Happy New Year, All Y'all!

Madame G. is going out tonight!
Yee-haaa!

Dear Goddess, don't ask me where I'm finding the motivation to do this, since I'm feeling very grumpalicious at the moment, but... I'm about to unscrew the PINK NAIL POLISH in preparation for tonight's festivities, and there's no going back after the nails get done.

I have a friend who's throwing a party at his new home in the 'Stro. And I'm being encouraged by one of "The Davids," who has even consented to chauffeur the Madame there. (Madame Glinka no longer DOES buses, particularly not on New Year's Eve, and since she lives out in the middle of nowhere, cabs are prohibitively expensive.)

Ladies, not only that, but this afternoon I made MANGO FRUIT BARS to bring along, well, I just scratched open a box, but still, you don't know what a big accomplishment that is for me. They're actually not burnt, and and they even look *mango fruit bar-like*! Damn, I wish Martha Stewart's "Apprentice" hadn't been cancelled!!!!!

In other deep and exciting newz, I got my hair buzzed off today. Again, in the 'Stro. (The Gay Guys are the only ones who truly know how to buzz-cut the hairs.) With no facial hair, I'm all eyebrows and coffee-stained teeth. I know, I know, Crest White-Strips, it's on my list of New Year's Resolutions.

All in all, it's been a pretty good year for me, especially the apartment move. Hope 2006 brings great things for all of you.

HUGS! Albert

Blogging is SO 2005!

I don't know. Now that AOL-J sucks, I'm wondering if I should find a new hobby. It depresses me that I used to have 40-50 comments per entry and now I only have around 4 or 5. Okay, granted, I've been lax in visiting other blogs. Maybe I should start writing about sex again. Or, not. Anyway, thanks to all who still do comment. Should I write another entry about my futon sofa-bed? That was a popular topic.

Yesterday I worked on, finished and mailed this Deco-Book that was Aunt Nub's. I was around nine months behind on my deadline(!), and Aunt Nub had been sending me all these cute sticker sheets as bribes/inspiration, I think. It amazes me that after procrastinating for all this time, I was able to complete it in just one day.

Blog: What should I do with my life? I am good at gluing-- when I finally get around to it. I'm good at gluing glitter on things. Is this a profession for anyone?

I think I need more sleep!

This dancing lady reminds me of my Mom...

Ultimate Fag Field Trip

The big one: San Francisco Ballet's "Nutcracker." If you're there, and you're male, and you don't have a child alongside you under the age of ten, then chances are you're a BIG FAT HOMO. Guilty as charged, Officer. Pictured here is Yuan Yuan Tan as the Queen of the Snow. Bitch stole my part! Another damned Asian too! [Only jokin', sorry Vincci :-O!]

Of course, my fellow ballet-patron companion was my Fag Field Trip Friend, Chr. He actually MAJORED in The Dance at a fancy-schmancy East Coast college. Scary!

We had amazing seats in Row B, procured for us by my friend P. who works in the Ballet Box Office. We could see every spangle, mouse whisker, bead of dancer sweat and individual snowflake. Surround-sound Tchaikovsky too. I was in Fag Heaven.

Plus, complimentary milk and cookies in the Lobby during Intermission, YAY! :-)

Memories...

Remember AOL-J? Remember that sense of community? (It might still exist over here on Blogspot, but truthfully, I haven't had enough time in the last two months to chase it down.)

Remember Jean Chatzky? I KNOW you do!!!!! (At least if you were blogging in '04, that is.)

Anyway, in my archiving madness, I came across this parody entry, an homage to our beloved Remo, that made me giggle:

Many of you may recall my initial trepidation about becoming an AOL-user. I just wasn't sure that I'd meet the RIGHT SORT of online pals here. Being part of an active online community is extremely important to me; there are many nights when my domestic partner Biff is working late at the office, and I've often found myself looking around at our empty luxury condo, thinking: "I sure wish there were someone to chat with about topics of concern to me."

