I want to help middle-school girls stay interested in math and be good at it and see it as friendly and accessible and not this scary thing. Everyone else in society tells them it's not for them. It's for nerdy white guys with pocket protectors.

In December I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. We can't afford it. And I refuse to renew them again.

In my family as in most middle-class Indian families I knew when I was growing up science and mathematics were held in awe.

People challenge my nerd cred all the time. I just show them the photo of me winning my middle-school science fair wearing my Casio calculator watch and eyeglasses so big they look like they can see the future.

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow between science and superstition.

Even when I begin with a situation that's basically funny or sad I like to keep poking around in it. I like to get into the middle of a relationship to explore the subtle places.

If I was sad or afraid I would sit in a corner and sing. If I was happy I would jump into the middle of the room and sing. It was how I expressed my emotions.

Some have called we rock and roll performers who never retire 'troubadours.' I enjoy this misnomer immensely. While there are many differences between me and my distant predecessors in L'Occitane I do believe there is a lineage that connects us of the last 70 years with those romantic singers of the High Middle Ages.

Middle age is when a guy keeps turning off lights for economical rather than romantic reasons.

We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder.