First of all I think of puppets as sculpture. They are sculpture that moves. You could label it any way you want, but for me it always starts in my mind as a sculpture.

Do what you love. It’s going to lead to where you want to go.

Almost all Iraqis with any previous experience in the intelligence business are Sunni Arab, increasing the risk of penetration of the new intelligence apparatus by the insurgency.

But I think frustration is hilarious. One of my missions is to bring humor into fine art. It's sacred.

I throw dignity out the window, and just become a creature of the moment on the stage. I act like I'd never act in real life.

If they make the deadline because the Shiites and Kurds essentially rammed a draft through over Sunni Arab objections, there will be hell to pay.

I hate people who act too cool for school. Just own up to it, dude.

The written word is the only anchor we have in life. How extraordinary would it be if we had even three or four paragraphs written honestly about their lives by our ancestors?

It's about communication, no matter how impossibly hard your art is to understand and how much of an ivory tower or high horse you get on, it's still basically communication or why are you doing it?

The only tip I have for an artist is perseverance... Never give up.

It would be really embarrassing to introduce yourself as somebody who makes beauty.

Books can change the world. They represent a second chance for those that want to change their life and can’t.

Act. Procrastination costs money.

I feel that as much as I enjoy loafing, there is something higher for which to live.

The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

I have no romantic feelings about age. Either you are interesting at any age or you are not. There is nothing particularly interesting about being old - or being young, for that matter.

When you reflect on Sept. 11 and the tragedy of that day, one of the things that came out of that was the goodness of humanity

I just want something that is real and that moves people. And just want to make something real.

There is no reason for a civilian to have an automatic weapon.

I'm aware of the decisions I make and the responsibility I have as a role model. I wouldn't disregard that.