When people meet me many times they're very surprised because they expect someone who is kind of wacky with seven piercings and very hip and cool and New York City and I'm not.

I am surprised by how not-adopted the video reply has been. What keeps other people from doing it I think is that they think a video comes across as 'I'm cool look at how many e-mails I get.' That perception doesn't scare me because I know who I am.

Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.

I did a cake for the 60th birthday of Elton John for Britney Spears' 27th birthday and for the 'Circus' album she put out - the cake had circus themes. I prepared a cake for a surprise 82nd birthday event for the architect Frank Gehry the cake was comprised of mini-replicas of his buildings.

Interventions are really emotionally exhausting and I would never ever want to have one. In the same way I would never want to have a surprise birthday party. That would be horrible.

I do like to shock and surprise people. When it's all in good fun of course.

To my surprise my 70s are nicer than my 60s and my 60s than my 50s and I wouldn't wish my teens and 20s on my enemies.

Expect the best plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised.

Rich men's houses are seldom beautiful rarely comfortable and never original. It is a constant source of surprise to people of moderate means to observe how little a big fortune contributes to Beauty.

Visual surprise is natural in the Caribbean it comes with the landscape and faced with its beauty the sigh of History dissolves.

Shortly thereafter some friends encouraged me to try out for the Miss South Carolina World beauty pageant. To my surprise I won - and was sent to New York City to compete nationally.

As an inspiration to the author I do not think the cat can be over-estimated. He suggests so much grace power beauty motion mysticism. I do not wonder that many writers love cats I am only surprised that all do not.

Beauty ought to look a little surprised: it is the emotion that best suits her face. The beauty who does not look surprised who accepts her position as her due - she reminds us too much of a prima donna.

Art must take reality by surprise.

People are surprised at how down-to-earth I am. I like to stay home on Friday nights and listen to 'The Art of Happiness' by the Dalai Lama.

I search for surprise in my architecture. A work of art should cause the emotion of newness.

It was amazing that a play that seems dated in this world... A man whose best friend is a six-foot white rabbit... But it caught on especially with young people - they surprised me most of all.

I like what I see now in China but I think the Japanese are a step ahead into craziness and weirdness. I go to galleries there that are the size of a New York elevator and every time I'm surprised by the amazing things I find. I really hope I'll be able to promote some of these artists to show their work in the West.

Try as hard as we may for perfection the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways.

It is amazing that something I did 23 years ago still has an audience that people respond to and I am touched and surprised that people are still very positive about.

And it is very sexy as well: somebody says I'm taking you on a surprise date you don't know where you are going and you can't see and then you put your hand out and there is a tiger. Amazing.

I thought after the Pulitzer at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.

You can't be as old as I am without waking up with a surprised look on your face every morning: 'Holy Christ whaddya know - I'm still around!' It's absolutely amazing that I survived all the booze and smoking and the cars and the career.

Well I was already so happy being chosen to do the issue itself that when I got on the cover it was even more of a surprise and even more amazing to me.