Just another wednesday night for Mr Woo who kept us all entertained with his wit and wisdom. A rare insight into his offkilter world including his story about a drag performance on the evening of Sept 11th 2001.
February 04, 2010
September 11, 2008
March 05, 2008
February 17, 2008
February 16, 2008
Electroboy's Dog
Link: Electroboy - fighting depression, bipolar disorder and mental illness.
I like eccentrics, people who live on the edge and still make their way in the world. They give us valuable insights into how to think differently, often by virtue of the extremity of their characters. Andy Behrman is one of my poster boys. In the grip of bipolar disorder he defied all sense of "normal" and lived about 4 lives simultaneously - not many people take up stripping in gay bars as a hobby because they can't sleep at night.
His dark, funny, and ultimately very touching memoirs chronicle his rise and fall as a famous art dealer, forger and hustler. You really couldn't make it up. He represented Mark Kostabi, an artist of dubious talents, who had his assistants do the paintings for him.
I've actually got other, more important, reasons to like him.
His choice of dog is a Shiba which I always regard as a sign of impeccable taste. This one is looking a bit pudgy though, boo.
Here's an extract from his book, buy it, he probably needs the money:
"Bipolar disorder is about buying a dozen bottles of Heinz
ketchup and all eight bottles of Windex in stock at the Food Emporium on Broadway
at 4:00 a.m., flying from Zurich to the Bahamas and back to Zurich in three days
to balance the hot and cold weather (my sweet and sour theory of bipolar disorder),
carrying $20,000 in $100 bills in your shoes into the country on your way back
from Tokyo, and picking out the person sitting six seats away at the bar to have
sex with only because he or she happens to be sitting there. It's about blips
and burps of madness, moments of absolute delusion, bliss, and irrational and
dangerous choices made in order to heighten pleasure and excitement and to ensure
a sense of control. The symptoms of bipolar disorder come in different strengths
and sizes. Most days I need to be as manic as possible to come as close as I can
to destruction, to get a real good high -- a $25,000 shopping spree, a four-day
drug binge, or a trip around the world. "
— Electroboy:
A Memoir of Mania
