Thursday, December 31, 2009

2 Wks, Patched Machetes, and la Grand Jatte

2 weeks today.

In last nights nico-dream, I was restoring an old theatre. Lucille from Arrested Development was helping. She had all the ceiling fan blades in the theatre replaced with sharpened machete blades.

A good time was had by all.

OT: Check out this Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grand Jatte.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Dirty Dozen Daze Haze Free with Madonna

No body count piling up (as long as you don't check the shoals). This is good.

But I did dream of Madonna last night. She was teaching my friends, using music, on how to have sex. I got a pass as I already knew how, she said. Very weird dream. Don't ask me which of my friends did not take to the lessons, but they do need to "get into the groove..." Most disturbing. Even had A-Rod serving as a Teachers Assistant for the demos.

Need to get off the patch.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Travelin' Light with a Side of Bacon In the Age of Islamic Terrorism

Islamic whackjobs have done it again. Why can't Islam as a collective whole declare these people as anathema, doomed to damnation.

And of course the FAA is already overreacting. Eventually we are going to reach the point where air travel becomes unbearably difficult, complex, irritating, and inconvenient. There will be a breaking point that people will refuse to travel by air.

I for one am already there.

Maybe we really should be required to fly naked and be forced to eat bacon and smear lard about our private regions, as Islamic whackjobs will not comply with these restrictions,

Or, we need to fix the rail system to go more places...

And carry pet pigs as carry-on's. The rail seats should be upholstered in the finest, piglet leather.

Also, I hope Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab is convicted and sentenced to hard labor shoveling pig shit naked on a maximum security methane penal farm, and fed a strict diet of pork crisps and chittlins then returned to a cell each night fitted out in provisions made out of shoe bomber Richard Reid's smelly and unwashed gym shoes. The cholesterol alone should do him in within a couple of years. His mesh coffin containing his pork grease embalmed remains should then be interred beneath the same pig farm where the pig urine would constantly seep onto these unholy remains.

Offensive? So is Islamic (or any kind of religious) Terrorism. Let the punishment fit the crime.

And I love bacon.

And focusing my non-smoker's rage constructively, I guess.

UPDATE: Val reminds me that his islamic father did disown him and tried to alert authorities abour his son's fanaticism. That is an excellent start.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

'True Colors' / 'Defying Gravity' Mashup

via Towleroad, Manny Garcia's mashup is the latest YouTube rage. K loved 'Defying Gravity' from 'Wicked.' I have also been partial to Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors'.

This mashup is so GLEE. Please make sure Gary at Anvil sees this. And Happy Birthday, Gary

Merry Christmas to All


Cos I'm off to the beach

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Rachel and Ron - Real Journalism - Honest Punditry

Here is an example of what real, intelligent, well-researched, Pulitzer-worthy journalism looks like. Watch Rachel take down with those funny things called facts, a leader of the Ex-Gay/Pray-Away-The-Gay/Pillow-Beating/Man-Cuddling/Reparative Therapy frauds. (We have videos of this cretin in action here in the archives. I am just to lazy to go link to them.)

Chris Matthews, David Gregory, George Stephanopolis, et al, can only dream of being this brilliant:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Now watch Ron Reagan, Jr take on the execrable, got-the-memo, bullshit-spitting tool, Ron Christie, as this piece of shit Christie defends the indefensible, appalling words of America's Biggest Dick, Dick Cheney.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


I don't get Cheney. If I were him I would STFU and thank my lucky stars that I'm not in jail for the very real, very treasonable act of conspiring to unmask a covert agent of the CIA, Cheney being a key participant, if not instigator, of the Valerie Plame demasking incident. There is no way to prove this but people, some of Plame's former contacts, probably died because of that heinous act, all to gain some kind of sick political revenge on Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, for daring to say the prewar with Iraq books may be cooked. So there goes Cheney being such an asshole wheezing out yet another monstrosity of an interview suggesting Obama may be a traitor to America.

Meanwhile, back in the reality based community, Obama is left with the thankless task of cleaning up the mess these repugnant Republican retards left behind.

And Christie should be glad he was not in the same room with RR,Jr. or he'd be nursing a well deserved, broken nose.

Please G_d, Could you rapture these two, Christie and Cohen, before my head explodes?

Saturday, December 5, 2009

It is time...

