I have been a huge nerd to my kids. I haven't done the cool movies that they like. With '24 ' I gained a lot of respect. '24' is now it's hip it's their generation.

I don't think generally speaking people become writers because they were the really good really cool attractive kid in class. I'll be honest. This is our revenge for people who were much better looking and more popular than us. I was a bit like that I suppose.

Big Star invented a vision of bohemian rock & roll cool that had nothing to do with New York Los Angeles or London which made them completely out of style in the 1970s but also made them an inspiration to generations of weird Southern kids.

As tempting as it seems to wear tennis shoes with your tux don't do it. I think it looks ridiculous. If you're 14 years old maybe give it a shot. In general don't portray anything that says 'I'm too cool and I don't care.'

Survival in the cool economics of biology means simply the persistence of one's own genes in the generations to follow.

All I know about thermal pollution is that if we continue our present rate of growth in electrical energy consumption it will simply take by the year 2000 all our freshwater streams to cool the generators and reactors.

It's interesting to feel the pressure of having to be outgoing because I think in general as a human being I'm pessimistic and introverted. But it's cool because it's a whole different side of me and I impress myself. Even at times when I think that there's no possible way that I can be engaging I'll suddenly pull it out and impress myself.

So the thing I realized rather gradually - I must say starting about 20 years ago now that we know about computers and things - there's a possibility of a more general basis for rules to describe nature.

We all grew up our grandmothers and mothers had about three channels to watch so we watched those soaps and now a generation has grown up with the Internet and computers and video games.

I like computers. I like the Internet. It's a tool that can be used. But don't be misled into thinking that these technologies are anything other than aspects of a degenerate economic system.