So, a couple of months before my trip to Portland, the lovely publicist for my book How Art Can Make You Happy emails me to ask if I'm "going to be in Oregon any time this spring?" Well, yes, actually I am -- why are you asking me this rather random question? Well, it turns out a morning show called AM Northwest on local Portland station KATU wanted to have me on to talk about my book! Um ... what now?! Being on television struck me -- and, honestly, still strikes me! -- as something I never thought I'd have any reason to do or ever be asked to do. But there it was. And so, there I went.
On my last morning in town I made my way through the drizzle -- all dressed up under my raincoat -- to the innocuous TV station building. I waited in the green room (see above) with other guests for my turn to go on, then was ushered into the studio. A tv studio looks pretty much exactly like you think it looks from having seen them on tv on shows like Thirty Rock that take place on the sets of television shows (whoa, meta) -- all extra nice in front of the three great big cameras on wheels, and all normal with metal pipes and folding chairs and whatnot behind the cameras. They pinned a mic to the lapel of my sweater, tucked the battery back for it into the back of my belt, and sent me up to sit on the sofa on the set and talk with the very nice host lady, Helen Raptis, about my book. You can see what I said here if you are so inclined.
The whole thing was over quickly and was just about as surreal as you'd expect. From the ads that played between show segments, I gathered the audience was probably mostly made up of older people -- and I hope they buy my book for themselves and their kids and their grandkids, and bring a little more art happiness across the generations. That's the dream anyhow. The reality looked something like this:
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