It is time for all good men, and women, to gather at their friends' homes and celebrate the holidays with plenty of food and drink and NO FAMILY DRAMA! I am volunteering to host, just need everyone to think of a good date to hold it that does not conflict with prior plans. My suggestion is Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7pm. Anyone???

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Another Fine Fall Day

It is just glorious out today. Caught these leaves in the trees low enough to miss the frosts and yet dazzling in the sunshine.



Update: Just noticed I also took home a shoe embed of dog crap. Dammit. I am gonna follow one of these dogwalking slobs and pick up and smear their "left-behinds" on their front door windows. Assholes!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Word Of The Day - Dick

Via Dictionary.Com:

dick (2)
3) Vulgar, A person, especially a man, regarded as mean or contemptible.


I'm going for "contemptible" here...

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Senate Sits Picking Their Noses on DADT

Via AmericaBlog

The Senate hearing on "Dont Ask, Dont Tell" repeal just got postponed indefinitely. This, just days after a House committee delayed the mark up of ENDA. But the Democrats promised that ENDA would be passed this year - 40 days left! - and DADT repealed next spring. Don't hold your breath.


Funny, My donations to Democratic National Committee have been postponed as well.

The GayTM is down.

Sign the pledge!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Something Funny

Getting intense here. It wants me to get rid of a couch. I don't want to get rid of the couch. It's one that Kerry reupholstered. He claims it has bugs. None found except one dead one six months ago. Probably from it's days in storage. It's rent is cheaper because my logic was I had a lot of stuff. If it want's to pop for storage fees that's OK with me. Otherwise it stays.

Anyway, this is funny, via Americablog:

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Gunga Dean's Clean

Here's my idea of clean:




In public amongst my friends, no less, he still continues to slip in snide remarks if I dare mention I exercised my culinary talents: "Did ya clean the kitchen, after?"

Don't Fuck with Gunga Dean!

The Roommate's Idea of Clean

About 3 or 4 weeks ago the roommate sent me a blistering epistle to my work email.

I had left a pot in the rack or the sink or something and he went all postal on me demanding a meeting, stating that to consider the kitchen clean, the counters should be cleared and wiped, pot's washed and put away and ready for the next guy blah blah blah...

For all intents and purposes I have stopped using the kitchen when he is home. In fact, I retreat to my room until he heads off to work. Thank God he works mostly nights.

Cold war ensues.

Well anyway, his idea of wiped is to rearrange the grease. Here's how I found the stove today.
Click on any image for a close up of this science experiment



Sunday, November 8, 2009

1st Shot with New Camera

Me, Late Last Night...

"Is this damn thing on?"

But it is the way I see things, post-Jaeger.

Fall Beach Walk Today



Spent some quality (read sober) time on Sunday with the New Camera's manual .
"Ahh! Much Better!"

Minimal editing. Wonderful Farwell pier in Fall. Probably the last perfect day we will have here in Chicago.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Colorado Frigid


A friend (Vulpes Velox) sent me this great picture taken some cold October morn' a couple of weeks ago in the mountains. There is something about this picture that resonates with me. It's like I can hear it.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

WWII Veteran for Gay Marriage Equality

I think this man understands what equality and freedom means more than the chest thumpers like Pat Robertson or Maggie Gallagher!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

OUR DEAR WINDY CITY - MORE EXPENSIVE THAN EVER!

A good friend of mine recently moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Columbus. It was out of necessity. The job market is much better in Columbus. It was a hard decision for him to make. He loved the more "urban" feel of Cleveland, but Columbus offered greater opportunities on the job front. Granted, even though it is larger than Cleveland, it feels more like a giant suburb. It is uber clean. But the skyline pales in comparison to Cleveland's. I am now starting to ask myself the same question: would I be better off relocating to another city than staying here in The City of Big Shoulders? The shoulders seem to be sagging a bit lately. Taxes are outrageous, and, as it turns out, the overall cost of living here is up, Up, UP!

Yes, dear friends, Chicago now ranks as the seventh most expensive city in the U.S. and the fiftieth most expensive city in the world. And it happened quite quickly. Last year, Chicago was the 84th most expensive city in the world. This is all according to the London office of Mercer, an American human resources consulting company. The worldwide figures are posted here. U.S. figures are posted here.

