You would do well to know, Marcus, that irritating a better swordsman than yourself is a good way to end up dead.

Life is problems. Living is solving problems.

I'm a huge fan of Cabernet and Bordeaux, and am passionate about Pinot Noir and Burgundies.

There is no idea so brilliant or original that a sufficiently-untalented writer can't screw it up.

A hero is someone who simply got too frightened to use his good sense and run away, then somehow lived through it all.

But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, 'There is something about you I cherish.

Often I'll try things that just won't happen the way I'd like them to, so hearing that they're not working saves me some wear and tear the next time around.

Never accept the proposition that just because a solution satisfies a problem, that it must be the only solution.

Every person you encounter, whom you interact with, is there to teach you something. Sometimes it may be years before you realize what each had to show you.

I know you'll think this odd, but I find it strangely exhilarating not knowing what's coming next.

If I leave my computer, I'm probably not going to get back for hours. If I take a few minutes to answer questions and go web surfing, then guilt kicks in and I get back to work.

That's one of the compensations for being mediocre. One doesn't have to worry about becoming mediocre.

The great thing about a song is that no one has to know your story. But if you tell it in a way that has clarity and means something to somebody else, then it can apply to their story.

When you reach that elite level, 90 percent is mental and 10 percent is physical. You are competing against yourself. Not against the other athlete.

Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.

We believe Slobodan Milosevic must be buried in his country, in Belgrade, at the Alley of Great Men.

I will not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president.

There are lots of issues more important than where billionaires donate their money.

Worthy things happen to the worthy.

Fundamentalism is rigorously and systematically used to indoctrinate and subjugate young minds. It is a contraceptive designed to prevent intellectual fertilization.

Well, I'd love to make a decision like that, but I'm not sure how I could change my life.