Good news, and somewhat unexpected. The US Supreme Court refused to rule unconstitutional the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court regarding gay marriage. The argument used by the anti-gay plaintiffs was that the US Constitution guarantees to the states a republican form of government (notice that's "little-R republican"), and that the Massachusetts court violated that guarantee by saying that gay marriage couldn't be blocked by the state, based on the Massachusetts constitution. The US Supreme Court said, in effect, "Don't make a federal case out of this." It's still possible that the people of Massachusetts may decide to amend their constitution to prohibit gay marriage, but that can't happen until 2006 at the earliest...by which time married gay couples will have been around for about 2 1/2 years, so people will have had about 2 1/2 years to see that the institution of marriage didn't crumble into dust.
Good news, and also unexpected. In South Africa, their next-to-highest court ruled that under their constitution gay couples could not be barred from marriage, provided they met the requirements of already-passed federal marriage laws. The decision (a 4-1 vote) was delivered by an openly gay, openly HIV+ justice. It could still be overturned by the Constitutional Court, but court-watchers in South Africa think that's highly unlikely.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Check it out, railfans. I just added to my "favorites" list the link to The Monorail Society, a group dedicated to the adoption of monorails (as opposed to light rail) to ease urban traffic. They update their news site frequently (at least weekly), plus have a good selection of background info on monorails and pictures/articles on existing monorails worldwide -- the latest news story is about the initial passenger-bearing test runs of the new Moscow monorail! Plus, the site is free -- in fact, joining TMS is free as well.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Wow! Lots of bloggy goodness! At least, I hope you think so. I've been blogging more because it's a holiday weekend so I've had more free time than usual to post on here.
Theatre wrap-up: Today was my last volunteer stint (at least, this time around) for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since I didn't tell you about yesterday, you get two days worth in one post.
Saturday night, I drove in and worked at two shows. First up was Movin' Out, which I've worked at before. This time I was stationed at the side exit, so I got a lot of people very quickly after the show ended -- and a lot of money in the bucket, too. Then it was over to Wonderful Town which currently stars Brooke Shields. I got to see the last two numbers, and from what I saw (plus her appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) it looks like she's handling herself just fine. She doesn't have a great voice, but then again neither did the original Rosalind Russell (back in the 50's). The score was tailored around Russell's vocal limitations, so Shields' limited alto range can handle it just fine. The surprise is that Shields will do physical comedy and pull it off. Plus the audiences love her -- after the show they did an on-stage auction of her earrings and raised $2500! I was able to use that in my patter to get people to smile -- and put money in the bucket.
Today I was supposed to do three shows. For the first, Beauty and the Beast, there was a snafu -- I was told to report to the theatre for 4:25, but the show started at 3:00 rather than at 2:00 -- somebody at BC/EFA forgot that Sunday matinees traditionally start at the later hour, so they were just getting to the intermission when I arrived. I couldn't stay because of the other two shows, but there were other volunteers there for the wrong time, so there would be some coverage. Next up was Dracula, the Musical. For this one, I was put at the doors leading from the main lobby to the street. However, they put another collector at the doors leading from the theatre auditorium to the main lobby, so he got all the money (although some generous soul dropped a quarter in my bucket.) Finally it was off to The Producers, where I had a better location and got some laughs by promising that not one dollar of donations went to Bialystock and Bloom (the crooked producers in the show).
I also took the train in today, which I like doing when it's a matinee. I have two options, train-wise. I can choose to take the train all the way into New York (after changing trains in Newark -- my line, the Raritan Valley Line, does not go into the city). Or I can choose to take the train to Newark, then switch to the PATH train to 33rd Street (after changing PATH trains at Journal Square in Jersey City.) Either way, it takes between an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half; still, it gives me a chance to get some reading done.
What I'm reading right now is a book entitled Times Square Roulette, all about the four decades of planning and deal-making involved in developing the block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues (with some surrounding property included). It's a slog so far -- it reads like a textbook -- and trying to keep all the entities and personalities straight is a bit of a chore. Still, I'm getting an understanding of the complexity of a public/private development deal like this -- and for a deal of this size, all the parties were learning as they went along. I can even understand why, of the nine legitimate theatres on the block, only four have survived as theatres today. (I don't like it, but I can understand it.)
What I've been listening to lately on the car CD player is Enjoy Every Sandwich, a collection of songs by various artists, all written by the late Warren Zevon. I can't say I've ever been a fan of Zevon's work, or even followed him closely. But I'm finding many of these songs interesting enough for second and third listenings. Of course, to balance that out, I'm playing The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield, a 30+ track compilation of songs from the show (including the songs from Streetcar!, the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire that was put on with Marge as Blanche DuBois and Ned Flanders as Stanley Kowalski.)
Saturday morning I got fitted for my new CPAP machine. For those who don't know, I have sleep apnea, a condition where I stop breathing for periods during sleep. Left untreated it can cause heart failure. The machine (CPAP stands for "continuous positive air pressure") feeds air through my nose at just enough pressure to keep the airways open during the night, which means I can have uninterrupted sleep. The new machine was something I wanted since my old machine was over ten years old (it still works, but there have been advances in the technology), but to get it I had to be retested for the apnea. What surprised/pleased the doctor was that I could function at roughly half the pressure prescribed when I was first tested. Anyway, the new machine is quieter, and it comes with a heated humidifier (which eliminates dry mouth, hooray!), so I'm pleased.