Looks like we pay a pretty high price to live in a city riddled with corruption, high unemployment, police brutality, and uber-high taxes. Or maybe I'm just getting bitter in my old age. Heh-heh.

And I really canNOT imagine myself living in a place like Columbus, Ohio. But then again, ya never know ...

Friday, October 16, 2009

Sondheim - "Boy From..."

I found it!
My response to "I'm Still Queer", from the Master himself:
From "The Mad Show" performed by a Emma Yong, Nice version.


Lyrics Here.
Exerpt:
TALL AND TENDER, LIKE AN APOLLO,
HE GOES WALKING BY, AND I HAVE TO FOLLOW HIM,
THE BOY FROM TACAREMBO LA TUMBE DEL FUEGO SANTA MALIPAS ZATATECAS LA JUNTA DEL SOL Y CRUZ. ("crooth")

...
TOMORROW HE SAILS.
HE'S MOVING TO WALES,
TO LIVE IN LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYR NDROBULLLLANDYSILIOGOGOGOCH.*

[*Pronounced: HCHLAN-VAIR-PUCH-GWIN-GICH-GWAN-GAI R-ICH-WIRN-DREW-BUCH-HCHLAN-TA-SIL- LY-AW-GAW-GAW-GAWCH]

Gotta Love the Welsh (Cymru)

For the 'boys!'....

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Republicans Whacking Themselves Off

Just gotta love this Anti-Census crap coming from Republicans.

Jason Chaffetz (Retard, UT) is putting the fear out there to his gullible base that child molesters will be coming to your door to take the US Census.

Then there's everybody's favorite loon, Michele Bachmann (Retard, MN) who rants on about the black (OMG, Black People At My Door!) ACORN workers coming to your conservative doorstep with their Census polls to sign Republicans up for imprisonment in FEMA internment camps, something only the rightwingiest (maybe) wingnut could believe (if only).

No doubt, their Kind of Krazy talk probably got a census worker murdered. This is truly sad, dispicable, disturbing and disgusting. If so, one day they may face their maker and be asked to do some 'splainin' about the obvious and easily foreseen consequences of their anti-federal worker hate speech.

But in the meantime, however, there is a gift that keeps on giving in all this. If these morons keep putting the fear out there of Census workers and we wind up with a Repuglican/Retard boycott of the Census...

Guess who benefits when House seats are reapportioned and House Districts realigned? That is the Constitutional purpose of the census in the first place.

Amendment 14
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State...


And where do they get the "respective numbers"? From the US Census.

So, PLEASE, KEEP UP THE KRAZY TALK!!!

With no more Republican districts, we'll finally and permanently get these cretins out of Congress. I am only sorry it doesn't work for the Senate as well.

Enjoy

From somebody who obviously has too much time on their hands:
Via Eschaton

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Once in a Lifetime - Me & Therapy - Garland

One goes through 20 years of not connecting, existing, but not quite living, and then something happens, something good, and everything changes...
For me?
For 8 fantastically good years...
and then it is gone

I am missing Kerry - This expresses it...

'cos the moment passes...

My version is past tense...
'cos I am back to not quite living...

But, I think...

Just once in our lifetimes
When Fate took our hands...
Just once in our lifetimes
We felt like the giants...
We soared like the eagles
As though we had wings
and...

This was our moment
Our destiny called us...
and though it may have been
Just once in our lifetimes

We really did great things!!!

Perennial Evangelical Shithead, Kirk Cameron, Gets Dissected and Read!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Feline Ingenuity

Ingenious method of getting that drink of water. Maybe one of Catie's cats?

Friday, September 11, 2009

Monday, September 7, 2009

I am back!

For those of you who didn't know I was gone, I am back! Last night was the first night I was willing and able to get up and go out for purely social reasons. I spent a few wonderful hours at the evil connecting with old friends and meeting new friends. I cannot believe it has been almost a year since the beginning of my grand adventure, but I am sure my life journey has many more years to go.

So, now that I am back, what is the hot topic of the day? What makes us angry and what puts our panties in a bunch? Anyone? Let's get this party started again!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Not surprising

If I had a clunker and needed a new car, I would have used the CARS cash for clunkers programs myself. When I began to think about the program, I figured it would be interesting to see who was buying new cars during a down economy. I figured, if the person could afford to look into buying a new car, they were probably not that bad off.

