No matter what message you are about to deliver somewhere whether it is holding out a hand of friendship or making clear that you disapprove of something is the fact that the person sitting across the table is a human being so the goal is to always establish common ground.

To avoid being mistaken for a sellout I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.

In everyone's life at some time our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

Men must stop being jealous of their power and generously allow freedom and responsibility to others. The reward is harmonious families and society.

People ask me if I ever thought of writing a children's book. I say 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book' but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you're directing the story to is anathema to me because in my view fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable.

I am somebody who... - I'm not saying I'm perfect but I need that freedom that ability to make mistakes out there. Because there's a fine line between making a mistake or being brilliant.

The humor is essentially dark for a cartoon and sophisticated. But at the same time being a cartoon gives the writers more freedom than in a normal sitcom. It always pushes the line that despite human failings the Simpsons are really decent people.

Another hero was Tom Swift in the books. What he stood for the freedom the scientific knowledge and being and engineer gave him the ability to invent solutions to problems. He's always been a hero to me. I buy old Tom Swift books now and read them to my own children.

Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself.

That happens every time I get behind a guitar regardless of what I'm saying 'cause music is freedom and being free is the closest I've ever felt to being spiritual.