Coming up this week is my long-delayed colonoscopy on Thursday morning. The less said about that, and how I have to prepare for it, the better.
Theatre wrap-up: Today was my last volunteer stint (at least, this time around) for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since I didn't tell you about yesterday, you get two days worth in one post.
Saturday night, I drove in and worked at two shows. First up was Movin' Out, which I've worked at before. This time I was stationed at the side exit, so I got a lot of people very quickly after the show ended -- and a lot of money in the bucket, too. Then it was over to Wonderful Town which currently stars Brooke Shields. I got to see the last two numbers, and from what I saw (plus her appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) it looks like she's handling herself just fine. She doesn't have a great voice, but then again neither did the original Rosalind Russell (back in the 50's). The score was tailored around Russell's vocal limitations, so Shields' limited alto range can handle it just fine. The surprise is that Shields will do physical comedy and pull it off. Plus the audiences love her -- after the show they did an on-stage auction of her earrings and raised $2500! I was able to use that in my patter to get people to smile -- and put money in the bucket.
Today I was supposed to do three shows. For the first, Beauty and the Beast, there was a snafu -- I was told to report to the theatre for 4:25, but the show started at 3:00 rather than at 2:00 -- somebody at BC/EFA forgot that Sunday matinees traditionally start at the later hour, so they were just getting to the intermission when I arrived. I couldn't stay because of the other two shows, but there were other volunteers there for the wrong time, so there would be some coverage. Next up was Dracula, the Musical. For this one, I was put at the doors leading from the main lobby to the street. However, they put another collector at the doors leading from the theatre auditorium to the main lobby, so he got all the money (although some generous soul dropped a quarter in my bucket.) Finally it was off to The Producers, where I had a better location and got some laughs by promising that not one dollar of donations went to Bialystock and Bloom (the crooked producers in the show).
I also took the train in today, which I like doing when it's a matinee. I have two options, train-wise. I can choose to take the train all the way into New York (after changing trains in Newark -- my line, the Raritan Valley Line, does not go into the city). Or I can choose to take the train to Newark, then switch to the PATH train to 33rd Street (after changing PATH trains at Journal Square in Jersey City.) Either way, it takes between an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half; still, it gives me a chance to get some reading done.
What I'm reading right now is a book entitled Times Square Roulette, all about the four decades of planning and deal-making involved in developing the block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues (with some surrounding property included). It's a slog so far -- it reads like a textbook -- and trying to keep all the entities and personalities straight is a bit of a chore. Still, I'm getting an understanding of the complexity of a public/private development deal like this -- and for a deal of this size, all the parties were learning as they went along. I can even understand why, of the nine legitimate theatres on the block, only four have survived as theatres today. (I don't like it, but I can understand it.)
What I've been listening to lately on the car CD player is Enjoy Every Sandwich, a collection of songs by various artists, all written by the late Warren Zevon. I can't say I've ever been a fan of Zevon's work, or even followed him closely. But I'm finding many of these songs interesting enough for second and third listenings. Of course, to balance that out, I'm playing The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield, a 30+ track compilation of songs from the show (including the songs from Streetcar!, the musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire that was put on with Marge as Blanche DuBois and Ned Flanders as Stanley Kowalski.)
Saturday morning I got fitted for my new CPAP machine. For those who don't know, I have sleep apnea, a condition where I stop breathing for periods during sleep. Left untreated it can cause heart failure. The machine (CPAP stands for "continuous positive air pressure") feeds air through my nose at just enough pressure to keep the airways open during the night, which means I can have uninterrupted sleep. The new machine was something I wanted since my old machine was over ten years old (it still works, but there have been advances in the technology), but to get it I had to be retested for the apnea. What surprised/pleased the doctor was that I could function at roughly half the pressure prescribed when I was first tested. Anyway, the new machine is quieter, and it comes with a heated humidifier (which eliminates dry mouth, hooray!), so I'm pleased.
Coming up this week is my long-delayed colonoscopy on Thursday morning. The less said about that, and how I have to prepare for it, the better.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
We went shopping yesterday -- so sue me. Bill-the-Honeybear had been reading a flyer from Kohl's and spotted a real deal on a coffee maker (Black & Decker, with a thermal carafe). The catch was, the real deal was only good from 5:30 a.m. to noon on 11/26 -- the day after Thanksgiving, aka "Black Friday", aka the busiest shopping day of the year. So off we trundled to Kohl's. (What sweetened the pot for me was a sale on electric shavers, since my old one was in need of daily recharging.)
First miracle: finding a parking space as soon as we arrived. No, not right close up to the front door, but not out in the Himalayas either. Second miracle: no mobs of screaming shoppers fighting to the death over the last of something. In fact, no last-of-somethings that were readily apparent. Third miracle: honest to God helpful sales staff who actually led us to the items we wanted -- twice. Fourth miracle: the "oh my God" length lines waiting to check out actually moved fast. This was due to there being two sets of eight registers (the "men's" and the "women's", named for which clothing section they were near), all of them staffed by two-person teams of checker and bagger, and a store manager at each set directing people to the next available register. The bottom line: In and out in less than an hour.