The news reports I have read indicate that the number 1 used vehicle being traded in was a Ford Explorer. The number 1 new vehicle being purchased was a Toyota Corolla. Think about it. If the point of the program was to save the American auto industry from itself, and save a tiny bit of the environment to boot, the federal government was successful if the real goal was to give yuppies new cars.

Friday, August 28, 2009

On Ted & the Kennedy's

Go read Anne Laurie's heartwarming tribute on Balloon-Juice, "The 'Luck' of the Kennedy's".

At its best, this was the real “Kennedy luck”—not that they were born rich and lived privileged, but that Teddy, Eunice, Jack, Bobby, and the rest of the clan sought out the hard work that would make a real difference in the world.


We all know Ted had his flaws, none knew that more so than Ted himself. However, his tireless efforts to overcome these flaws and give back to this nation will benefit us all for generations.

Our country is much greater, because of the Kennedy's, and they continue to give.

P.S. And I am removing Andrew Sullivan from the sidebar. He and his guest-posters have degenerated into tasteless batshittery, and I find him unreadable. "The Daily Dish" has become "The Daily Dump".

Fox News On Minotaur Torture?

Nope, it's the Onion but who can tell the difference:

Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture?

Via Balloon-Juice

Friday, August 14, 2009

Flyboys

So I get home the other night and am faced with the roommate. He's busy reading somebody on the phone some real or imagined slight.

And then he dismissively gestures angrily about the kitchen at me. I had left a skillet out and a couple of dirty dishes. Without missing a beat on his telephone take down, he is reading me the riot act with body language. I mean you could not pry his attitudinal hand off his hip with a crowbar!

Geez!

Anyway, I get up in the middle of the night and scrub the kitchen down.

And then I get up in the morning to find he decided last night he needed a vacation and had taken off for UK.

Flyboys, and their free flying benefits. Piss me off

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Garland and Minnelli

I am sitting here at 10:00PM looking at the movie "The Clock".

Never did Garland look so wonderful, Minnelli loved her, and made her and the city come alive, and he did other things like having character actors and their wives appear together.

It's a movie about love, everlasting.

Fall in love in 48 hours...

It can be done, when....

I can look at this movie forever...

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Lonely Turtle

Sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do. But boy is this creepy:

Friday, June 26, 2009

Garland and Stonewall

Via an Orange Satan Diarist, Chico David RN

Actor J E Freeman, remembers Stonewall '69.

So even after 40 years, every time I hear Garland's voice sing that haunting song, I think of bluebirds and lemon drops, a fire hose and freedom.


Read the whole thing at the Chronicle.

It'll bring a tear to your eye,

My earliest recollection of Michael Jackson.

...long before he was the 'King of Pop' and worlds away from all the weirdness that probably ultimately destroyed him.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

John Williams Is The Man

Update: Hey Assholes (except you, Val), Look at this, F'n brilliant

My nephew found this gem:


Inspired brilliance!

"Repeat Ad Nauseam"

"Kiss a Wookie, Kick a Droid"

I cannot stop looking at this....

a fan?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Obama & Gay Rights

In case you didn't know:

http://obamasplanforgayrights.com/

Via the SLOG

UPDATE:
Peanuts!

Does this apply to Federal Employees inour Armed Services?

I thought not. DADT = SSDD (Same Shit Different Day)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Re: Warning Crazy Bastards....

Kos calls them BIRTHERS

Of course one of the biggest craziest scuzball Republican convicted felons Birther Bastards is Watergate Taint G. Gordon Liddy

Only the truly insane now support the intellectually & morally, bankrupt Republicans. They have no shame.

Warning! Crazy Bastards Walk Among Us!!!!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Obama At 19 Years of Age

Did anyone else SEEEEEEEE this? *thud*



An Appropriate Response ...

Direct from YouTube, which surprises me, given their level of censorship lately:

A french video response from http://www.GayClic.com readers to the Stevie Bee Bishop's "Big Fat Gay Collab" song and video. Posted on International Day Against Homophobia, May 17th, 2009. Apparently, the song and videos were a response to The British National Party.




And of course, the delicious original:

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I am so sorry.

