Miz Bizetsy's Questions

1. Which is better--the point where something great is just about to happen, or the part right after it just happened? Why?
Anticipation vs. Satisfaction. That's a hard question, because they're both so intertwined and dependent upon one another most of the time. If forced to choose, I'd say that satisfaction is better for me because I like the feeling of having had accomplished something. Anticipation is harder because it's often still laden with the fear of what if---what if this doesn't work out, what if I don't like it, what if, what if, what if...The trick definitely lies in finding a balance between the two, I think.

2. What has changed the most in your life since you had children--what that you did not anticipate at all?

There are two things that have changed more than I ever would have expected. I didn't expect that I would never sleep normally again (and probably never will). I also didn't expect that I would love them so much. I never contemplated that a human being could love that much.

3. What is your best physical feature, your best emotional feature, and your best spiritual feature?

My best physical feature? I like my smile. My best emotional feature? That I am a strong person who can take a lot and keep moving. My best spiritual feature? That I have a sense of connection with the universe.


4. If you could have 24 hours of unlimited, unadulteratured passion with someone, and no one would ever know or be hurt by it, who would that person be?

That's a tough one, because I don't believe there ever is a "no one would ever know and be hurt by it"---there's always a consequence for everything, especially passion. I've been lucky. I've had my 24 hours and then some. But if I have to pick a name...Sam Shepard will do just fine.


5. What is the one feature about someone that, no matter what exists otherwise in them, makes them not be able to be part of your life? Conversely, what is the one feature that virtually guarantees that a person is worth being in your life (if a duality that simple exists.)

There are actually two things I can't do without in my relationships: integrity and the ability to forgive. I don't know if there's anything that makes it worth being in my life...but what always piques my interest: honesty, courage, spirit.

6. Bonus question for the love Cate: In your darkest hours, how do you pull yourself out?

Sheer force of will and a fuck you attitude to the darkness. In my darkest hours, I become more spartan and warrior-like. I don't allow myself to be self-indulgent or self-pitying, otherwise I think I'd be lost. For years I kept a picture of a guy lying in a V.A. hospital bed on my fridge just to remind me of how much worse all the petty problems I had in my life could really be. My grandmother used to always say, "There are plenty of people who would be happy to have your bad luck." I try to always remember that.

Replies to the Half-Ass Monkey Boy

Otherwise known as your pal and mine, leon_thecleaner:


1.Did the idea for your tattoo start out as a full back piece or has it just grown along the way?

I knew that I was going to eventually get a full back piece done, but the fish came first. I always knew I'd get the dragon eventually, but I waited until I found someone I really trusted to do a great job. That took me about five more years.

2. Are there law groupies?

Believe it or not, yes. There are definitely criminal law groupies. They hang out at the back door of my office offering to blow the security guards for a chance to meet me. ; ) Seriously, though...I have been at gatherings where I've been cornered by total strangers who want to hear every gruesome detail of the worst case I ever worked on. I usually manage to excuse myself and assure them that they really don't want to hear that sort of thing. There have been a couple of times when someone wouldn't get off it and I let them get a glimpse of the uglier part of my head. But I've found that's a language that doesn't really translate except to the people on the job who know what it's like to have those sorts of things rattling around inside you.

3. Should David Bowie be forgiven for the whole mid-80's, coked up, Let's Dance phase...or should it be seen as part of his evolution as an artist?

I thought he was still in that phase. See? I'm still bitter.

4. How do you do it? How do you find the time?

I don't waste a lot of time and I've always got several things going at once. I work on them piecemeal as I get a spare moment and I somehow manage to accomplish something once in a while.

5. Is it difficult to not want to deliver grevious bodily harm on particularly scummy perps? How do you stop yourself from just going vigilante on them?

There've been a few cases where I couldn't even think up a bad enough ending for the person. As tempting as the idea of "instant justice" might be, I do my damage in the courtroom to those sorts of people. It's the civilized way to hand someone their entrails.