avenue q

saw "avenue q" on broadway tonight for, like, the fifth time, i think. took our niece irene and her bf michael and our good friends amy and chris. it was really really great to see rob mcclure who's now starring as princeton/rod. the show is always wonderful and holds up so well. it was a really fun night. we ate at the palm afterwards. it's a good thing it's in the lobby of our building because we were so stuffed we could barely make it upstairs. and now it's midnight and i'm almost asleep while blogging this. all the way 'round though, a terrific day.

next to normal

saw it tonight for the second time. amazing squared. this is simply one of those "must see" musicals. truly ground breaking. and (tony award winner) alice ripley is simply astonishing.

(500) days of summer

joseph gordon-levitt is one of the most interesting up-and-coming actors. i say "up-and-coming" knowing full well he's been in the business for over 20 years. he's currently a wonder in the independent film world but he's really very talented, very underrated. he needs a big, hit film. i think this one is the closest he's come so far. and he's *really* charming in it. totally surprising from one minute to the next. and this film itself is just amazing. it takes the romantic comedy genre and turns it on its ear. creating a totally unique film that's really hard to explain. so go see it.

pickering

pickering. now here's word that *has* to be added to our lexicon. "congressman, what were you doing during such a long lunch hour?" "oh nothing, just a little pickering." see charles "chip" pickering was a republican congressman from mississippi. look at that american flag billowing ever so slightly behind him in his official photo. he took many a stance to uphold the sanctity of one man/one woman marriage and campaigned on a promise to bring family values to washington. pickering tried to force his own views on marriage upon the country by pushing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and using marriage as a cudgel to demand that President Bill Clinton resign. however, his wife is now reporting that he had an adultrous relationship with a woman which ended both their marriages WHILE HE WAS IN CONGRESS. yet, he was simultaneously bellowing loudly at clinton: “I think for the good of the country and the good of his own family it would be better for him to resign. When someone puts himself forward for public office, then his personal conduct does become relevant.” and later, while defending his support of a constitutional gay marriage ban, stated: “Marriage as an institution between one man and one woman promotes the best interest of the husband and wife, and the best interests of children.” wow, perhaps "pickering" should also be a syntonym of "hypocrytical". how many more of these morons need to be exposed before everyone starts to get a clue?

the schmemmys

lots of my personal favs got emmy nominations yesterday (jim parsons for "the big bang theory"; kyra sedgwick for "the closer"; tony shalhoub "monk"; jessica lange "grey gardens"; tina 'sarah palin' fey, amy poehler, justin timberlake, kristen wiig, and andy samberg for "snl"; farrah fawcett for her documentary; "hannah montana" for best children's program... i could go on and on). however, no one seems to enjoy the emmys more than kathy griffin who snagged two noms this year. "d-list" (which has won the last two years) for reality show and for best special her "she'll cut a bitch" (which was high-larious). kathy has a lot of fun in her act poking fun at the creative arts emmys. you know, the quote boring categories unquote that are presented at a whole different ceremony a week prior to the regular emmys. she knows few people care about the "schmemmys" as she's named them and even fewer people attend. however, two years ago when she told jesus to "suck it" during her acceptance speech created quite a stir. she thought she'd be banned from the ceremony. however, now she's been tapped to HOST the schmemmys this year. last year neil patrick harris hosted and this year he's hosting the big show. maybe kathy can move up the ranks too. unless her appearing on stage at the actual emmys could have people she so loves to mock throwing their programs at her. or their shoes. or darts. could be interesting.

harry potter and the half-blood prince

i love being carried away into the world of harry potter. and this sixth film is darker and more ominous that the previous installments. even the bright, warm corridors of hogwarts have become drafty and dim and gothic and foreboding. i can't begin to give plot elements here. sufficieth to say the impending life and death battle with voldemort still looms. but we get to witness some romantic entanglements involving all three of our (formerly) young heros as well as another exciting quidditch match. the production design and cinematography (as with the other films) are amazing. two more films in the series remain (although harry potter should be working on his ph.d. in wizardry by then) and i'll anxiously await them.

