As a child, I remember being in the pool at this pool party and having to get out of the pool to watch Nixon resign. My first idea of a president was of a guy who was a crook.

It's been a lifetime of trying to have less beef. Beef comes very naturally to me. I was born with my dukes up, but that's not always necessary anymore. I have to retrain myself.

I'm 51. So I'm just saying, 30 years from now you're going to have a different outlook. That's what a midlife crisis is.

I was coming to be an adult, the AIDS epidemic happened. Moving to New York, watching that unfold, and watching the activism around that... it was complete chaos of life, and then this horrific non-response from the powers that be. There was a lot of misery and sadness tied up in that.

In my mid-age I do feel more at peace - not with the world, but with myself.

The beautiful moment sits very close to the horrific one.

Waking up and having a project to work on is one of life's great pleasures.