"Do-gooding is like treating hemophilia – the real cure is to let hemophiliacs bleed to death... before they breed more hemophiliacs."

"Big money isn't hard to come by. All it costs is a lifetime of devotion. But no ballerina ever works harder. Captain, that's not your style; you don't want to make money, you simply want to spend money.... great wealth is a curse – unless you enjoy money-making for its own sake. Even then it has serious drawbacks."

"Anybody can see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl she used to be. A great artist can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is... and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be... more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo see that this lovely young girl is still alive, prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart... no matter what the merciless hours have done."

Labels: literary

posted by Jennifer at 11/25/2006 02:26:00 PM