Explanations comfort us by giving the impression that there is an order in things.

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.

Your age is measured by your dreams not by the years.

a manual for how to build a mentally ill child

None are so busy as the fool and knave.

I do have a girl that sets the moon and stars.

The Islamic ethic is that if God has given you the capacity or good fortune to be a privileged individual in society, you have a moral responsibility to society.

You eat, in dreams, the custard of the day.

The sweeter the apple, the blacker the core. Scratch a lover and find a foe!

I learned to embrace risk, as long as it was well thought out and, in a worst-case scenario, I'd still land on my feet.

A wonderful book . . . Full of sadness, hope, and ultimately love. I found it very moving.

The word "artist" means man unless qualified by the category "woman.