quote of the day

If you removed all of the homosexuals and homosexual influence from what is generally regarded as American culture, you would pretty much be left with "Let's Make a Deal."
Fran Lebowitz

I popped a Woody!

The husband & I settled in on Friday night to choose a movie from “On Demand” on the evil Comcast. I was surprised by how many choices that we both actually wanted to see. We opted for Vicki Cristina Barcelona because I am a huge Woody Allen fan.
(I just used huge & woody in sentence!). I had wanted to see it when it was first out. The husband tends to really like Woody Allen movies with no Woody Allen (he tires of Mr. Allen’s mannerism, cadence & tics). I know that the husband counts The Purple Rose of Cairo, Radio Days, & Bullets Over Broadway among his all time top favorites movies. While I do concur, I would have to add that Annie Hall is in my top 5 All Time Favorite Films.
Sometimes you see a film that just strikes like a lightning bolt as you recognize yourself & your life up on that screen. Annie Hall was like that for me. I was living in NYC when it was filmed & released. I actually saw it at Carnegie Hall Cinema. I was a WASP from the West Coast in a relationship with an intellectual, whip smart, neurotic Jewish New Yorker who was in therapy. We met “cute”, got together, fell in love, & then proceeded to let our quirks & our fundamental differences unravel our love affair until- “what we have here is a dead shark”. His name was Steven Rosenblatt. Steven was a true New Yorker with no real desire to ever leave the 5 boroughs. One day we walked from The Cloisters to The Battery. We talked the whole way about life & art & love & sex & movies & music & philosphy. He also gave me a famous writers tour of New York including Truman Capote’s house in Brooklyn Heights & a stop at the White Horse Tavern. I hope he reads this somehow.
Is it crazy that still I identify with Diane Keaton (minus Warren Beatty & an Oscar)?
Vicki Cristina Barcelona gave me that same lightning bolt. I think it is a very fine film (one of his best). It features a bevy of fine performances including yummy Javier Bardem & I feel that Penelope Cruz really deserved that Oscar. It is a witty and ambiguous movie that's simultaneously intoxicating & filled with sadness & doubt. It carries an air of melancholy & a sense of loss. I know Woody Allen admires the films of Bergman (Interiors) & I felt the film had a nod to Smiles Of The Summer Night.
Here was another Woody Allen movie that spoke to me personally & mirrored my own life in so many ways that I actually felt quite uncomfortable for a moment while watching it. The themes of what makes a marriage, trying to have a 3 way love affair, loving art & artists, crazy EXs that are still in your life, & most resonate for me- how can I be an artist when faced with friends & lovers who are major talents (when I feel like a dilettante)?

wash, rinse, dry & buff

Michigan Man Sentenced to 90 Days in Prison for Sex Act With Car Wash Vacuum
29 year old, Jason Leroy Savage was caught by police performing a sex act with a car wash vacuum has been sentenced to 90 days in prison. Savage pleaded no contest to indecent exposure in the Saginaw County Courts.


From Sozo's Blog

noro-virus recovery part 2

It was a beautiful, cool, but sunny day today & I had the enviable task of cleaning up dog poop in the back yard. This is usually one of my household jobs. I don't know if you heard, but I'VE BEEN SICK. I am thankful that we have little terriers with very polite turds. These are difficult times & I was hoping to find some cash while I was doing popper scooper duty.

time on my hands

I have had a little flurry of posts this week. I have been out from work after a nasty bout of a little bug called: noro-virus. I was a text book case: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus.htm

It started suddenly, I then vomited for 50 hours & then the little bugger slowly worked itself out of my hot, hairy, slightly bearish body. I work in a food business & wasn't allowed to return to work because it remains contagious after the symptoms are gone. Thanks HR!

I spent more time than usual on the internet & visited one of my favorite sites that I had not taken a peek at in a while. The site reviews the sets & decore of porn shoots.

