And when Hugh would grow progressively Gandhi on me, I'd remind him that these were pests---disease carriers who feasted upon the dead and then came indoors to dance upon our silverware.

The Greeks had invented democracy, built the Acropolis and called it a day.

Real love amounts to withholding the truth, even when you're offered the perfect opportunity to hurt someone's feelings.

A zoo is a good place to make a spectacle of yourself, as the people around you have creepier, more photogenic things to look at.

There seemed to be some correlation between devotion to God and a misguided zeal for marshmallows.

All of us take pride and pleasure in the fact that we are unique, but I'm afraid that when all is said and done the police are right: it all comes down to fingerprints.

Remember that the most important thing is to try and love other people as much as they love you.

Everyone looks retarded once you set your mind to it.

I started writing when I was twenty, and my first book came out seventeen years later.

Like all of my friends, she's a lousy judge of character.

A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.

We all have a voice. Some a whisper, some a roar. If you can roar, roar for others. If you can only whisper, keep trying. Every roar started small.

Freedom can be forgotten in the repressive countries. To remember freedom, it will be enough to watch a happy seagull flying in the sky!

Having a friend made everything else suck less.

Only those who never step, never stumble.

Don’t underestimate the value of irony—it is extremely valuable.

You have to be comfortable in the uncomfortableness.

Computers are great because when you're working with them you get immediate results that let you know if your program works. It's feedback you don't get from many other things.

Sometimes a script comes along that really makes you sit up and pay attention... 'Life at These Speeds' has an emotional intensity that really kicked me in the guts.

I don't feel those limits when I'm on stage. For some reason, audiences let me get away with things. Remember, it's all comedy. Words. Thoughts. All thoughts are safe and worth exploring.

So, you know, I think the age of exploration is just beginning, not ending, on our planet.