"Just because a situation is grim doesn't mean you don't have every right to smile."

"Music breaks my heart constantly."

"In high school, I was on the youth advisory council for the Mayor's Office of Los Angeles, and that was kind of my first experience in the bureaucratic system. We tried to get things done, and nobody was really interested in getting anything done."

"There's a definite responsibility that comes with being famous. You shouldn't be able to just dress up and look pretty."

"A lot of people have trouble with their second novel - the dreaded sophomore jinx. I wrote three books in between the two novels, and they just weren't very good."

"I spent many years trying to write a lot like Ben Folds or John Lennon or Rivers Cuomo. I think that's healthy when you're learning to write and seeing how chords fit together and how songs take shape."

"The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come."

"Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place."