In 1494, King Charles VIII of France invaded Italy. Within months, his army collapsed and fled. It was routed not by the Italian army but by a microbe. A mysterious new disease spread through sex killed many of Charles’s soldiers and left survivors...
believe that you've had most of your important memories by the time you're thirty. After that, memory becomes water overflowing into an already full cup. New experiences just don't register in the same way or with the same impact. I could be shooting...
Dinner is the most like jazz of all the meals, in that jazz is part form and part improvisation. You decide what you’re going to have, and then while you’re preparing it – because it’s the end of the day and you have the time – you have the...
Bye-bye. Nice knowing you. But if you are waiting for that perfect idea to strike like lightning during a dust storm (I live in New Mexico), you could be waiting a long time. Ideas are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I can’t walk to the bathroom without be...
The Dark Ages gradually ended six centuries ago with the Renaissance, which seeded new ideas for a different world. The Renaissance ideal dominated our culture until three centuries ago, from the 14th to the 18th century, when it was superseded by mo...
You’ll pass through highs and lows in life, and somehow, somewhere, you’ll lose the urge to call him up everytime something good or bad happens. For every song that reminds you of him, you’ll find five new ones that remind you of something bett...
I was very much a tough New York street kid. I went to a school where you had to learn how to get along with everybody or fight with everybody, and I did my fair share of both. But you have to learn how to get along. I did an awful lot of fighting. I...
Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists the...
Bernard: Otho, I didn't realize you were into the supernatural. Otho: Well, of course! You remember, after my stint with the Living Theatre. I was one of New York City's leading paranormal researchers, until the bottom dropped out in '72. Beryl: [cyn...
Mercedes: I don't know what dark plan lies within you. Nor do I know by what design we were asked to live without each other these 16 years. But God has offered us a new beginning... Edmond: God? Mercedes: Don't slap His hand away. Edmond: Can I neve...
Truman Capote: I had lunch with Jimmy Baldwin the other day. Party date: How is he? Truman Capote: He's lovely, he's a lovely man. And he told me the plot of his new book. And he said, "I just wanted to make sure it's not one of those problem novels,...
Mr. Parker: [to Mother] You know, Zudock just bought one of those brand new green, plastic trees. Tree Man: Oh no! Mr. Parker: Darn thing looked like it was made of green pipe cleaners. Hee hee hee hee. Mother: It's a very nice tree. Tree Man: [quick...
[first lines] DuPont: In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new ar...
Ray Kinsella: Don't you miss being involved? Terence Mann: I was the East Coast distributor of "involved." I ate it, drank it, and breathed it... Then they killed Martin, Bobby, and they elected Tricky Dick twice, and people like you must think I'm m...
Sherrif of White Rocks: [Hands Monco the reward money for Red Cavanaugh] Two thousand dollars. It's a lot of money. Takes me three years to earn it! Monco: Tell me, isn't the sheriff supposed to be courageous, loyal, and above all, honest? Sherrif of...
Jean Lundegaard: [chopping vegetables] Hiya, hon! Welcome back! How was Fargo? Jerry Lundegaard: Yah, real good now. Jean Lundegaard: Dad's here. [Jerry's mood changes as he hears this news] Jerry Lundegaard: Is he stayin' for supper then? Jean Lunde...
Emilio Barzini: [during a meeting with the Five Families] Times have changed. It's not like the Old Days, when we can do anything we want. A refusal is not the act of a friend. If Don Corleone had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then...
James Bond: [after being met by Pussy Galore, dressed in a casual yet seductive outfit] Well, well, the new Miss Galore. Where do you hide your gold knuckles in that outfit. Pussy Galore: Oh, I never carry weapons after business hours. James Bond: No...
Arif: Would you mind if I turned on on the music? Old Villager: What kind of music? I don't listen to foreign music! How can I be sure that ain't swearing at my mother! Arif: How old is your mother? Old Villager: She is still alive, 93 by now. Arif: ...
Kate McCallister: [about Kevin] He was in the garage again playing with the glue gun. Peter McCallister: Didn't we talk about that? Kevin McCallister: Did I burn down the joint? I don't think so. I was making ornaments out of fish hooks. Peter McCall...
