing out."

"I am a painter, author and singer-songwriter channeling my experiences and emotions through my creative disciplines. The love and commitment of my husband, creative partner and best friend inspires me to overcome my obstructions with grace and rationality."

"I have developed a strong center through 30 years of yoga. I've grown aware of my weaknesses and strengths and regularly push myself to explore those boundaries. I am in touch with my fear and insecurity; while hearing those self-critical voices, I try not to act on these emotions any longer. Most of the time, I recognize these old reactions to pain and channel this self-knowledge into my art."

"My creative process is a fluid and ongoing dance. Ideas come in a visual flash, and I often spend months manifesting that vision into a painting or sculpture. I allow my work to unfold naturally, without strict rules, often incorporating current events or addressing a subject I feel passionate about."

"My "Peoplescapes" (2D and 3D oil paintings, with sculpture, fabric, found objects on canvas) are detailed narratives addressing social, spiritual and political issues facing society. When I travel, I love to paint plein air and capture the beauty and light of the landscape."

"I feel that creativity is a state of mind, and I try to bring that energy to everything I do. I love to paint, sing, play the piano, do yoga, take long walks with my husband, laugh daily and feed my friends. I've discovered that service to others is important, but not to the point of self-depletion, so balance and routine help to restore my energy."

"I have come to realize that art is truly a universal language. For decades I’ve been creating “Peoplescapes,” oil, sculptured characters and applied objects on canvas, addressing cultural, political and spiritual issues facing society. By juxtaposing people in recognizable places and situations, each painting weaves together a story about contemporary life, filled with layers of detail, symbolism and humor."

"I have a new book entitled "Peoplescapes -- My Story From Purging To Painting" an illustrated memoir (Babu Books)."

"I've recently created a new technique I call "Plane- slashing" where I layer seemingly disparate paintings on stretched canvases, slash through them, and then work into the dimensions of canvas as a whole, sometimes adding sculpture and found objects. These are especially effective when I'm working through emotional upheavals."

"I recommend that others learn to identify their intuitive voice, and follow their muse. Get fearlessly involved in your own creative process, learn to love it, and don't get distracted by public opinion."

"Allow your heart's desire to be revealed, test your resilience, prioritize your values, and commit to the process. The rewards come while you're busy paving the path.""

"The pain in my life has pushed me to deep inspection of my inner workings, and steered me to create artwork with discipline. Once I discovered the transformative power of creativity, I realized that my contribution to the world is the body of work I've produced over my lifetime."

"I want to be just another nurse accepted into the service, and I'll do a good job. That's what's expected of me. You can't keep us back any longer; the new world is coming."

"I knew the barriers were going to be broken down eventually and felt the more applicants, the better the chances would be for each person"

"Consider the origins of beauty and you soon realize that it is a triumph of accident. Be it human or art, the chances are its parents were toxic waste."

"I never thought I was ever to be taken away from Brooklyn except by death; otherwise I might have gone slower."