Manhattan Chowder, Back in the Big Apple

City Snapshot: Riverside Drive Overpass @ 125th St.

Labels: City Snapshots

posted by Michael @ 9:40 AM 3 comments

Bill Clinton Should Just Shut Up

Okay, before anyone gets upset over this headline let me first say that I loved Bill Clinton as president. He presided over eight years of peace and prosperity. He is one of the great political minds of our time. His impeachment was unwarranted and the investigation into the Lewinsky affair was a witch-hunt and, yes, a vast right-wing conspiracy. Hillary was right.

Labels: Politics

posted by Michael @ 9:16 AM 5 comments

Idol Chat 2008 (Part 3)

Labels: Idol

posted by Michael @ 11:33 AM 3 comments

Quadruplet Meme

So Gavin of Why Oh Why tagged me with this meme. I haven't done one of these in a long time so I guess I'm overdue. This tag came just in the nick of time because I couldn't think of anything else to blog about today. So here goes...

Four Jobs I Have Had In My Life
— Singing Waiter
— Florist
— Chorus Boy
— Gay Cliche

Four Movies I Would Watch/Have Watched Over And Over
— Gone With the Wind
— Bringing Up Baby
— From Here to Eternity
— The Sound of Music

Four Places I Have Lived
— Syracuse, NY
— New Jersey
— Christopher St.
— The Upper West Side

Four TV Shows That I Watch
--Designed to Sell (HGTV)
— American Idol
— The Office
— 30 Rock

Four Places I Have Visited
— Tuscany
— Paducah, KY
— Malaga, Spain (Gavin's been there, too)
— St. Petersburg, Russia

Four People Who Email Me Regularly
— Scott
—My Mom
—My Brother, the Obamaniac
—Alison

Favorite Food
--Risotto
— Macaroni and Cheese
— Meatloaf
— cheesecake

Four Places I Would Like To Be Right Now
— The Beach
— Italy
— Hawaii
— home (I’m at work)

Four Things I Am Looking Forward To This Year
— The Beach
— Starting Grad School
— Getting into a gym routine and losing my winter fat (which you could have probably guessed by my favorite foods listed above. )
--A Democratic president! (Oh, please, God!)

And that's all folks--nothing too earth shattering, but maybe you found a surprise or two among my answers.

Labels: Blogging, Memes

posted by Michael @ 3:44 PM 13 comments

It's Called Acting

This kind of stuff drives me nuts. NY Post Broadway columnist Michael Riedel questions whether Sean Hayes of Will and Grace fame is "virile" enough to play the male lead in a workshop production of Promises, Promises which may eventually move to Broadway. The question of why anyone would invest the millions of dollars required to produce a Broadway show into a revival of Promises, Promises not withstanding, Sean Hayes is, by profession, an actor. Jack McFarland was a character he played. He acted that role, just as he will act this role. Riedel's argument is based on the fact that Broadway veteran Jerry Orbach, who, as Brian Juergens of After Elton put it, "could crush buildings with his bare thighs", originated the role.

Labels: Homophobia, Theatre

posted by Michael @ 11:00 AM 7 comments

Idol Chat 2008 (part 2)

Last night on American Idol the theme was expanded from Lennon and McCartney songs to the entire Beatles oeuvre. Clearly the producers of AI are satisfying their six year hunger for the song rights that were heretofore unattainable. While these are the standards of the rock era and an excellent test for any up and coming artist, week two of Beetles songs revealed the contestants' second-choices songs and which made for less exciting performances across the board.

As with last week here are my top and bottom 3:

TOP THREE David Archuleta--"The Long and Winding Road" After a shaky performance last week the wunderkindt was back in top form. I know there are some who are already suspect of his "aw shucks" humility, but to me it's sincere. This kid is a star. He has the voice of an angel. He picked the perfect song. His performance was simple, pure and vulnerable--exactly the right tone for the song. He was right on point throughout.
Carly Smithson--"Blackbird" She gave a great hard-rock performance of "Come Together" last week only to turn around and show a beautiful vulnerable side this week. She revealed a rich deep register that we had not heard before and still managed to find the height of the song as well. This was beautiful. I have a feeling this girl can sing anything. A consummate pro.
David Cook--"Day Tripper" I'm very surprised to be putting David Cook in the top three because I really don't like him. I find him smarmy and affected. I detested his interpretation of "Eleanor Rigby" last week for reasons I could write a thesis on, but this week I kinda liked him. He chose the perfect song and arrangement. I could have done without that weird voicebox thing and frankly, his guitar playing does him no favors. It ended up looking like an uncomfortable prop. But I thought he sounded good and he sold the song and the style well.

