“We have to joke about it because the alternative is to be scared”

“We find the strangest things to be frightened about in a life where there is no real danger, no real threat, and so we invent fears that would be absurd in a Borneo head-hunter, or an African mercenary. We become scared of success, choices we've made, scared of not getting there- wherever there may be. Scared of painting, scared of writing, scared of leaving the house, scared of missing out, scared of starting, scared of finishing. here, simply because life is so certain, we become terrified of it.”

“Maybe we should have this conversation in an alternate universe where Alternate Indy gives a shit what Alternate Lee wants her to wear.”

“Jokes are funny only in context. There is no such thing as abstract clever word play. Words have meaning in the world in which we live, not in the abstract. Take away the politics, and there is no joke. The joke wouldn't make any sense. if the joke is funny, it's funny precisely because it's racist and sexist.”

“What's your pick?""Jesus Camp""Never heard of it, Is it a slasher flick?"'It's a documentary." We all laughed but he didn't seem to be joking. "I'm telling you, if that movie doesn't scare you, nothing will."Jared looked at hi in astonishment. "A documentary about religion?""It's not about religion. It's about fanaticism. Not the same thing."Angelo was looking thoughtful, and I knew we'd have a copy by the end of the month.”

“It was Crake preserving his dignity, because the alternative would have been losing it.”