As I wrote in a previous entry, one recent Sunday morning me and Biff were having brunch with our dear pal, Jean Chatzky, when she began extolling the many wonders of America Online Version 9.0, and convinced us to give AOL a trial run... Among the many features she described was this new BLOGGING COMMUNITY.

I'll never forget that moment: Biff and I just burst out laughing! "What is Blogging?!?," we asked?

Jean explained that a blog was like a journal that you could keep online and that they were ALL THE RAGE. I couldn't imagine that anyone would want to share their innermost thoughts and dreams online, but then Jean told us that some Bloggers (LOL!) wrote about politics, or their spiritual beliefs, or even reviewed movies! What a great idea!!!

Later that afternoon, as I was Scrapbooking alone at our IKEA dining-room table, I thought, "You know, I'm just gonna install this free AOL CD in my 'puter & see what this Blogging thingie is all about! Hopefully Biff won't mind!"

Well, before you could say Boo, I was immersed in this strange new world of blogs. What I uncovered was truly shocking. So many Bloggers seemed to be vehemently opposed to our brave young soldiers in Iraq and they were out-and-out insulting to our Leader and Commander-in-Chief, President Bush! I read other shocking things too. There were actual hippies blogging--who knew hippies even still existed anymore, or that they owned computers? There were some nice ladies who kept very nice blogs with pictures of their children, cats and gardens, but then some MASKED or UNMASKED PROFANITY would appear in their entries, or they would start writing about circumcision! Worst of all, there were some Lesbian bloggers who seemed to be GOOD PEOPLE, all except for the PAGAN pictures of Fairies on their blogs! I really don't think that our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ would approve of all those fairies...!

I was about to give up on this whole blogging phenomenon when I discovered the fine words of ScreaminRemo. Like Biff & myself, he is a proud, upstanding Republican who knows right from wrong and is not afraid to call a spade a spade. Even more impressive, he is a loving husband & father, and, to top it all off, he is a proud member of our Men in Blue. (or whatever color policemen wear in Arizona) I love how handsome men look in uniform while they are serving GOD & COUNTRY! (Pics, Remo, we want Pics!)

As I have come to find out, sometimes it seems that Remo is the only voice of reason in the AOL Journal Community! I am proud to say that I have begun an online correspondence with him and that we share the exact same viewpoints on all subject matters. This is the very best thing about AOL--you can find people who completely agree with your opinions, and not have to deal with all those bleeding-heart liberal WACKOS who are destroying this great country of ours! I can only say to those people: Move to France where they don't even HAVE blogs!

So here's to you, Remo! Keep on tellin' it like it is!!!!


Where are you, Remo??? Your new blog is impossible to comment on.

Archivin' Fool

I've decided to archive my old AOL journal as Word docs for each month. And just skip some entries that are lame. I've only made it thru a month and a half so far, darnit! But it should go quicker now that I have a system down. It's very clear to me that my pack-rat tendencies apply to my old journal wordz... and it all feels tiresome today.

Post-Christmas blues, I think. And how's by you?

Intelligent Design by Paul Rudnick

My friend Lanz sent me this-- I think it's somehow appropriate as we continue celebrating the birth of the Baby Jesus and rampant consumerism. Just another perspective on the Universe. (Paul Rudnick has written a lot of wickedly funny screenplays.)


Day No. 1:

And the Lord God said, "Let there be light," and lo, there was light.

But then the Lord God said, "Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?"

"I'm loving that," said Buddha. "It's new."

"You should design a restaurant," added Allah.

Day No. 2:

"Today," the Lord God said, "let's do land." And lo, there was land.

"Well, it's really not just land," noted Vishnu. "You've got mountains and valleys and-is that lava?"

"It's not a single statement," said the Lord God. "I want it to say, 'Yes, this is land, but it's not afraid to ooze.' "

"It's really a backdrop, a sort of blank canvas," put in Apollo. "It's, like, minimalism, only with scale."

"But-brown?" Buddha asked.

"Brown with infinite variations," said the Lord God. "Taupe, ochre, burnt umber-they're called earth tones."

"I wasn't criticizing," said Buddha. "I was just noticing."

