Minutiae

1) As I was waiting for the subway at Rockefeller Center, there was a saxophone player on the downtown platform. He was playing a really rocking version of The Family Guy theme. It made my day.

2) Note to Mitt Romney: Suck it, loser!

3) Note to the so-called Christian Right: Suck it, losers!

4) Day two of Lent going well. Of course, I've been avoiding temptation.

5) Since we haven't had a decent freeze this winter, my allergies are making me miserable. My rheumy eyes make me look like a feeble old man. Plus, I can barely see, which is remarkbly irritating. Yep, this is what old age is going to be like.

6) I just read Tom Dolby's new novel, The Sixth Form. I'll start by saying that I didn't like his first novel, The Trouble Boy. I've found that reading a book where none of the characters are over the age of 30, and where their worst problems are that they aren't quite as hot or rich or perfect as they want to be . . . well, frankly it frustrates me. It's kind of like watching those 90210-type shows (or whatever it is the kids watch nowadays . . . Gossip Girl?), the problems are so trivial, the people so shallow, and the situations so patently absurd, that I get pissed.

Well, Dolby's latest book isn't like that. Sure, it's set at a boys' school, so the characters are young, for the most part. But that's the nice thing, they aren't all young. There are parents and teachers, mentors and predators . . . all complex and interesting characters in their own right. It isn't just focused on the students.

It's an interesting story . . . a little darker than I expected, but worth a read.

That said, I'm probably going to read Kevin Sessum's Mississippi Sissy next. Sounds funny.

7) Speaking of dark books, last week's book was Atonement. Jeez. I can't wait to see how they did the movie. I loved the book, but it was like getting hit in the stomach.

8) And speaking of books I've read recently, check out Jay Quinn's The Beloved Son and Timothy James Beck's When You Don't See Me. Both excellent.

9) I'm going to give Lost one more chance. If it doesn't wow me now, I'm just going to stick with reading the synopses on Television Without Pity.

10) I saw The 39 Steps last night. Pretty funny, I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but it wasn't that.

11) I attended Broadway Backwards III on Monday. Wonderful. Getting to see Anthony Rapp and Cheyenne Jackson sing Suddenly Seymore made my day. There were some marvelous performances. This is going to be added to my annual caldendar, right along with Broadway Bares.

Anyway, that's it for today.

UPDATE: Television Without Pity it is. I don't want to work that hard for a fucking TV show.

UPDATE 2: Mississippi Sissy . . . four pages into it, I'd had enough. Maybe some other time. I've started William Mann's Men Who Love Men.

Lent

Okay, it's the first day of Lent.

Although my faith seems to wane as the Christian right gets more right and less Christian, I guess I have to keep some of the old traditions alive.

So I gave up three of my biggest vices for the next forty days. And no, I'm not telling. Though I imagine those of you who hang out with me will figure out at least one of them.

And I've decided I'm going to blog every day during Lent (unless I don't have access to a computer).

Let's see how long I last this year. I'm pretty sure I know the order in which I'll fail at my vices. Maybe I'll be able to keep the blogging going so I can at least feel good about one thing.

We'll see.

Peace on earth and mercy mild

Every Christmas season, I have a goal. It doesn't involve getting my Christmas cards out on time (or even out period). It has nothing to do with not eating all the wonderful food my mom makes, or remembering to buy presents for everyone.

My goal is to avoid two songs: Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer and The Christmas Shoes. The first, because it is a grotesque reminder of everything that is wrong with the modern Christmas holiday. The second, because it is blatently bathetic in an "Oh Lord, I done learned me a lesson from a little kid, his dying mama, and Jesus" sort of way. (Seriously . . . the kid wants to buy a pair of shoes for his mother because he wants her to look beautiful "if Mama meets Jesus tonight." Ugh.).

The people who wrote, sang, and continue to play these songs deserve to be boiled in treacle and served flaming with a sprig of holly up their asses, while dogs bark Jingle Bells at them.