Volunteering report. Yesterday I worked the matinee performance of Mamma Mia! (my second time there). Aside from the stage manager, I was the only BC/EFA volunteer there! So we both worked the "pictures with cast members" concession -- he took the Polaroids, I collected the money. What was special this time was that all three female leads -- Judy McKaye, Liz McCartney, and the fabulous Carolee Carmello -- volunteered to be the cast members having pictures taken. After about a half hour of pictures (everything from the shy little girl from Ireland to the 11-member family), and with all the audience members who wanted pictures gone, I put my own $20 into the bucket and got my picture taken with "Donna and the Dynamos" -- and was thanked by all three for helping out. I don't mind volunteering -- I only wish the reason we're doing the collections was no longer around.
Playing the market. Yes, I am a proud capitalist pig -- I own stock in 21 companies. My investing strategies are simple, so for those of you thinking of taking the plunge, this is what I do:
1. Look for companies whose products you use. Check out your pantries, your garage, your basement. And don't forget the companies you (and your close family members) work for.
2. Limit yourself to amounts you feel comfortable with. My personal rule (which you need not follow) is never to invest more than $5,000 in any one company at any one time, and never buy more than 100 shares in any one company.
3. Know when to get out. Pick a point where, if the stock price reaches that point, you sell. My own personal rule is, sell the stock if the price hits half of what you paid for it (the limit-your-loss point) or if it splits and you now own over 100 shares. That latter part is what generates part of the money I use for future stock purchases. With this rule, you don't have to watch the markets obsessively during the day, and you don't panic if a stock price dips below your original purchase price.
4. Be able to wave goodbye. Everyone has a reason why they invest. I've used stock sales to buy cars and make the down payment on my house. When the time comes that you need to use the money, don't sit there and think "if I hold this one more day I'll have that much more money". Stocks go down as well as up. You have a use for the money today -- so sell today.
Now, you may ask, what does the laird of Toad Hall own? In no particular order (and see if you can guess why I own these stocks), they are: Automatic Data Processing; Aetna; Bank of America; Vermont Teddy Bear; Barnes & Noble; Church & Dwight; Colgate-Palmolive; Cadbury Schweppes; Cablevision; Disney; Deluxe Printing; Friendly's Ice Cream; General Electric; Georgia-Pacific; Johnson & Johnson; Kellogg; PepsiCo; Procter & Gamble; Royal Dutch Petroleum; Time Warner; and Yankee Candle.
First miracle: finding a parking space as soon as we arrived. No, not right close up to the front door, but not out in the Himalayas either. Second miracle: no mobs of screaming shoppers fighting to the death over the last of something. In fact, no last-of-somethings that were readily apparent. Third miracle: honest to God helpful sales staff who actually led us to the items we wanted -- twice. Fourth miracle: the "oh my God" length lines waiting to check out actually moved fast. This was due to there being two sets of eight registers (the "men's" and the "women's", named for which clothing section they were near), all of them staffed by two-person teams of checker and bagger, and a store manager at each set directing people to the next available register. The bottom line: In and out in less than an hour.
Volunteering report. Yesterday I worked the matinee performance of Mamma Mia! (my second time there). Aside from the stage manager, I was the only BC/EFA volunteer there! So we both worked the "pictures with cast members" concession -- he took the Polaroids, I collected the money. What was special this time was that all three female leads -- Judy McKaye, Liz McCartney, and the fabulous Carolee Carmello -- volunteered to be the cast members having pictures taken. After about a half hour of pictures (everything from the shy little girl from Ireland to the 11-member family), and with all the audience members who wanted pictures gone, I put my own $20 into the bucket and got my picture taken with "Donna and the Dynamos" -- and was thanked by all three for helping out. I don't mind volunteering -- I only wish the reason we're doing the collections was no longer around.
Playing the market. Yes, I am a proud capitalist pig -- I own stock in 21 companies. My investing strategies are simple, so for those of you thinking of taking the plunge, this is what I do:
1. Look for companies whose products you use. Check out your pantries, your garage, your basement. And don't forget the companies you (and your close family members) work for.
2. Limit yourself to amounts you feel comfortable with. My personal rule (which you need not follow) is never to invest more than $5,000 in any one company at any one time, and never buy more than 100 shares in any one company.
3. Know when to get out. Pick a point where, if the stock price reaches that point, you sell. My own personal rule is, sell the stock if the price hits half of what you paid for it (the limit-your-loss point) or if it splits and you now own over 100 shares. That latter part is what generates part of the money I use for future stock purchases. With this rule, you don't have to watch the markets obsessively during the day, and you don't panic if a stock price dips below your original purchase price.
4. Be able to wave goodbye. Everyone has a reason why they invest. I've used stock sales to buy cars and make the down payment on my house. When the time comes that you need to use the money, don't sit there and think "if I hold this one more day I'll have that much more money". Stocks go down as well as up. You have a use for the money today -- so sell today.
Now, you may ask, what does the laird of Toad Hall own? In no particular order (and see if you can guess why I own these stocks), they are: Automatic Data Processing; Aetna; Bank of America; Vermont Teddy Bear; Barnes & Noble; Church & Dwight; Colgate-Palmolive; Cadbury Schweppes; Cablevision; Disney; Deluxe Printing; Friendly's Ice Cream; General Electric; Georgia-Pacific; Johnson & Johnson; Kellogg; PepsiCo; Procter & Gamble; Royal Dutch Petroleum; Time Warner; and Yankee Candle.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
And a very happy Thanksgiving to all. Me, I got to celebrate Turkey Day three times this year. First was when Bill-the-Honeybear and I were up in Toronto -- Canadian Thanksgiving was October 11, so on our last night in the city we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey; mashed potatoes; stuffing; etc. Second was this past Monday at the Gay Activists Alliance in Morris County (or GAAMC), when they held their traditional Thanksgiving social. It was a pot luck -- members brought turkey, side dishes, and desserts (GAAMC provided the beverages). Finally, today we shared dinner with some of our Mensa friends up in north NJ. One can never have enough turkey -- or enough people to share it with. No, not people -- family.
Busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow, I get fitted for my new CPAP machine (I use it when I sleep, to combat the effects of sleep apnea). Then Bill-the-Honeybear and I go out looking for a new coffee maker and a new smoke alarm. I'm also collecting for BC/EFA around 4:30 at the show Mamma Mia! Saturday night I'm doing two shows for BC/EFA (Movin' Out and Wonderful Town), while Sunday afternoon I'm doing three shows -- Beauty and the Beast, Dracula, and The Producers.
I refuse to think about Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving day -- or even the day after. So I won't. In fact, I'm extending this through the rest of November. Take that, retail giants who had the Christmas decorations up before Hallowe'en!
Department of Corrections: In an earlier post, I said that the original TV production of Cinderella would be shown on my birthday, December 13. I recently got my viewer's guide for WNET (that's channel 13 in the NYC area) which said the production will be shown December 5. As far as I'm concerned, it's like getting a birthday present in the mail just a little early. (Yes, I think this is a good thing.)
Busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow, I get fitted for my new CPAP machine (I use it when I sleep, to combat the effects of sleep apnea). Then Bill-the-Honeybear and I go out looking for a new coffee maker and a new smoke alarm. I'm also collecting for BC/EFA around 4:30 at the show Mamma Mia! Saturday night I'm doing two shows for BC/EFA (Movin' Out and Wonderful Town), while Sunday afternoon I'm doing three shows -- Beauty and the Beast, Dracula, and The Producers.
I refuse to think about Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving day -- or even the day after. So I won't. In fact, I'm extending this through the rest of November. Take that, retail giants who had the Christmas decorations up before Hallowe'en!
Department of Corrections: In an earlier post, I said that the original TV production of Cinderella would be shown on my birthday, December 13. I recently got my viewer's guide for WNET (that's channel 13 in the NYC area) which said the production will be shown December 5. As far as I'm concerned, it's like getting a birthday present in the mail just a little early. (Yes, I think this is a good thing.)
Sunday, November 21, 2004
So how was my day yesterday? Just fine, thank you. Bill-the-Honeybear and I headed into The City yesterday with what is for me a very loose agenda. In order: (1) see the new Spanish film Bearcub at the Angelika Theatre down on Houston Street; (2) try to get into the free opening day at the Museum of Modern Art; (3) have dinner; (4) work for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids at Avenue Q; (5) work for BC/EFA at Wicked; (6) go home.
Bearcub is one of those films that everyone should see. Amazing for a nominally Catholic country like Spain, the film takes homosexuality so matter-of-factly that it just doesn't exist as an issue. Basically, it's a bonding movie -- a gay dentist living in Madrid agrees to take care of his 11-year-old nephew for two weeks while momma and her current boyfriend travel to India. But momma gets busted for drugs and thrown in the Indian slammer -- which means uncle and nephew will have to be together longer than either one had planned. Toss in momma's mother-in-law and uncle's circle of friends (mostly humpy bears, but including the landlady's teenage daughter) and you can probably write the basic plot in your sleep. But...the film treats all its characters as full and flawed and trying-their-best human beings, lifting what might be another trite plot into an unexpectedly touching movie. Right now, it's only playing at one theatre in New York. If you have an "art film" theatre near you, bug them until they schedule a run. It was well worth the inflated NYC ticket price.
MOMA? Fahgeddaboutit. Something free going on in New York? Already an expected crowd. Combine that with the fact that as of today MOMA admission is $20? Expected becomes guaranteed. Foolish me, I thought that by going later in the day (like 6 pm; MOMA was open yesterday from 10 am to 10 pm) the lines might be more reasonable. Forget that! So we did not attend opening day at the newly renovated MOMA. (Nor will we buy the inevitable snob-appeal t-shirt that says we did attend.)
Dinner was at a deli on 7th Avenue up around 52nd Street. The less said, the better. Not bad food, not bad service, not bad decor. Just nothing really good about it.
Next stop: Broadway! Or, to be specific, the Royale Theatre, where Avenue Q is playing. We went in the stage door and up to a small office where we could watch part of the show while listening to the stage manager reading off the light cues. Then we were taken to the mezzanine lobby. Bill got to stand at the left staircase with a bucket. I was selling souvenirs -- autographed posters, Christmas CDs, pins, and "Lucy" necklaces (as worn by one of the show's characters, puppet bombshell Lucy T. Slut). The posters were the big sellers last night, the most popular being one with the character Trekkie Monster on it (the other posters featured Rod, Lucy, and Kate Monster).
Then the hundred-yard dash to the Gershwin Theatre, home to Wicked. This time we were in the main lobby with collection buckets. Not a lot of action here -- mainly because cast members were working the upper lobbies (in costume and makeup) selling their own souvenirs. Still, the relative respite made up for the really quick walk from 45th Street to 51st Street.