Day No. 3:

"Just to make everyone happy," said the Lord God, "today I'm thinking oceans, for contrast."

"It's wet, it's deep, yet it's frothy; it's design without dogma," said Buddha, approvingly.

"Now, there's movement," agreed Allah. "It's not just 'Hi, I'm a planet-no splashing.' "

"But are those ice caps?" inquired Thor. "Is this a coherent vision, or a highball?"

"I can do ice caps if I want to," sniffed the Lord God.

"It's about a mood," said the Angel Moroni, supportively.

"Thank you," said the Lord God.

Day No. 4:

"One word," said the Lord God. "Landscaping. But I want it to look natural, as if it all somehow just happened."

"Do rain forests," suggested a primitive tribal god, who was known only as a clicking noise.

"Rain forests here," decreed the Lord God. "And deserts there. For a spa feeling."

"Which is fresh, but let's give it glow," said Buddha. "Polished stones and bamboo, with a soothing trickle of something."

"I know where you're going," said the Lord God. "But why am I seeing scented candles and a signature body wash?"

"Shut up," said Buddha.

"You shut up," said the Lord God.

"It's all about the mix," Allah declared in a calming voice. "Now let's look at some swatches."

Day No. 5:

"I'd like to design some creatures of the sea," the Lord God said. "Sleek but not slick."

"Yes, yes, and more yes-it's a total gills moment," said Apollo. "But what if you added wings?"

"Fussy," whispered Buddha to Zeus. "Why not epaulets and a sash?"

"Legs," said Allah. "Now let's do legs."

"Are we already doing dining-room tables?" asked the Lord God, confused.

"No, design some creatures with legs," said Allah.

So the Lord God, nodding, designed an ostrich.

"First draft," everyone agreed, and so the Lord God designed an alligator.

"There's gonna be a waiting list," Zeus murmured appreciatively.

"Now do puppies!" pleaded Vishnu. "And kitties!"

"Ooooo!" all the gods cooed.

Then, feeling a bit embarrassed, Zeus ventured, "Design something more practical, like a horse or a mule."

"What about a koala?" asked the Lord God.

"Much better," Zeus declared, cuddling the furry little animal. "I'm going to call him Buttons."

Day No. 6:

"Today I'm really going out there," said the Lord God. "And I know it won't be popular at first, and you're all gonna be saying, 'Earth to Lord God,' but in a few million years it's going to be timeless. I'm going to design a man."

And everyone looked upon the man that the Lord God designed.

"It has your eyes," Zeus told the Lord God.

"Does it stack?" inquired Allah.

"It has a naïve, folk-artsy, I-made-it-myself vibe," said Buddha.

The Inca sun god, however, only scoffed. "Been there. Evolution," he said. "It's called a shaved monkey."

"I like it," protested Buddha. "But it can't work a strapless dress."

Everyone agreed on this point, so the Lord God announced, "Well, what if I give it nice round breasts and lose the penis?"

"Yes," the gods said immediately.

"Now it's intelligent," said Aphrodite.

"But what if I made it blonde?" giggled the Lord God.

"And what if I made you a booming offscreen voice in a lot of bad movies?" asked Aphrodite.

Day No. 7:

"You know, I'm really feeling good about this whole intelligent-design deal," said the Lord God. "But do you think that I could redo it, keeping the quality but making it at a price point we could all live with?"

"I'm not sure," said Buddha. "You mean, what if you designed a really basic, no-frills planet? Like, do the man and the woman really need all those toes?"

"Hello!" said the Lord God. "Clean lines, no moving parts, functional but fun. Three bright, happy, wash 'n' go colors."

"Swedish meets Japanese, with maybe a Platinum Collector's Edition for the geeks," Buddha decided.

"Done," said the Lord God. "Now let's start thinking about Pluto. What if everything on Pluto was brushed aluminum?"

"You mean, let's do Neptune again?" said Buddha.

Come Gather 'Round my Ikea Hannukah Bush!

I bought this Ikea Hannukah Bush around a month ago, but it took until Friday for me to put it up; I finally had a deadline as I was expecting a few guests in my new abode yesterday.