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Anyway, for the first time in recent memory (and possibly since college), I didn't hear either song during the 10 weeks of Christmas (this year, the stores in my neighborhood had Christmas and Halloween decorations on sale at the same time). In fairness, I had to sprint out of the living room with my hands over my ears after hearing the intro of Grandma yesterday morning, but still, I consider it a victory.

Things are looking good for 2008. Got to remember to eat my black-eyed peas next Tuesday.

That time of year again

What do these people have in common?

Bill Hufsey, Brock Simpson, Ian Somerhalder, Dominic Monaghan, Matthew Laborteux, Teri Hatcher, Sinead O'Connor, Warren Cuccurullo, Kim Basinger, Sam Kinison, Bill Bryson, Gregg Allman, Flip Wilson, Sammy Davis, Jr.

My new secret obsession

Shimmy on Fit TV.

Vitamin B-itch

So I had my annual physical last week. Blood pressure is fine for the first time in years (was it because I left the job that was killing me softly or because I gave up caffeine . . . you be the judge), but the doc said my cholesterol was worryingly high.

Nice.

Anyway, he prescribed me Niacin (Vitamin B), a decidedly not over-the-counter dose.

He warned me that I might feel warm and that my face might flush. Luckily, I was meant to take it before going to bed, so I'd likely sleep right through it.

The fuck I did.

Around 2 in the morning, I woke up feeling like I'd just gotten punched in the stomach (apparently when they say "take with food" they mean "take with food, you moron, or you'll be sorry"). After a few minutes of trying to decide whether to puke or call 911, I felt my face start to flush. This wasn't the warm, gentle blush that I was expecting; this was a full-on lobster red, all day in the sun kind of thing. After a few seconds of that, it started to burn. Then my arms, legs, and basically everywhere on my body that I have skin, decided to join in.

What followed was . . . well, suffice it to say that I'm not looking forward to what the literature calls a three or four week adjustment period before the symptoms disappear.

Moral of the story: eat better and exercise or you will want to peel your skin off.

Yes, I'm still alive

Yeah, I'm still here. It's just . . . well, I suppose I could come up with an excuse, but it all boils down to being unmotivated and a little depressed. Perhaps ennui is a better word.

Anyway, I promise a real post soon.

9/11

Six years. Amazing.

R.I.P.

Madeleine L'Engle died. As a lonely little kid, her books had a profound effect on me and gave me hope that things would get better because there was some sort of plan.

I think my life would have been a lot worse if it hadn't been for her.

Some Eye Candy

A little eye candy for my readers, regardless of your persuasions.

DragonCon Thought

Whoever opens the first Jenny Craig on the Klingon homeworld is going to make a fortune.

Hot photo

While you may be tempted to look at the Spartan in the middle, check out the one to the left instead.

Yep. He must be Greek.

Once More With Feeling

That. Was. Freaking. Awesome.

More later . . . I'm off to the parade.

DragonCon bloggin'

So I'm at DragonCon. Why, you ask, am I blogging and not out enjoying the festivities? Bitch, I'm tired and hungry.

Anyhoo . . . I'm taking a break before the big Buffy Sing-along. And yes, I know full well that by blogging about going to the Buffy Sing-along, I am effectively guaranteeing that no one who reads my blog will ever sleep with me.

Of course, it's not like you've been beating down the doors to begin with, so I guess that's no big loss.

The costumes are amazing, as usual, and I will post some photos tomorrow. But here is my cool story of the day.

Paul and I were walking around the 'Walk of Fame' - basically where famous people sign autographs for lots of money. I like seeing them, but I am not paying for an autograph. Well, maybe Nichelle Nichols, but I digress.

We're watching the guy who voices Master Shake on ATHF talk 'in voice' to someone on the phone for a guy in line. I would love to do that . . . or have him record my answering machine message. But again, I digress. There are a group of furries near us . . . they're in the big full body costumes and look like anime characters. All of a sudden, Brent Spiner (Data) comes running over and yells, "Hey, furries" and gets them all together so he can take a photo. As he walks past us, he looks at us, shakes his head and says, "Unbelieveable."