Our nightcap consisted of coffee and dessert at my favorite theatre district restaurant, Barrymore's on 45th Street. Then back to the car, then home. "And so to bed," as the famed diarist Samuel Pepys would say.
But wait -- there's more! Today, I'm working at the Lyceum Theatre, where Whoopi Goldberg is doing her one-woman show. That's at 4:30. I'm also working next Friday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. After that, there's one more weekend of collections, followed by the "Gypsy of the Year" show where the show that raised the most money during these last five weeks is honored with an award. Maybe this year I'll go -- even though it is on Monday night.
Bearcub is one of those films that everyone should see. Amazing for a nominally Catholic country like Spain, the film takes homosexuality so matter-of-factly that it just doesn't exist as an issue. Basically, it's a bonding movie -- a gay dentist living in Madrid agrees to take care of his 11-year-old nephew for two weeks while momma and her current boyfriend travel to India. But momma gets busted for drugs and thrown in the Indian slammer -- which means uncle and nephew will have to be together longer than either one had planned. Toss in momma's mother-in-law and uncle's circle of friends (mostly humpy bears, but including the landlady's teenage daughter) and you can probably write the basic plot in your sleep. But...the film treats all its characters as full and flawed and trying-their-best human beings, lifting what might be another trite plot into an unexpectedly touching movie. Right now, it's only playing at one theatre in New York. If you have an "art film" theatre near you, bug them until they schedule a run. It was well worth the inflated NYC ticket price.
MOMA? Fahgeddaboutit. Something free going on in New York? Already an expected crowd. Combine that with the fact that as of today MOMA admission is $20? Expected becomes guaranteed. Foolish me, I thought that by going later in the day (like 6 pm; MOMA was open yesterday from 10 am to 10 pm) the lines might be more reasonable. Forget that! So we did not attend opening day at the newly renovated MOMA. (Nor will we buy the inevitable snob-appeal t-shirt that says we did attend.)
Dinner was at a deli on 7th Avenue up around 52nd Street. The less said, the better. Not bad food, not bad service, not bad decor. Just nothing really good about it.
Next stop: Broadway! Or, to be specific, the Royale Theatre, where Avenue Q is playing. We went in the stage door and up to a small office where we could watch part of the show while listening to the stage manager reading off the light cues. Then we were taken to the mezzanine lobby. Bill got to stand at the left staircase with a bucket. I was selling souvenirs -- autographed posters, Christmas CDs, pins, and "Lucy" necklaces (as worn by one of the show's characters, puppet bombshell Lucy T. Slut). The posters were the big sellers last night, the most popular being one with the character Trekkie Monster on it (the other posters featured Rod, Lucy, and Kate Monster).
Then the hundred-yard dash to the Gershwin Theatre, home to Wicked. This time we were in the main lobby with collection buckets. Not a lot of action here -- mainly because cast members were working the upper lobbies (in costume and makeup) selling their own souvenirs. Still, the relative respite made up for the really quick walk from 45th Street to 51st Street.
Our nightcap consisted of coffee and dessert at my favorite theatre district restaurant, Barrymore's on 45th Street. Then back to the car, then home. "And so to bed," as the famed diarist Samuel Pepys would say.
But wait -- there's more! Today, I'm working at the Lyceum Theatre, where Whoopi Goldberg is doing her one-woman show. That's at 4:30. I'm also working next Friday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. After that, there's one more weekend of collections, followed by the "Gypsy of the Year" show where the show that raised the most money during these last five weeks is honored with an award. Maybe this year I'll go -- even though it is on Monday night.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
By popular request, I am changing (slightly) the intro line of this blog, so that anyone who does a Google search on me can find their way to Toad Hall. (All right: "popular request" means Bill-the-Honeybear said "Why the hell don't you put your name somewhere in your blog so I can find you on Google?")
I don't understand some Kerry supporters. The man ran a tough campaign. He made, from what I've heard, a gracious and, I don't know, noble concession speech, along with a civilized phone call to Bush (which was received with just as much civility). He's said, in effect, "It's over," and he's now turning back to his work in the Senate (where, God knows, there's more than enough things to do). But the die-hard supporters are still fighting the election results, claiming massive voter fraud. I'll admit I've heard of irregularities all across the country, but most people (including the Democratic party) are saying that they're too small in terms of vote count to make any difference in the outcome. If the candidate is saying it's over, and the party is saying it's over, then what possible motive can there be for insisting that it's not over?
Well, there are people who voted for Kerry because they thought he would be the better man in the office at this time. There are people (and I'm one of them) who voted for Kerry because Bush's mishandling of the War on Terror has been atrocious, earning Bush removal from the office. But there are some people who voted for Kerry because they hate Bush-the-man so much that nothing will shake their belief that their candidate lost. These are the people who said (and the many more hiding in the shadows who only thought but did not say) "Anyone But Bush". These are the people who would have voted for the village idiot if he/she was the candidate of the Democratic party. And, incredibly, these are the people who are turning on Kerry for conceding the election when he did.
Is this believable? Is this rational behavior? The man in whose policies and decisions they put their trust is now the man whose decisions are those of -- oh, I don't know; just fill in the blank yourself. I can't bring myself to look at them with anything but disgust.
I wonder if these are the people the Founders thought of when they created the Electoral College.
