Some recent quotes in the media from Professor Robert Thompson

On Paris Hilton: "She's the nonstory that keeps on being a nonstory."

On Anna Nicole Smith:"She will be the subject of dissertations for years to come. She helped us to define celebrity."

On Katie Couric's debut:The first broadcast will be "some of the most scrutinized frame-by-frame video images since the Zapruder film."

On retro home fashion:"In many ways, interior design styles are like wine. You can't push the vintage. If they ferment long enough, they ferment into something classy and timeless."

On the Super Bowl: It's "the most successful created national holiday since Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving."

On the word "cool":"Cool is certainly a charter member for the slang hall of fame. Cool just sits back and keeps getting used generation after generation and lets the whole history of the language roll off its back."