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.

Oh, yeah. I have a blog.

So I haven't blogged in ages. Mostly due to my whole "stop blogging at work" and "no internet at home" thing. Luckily, I have internet at home again, so I'm back.

Anyway, here is a new pic of me, courtesy of The Simpsons. What do you think? I think, sadly, that it's pretty close.

Dorks to Watch Out For

Last night was the Lambda Literary Awards. Awesome!

Rob won his category. Woo hoo! From Famous Author Rob Byrnes to Famous Award Winning Author Rob Byrnes (FAWARB).

Sadly, I don't have time to write about everything. Highlights were meeting Tim and Becky and having my photo taken with Christopher Rice, who is remarkably gracious about such things.

Lowlights, well there was only one. When I met the wonderful Alison Bechdel (author of the Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip), I meant to say that I've been reading her comics for years. What I actually said was I grew up reading her comics. Which I suppose implied that she's old. Which she's not (she's about 8 years older than me).

I wish my brain and mouth didn't function independent of each other. Bother.

Anyway, fun time had. More details later.

So much to do

I took the job.

So much to do, so little time.

But I'm still pretty excited.

Booyah

I just found out I'm getting an offer from the company I've been interviewing with.

Color me psyched.

And a little freaked.

But mostly psyched.

GBNY:4

Because I'm lazy, I'm just cutting and pasting from David. If anyone is interested in seeing the show on Saturday night (so far the response has been underwhelming), let me know. If I don't get more than a couple of people, I'm just going to bail and go to Marie's with the cool kids.


Here is the schedule as it stands as of 4:45 EST (As with any event, the dates, times, locations and listed performers are all subject to change):

Friday 9PM:
Cocktails at Therapy in Hell's Kitchen, 348 West 52nd Street.

Saturday 2PM-6PM:
Central Park picnic on Bear Hill above the roller-disco near the flagpole.
Live DJs, wacky NYC characters, no alcohol allowed (but plenty consumed; suggestions: white wine in Sprite bottles, thermos margaritas, etc.)
Bear Hill is just west of the bandshell. Enter at 72nd Street (East or West).

SATURDAY EVENING OPTIONS
Theater Night:
Crash from Crash and Byrne will be going to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street, Between 2nd & 3rd Avenue @ 10:30 PM
The tickets are $11-16 each (depends on the dice roll, read more here).
After the hour long show, he will hit the East Village gay bars, probably Urge and Eastern Bloc.

Saturday Late Night:
The NYC Eagle's rooftop bar in Chelsea at 554 West 28th Street.

-or-

Marie's Crisis at 59 Grove Street, New York's infamous piano bar.

Sunday Beer Bust Blarg Hop:
Beginning at the Dugout at 5pm, we will haul our sodden butts up 8th Avenue with hour-long ssshtops at Gym Bar, Rawhide, View Bar, finishing at the Eagle at 9PM.
You may wish to take a cab from Dugout to Gym Bar.

Will work for cash

So having not gotten the job I wanted and having not heard back from the other company since my last interview, I've started really heating up the job search. I sent out six resumes in the last couple of days.

My new pet peeve: the way job listings rarely have the salary range listed. It seems like a waste of time for me to apply for a job only to find out it's a quarter of what I'm making now.

Ah, well.

Anyway, the job listing I replied to today is for a major sports association. It would be funny getting that job as I know nothing about the sport in question. However, the job responsibilities don't require me to.

Keep your fingers crossed; this could be a good one.

Hand me my shawl

The woman who sits across from me spends a great deal of time talking about her love/dating life. Loudly. Currently she's talking about this old guy who she's been seeing and how he's just too old for her.

A few moments ago, she mentioned just how old he is. He was born the same year I was.

Ouch.

Que Sera Sera

Didn't get the job I had wanted. Ah, well. Still up for the other job, so all is not lost.

Suddenly, Sylar

Having really only seen Ellen Greene as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, it was kind of funny to see her as Sylar's mother in last night's Heroes.

I kept expecting them to break into a duet.

Ah, well.

It also sort of figures that the guy that I think is the hottest on that show is the psycho killer.

That should give you a bit of an insight into my screwed up dating life.

Good thing it wasn't a beauty contest

So here we are. The old boys. The alumni. Or Gotham Silver, which is, I guess, our official designation.

We're old. We're out of shape. But we won.

Great day

I played rugby today for the first time in a few months.

Awesome. I had such a great day.

Silly me

In a fit of drunken exuberance, I agreed to play rugby this weekend. I haven't played since November . . . and that nearly killed me.

Anyway, the weather should be nice and there will be paramedics on hand.

At least some of the guys we're playing are cute. That makes the incentive to tackle them much greater.

By the way, the team raised about $15,000 at the auction last night. Great work! And thanks to David and Patrick for joining me.

Tonight

Short notice, but my team's bachelor auction is tonight. Hope you can join us.

Oh, come on!

Okay. Patrick is back in the hosptial. And I just found out that my friend Stuff has been in a hospital in Hong Kong for the last week with something the doctors can't diagnose.

Bugger.

Look on the sunny side

So the last week and a half has been like a series of swift kicks to the nuts. Today's news is that one of my former rugby teammates died unexpectedly. He was a really good kid, and I'm absolutely gutted.

So here's the deal. I need some good news. Please, please, please leave a comment and let me know something good that is happening in your life. It doesn't matter what it is. I just really need to hear something happy.

Actually knowing kind of sucks, too.

The phone call was bad. One of my oldest friends (we've known each other nearly 30 years) tried to kill herself on Monday. She refused psychiatric treatment, so her family had to have her involuntarily committed. She told everyone that she is just going to try again as soon as they let her out.

She's had a really, really rough time the last several years, and she's been depressed, though I had no idea how badly.

Naturally, I'm turning this all around on myself right now. Maybe if I'd called more often. Maybe if I'd gone home to visit. Maybe if I'd just paid more attention to the signs. All that bullshit.

I found all this out yesterday afternoon. I went home after visiting Patrick and went to bed. Basically 3-4 hours early. That's how my body/mind copes with things . . . by shutting down.

Today, everything is an effort. Waking, dressing, being at work. Everything seems hazy and I'm so fucking tired.

I wish it were the weekend already.

It's the not knowing that's the worst

Today's theme appears to be "we'll get back to you."

I'm waiting to find out how Patrick is doing after his surgery.

I'm waiting to find out if I got the new job.

I'm waiting to hear back from a friend from back home who left a message on my phone at 6 a.m. saying she needed to talk to me about a mutual friend and asked me to call her back as soon as possible. She wasn't home so I had to leave a message.

I'm waiting to hear if anyone is going to attend this Porno Bingo thing that I have to go to tomorrow, since one of my not-for-profits is the beneficiary. As it stands now, it doesn't look like it will be well attended.

As much as I hate the waiting, I also hate the thought that some of the answers to the questions could be bad.