So the Honeybear and I went to The City yesterday. We had tickets for Cinderella at the New York City Opera, with an all-star cast: Lea DeLaria and Ana Gasteyer as the stepsisters, John "Lypsinka" Epperson as the stepmother, Dick Van Patten as the King, Renee Taylor as the Queen, and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. The leads were unknowns (except for those of you readers who are musical buffs): Sarah Uriarte Berry as Cinderella, and Christopher Siebert as the Prince. All this plus a Rodgers and Hammerstein score. How could it fail? How about, with wooden -- no, leaden performances, about 30-45 minutes of padding to fill out a two-hour time slot, and choreography that should have been more lively but instead turned into "the villagers performing for the tourists on market day". Blame from me goes directly to director/choreographer Baayork Lee, an alumna of many shows (including being in the original cast of A Chorus Line).
Fortunately, we saw Cinderella at a matinee performance. We walked downtown to the TKTS booth and got tickets for Golda's Balcony. Roughly ninety minutes, but including the entire history of Israel as seen from the point of view of its former Prime Minister, Golda Meir (the former Goldie Meyerson from Milwaukee), focusing especially on the Yom Kippur War and the desperate decisions that had to be made. The entire cast was Tovah Feldshuh, one of those actresses who, in a more just world, would be hailed for the talent she is. Not only was she Golda as young girl, new wife, emigrant to Palestine, mother, activist, and PM; she was all the members of her cabinet (including Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon), David Ben-Gurion, Henry Kissinger, King Abdullah of Jordan, both her parents and her husband. It was performed without intermission. That was the right choice. Golda's story, and that of her beloved country, requires your full attention without interruption until it reaches its end. Ms. Feldshuh announced from the stage that as of last month Golda's Balcony was the longest-running one-woman Broadway show in history. It should run forever. It will be closing after New Year's. Go see it.
Cinderella again. Not the stage show -- the TV show. The original, broadcast only once and never taped. But someone, thank the theatre gods, made a kinescope. It's going to be broadcast on PBS on my birthday, December 13 (at least, it will in the NYC area). Julie Andrews, fresh from My Fair Lady, is Cinderella. Ilka Chase, Kaye Ballard, and Alice Ghostley are the stepmother and stepsisters. Jon Cypher (you should recall him from the TV show Major Dad) was the Prince, with Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney as the King and Queen. And, as a young and sophisticated Fairy Godmother, a young and talented Edie Adams. Kindly do not invite me to do anything for the night of my birthday -- I'm staying home with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. (ps.: Julie Andrews will be the announcer for the PBS broadcast.)
I don't understand some Kerry supporters. The man ran a tough campaign. He made, from what I've heard, a gracious and, I don't know, noble concession speech, along with a civilized phone call to Bush (which was received with just as much civility). He's said, in effect, "It's over," and he's now turning back to his work in the Senate (where, God knows, there's more than enough things to do). But the die-hard supporters are still fighting the election results, claiming massive voter fraud. I'll admit I've heard of irregularities all across the country, but most people (including the Democratic party) are saying that they're too small in terms of vote count to make any difference in the outcome. If the candidate is saying it's over, and the party is saying it's over, then what possible motive can there be for insisting that it's not over?
Well, there are people who voted for Kerry because they thought he would be the better man in the office at this time. There are people (and I'm one of them) who voted for Kerry because Bush's mishandling of the War on Terror has been atrocious, earning Bush removal from the office. But there are some people who voted for Kerry because they hate Bush-the-man so much that nothing will shake their belief that their candidate lost. These are the people who said (and the many more hiding in the shadows who only thought but did not say) "Anyone But Bush". These are the people who would have voted for the village idiot if he/she was the candidate of the Democratic party. And, incredibly, these are the people who are turning on Kerry for conceding the election when he did.
Is this believable? Is this rational behavior? The man in whose policies and decisions they put their trust is now the man whose decisions are those of -- oh, I don't know; just fill in the blank yourself. I can't bring myself to look at them with anything but disgust.
I wonder if these are the people the Founders thought of when they created the Electoral College.
So the Honeybear and I went to The City yesterday. We had tickets for Cinderella at the New York City Opera, with an all-star cast: Lea DeLaria and Ana Gasteyer as the stepsisters, John "Lypsinka" Epperson as the stepmother, Dick Van Patten as the King, Renee Taylor as the Queen, and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. The leads were unknowns (except for those of you readers who are musical buffs): Sarah Uriarte Berry as Cinderella, and Christopher Siebert as the Prince. All this plus a Rodgers and Hammerstein score. How could it fail? How about, with wooden -- no, leaden performances, about 30-45 minutes of padding to fill out a two-hour time slot, and choreography that should have been more lively but instead turned into "the villagers performing for the tourists on market day". Blame from me goes directly to director/choreographer Baayork Lee, an alumna of many shows (including being in the original cast of A Chorus Line).
Fortunately, we saw Cinderella at a matinee performance. We walked downtown to the TKTS booth and got tickets for Golda's Balcony. Roughly ninety minutes, but including the entire history of Israel as seen from the point of view of its former Prime Minister, Golda Meir (the former Goldie Meyerson from Milwaukee), focusing especially on the Yom Kippur War and the desperate decisions that had to be made. The entire cast was Tovah Feldshuh, one of those actresses who, in a more just world, would be hailed for the talent she is. Not only was she Golda as young girl, new wife, emigrant to Palestine, mother, activist, and PM; she was all the members of her cabinet (including Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon), David Ben-Gurion, Henry Kissinger, King Abdullah of Jordan, both her parents and her husband. It was performed without intermission. That was the right choice. Golda's story, and that of her beloved country, requires your full attention without interruption until it reaches its end. Ms. Feldshuh announced from the stage that as of last month Golda's Balcony was the longest-running one-woman Broadway show in history. It should run forever. It will be closing after New Year's. Go see it.
