Woah, but before we get into ask alan, let's take a moment to rejoice at the Prop 8 decision today!! How amazing it is to hear sanity and justice and truth and kindness in relation to equality for gay people. My favourite part of the decision is the judge's well-constructed and utterly invincible argument that marriage is not something that is entered into as only a means to procreate! There is no testing of your child-bearing potential when a marriage licence is given out so how can it only be applicable to a man and a woman, and how can it not be prejudiced to not allow a same sex couple to enter into that union? Of course the crazy, bigoted and scared religous fanatics have totally missed this key piece of the argument and are still ranting about the decay of the family unit and the danger to children and the future destruction of civilisation as we know it.
Get real, you stupid, ugly, hateful people. The train has left the station. This is a great day not just for me, but for you too, because eventually the world will be a better place for ALL of us because love and kindness is being held up as something to celebrate, and your fear and shame is being deconstructed and revealed for exactly what it is. Come into the light, it's going to be okay.
Christina asks: which are your favourite artists, songs or albums?? Hihihihi, thanks in advance Alan dearest!!! My favourite ever album in the world is The Kick Inside by Kate Bush. Anything by her is genius actually.
From Francesca: do you think that your life would be easier or more relaxed if you weren´t so (I don´t find a suitable word i´m sorry =) ) famous ? I mean if you were a "normal" person that you could just walk down the street and there were not cameras everywhere. Do you think it would be easier or do you love that (or this ) =) I´m sorrythat my english is so bag ;)and i´m sorry that I´m so annoying You're not annoying. It's quite an interesting question. I think my life would be easier and more relaxed if i wasn't famous, yes. Definitely. There are a lot of extra stressful things that you have to deal with that 'normal' people don't. BUT, there are also things about being famous that allow you to experience great ease and to feel very relaxed that can combat the other stuff. That's my experience anyway. I sort of feel it's been my life so long that I just deal with it. And when it gets a bit weird I have a bitch on this blog about it and that lets off the steam.
Amanda from Pittsburgh is puzzled: How do you maintain such a positive and upbeat attitude? Whenever I see you on TV in interviews and so on, you always seem so completely happy! Do you ever get depressed? If so, how do you get past that? Well Amanda, I keep my perky, cheeky chappy, elfin, pixie countenance by regular ingestions ofweird potions and placenta into my bum. I do get a bit down sometimes, I think that's essential. But it hasn't overwhelmed me for quite some time.
Barb writes: Why Obama. don,t get me wrong , Bush wasnt a great ppresident either. Is it because he supports gay rights? AnywayI see most politians as con artists. They say what they think the public wants to hear in order to get elected. And after I read your blog on The Wall St reform i went on line to find out more about it. I think it will be a good thing but i don't think it thould be in the hands of the feds at least. i would also feel more comgortable if Mr Obama would really focus on getting the countries dept down. Again sorry bout the spelling. Ok enough bout politics. I finally decided to email you because you seem to be a down to earth Person so Thought i give i!
t a shot . I did have one question though , Im a bit confused you were married to a woman and now you are Married to a man which is it gay or bi just curious and u dont have to answer that. And one final thing , before i close. I am a smoker and i noticed you smoke too. I just wanted to mention that I found a great alturnative to it . Its called an electric cigerette . I used to smoke alot now i only smoke this and the only thing bad about it is nicatine is highly addictive, duh huh, but its not a carcenagenic. I get mine . ant Vapeor4Life.com if you are interested. Iguess ill bust but this out to the universe and cross my fingers I here from you. and i know you dont believe but God Bless You yoiu bring alot of Joy and hoe to alot of people. Dear Babs, bless you. I can't intellectualise my support of Obama. It is totally about a feeling of kindness and hope and truthfulness. I think Obama thinks, as I do, that we should be kind to others and take care of those less fortunate than ourselves. The alternative is to say I don't care about those who slip through the net and I only think of my own personal gain, and I just could never do that.
From Louis: Thanks very much for your thoughtful answers to all my "authenticity" questions. As I say, I want to believe, and do. It's just the phoniness is so pervasive, so often inthe guise of authenticity (throughout politics, in mass media confessionalism, in the selling of a lifestyle to an entire cohort under the rubric of individualism). This is explicit in some of your show and probably implicit in nearly all of it. My questions reflected the fact that one of the worst results is that it's conducive to cynicism about everyone. Kind of a Gresham's Law. Come to think of it, maybe it's OK to wonder a little about everyone's honesty as long as you don't dismiss it out of hand. The other thing is that I'm not cultured enough to understand artifice. By which I mean I think the part of the show that I found "implausible" came just after the intermission when you and Lance Horne talked about having just been on Grinder with one of the sound guys in the theater. Somehow it sank in only in retelling this that it presumably was scripted (prepared... whatever -- not extemporaneous). On reflection, I guess that makes it about as "dishonest" as makeup, lighting and rehearsal. Let me rephrase that in what I hope is a more complimentary way: The show and you are so good that, among other things, I guess you confused me about the difference between life and performance.
I can see that -- as with many forms of art -- there may be pitfalls in how the gullible will understand you and the work. But this is a weak excuse for raising questions about the artist's intentions. Or so I imagine I'd learn in a freshman course.
Sorry to be so cluelessly ponderous about your excellent entertainment. Thank you so much, Louis. Really that is very complimentary.
Jeff : I was just curious about the genesis of "Beautiful." You mentioned it was written for a 96-year-old on her birthday? What's the full story? I'm intrigued. My friend Barnaby's dad wrote it for the birthday party of a 96 year old lady. The song was her present. And the fact that the word 'fuck' is used so often and for such good comedy gain in the song makes me think the lady would have been a lovely person to know.
I asked Meade to give more deets about his foreskin deal: Well, the main website ishttp://www.foregen.org/ . The finances are transparent and the donation reports are available on the foreskin restoration forum http://Foreskin-Restoration.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5095. Right now the 2010 trial needs a total of 100,000 usd and has a little over 3,000 as of the last report. The donate link ishttp://www.foregen.org/donate/ There is also a later trial being looked into at CHUV in Switzerland.
Aww Beth is being very nice: I wanted to find an interesting way to tell you that I love your work, think you're terribly interesting, am always amazed at the new things you create and am just generally happy that your energy is in the world but i can't so the previous is all there is. I also wanted to say that your 'Friday' post made me so sad that that is the trade off you have to deal with for all the things you do that I so dig.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your creativity -- I appreciate it. Oh, and PS -- you always make the best faces in pictures. I love them. Laters.
Oh, and yesterday and today I was finishing off the reading of the audiobook of Behemoth by Scott Westerfield and here is a little vid Scott took when he came to visit us in the studio.
