If you're like me, you often think: Broadway musicals are fun, but they aren't nearly gay enough. I wonder how you could camp one up.
Well, you could set it in a gay bar in the Village and feature Lauren Bacall as a fag hag.
From Alan, who loves it when people refer to him as the Barbadian Bacall.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Applause Lines
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Quakers in the Woodpile
I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know about many of these. Delighted about Dame Judi.
From Tom, who's a friend but not a Friend.
'Why Can't We?'
While the 1990s were about sins of omission, your generation will grapple with the costs associated with sins of commission. It is easy to get used to the morning news, habituated. But don't. The morning news is yours to alter.
This inspiring commencement speech was delivered in 2006 by Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power, now a foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama.
Thanks to Florence.
Highway Fun
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mobama
Thanks to Mary for the link.
Monday, January 28, 2008
'Is It a Trick?'
Thanks to Peggy.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Clear Difference
Now I understand: I am a Clear.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Don't Worry, Be Happy*
* This really should be a semicolon, but Bobby McFerrin used a comma. I hated that song.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Today's Top Story
LONDON (Reuters) - Bad news for Coco and Blinko -- children don't like clowns and even older kids are scared of them.See? See? Vindication!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Today's Top Story
Cat stowaway makes it home again
From Riley, who keeps his kitty under lock and key.
Winds of Change
Thanks to Derek, who's always a breath of fresh air.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Gaudíest House on the Block
In the summer of 1985, on a trip to Barcelona, my fun uncle took my cousins and me on a tour of works by native son Antoni Gaudí: Casa Milà, Park Güell, and of course La Sagrada Família. We even ducked down and scurried past the portero to get a look inside Casa Batlló, a private apartment house.
There's one way to experience a Gaudí home without sneaking in, but it'll cost you: Casa Vicens is for sale for €35 million. Story here. Lots of pictures and even floor plans on the official site.
Thanks to Riley for the tip.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Edgy Décor
'This Weird Flash Point'
It's a stunning thing to watch. Right now, the various spurts of venom aimed at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama from conservative pundits and politicos are, at best, scattershot and convulsive, with only MSNBC's Chris Matthews proving himself to be a consistent blowhard jackass in his relentless slamming of Hillary by claiming that she only made it this far due to adultery-survivor sympathy. Hey, Chris? 2001 called. It wants its puerile, sexist analysis back. Thank you.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
'Ritchie Loves Dick'
The Post-Gazette posted the court documents on its own Web site; locals took rooting interest in the story’s many subplots (alleged hair-pulling fights with the help, dognapping, and battles royal over a 94-page itemized list of art and objets, from a million-dollar Magritte to an $1,800 set of asparagus tongs), which almost make one pray for Aaron Spelling’s resurrection from the dead.Good times.
Playing With Food
Thanks to Riley and Anne, who always appreciate good taste.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Out in the Cold
'Now Is the Time'
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Palatial Pied–à–terre
Thanks to Riley.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Well Said
When we don't care about correct spelling or usage or expression, isn't it somewhat easier to not care about other written things? How about following the Geneva Convention? The Constitution? Oh yes, it says X, but, really, we can do Y because we know what's important. Doesn't it mean what it says, as written? Don't we have to follow laws? Does an opinion rendered in a "signing statement" mean it's okay to ignore a law that we've just signed, simply because we can and we think we know better?
Education accounts for a lot, but not everything. I've known plenty of otherwise bright people who graduated from "good" schools yet spel appallingly, capitalize random Common Nouns, use dreaded grocer's apostrophe's, and write run-on sentences with willful abandon, the only explanation I can think of is that they were beaten throughout childhood for using periods. You might think they'd pick up some clues by reading newspapers and books, but evidently not. All of which leaves me with very little hope.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Noteworthy Names
Junice Q. Bender
Desolyn Doak
(Ms.) Bevadine Z. Terrell
LaRain Shorter
Minnie Linkins
Judge Hamer H. Budge
Robin Ann Robbin
Darrell, Carrell, and Harrell Stanley (siblings)
Santiago McKinn
Ferdinand Zogbaum
Paco Underhill
WonJoo Shankoff
Hunter Crum
Bracken and Nina Joy Cherry (daughters: Star, Iam, and Now)
Sam Hill
Daisy Hill
Leroy Brown
Frank Burns
Godtheson Thomas
Prince Blue
Ruby Greene
Tammy Gray Salmon
Hampton Buster
Lucky Rich
Rheba Cramblet
Uniqua Pough (aunt: Shermanita)
Brig. Gen. Sir John Rotton
Sir Sitwell Sitwell
Lovebell Sligh
Chase Fox
Sandy Trapp
(Ms.) Smoki Bacon
Stanley Ann Dunham
Kittie Dowdy
Jemima Kiss
Peggy Plank
Gladys Gattis
Luxuria Hope
Col. Harlo P. Beschenbossel (wife: the former Daisy Mold)
Eden Grace
Poppy Petal, Rosie Thorn, Daisy Yellow, Lily Belle, Marigold Sun, and Jethro Tull Donahue (siblings)
William O. and William A. Jones (brothers)
Cinderella Pritchett
Rev. Younger Dykes
Ashley Grills
Tawana Crump
Virginia Magnolia
Langhorne Putney Withers, Jr.