But, this has to be my favorite new site. Your Logo Makes Me Barf is a Web site dedicated to the ridicule and embarrassment of clip art crazy, MS Paint loving designers who've crafted some barf-worthy logos. You can usually find these logos in ads that run in the Yellowpages & sometimes the cheapo, tiny ads in newspapers or uber- shitty Web sites that share info on home repair businesses.

http://www.yourlogomakesmebarf.com/ brings attention to LOGO atrocities.

I have a life long interest in fonts, type faces & corporate logos & I had a fun bit of time on this site! It seemed appropriate after 2+ days of throwing up!

the trouble with twitter

I gave it a try... I really did. I love new technology. I surf the net, I Email, I Facebook, I have a BLOG...oh, you know that. Even the husband tried it but instead of twittering, he twatted.
This is hysterical & it is even better when you are stoned.
"Twittering is randomly bragging about your unexceptional life."

Pride 2009

Those close to me know that I have a deep interest in Gay History & that I collect early (1860-1960) photos of men being affectionate with each other.
I am WOWed over by this video by Jon Gilbert Leavitt and Kevin Hannan. Amazing & moving.

Quote Of The Day

"I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true."
Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967)

Dorothy Parker was an American writer and poet, best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group she later disdained. Following the breakup of that circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the infamous Hollywood blacklist.
Parker survived three marriages (two to the same man) and several suicide attempts, but grew increasingly dependent on alcohol. Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker". Nevertheless, her literary output and her sparkling wit have endured.

Hot or Not?

Make Me A Supermodel on Bravo!

Portia De Rossi Says She Is Sorry

I know, Portia. I am sorry too. It was never my intention to redefine marriage for eveyone else when I married the man that I love! Really!

from the library (uncensored & raw)

From my Itunes Library:


Number of Songs: 4420
Most Recently Played Song: One Note Samba, John Pizzarelli
Most Played Song: Once In A Lifetime, Talking Heads
Most Recently Added Album: Best Of, Radiohead

First Song Alphabetically: A-Punk, Vampire Weekend
Last Song Alphabetically: 99 Miles From LA, Johnny Mathis
Smallest Song Numerically: 0:71, Roseanne Cash
Largest Song Numerically: 7 Days to Change Your Life, Jamie Cullum

Shortest Song: Love Moment #1, Ari Gold (0:38)
Longest Song: Stay, Jimmy Somerville (19:00)

First Album Alphabetically: Absolutely, ABC
Last Album Alphabetically: Zoolander, Original Soundtrack
First Band Alphabetically: a-ha
Last Band Alphabetically: !!!

First Ten Songs That Pop Up On Shuffle:

Satellite, Lou Reed

Le Femme Parallel, Thievery Corporation

Happy Heart, Marc Almond

Downtown Lights, The Blue Nile

God, John Lennon

Adore, Prince

I Will Survive, Shirley Bassey

Green Light, John Legend

I Melt With You, Modern English

Modern Love, David Bowie

Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor

I love Flight of the Conchords. I have been catching up with last season on the internet. Business Time was a favorite from last season, but I am digging this song from season 2.

Hot... or Not?

I say HOT!

Quote of the Day

"Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, it's one of the best.”
Woody Allen

Today in Gay History

Gay People Born On This Day...

1886- Edward Everett Horton, actor, in Brooklyn, New York. Although he appeared in several films, Boomers remember him as the voice in Fractured Fairy Tales on the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show. He remains one of my all time favorite character actors, although he was almost always given the traditional "sissy" roles.

Brett Dennen

This is going to turn into a music blog; I just know it!
This is a new (to me) artist that I am really digging. Folk is not my favorite genre, but I do have some in my collection & after all- I did go to church camp as a kid.
Brett Dennen is from California & I really love his voice... sort of an American David Grey?
Take a look & listen.

STAR FUCKER & CELEBRITIES

The husband has claimed that I am a star fucker.... not completely untrue, but that is another post for another day.
I have always been attracted to talented people & have sometimes had crushes on guys, foremost, because of their talent. Hey... It is what first brought my eye to my future husband (first rate-A class set designer, director, actor, singer & handsome).

