I think Americans today look at the moon and think of it like apple pie or Coca-Cola. It's American. We planted our flag there. We see ourselves in it and don't like the idea of anyone else taking over the moon.

Maybe the '50s and '60s were more awkward because everyone knew there were things under the surface, but no one talked about them.

Americans are obsessed with wild, outlandish things. Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mouse, and Michael Jackson are all wild, outlandish things.

There is something so hopeful about a diary, a journal, a new notebook, which Joan Didion and Virginia Woolf both wrote about. A blog. Perhaps we all are waiting for someone to discover us.

I've met a lot of the astronauts, which was such an incredible experience. They're all very macho guys, like fighter pilots, but then there's a mysticism about them.

I think Americans today look at the moon and think of it like apple pie or Coca-Cola. It's American. We planted our flag there. We see ourselves in it and don't like the idea of anyone else taking over the moon.

I'm not a space writer, obviously, but I had bought this big photo book of the moon landing. You just get attached to certain stories that don't let you go.