I find this disturbing.

Games Provided By Blinkyou.com

I found this surfing the web the other day and I have to say, it just seems wrong. It reminds me of Man In the Dark, which itself has a certain creepy factor. Both are animated human figures which follow your cursor. But Man in the Dark is artificial enough (the figure has no facial features, the body consists of strata and the limbs stay close to the torso) that it just seems haunting or eerie. (By the way, I just discovered what happens when you click on the dark field with Man in the Dark and he becomes a serene tornado. Cool!) With this one, however, the figure is more realistic since it's clearly a woman with a face and individualized limbs. Also, she falls and bounces over the "bubbles" until you catch her by clicking the mouse. The fact that she's just a helpless ragdoll subjected to manipulation seems abusive to me. Am I being oversensitive?

Well, at least I can say that I did it.

Yesterday seemed like a normal day, until I, you know, thought about it. I got up, had breakfast, showered, wrote some. Then I got ready to head over to my friend's fitness class... in the middle of Times Square.


My friend invited me to an event he was involved in, a yoga exhibition on Military Island in Times Square. We're talking a fifty foot (at best) median where 7th Ave and Broadway come together. I didn't even think before saying yes. I'm glad I didn't because I think I would have declined and missed out. I was, by far, the least accomplished one there, falling over my twisted limbs more than once. That's bad enough when you're in a closed class and the others can see/hear you fall. However, we were in the middle of Times Frickin' Square! Cars going by, tourists snapping pictures, ABC Studios right there... it had some incredible embarrassment potential. And yet, I really enjoyed it. That is, until I looked back on my mat and noticed a scrap of paper that had appeared out of nowhere. Then I started to get really creeped out about the cars streaming by and the exhaust and the soot and the people. Suddenly a nice, clean, air-conditioned studio became very important to me.


Still, I can say that I sought enlightment and zen and all that shit in the middle of Times Square.

Disclaimer: The pictures are not from the actual event that I intended, but a similar one held a month earlier.

Fuckin' Rain.

I was hoping to set up a blanket at Bryant Park for tonight's movie, The Sting. I was planning on bringing some bourbon slush, (BebeMoche's special recipe), some snacky bits and some red velvet cupcakes, and turn it into a whole birthday thing. However, since I don't think that movies are best enjoyed while soaking in a chilly mud bath, I think that I'll postpone for a week. However, next week's movie is All the King's Men. I'm not sure I'm as excited about that.

Bien Sur!

This is hilarious! A prominent French magistrate has implied that the only thing holding France back is that the Frrench think too much. Are you kidding me? Like any nation's problems could ever be boiled down to one little thing! Like you could ever think too much! The best part is the underlining arrogance. "Really, our problem is that we are just too intelligent for our own good!" Even their problems are a point of national pride. And you know, I love France and have only met wonderful people there, so the fact that one of their politicians can say something so... stereotypical is, in a way, charming. I'm just happy to see that the US doesn't hold a monopoly on public officials who say stupid things. Additionally, the article talks around an interesting point without really pinning it down: France is having a monent of identity crisis. According to Elaine Sciolino, the present administration is, at least superficially, anti-intellectual, there seems to be a growing sense of materialism... they're becoming America! Sacre bleu!

Aw, Hell No!

John Revolta is in no way Divine!

Oh yeah...

I loved Xanadu! I loved the way that it made fun of the movie, of the time when it was set, of the audience. I can totally see this turning into another Mama Mia, with audiences returning to see it again and again. Of course, if you do, you should bring some sort of LED rave wand or something. This show is ripe for audience participation of the Rocky Horror Picture Show kind.

I'm 39 Today.

And the thing I've heard the most is "Don't worry, you don't look like it." Hmm...

The theater, the theater!

The BF has bought tickets for a show which he swears I'll love.


I can't wait!

Hey La! Hey La!

The BF's back!

Get me a home on rue Pathetique...

While in a step class this morning I twisted my ankle. Oh, the pain... the pain....

At some point this morning...

I've given up on watching the morning news shows. If you've read my posts on the morning news in the past, you have read about my frustration with our information media. Now I'm not sure what was on when I turned on the television this morning, (it was too late for the big morning shows), but I was treated to something particularly heinous: Queen Latifah being interviewed by the green M&M about the movie Hairspray. Have we finally shed all pretense of even pretending to practice good journalism?

Drinks with "a friend"

So a DRUNK friend called and totally barged in on my evening, interrupting my planned visit to pathetically see Harry Potter alone and forcing me instead to consume very good beer and very inappropriate food and enjoy very fun conversation. How very dare she!

While In Vermont...

I ate some very good food. I spent quality time with the BF's family, whom I love. I saw Transformers, which was ridiculous, and I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which was fantastic! (And it was released in Vermont a day early so I saw it, like, totally early! How cool is that for something so geeky?)

I Think I Need to Get to Florence, Right Away!

I mean, aside from my dire need to visit any elsewhere, there's what looks to be an amazing exhibition on ancient gardens until mid-October. Maybe I could get travel grant money!



And proving that tacky isn't a new invention...



...it's a fountain from Pompeii, by the way.

