kp: Let's talk about your love for Edward Gorey. I've seen the tattoo - it's hot. What's your favorite Gorey tale?
jlt: He’s got so many I love. I got his “Utter Zoo” calendar up over my computer now. My tattoo is from “the Gashleycrumb Tinies”, but “the Doubtful Guest” still gets me when I read it. Nonsense words alongside odd behavior is right up my alley.

He can capture these weird moments, and the moment just before, so well. He drew such unbelievable stillness amid the most absurd interactions. And he had stuff going on underneath all of it, too--in a look from a weird, anorexic maid in a corset. Fantastic. I think that stuff happens in this world, too; frozen moments of intense, unspoken feeling. Not just in his eerie turn of the century world.

Plus he used to wear a big fur coat and converse sneakers. That’s something you toast to right there.

kp: Which is the one about the girl who gets separated from her dad and when he searches for her, he accidently hits her with his car? That's my favorite.
jlt: “The Hapless Child”. That’s a great one.

kp: What's the most wrong joke you ever heard or told? Just the most offensive thing you've ever said, as a joke. I’ll tell you if you tell me.
jlt: I don’t know why this is coming to mind, but I remember watching John Cleese in an interview. He was talking about how anything was able to be made fun of. Nothing is sacred. Then he said, “except for cancer.” And he wasn’t kidding. Something about the disease being so tragic and painful to victims and family that he thought it was in bad taste to do so. That surprised me. I guess everybody has limits.

kp: All's fair. I mean, it’s kind of their fault for getting cancer.
jlt: Um…but seriously….if you were a cancer, like…. What kind of cancer would you be? I would be ice cream cancer!!!!!!

kp: To be fair, I’m gonna joke about it when I get it, too.

You know Mel Brooks came up with the "comedy = tragedy + time" formula. Well, my formula is more like "comedy = tragedy + making fun of that tragedy."
jlt: Huh. Well I think Bin Laden would disagree. Let’s move on.

***