Note the absence of all other furniture. I am determined not to clutter up this place and to only add things that I really like.

Hope all of you are having a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas/ Hannukah/ Kwanzaa/ Winter Solstice/ etc.!





Hannukah Bush closeup.

Très Moderne, n'est pas?

A VERY FAGGY CHRISTMAS ~ Part III

Turning Japanese at the tres-chic After-Party. Chr. as "Fresh Fruit," styled by Mark M.


"Hello, Kitty! "



A nice portrait of The Donald. :-)

...politely ignoring the insanity surrounding him.



At around midnight, Madame G. suddenly realized that she had eaten way too many Potstickers!

Does anyone have any Gasex?

No Fag Event can end without the ritual making of the Fag Gang Poses!!!

A VERY FAGGY CHRISTMAS ~ Part II

There are so many *hella-tight* (heard it on the bus last night!) photos to share-- thanks again, Chr. & The Donald!


Above, The Krafts Korner. You know you want some Queers with Scissors at your next Tree-Trimming party!



The Donald made it emphatically known that it was HIS turn to put the Angel on the tree this year!

"The Davids"



Chr. as "Cindy Lou."

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch!














Madame Glinka, moved by the spiritual magnitude of the evening's festivities, briefly considered *Taking The Veil*.

A VERY FAGGY CHRISTMAS!

My Fag Field Trip pal Chr. and his husband, The Donald, threw a Fab Fag Christmas Tree-Trimming/B-day Party for Chr. event last night at their lovely home in Pacifica. It was a blast.

Madame Glinka decided at the very last minute to grace everyone with her glittering presence. Unfortunately, she had no time to shop for a new frock, so she just had to accessorize creatively and hope no one noticed that she was wearing last year's Couture!

What an embarrassing predicament for a Super Model!!!

Chr. & The Donald are teched-out for days and have a deluxe digital camera, so I have a lot more pics to share, which I will do in the next entry... Maybe I'll even post photos of the other guests! ;-)



Have a Very Faggy Christmas, all y'all!

The Futon Sofa-Bed that Ate San Francisco

(Who needs to go see "King Kong?")

Mancini's Sleepworld delivered my new futon sofa-bed yesterday afternoon. It looked normal-sized in their spacious Van Ness Avenue showroom, but when it was plunked down in my *cozy* San Francisco studio apt., it revealed itself to be...

...quite large.

Make that: HUGE. Very Huge.

Yah. So I proceeded to freak out, instead of just being happy I was the proud owner of a brand-new futon sofa-bed that will potentially provide me with years of sitting and sleeping pleasure.

To make matters worse, I couldn't figure out how to open and close the damned thing and the delivery guys didn't show me, plus there were no written instructions. Lame! Every goddamned thing for sale comes with written instructions and disclaimers and tons of totally useless information. Except for my new futon sofa-bed. Yeesh, okay, this is officially a rant.

I spent several hours lugging it across the beige carpeting, trying to find a spot for it that wouldn't take up the entire room. I finally settled on one and slept on it-- literally-- overnight. (Futon mattress was alright, I guess I'll get used to it.) Spent another hour today lugging this monster to a new spot, plus had some service guys come out to properly demonstrate how to fold it up.

Cool greenish velourish futon cover is on order, still to come. BTW, those little armrest side-table thingies flip up and down, which is half the reason I bought this piece of furniture. I thought they were so cute-- you can put your mug of coffee on them as you're sitting in Futon Semi-Comfort. And there are storage drawers underneath. A lot of bang for the buck, as they say...

I guess I'm kind of liking it now and getting used to it. One thing happened immediately: my kitty Sunshine made herself right at home on it.

Is this some kind of sick joke, Goddess/ Buddha/ whoever?

For those of you who have been following along, I've been trapped in a sort of "Faux-Asian Hell" for the past fortnight. Even when I've been out shopping for my new Post-Moderne Butch home, the large golden Buddha heads I see everywhere seem to be following me around the home furnishing stores, mocking me with their wise eyes...