BOTTOM THREE
Kristy Lee Cook--"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" This was painful. Her pitch is all over the place. She consistently sang the same wrong note through the entire song. Hopeless. She is beautiful though.
Michael Johns--"A Day in the Life" It pains me to put Michael Johns in the bottom three because I think he's really cute and pretty talented, but he chose the wrong song for the second week in a row. It's not worth it to cut a song like this down to a minute and a half. He has a habit of choosing songs that are sentimental to him but don't necessarily show him off very well. He claims to have a deep emotional connection to them, but it almost seems like those connections are too fresh or painful to reveal in a performance. He needs some distance from these songs and to revisit them in five years.
Jason Castro--"Michele Ma Belle" I guess Jason's beautiful performance of "Hallelujah" from a couple weeks ago was a fluke because he hasn't been able to deliver since. He gave a pretty bad performance last week and this week was even worse. Jason is the kind of guy who is very cute and charming but feels he doesn't need to do anything else. He seems to let his performances happen by chance, giving no thought to the lyrics or emotion of the song. He was boring. He didn't even sound good. He'll be around for a while thought because 12 year old girls think he's cute.

WHO SHOULD GO?
Kristy Lee Cook Oh, please, God, put her out of her misery. The only reason she's lasted this long is because Danny Noriega and David Hernandez were too gay for prime time. But the party's over--it's time to go, Kristy.

Labels: Idol

posted by Michael @ 11:53 AM 7 comments

Italian Boys

It's no secret I'm not a fan of St. Patrick's Day. The whole thing just smacks of homophobia to me--at least here in New York it does anyway. In response I will do a completely homo-centric post featuring men who share my Italian heritage. Yes, they happen to be HGTV hotties, too. I have no life.

They are: Designer Frank Fontana of Design on a Dime, Carpenter Anthony Gilardi of Myles of Style and Carpenter/Electrician Marc "Sparky" Bartolomeo of Save My Bath. In addition to their good looks Gilardi and Bartolomeo have working class Boston and Brooklyn accents, respectively, making them even hotter.





Click here for photos from Sparky's "fitness model" days.

Labels: Pop Culture

posted by Michael @ 10:56 PM 9 comments

City Snapshot: Crocus, Riverside Park

After the weekend's tragic accident, the promise of Spring and new life:  crocuses in Riverside Park.

Labels: City Snapshots

posted by Michael @ 8:49 AM 2 comments

Hazard: Crane Collapse

About a month ago the category for Glenn & Dave's weekly photo challenge was "Hazard". So I dutifully ran around town snapping photos of things that looked hazardous to me. On my way to work I took a photo of this crane precariously situated over 51st and Second Avenue. Today, that crane came crashing down, breaking in two, flattening a small 4 story apartment building and damaging two larger ones, in one case shearing off a corner of the building and the apartments it contained. This is yet another construction accident in what seems like a record number this year. This particular site was cited for nine safety violations in January. Nine. So far, four people are reported dead due to this accident and 17 injured, some seriously.

Scott and I first got word of the collapse from our friend, The Flaming Curmudgeon, who lives in the neighborhood and witnessed the commotion minutes after the fact as emergency vehicles arrived on the scene. Check out his blog for a first-hand account and some haunting photos.

Below is another shot of the construction site in the distance as it appeared on February 7th, just two blocks south of the one in the foreground. As far as I know, Plaza Construction had nothing to do with the site of the crane collapse.

Labels: Current Events, Only In New York

posted by Michael @ 7:48 PM 7 comments

Three Reasons Not to Vote for Hillary Clinton

What is it about Hillary's Campaign that inspires such cringe-worthy youtube posts?







Seriously, I could not take four years of this.

Labels: Humor, Politics

posted by Michael @ 4:42 PM 10 comments

Idol Chat 2008!

Labels: Idol

posted by Michael @ 10:29 AM 9 comments

Geraldine Ferraro Loses Her Mind

Geraldine Ferraro made history in 1984 as the first woman to run for vice president. Not surprisingly, she is backing Hillary Clinton for president and apparently, losing her mind. This week she had this to say about Barack Obama's candidacy to a california newspaper:

Labels: Politics

posted by Michael @ 11:46 PM 4 comments

St. Dina, the Martyr

One can hardly expect a political sex scandal to unfold these days without the press weighing in with Dina McGreevey, patron saint of wronged political wives. While I was very upset to learn of Elliot Spitzer's involvement with a prostitution ring, nothing can cheapen a political scandal like words of wisdom imparted by Mrs. McGreevey. Here are her profound thoughts on the plight of Spitzer's wife, Silda Spitzer:

I looked at her face and I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, that was me just three years ago.’ I could see the pain in her eyes and I know what she’s feeling and empathize with her.

"Oh my gosh" indeed! I guess Dina McGreevey can rest assured that as long as politicians lead lewd double lives, she will have a calling. Of course any chance to hawk her lame book "Silent Partner" can't hurt either.

I actually attended part of her "reading" and book signing at Barnes & Noble when her book was released. (Yes, I admit it. I had to get a glimpse of her in person. Besides the Barnes & Noble is right around the corner from my house. I mean, seriously, not even a block--closer than the grocery store. I just stumbled in there on the way to buy coffee or something--I swear!) The readings at this Barnes & Noble happen to attract an over-educated, intellectual older crowd reflecting the neighborhood's Jewish roots. Anyway, I think Dina McGreevey's character can best be summed up by the three old biddies I overheard discussing her "reading" after the fact. Here's what they had to say:

(Read the following with over-educated, heavy New York accent. Think Ed Koch.)