This Just In!

It rained every single day that I was in Vermont. Now this normally wouldn't bother me all that much. After all, the hard rain all happened at night. It did rain a lot during the day, but not enough to keep us completely homebound. However, the BF's nephews and niece were there, and they are 7, 6, and 4 years old. They're adorable, but they were frickin' stir crazy by Day Two. Have you ever spent several days with kids who can't get out to, as my dad used to say, blow the stink off? It's maddening.

Hasta la Vista!

I won't be able to go online for a while so this will be my last post for a week or so. I'll be visiting with the BF's family in Vermont, chilling out in the Green Mountain air, hiking some. So don't cry for me.

They hit the nail on the head.

Thanks, Alfredo, for linking to this article, explaining why I just can't be bothered by anything done by Bush/Cheney, et al.

More Wire Hangers.

When I taught at NYU (as a grad student) I had interesting groups of kids. I'm really glad that I got to learn the basics of being a teacher with college students. At the time the difference in our ages wasn't all that much and it the atmosphere was pretty relaxed. There was one time when a student gave me the wrong answer or something and I made a reference to Mommie Dearest which just didn't work, (something like "No! Dative! Ever!"). I looked out on their puzzled faces and then said, "What? Hasn't anyone seen Mommie Dearest?" A couple of them got it and then we talked for a few moments about the movie and I explained that I'd seen it in junior high and was completely traumatized by it. One of my students, a funny, beautiful, stylish and witty girl, like Paris Hilton but with intelligence and an appetite, suddenly said. "I love that movie! My mom and I watch it every Mother's Day." When I could only respond, "Really?" she replied, "Sometimes we wear costumes!"

Me? Like Men in Tights?

BebeMoche has insinuated something about my tastes concerning men in tights. Like, just because I'm a big homo that I think that any man in a pair of tights is yummy-lish. This is patently false, par example:


Then there are some guys who look good in tights sometimes....


But even then, it depends on the tights...


Then, there is Marcelo Gomes, one of America Ballet Theater's principal dancers. I believe that he will indeed look good in any kind of tights. After all, he's very... healthy. (And he too is a big homo.)

The best commercials that still won't get me to part with my money.

Pay for water? Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? But these are both great.

Thank You, Alfredo!

Yesterday he posted several reviews of academic books dealing with ancient Greece and Rome!

House of Flying Daggers

I own this movie, but it was on the tellie last night here in California. Simply a beautiful movie. So beautifully shot. Beautiful costumes. Just beautiful. Beautiful.

Happy Fourth!

And let's remember Seneca's words, Nemo suam patriam quia magna est amat, sed quia sua, Nobody loves his homeland because it's great, he loves it because it's his.

Hey BebeMoche, Don't Forget!

You'll need one of these Thursday evening. Take your pick.

Stop the Presses!

Okay, I was going to do a whole post on Bush's commuting Scooter's sentence, (especially since Paul Begala had the best take on it). However, I feel I simply must respond to BebeMoche's recent posts, seeing as I'm one of the Anthony Marentino's in her life.

In re: Mommie Dearest

• His opening question would have put me off for the rest of the evening.


• I've been out with guys who repeat the "You're so smart!" thing, too. Gets old REAL fast. Especially when said with a childish accent, "You weal smaht!" (The date ended then and there.)


• Okay, so I, too, remove items from the dry cleaner's wire hangers and place them on wooden ones. Wire hangers are bad for the fabric and distort the shape of the shirt. However, I wouldn't talk about this sort of bullshit on a date. I prefer to leave it until you get to know me better... or find my blog.

In re: Mr. Rock and Roll

Let's just remember the wonders a good haircut can work.




BTW, don't you TOTALLY love Billy Crudup?

Being Back In California

There are so many things that are fantastic about being in the Bay Area. The weather has been amazing for almost the entire time that I've been here. Sunny, warm enough for shorts but not so hot that you sweat in jeans, cool breezes blowing through. Then there's the mouth-watering food which seems to be everywhere for next to no money. The cheap-ass burritos found on every corner here put Chipotle, our only real New York contender, to shame. Then there's the political situation. In one of the more conservative communities nearby, there's a huge war protest monument on the hill next to the commuter train station, visible from the freeway.

This is also where people joke about your carbon footprint if you send a dish back at a restaurant. It's Peet's Coffee, Delfina, and Berkeley. With all that, I nearly missed the bullshit. Like the other day when I went out with a group of friends and caught shit for the fact that I'm driving around in Mom's Camry. I almost forgot that in California people really are shallow about those things. Excuse me now, I have to go meet Heather and Jessica at the mall.

BuddyCrocker Officially 12 Years Old Again.

I mean, just judging by recent posts.

Harry Potter, the park that lived!

So Univeral Studios is planning on opening a Harry Potter themed park sometime between 2009 and 2010, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I know that this is pretty old news, but the following pictures are new to me and I just thought I'd share. They are: the promotional poster...

...a view of the park, anchored by Hogwarts...

...and a bit of Hodsmeade...


The website says that it will be immersive, exciting, and authentic. Yes, there will be rides. Beyond that, they're not giving us much.