I mused for a few moments on the question of which was worse, to lead a life so boring that you are easily enchanted, or a life so full of stimulus that you are easily bored.

I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.

There are only three things that can kill a farmer: lightning, rolling over in a tractor, and old age.

If you can imagine a man having a vasectomy without anesthetic to the sound of frantic sitar-playing, you will have some idea of what popular Turkish music is like.

That's the trouble with losing your mind; by the time it's gone, it's too late to get it back.

Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. Nonsense. A moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old.

Geologists are never at a loss for paperweights.

Of all the things I am not very good at, living in the real world is perhaps the most outstanding.

Physics is really nothing more than a search for ultimate simplicity, but so far all we have is a kind of elegant messiness.

Protons give an atom its identity, electrons its personality.

Why is it, I wondered, that old people are always so self-centered and excitable? But I just smiled benignly and stood back, comforted by the thought that soon they would be dead.

A good book will pull you in from the beginning and take you on a journey you'll never forget.

The three great acts are love, goodness and self-sacrifice.

I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

I think regular Iowans are cynical of this whole idea of corporate welfare, with the biggest awards going to the most profitable companies. It doesn't make sense.

I didn't really realize how big I was 'til I started to tour, because being in your own neighborhood, people don't actually give you full props.

You know how great villains just believe in what they're doing? In their minds they're not villains, they're not doing anything wrong; they're just self-righteous in their dedication to their cause.

The ocean has always been a salve to my soul.

[Ronald] Reagan talked to people across the world and he was very successful in communicating and treating people with dignity and respect, but putting America first in every single we do.

I like African music, and I'm a huge Ravi Shankar fan.

No parent or coach can be true to any child and say he's ready for the N.F.L. out of high school.