As a matter of fact I had a terribly traumatic childhood. But afterward I sort of reraised myself.

The problem with evil people is that they can see only evil in others. It is one of the worst curses of being evil, that you can no longer experience good.

But it turns out that people who are grounded and secure don't change much under stress. That's what being grounded means.

Does it matter, when you read, if the person who wrote still lives?

Professors go batty too, perhaps more often than other people, although owing to their profession, their madness is less often remarked.

The Book of Air and Shadows' was born during a conference with an intellectual property lawyer on a particular afternoon in November of 2003.

It's part of what we call the Shadow, all the dark parts of us we can't face. It's the thing that, if we don't deal with it, eventually poisons our lives.

Ladies and gentlemen you can't please everyone. Take my girlfriend - I think she's the most remarkable woman in the world. . . . That's me . . . But to my wife . . .

Playfullness is the essential feature of productive thought.

The problems that agitate one generation are exstinguished for the next, not because they have been solved but because the general lack of interest sweeps them away.

Success is just being able to do what I love for a living, spend all my time doing it, connect with fans, and continue that for a long f - king time.

A citizenry that is aware of always being watched quickly becomes a compliant and fearful one.

If the heart has been reformed by the spirit, it makes use of both the useful and delightful things created and given by God in a holy manner and with thanksgiving.

I kick-kick game, can't injure Nicki. That's why they nick-nicknamed me Ninja Nicki.

I write books back to back, and I work very hard on them.

The dumbest mistake is viewing design as something you do at the end of the process to 'tidy up' the mess, as opposed to understanding it's a 'day one' issue and part of everything.

The big influence on me was Robert Altman, who, especially in 'Nashville,' transformed my sense of dramatic structure and showed how you could handle overlapping stories.