Americans don’t need a metaphor for war. We have war. If anything, we use war as a metaphor for sports.
Well, I always had this desire to celebrate and somehow be a part of things that I thought were really great.
When I listen to music – I don’t particularly do it for fun all that much. It’s not a big part of my life, and I’m not really on top of what’s happening in the world of music in the way I was when I was a teenager.
There’s a tradition in American fiction that is deadly serious and earnest – like the Steinbeckian social novel.
I believe that the federal government should be laying down broadband like Eisenhower laid down interstates.
It would be rather naive to imagine that Oprah doesn’t have an Earth Evacuation Plan. You know Richard Branson does – his is in plain sight.
I have a lot of cultural references that have amassed in my brain like shrapnel over the years that are meaningful to me.
I was always fascinated with the way that things pop on the Internet – the ways you build communities and create little stories and ideas that people play around with and send back to you.
I know nothing about letting go.
The villain of any story is often the most compelling character.
All books should be trilogies; I mean I think we all agree on that.
Just because you see an iceberg does not mean that there isn’t global warming.
A lot of my time is spent reading antique or out-of-print books of reference.
One can always come up with funny lists and jokes. You know what? I take it back. Not everyone can always come up with funny lists and some jokes. I’m very lucky to have a gift where I can do that pretty ably.
It seems that every generation needs its public, tweedy, literary personality to sell its consumer electronics. To whatever degree I can live up to the Plimptonian legacy, I am humble and proud.
There is a need for expertise, for real expertise. I’m not doing much to help that cause, but I think we can find the healthy balance between intellectualism and anti-intellectualism. Jocks and nerds may come together, I believe it.
When you think about it, the end of the world is a little bit like death: We all know it’s going to come eventually, and as we get older, we feel we see the signs more and more distinctly.
What would I put in a museum? Probably a museum! That’s an amusing relic of our past.
First of all, I wish I could grow a beard.
Only the nerds will save the earth.