I just felt like someone owed you all an apology. As a member of the legal community, I REALLY thought the California Supreme Court might get this one right. The 9th circuit is the most liberal in the country, but it must be an election year out there or something. While I was happy they did not nullify the 18,000 gay marriages, I almost felt like it was a slap in the face. It was a lame, limp wristed, sweaty palm, half-hearted, non-gesture move on their part. It was almost like a cap on gay marriages. It won't solve the problem or make it any better, but I just felt an overwhelming need to say, I am sorry.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Bette for Betty

All About Eve:

Deep Thought on Cheney

If Dick Cheney was a pile of gunk on the sidewalk...
And I stepped in it...

I would throw away my shoes, rather than try to clean it off.

He really is a TOXIC PIECE OF SHIT!

BTW, did someone go "BOO"?

I love pat Tomasulo!

Arianna Takes Down Rich Sanchez On Bachmann v Frank

Faux balance indeed! Arianna is so right, as usual.

On the Barney Frank / Michele Bachmann "discussion" over ACORN, Ms. Huffington sez:

But to make him the liberal Frick to Bachmann's conservative Frack is utterly ludicrous.

Come on CNN, (who I regard as the worst offenders of this "in the name of balance" crap.) This fake balance garbage has to stop. The mass mental illness infecting Republicans is not the equivalent of the mostly intelligent, rational argument offered by the Democratic Party. Rick, even if they wrote this for you to say, it doesn't mean you have to read it with a straight face. We already know Lou Dobbs is an illegal immigrant from La La Land. Lou doesn't seem to realize how cruelly unfair it is to put these two in the same rink, though, Michele, delusionally thinks she's up for the bout.

Honestly, Rick, we have better hopes for you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/rick-sanchez-equates-barn_b_206126.html
Just take a look at Michele Bachmann's eyes and you know that the crazy lady beamed down from some backwards planet on borrowed transporter technology. Look at the video on the link above (can't figure out how to imbed it).

If that is, to quote Rick, "A Classic Showdown" then this is the "Battle of the Titans":

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I Love Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, Jr. that is, in response to Rush Limpballs' relentless attacks on Nancy Pelosi's looks:

Via Americablog/Slog:

"Limbaugh hasn't had a natural erection since the Nixon Administration; think he's compensating for something? Now, I wouldn't pick on him for any of this stuff, not his blubbiness, not his man-boobs, not his inability to have a natural erection—none of that stuff—to me, off limits until! until! Mr. Limbaugh, you turn that sort of gun on somebody else—once you start doing that, you're fair game, fat boy. Absolutely, you jiggly pile of mess. You're just fair game, and you're going to get it, too."


You Rock!!!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

It Is The Little Things...

...That grieve me most.

Today, Kerry's minutes on his cell phone expired.

That means it was a year ago today that I loaded up his phone with $150.00 in minutes so that he would have them available as he faced down his crisis. I figured he would need them for calls to family and friends, doctors, etc.

He only lived long enough to use $15.00 worth.

Since his passing, I have tried to use his phone whenever possible to use up the rest of these minutes. But I found this next to impossible and only went though $10.00 worth, mainly because me calling on his cell phone would spook everybody who had his number programmed into their own phones.

So the last thing I used it for was a 2 line text message last week. 2 lines for $125.00.

The cost is irrelevant, as one more piece of him slips away, and I am saddened and despondent.

One more thing to pack away, among my souveniers.

I miss him so.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sunday Sondheim - "Ballad Of Sweeney Todd" in Concert

'Cos I bloody well need a soul screeching chorus, right now:


I really need to reconnect with my inner Sweeney and
Swing my razor wide;
Sink it in the rosy flesh of righteousness, today...

Could be an Anvil day.

Reprise at minute 5:35.

"Cos Sweeney wishes the world away...
Hearing the music that nobody hears..."
What a great lyric!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Wednesday Weekly Weill - Bowie - Alabama Song

Via the nephew Right Mike:

From "Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny" (pronounced "MAH-hah-go-nee"

And the nephew sez he don't like musicals. Well, Mike, this was an Opera, though a very bizzarro one at that. (When the piece premiered in Leipzig at the Stadtisches Theater in 1930, a Nazi riot erupted. Also, our Deutsche side of the family comes from Leipzig, though Right Mike has further Germanic infusion than I,)

Ghosts -Clouds -Perhaps This is Why

They led me back here

Maturity:


Better understanding, stronger voice and inflection...

