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:

<snip>

Much as I like Inigo Montoya, though, I have to say that I got a couple of cd's from the actor who plays him (jazzgirl and I discussed this a couple of days back) but I've been disappointed to the point of not playing these -- Clay could have done those way, way better and I'm not settling for anything less in the meantime. I might try again after a few days but for now I'm back to MOAM (yay! belated happy 5th anniversary!) More on this later, maybe I'll post a few links to compare mp3's. There have been a few songs here and there that I liked (or thought I liked) from Mandy but they're a very small minority compared to the rest of the CDs. On many songs I'm gritting my teeth in frustration because it sounds like he's overcompensating for something, like not having Clay's, uh, voice!

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.

Someone sent me this - wasn't sure where to post it so thought it may as well be here! It's "food" for thought?

claytonic, thanks for posting that! I love it.

Tech question Should I install Windows XP Service Pack 3?

Kim

I survived. I'm not a conscientious objector when it comes to Windows updates *g*.

ETA: http://www.colorstrology.com/

What fun!! Wheeee!!!!

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!

I was reading other boards (feeling daring today) and saw that some people said, "So when he sang Mandy, was he thinking of Mandy Patinkin"? Well since Mandy does sing (Yes, yes, that Inigo Montoya guy) and I was listening to the OBC Evita today with Mandy & Patti Lupone, I initially thought that it would be good to hear Clay and Mandy sing together. But then OTOH, they tend to sing the same kind of songs and even in one of my favorite songs "Lily's Eyes" Mandy sings the part that I want to hear Clay sing (Archibald). So I guess it won't work very well.

-- yes, this is a useless post. But I :heart: The Princess Bride anyways.

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*.

They want crazy people.

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.

Honrycrisps are only $8.50 for 8 apples at Costco. And they were really good. I bought Galas there last week but they were too mushy. It's worth it for a better apple and they are better investments.

*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.

If you were in the office at 11:25 pm and you had a conference call at 3am would you still go home and come back or just stay here? *sigh*

Hope the debate went well!

Any pictures of the striped socks and sandals yet?

ETA:

*very sweetly* Oh, KAndre! -- I have a different set of fortune cookies for those!

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!

"Deal with it."

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.

KAndre quietly cancels the "let's get together" lunch with the two hot twenty-something "not really our true loves but damn entertaining" cabana boys...

then changes her mind and just makes the reservation for three...cabana boys need meaningless love affairs too!

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.

<snip> The guys in Brokeback Mountain were straight. Didn't seem to affect most people's reaction to that movie. I don't know your reaction, or even if you saw it, but would you expect people to find it not believeable for that reason? Or is it OK for straight people to play gay, but not vice versa? What about bisexual actors? Can they play either, or neither? These are serious questions, and I hope you won't take them as criticism. I'm just boggled a bit.

Even the dad in The Brady Bunch was gay in real life *g*.

And I am worried about the attendance. I am not sure Clay being in it is having that much of an impact - certainly not like the last time. I get why, but I just hope the producers don't think it has anything to do with his coming out.

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.

I thought 'judgement' was the British spelling and 'judgment' was the American spelling. But I frequently don't know shit.

You just might this time.

Per Wikipedia (FWIW):

judgement vs judgment: judgement is preferred in British English (except in the sense of a judge's decision, in which case "judgment" is preferred), judgment in American English.

The Wikipedia link is interesting, theatre and theater always confuse me.

ETA: Linguistics Forum

I did see three spelling errors, Liney - I can't help it, I do it all the time at work. <g> The ones I saw were all right at the end, so I wonder if he added that AFTER Jaymes or Jerome edited him. Heh. I so agree with the person who said there were probably multiple drafts - he's such a smart man, after all, and smart men know to get a proof reader for the big, splashy posts. <g> I would so do him.

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

I must be the only one here who remembers the little Anderson Cooper dust-up from a couple of years ago. Maybe I do because it was early in my on-line fan experience (summer 2006), but I remember it nonetheless. There was a sighting of Clay having dinner at Nobu in NY with Anderson Cooper. The person who witnessed this or had the report of it was optimistic that this meant that Clay would be getting an interview with AC for the ATDW promo. And then there were a couple of posters who thought it wasn't a good idea to mention this sighting so much because AC is rumored to be .... well, you know ... so that little sighting was dropped like a hot potato.<snip>

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.

I have a confession to make. I'm sorely ashamed.

I actually caught myself, for one brief moment, shipping Clay. Imagining him being held and loved.

In my defense, it was with Anderson Cooper.

Nonetheless....I'm ashamed.

ETA: I have no idea if AC is gay, but since I have the hots for him, I was willing to share him with someone I love--Clay.

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

Play Drama is good--gets the hormones pumping and heart beating. Makes you glow.

Clay has probably added 10 years to our lives!

Or taken it.

I have little drama in my life, I am resistant to change, I hate to cut my hair because then i don't recognize me in the mirror for a few weeks, I hate to buy new furniture or appliances or cars. I just like little excitements, I just need a rest.

Back to cleaning PM box.

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!

I found out this week that Hersheys has substitited Vegetable Oil for the Cocoa Butter in some of their candy bars! They now say chocolatey instead of Chocolate! I can see I am going to have to be more careful checking labels. When I want Chocolate I want the real thing babee!!

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.

I think more relieved that it was finally over; it has been a busy 5 months!

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.

Oh...and just in case y'all think I've forgotten my role here....I'm especially lovin' that second picture in the white pants. yum

I would worry about you if you didn't comment *g*.

More from Scarlett (play took pity on me and went to bed)... this is several hours too late but Awww, what a blog! ... and now I need to go read back on why he had a picture with Frank Wildhorn (!)... .

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 -

In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in twenty two years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde at the Plymouth Theatre, The Scarlet Pimpernel at the Minskoff, and The Civil War at the St. James Theatre.

Despite having three of his musicals running simultaneously on Broadway, none of them turned a profit and, so far, Frank Wildhorn's productions have lost $20 million on broadway.[1]

Wildhorn is engaged to Brandi Burkhardt, best known for playing the role of Siren on Passions.

In the popular music arena, Wildhorn has worked with such artists as Stacy Lattisaw, Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Trisha Yearwood, Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins, Patti LaBelle, Dennis DeYoung and Linda Eder, to whom he was married. His Where Do Broken Hearts Go? was an international number one hit for Whitney Houston in the late 1980s.

New cellcerter now, she says it's like a whole new show, you can't miss this.

*eyes list of area banks*

<snip>Not so for my mom and dad. Today's their 65th anniversary and they have no power at their place. We just got it over here and we have damage. Go figure. I think we'll all postpone any celebration until next Friday night. There's too much work to do now. We have the National Guard or some kind of military outfit down the road in the parking lot of my Target and Home Depot doing the POD thing. "Pod people" has a completely different connotation now.<snip>I'm looking out my bedroom window and noticing that the chimney is leaning against it. That seems odd. This whole thing out here has an alternative universe feel to it. Clay comes through for me at times like this. Big time.

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.

Jazzgirl, if you pay the big bucks for front loaders, you can get these stands about 2 or 3 feet high to place the washer and dryer on and then store your soap and stuff in.

It might be worth your while to have the furnace raised as well. My furnace is about 8 inches off the ground and there is some stuff before the works starts and that is enough to have helped it survive my water misadventures. New furnaces are so much smaller, you can have it put on a metal railing or something.

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.