Then yesterday, I get both a cellphone text-message and an email with the following:

You are receiving this notice from Beau Bonneau Casting through the CastingNetworks, SF database because we have an urgent need for a current project. Please review and forward if possible. We are seeking large Asian men that appear to be Chinese, for a SAG National Bud Light Commercial. We are seeking only Asian men who weigh 250 lbs and more, & are between the ages of 25 - 40 years. Please forward this notice to anyone you know who may be appropriate and interested.

Arrgggghh!!! When the heck are they gonna need a 180-lb, middle-aged, ex-New York Jew for some beer ad?

In happier news, I bought an "accent rug" from Cost Plus World Imports yesterday-- it's a crazy-ass rug with lots of cool colors: greens, rust, blues, whites... made (hopefully not by child labor) in India. My two kitties promptly appropriated it as their new "accent bed."

They are totally down with my groovy new Bachelor Pad and all the (credit card) money I am spending on it.

Disco Clutter

It's been about a month since I've moved into the new place, and things are slowly coming together. One of the final frontiers is this big WAD o' CLUTTER that's still on my floor. It's partly been exhausted post-flu inertia that has prevented me from attacking it up 'til now.

FlyLady would greatly disapprove!

I moved most of my possessions up here in plastic bagz since I couldn't find moving boxes on the street and didn't want to pay $ to buy 'em. So I've really felt like a BagLady, camping out up here.

On Monday, I came up with the brilliant idea of just spending one hour per day working on it... just getting some of this clutter off the floor and into my bookshelves or other storage areas. By Golly, it worked! I've cleared a large area, and have even made two trips to the Community Thrift Store, a great thrift shop in the Mission where you can specify the charity you want part of the proceeds of your *stuffe* to go to. [I've specified The AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park and Planned Parenthood, tryin' to mix it up. :-) ]

Don't know what to do with the disco ball yet. I have the motor and the special disco ball light and everything.

Surprised???

Don't tell me to hang it-- remember, I'm going for Post-Moderne Butch in here!

Faux-Asian Done Right!

Charlie L., a Supernumerary buddy of mine, was recently involved with a production, over at San Francisco Symphony, of a little-known opera by Stravinsky, "Le Rossignol" (which translates to "The Nightingale").

Suprisingly, it's totally Faux-Asian. Here's what talented makeup/costuming pros can do. Screw political correctness! Photos by Charlie L. :-)

I'm feeling that I made the right decision to not work the LucasFilm party. Interestingly, a friend was ill over the weekend and I was able to do a favor for him on Saturday night that made me feel like I had trusted my instincts well.

Whoah! Did Madame Glinka go out without my noticing???

So I sunk into RE:ality TV this weekend instead. Another friend is taping "Project Runway" for me, which I feel is one of the best shows out there. Love it, love it, love it!


Over on "Survivor," it was cool that Danni won-- I was so over Steph, as I know others were too. I dug Rafe, a really cool Gay Guy... loved that his sexuality was just no big deal, this is where RE:ality TV can break down barriers.


In other compelling blog newz: Me and Chr. took Fag Field Trip #53 to Yuppie Union St. yesterday, as there was a home furnishings store, Z Gallery, that I wanted to check out.

I didn't see much I was interested in. Instead we saw many, many ceramic Faeire Christmas ornaments and many, many, MANY oversized Buddha heads.

There was a big, pink, faux-fur beanbag that I liked, but Chr. had to remind me of my new desire to try and be BUTCH for a change, at least in the home furnishings department...

The P.C. Police Bite Me in the Butt

Night before last, I got a call from the contact person who hired me to play the Old Asian Wise Man, telling me that they've decided to get an actual Asian person to portray the character. "In a city full of Asians, we need to have an Asian person in this role."

I'd had this exact thought the very first time I'd talked with her, but had kept my mouth shut. Although, after having seen numerous "Madame Butterflys," I know that anyone can be made up to look theatrically Asian... but this wasn't the direction they wanted to go in.

More irksome to me is that they are going to have this Asian person wear the costume that I researched, chose and put on reserve for myself.

