The morning’s recollection of the emptiness of the day before. Its anticipation of the emptiness of the day to come.

The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.

Doubtless these are inconsequential perplexities. Still, inconsequential perplexities have now and again been known to become the fundamental mood of existence, one suspects.

In fact one frequently seemed to gather all sorts of similar information about subjects one had less than profound interest in.

Was it really some other person I was so anxious to discover...or was it only my own solitude that I could not abide?

Once, I had a dream of fame. Generally, even then, I was lonely.

What do any of us ever truly know?

Can Protagonist think of a single film that interests him as much as the three-hundredth best book he ever read?

Is T.S. Eliot the only poet one can think of who could have spent a year on his own in Paris at twenty-three—and managed to have no sexual encounter whatsoever?

I also believe I met William Gaddis once. He did not look Italian.

You will say that I am old and mad, was what Michaelangelo wrote, but I answer that there is no better way of being sane and free from anxiety than by being mad.

Anger swirled in him, a tempest readying her strike. And like a helpless vessel caught in her fury, he felt himself dashed against the rocks without mercy.

Power is domination, control, and therefore a very selective form of truth which is a lie.

I dreamt of being an actor ever since I was young.

I really don't care about birthdays. It's something where even as a kid, I never really felt comfortable when someone would sing to me.

a life is measured by moments like these

This life of ours, this is a wonderful life. If you can get through life like this and get away with it, hey that's great. But it's very predictable. There's so many ways you can screw it up.

I think religion is a bunch of hooey, and I think that the holidays are an opportunity for people to get stressed out, getting their rush to shop. It's so conformist.

I want people to realize their life's dreams and passions.

But Mary Elizabeth felt different. She kept saying it was an "articulate" film. So "articulate." And I guess it was. The thing is, I didn't know what it said even if it said it very well.

If you feel compelled to respond every time you're criticized it reveals just how much you've built your identity on being right.