Meme

Taken from Timothy.

ONE. WORD. MEME.

1. Where is your cell phone? Backpack.
2. Describe your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O.? Theoretical.
3. Your hair? Corporate.
4. Your mother? Wonderful.
5. Your father? Frustrated.
6. Your favorite item? Books.
7. Your dream last night? Political.
8. Your favorite drink? Lemonade.
9. Your dream car? Limo.
10. The room you are in? White.
11. Your ex? Nonexistent.
12. Your fear? Failure.
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Better.
14. Who did you hang out with last night? Friends.
15. What you’re not? Fearless.
16. The last thing you did? E-mailed.
17. What are you wearing? Khakis.
18. Your favorite book? Many.
19. The last thing you ate? Lunch.
20. Your life? Uneventful.
21. Your mood? Anxious.
22. Your friends? Busy.
23. What are you thinking about right now? Assignments.
24. Your car? Subway.
25. What are you doing at the moment? Typing.
26. Your summer? Hot.
27. Your relationship status? Alone.
28. What is on your TV? Dust.
29. When is the last time you laughed? Today.
30. Last time you cried? Recently.
31. School? Work.

And speaking of events . . . GB:NY4!!!!!!

GB:NY4, May 25-28

Details to follow.

And as an homage to the various IV movies out there, here are some possible taglines for us to use (let me know which one you like the best):

Get ready for the next world war (Rocky IV)

Three Times Before You Have Felt The Terror, Known The Madness, Lived The Horror. But This Is The One You've Been Screaming For. (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)

On land, on sea, or in the air, no place is safe from them! (Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol)

It's ancient wisdom against teenage spunk. (The Next Karate Kid)

They said it was over. They were wrong. (Omen IV: The Awakening)

The erotic masterpiece (Emmanuelle IV)

Pure Evil Never Really Dies (Nightmare on Elm Street 4)

While I think the quote from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is the most appropriate, I'm really leaning toward The Next Karate Kid. Go figure.

Now, start spreading the news so we have lots of people attending.

Come to this event!

The RSVP deadline was yesterday, but it's not too late.

From my friend David:

Dear Friends: I hope you can join me on Wed, April 11 to help launch a big event for my new pet GLBT charity - The Trevor Project. This event is FREE, but we hope you'll consider buying a ticket for our big summer gala dinner and award show on June 25th. We'll have more info on tickets, performers and honorees at the kick-off party - but trust me, they're BIG!

RSVP to events@thetrevorproject.org!

The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock suicide prevention helpline for gay and questioning youth. The Trevor Helpline, 866.4.U.TREVOR, is a free and confidential service that offers hope through its trained counselors. The organization was founded by three filmmakers whose film, Trevor, about a teenager who attempts suicide after realizing that he might be gay, received the 1994 Academy Award® for Best Short Film (Live Action).

Wed, April 11
7 - 10pm
Ultra
37 West 26th St.

Escape from Wolfram & Hart

I've been called in for a second interview for the job I applied for a couple of weeks ago.

Fingers crossed.

My job

Today's things I hate about working at Wolfram & Hart*:

1) None of the fraking equipment works (two fax machines on my floor . . . neither works).

2) The first year associates make (after bonus) triple what I make. And I make less than my colleagues at other firms.

3) The Senior Partners expect me to place all their pet projects, but won't back me up when I need to place real work.

4) Lawyers get new chairs every year. I've had three in the last decade. And the third one (my current one), I had to steal from an empty office.


*Sorry for the Angel reference, but at times I'm fairly certain they based that firm on mine.

Feeling Better

I'm alive. Still feeling a little worn down, but that's how it goes.

Also, Bravo has been showing the final episode of Six Feet Under (I've seen it three times in the last week). Very emotional. Still makes me cry a little.

Anyway, pictures of my newly beardless chin will follow soon.

Sick

So I've been sick for the last couple of days. Food poisoning, I think. (For those of you who saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, think of the "can you use it in a sentence?" answer for 'dengue.')

Pros of food poisoning
1) Rapid weight loss (six pounds in two days)
2) Not having to go to work
3) Sleeping . . . lots and lots of sleeping

Cons of food poisoning
1) Running for the bathroom every 30 minutes or so
2) Dehydration headaches
3) Every part of my body hurting

While I feel much better today, I also feel really weak. I got winded walking up the subway stairs and right now I feel like I could put my head down on my desk and fall asleep.

Luckily, I can rest this weekend.

Frakity frak frak frak

So how good was last night's episode of Battlestar Galactica?

And how pissed am I that there are no new episodes until 2008?

Feeling good

I submitted a resume for a similar job to the one I have now. Two hours later, I got a call asking if I can interview this week.

Sweet.

What I did this weekend

1. Walked out of a play at intermission for only the second time in my life. Sure, I've wanted to other times, but usually at shows I've been reviewing, so I couldn't.

2. Ate dim sum with Jase, Charles, Patrick, and David. Mmmm . . . tripelicious.

3. Shaved. First time in years I've been without facial hair. Um . . . wow. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

Much better

Tylenol PM. That did the trick last night. It was the first uninterrupted night's sleep I've had in ages. I feel much better today.

It may also be because I got a jolt of inspiration for a short play that I'm going to submit for a ten-minute play contest. Started working on it last night and will have it ready to let some people read it by Monday.

I also started a new poem.

Man, having the creative juices flowing, so to speak, really does wonders for my mood.

Insomnia

So I've been having major trouble sleeping. Going to bed around 1. Not falling asleep until 2. Waking up every hour or so. Pain in the ass.

On the up side, I was watching Frasier last night and saw an episode that had T.R. Knight for maybe a minute as one of his patients. The show also had Sarah Silverman, Missi Pyle, and Dan Castellaneta.

It was only an okay episode, but how is that for guest stars?

The rule of three

I remember reading a book (gay fiction, natch) that had the following life lesson: you can have two of the three following things at any one time - a good job, a good apartment, a good relationship.

Now, my self-esteem being what it is, I've always believed I could have one of the three things at any time. When I moved to NY, I had a good apartment, the job was brutal, and I was alone. By the time the apartment got to be too much to handle (I had four roommates), I was liking the job, but I was still alone. When I moved to Chelsea, I loved the apartment, hated the job, and was alone.

Now I find myself hating my job, hating my apartment, and alone.

Bollocks.

The problem, of course, boils down to fear. I am scared to leave the security of my current job, I'm scared to go through the interviewing process, I'm scared to put myself out there. Same can be said for apartment and boyfriend hunting.

I'm not one to take chances. A great line from Wicked, "those who don't try/never look foolish." I spent my childhood being the one who was laughed at and made fun of. Naturally, I'm a little gun-shy nowadays.

So how do I beat that? How do I force myself to take the risks that I have to take? How do I keep from living my life in a safe monotonous rut?

