I hate to say it, but Christmas as a kid was always a moneymaking venture for me. I played trumpet, and a friend of mine who played trombone and a guy who played tuba, every Christmas we'd go out for three or four days beforehand and play Christmas carols on our horns.

Oprah was famous for going to a garden party and ad-libbing. She could literally interview people for a half hour about nothing, and it was entertaining. She had her own show before she had her own show.

The world is full of people who have dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, of running a marathon, and of owning their own business. The difference between the people who make it across the finish line and everyone else is one simple thing: an action plan.

We never want to go into a tour and play 15 songs and say 'Enjoy.' We have messages: Number 1, follow your dreams. If I can do it, you can do it. Number 2, give your life to something. We say, 'Volunteer and add seven years to your life.' You can have your own personal ministry. The message we have is 'What do you stand for?'

Christmas brings us great music: Everything from Handel's 'Messiah' to 'White Christmas,' to 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.'

Christians get trees. Jews get bushes. To stay in good standing with the Tribe, you've got to refer to a Christmas tree as a Hanukkah bush.

I think there are some liberals who are extremely biased about Fox News and wish to shun it or wish to criticize any liberal who appears on Fox News. That, to me, is not a particularly liberal attitude.

Talk radio can't work unless you have the kind of independence you get by being part of an independent news network. You can't be beholden to an agenda, and that's what I like about Fox: It doesn't have one.

I think most people have that crazy uncle they sit at Thanksgiving dinner with: someone they disagree with politically but love them anyway.

I came out to my dad in Christmas of '94.

President Clinton's support of the LGBT community and recognition that DOMA, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, is unconstitutional and should be struck down shows that the political landscape continues to change in favor of LGBT equality. Leaders and allies like President Clinton are critical to moving our march for equality forward.

The seeds of marriage equality... were planted on MTV.

I don't think that there's any shame at all in doing what you have to do in order to survive, to make money while you continue to pursue your dreams.

I don't go back home to Sardinia as much as I would like, just for Christmas and family events.

My favourite animal is the koala, but his life would be boring. I would rather be a giraffe so that I could contemplate the beauty of Africa.

I have a dream of re-creating the fantastic family I grew up in with my brother and my parents. I am lucky that I have such a good image of family life - my father and mother are still in love, still happy.

For Christmas I do gift bags for my friends and the cast, and I put 'treat yo self' key chains in there. And people send me pictures of 'treat yo self' all the time.

If your social media addiction comes between your relationship, you might want to quit.

My obsession is TV and movies, so I order an obscene amount of DVDs. And I have an obsession with handbags. So once a year, I treat myself to a luxury handbag.

I started once a week in North Carolina at a pub called Charlie Goodnight and met a lot of comics there. Then I moved to L.A., and if you're not known, it's hard to get stage time. So you start out doing what they call 'bringers' - you have to bring five people if you wanna get on stage. It was a lot of hustle, a learning curve.

'Glee' is very easy to clown because I feel like it's just crumbling. 'Smash!' 'Smash' is the ultimate. I love it because I'm all about theater. I did plays in high school and college, and it totally brings me back to that feeling: how excited you get on opening night, how it sucks when you're not learning the dance moves.

I love snow; I love building snowman. The only thing I don't like is the cold - so if we could have a hot Christmas, that would be amazing.

It sounds a bit sad, but my new hobby is knitting. I love it. I find it really relaxing.

At Christmas time, I spent an extortionate amount of money on Buzz Lightyear toys, baby clothes, Disney cars and the like.

I'm not a romantic lead. I have sticking-out ears and a little troll nose.

When I was really young, I wanted to be a history teacher because I was obsessed with the past.

I was in 'Christmas with the Crawfords' with Joey Arias. I did that for six years, so I have a holiday show mentality a little bit.

I did a Christmas movie where I played Mrs. Claus because my children's favorite movie of all time was a Christmas movie that my father did in which he played Santa, and I was like, 'How often do they make a movie about Mrs. Claus?' and, 'My kids will love this.'

I try to become more humble and more myself with every year. There was a while when I got famous where I was so confused and my head was spinning.

We all struggle with our failure to communicate and our failure to reach beyond fear to love people.

Now that I've got some films under my belt, I have the courage of my convictions regarding acting. It gives me a leg to stand on.

My father taught me how to substitute realities.

Farmers' markets are one of my favourite sources for Christmas goodies.

For many of us, Christmas lunch is the most special meal of the year - and I certainly want nothing but the very best for this celebration.

Coral reefs represent some of the world's most spectacular beauty spots, but they are also the foundation of marine life: without them many of the sea's most exquisite species will not survive.

Conservation is key to preserving many of the world's natural beauty spots, so do your best to help by keeping to designated footpaths and being a discerning souvenir collector.

It's quite amazing to me, as I walk around a supermarket or a health food shop, to observe the number of Fairtrade choices: not just staples such as coffee, tea, fresh fruits and rice, but cocoa and chocolate, herbs and spices, honey, ice cream, and jams.

If you really want to help make a difference while getting a true travel experience, consider a community-run trip.

If you're trying to cut down the distance travelled from the farm to your plate, it makes sense to do the same for your pet. If we all shifted our bias towards sustainable pet food, we would be helping more than just our faithful friends.

The planet's environmental woes tend to be overlooked as we scramble for the latest high-tech gizmos - and conveniently ignore their energy consumption.

Reducing and reusing take nothing more than a rethink on the way we shop, and using our imagination with the things that we might once have considered junk.

I am 23, the year of the iron birthday, the gate of darkness. I am ill.

Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness.

The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That's what poetry does.

Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private.

Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does.

I want people to bow as they see me and say he is gifted with poetry, he has seen the presence of the creator.

I saw a man killed in front of my eyes just before my eighth birthday.

I woke up one morning to find I was famous. I bought a white Rolls-Royce and drove down Sunset Boulevard, wearing dark specs and a white suit, waving like the Queen Mum.

For me, life has either been a wake or a wedding.