Some campaigns are not worth waging if you can't win; others have to be fought on grounds of principle regardless of the chances for success.
I think it helps a lot when they tell people that Teri Hatcher likes you. If you're Teri Hatcher's boyfriend, suddenly you're hunky I guess. I've spent 40 years being average and now I'm Teri hatcher's boyfriend and here we are. I've been really fortunate.
The arts are very alive in Ireland, so that had its influence on me. But I consider myself European, really.