Happy Bat Mitzvah Jessie!!!

This site is the next internet sensation.  Check out the video link.  Hell, check out the whole site; I came across it at Gawker.

Gayest Weekend Ever, Part II

What could be more gay than a concert featuring Amber AND Reina? Probably the weekend that I met up with friends in Las Vegas to go to see Cher on I think her second (or was it her third?) farewell tour on one night, and then catch Dolly Parton on the next. I have to say seeing Ms. Parton live was awesome. Cher was good too. But anyway, the B-list lineup at the House of Blues, New Orleans has broken my gaydar….

Oh, and I have seen Reina before, at Shampoo in Philadelphia (my parents are still getting flyers from that club). It’s where the famous, “Carl, it’s Reina” moment took place.

Picture it: three friends on the dancefloor, the beat kicks in with “Find Another Woman.” A woman steps out on stage completely covered in sequins. Two of the friends are facing the stage while the third is facing away.
“Carl, it’s Reina!” we scream over the music.
“I know, I love this song.”
(Pointing over his shoulder) “No. Carl. IT’S REINA!”

I wish I had pictures from that day so long ago. But that was in the pre-digital era.

Rumors

I am hanging out at Eric’s watchin’ low-dollar cable tonight.  Here’s a couple rumors that y’all might find interesting (by y’all, I mean my friends):

A certain ex-New Orleans member of the crew spent a night in jail courtesy of the NYPD after getting caught smoking pot in Central Park.

A certain long-time couple is interviewing for positions in NYC, and plans to move there within the year.

Crap Day

Argh, I had a real Crap Day today. I woke up late, after not getting enough sleep and thus did not get to eat before work. Therefore, I was extra grumpy all day long. Work was okay, but after, I drove out to Border's on Vets, out in Metairie. I took the West End exit thinking I would avoid the long line of traffic along I-10 and ran into ridiculous traffic because of all the traffic light outages. It took 20 minutes to get from the off ramp onto Vets. From there it was fine and I spent a lovely time bookshopping. I bought the new Morningwood CD, but was dismayed to find it is censored, and this is the only version available.

On the way home I ran into further traffic (I HATE I-10!!!) and got off at the Superdome to take surface streets back to the IC (that Irish Channel, if you don't know). It was around 7 so I figured I'd stop in at the Magazine St. A&P, cause I heard they extended their hours until 8PM, but found they were closing. I am so sick of having to bumrush grocery stores in the hour after work just to get something to eat. So, I didn't pick up any water, or food, though I knew I still had some supplies for dinner. Sooo...I went home, got changed and went straight to the gym, which was crowded with meatheads all wanting to use the same machines, so my workout took about an hour longer than usual. I finally got back around 9:30, showered and grilled up some chicken breast and steamed some broccoli, YUM! Now, I am studying my XHTML manual, and then a few Latin paradigms before bed. Gotta be up early to hit the gym before work and maybe the supermarket as well. Check ya laters.

Chocolate City Blues

Mayor Nagin has lost his mind. What was with his MLK Day speech? Talking about a “chocolate city,” and about talking to Dr. King about the state of the world, and about how God is angry at the US for its war-like foreign policy. Already, the apologies have started. Personally, I like chocolate, and find this a completely hilarious way to characterize the city.

I don’t put much stock in the words of politicians anyway, and I just chalk it up to typical audience pandering. I guess the mayor felt these themes would appeal to his black audience on the occasion. He even spoke with a (rather weak) testifying preacher dialect that I have not heard from him before. Usually when Nagin speaks, he does so with a completely neutral, uninflected manner.

Oh, and anytime people start linking natural disasters with the Will of God, I cannot help but cringe and roll eyes. Most of the discussion in that vein* has been about how God sent the hurricane to punish the wickedness of New Orleans, except He missed all the actual wicked parts and took out some God-fearing, poor black neighborhoods. Yes, yes, and Lakeview as well.

*on Christian radio I suffered through on my holiday drive up to and from that other Sodom: NYC.