Well, I've been applying for jobs, both in my current field (one opened up today) and in theatre. The apartment thing . . . well, I'm not going to worry about that for now. I think if I get myself in a good place as far as work, I'll care less about the apartment.

The boyfriend . . . I'm not sure I can tackle that one yet. The best I can do right now is to be more social. Go out with friends at least once a week. Maybe get involved in a new activity. I'd love to find a writing group to join.

We'll see, I suppose.

In the meantime, if anyone wants to hang out sometime, let me know. I need to get out of my house and out of my head.

Lambda Literary Awards Finalists

Here is a list of the Lambda Lit finalists. I'm psyched that I know several of the authors. Run out an buy a few books.

Nominees for ANTHOLOGY
Confessions of the Other Mother, edited by Harlyn Aizley (Beacon)
From Boys to Men, edited by Ted Gideonse & Rob Williams (Carroll & Graf)
Love, Bourbon Street, edited by Greg Herren & Paul J. Willis (Alyson)
Charmed Lives, edited by Toby Johnson & Steve Berman (Lethe Press)
No Margins: Writing Canadian Fiction in Lesbian, edited by Catherine Lake & Nairne Holtz (Insomniac)

Nominees for ARTS & CULTURE
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Cinemachismo by Sergio de la Mora (University of Texas Press)
Sex Objects by Jennifer Doyle (University of Minnesota Press)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Blood Beats: Vol 1 by Ernest Hardy (Redbone Press)

Nominees for BISEXUAL
Eros by Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio (Harrington Park Press)
Affirmative Psychotherapy with Bisexual Women & Bisexual Men by Ronald C. Fox (Harrington Park Press)
Three Sides to Every Story by Clarence Nero (Harlem Moon/Doubleday)
Bi Guys, edited by Ron Jackson Suresha (Harrington Park Press)
Bi Men, edited by Ron Jackson Suresha & Pete Chvany (Harrington Park Press)
The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe, Michael Szymanski & Nicole Kristal (Alyson)

Nominees for CHILDRENS/YOUNG ADULT
The Manny Files by Christian Burch (Simon & Schuster)
Full Spectrum, edited by David Levithan & Billy Merrell (Random House Children's Books)
Between Mom & Jo by Julie Anne Peters (Little Brown)
Tale of Two Summers by Brian Sloan (Simon & Schuster)
Erik & Isabelle's Junior Year at Foresthill High by Kim Wallace (Foglight Press)

Nominees for DRAMA/THEATER
Questa by Victor Bumbalo (Broadway Publishing Inc.)
Confessions of a Mormon Boy by Stephen Fales (Alyson)
1001 Beds by Tim Miller (University of Wisconsin)

Nominees for HUMOR
Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip (HarperCollins)
My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan (Little Brown)
Roy & Al by Ralf Konig (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Nominees for LGBT NONFICTION
Hello, Cruel World by Kate Bornstein (Seven Stories)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Different Daughters by Marcia Gallo (Carroll & Graf)
Behind the Mask of the Mattachine by James T. Sears (Harrington Park Press)
Unspeakable Love by Brian Whitaker (University of California)

Nominees for LGBT STUDIES
Every Inch A Man: Phallic Possession, etc. by Carellin Brooks (UBC Press)
Gay Power: An American Revolution by David Eisenbach (Carroll & Graf)
Their Own Receive Them Not by Horace Griffin (Pilgrim Press)
Crip Theory by Robert McRuer (NYU Press)
Beautiful Bottom, Beautiful Shame by Kathryn Stockton (Duke University Press)

Nominees for SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR
Carnival by Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)
Mordred, Bastard Son by Douglas Clegg (Alyson)
A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day (Iris Print)
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Spin Control by Chris Moriarty (Bantam Spectra)

Nominees for SPIRITUALITY
Sex & the Sacred by Daniel Helminiak (Harrington Park Press)
The After-Death Room by Michael McColly (Soft Skull Press)
Spirited edited by Lisa Moore & G. Winston James (Redbone Press)
The Singing of Swans by Mary Saracino (Pearlsong Press )
Mobius Trip by Giti Thadani (Spinifex Press)

Nominees for TRANSGENDER
Transgender Rights edited Paisley Currah, Richard M. Juang, and Shannon Price Minter (University of Minnesota Press)
Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg (Carroll & Graf)
Supervillainz by Alicia E. Goranson (Suspect Thoughts)
The Transgender Studies Reader edited by Susan Stryker & Chris Whittle (Routledge)
The Testosterone Files by Max Wolf Valerio (Seal Press)

Nominees for LESBIAN FICTION
Punk Like Me by JD Glass (Bold Strokes)
Slipstream by Leslie Larson (Crown)
Outrageous by Sheila Ortiz Taylor (Spinsters Ink)
Rose of No Man's Land by Michelle Tea (Macadam Cage)
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (Riverhead Books)

Nominees for LESBIAN ROMANCE
Fresh Tracks by Georgia Beers (Bold Strokes)
Wild Abandon by Ronica Black (Bold Strokes)
Finders Keepers by Karin Kallmaker (Bella Books)
Chance by Grace Lennox (Bold Strokes)
Turn Back Time by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes)

Nominees for LESBIAN MYSTERY
Sleep of Reason by Rose Beecham, Rose (Bold Strokes)
Night Vision by Ellen Hart (St. Martins)
The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Idaho Code by Joan Opyr (Bywater Books)
The Weekend Visitor by Jessica Thomas (Bella Books)

Nominees for LESBIAN POETRY
Domain of Perfect Affection by Robin Becker (University of Pittsburgh)
Days of Good Looks by Cheryl Clarke (Carroll & Graf)
The Truant Lover by Juliet Patterson (Nightboat Books)
Lemon Hound by Sina Queyras (Coach House Books)
Touch to Affliction by Nathalie Stephens (Coach House Books)

Nominees for LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
Intimate Politics by Bettina Aptheker (Seal Press)
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip (HarperCollins)
Hit by a Farm by Catherine Friend (Carroll & Graf)
Incognito Street by Barbara Sjoholm (Seal Press)

Nominees for LESBIAN EROTICA
Walk Like a Man by Laurinda D. Brown (Q-Boro Books)
Glamour Girls edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Harrington Park Press)
18th & Castro by Karin Kallmaker (Bella Books)
Master Han's Daughter by Midori (Circlet Press)
Best Lesbian Erotica 2007 edited by Tristan Taromino & Emma Donoghue (Cleis Press)

Nominees for LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (Riverhead)Black Marks by Kirsten Dinnall Hoyte (Akashic)
Erzulie's Skirt by Ana-Maurine Lara (Redbone Press)
Slipstream by Leslie Larson (Crown)
Origami Striptease by Peggy Munson (Suspect Thoughts)

Nominees for GAY FICTION
Every Visible Thing by Lisa Carey (HarperCollins)
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Alternatives to Sex by Stephen McCauley (Simon & Schuster)
Now Is the Hour by Tom Spanbauer (Houghton Mifflin)
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)

