Science may have come a long way, but as far as religion is concerned, we are first cousins to the !Kung tribesmen of the Kalahari Desert. Except for the garments, their deep religious trances might just as well be happening at a revival meeting or in the congregation of a fundamentalist TV preacher.... As we move further from the life of ignorance and superstition in which religion has its roots, we seem to need it more and more.... Why has religion become a force just when we'd have thought it would be losing ground to secularism?

I find celebrity status difficult to bear when I am in the company of my mother.

December 25th has become guilt and obligation.

I tip like crazy. Theyll remember me. Celebrity can be expensive.

The Tube is a vehicle for selling things, not for exploring ideas.

Its like threading a needle while walking on a water bed.

Presenting statues of honor to reporters for covering an earthquake is like presenting a first prize to a doctor for performing surgery.