The event-planner lady offered me the option of still working the party and standing in this one spot helping people solve the treasure-hunt puzzle. "Being the *go-to* person for help with the clues." She sent me an email with details of the puzzle.

Reading it gave me a sick headache.

I would mock it further here, but I'm trying not to sit in my resentment! Anyway, after sleeping on it, I called her back yesterday morning and declined. So, I'm done. They're going to pay me part of my fee for finding the costume. I learned a lot from this experience and think I handled myself professionally. I'm not sure if I made the right decision about not working the party, but I'm just not into it. I was very into pulling this whole look together and performing in it, and when that was taken away, I did not want to proceed any further.

Blame it on my Artistic Temperment.

Wise Old Asian Ex-NY Jew continued...

Costume's been approved, now I'm going wig/makeup shopping today. Kryolan-- a great resource, and just a few doors down from my beloved SF Opera Costume Shop.

I think I may be able to shave my current full beard into something Fu Manchu-y. Sorta like the dude to the left, except more grayed-out, and with long gray hair? The eyebrows are cool-- are they too Asian-y?

I bought a futon couch/bed yesterday!!! Yay!!!!! I had dumped my old mattress and was making do with a borrowed air mattress until I bought something new.

Confucius Say:

Don't speak with bad, un-P.C. Asian accent!

So, yeah, the character I am booked to play on Saturday night at the LucasFilm Holiday Party is a "Wise Old Asian Man"-type. But the event planners don't want me to try too hard to be Asian, since I'm not. So my plan is to be a Wise Old Asian Ex-New York Jew. That should entertain the Lucas CGI Geeks!

Be that as it may, I still have to come up with some Asian-y costume, and the best resource I found in the Yellow Pages was the A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theater) Costume Rental Shop. Pictured here is MOI in the robe I'll be wearing, via bad Verizon Camera-Phone pic.

What I'll be doing at the party is being part of this Treasure Hunt activity-- actually the final Pit-Stop of the Treasure Hunt. I know I can pull this off; it's just getting the whole look together that's more work.

In other newz: I'm afraid that it might take me friggin' months to archive all the entries in my old AOL journal-- and I had the sick thought yesterday: what if Blogspot does something funky with ads or fees in the future? Should I spend all this time transferring old entries to Blogspot, or should I just transfer them to a file on my Hard Drive???

Last night I was trying to save this old .gif and it wasn't working. (Still isn't, goshdarnit, it's s'posed to spin!) I'm almost tempted to just chuck my entire old AOL journal, but I won't do something impulsive like that.

And how are you all?????

We will not regret the past, nor will we wish to shut the door on it.


I have just begun the arduous task of archiving 1 and 1/2 years of my old AOL Journal entries. Since AOL Journals is getting more upsetting and unpleasant to me by the day, it is time to try and get the hell out of there. Archiving my entries will take awhile-- there's a lot of entries and an insane amount of cutsie-pie graphic details in them, and some I'm just going to have to let go.

Oh, w-hell... I'm hoping to have it all done by January 1st, but that deadline may be too ambitious.

My second Blogspot blog: Albert's World Artsy Archives

Keep in mind-- I was, err, not yet... um, well... never mind, just keep in mind it was a year and a half ago.

My Holiday Entertaining Newz is that I'm booked to appear as a costumed character at the LucasFilm Annual Holiday Party. (Your guess was correct, SFMike.) Their brand-new headquarters is here in 'Frisco. I'm rather intimidated, especially as I have to run around trying to put my own costume/wig/makeup together.

More details to come...

525,600 Minutes

(HAD to, Chr.)

Okay, so I finally saw "Rent" yesterday, on yet another Fag Field Trip with Chr. I fully realize that this was an entire week after every single other Homo in America saw it, which is especially sad since I basically starred in the damned movie. Well, more on that later. :-(

I have to say, I was disappointed. I acknowledge that it is extremely hard to film a musical, but I felt that "Rent" was often disjointed, very often cheesy, and not nearly often enough magical-- which all movie musicals need to be somehow. It had its moments, and there were some good performances and good songs, but IMHO, not nearly enough to fill up its VERY long running-length.

