Like so many other nerdy, disaffected young people of that time, I dreamed of becoming an 'artist', i.e., somebody whose adult job was original and creative instead of tedious and dronelike.
David Foster WallaceThe interesting thing is why we're so desperate for this anesthetic against loneliness.
David Foster WallaceTo make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and abstractions are incapable of vital communication with living people.
David Foster WallaceI have now seen sucrose beaches and water a very bright blue. I have seen an all-red leisure suit with flared lapels. I have smelled suntan lotion spread over 2,100 pounds of hot flesh. I have been addressed as "Mon" in three different nations. I have seen 500 upscale Americans dance the Electric Slide. I have seen sunsets that looked computer-enhanced. I have (very briefly) joined a conga line.
David Foster Wallace