As a child, I felt that Hallowe'en was a time when creatures of the night suddenly came to life - we would turn off all the lights in the house and let flickering candlelight conjure up scary shadows and create the effect of imaginary figures lurking in dark corners.
In the week following Sandy, we weren't flooded, but we were without everything else - I ended up living by candlelight - no phones, no computers, no light, no power. If we took a walk at night to go and find something to eat, it was completely black, with no lights coming out of the windows, no street lights: a very apocalyptic feeling.
Arguably, the first five years of 'Saturday Night Live' were some of the most radical things ever seen on television. When NBC said, 'Okay, you can do a show from 11:30 to 1 on Saturday night,' they didn't think anyone would watch. It was like giving a piece of the candy store to the kids.
We have the capacity to receive messages from the stars and the songs of the night winds.
I would go to the all-night grocery store and pretend that I was at Studio 54 because it was the only place open all night. Truman Capote in the frozen foods. Andy Warhol over in vegetables.
I went to a party when I was a student and they had a mynah bird up in the bedroom where people put their coats. I was completely captivated - I just sat there all night talking to it. The next day I passed a pet shop and they had a conure - it's a little parakeet - in the window. I bought it, not knowing what it was or how to look after it.
Sunday nights, we have dinner together, and we play games on game night; once a year, we get away to ski - when you get kids out of their home environment, they're forced to be with you, and you have a captive audience.
I definitely eat carbs. I repeat: I do eat carbs. I'm just selective on which carbs I eat and when. I won't eat things like pasta and bread at night, but in terms of fueling a workout and recovering from one, carbs are great.
The truth is, for highly competitive bodybuilders, everyone eats the same - oatmeal, chicken, rice - and everyone cuts carbs out at night.
Inauguration Day is like two ships passing in the night: the new staff moving in while the other walks out, taking one final look at the White House lawn as they leave with their cardboard box of possessions.
If you do cardio one day and the next day you can do weights, do it that way. If you need to do it at night or in the morning, do it that way. Whatever you need to get it done, just get it done.
Some weeks, I'm super-duper busy, so I can only fit cardio in here and there, a lot of stuff happens in the afternoon, so I can get up and have a workout, which makes me feel awesome for the rest of my day. There's just something sexy about feeling strong. And every night I'm onstage, I get another workout.
Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.
Between the daylight gambler and the player at night there is the same difference that lies between a careless husband and the lover swooning under his lady's window.
Someone like Ashlee Simpson, she lip-synchs on 'Saturday Night Live,' gets totally called out la Milli Vanilli, and no one really cares that much. It doesn't make me hate Ashlee; she's just taking instructions.
When you build characters from the outside in, they become, oftentimes they become like 'Saturday Night Live' characters or they become like caricatures of the character.
That night at Carnegie Hall was a great experience. When the thing was first put up to me I was a little dubious, not knowing just what would be expected of us.
I did a benefit one night at Carnegie Hall with Bono and Lady Gaga and Rufus Wainwright.
I used to watch a lot of Nick at Nite as a kid, and it would play the original 'Saturday Night Live,' 'The Carol Burnett Show,' and 'Laugh-In.'
I learned a valuable lesson doing 'Mr. Sunshine,' which is that I didn't want to be in charge because it's too much. Being in charge and acting in every scene was just too difficult. It's like eating dinner in a moving golf cart every night.
