Oscar Wilde Wannabe

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Picture

2011-02-27T10:33:00.004-06:00

the nominees for best picture are:

black swan
the fighter
inception
the kids are all right
the king's speech
127 hours
the social network
toy story 3
true grit
winter's bone

well, tonight's the big night. gay christmas. the 83rd annual academy awards. or as they call it in billy crystal's house: passover.

it's a busy day for me so i tend to short-shrift best picture a bit. but there are some easy disqualifications to make.

you cannot take a best picture nomination seriously if they do not have a corresponding best director nod. so.... say bye-bye to inception, the kids are all right, 127 hours, toy story 3 and winter's bone. without a director... it's just not gonna happen.

i think the 10 nominees is idiocy.... but we have them. the only upside is that brilliant films like winter's bone can snag a nomination when they might normally be too small for the academy to remember.

so we're left with five serious nominees. of those, only the social network and the king's speech have a chance.

the social network has won every. single. critic's. award. you. can. win.

it is the best film of the year. as i said last night.... it's fresh, it's solid... it's of our time. it's built on one of the best screenplays we've had in years. (by the way, aaron sorkin will win best adapted screenplay for network. just watch the first 8 minutes of the film... pure word masturbation. it's genius.)

but the king's speech has won the one award (well, two) that might matter the most. the big one is the producers guild of america award. the PGA winner has most likely always gone on to win best picture at the oscars. (in fact, they've matched up 75% of the time over the years.)

hooper also won the director's guild and, as previously discussed, that generally means he'll go on to win the best director oscar. the winner of the best director oscar almost always takes home the gold for best picture, as well.

they do differ from time to time. but in the past 30 years, the picture/director split has only occurred SIX times. the last time was 2005 when crash undeservedly won best picture but ang lee won director for brokeback mountain.

i'm reading a lot of chatter about a picture/director split this year. it's not normally predicted but the theory appears to have a following this year.

i adore the king's speech. i think it's a nearly perfect film. i will be thrilled if it wins best picture. but i simply see the social network as the better film.

but.... i don't see it taking home both director and picture.

so.... a split. (just to make things even more interesting.)

will win: the king's speech
should win: the social network

and i leave you now with my beloved liza minnelli singing my favorite oscar song: "oscar! everybody loves ya, oscar! everybody wants to get ya, grab ya, hug ya... hold you tight!"

happy oscars!

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Director

2011-02-26T20:49:00.005-06:00

the nominees for best director are:

darren aronofsky, black swan
david o. russell, the fighter
tom hooper, the king's speech
david fincher, the social network
joel & ethan coen, true grit

okay, kiddies... it's getting late and i still have a shitload to accomplish this evening in pre-prep for tomorrow.

so let's just cut to the chase, shall we? (get it? "cut"? director...? nevermind.)

so the coen brothers just recently won for no country for old men. (great film. seriously... check it out.) too soon for them to win again. as awesome as true grit is. (and you'll probably never hear me say this about any other film: better than the original.)

darren aronofsky remains too out there, i think, to win. plus.... it's his first nomination. david o. russell stunned a lot of oscar watchers with his nomination. also... first one. won't win.

this is really a two way race: fincher v. hooper.

now. this is fincher's second nomination for best director. he was last nominated for the highly overrated the curious case of benjamin button.

this is hooper's first nomination.

so i seem to want to discount first-time nominees, right? wrong! i mean... it happens. especially if you were an actor first. (see redford, costner, eastwood, gibson.)

BUT. and this is a HUGE "but." hooper won the director's guild award for the king's speech. the DGA, people.

in the 63 years of the director's guild, the winner has NOT gone on to win the oscar only.....SIX time. six, people.

now, this has happened twice since 2000. the first time in 2000 when ang lee won the DGA for crouching tiger, hidden dragon but lost the oscar to steven soderbergh for traffic. and the last time in 2002 when rob marshall won the DGA for chicago but lost the gold to roman polanski on oscar night for his direction of the pianist.

so all indications would lead one to think hooper has the oscar in the bag, yes?

well..... david fincher has won every single critics' award leading up to the DGA for his superb direction of the social network. he won the golden globe. he even won the BAFTA (the british equivalent of the academy award...) over brit, hooper.

i don't really know what to say? both films are exceptional. both directors are worthy. i.... well, i lean towards the social network and fincher. i find the direction fresh and inventive. it feels very much of our time. and... it's flawless.

so... while the safe money is on hooper, i'm going out on a limb here, people. "no guts, no glory," as the man says. i'm predicting fincher to take home the oscar. yes.... a split from the DGA and, perhaps, a split from the ultimate winner of best picture.

but that's tomorrow.

will win: david fincher, the social network
should win: david fincher, the social network