Cinderella again. Not the stage show -- the TV show. The original, broadcast only once and never taped. But someone, thank the theatre gods, made a kinescope. It's going to be broadcast on PBS on my birthday, December 13 (at least, it will in the NYC area). Julie Andrews, fresh from My Fair Lady, is Cinderella. Ilka Chase, Kaye Ballard, and Alice Ghostley are the stepmother and stepsisters. Jon Cypher (you should recall him from the TV show Major Dad) was the Prince, with Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney as the King and Queen. And, as a young and sophisticated Fairy Godmother, a young and talented Edie Adams. Kindly do not invite me to do anything for the night of my birthday -- I'm staying home with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. (ps.: Julie Andrews will be the announcer for the PBS broadcast.)
Sunday, November 07, 2004
So, just look at us... I went to my 35-year high school reunion last night. Some faces never change, others you wouldn't recognize in a million years (thank God for name tags). I had a great time. Bill the Honeybear, wonder of wonders, had a good time too. We danced, we ate (quite a nice buffet, too), I caught up with people I hadn't seen in decades (at least three attendees hadn't been to a class reunion in over 10 years -- and it was the first for one guy). Plus it was nice to see how much the old town had changed -- and how much it hadn't. (The old town, in case anyone is wondering, is South River, New Jersey.)
In case you're wondering, the post title up there is from a Stephen Sondheim song, "Don't Look at Me", from the musical "Follies". I won't give you the full lyric, but the fragment is at the end of the song and goes: "So, just look at us/Fat, turning gray/Still playing games, acting crazy/Isn't it awful?/God, how depressing!/Me, I'm 100/You, you're a blessing/I'm so glad I came!"
After a year, closure. We went down to Florida on Tuesday to scatter the ashes of my parents and my brother-in-law. Wednesday morning, me, my sister Penny, some of her girlfriends from high school, her daughter-in-law Shayna, and assorted spouses (plus the Honeybear and Penny's current boyfriend) sat around and reminisced; Shari, one of the girlfriends, did us up a fine ham-and-egg dish, half omelette, half quiche for breakfast. Later that day, Bill, Penny, Shayna, Jim (Penny's boyfriend), and I took a boat out and scattered my mother, my father, and my brother-in-law into the water. On Thursday, we came home.
I did two good impromptu things (I think). First, the toast at Tuesday's dinner: simply, "Family". Second, the toast (using morning mimosas) after the reminiscenses: "To my mother and my father, who gave us roots and gave us wings; and to Ralph, who did the one thing I ever asked him to do: he made my sister happy."
The damn election is over. The candidate I voted for conceded defeat on Wednesday morning. Now there's reports and rumors flying all over the place about miscounted or lost votes. As I posted on a user group this past week: They'd better hurry. January 6 is when the electoral votes get counted, and unless you can change those (by recounting votes or whatever) there is no Constitutional mechanism to undo a Presidential election, no matter what you find afterward.
Was the Kerry loss due to gay marriage issues? In part, yes. I hate to say it, but the GLBT community and its allies fell down in the one arena they needed to do well in -- educating the general public about GLBT rights (and the lack thereof), especially in the so-called "red states". We also didn't point out the true meaning behind the language of several state anti-gay-marriage amendments -- that they would not only bar gay marriage, but any contractual arrangements that might copy benefits of marriage. Or, in other words: no civil unions; no powers of attorney; no living wills; no joint adoptions. Some lawyers are wondering about the fate of insurance benefits provided by employers to domestic partners. When you hear about lawsuits challenging these newly-passed anti-gay amendments, many of them are coming up due to the argument that the voting public was deliberately misled due to the explanatory language on the ballots about these amendments. (Louisiana's anti-gay amendment was struck down for just such a reason.)
But in part, no. Poll data from this election showed that in states where there was an anti-gay amendment on the ballot, the voting percentages for Bush were up only slightly (exceptions: Oklahoma and Utah, where the Bush percentages were up by 4 to 5 per cent). And there was one larger issue than GLBT rights this year: the handling of the Iraq War. It seems like "Don't change horses in mid-stream" was a deciding factor in voters' minds.
What about Congress? Well, the Republicans picked up some extra seats in both houses, retaining their majority. The balance is 55-45 in the Senate -- not a veto-proof majority (that would be 60). Plus you still do not have those 55 voting as a solid bloc -- there are still mavericks like Chaffee of Rhode Island (rumored to be planning to switch parties), Snowe of Maine, McCain of Arizona, and Specter of Pennsylvania. Over in the House, Marilyn Musgrave is back -- she's the author of the FMA -- and she's vowing to bring it back in the next session. A resounding defeat for Musgrave would have put another nail in the coffin of the FMA; but the GLBT community and its allies couldn't manage that, either.
And they're off... The race for 2008 is already underway. Many people are already naming Hillary Clinton as a strong candidate for the Democrats -- at least, she can't be attacked on her Vietnam service record. The jockeying for position started November 3.
