One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time to time in the closest intimacy.

An exceedingly well-informed report, ' said the General. 'You have given yourself the trouble to go into matters thoroughly, I see. That is one of the secrets of success in life.

True art is thoughtful, emotional examination of how human themes impact the overall experience of existing. The rest is kitsch.

Mom asked for a cupcake miracle? Well, here comes the freaking holy angel of icing, at your service. --

No man is a man until he has been a soldier.

Kindness is seen as weakness and intelligence worshiped, even when that intelligence allows unfathomable injustice and suffering to occur under its smart watch.

I hated being a novelist when I was 20 - I had nothing to write about.

In a fully free society, taxation-or, to be exact, payment for governmental services-would be voluntary.

We (San Francisco) have football weather during baseball season, and baseball weather during football season.

A lot of my colleagues at school became great friends of mine.

What has happened in the past is a lot of good policies have been developed on paper, but you find they are not implemented. So there is a disconnect between rhetoric and practice.

We need to be sincere in our practice, but at the same time we can't take ourselves too seriously.