he said tolstoy?aughter ] >> this is what gets me neil, this country doesn't need lawyers, doesn't need investment bankers, we have too many of those. and the whole crowd is going down and these people cannot find jobs on wall street. if they're going to be lawyers. neil: some of them are. >> very, very few. but but but, let me finish for a second. neil: sorry. >> he's on a roll. >> what we need this country infrastructure! we need plumbers we need electricians, we need people that can work with their hands. >> what does this have to do with our subject. >> it has a lot to do with it. millennials are not applying for the job. i sit on the board of a water leak company. neil: who doesn't, right, sure. >> they repair leaks you know what the biggest problem is they can't find workers. they can't find plumbers. neil: maybe we're telling them to get smart in areas they shouldn't have to get smart? >> exactly right. >> i see a lot of impulse buying and facilitated by the constant presence of the internet an

tolstoy had a maze of characters, elements of war and peace as well. this is really good stuff. but the novel, like i said before, when you buy a book from one of us you are entering us were a while. you are living inside us for a while. that is a whole different technology. to see that completely destroyed. to see its play a minor role, as it has for the past two decades is ok with me. neil: in a literary novels there is no payoff of being stupid. in fact, you are penalized or for it. even something as smart as "breaking bad" you have all of these moments where you think it is entertaining, but -- >> does holding the atavan make you feel better? gary: yes, thank you for letting me do that. [laughter] >>this is a good year, 2014. >> oh man. people are always interested to know. how do you get your ideas for your novels? how do you develop your characters? what is your writing process and there is a taxonomy --many writer friends are blurters, they spew out thousands of wor ds most of it is crap. i'm a constipated blurter which is the worst of all. how does all of that work? neil

charlie: the thing about acting is it's a bit like people say you should not read toy story -- tolstoy until you're 30 because you may not understand it. al: they say you should not do "hamlet" until you are except 40. you have to do it earlier because you won't do it if you wait until 40. you have to learn to much and you know it's impossible. i didn't do it. i never felt i was right for hamlet. i love the play. it is probably my favorite play of all of shakespeare. i never did it. i did scenes from it. but i never felt that i could exist in that play in a way that i thought other people have. i thought as i got older, i would understand. there is a point of understanding it as an audience and understanding it as an artist. charlie: "hamlet" had you doing a reading with someone -- al: it was strasburg. i was afraid to do anything. i was very young. i got to the actor's studio a young age. i would stand around and watch them and i would go home. throughout my life, i have committed to memory certain monologues that i like. charlie: you were almost a teenager? al: early 20's. i thought,

the interesting thing about acting is it is a bit like people who say you shouldn't read certain tolstoyecause you won't fully understand it. >> they say you shouldn't do hamlet until you are at least 40 except you've got to do ham let earlier because-- no because you won't do it if you wait until 40. you will learn too much and know it's impossible. so the best thing is to get in there. i love when young actors do it i didn't do it i never felt i was right for hamlet. i loved the play. probably my favorite play of all shakespeare. >> rose: and you never did it. >> i never did it i did scenes from it. i just didn't feel i could exist this that play is in the way i-- i thought like other people have that when i get older i will understand it more. there's a question of understanding it as an audience and understanding it as an artist. and that's the separation for me. >> rose: was it elam kazal that had you want to do a reading it was hamlet. >> that was straussberg. >> rose: was it? >> he did two i was afraid to do anything. i was very young. i got into the actors' studio at a very young

so honest but i will say with that wisdom this millennial i am jewish there is parallels between tolstoy and a lot of great ethical thinkers in history there is nothing new under the sun. ice save money doesn't make you happy it isn't a new idea. the hard part is to turn down the consulting opportunity that is lucrative because it realizes integrate the argument to forgive for word. that is the challenge when your friend says i fell down and ivan the hospital you actually do it. that's lovely. if you do once it is great all the time you are a st.. , edits the idea. >> we want some time for him to use sign books. >> we're also being taped by c-span. or you can watch on the web site and watch yourself all over again. [applause] >> on behalf of the economics department, thank you. [applause] >> in 2004 i came back to notice immediately getting off the plane in california just feeling different than my best friend took me to a bar it was a club i remember looking at the people i could tell everyone was drinking and talking in socializing like nothing had changed and there was no reason to fe