I felt profoundly ashamed, I was very much upset.

I knew that the Hague Convention prohibited the use of poison in war. I didn't know the details of the terms of the Convention, but I did know of that prohibition.

I felt profoundly ashamed, I was very much upset.

First we attacked the Russian soldiers with our gases, and then when we saw the poor fellows lying there, dying slowly, we tried to make breathing easier for them by using our own life-saving devices on them.

At first the English were very surprised by our disregarding the Hague Convention. But from 1916 onward they used at least as much poison as we did.

My favourite trainers are Converse.

As a reader, I have a very short attention span and a low tolerance for boredom, and I find that comes in handy with my writing. If I get bored writing something, I pity the people who will then try to read it.

Anxiety is love's greatest killer. It makes others feel as you might when a drowning man holds on to you. You want to save him, but you know he will strangle you with his panic.

The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fly in, because Angola was closed otherwise.

Wonders will never cease.

I get a lot of influence from pro wrestling. People are like, 'Oh, it's fake.' But it's not about whether the guy wins or loses, it's about how he entertains you the whole time you're watching.

Good breeding is the result of good sense, some good nature, and a little self-denial for the sake of others.

Meditation demands an astonishingly alert mind; it is the understanding of the totality of life in which every form of fragmentation has ceased.

'Human Giant' was a kind of lightning in a bottle. A rare opportunity for us to write and create our own sort of thing, with very few restrictions.

The world has not yet reached the point which, in my view, is an essential condition for the survival of our human species: access by all the peoples to the material resources of this planet.

I was ordered not to go out to Abu Ghraib after dark early on, because Abu Ghraib was extremely dangerous.

The red carpet is very important. You have to be very careful to have the right person dressed in right way. For me, it has to be a perfect look.

Work is the price which is paid for reputation.

To hear some men talk of the government, you would suppose that Congress was the law of gravitation, and kept the planets in their places.

If you're playing a lead, you're shaping the movie. When you're playing a supporting role, you've got only a moment to make it count.

Except for Carrie Bradshaw's in the opening credits of 'Sex and the City,' I don't know if the tutu has ever really been trendy, but I want to wear one. I want to dance around in it, and I want that to be socially acceptable.

One way to ensure that all kids will be successful in school and life is by focusing on literacy by the end of the third grade.

I read a bit of the Icelandic sagas. They're fascinating in that they are completely ordinary. The farmer will go off into the hills and fight a troll, and then go back and do ordinary things. It's an odd mix of fantasy and reality.

No man can climb the ladder of success without first placing his foot on the bottom rung.

Football is big business - you can't get away from it. But you have to separate that side from the playing.

Of course, your ideas can be stolen... I used to think it was immoral; now I think of it as a compliment... Ultimately, an idea isn't yours; it's only your take on something.

You were born to be real, not perfect.

I love to cook. I'd hoped by now I'd have a big loft. I have this fantasy that between 12 and 4, if you're in New York, it's known that I'll be serving a meal and you can just show up. You can watch TV, hang out, nap. Once a month. Wouldn't that be nice?

My mother accidentally gave me food poisoning. She fed me baby carrots for a snack before Christmas dinner - but they had expired in June! I threw up for the next 24 hours.