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

2011-02-25T22:46:00.004-06:00

the nominees for best actor are:

javier bardem, biutiful
jeff bridges, true grit
jesse eisenberg, the social network
colin firth, the king's speech
james franco, 127 hours

a little old.... a little new in this category. we have jeff bridges scoring his sixth nomination and, of course, he won for the first time in last year's crazy heart. bardem has scored his third nomination and firth scored his second. of course, barden already won for 2007's brilliant no country for old men. firth's first nomination came just last year when he lost to fellow nominee, jeff bridges.

meanwhile..... jesse eisenberg and james franco both score their first nods.

let's go ahead and count out the two, first time nominees. i think franco is very good in a small film very few people could stomach the idea of watching. it's a nomination to reward his talent... and for not nominating him previously for milk.

eisenberg could win if there's a big push for the social network. but it appears the king's speech has taken the wind out of facebook's sails. (more on that in another post.)

i also don't see jeff bridges winning a second oscar the year after just winning his first. only nine actors in the 83 year history of the academy awards have won two best actor oscars... and only two in consecutive years (spencer tracy and tom hanks).

javier bardem also has an uphill battle if he hopes to win for biutiful. not only has he already won an oscar recently.... but the last and only time the best actor statue went to a foreign language film performance was 1997. roberto benigni upset the entire oscar telecast (and, more importantly....me!) when he won for that piece of shit film, life is beautiful. i'm still trying to figure that one out and occasionally wake up with lingering night terrors recalling the moment.

(incidentally, the only other foreign language film performance to win an oscar is sophia loren, best actress - two women. some consider robert deniro's supporting actor win for the godfather, part 2 a foreign language performance win. which it is... except for one line he exclusively speaks italian. but the film is not considered a foreign language film.)

but i digress.......

if i was comfortable calling any category a lock, it would be best actor. sooooo.... i'm saying it's a lock. and it appears to be a lock like most acting categories. even though i've said the other categories could very possibly see an upset. however... this appears to be the most solid lock and the one i'd put the most money on.

colin firth..... long overlooked for a long career of great performances, has scored his second oscar nod this year. a year after he probably should have won for a single man but.... well, who could say "no" to finally awarding jeff bridges his oscar? crazy heart wasn't great.... but it was time. (see it like al pacino finally winning for the pretty awful film, scent of a woman.)

but colin firth has been on a roll winning awards for the king's speech. not only has he won every british award, he's also picked up critics awards from chicago, florida, kansas city, L.A., san francisco, D.C. and the golden globes. he also snagged the much coveted screen actors guild.

and most importantly: he deserves to win for this performance this year. firth's king is cold and prickly... but he's also endearing and afraid... he is all of us. and we want him to succeed and that is the driving force and the power behind this film. without the audience wanting firth to say that next word without hesitation is the key to the entire film. and firth makes us all want that.

it's an amazing performance. both emotionally and technically. beyond his stuttering. his perfect timing in line delivery. pay attention to his lazy r's. the soft pallet of a man with a speech impediment. it's masterful.

firth should and will win. so.......

will win: colin firth, the king's speech
should win: colin firth, the king's speech

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actress

2011-02-24T15:22:00.007-06:00

the nominees for best actress are:

annette bening, the kids are all right
nicole kidman, rabbit hole
jennifer lawrence, winter's bone
natalie portman, black swan
michelle williams, blue valentine

poor annette bening. poor, always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride, annette bening.

sorry, i'm getting ahead of myself.

best actress appears to be another two-way race with an obvious front runner. could there be an upset? perhaps? but at this point it seems unlikely. unless... well, again. i'm getting ahead of myself.

let's start again with who will not win:

nicole kidman already has an oscar for the hours.... it's an award she didn't really deserve but it was to recognize a larger, overlooked body of work. (keep this in mind.) an award for a body of work does happen from time to time. (but it used to happen much more often than it does now.) rabbit hole was a quiet little film that nobody saw and kidman will not win again for this film. nobody saw the amazing performance michelle williams delivered in blue valentine either. both kidman and williams delivered layered, heartbreaking performances in both of these films and deserve the nominations.... but they will not win.

jennifer lawrence carried winter's bone and her performance at such a young age promises many great things from her in the future. winter's bone was feared to be overlooked come the oscar nods - but it did very well scoring three very big nominations. the film was not widely seen but critically adored. lawrence, in particular. some might say she's a dark horse but i see this more as a nod to her talent and encouragement to continue.

no... the race comes down to bening and portman. poor, unrewarded annette bening.

bening has three previous nominations under her belt: 2004's being julia, 1999's american beauty and 1990's the grifters. the grifters (a movie i adore... check it out) was her only supporting nod. the other two previous nominations were in the lead category. both years bening appeared to be a lock for best actress. then hillary swank came along and delivered performances in million dollar baby and boys don't cry that not only deserved to win the oscar.... but did. upsetting bening both times.

