jazzgirl

I like your attitude, muski. Scarlett, safe travels home. That map is a great tool. And it really does seem that you are earning your gala trip. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Just think of Mandy as an aperitif *g*. I like his Sondheim selections such as "Loving You" or "Too Many Mornings". Clay tackling Sondheim would be something I'd love to hear, but, as he hasn't, I will have to content myself with Mandy Patinkin. claytonic, thanks for posting that! I love it.

I survived. I'm not a conscientious objector when it comes to Windows updates *g*. ETA: http://www.colorstrology.com/

I'm pretending these colors are autumn leaves and I'm rolling around in them!!! Wheeee!!!! I think Scarlett has found "virtual yarn" with her cyber colors! Not useless. I picked up a Mandy Patinkin CD yesterday ("Oscar & Steve", for Hammerstein and Sondheim), and my first thought after hearing it was that I almost enjoy his voice as much as Clay's). The second thought was that Clay could do these songs even better, but it's a nice eclectic Broadway collection.

Thanks for the vicarious drive through the Rockies, Gibby! Hope you're doing better, aikim! You need to enjoy your day off tomorrow. The "coming out" blog was eye-opening. Does anyone of any particular reason why Richard Branson was in one of the photos? The only gay reference I can find is that he once purchased a gay nightclub. Suze Orman came out herself in the last few years. Didn't like my color either. I think I'll stick to basic black *g*.

And many are still crazy after all these years (*ode to Paul Simon*) That was my LOL for today. It's such a cogent line that it reminded me of another one "I see dead people". "They want crazy people" should be a fandom slogan reserved for appropriate situations. aikim, glad to read that you survived the oral surgeon.

*makes mental note for next trip to Costco* You learn such interesting things here. Congrat on moving forward with the condo, annabear. Hey, you do need a place to live.

Yikes! I'd probably stay till after the conference call and then get out of Dodge ASAP and crash. You need a life, some sleep and some "comp" time!

But it's a compassionate "deal with it"; an "I feel your pain" deal with it (*it's a political night *g*) aikim, had to replace the furnace, water heater, washer/dryer and lost numerous other items, including some heartbreaking family momentos, after the recent flood. I'm dealing with it I (and feeling the pain), but still have a huge clean-up. FEMA did declare our area a disaster. After trying socks and sandals myself, I like it! Very, very comfy.

A woman who not only knows what polyamory means but practices it too! *g* aikim, hugs for the dentist on Friday. My negative dental experiences have been with dentists, not with oral surgeons.

Even the dad in The Brady Bunch was gay in real life *g*. I would think all the Wall Street problems are pervasive. I talked to my elderly aunt today who visits the gambling boats weekly. She has cut her weekly gambling money from $40 to $20. Retailers are expecting very sluggish sales this season too, so I think the economy is affecting everyone.

You just might this time. Per Wikipedia (FWIW): The Wikipedia link is interesting, theatre and theater always confuse me. ETA: Linguistics Forum

Don't forget the third paragraph: "judgment", not "judgement" (*tries to be as educational as KAndre was in prompting me to look up "polyamory"*) I would like to be adopted by mama annabear too, and "sis" did a great OFC bio (too bad no runner-up prize!) :F_05BL17blowkiss: to muski and dentist survivor aikim. Happy Birthday to Liney!

I don't think the Playbill winner has been announced yet, but the pre-order lets ever-hopeful fans make sure they get a copy *g*. Scarlett, glad to read you slept in today after yesterday's 6 AM meeting that never was!

