In order to become the chisel that breaks the marble inside us, the artist must first become the hammer." [Soviet censor of paintings and photos]

And in the middle of the lake the woman I'd spoken with floated on her back, eyes closed, as if nothing in her many years had ever gone wrong.

The future is the lie with which we justify the brutality of the present.

Wealth announces itself with what's easy to break and impossible to clean. The chairs were all curvy works of art that turned sitting into yoga exercises.

Never forget the first three letters of confidence.

The stomach is not the only vital organ that hungers.

Endurance, I reminded myself, is the true measure of existence.

There are so many paths to contentment if you're open to self-delusion.

A single whisper can be quite a disturbance when the rest of the audience is silent.

I question the moral integrity of anyone who says they have no regrets.

The most mesmerizing of artists is always like one who was merely drawing in the sand and people came to watch.

Bugs Bunny - the perfect employee. Never absent. Never late. Never changes the script. Doesn't have an agent. Never asks for a percent of the profit. Doesn't ask to have his relatives on the payroll.

I have always made it a point to know our employees, to visit every facility of our company, and to try to meet and know every single employee.

I'd like to be known for more than being the guy in the big suit.

There's too much democracy in the culture, not enough in the society.

Is not all creation a transgression?

Consumerism is our national religion.

We just keep on having to save each other", he says. "We ever gonna be even?" "I hope not," I say

It takes a good deal of physical courage to ride a horse. This, however, I have. I get it at about forty cents a flask, and take it as required.