I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the background details and the biographies of the people involved there, and I try to run up all the accounts side by side to see where the contradictions are, and to look where things have gone missing.
I wasn't involved in anything. I wasn't out - you know, I know I wasn't in ACT UP. I wasn't with Larry Kramer. I wasn't by his side. I wasn't saying what I should do, because, by all accounts, I was a drug addict and an alcoholic. And I was living in a complete bubble of self-absorption.
If you are an Arabic-speaking, Greek-Orthodox going to a French school it makes you deeply sceptical if you have to listen to three different accounts of the Crusades - one from the Muslim side, one from the Greek side and one from the Catholic side.
I really wanted to do things that weren't comic. It felt like finding people who can see this other side to me.
The chances are you've never seen the other side of me. You've seen the event side of me when I'm on stage. But there is another side of me. If you evoke that side, you won't like it. It's a nasty side. You don't want to see that side. You're not missing anything by not seeing it.
Well, one of the things we felt was missing from the greater conversation is that transgender people have been living and working in America for years...People may think it's a "new" thing; it's not...So we wanted to show not just the political side, which is what you see with Caitlyn Jenner. And not the other side with Laverne Cox, who's great.
I was very involved in back of the house, and finding good people is by far the hardest thing. So, when you're living in a place like New York or San Francisco, where the cost of living is so high, finding great people is very hard. Even finding remotely reliable people.
I don't have Facebook or Twitter accounts yet. Being a compulsive storyteller, I always make up for myself discouraging stories about how such accounts will get me into embarrassing and time-consuming situations.
Too many people don't look at things objectively and try to see the facts; they instead look at them through their partisan lenses and try to figure out how to twist or spin them to fit their own 'side.'
I love finding something. For me it's not just about the athletic challenge, it's about finding new things. When I'm not doing that in climbing, it manifests itself in other ways. There's the athletic side of it, but it is very much an artistic thing.
I think most people are many-sided; you have your evil side, your happy side, your spaced-out side. You try to stay on the positive side more - I mean, I try to - but I think we all have those different faces of ourselves.
Social media is always a highlight reel. I think it's about finding the right accounts to follow. There are so many refreshing ones out there to follow that will inspire you or make you feel better.
We tried to set up a company that patterned ourselves after Southwest in all the fun, the spirit, the great people, the smile, the efficiency side of it, but we've added some extras that people aren't used to finding on Southwest.
I am constantly hustling and finding new things. You try to manage so you don't look back and see huge gaps of time that you missed with your family.
I write narrative nonfiction, creating lively scenes through action and the use of quotes from firsthand accounts, all based on rigorous research. If I say a character leaned against a fence on a windy day, than I have at least two sources to back up these details.
The mystical nature of American consumption accounts for its joylessness. We spend a great deal of time in stores, but if we don't seem to take much pleasure in our buying, it's because we're engaged in the acts of sacrifice and self-definition. Abashed in the presence of expensive merchandise, we recognize ourselves . . . as suppliants admitted to a shrine.
I think that's one of the things that's missing in a lot of people's lives. That's finding out what works for you and doing that.