Too much is made for us; too much is given to us - even those of us who are underprivileged. The poverty is given to us. The difficulties are given to us.

I don't make that hard and fast distinction between political and nonpolitical writing. I write about what bothers me.

Writers transform: they throw a hand grenade into the notion of reality that people carry around in their heads. That's very dangerous, very destructive, but not to do it means you are satisfied with the status quo - and that's a kind of danger as well, because a kind of violence is already being perpetuated.

The whole idea of spellbinding, of being an entertainer, being the center of the stage, making up words - that let me know that writing is nice.

It's a tremendous amount of fans in France that love basketball, that follow it every day even though the games are at like two or three in the morning.

Exercise has its hazards. Runners are sidelined by shinsplints, freestylists by swimmer's ear, and who hasn't heard of tennis elbow? But the fitness buff of the '90s has a far greater worry. StairMaster Butt.

We can find athletes. The biggest challenge is personality. It's finding charisma. In most sports, they tell you to turn down the personality. Look like everyone else on the team. It's the team; it's not you. In this, it's the opposite. It's you, not the team. We want you to become the big star.

I was the kid in basketball camps wanting to see the new gear that comes out or the gear that the camps give.