My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were all funny, and I felt that energy, that delivery, that timing, that sarcasm. All that stuff seeped into my brain.
I've actually tried to roast somebody that I don't like, and it doesn't go well. Either they're a bad sport or I'm not as funny as I could be.
What's great about having an audience is they can let you know what they don't think is funny, and you can just cut that out and keep trying.
I did turn down 'The Virgin Suicides.' I talked to the producers about it, and I just honestly told them that I didn't get it. Is it supposed to be funny, is it a thriller, what is it?
I grew up in a little funny town called Xuzhou, in the countryside, very poor. We didn't have hot water. We were four children: three girls and a boy.
Mandela is just the eternal man. You want that man to be around forever. It's the closest thing we have to God, I think. He's the father of mankind, almost.
You can't get around pain and opposition, but you can try to be joyful in the trial, and thank yourself for the trial, and thank God for the strength to get through it.
It may seem like we have the ultimate plan for our lives, but it's not in the same galaxy of what God's plans are for His people.
It's easy to praise God in the good times, but what about when the storms of your flesh are a-brewin'? Not so easy then!
God is never on the sidelines of His children's lives. He goes before them. He leads them, guides them, protects and saves them.
It's an honor to stand for God, and if we want to know where we should be standing, the red letters in the Bible will never steer us wrong.
Life is too full of distractions nowadays. When I was a kid we had a little Emerson radio and that was it. We were more dedicated. We didn't have a choice.
You can grow up with literally nothing and you don't suffer if you know you're loved and valued.
There is an assumption that if you're young and pretty, you will get all these opportunities that are way beyond your musical foundation.
They credited us with the birth of that sort of heavy metal thing. Well, if that's the case, there should be an immediate abortion.
Some might not know that 'What's Happening' was the television version of 'Cooly High.' When I went on the audition, it was an audition for exactly that: the TV version of the movie.
People are afraid of things they don't understand. They don't know how to relate. It threatens their security, their existence, their career, image.
Some people think I'm a rock 'n' roll musician and some think I'm a jazz musician but, for me, there is no difference.
I found songwriting really hard at first, but after a while it was actually very easy. I wrote about everyday stuff.
Not only is fur cruel, it's also totally gross. I mean, who wants to wear the skin of an abused animal? Not me!
I'm on the board of directors for Peace Now, which works tirelessly between the Palestinians and the Israelis to create peace in the Middle East and we've never been closer.
