Unlike a mere deception or a simple secret, which gives the impression that something's been taken away, a great magician makes you feel like something's been given to you.

Magicians guard an empty safe.

The art of a magician is not found in the simple deception, but in what surrounds it, the construction of a reality which supports the illusion.

Almost any trick can be improved by thinking through it slowlyThe first step is to not blink

Every once in a while, magicians strike gold. David Regal has created and produced the perfect close-up illusion.

Brilliant. The Ontology Project is a post-graduate course in card magic.

Ultimately every trick succeeds or fails with an audience because of its plot.

I wanted that future officer to weigh decisions with a supple mind and to be comfortable with nuance and uncertainty.

Literature does not occur in a vacuum. It cannot be a monologue. It has to be a conversation, and new people, new readers, need to be brought into the conversation too.

[First line]“The business of murder took time, patience, skill, and a tolerance for the monotonous.

I just take on what I can commit to completely at that point in time, and that way you'll be able to give your best.

Now, 'Dasher!' now, 'Dancer!' now, 'Prancer' and 'Vixen!' On, 'Comet!' on, 'Cupid!' on, 'Donner' and 'Blitzen!'

At peace? Who but the insane would ever be at peace? What person who has enjoyed life could possibly think one is enough? Who could live even a day and not feel the sweet ache of regret?

He who atones for sins never calculates; he pours out the whole essence of his contrite heart.

Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.

Every single day, I get up and I say, I am going to live and not die.

My work never directly addresses the literal subject matter of the photograph, but attempts to ask questions about vision itself.