Funny.

Let's see. Saw some people dressed as Sims. A Carmen SanDiego. Lots and lots of Stormtroopers. Saw Jamie Bamber (tiny, adorable, and speaks with a British accent). Many zombies.

Another digression, one of the 'classes' tomorrow is something along the lines of 'Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse'. You know I'm going to that one.

So, just enough time to grab some food and warm up my voice. I will, as usual, be singing Giles' part at the Once More With Feeling Buffy Sing-along.

By the way

Timothy is doing a bit of a meme, so I'm answering five questions for him.

1. I can't stand the word "just." What word annoys you the most and why?

Need. When used in the phrase, "You need to . . ." Usually, with the possible exception of my doctor, the people who tell me I need to do something mean that they want me to do something. If you want me to do something, tell me. Don't turn it around onto me and say I need to do it. Major pet peeve. Want to make sure I never do something? Tell me I need to do it.

2. If romance is a meal, what's on the menu and when is it best served?

While I'd love to say something like chocolate, rose petal ice cream and similar fluff, I'm going to say romance is an Irish fry-up breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, tomatoes. Warm, tasty, and so rich and filling you don't want anything else for the rest of the day. It's also something that is awesome when you're hungry, but much as you love it, you wouldn't want it every day. Eventually, you're okay with oatmeal or toast.

Of course, it's been so long for me that I can barely remember what any of it tastes like.

3. Regrets...have any?

There are several people in my life I never really appreciated until they were gone. In a couple of cases, I would gladly give up everything I own to be able to hold them in my arms and tell them just how much I loved them.

Also, I was made fun of and harrassed in school. And in turn, I shoveled that shit onto people who were worse off than me. I will always regret doing that.

4. Which play makes you gaze at the stage and think, "That could be me up there."

Given my crushing stage fright, very few. But [title of show] is pretty damn close. Plus, the song 'Die Vampire, Die' is one of the best songs I've ever heard about the little things that crush your creativity.

5. Let's say you've been given control over your own destiny for 24 hours. What's your day like tomorrow?

Well, winning the $330 million MegaMillions jackpot tomorrow would be awesome. And given my fear of flying, not crashing would be great. Beyond that, it would be great to just spend a day having a picnic in Central Park with all the people I love.

Beam me up

Off to Dragoncon.

Don't judge me, the guys are hot.

Plus, I get to meet Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering, Apollo, Aeryn, Ivanova, Q, Bud Bundy, Riker, Pippin, Apollo (original), Dr Crusher, the Doctor (ST: Voyager), Data, George (Dead Like Me), Beastmaster, Parker Lewis, Spike, Uhura, Darth Vader, Master Shake, Tippi Hedren, the adorable Harper (Andromeda), Shepherd, Tank Girl, the Flash, Hercules, Neville Longbottom, the Mythbusters, and . . . um, some dude from Who Wants to Be a Superhero.

So there.

P'town Redux

I repeat, the agreement was 'what happens in P'town, stays in P'town.'

(In my best Bugs Bunny voice) Of course, you realize this means war.

P'town

As some of you know, I just got back from a long weekend in P'town with Patrick. The agreement was that what happens in P'town, stays in P'town.

That being said, I did something naughty. One of those 'holy shit what did I do yesterday?' things.

I'm a bad boy and should probably be punished.

Note to self

When doing a happy dance at the office, check to see if the person across the hall can see you before, rather than after, doing said dance.

Ya happy now?

Okay, back by popular demand (or maybe two or three comments).

Contrary to the rumors, I am still here. I just haven't much felt like blogging of late. Part of it is that I've been really busy at work. Funny, after a day of working on the computer, I didn't feel like going home and blogging.

I also have been busy with theatre stuff. Lots of shows to see of late. Only going to get worse now that the Fringe is upon us.

Anyway, I'm alive and still sort of blogging. Just not very often. Things will pick up again in a week or so.