arquette love

speaking of the arquette family. one of my favs - patricia - has decided she loves hubby thomas jane to divorce him. a judge dismissed her action for divorce yesterday. now my two favorite shows - "medium" and "hung" - star these two crazy love-struck kids. i'm happy for them.

arquette in the box

yesterday when i got to manhattan and stepped outside penn station, everyone was looking up. a bird? a plane? no, david arquette living in a clear glass box above madison square garden. he's doing it to raise awareness of hunger in america. pretty cool idea. pretty cool guy. not sure how long he'll be up there. or what he does about bathroom breaks, etc. but fun!

double-check your bank statement

i think bank of america has found a way to solve its financial woes. just ever-so-slightly increase the amount you're actually charged for stuff. when a new hampshire man swiped his debit card at a convenience store for a pack of cigarettes, his account was charged more than $23 quadrillion. josh muszynski checked his account online a few hours later and saw the 17-digit number—a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500. muszynski says he spent two hours on the phone with bank of america trying to sort out the string of numbers and the $15 overdraft fee. the bank corrected the error the next day.

banking on bernie

bernie kosar was a popular quarterback. hall of famer. cleveland browns hero, cowboys, dolphins player. he made enough money in his 20s to last most people multiple lifetimes. he's just filed for bankruptcy citing debts of $50 million. that means he spent all the millions and millions he earned and now owes $50 million more with no way to repay it. it's very sad. but one wonders how he was able to let himself get into this situation. it's fitting enough that he's now telling the press he's now 45 and realizes he's "an idiot".

i'm confused

so wimbledon champ serena williams paid a visit to the white house and president obama. she said she supported obama but didn't vote for him because she's a jehovah's witness and they are forbidden to vote in elections. what? is that true? anyway, for her presidential visit serena was wearing 5-inch (hooker) heels. she reports: “he asked me, ‘should I be wearing high heels?’ so i thought that was kind of funny because he may have been right, because it is a job hazard for me, but i insist on wearing them.” so jehovah's witnesses can't vote, but can wear skin tight cocktail dresses and hooker heels and curse like a sailor during tennis matches? odd.

ah, romance

so in touch (again, one of my favorite hard-hitting news magazines) reports that jon gosselin proposed to his quiet, demure, sophisticated 22 year-old girlfriend hailey glassman while they were in france. (have you seen her facebook page photos on the internet? in every single one she seems to be smoking and/or holding a drink and blitzed out of her mind). anyway, if the engagement of a father-of-eight who's not yet divorced is not weird enough, in touch also reports that jon "gave Hailey a $180,000 engagement ring designed by Edouard Nahum, featuring four black diamonds surrounding a skull." wtf? surrounding a SKULL? lord. reports say that hailey has applied to (and been rejected by)"the real world" and "bad girls club". seems her hope of landing a reality series is coming true. guess they'll have to rename it "jon and kate plus eight plus drunken famewhore stepmother". egad.

yummy

i love sandra lee! if you've never watched this goddess on the food network, you've missed out. my friends and i love to count just how many times she says "yummy!" in a single episode. we also love the fact that she suggests you completely redecorate your kitchen and dining room on a daily basis to match whatever meal you're serving. she's coined the term "tablescaping". and finally, every set of recipes ends with a "cocktail" which basically includes her pouring a whole bottle of vodka into a blender, adding a small piece of fruit, whirling it up and serving over ice. we also love the fact that in the most recent episodes, she seems to have um "had some work done." she's a hoot. as you can tell from this montage. enjoy - and start tuning in!

wrecked

film festival continues. this film supposedly represents the best of indie gay cinema. i think "underground cinema" might be a better description. it was pretty raw. pretty graphic (in terms of both the realities of anonymous sex and heavy drug use). you can't find *any* information about the two directors nor any of the actors. maybe everyone was working under a fake name? i can apreciate avant garde cinema. i just sorta felt the need to shower after this one.

