Even a cow creates ambiguous signifiers. The moo of mystery.

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.

From those to whom privilege and opportunity are given, we have the right to expect much.

You have a great talent and a great role in the world.

What corrupt corporate governments call a terrorist is what many common people call a resistance fighter.

The very earth that sustains us is being destroyed to fuel injustice. An economy that grants personhood to corporations but denies it to the more-than-human beings

In anything you set out to do, don't try your best. Do your best.

Stress is not so much what you do, but how you react to what you do.

The problem of empathy is pretty universal, and pretty much breaks down across America. People can't feel beyond their drawn borders. And skin color and culture have a lot to do with that.

Duties are what make life most worth living. Lacking them, you are not necessary to anyone.

You have to know how to look even if you don't know what you're looking for.

In all honesty a gangster picture was the easiest kind of film for me to get made.