Sometimes you have to live a little to know. Call it the Rainbow'ism

A deeper, darker, richer, interpretation of the lyric (though in this case she is reinterpreting her own wonderful lyric)

But God bless the adult version.

Ghost Indulgence - Opus One - Dorsey

They did not have a problem when I selected this one:



I love the trills.

Another Ghost Pick- Voulez Vous

I kept trying to select "Fernando", But this is what ended up selected:

It was disturbing yet comforting... And he always said: "No more F'n Abba..."

Ghosts and Everything- Clouds

Tried to play some stuff at the haunted Anvil. No matter what I selected. the slide bar went crazy on me. Selected something else. Asked the bartender and he said no one complained all night.

There are now 2 ghosts at the Anvil. Cos One of them wanted this played (I tried to play "Big Yellow Taxi". So here it is:

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Three Minute Threepenny Opera

Solomon Song - Weill/Brecht

Is Obama Good For The Gays?

Just because he is not bad for the gays does not make him good for the gays.

There are so many easy things he could do.

For instance, stop the military from agressively investigating and discharging gays, some kind of "stop loss", until new policy can be implemented. This has not happened.

Lift the ban on HIV immigration and travel.

Say something about recent state elections re gay marriage and civil unions.

It is true that after 8 years of the Republican scolds and prudes we are better off, but this is still not the change I voted and donated for.

Mr. President, Do something!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The wingnuts are eating each other...

After Mitt Romney's recent slam against Sarah "Mooselini" Palin, the 'Snowbilly's people came up with this slap at Mittens Romney!

Rest in Peace, Dom DeLuise

Feral Tulips

More from my Sunday walk...


My guess is that there once was a garden here before somebody pushed the lawn to the wall.

Monday, May 4, 2009

American Violets

More from my walk yesterday...
Viola Odorata:

They are weeds, really, mostly feral, but I like them.
My research sez these are related to Pansies, I guess this would make these Wild Pansies. Can't have enuf of those!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

. . . except it's coming from an ultra-right-wing subhuman douchebag! Hopefully the citizens of North Carolina will have the good sense to vote this turd with legs out of office. This is as ridiculous as a bunch of skinheads screaming that the Holocaust never happened.



And the appropriate response . . .



Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Amy Walker Channels all the Judy Garland's

from age 16 to 46, Via Towleroad

Amazing, for us aficionados:

I can even name the concerts she's channeling...
I see:
1939 Movie Wizard of Oz
1950 Palace Theatre
1955 Ford Star Theatre (TV)
1961 Carnegie Hall
1967 Palace Theatre
1969 Talk of the Town or Merv Griffin

Monday, April 27, 2009

the Adelphi Theatre

This just plain sucks!

Thanks Alderman 49, or rather Aldercritter 49, Joe Moore, Cretin, KaChing to you campaign warchest! Always have your finger on what really counts

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Bea Arthur - RIP

Has passed at 86. From "Golden Girls" to Pearly Gates.

Friend to liberals, and gays alike.



I remember her 1st appearance in "All In The Family" as Edith's cousin and Archie's Bane, "Maude".

Then found her on my original cast recordings of "Fiddler On Th Roof" as Yente the Matchmaker and "Mame" as the unforgetable Vera Charles, where she sang the above.

Heaven holds a special place for her like.

Update: How could I forget! Lucy Brown in the 1955 Broadway "Threepenny Opera". It was her breakout role!

'Single Ladies' Invade Leicester Square

Or, Val, would this be Piccadilly Circus?

For my Volleyball Teammate David, Just to make him jealous:

David would have made a welcome addition to this crowd, though he would be the one "shakin' it" from the bar stool. The head roll at 2:07, simply sublime.

I guess this one is professionally staged by Trident, yet still sprung on an unsuspecting populace.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Here's your hat, Texas...hasta lavista douchebags!

Think about it.

There was a write up today about gay marriage in the Redeye. I, for one, am all for it. Equal opportunity to be miserable I say. As a former divorce lawyer, it would have doubled my client base. That said, let's think about it. The equal rights thing is a no brainer. I cannot imagine not being allowed into my son's hospital room because I was not married to their father legally. I know, not the same, but still, I cannot begin to imagine it.

