When I was growing up, I always thought my hair was messy.

The Seinfeld motto: No learning, no hugging.

The war and terrorism in the Middle East, the crisis of leadership in many of the oil-supply countries in the developing world, the crisis of global warming - all these are very clearly tied to energy.

Some people can sometimes really invade your space and kind of never leave you alone.

To be the first British athlete to win a gold is amazing, but to win it in the U.K. is something else. Also, having my family here with me has made it extra special, and I know all my friends back home have been cheering me on and putting posters in their windows. I want to thank them all.

I grew up in a family where the love of stories is very strong. And there's also a love of performance. I think one reason stories were so important in my family was that we moved around a lot.

And I asked my mother about it; I said, 'Is there something wrong?' She said, 'God... God makes people. You understand that, don't you?' And I said, 'Yeah!' She said, 'Who makes a rainbow?"" I said, 'God.' She said, 'I never presumed to tell anyone who could make a rainbow what color to make children.'

The main reserve of the Haisla Nation hugs the northwest coast of British Columbia, about 500 miles north of Vancouver. The government docks sprawl on the south end of the reserve, nestled in a bay. As children, we swam at the docks and ran to the nearby point to pick blueberries and huckleberries when we were hungry so we wouldn't have to go home.