I tried self-sacrifice a couple of times in my youth.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

Candy always tastes better when the expectations are high.

When I worked with anybody like Woody Allen, there's the name, and your understanding of who they are before you meet them, that stays in your head a little bit.

I do think once I get into expectations, I've just trained myself. I've just trained myself to just move on to the next.

I wondered what it would be like to die. Was it like going to sleep or like waking up? Was there no more time? Or did time go on forever?

Zen pretty much comes down to three things -- everything changes; everything is connected; pay attention.

What is correct action in a deteriorating world?

Questions to ask yourself: Are you a good teacher? Who would know? You would. Your students. Your friends. Your God. Not a bad audience, that!

I have two Filipino nannies who have British passport and not me. I don't need British passport. When you were running around in an animal skin, my ancestors were building the pyramids.

Always be civil to the girls, you never know who they may marry' is a aphorism which has saved many an English spinster from being treated like an Indian widow.

The plan itself is opportunism. There is no plan before that.