There's something in this country that is so opposed to understanding the complexity of children.

People from New York have been calling, to see if I'm still alive. When I answer the phone, you can hear the disappointment in their voice.

Yes, there have to be places for safe wonderful stories.

We're supposed to do all these things which trouble us deeply because it's so against what we naturally would want to do.

I was an only child and I had a mother and father who were just - there wasn't a straight man in the house, and I mean that in a very nice way. They were fun, and we would laugh a lot.

Kids are finding out about the potential for discovery online from other sources; many of them have computers at home, for instance, or their friends have them.

I write songs when I need to. That's how I write songs: when there's something that's bugging me. If something's troubling me, and I don't really know how to articulate it to people directly - my friends, my family, or my girlfriend - then I'll write a song about it because I know I can articulate it that way.

I don't come from a rich family, but my parents are professionals.