The solemnity of the annual Nobel ceremonies in Stockholm with the cheerful bad taste of the grand opening of a shopping center in Los Angeles.

Good fiction reveals feeling, refines events, locates importance and, though its methods are as mysterious as they are varied, intensifies the experience of living our own lives.

She was a woman attempting to make some sense of, and get some satisfaction from, a life that seemed to have no more logic than a roulette wheel.

It is guaranteed to put all teeth on edge, including George Washington's, wherever they might be.

Hack fiction exploits curiosity without really satisfying it or making connections between it and anything else in the world.

[His acting] remains forever fixed in a time that never dates.

We are drawn to Twitter the way we are drawn to the scene of an accident.

Miss Dietrich is not so much a performer as a one-woman environment.

Like Godard, Tati is also remarkably appreciative of the odd beauty that can be revealed in the shapes, patterns and colors created by the technology of planned obsolescence.

Nothing in Death Hunt makes a great deal of sense, though the scenery is rugged and the snowscapes beautiful.

(1)BEING A POETis like opening a car door& exposing yourself.(2)BEING A GOOD POETis like opening the door& exposing the passengeras well.

Indeed, organizing atheists has been compared to herding cats, because they tend to think independently and will not conform to authority.

This is the Law of the Yukon that only the strong shall thrive That surely the weak shall perish and only the fit survive.

Let us all agree to die a little, or even completely so that African unity may not be a vain word

Don't live to please everyone. Embrace those who enjoy your company and to hell with the haters.

Agree to these ground rules: Be curious, conversational and real. Don't persuade or interrupt. Listen, listen, listen.

What I really try to do is photograph people at rest, in a state of serenity.

I see America has infused you with the optimism that has made her so great

The thing I would like most to leave behind is to be remembered for trying hard.

If I have to write by a certain time, I can pull through, but usually I just let stuff happen, hanging out with comic friends - or bringing a basic idea on stage and seeing if it goes anywhere.