If there's reason for hope, it lies in man's occasional binges of cooperation. To save our planet, we'll need that kind of heroic effort, in which all types of people join forces for the common good

I love that Voltaire was so willing to shock his readers with arbitrary cruelty. And I can completely relate to it.

Advertising is a conscienceless industry, populated by cowards and idiots, that warps and drains everyone. It eggs on the worst in all of us. If I could eliminate either advertising or nuclear weapons, I would choose advertising.

I don't like the antagonism that most religions have for science, and freedom and, frankly, individuality. I do like the Dalai Lama.

I was brought up Catholic and, of course, I strayed and repudiated it. That's a painful thing to go through, because you have to look back and realize that you wasted a gigantic chunk of your life.

I have nothing but respect for the purist who won't work for the pharaoh. But I'm not that strong.

Experience as much as you can and absorb a lot of reality. Otherwise, your writing will have the force of a Wiffle ball.