Old Biddy 1: It makes you wonder how the two of them ever got together. (referring to ex-governor Jim McGreevey)
Old Biddy 2: Yeah--you get the impression she was just arm-candy or something.
Old Biddy 3: Yes. And she made several grammatical errors.

Labels: Politics, Pop Culture

posted by Michael @ 8:44 PM 4 comments

Finally--Some Good News

Longtime readers of my blog will remember that I made an unsuccessful bid for graduate school last year to get my MFA in Acting. In retrospect I did not research or apply for the right programs. Instead, I opted for programs that were close to home, figuring it didn't matter where I got my masters, as long as I got one. This plan ended up backfiring on me and I was forced to come up with a Plan B. That Plan B has come to fruition. Yes, dear readers, I have been keeping a secret from you. Since December I have been busily filing applications, working with my acting coach and quietly attending auditions for grad school. Finally, I am pleased to announce I have been accepted into two fine MFA Acting programs with another possible offer in the works from a third school.

These offers came all while the drama of my unpleasant work situation was playing out, and indeed, it was hard to let myself truly experience the joy of achieving my goal of graduate school. But now that it is in the past, the letters of complaint have been sent and it is up to the powers that be to rectify (or not ) the situation, I am able to concentrate on my wealth of graduate school choices at hand. I will post more specific information once I have it. Stay tuned.

Labels: Grad School

posted by Michael @ 9:41 PM 11 comments

And Now for Something Completely Ridiculous...

First of all, thanks to all of you who left such supportive comments on my last post. It meant a lot to know that others felt the same indignation over this that I did. My company is in the process of dealing with the situation and working to get "the offender" removed from his position. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

In the meantime here's a fun little quiz to lift everyone's spirits. Come on--everyone loves these things. I picked this up over at Bitter Cup of Joe--someone who definitely knows coffee. By the way, the results I got fit me TO A T! Enjoy.

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

Labels: Blogging quiz

posted by Michael @ 1:54 PM 6 comments

Sticks and Stones

I apologize for being MIA. It’s been an intense, busy, emotional week. One of highs and lows, and it’s taken me this long to figure out what I wanted to say about it. Let me start with the low. I’ll follow up with the high later in the week, I promise. But for now, I need to post this.

Last Tuesday at work we had one of our regular industry networking events held at a venue we use about three or four times a year. We organize the event; provide exhibit tables for vendors, guest speakers, a buffet, etc. While the venue usually does an excellent job for us, there is one particular employee there, a manager, whose uncooperative, surly manner is always a test of our patience. Last week he was in rare form. He initiated several rude exchanges during set up. Nothing new really. But then, in front of my colleagues, some vendors and the catering staff, he dropped a bomb. Quite loudly and with the intent to embarrass me, this man called me "a queen.”

I was dumbstruck for a few agonizing seconds. Then I tried to fire back with threats of having him fired. I pointed out how many people were witness to his remark, but truly nothing I could think of could match his words. I felt helpless in the face of such ugly and blatant homophobia. I called his supervisor immediately and informed him of what happened. I could barely dial the phone I was shaking with such rage. There was still a lot of set up to be done for the event, but I could concentrate on nothing but the ugly word that polluted the air. The humiliation was unspeakable. With one word I was reduced to the lowest, basest, dehumanizing definition possible.

The guy was sent home on the spot and his boss apologized profusely for the altercation. He also explained that try as he might, this man’s job is “protected” and not much could be done to have him fired. He encouraged me to go over the management of the venue directly to the owner of the building. We’ve been following up at work with letters and some form of recourse, but honestly, the situation feels helpless.

What struck me afterward was how powerful and paralyzing the situation was. Usually, homophobia is just a feeling we gay people have. We can sense the eye-rolling and whispers behind our back, but often this homophobia go unvoiced. So we learn to develop a thick skin and look the other way. But this--this blatant, aggressive hatred is something else entirely. One word, and suddenly no matter how competent, accomplished, professional, smart, funny, or butch you think you are, it all goes away when someone’s ugliest thought is voiced. Intellectually I understand I shouldn’t give this man that kind of power. But it smacks of childhood taunts, of pain buried so deep and of shame I’ve been conditioned to feel. I couldn’t even tell my family about it and was too ashamed to post anything about it here though I could think of nothing else for days.

The reason I decided to post about this is to actively reject the shame. This shame is not mine. Giving in it to it allows the bigotry and hatred to win. I felt I had to expose the situation lest we forget how this ugliness still pervades our society—even in New York—and ruins lives every day. Truly, I have nothing to be ashamed. Nothing. The shame here lies with someone else.

Labels: Homophobia, Personal

posted by Michael @ 12:06 PM 25 comments