The Princess died today. Usually I find celebrity grief off-putting; as though people are diminishing their own lives and people they actually know. This is different. Carrie Fisher seemed to live without fear. She went big and today she went home. Most of us live smaller lives. Humbler origins. Safer choices. Carrie Fisher’s life was BIG. Her successes were huge. Everything was. She and her body chemistry fucked up big. She owned it big. She embraced reinvention bi

Christmas is a series of compromises. It's everyone doing the best they can & praying - some to baby Jesus in a manger, others that the holiday will pass with their sanity intact. As you age, which the mirror confirms I am, times that were perfect in their imperfection float to the top. One of my brightest Christmas snapshots was in December of 2007 in Alaska. A group I loved performing with, Chicago City Limits, was sent to Fairbanks for a once in a lifetime trip with peo

Last night we put up our Christmas tree. It's a ritual we love. Set up the tree. Play amateur chiropractor. Align the Jaclyn Smith flocked K-Mart faux everwhite for best posture. Plug in the pre-lit tree. Sweep up the glitter that falls from the branches onto the floor. Pour a drink. Bring up the 4 bins of stockings, lights, themed candle holders, sleigh miniatures, Santa card holders, wreaths, nativity scenes & a North Pole hookah. We delay gratification and save t

You know those circumstances where you actively avoid the person who is putting themselves out there? In NYC it would be the college kids canvassing the street for a cause you don't believe in, or the mariachi band on the subway. You don't know what I mean? Good for you. That means you've probably never been that person. I have. Recently I did a book signing at a convention center in Orlando. Basically that meant I sat on a folding chair at a folding table in a hallway o