If I ruled the elections: I would mandate the UK style of television campaigning. I would eliminate the primary elections -- let's face it, they're too much political circus, not enough political meat to be of any use. Far better to let the state party committees choose their delegates, send them off to wherever the convention is, have all the potential candidates give their best shot policy speeches there, then let the delegates decide. So what if it takes 137 ballots to come up with a candidate? It would be much more exciting to watch than the bland coronation ceremonies we now have. (Remember when it was exciting to watch convention coverage? Me too.) I would change the campaign finance laws to one simple rule: Thou Shalt Divulge The Source Of Every Single Penny Thou Dost Raise. Let the Federal Election Commission keep the running tally/source list, and have them send it off to the major media outlets once a week. No more fussing over hard money, soft money, 527's, and all the other rot. The Supreme Court, long ago, said that campaign contributions were a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment -- so how can it be constitutional to restrict it? And then, like God on the seventh day, I would rest.
In case you're wondering, the post title up there is from a Stephen Sondheim song, "Don't Look at Me", from the musical "Follies". I won't give you the full lyric, but the fragment is at the end of the song and goes: "So, just look at us/Fat, turning gray/Still playing games, acting crazy/Isn't it awful?/God, how depressing!/Me, I'm 100/You, you're a blessing/I'm so glad I came!"
After a year, closure. We went down to Florida on Tuesday to scatter the ashes of my parents and my brother-in-law. Wednesday morning, me, my sister Penny, some of her girlfriends from high school, her daughter-in-law Shayna, and assorted spouses (plus the Honeybear and Penny's current boyfriend) sat around and reminisced; Shari, one of the girlfriends, did us up a fine ham-and-egg dish, half omelette, half quiche for breakfast. Later that day, Bill, Penny, Shayna, Jim (Penny's boyfriend), and I took a boat out and scattered my mother, my father, and my brother-in-law into the water. On Thursday, we came home.
I did two good impromptu things (I think). First, the toast at Tuesday's dinner: simply, "Family". Second, the toast (using morning mimosas) after the reminiscenses: "To my mother and my father, who gave us roots and gave us wings; and to Ralph, who did the one thing I ever asked him to do: he made my sister happy."
The damn election is over. The candidate I voted for conceded defeat on Wednesday morning. Now there's reports and rumors flying all over the place about miscounted or lost votes. As I posted on a user group this past week: They'd better hurry. January 6 is when the electoral votes get counted, and unless you can change those (by recounting votes or whatever) there is no Constitutional mechanism to undo a Presidential election, no matter what you find afterward.
Was the Kerry loss due to gay marriage issues? In part, yes. I hate to say it, but the GLBT community and its allies fell down in the one arena they needed to do well in -- educating the general public about GLBT rights (and the lack thereof), especially in the so-called "red states". We also didn't point out the true meaning behind the language of several state anti-gay-marriage amendments -- that they would not only bar gay marriage, but any contractual arrangements that might copy benefits of marriage. Or, in other words: no civil unions; no powers of attorney; no living wills; no joint adoptions. Some lawyers are wondering about the fate of insurance benefits provided by employers to domestic partners. When you hear about lawsuits challenging these newly-passed anti-gay amendments, many of them are coming up due to the argument that the voting public was deliberately misled due to the explanatory language on the ballots about these amendments. (Louisiana's anti-gay amendment was struck down for just such a reason.)
But in part, no. Poll data from this election showed that in states where there was an anti-gay amendment on the ballot, the voting percentages for Bush were up only slightly (exceptions: Oklahoma and Utah, where the Bush percentages were up by 4 to 5 per cent). And there was one larger issue than GLBT rights this year: the handling of the Iraq War. It seems like "Don't change horses in mid-stream" was a deciding factor in voters' minds.
What about Congress? Well, the Republicans picked up some extra seats in both houses, retaining their majority. The balance is 55-45 in the Senate -- not a veto-proof majority (that would be 60). Plus you still do not have those 55 voting as a solid bloc -- there are still mavericks like Chaffee of Rhode Island (rumored to be planning to switch parties), Snowe of Maine, McCain of Arizona, and Specter of Pennsylvania. Over in the House, Marilyn Musgrave is back -- she's the author of the FMA -- and she's vowing to bring it back in the next session. A resounding defeat for Musgrave would have put another nail in the coffin of the FMA; but the GLBT community and its allies couldn't manage that, either.
And they're off... The race for 2008 is already underway. Many people are already naming Hillary Clinton as a strong candidate for the Democrats -- at least, she can't be attacked on her Vietnam service record. The jockeying for position started November 3.
If I ruled the elections: I would mandate the UK style of television campaigning. I would eliminate the primary elections -- let's face it, they're too much political circus, not enough political meat to be of any use. Far better to let the state party committees choose their delegates, send them off to wherever the convention is, have all the potential candidates give their best shot policy speeches there, then let the delegates decide. So what if it takes 137 ballots to come up with a candidate? It would be much more exciting to watch than the bland coronation ceremonies we now have. (Remember when it was exciting to watch convention coverage? Me too.) I would change the campaign finance laws to one simple rule: Thou Shalt Divulge The Source Of Every Single Penny Thou Dost Raise. Let the Federal Election Commission keep the running tally/source list, and have them send it off to the major media outlets once a week. No more fussing over hard money, soft money, 527's, and all the other rot. The Supreme Court, long ago, said that campaign contributions were a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment -- so how can it be constitutional to restrict it? And then, like God on the seventh day, I would rest.
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