I have been fortunate enough to have met some very famous & fabulously talented people. I have been directed by Cameron Crowe, Lawrence Kasdan & Gus Van Zant. I have never asked for an autograph from anybody.

When I was in college in LA. my friends in the Theatre Department & I had the audacity to crash the Metro-Goldywn-Mayer 50th Anniversary premiere of "That's Entertainment" which was attended by M-G-M's biggest stars such as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Donna Reed, Esther Williams, Lassie, Jimmy Durante, Ava Gardner, Shirley MacLaine, Louis Jordan, Jane Powell, Jackie Cooper, Debbie Reynolds, Howard Keel, June Allyson, James Stewart, Glenn Ford, Charlton Heston, Margret O' Brian, Marge Champion, Janet Leigh, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, George Burns, Nannette Fabray, Buddy Ebson, Merle Oberon, Myrna Loy, Donald O' Connor, Ginger Rogers, Johnny Weissmiller, Roddy McDowell, Alexis Smith, Keenan Wynn, Eva Gabor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jack Haley, Tom Drake, Adele Astaire, Dan Daily,Vic Damone, Gloria Swanson, Dennis Morgan, George Hamilton, Marjorie Main, Nicholas Bros,Virginia O Brien, Ann Rutherford & many others. A few people on the list were not M-G-M stars but it was the largest premiere I ever saw. They had the red carpet where the stars walked from the theatre to the party at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel across the street.

We had planned it months in advance, reserving a suite at the hotel & "borrowing" formal wear from the costume department. I got in by attaching myself to Dennis Day, who's daughter was a schoolmate. I sat at Merle Oberon's table & I still have her place card. I met & chatted with many stars. My most memorable time was a conversation with Elizabeth Taylor, who asked me about myself. I explained that I was theatre major at Loyola Marymount. She told me that her training was all done at the studio. M-G-M had its own program of speech, elocution, singing, & dancing. She touched my arm & whispered to me that she hated her speaking voice & thought she would have been better thought of as an actor if she had had "Greer Garson's voice".

I have been fortunate to work with some wonderful actors that also turned out to be really great people.

I got my SAG card for an episode of Murder She Wrote, which at that point had not been on the air. This episode was the 3rd one filmed. My scenes were shot on the rooftop of a building in Belltown in Seattle. I spent a lot of time with Angela Lansbury sitting under a large umbrella, so neither of us would get sunburned. I had to remind her that we had met once before- in the parking structure of the Shubert Theatre in LA, after a matinee of GYPSY (she was the best MaMa Rose ever!). I had stopped her as she was getting into a very ordinary automobile (no limo & driver), that she was driving herself. I told her how much I had loved the show & told her that this production of Gypsy was the high point in my theatre going life. She also took time to ask about me & again I told her that I was a theatre major. She was gracious & charming & funny.

When I was filming I LOVE YOU TO DEATH, I ended up having lunch with Joan Plowright because we were dismissed early from the set. She asked me about the California Poppies that were growing in the cracks in the sidewalk at our location in a vacant lot in Tacoma. I told her about the flowers & we had a long conversation about gardening. I later sent her some seeds & she wrote me a thank you note. I never once mentioned Lord Olivier.

Also on that shoot...when the van picked me & Kevin Kline up to go to location, Mr. Kline extended his hand & said- "hello, I am Kevin Kline". I said- "no kidding!" He asked me about the Seattle theatre scene & I congratulated him on his recent Oscar win & new baby. He was manic & zany on the set. Tracey Ullman was very serious on set, but we did chat a bit.