broadway barks

next year i wanna go to broadway barks. the brainchild of bernadette peters and mary tyler moore (both major animal lovers), it's where the broadway community gathers for an event to bring awareness to animals in shelters that need adopted. i'm only afraid, however, that i may go away with two or three of the cuties myself. here are a few photos from this years' event. andy karl ("9 to 5"), matt cavenaugh ("west side story), and marcia gay harden ("god of carnage'). yay for animal-lovin' theatre folk!

hailey glassman is classy

more photos of the perhaps soon-to-be stepmother of eight. jon gosselin's 22-year-old mistress, courtesy of ohnotheydidnt and radaronline, these photos are hysterical. in the first, she's the one holding a gun to a friend's head and in the second she's the one who's not the plant. she's a winner!

jon gosselin likes children

here's the father of eight with his 22-year-old girlfriend on the french riviera. such a devoted dad. he's in talks to design a children's clothing line. for her? or one of the other eight her has at home? i've always thought kate to be a bitchy, shrew-y wife but now i question both their behavior. the party line of "my children come first" seems to be at odds with their desperate attempts to milk whatever seconds are left in their 15 minutes of fame. i guarantee the clothing line deal comes with the caveat that he pimp out all the kids wearing his intended designs. and please, aren't there any unemployed people out there who went to parsons school of design? how is this unemployed computer tech from reading, pa suddenly a world-class designer?

drop dead diva

did you catch the premiere of this new series on lifetime last night? it's a cool, refreshing summer treat, right on your television screen. vapid blond model deb is killed in a car accident but returns to life in the body of smart, plus-size attorney jane. usa today calls it a cross between "freaky friday" and "heaven can wait". it was really fun and i think i'm going to have to keep tuning in. the lead is former broadway gypsy brooke elliott (she's done "taboo", "wicked", and "the pirate queen".) i like it when broadway babes get tv exposure (and the $ that comes with it). also features the fab and fun margaret cho as jane's assistant. check it out.

mj, au naturale

if there ever was an anti-plastic surgery argument, here's one. using childhood photos of michael jackson and knowledge on basic aging trends, forensic artists constructed a portrait of how michael would have looked at age 50, had he never undergone plastic surgery. he would have been quite the handsome man. it's a shame he most assuredly had body dysmorphic disorder (excessive concern and preoccupation with perceived defects in appearance). had he let nature take its course he would have looked and felt better. and hopefully lived longer.

ogle office

i'm sure this photo is very innocent. the prez is just checking, er, his, er, footing on the stairs as he steps down. yeah. but the press has had a lot of fun with his supposed "checking out" the derriere of a 17-year-old junior delegate from brazil. one reporter called it the "second stimulus package". i think it's a lesson in the fact that the cameras are always lying in wait. snapping away. heck, my own motto is "take a hundred pictures and maybe you'll get a good one."

make the yuletide gay

went to qfest for a matinee. saw the funniest funniest film. "make the yuletide gay" is a wonderful little romantic comedy. heavy emphasis on the comedy: the audience laughed hysterically throughout, drowning out many of the funniest lines. heavy emphasis on the romantic: a wonderful little gay christmas romance. how many of those have you seen recently? definitely one to see again around the holidays.

grease on tour

saw the national tour of grease in philly tonight. mostly because we have box seats at the academy of music. it was fun. frivolous. kathleen marshall's choreography was inventive. as was kenneth posner's lighting design. the rest of the show was pretty much the version any talented performing arts high school could mount. i wish i'd seen it on broadway with max crumm (whom i really like) as danny zuko. but i'm afraid the original biting satire the show was created as is all gone in terms of making this pg-rated "family entertainment". speaking of which: taylor hicks (american idol winner) i just don't get. he appeared for under 5 minutes as teen angel, sang the song bland and fast (as if he was simultaneouly bored and had a train to catch) and the crowd went wild. i was confused.