A friend of mine who is a long-term survivor of HIV had weighed in with me a while back on the stage version: he said that the AIDS/HIV themes in the musical were handled very superficially, and that this was an affront to him and to all those who went through that horrible period in the Eighties and Nineties. I have to agree with him-- I HATE seeing very healthy-looking actors pretending to be dying of AIDS, and this certain overwrought, overly-sentimental way of handling the complexities of this tragic period in recent gay history. A show-tune taking place at an AIDS support group meeting? Utterly cringe-worthy to me!

(As an aside, an AIDS film that I thought worked is "Longtime Companion," a heartbreaking tearjerker that I felt captured the spirit of that time and place pretty accurately, and a fabulous movie musical that I thought worked is "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"-- rent them both on Netflix and tell them Madame Glinka sent you!!!)

Another thing: for supposed dirt-poor bohemians who couldn't afford to buy a cup of tea at their La Vie Boheme cafe, the characters sure had lots of Pottery Barn candles and could dress in numerous cute, hip ensembles... worth many smirks and catty asides to Chr. during the film. Oh, and didn't you all think that at least some of the actors were just a TAD too old in 2005 to be reprising their old B'way roles???

Now, onto MY scenes at the Cat Scratch Club. First, I have to give it to Rosario Dawson-- she was impressive, just as impressive as she was when we were filming those scenes. She really held the film together and seemed the right age. Very sexy. (I didn't know HIV+ heroin addicts could be that sexy.)

The horde of extras playing strip-club patrons, of which I was one, were basically just a blurry crowd of bodies-- even the guys positioned right next to the stage were barely seen-- the focus was on Mimi, which was appropriate. There's actually one shot where I believe I am a blurry body (once again) crossing in front of the camera-- I remember doing that shot. Will need major Slo-motion to check it out when the DVD comes out.

This other scene towards the end of the film, where Mimi is really strung out and writhing around more desparately for greenbacks, I am out of camera-range, as I guessed I would be. Bummer.

One last criticism: most of the street scenes were filmed in 'Frisco, not New York. Seeemed pretty obvious to Chr. and me. It was a great coup for the local film and acting community that director Chris Columbus wanted to film here, but not too good for realism. The fake snow looked pretty real at least!

So that's the "Rent" wrap-up... I would be interested to see the stage version now, just to compare. It's a terrible shame that the composer Jonathan Larson died-- he was obviously very gifted, and I'm sure his talent would have grown with more projects.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some exciting news about an Albert Holiday Performing Gig!

^ click on image to view better!

WAR, and RE:ality TV

I just saw an example of how the friggin' banner ad scooter drives through the AOL Journal... (it takes around an hour for the animation to load up on my dial-up, plus I think I screwed up my computer's memory by trying to upload Picasa.)

AOL: there's still a little bit of room on my old journal page, I think you can squeeze a few more ads in there if you'd like to! :-) Oh, you say that there are some words and images of mine in the way sometimes? I'm so sorry! I'll try to be more succinct in the future, and I'll skip putting in my photos so you can have as much room to advertise as possible!

Let's see, on a more positive note... Sunshine is not yet clear on the concept that the entire living room carpet is NOT her personal scratching post. (She apparently is getting some of her ideas from the AOL Sales and Marketing team.)

RE:ality TV Newz: I am not getting "America's Next Top Model" this season. Now that America's favorite Baby Dyke Kim has been eliminated, I have no one to root for. Nigel Barker, the judge/photographer/former model did look very hot last night, he should win! I didn't realize he was half-Brit/half Sri-Lankan... Good combo.

"The Apprentice: Martha Edition" reaches new lows every week. Put that series out of its misery! Martha's brilliant elimination catch-phrase this week was "We just don't need you." If I was the one being eliminated, I would have answered back "HOW RUDE--I don't need you either, bitch!"

Today is World AIDS Day. I guess I'm marking it by being completely superficial in here... maybe that's "A Good Thing"?