Someone once told me that something they really liked about me was that they thought that I was really down to earth and not high-maintenance. I think that was cool. It's important to stay grounded.

Cynicism is kind of like folding your arms and stepping back and commenting on things like the old guys in 'The Muppets ' just throwing out comments all the time whereas there are other people on the ground really trying to affect things and improve their lives and the lives of other people. I think it's noble and I think it's cool.

And it's absolutely true that male sexual behaviour and female responses to male demands change a lot when they start communicating - and the levels of the communication that I've seen on the ground in very very poor areas are so high and I think why don't we have that here?

I didn't want to go out and change anything. I just wanted to make the music that was part of my background which was rock and blues and hip-hop.

I have always argued that change becomes stressful and overwhelming only when you've lost any sense of the constancy of your life. You need firm ground to stand on. From there you can deal with that change.

We used to think that revolutions are the cause of change. Actually it is the other way around: change prepares the ground for revolution.

When you jump for joy beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet.

It's sad that women characters have lost so much ground in popular movies. Didn't 'Thelma and Louise' prove that women want to see women doing things on film? Thelma and Louise were in a classic car they were being chased by cops they shot up a truck - and women loved it.

I wasn't one to go out and buy a new car and stereo system and expensive clothes. My mom helped keep me grounded.

Should we have background checks waiting periods? To drive a car you have to pass a test that shows you know how to drive your car safely you should have to do the same thing with guns.