I have worked with Matt Dillon (twice), who always has lunch with the crew, not in his trailer & with Keifer Sutherland (also just "one of the guys"). They were both personable & great to work with. On DRUGSTORE COWBOY, Matt Dillon stayed & fed me his lines for all of the reverse shots of me. One day, in Seattle, I was in the antique store that R worked at. We were standing with a group of people that we knew & Matt Dillon & a woman friend came in. Everyone buzzed about Matt being in the store. R said- "Steve knows Matt Dillon" & everyone just sort of snorted & smiled a bit & looked like- "sure he does". Matt Dillon looked around, our eyes met & he said- "yo, Steve!". Everyone had whiplash from the surprise.

In Seattle, I was briefly a minor celeb. In the mid-80s I had a very showy part in a hit show- ER/EMERGENCY ROOM that ran for 18 months to sold out audiences. My character did something & said something that became a bit of a "catch phrase" in Seattle during that time. For a couple of years I would be stopped almost everyday by strangers who would imitate me from the role. R hated it, I think. I was also in ads that were used on the side of buses, on billboards & as a full page on the back of the newspaper.

Happy Times. Good Memories. Nice for the ego.

More Sam

Sam Adams gave his STATE OF THE CITY speech at The City Club last week & it really gave me pause to read that Hiz Honor used the words- "Stimulus" & "Package" in that speech.

Gay Men in History

Born March 6: Michelangelo Buonarroti
Gently, whoever you are, you're no Michelangelo. He created iconic perfection in not one, not two, but three fields, and his burst of inspired genius lasted more than sixty-five years. He carved the Pieta when he was twenty-four, David when he was twenty-nine, painted the Sistine ceiling by thirty-seven, designed the Laurentian Library from his mid-forties to fifty, painted the Last Judgment from fifty-nine to sixty-six, and oversaw the construction of his St. Peter's basilica as he died at eighty-eight. Proud as he was, he was perpetually dissatisfied with his work.
If we lived in a world that valued verse as much as image, we might equally revere his poems. After his sixteen year-old boyfriend Cecchino dei Bracci died, Michelangelo wrote 48 epigrams commemorating their love. During the three decades of his relationship with Tommaso dei Cavalieri, thirty-four years his junior, Michelangelo created more than 300 sonnets to him that were so beautiful and universal they became a popular book after his death, but they were also so obviously sexual that Michelangelo's grand-nephew rewrote all the masculine pronouns as feminine. (For comparison, fifty years later Shakespeare penned 126 sonnets to his younger male lover, and 27 to the Dark Lady.) This degaying of Michelangelo's desire endured more than three centuries until John Addington Symonds translated the sonnets himself for his biography in 1893. Other of Michelangelo's young lovers were Gherardo Perini and Febbo di Poggio. Stephen Rutledge feels that Febbo di Poggio would make an awesome band name.
Again, as for the notion that gay sex (or the craziness of starstruck parents) is a 20th century invention, bear in mind that one of Niccolò Quaratesi's workers, trying to convince Michelangelo to accept his boy as an apprentice, suggested his son would also be hot in bed. The often arrogant Michelangelo gave a furious no. Art before everything.

From Stephen @ Band Of Thebes

home sweet home

The husband & I spend most of our time, energy & $ on our house & garden. It has always been this way... even when it was just a small apartment on Capitol Hill in Seattle in the early 80s.
When I was a kid, I spent too much time choosing paint colors & looking for new materials for my bed spreads & curtains than any child should.
In college, the only time that I lived in a dorm, the school was wary of my storing all the dorm furniture & moving in my own & repainting & adding window treatments. I spent a lot time adjusting those Indian print bedspreads & macrame hangings (love those 70s, huh?).
I found this window at The Rebuilding Center- www.rebuildingcenter.org, complete in it's shrink wrap for $300! I brought it home & this is the result. The husband loved it & did ALL THE WORK to make it work. Before & after pics:

Love Letter to Cyndi

I know, I know... I am a little bit Matt Alber crazed... but check out this video featuring a Seal song- Love's Divine, that he did for Cyndy Lauper.

End Of The World

I think this is one of the most beautiful & heartbreaking songs I have ever heard.
The first day that I downloaded it, I listened to it, on my Ipod, 7 times in a row on the Max train going home. The video is astonishing.