Post Katrina NOLA yaddah

Going to the grocery store is so aggravating right now, mainly because the hours are still rather limited, so everyone has to go right after work for the hour or two before the stores close.  In Uptown, most places have reopened, except for Whole Foods on Magazine Street which I heard was reopening on February 1st.  I am excited about that since they have great stuff, though the staff is a bit stuck up for a supermarket.  I miss the Wal-Mart, but it is hard to say when that is going to reopen as it was hit really hard by looters.  
Another gripe I got is with Starbucks.  They have a few locations in Orleans Parish, fortunately nothing like in other cities because we here are pretty loyal to our local brands and the native coffee shops are much better than Starbucks anyway.  But my gripe with them is that none of their locations have reopened in the city.  I understand about work shortages and such, but operate with limited hours.  They are a huge company and could really contribute to the local situation.  I can’t help but conclude this is one often-cited side effect of corporate globalization:  no real ties to the community in which the corporation is doing business other than the pursuit of profits.

Pictures from France

My friend Michael sent me some pictures of himself today.

da Gym

Today I am resting up because the last few days at the gym (after a 2 weeks hiatus) have really messed me up.  My entire body is sore, and I could barely make it out of the bed this morning.  Yesterday I took off even though it was an on day, but Friday I did a ridiculous leg workout, including a few extra sets of squats, using more weight than I would normally on the last few reps.  Ugh, all I can do now is hobble about like an old woman.  Even my calves are super sore.

New Orleans, the trip back*

I am now back in New Orleans after a 2-day drive down from NYC. I left Friday morning, rather late, because I had stayed up the night before watching crap television, and my mom had all of these old books, CDs and other things from my high school and college days that needed sorting. I ended up just taking most of the stuff with me back home so that I could just go through it there. I was really excited about the CDs because there were about 20 that I had thought were lost forever.

I finally got on the road around 10:00AM, heading through Jersey into Pennsylvania along 78 and then down 81 through West Virginia and Maryland for about 5 minutes each and into the Shenandoah Valley which is a really beautiful drive, though in the middle there are some hills and turns that get a little nerve-wracking with all the 18-wheel trucks going 75. I finally got to Knoxville around 10 and spent the night at a Motel off the Interstate.

That night I watched the Strip Search marathon on VH-1, the first time I had ever seen the show. I thought it was really gay, and there were a lot of uncomfortable and awkward scenes, so I couldn't resist watching. Like when the Thunder from Down Under guys came and danced for the guys competing on the show, and then afterward they watched the guys dance for them, and then there was a lot of critique and discussion of smile and "personality." After that they all drank together and did what I assume were typical hetero activities like keg stands and passing out, and a lot of crying and missing of their kids. My favorite guys on the show were of course Adam, who was the biggest guy and the best dancer (though I'll get to discussing the dancing in a minute), and Ryan, this muscular blond guy. I also liked Bryce, and felt bad for him a bit since he didn't have the muscular physique required of a stripper and everyone pointed it out to him about every 5 minutes (these guys were real bitches).

Okay, so when these guys danced, it was probably the least erotic thing I have ever seen, just real cheeseball stuff. And I guess that has to do with the fact that they are dancing for a group of women who are looking at it very differently than, say, a group of guys looking at female dancers. I think it's a matter of "sexy" vs. sexual. I use quotations marks because it is a married, middle-aged woman's view of what is sexy.

But I digress. The next morning I woke up and got on the road around 11. Since I had to be back by 7 and I had the time change working to my advantage, I slept in a bit. The drive down from Knoxville, through Chattanooga, Gadsen, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridien, Hattiesburg and finally into Louisiana was completely uneventful. Because my car has neither a CD player nor even a cassette deck, I am forced to listen to whatever stations happen to be in the area. Thus, this entire part of the journey was dominated by country music and Christian radio, and mostly by the latter. I have lived in the South now for about 5 years, so I am used to hearing a lot of the outrageous things people say on Christian radio, and was thus able to avoid just driving off the road. All I really can say is that I hope the rapture does come in 2006 because supposedly all the good Christians will be taken up to God. Maybe then we can have some peace, without all their static. Either that, or all those Christians who thought they were going to be saved wake up to find themselves still here with the rest of us sinners and start to realize what assholes they've been their entire lives and thus get the fuck over it. Basically, either one of these scenarios works for me.

I arrived in New Orleans around 7PM, giving me about 15 minutes to shower and change clothes to head out for New Year's Eve....

*bonus points to anyone that gets this reference.