Nominees for GAY ROMANCE
Someone Like You by Timothy James Beck (Kensington)
When the Stars Come Out by Rob Byrnes (Kensington)
Two Boys in Love by Lawrence Schimel (Seventh Window)
Surf 'N Turf by Scott & Scott (Romenticc)
Going Down in La-La Land by Andy Zeffer (Harrington Park Press)

Nominees for GAY MYSTERY
Mardi Gras Mambo by Greg Herren (Kensington)
The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon (I-Universe)
The Back Passage by James Lear (Cleis Press)
Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues by Randall Peffer (Bleak House Books)
The Lucky Elephant Restaurant by Garry Ryan (NeWest Press)

Nominees for GAY POETRY
Gutted by Justin Chin (Manic D Press)
The Album That Changed My Life by Jeffrey Conway (Cold Calm Press)
A History of My Tattoo by Jim Elledge (Stonewall)
Other Fugitives & Other Strangers by Rigoberto Gonzalez (Tupelo Press)
When the Eye Forms by Dwaine Rieves (Tupelo)

Nominees for GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY
Untold Stories by Alan Bennett (FSG)
The Bill From My Father by Bernard Cooper (Simon & Schuster)
Tweaked by Patrick Moore (Kensington)
History of Swimming by Kim Powers (Carroll & Graf)
My Father's Keeper by Jonathan Silin (Beacon)

Nominees for GAY EROTICA
Best Gay Erotica 2007 edited by Richard Labonte & Timothy J. Lambert (Cleis Press)
A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann (Suspect Thoughts)
Hot On His Trail by Zavo (Alyson)

Nominees for GAY DEBUT FICTION
A Scarecrow's Bible by Martin Hyatt (Suspect Thoughts)
Send Me by Patrick Ryan (Dial Press)
The Zookeeper by Alex MacLennan (Alyson)
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)
5 Minutes & 42 Seconds by Timothy Williams (HarperCollins)

From Today's TV Listings

Lost - Sawyer competes in a pingpong competition to get back his belongings.

Seriously, I am over this show.

Theatre recommendation

For those of you in Washington DC or who will be visiting, there is a great show at the Warehouse Theatre, Writer's Cramp by John Byrne. Very, very funny (kind of like Joe Orton) and a really talented cast.

Check it out.

Ash Wednesday

For Lent this year, I've decided to give up soft drinks and meat (the usual).

Anyone else giving up anything for Lent?

In a nutshell

So, I didn't get into grad school. Found out yesterday.

So let's recap:

I'm nearly forty.

I'm working at a job where my bosses tell me I'm doing a good job, but then blithely shrug their shoulders when I point out that people with less experience at smaller companies make more than I do.

Last year I began interviewing for any jobs that opened up in my current field (a very limited number) and didn't get any of them.

Jobs in theatre pay about half what I make now.

I didn't get into grad school.

I'm alone.

I am profoundly unhappy with just about every aspect of my life.




Yep, the future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades.

Not frozen, just busy

I've been pretty busy for the last week or so. Hopefully things will settle down a little soon.

The Weather Inside is Frightful

I'm Mister White Christmas
I'm Mister Snow
I'm Mister Icicle
I'm Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser,
Whatever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much!

Perhaps you're asking yourself, "Doesn't he realize Christmas is over?"

Yes, I do.

"Then why are your putting the lyrics to Snow Miser's song on your site?"

Because, nosey Nell, last night the boiler in my building died. No heat. No hot water.

I woke up this morning curled in a tight fetal position, completely buried under my blankets, with a scratchy throat and runny nose. And I couldn't even warm up in the shower because, as I mentioned, the water was cold as fucking ice.

Brilliant start to the day.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm changing my name from Crash to Stinky McBedhead Grumpypants III.*

You'd think, given my uncanny resemblence to a polar bear, that I'd be fine with a freezing apartment and a frigid shower. I'd just shrug it off, lumber into the kitchen, eat a seal for breakfast, and go to work.

Not so much. I hate, hate, hate being cold in the morning.

With luck, the heat will be back on tonight. And if not, at least I'll know to get up early so I can grab a shower at the gym.




*An homage to David and his neverending quest to find a new name for Goblin.

Rest in Peace

God bless you, Molly Ivins. It's a poorer world without you.

One more thing . . .

I received my 2007 Dieux du Stade calendar. For those of you not in the know, it features pictures of (mostly) French rugby players in provocative poses.

This is without a doubt the most erotic one yet.

The only way next year's will beat it is if it shows erections or hot man-on-man action. Personally, I'm hoping for both.

Tee hee

Did anyone watch Family Guy last night? The scene with Pat Robertson and Don Wildmon (or maybe it was Jerry Falwell . . . all those fundies look alike to me) making out made my freakin' day.

Hilarious.

Starbucks

There is a Starbucks just steps from my office (I'm sure nearly everyone in Manhattan can say the same thing). Some days the coffee is . . . well, I won't say good. Let's go with adequate. Some days, it tastes like it was brewed in Satan's colon.

Take a guess which one it was today.

Denver

Looks like I'll be going to Denver soon. Anyone know which bars I should visit?

TV

Okay, so I've been watching a little TV. Not much, but more than I intended to.

I've now seen two episodes of 'Gay, Straight or Taken.'

They really should have called the show 'Damn, This Bitch is Stupid.' There was a guy on one of the episodes that made Charles Nelson Reilly look butch, and the idiot girl thought he was the Taken one.

Taken from behind, maybe. Ba-dum-bum.

And that, ladies and germs, is why I don't write comedy.

Anywho, I saw a good production of Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters by The New Globe Theatre tonight at Theatre 3 (next door to Second Stage Theatre where Little Dog Laughed is playing). Lots of over the top fun, if you're into such things. Well worth checking out.

Done

It's in the mail and I don't have to think of it again for a while.

Whew.

I need a martini.

Free-ish at last, free-ish at last.

I just finished the first draft of my paper. Or rather, I hit 19 pages and it all just started to look like strings of words without any real cohesion, so I stopped writing. Now I'm just waiting to get back some comments, then I'll edit it, and send it in.

It's due tomorrow, by the way.

Now I'm off to make a call or two, then I'm writing my personal statement.

Woo hoo! Fun times.

The ball's in their court

So I came up with a way to save my office thousands of dollars a year with one simple change.

And if it turns out that my raise sucks as bad as it has the last two years, then I'm keeping mum about it. Fuck 'em.

Update: Fuck 'em.

Good news/Bad news

Bad News - The gas smell that is permeating the city gave me a headache from hell based on my relatively brief exposure to it.

Good News - Weather.com is finally forecasting snow. It's due to arrive on January 17th. That being said, things change from moment to moment, so we'll see.

Let's see . . . other news. This weekend I made minestrone, veggie chili, tuna salad, and a chicken and vegetables thing in the crockpot. Lots of food stockpiled for when the gas smell starts turning people into zombies.

UPDATE: They took the snow off the forecast. Bugger.
UPDATE 2: No zombies as yet.

Getting to know me

Some things I like right now:
1) The Neo-Futurists' Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. Some of the most energetic and interesting theatre in town. They perform (or try to) 30 short plays in 60 minutes. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't. But you won't care one way or the other; the joy is in the journey, not the destination.

2) Gus Fink. This is an artist I met in Atlanta when I was down there for Dragon Con (don't you judge me). Anyway, his work is cool and disturbing and I bought several pieces of it. Not for nothing, but I really like his drawings. I'm certainly not saying you have to run out and buy me some . . . but if you wanted to, who am I to stand in your way?

3) This fuckin' weather. When was the last time you were outside in January in New York and thought to yourself, "damn, I wish I'd worn shorts today"?

4) Working on my writing sample. Sure, this is a major pain in my ass, but I'd forgotten how much I enjoy doing research. It's like putting together a puzzle where you first have to find all the hidden pieces, then put them together to make a picture.

5) My iPod. Best. Gift. Ever.

6) Losing weight. Or more to the point, wearing clothes I haven't fit into for a while.

7) Cooking. Today was Mexican Chicken & Chayote Soup for lunch and a really good Tuna Pasta Salad for dinner. Tomorrow, maybe Chili or Chicken Stew. We'll see.

Things I'm Not Really Digging:
1) The assholes with their car stereos blaring and their windows down outside my apartment. While I have nothing against Middle-Eastern hip hop or whatever the hell it is, I don't want to hear it at 3 a.m.

2) The fact that Restaurant Week falls during my "no eating out" January. Meaning that I will be eating out. Bollocks.

3) Drunk assholes who sit halfway on my lap on the subway and don't have the good manners to apologize or move. Bitch, if I wanted a lap dance, I sure as hell could find a hotter guy than you to give it to me.

What's cool

You know what's cool?

1) When it's 68 degrees outside. In New York. In January.

2) Pulling on a pair of pants you haven't worn for a while and finding $50 in the pocket.

I hope you have a cool Saturday.

And another thing . . .

Another cool thing about making my own meals, rather than eating out, is that the weight just drops off me.

I lost 6.5 lbs this week. Woo hoo!

The down side of not eating anything I didn't prepare will be obvious in a couple of minutes when I go to a business lunch. I guess I'd better grab a bite to eat before it.

Cooking

The nice things about making all my own food for the month is that the house smells great.

That's pretty much all I've got today.

Blog? What blog?

Right, I have a blog. Sorry I've been neglecting it, but things are still a little crazy for me. So rather than bothering to catch you up on all the fabulous things I haven't been doing, I think I'll just list some of my New Year's Resolutions.

1) Write between 500-1000 words a day.

2) Eat out less. Specifically, for the month of January, I won't be eating anything I didn't prepare. No cafeteria for lunch. No pre-theatre dinners at a local restaurant. No calling for pizza when I don't feel like cooking. After January, I'll be limiting myself to no more than two meals out per week.

3) Be more proactive about getting in shape. Go to the gym at least three days per week. Start doing my physical therapy exercises every evening before bed.

4) Spend a little time every day (15-30 minutes) cleaning or organizing my apartment. Get rid of all the old clothes, books I don't intend to read again, and other clutter.

5) Cut back on the TV. No TV in January (though I will tape BSG and watch it later). After that, no more than 5 hours of TV per week, though I will allow myself to tape shows and watch them later. The basic upshot of this is to keep me from wasting hours flipping channels when nothing is on.

5) Add at least one CD a day to iTunes until I'm caught up.

6) Blog every day.

7) Catch up on my theatre reviews and once done, file all my future reviews within two days of having seen the show.

8) Market my plays. Submit at least five plays to festivals or local theatre companies. This should be made considerably easier by the 500-1000 words a day resolution.

9) Be better about writing. Respond to all e-mails within two days. Send someone I know a letter or card at least once a week. I know how much I like receiving something other than junk mail, it's the least I can do to brighten a friend's day.

10) Be diligent about keeping track of my finances for tax purposes. Now that I'm actually making money from my writing, I need to start keeping track of my expenses.

11) Take care of a personal matter. That's all I'm saying about that one.

12) Make one Christmas gift per month. This year I gave a couple of handmade gifts and loved making them. I've decided to make most of my gifts this year.

13) Finish one art project per month.

I'm sure that more will be added as the year goes on.

So where do I stand on the resolutions three days into the year?

Well, January 1 was spent coming up with the resolutions, so it doesn't count. But looking at yesterday and today:

1) Good.
2) Good.
3) Well, nothing so far, but I'm going to the gym tonight.
4) Good.
5) Good.
6) Um . . . well, I'm blogging today.
7) Catching up. Next show to be reviewed is Friday, so I'll let you know on Sunday.
8) Nothing yet.
9) Doing okay with e-mail. No letter yet.
10) Good.
11) Good.
12) Ordered the material for two of the gifts.
13) Nothing yet.

All in all, not too bad.

So did any of you make resolutions?

A Six Word Review: Company

Saw it. Loved it. See it.

Best. Party. Ever.

Birthday week is going very nicely.

Some coworkers brought me a Juniors Cheesecake for lunch on Monday.

Great party Monday night. Lot's of friends (bloggers, ruggers, miscellaneous). Lots of martinis. Great gifts (actually, frakkin' amazing gifts). Showtunes. Cute guys. Fun.

And the actual birthday hasn't arrived yet.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of my best birthday memories from my life.

1. The year mom made me a Snoopy cake with a black gumdrop for the nose. I was probably five.

2. The year most of my friends got me Star Trek action figures.

3. My freshman year of college when I was feeling really lonely because I was celebrating my birthday by myself for the first time. There was a knock on the door and when I opened it, there was a note (like a ransom note with cut out letters) telling me to be in the lobby at 6. When I got downstairs, a group of my friends 'kidnapped' me and took me out for dinner. I still have the ransom note.

4. Buying my first "legal" bottle of booze. Peach schnapps, if memory serves. Gads.

5. Last year's awesome, awesome coconut cake.

6. Mom throwing me a surprise party that actually surprised me. I had no idea what she was up to.

What are your favorite birthday memories?

With special guest star . . .

After drinks the other night, I was thinking about what my life would be like if the world were a TV show. Truth be told, my life is entirely too boring to be a drama. Though I suppose that's a good thing considering the dramas I tend to watch (Dexter, Jericho, Law & Order, etc.) have remarkably high body counts.

So I guess by default, my life would be a sitcom.

Then it occurred to me that if I were in a sitcom, it would probably be someone else's. I might be Fred Mertz. Or maybe Sally Rogers (particularly apt, I think). But I wonder if I'd even qualify to be in the main cast like them. Maybe just a recurring character. Dr. Bombay, perhaps. Or, sticking with Bewitched, Esmerelda, the one who had a tendency to turn invisible.

So what have we learned from today's entry? First, I get maudlin when I drink. Second, I'm having doubts about my self-worth. Third, I should stop watching Nick at Night while drunk and depressed. Fourth, it's going to be one of those birthdays.

Essay Question

Chocolate Covered Mint Oreos: Proof of the Existence of a Divine and Merciful Creator?

Discuss.

School Daze

On Saturday, I'll be taking the GRE. For the record, the last time I took this particular exam was in the late '80s. On the practice exams, my verbal skills have been just peachy. My math scores, however . . . well, let's just say I'd be riding to school on the short bus. Or maybe I'd be the head cheerleader. To-may-to, to-mah-to.

I've been trying to teach myself basic math for the last few days. That explains why it is almost one in the morning and I'm just now going to bed. It also explains why I will probably be dreaming of complex fractions and geometry.

I can't wait for this crap to be over.

I love math. I really do. There is a certain beauty in the symmetry and logic of numbers. However, that doesn't help me when I can't remember how to calculate the area of a circle.

Argh.

Sorry

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's just that I'm horribly busy right now. Not so much with work, but with real life stuff. Things will slow down soon, but for now, I'm miserable.

Anyway, I'll write when I can.

BTW, I'm throwing myself a little birthday party at Splash next Monday (the 4th) at 6pm. Anyone interested? And yes, I'm aware that I just said I was horribly busy. But come on, if I can't take an evening to celebrate my birthday, I'll go crazy.

OMG

Now Rumsfeld has resigned.

I'm totally doing a happy dance in my office right now.

If the next announcement is that someone discovered pictures of Tom DeLay wearing women's clothing, my head will probably explode.

WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead.
She's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below.
Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Wicked Witch is dead!

Rick Santorum has been voted out of office. I hope this is the first of a long string of concession speeches he will give over the course of his life.

Strangers on a Train

Based on what I saw on the train today, it appears Boyfriend 101 Guy has moved on to a new book. Another self-help book. I am intrigued.

And speaking of people who are on my train, I thought I'd introduce you to a few of the other regulars who make my life interesting during my morning commute.

Gilmore Guy - A goodlooking fellow who looks just like an older version of Matt Czuchry who plays Logan on Gilmore Girls (yes, I watch it . . . don't you judge me).

Angry Black Doug - This guy works at some delivery service and is always wearing his polyester shirt/shorts combo. I call him black Doug because he looks like a black version of Doug Heffernan the IPS delivery guy on King of Queens. I call him angry because he curses and mutters to himself whenever the train is held in the station or is delayed for any reason. If it goes on long enough, he starts yelling that he's in a hurry and he's got a job and they're making him late. Then he storms off the train at his station, shoving people out of the way. Angry Black Doug really needs to leave his house about ten minutes earlier every day. Or he needs to get laid.

Hoochie Mama - A rather zaftig woman who wears very, very, very tight low-rise jeans and works them. In her world, she is the sexiest thing there is. And I have to admire her for that.

The Redhead - He's hot. When he's on the train, he's the only person on the train.

Ms. Swan - A look-alike for Ms. Swan from Mad TV.

These are just the ones I've noticed for one reason or another.

When will it end?

You know that commercial for the fake boner pills that features the guy with the creepy smile (Smiling Bob according to the commercial) and the insipid whistled tune that goes on and on and on and on . . . ?

Well, since they show that commercial on LOGO every, I don't know, six minutes or so, it's been stuck in my head for two days. Two frakkin' days.

So today's question for my readers (yes, both of you): When you get a song stuck in your head, how do you unstick it?

Me, I normally start humming the I Dream of Jeannie theme. It bumps things out of my head, but doesn't stick. Sadly, Smiling Bob's Boner Theme seems to be impervious.

Lost

While watching Lost last night, it occured to me. I don't care anymore.

I don't care what the mystery of the island is. I don't care if Jack gets free from the Others. I don't care if Kate does/doesn't love Sawyer.

I used to really enjoy the show, but now it's like getting hit in the head with a hammer.

So until Sawyer finally power-fucks the attitude out of Jack, or Phil Silvers shows up on the island and puts on a musical version of Hamlet set to the music from Carmen, I'm done.

Go see this show

I'm reviewing this one, so I can't go into details, but it was terrific. Go see it before it closes. Marvelous horror, comedy, sex, gore, suspense, terror . . . well, Grand Guignol . . . what more needs be said?

The show is called The Blood Brothers present . . . An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror.

Sadly, it closes tomorrow (Sat. 28th).

I'm giving up

Today on the train, there was a really cute guy sitting across from me. Dark hair, thin, well-dressed, and . . . well, let's just say he had a rather impressive bulge.

He was reading this book, Boyfriend 101: A Gay Guy's Guide to Dating, Romance, and Finding True Love.

So if a cute, fit, well-dressed, hung guy can't find love . . . ?

Well, I don't want to continue that thought.

Anyway, at least there is a dating site just for me. And possibly Palochi.

Creativity

Over the last week or two, my nesting instincts have gone into overdrive. I've been unpacking boxes (one of which I'd packed in 1994 according to the papers I'd wrapped everything in), choosing paint colors, ordering furniture, that sort of thing.

Basically, I've decided that it's time to make my apartment into my home.

So I have a project for any of you who might be game.

I like to surround myself with pictures of my friends or with things that they've created. So your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to send me one of the following things:

1) A favortie photo of yourself or something that is important to you (preferably a photo that you took yourself)

or

2) A piece of art that you've made (it can be anything you like, but I have lots of small spaces to fill, so things that are postcard up to standard letter sized are best).

While you are welcome to send things to me via e-mail, I would actually prefer to get hard copies in the mail. Mostly because I'd like you to sign whatever you send me. If anyone wants my address, shoot me an e-mail.

So there you have it. I hope some of you give it a shot. I know a lot of you are extremely creative and I'd really like to have your art or photos hanging in my apartment.

I'll post pictures of anything I get in Flickr, so you can all be inspired by each other's creativity.

By the way, if anyone would like a photo or piece of art from me as a quid pro quo, I'm up for it. And at the very least, everyone who sends me something will get a (poorly) handmade Thank You card.

Huh

Well spank my ass and call me Sally. The old fogeys beat the youngsters. I'm shocked and amazed. Guile and experience beat youth and talent.

The game was brilliant, but I am so sore it isn't even funny. For me. For others, it's probably hilarious.

I pulled a muscle in my back and one in my forearm. My neck is stiff and won't bend quite right and my knees are a real mess. I also took two elbows to the head and one to the nose. No blood, though.

But I had so much fun today.

And we won.

Whee.

D'oh

One drink. A colleague was having a birthday party and I was going to have one drink then leave.

8 drinks later (3 ciders and 5 shots of vodka), I'm home, drunk, and ordering pizza. Lots of pizza.

Sigh.

Well, I'll be in great shape for tomorrow's rugby game (1 pm-ish on Randall's Island Field 19). Come for te laugh of me dragging my fat, hungover ass all up and down the pitch.

Truth is, we (the 'alumni' side) have been invited so the B-side can have one victory this year. We'll be getting our asses kicked by guys half our age.

So what? At least the drinks will be free. And if the boys on the B-side get their kicks beating a bunch of old men, well, more power to them.

Now I'm going to go watch, Dr. Who and BSG. Maybe I'll drunk dial a few of you, too.

The Rejection

This song has been in my head all day.

I just really enjoy the way the one line "I'd like to like you like you like me" sounds.

Of course, if it's still in my head by this evening I'll be sticking an ice pick in my temple, but whatever.

Busy

Been a little busy recently, so I haven't had time to post. Plus, I'm kind of lazy.

So here's a recap in reverse chron.

Lots of working out. A trip to Splash for Musical Monday. Broadway Flea Market. Rainy Days and Mondays at the Fringe Festival Encore. Oedipus for Kids at the NY Musical Theatre Festival. Work events. The Innovative Theatre Awards (an off-off Broadway award show). Drowsy Chaperone. Famous Author Rob Byrnes' book launch (go buy When the Stars Come Out).

Anyway. There you go.

Tagged

Sherry tagged me with a meme where you post five things to do in your city. Well, hello, I live in New York. There are probably indigenous people in the heart of the jungle who can come up with five things to do in New York. So I think I will make it more interesting by coming up with five things to do in my neighborhood of Astoria.

1. Visit the Socrates Sculpture Park.

2. Have a beer or eight at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden.

3. Stalk a cute cub.

4. Visit the American Museum of the Moving Image.

5. Eat some amazing Greek food (too many restaurants to possibly link to).

So there you have it.

As for the five bloggers I'm supposed to tag, I choose Jeff, Jeff, Tuna Girl, Scott and Knottyboy.

UPDATE: Hello, visitors from the Improv Resource Center.

Yea me!

Okay, I don't want to turn this into a weight loss blog, but I figure if I mention it from time to time, I'll have more incentive to keep up the good work.

As of today, I'm down 17 lbs. Slowly but surely.

Anyway, next week I start my weight-lifting routine, which will make me thinner, but will probably slow down the actual weight loss. I'm not going to worry about it.

I've made a few deals with myself about what I'm going to do once I hit my goal weight. First, I'm going to buy some nicer clothes. Like stylish, get-laid-when-you-go-to-the-bar, designer clothes. I'm tired of looking schlumpy.

And I'm getting a tattoo. I'm thinking of a double ouroborus (two entwined snakes in a circle, each one with the other's tail in its mouth). And maybe a second one which would be a celtic cross, if I don't cry like a little girl when I'm getting my first one. (Speaking of which, do any of you remember the episode of "Bosom Buddies" where Tom Hanks decides to get a tattoo to impress the girl that he likes? If you do, his reaction when the needle touches his skin (about 2:27 in the video clip) is what I fear my reaction will be.)

Anyway, that's majorly putting the cart before the horse. But it's fun to have a goal in mind.

What the cool kids are doing tonight

Thursday, September 14, 2006
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
"When the Stars Come Out": The Launch Party at VLADA
331 West 51st Street
(betw. 8th and 9th avenues)
Manhattan

Another pet peeve

Bemused - bewildered, confused or lost in thought.

Amused - entertained, mirthful.

I'm reading some gay-themed young adult novels right now (I'm trying to write one and am getting a sense of the genre). The author whose books I'm currently reading uses bemused for amused with alarming frequency.

At first, I assumed it was on purpose. After two books where he does it repeatedly, I'm thinking it's not.

Would it be tacky to e-mail him and explain the difference? Or should I just give it up since no one at Simon & Schuster seems to have noticed either.

Do you have any similar pet peeves?

UPDATE: The author in question was Brian Sloan and the books were Tale of Two Summers and A Really Nice Prom Mess. Despite the bemused/amused thing, they were both good books. Sloan manages to create characters who really sound and act like teenagers; a rarity in young adult literature (at least based on what I've read so far). And the stories are amusing on top of that. In fact, I'd love to see A Really Nice Prom Mess as a film. Read them if you're interested in the genre.

And he's also the writer/director of the film WTC View which is on Logo now. I haven't seen it yet, but I intend to. But if I hear bemused used incorrectly . . .

9/11

I wrote it four years ago, posted it a couple of years ago. I'm posting it again because I'm too tired to write anything else. I hate this day.

September Morning

There were shoes everywhere
High-heels, clunky sandals, oxfords
Scattered among the briefcases, purses, gym bags
Anything that slowed us down

We ran in stocking feet
Through glass and metal, mud and ash
Not feeling the cuts
Not noticing the blood

How could we?

When all around was fire and smoke
Paper like rain, bodies like hail
The screams, the anguish, the chaos
What was our pain compared to that?

Only later, alone at home, safe
Could we look at our feet and guiltily wonder
How could something that tears open your soul
Leave such little marks?

And we're back . . .

Great vacation, but I'm exhausted.

I had a fun time, met some really cool people, shook hands with some celebrities, totally gave in to my sci-fi geek side, and all that jazz. I also have a new answer when people ask me the weirdest place I've ever had sex. Not that anyone has ever asked, come to think of it. But I'm ready in case they do.

Update from my awesome, awesome vacation

The score:

1/1/2005-8/31/2006: 0
9/1/2006-today: 3

If you can guess what those numbers indicate, you'll understand why I don't want to come back home.

Three. Three! Three!!!!!!!!

Resistance is futile

Oh, give me a home
Where the sci-fi geeks roam
And the Borg and the Peacekeepers play
Where Babylon 5
Is forever alive
And it's always Colonial Day

Home, home at the Con
Where a costume is just de rigueur
Watch vampires pounce
And George Takei flounce
While surrounded by Southern grandeur

Yes, I am that much of a geek. I'm already planning to attend a party for GLBT Star Trek fans, a Q&A with George Romero and Sam Raimi (even with my whole zombie thing), and (frak me) President Gaius Baltar's State of the Fleet Address. I'm even toying with going to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Senior Prom.

I suppose I should give up the hope of ever getting laid again and should move into my parent's basement. Thank God they have room for my graphic novels and action figures.

See you in a week or so. Live long and prosper.

Theatre

Last night I went to DiverseCity Theater Company's Equality Playwrights Festival at the Clurman Theatre. Four one-acts all having to do gender identity. While all four were interesting and good in their own way, one of them was pretty damn brilliant. Veils, by Joe Byers, was about a soldier in Iraq about to have his first sexual experience with a local prostitute. Given that this play is about gender identity, neither the soldier nor the prostitute is what they appear to be.

It was a great little play.

Two of the others, Onna Field by Stuart Harris, and Cold Flesh by Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza, were okay. Interesting concepts, but I had problems with the writing. Onna Field had a lot of very stylized language that the actors seemed to stumble on from time to time. Cold Flesh had an interesting concept (a woman investigating her husband's suicide and finding out about his gay affairs), but it seemed a little too easy for the main character to find out the truth about his reasons. Imagine a Law and Order episode where the detectives ask the first suspect if he did it, and he confesses. Too much, too quickly. Maybe if it had been stretched into a full-length play and the wife had to do more digging; I'm not sure.

The final play, Clean Living by Robert Askins, was the only comedy of the evening. It took on the whole "don't ask, don't tell" issue in a new and rather amusing way. Plus, there was a naked redhead onstage the entire time, which is always a plus in my book.

In all four shows, the acting, directing and production values were strong. Well, I would have made some different choices as a director in some of the shows, but I feel that way about everything I see.

The festival runs through this weekend, I believe. If you get a chance, you should check it out.

Choices

While working out on the elliptical machine tonight, I was faced with two choices:

1) Watch the big TV screen which some mouth-breathing moron had tuned to Wife Swap;

or

2) Watch the perky asses of the hot dancer boys who were using the machines in front of me as they swayed seductively back and forth.

Wanna guess which I chose?

[title of post]

Last night I saw [title of show]. I loved it. I want to see it again and again.

A few thoughts:

1) I wish I'd written it.
2) Since I can't date Faustus (a funny, clever redhead), I want to date Hunter Bell (a funny, clever redhead).
3) The show introduced a new word into my lexicon: procrastibator. I would like that inscribed on my headstone.

Anyway, the show closes on Sept. 9th (I believe) so go see it if you haven't yet. Hell, go see it even if you have.

Help

To my readers who are (or were) in theatre: Does anyone have a translation of Pierre Marivaux's The Dispute that I could borrow?

I know it's unlikely, but I don't want to purchase one and I thought I'd try this first.

UPDATE: Never mind. The library has it. God, I love this city.

But I want it now!

So after three weeks of eating (sorta) right and working out, I'm down nine pounds.

Naturally, I'm despondent. I can't help but think that the folks on The Biggest Loser would have been down . . . I don't know . . . like 40 pounds in that amount of time.

Yes, I'm losing slowly which is better, yadda, yadda, yadda. But I want to be skinny now. Right now, this instant.

My former shrink saw unreasonable expectations as one of my problems. Gee, you think?

Anyway, we'll see how this goes.

Joke

This Hasidic Jew walks into a bar with a bright orange frog on his head. The bartender looks at him and says, "Where on earth did you get that?"

The frog answers, "Brooklyn. They're all over the place."

Ba dum bum.

My Year Sunday of New Things

As a nod to Erik's blog, I've decided to list the handful of new things I did Sunday.

1) Ate chicken feet at the Golden Palace while having dim sum with Jase, Brian and Patrick.

2) Went to Coney Island and walked the boardwalk.

3) Had pizza at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn.

4) Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was a great weekend.

Venting

How fair is it that this cat received more press than any of my friends or family who've ever passed away?

I imagine when Baby Jessica passes on, there will be a national day of prayer and the flags will be at half-staff.

Last night

When I climbed the stairs out of the subway, the first thing I noticed was the flashing light. It looked like a Hollywood premiere.

I had my umbrella, but the rain hadn't started, so I was fine. But the lightning. It was like a sci-fi movie. Jagged spears everywhere, immediate booms of thunder. People were stopped on the sidewalks looking at the clouds. A couple of people had cameras out.

By the time I'd reached my street, the lightning and thunder had me rattled. Too close, too loud. A block away from my house, the rain started. Fat, heavy drops. By the time I had my umbrella opened, it was pouring. The wind whipped the rain sideways, catching my umbrella and rendering it useless. I ran the half-block down to my apartment. When I reached the scaffolding, I was dripping wet and my shoes were filled with water.

Once safely indoors, I looked out and marveled at the rain and the wind. The streets were filled with water and leaves. The wind tore at the branches and awnings. I could hear the pings as small hailstones bounced off my air conditioner.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to the gym.

This morning I noticed that the Lutheran church across the street had been cordoned off. Safety tape around the building, wooden barriers blocking the sidewalk and part of the street. My first thought was a bomb scare. Then I noticed the twin spires at the front of the church were no longer twins. One was now shorter than the other. And large pieces of carved stone had gouged chunks out of the pavement, ripped limbs from the surrounding trees and crushed the wrought-iron fence. I don't know if it was the wind or the lightning, but it's amazing what one relatively quick storm can do.

One other thing

Re: the whole blowing up airplanes thing.

I'm not good when it comes to flying. Haven't been since I was a kid.

When I was in my 20s, I was on a plane that hit an air pocket an dropped a fairly insane distance. That made things ever so much worse. From that point, even a little turbulence could make me start to panic.

But I dealt with it.

Then came 9/11.

At that point, flying became terrifying for me. I started having panic attacks while I was flying. If I fell asleep while flying, I would wake in a panicked state, sure that we were about to crash.

Since I couldn't deal with it, I let science help me out. I started flying with Prince Valium.

Now I take my Valium and use a pair of the noise-reducing headphones with my Walkman (yes, Walkman . . . not everyone has an iPod). Flying is actually fine, and from time to time is even fun.

The events in London (real or not . . . I'll leave that to the conspiracy theorists) may have screwed that up for me. Once again, I will be very worried while I fly and there is the possibility that I will be forced to give up my music and magic headphones. I'll basically be screwed.

I can't wait for the development of transporter technology.

Pretend I wrote something clever here

Last night I went to the gym considerably later than normal. I usually come home, grab a bite, and hit the gym around 7 or so. Last night I didn't get there until 9. Little did I know that the hotties come out at night. Seriously, there was so much eye candy, my workout flew by. And redheads. There were several really hot redheads.

That's the strange thing about my neighborhood. It's hopping at night. Restaurants are always packed with people at 10 or 11 p.m. Even during the week.

Ah well, considering the number of OTB Europeans, I suppose it's no surprise. But it makes me feel tired just thinking about it.

That being said however, my new workout time is officially 9 p.m.

And speaking of douchebags . . .

I have recently returned from a trip to Jesusland where I attended my high school reunion. Twenty years on and the popular assholes are still assholes, they're just fatter and wrinkly. On the flip side, the ones who were put upon and made fun of are really blossoming. I spent the evening talking to a girl who I was in band with. She is now a chef, looks stunning and is married to a comedian/writer who has an Emmy and is about to get his own series on Comedy Central.

It was one of those karmic victories.

I hope every single one of those bitches who were mean to her back in high school were eating their hearts out. Though she did seem pleased that one of the girls actually apologized for the way she treated her.

While it would have been nice if one or two of the people who made my life miserable back then had apologized to me, I will simply take comfort in the knowledge that I have a pretty fucking amazing life.