My biggest fear is not that gay marriage will cause the downfall of Western Civilization, we know it will ;-), but rather that gay couples around the country will flock to the states that legalize gay marriage in an attempt to make a statement. EVERYONE should strongly consider their options before walking down the aisle. My fear is that, like alcohol and the 21sit birthday party, something that was long denied and now legal will spark a frenzy of binge marriages. Do you want it only because you cannot have it?

One of the most loving, cute and devoted couples I know is a gay couple. They know who they are, and their bird knows too! I envy their love, devotion and relationship and am jealous of what they have. That they are unable, by law, to get married bothers me. My only question to any gay couple is, "Are ya sure ya realllllly wanna spend the rest of your life with THAT person?" If your answer is no, DO NOT GET MARRIED. That goes doubly for all the heteros and homophobes as well.

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Kite Man

Kerry was the kite man.

Over Christmas we built a huge kite sculpture on the sands of Sanibel, and scattered his ashes around the periphery.



A sweet, gentle, poem made its way to me today. One of the Sanibel family members wrote this poem, who knew him for this passion.


"Julia had to do a poem for her English class about something "serious". She
drafted this winner on her way to the dentist Saturday
- a perfect cloudless, breezy day":


The Kite man
A rainbow of kites,
Above the beach,
People laugh,
As they watch a jungle,
One man to tame it,
Then one year,
No kites flew above the beach,
No people laughing,
No man to tame the jungle,
Now only one kits remains,
Carved from sand on the beach,
And the man,
Has flown higher,
Higher than his kites.
-Julia Spiegel

The Gathering Storm - The Auditions and Finished Prod

HIGHlarious:

And the Finished Product:

Thursday, April 9, 2009

YELP! Doesn't WANT to be Political!

Got this eMail from Yelp! today. Screw them!

Hi there, I'm writing to let you know that we decided to remove your review of Evanston Century 12 & Cinearts 6 after it was flagged by the Yelp community. It is undoubtedly a controversial issue for a business or one of its employees to take a stand on Proposition 8. While we encourage you to exercise your free speech rights with respect to this issue, consumer reviews are not the place to do it.

As our review guidelines state: "Reviews aren't the place for rants about a business's employment practices, political ideologies, or other matters that don't address the core of the normal customer experience." We trust you recognize that our decision impacts both sides of this debate equally, and that our policy has been in place long before this issue emerged.

Regards,CeciliaYelp User Support


So consumerism has nothing to do with service/product provider politics? Since when?!

Assholes!

The song in my head

For some reason I've had the song "What did Della Wear/Delaware" running round in my brain since yesterday. (I won't inflict on you the only version from YouTube I could find - it was a bunch of schoolkids.)

It made me think of Della Jones, the Welsh mezzo-soprano who used to sing with English National Opera in the days when I was a regular visitor. Here she is as Valencienne in The Merry Widow:
Della left her husband, who had been her childhood sweetheart, for the conductor Stephen Barlow. He had only been married to his young French wife for six months. Della was 8 years his senior.
These days, Stephen is married to Joanna Lumley, also eight years older than him. He pretty well left Della in the lurch. She had a breakdown on stage during a performance of Handel's Julius Caesar in Geneva.

One of Della's co-stars in Julius Caesar was the bass John Tomlinson (now Sir John). I found this clip of them singing together at The Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall several years ago. It enables me to name-drop. I was on first-name terms with all three musicians back in the day. Never met Joanna, but my friend Julie's partner was at college with Stephen and they used to have them over for dinner. (Lumley smokes like a chimney, which I think shows in this picture.)



For fans of Inspector Morse, I hope they keep you supplied with Lewis now the old man is gone - in an episode to be screened here next week, Lumley plays a superannuated rock star. Looks good.

Fabulous Spontaneous Performance Art

Ah my Dutch kin being fabulous in a Antwerp train station.

It is so much better than that smarmy movie!



Yes, I come from a long line of Fase's and Vanderplougen's, Vanderpleorgen's, er something like that...

But it seems I missed the train

Speaking of Bigots

They are liars and bad actors...

HRC got their hands on the audition tapes for one of those anti-gay commercials. John Avarosis at Americablog editied them into the commercial: