The sounds of silence are a dim recollection now, like mystery, privacy and paying attention to one thing — or one person — at a time.

It takes a lot of adrenaline and fear to make me actually write.

And as far as doing God's work, I think the bankers who took government money and then gave out obscene bonuses are the same self-interested sorts Jesus threw out of the temple.

Everybody is continuously connected to everybody else on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Reddit, e-mailing, texting, faster and faster, with the flood of information jeopardizing meaning. Everybody's talking at once in a hypnotic, hyper din: the cocktail party from hell.

Celebrity is the religion of our time.

Americans want to be protected, but not at the cost of vitiating the values that make us Americans.

Women have become so obsessed with not withering, they've forgotten that there are infinite ways to be beautiful.