Welcome to Georgiesmybaby! For a diversion, here's some "musical theater", from "La Cage aux Folles" (*I would not put odds on Clay ever singing it, but in a way he did*): I am what I am I am my own special creation. So come take a look, Give me the hook or the ovation. It's my world that I want to take a little pride in, My world, and it's not a place I have to hide in. Life's not worth a damn, 'Til you can say, "Hey world, I am what I am." I am what I am, I don't want praise, I don't want pity. I bang my own drum, Some think it's noise, I think it's pretty. And so what, if I love each feather and each spangle, Why not try to see things from a diff'rent angle? Your life is a sham 'til you can shout out loud I am what I am! I am what I am And what I am needs no excuses. I deal my own deck Sometimes the ace, sometimes the deuces. There's one life, and there's no return and no deposit; One life, so it's time to open up your closet. Life's not worth a damn 'til you can say, "Hey world, I am what I am!" The bottom line for me is that nobody died and Clay is still the same person; all that died was an illusion. Some of my favorite films have been those that expand one's thinking regarding the concept of gender identity, such as "Some Like It Hot" with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis masquerading as women in Marilyn Monroe's all-girl band, or "Tootsie" where a friendship is seemingly formed between two women and then one "woman" is revealed to be a man with the possibility of a different relationship, and "Victor/Victoria" where a man, James Garner, falls for a woman, Julie Andrews, masquerading as a gay man. One particular episode of Star Trek - The Next Generation "The Host" also provocatively posed the question of whether a female crew member who fell for a life form contained in a male body could still love that life form when the male body failed and the same life form was transferred to a female body (it's sci fi!). All of these vehicles stretch one's mind as to what love is and can you love someone independent of orientation. Five years ago, I thought Clay was an interesting guy with a great voice and the fact that he's a gay man who has formed a type of family with the mother of his child hasn't changed that perception.

Clay's publicist, Cindi Berger, was featured in a CNN special in 2006 called "Chasing Angelina". Her thoughts on the job of a publicist and her interaction with one of her clients, Rosie O'Donnell, are in this transcript: CNN - Chasing Angelina

You're not the only one that remembers that, which is why I think some of us made that association today, but for the reason you gave, I remember it being dropped like a hot potato, too.

The exact same thought inexplicably occurred to me this morning, but it's too high profile a pairing so I don't see it as anything but a strange daydream. IMO, Anderson and whatever PR team he has have done an amazing job of deflecting comments regarding his private life, although I am vaguely aware of a magazine that listed him as one of the most powerful gays in American (even if he didn't want the designation) and internet buzz. The news of this past week reminded me of being seven years old and getting glasses for the first time. I was struck by how clear everything suddenly looked to me, including OMWH and some puzzling events over the past five years.

Chris Sieber (Spam's Galahad) discussed his 2003 coming out in this article: Chris Sieber

Enjoying the repartee! Yay for mama annabear's power, too.

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AIKIM!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss: Your family likes September! claytonic, I enjoy your very unusual "birthday" quotes. cotton, I marvel that you were able to drive yourself to the ER. You did good! Thanks for the useful info. One of my joys in life is chocolate, dense and dark (*sounds a little like the James Bond shaken not stirred martini*).

Glad to read that our two wedding mothers, aikim and gbmifan, had such good reports! As another local, I can say that aikim could not have had more perfect weather than yesterday. The family is so lucky that they didn't choose last weekend when the once in a century storm hit. Amen. annabear, so sorry to read that your mom still doesn't have power! Thank goodness she at least had some time at your place.

Still an impressive stage door crowd! Thanks for posting it annabear. I would worry about you if you didn't comment *g*. That is an intriguing duo. IIRC, Frank hasn't had that much success on Broadway, particularly with The Civil War. Interesting fellow for Clay to be photographed with at the Tale of Two Cities opening. Evidently, one of the stars of the play, Brandi Burkhardt, is now Wildhorn's fiance (he was previously married to Linda Eder). ETA: From Wikipedia -

*eyes list of area banks* Just don't wear your Clay Aiken t-shirt.

Congratulations to your mom and dad; sixty five years deserves a celebration after more pressing matters are done. And Clay is the most lovely alternative universe.

Haven't thought about front loaders, but I like the stand idea. Amazingly, everything was already raised about 8-12 inches, but, for me, nothing survived 3-4 feet of water. The news showed someone in Chicago who had 8 feet of water in their basement! Existing venting is also a constraint. The house is old, so it may be too expensive to even retrofit a sump pump. I have a contractor coming tomorrow (probably one of many!) to look over the situation. I did look into the tankless water heater, which does hang a few feet above ground, but it wouldn't work in a power outage, and then it seemed a better bet to replace the conventional heater, if another flood occurred than to upfront the cost of a tankless.