Pretenders
Michael Jackson
Doris Day
Elizabeth Taylor
Dustin Hoffmann
George O'Keefe
Suzanne Summers
Charles Chapman
Phil Donahue
Betty White
Chip and Amy Carter (siblings)
Steven King
Barbara Eden
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Honeymooners
On Second Thought ...
Thanks to Riley, who never had to be told to click his heels.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sorry, Charlie
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
What's the Word?
My personal favorite is Googleganger, which I'd never seen or heard before. My primary Googleganger is a 61-year-old British MP -- a Tory, the bastard.
From Riley, a cunning linguist himself.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Furry Crocs and Other Freaks of Nature
At this point my feet are no longer entirely human. They’re still a more or less normal shape, but they’re prone to swelling, which causes them to turn colors. The palette is that of desert sunsets, ranging from dull yellow and orange through vivid red to a lovely but slightly alarming aubergine.
The latest complication is the most curious, perhaps a rare instance of devolution. After all these years of atrophy, if my feet aren’t braced against something stiff, they’re liable to curl under like a monkey’s. This development might have been fun had it come with the strength to climb trees; alas, it did not.
All of this limits my footwear options, to put it mildly. I still wear nice shoes for special occasions, but that’s not practical on a daily basis because it can require a shoehorn, a hammer, a vise, and/or Crisco, depending on the size and shape of my feet at the time.
Last year I was delighted to discover Crocs, which are comfortable and go on easily, especially with socks. They had a fatal flaw, though: With no lining, my feet froze in cold weather, no matter how warm my hosiery. So you can imagine my delight when they came out with a fleece-lined version recently. I ordered a pair last month, slapped them on as soon as they arrived, and have barely doffed them since. It’s a rare product that inspires me to rave. But while I’m at it, let me also put in a grateful word for a related discovery: SmartWool socks. Between those and the Crocs, this has been a much more comfortable winter. That and the fact that it’s 70 degrees today.*
* What’s up with that? Not that I’m complaining -- but, really, it's January.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Dumbfounded
From Derek, who was educated abroad.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Giving Made Easy
Clip Job
And two different people sent me this one:
There you have it: Language and hoarding, my interests in a nutshell.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
No Bull
A decade-plus of Internet use has whipped my natural skepticism into a more or less permanent state of disbelief, and I try to check out such claims before sharing them. I couldn't find anything on this hallowed Mexican tradition, but I did find a hilarious 2006 description of such an event in LA. And it appears the video's been pinballing all over the Net, so forgive me if you've already seen it.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Snot Blaze Galore
[T]he biggest story in June, as well as the history of the universe, is the release of the Apple iPhone, which, in addition to enabling you to make phone calls, has all kinds of brilliant and innovative features, including AutoFondle, an application that enables the iPhone to fondle itself during those times when you are unable to fondle it manually because you're sleeping or undergoing surgery from wounds you sustained when friends or co-workers finally lost it and beat you senseless to make you shut up about your freaking iPhone already....
In his masterful recap, Dave Barry describes 2007 as "a year that strode boldly into the stall of human events and took a wide stance astride the porcelain bowl of history." Indeed.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Livin' Large
In a momentary fit of delirium -- or desperation -- Dan recorded Reign of Fire, a cinematic triumph described thusly: "A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting fire to everything, establishing dominance over the planet." We lasted maybe five minutes; it was that bad.
Marty was over the other day, and as we scanned the listings, "The 750 Pound Man" jumped out. Naturally, we had to watch. Then we sucked down bowls of Ben & Jerry's. Things got heavier as the evening wore on: next up was "Half Ton Man," followed by "World's Heaviest Man" (1,225 lbs.).
There was nowhere to go after that, which pretty much sums up the current TV situation. Thank God for Netflix.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Hillbilly Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
Thanks (?) to Riley, ever vigilant for signs of the beast.
Scary Clown
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Rolling Thunder
Thanks to Christine, who is no stranger to misanthropes in wheelchairs.