"The best philosophical attitude to adopt towards the world is a union of the sarcasm of gaiety with the indulgence of contempt."

“If we were the problem, it would be very convenient - kick Greece out, everything's fine. What would happen to Spain, what about Portugal, what about Italy, what about the whole of the euro zone? We need more cooperation and less simplification and prejudice.”

Source : "CNN's Amanpour" with Christiane Amanpour, www.cnn.com. May 30, 2012.

“Booze takes a lot of time and effort if you're going to do a good job with it.”

“States vote to take away my marriage rights, and even though I don't want to get married, it tends to hurt my feelings. I guess what bugs me is that it was put to a vote in the first place. If you don't want to marry a homosexual, then don't. But what gives you the right to weigh in on your neighbor's options? It's like voting whether or not redheads should be allowed to celebrate Christmas.”

Source : David Sedaris (2013). “Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls”, p.75, Hachette UK

“Most people, almost everyone knows of a teen mom. Teen pregnancy rates are growing, and we need to bring awareness to that.”

“Work makes a callus against grief.”

“We make our own monsters, then fear them for what they show us about ourselves.”

“Reviewing music or reviewing anything is a writing job. It's nice if you are experienced in the field you are writing about, but writing is what you are doing.”

Source : Virgil Thomson (1984). “A Virgil Thomson reader”, Plume

“Survival is your strength not your shame.”