“Only a catastrophe gets our attention. We want them, we depend on them. As long as they happen somewhere else. This is where California comes in. Mud slides, brush fires, coastal erosion, mass killings, et cetera. We can relax and enjoy these disasters because in our hearts we feel that California deserves whatever it gets. Californians invented the concept of life-style. This alone warrants their doom.”

“Because we're suffering from brain fade. We need an occasional catastrophe to break up the incessant bombardment of information." [...] "The flow is constant," Alfonse said. "Words, pictures, numbers, facts, graphics, statistics, specks, waves, particles, motes. Only a catastrophe gets our attention. We want them, we need them, we depend on them. As long as they happen somewhere else. This is where California comes in. Mud slides, brush fires, coastal erosion, earthquakes, mass killings, et cetera. We can relax and enjoy these disasters because in our hearts we feel that California deserves whatever it gets. Californians invented the concept of life-style. This alone warrants their doom.”

“California deserves whatever it gets. Californians invented the concept of life-style. This alone warrants their doom.”

“In California we believe that most anxiety can be traced to a purely physical cause.Which can be traced to a purely mental cause.Which can be traced to a purely spiritual cause.Which can probably be traced back to a physical cause. Et cetera.”

“We don't know where we get our ideas from. What we do know is that we do not get them from our laptops.”

“Our survival depends on not just what we can get in life but also what we can give”