And yet, even so, there is a way to find happiness. That is to be curious about all of the interlocking events that add up to our lives. To notice connections. To be amused or perhaps frightened by the ways things work out. If the universe is indifferent, what a consolation that we are not.

I know as a critic I'm required to have a well-armored heart. I must be a cynical wise guy to show my great sophistication. No pushover, me.

I felt it would to add a great deal to my legend for eccentricity.

Many really good films allow us to empathize with other lives.

There's nothing like impending death to rouse you from existential boredom.

Show me a sexual practice that involves ice cubes and hot sauce, and I will show you a sexual practice that would be improved without them.

There must be a better reason to have a baby than to provide a plot point in a rom-com. Don't you think?