now we have the young natalie portman delivering a tour de force performance in black swan. portman is so very good in swan. her metamorphosis is haunting and terrifying... it doesn't hurt that she spent a year training for the role.... losing weight, toning a dancer's body, learning ballet itself. the academy eats up this shit. (think of bobby deniro packing on the weight for raging bull.) pushing your body for a performance is highly regarded and often rewarded. especially if the performance is worthy.

having said all this.... there is a moment in the kids are all right when annette bening slowly sits down at a dinner table after the "revelation" of the film. the full understanding of everything that has proceeded this moment washes over her face and registers in her eyes, her mouth, her skin. without saying a word... bening delivers a moment more powerful than the entire portman performance in black swan. and i should point out... i'm not a huge fan of the kids are all right. but bening is perfection.

bening is pitch perfect and at the height of her craft in kids. she deserves to win this year. not like those other years when she was really, really great.... but not as good as..... this year should be her year.

but she will most likely lose to another young actress, ms. portman. portman’s role is simply more showy, more dramatic, more the academy’s speed (despite the bizarre nature of the film).

portman has picked up awards from the boston, chicago, dallas-fort worth, florida and kansas city critics. she has also picked up the golden globe and the biggie: the screen actor's guild. bening, of course, also picked up a globe but in the comedy/musical category. rarely as highly regarded as winning in the dramatic category.

the academy could decide bening has delivered over 20 years of incredible, indelible performances. perhaps an acknowledgement of her body of work will catapult her to a victory? i hold my breath with anticipation.

but i'm also allowing myself to gasp for air from time to time because, well.... i'm a realist.

will win: natalie portman, black swan
should win: annette bening, the kids are all right

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

2011-02-23T22:49:00.004-06:00

the nominees for best supporting actor are:

christian bale, the fighter
john hawkes, winter's bone
jeremy renner, the town
mark ruffalo, the kids are all right
geoffrey rush, the king's speech

okay, so i teased about a lock in the best supporting actress category yesterday... and it does appear to be a lock there. well, here... in supporting actor.... i think we pretty much have a lock.

let's knock out those we know aren't winning first, shall we? in order of least likely to win....

jeremy renner's nomination for the town seems residual glory from last year's the hurt locker phenom. sometimes the academy is so impressed by an individual one year their every subsequent performance (for a time) seems to be on their radar. renner is very, very good in the town. but it's no a gold-worthy performance and this is more of a further nod to his acting chops.

first time nominee john hawkes is extremely good in winter's bone. his teardrop epitomizes everything great about the film: he's at once terrifying and heartbreaking. you fear him one moment but are surprised by his humanity the next. in a bigger film, he would be a stronger contender... but winter's bone is the little movie that could and has done well with several nominations in the big six categories. but hawkes will not win here. but look out for this actor in the future.

the kids are all right seemed to be the juggernaut earlier in the year... but the film has cooled (rightfully so, in my opinion) and ruffalo's star has darkened. another first-time nominee, ruffalo gives the type of performance the academy does love. charming and lovable but, ultimately, a cad..... in a weaker year he could have been a bigger part of the conversation. and if the academy is looking for a way to reward the film, ruffalo is a possibility.

but what we really have here is a two-way race with what looks like a near lock for christian bale.

geoffrey rush turns in another type of performance that oscar loves. rush's lionel logue is extraordinary. warm, funny..... he provides strength for the other characters and, well, supports them. it is the quintessential supporting role. and it doesn't hurt that rush is genius in it. if the king's speech sweeps through the academy awards this year, rush could easily win for this performance. it would be rush's second win (he won best actor for 1996's shine) and it's his fourth overall nomination (he was also previously nominated for shakespeare in love and quills). many would argue, me included, that this talented performer deserves a second oscar.

but then there's dicky.

christian bale has long been admired as a versatile actor. he's been able to successfully tackle smaller, dramatic roles along with big box office action films. he has turned out one memorable performance after another.... yet the fighter is his first nomination. and it's one helluva performance.

dicky is charming and charismatic.... he is also pathetic and frustrating. bale steals the show in a film overpopulated with memorable characters. he has won the critic's choice awards from boston, chicago, dallas-fort worth, florida, kansas city, the national board of review, the broadcast film critics (the actual "critic's choice award"), as well as the golden globe and the screen actor's guild.

bale will become another stat in a long list of first-time nominees who win for a long-overlooked career on the screen.

will win: christian bale, the fighter
should win: geoffrey rush, the king's speech

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

2011-02-22T15:21:00.006-06:00

the nominees for best supporting actress are:

amy adams, the fighter
helena bonham carter, the king's speech
melissa leo, the fighter
hailee steinfeld, true grit
jacki weaver, animal kingdom

i wanted to start with my favorite category this year: best supporting actress. this category has always provided some of the biggest surprises and upsets in oscar history. marisa tomei over judy davis. anna paquin over winona ryder and rosie perez. juliette binoche over lauren bacall in what looked like a certain lifetime achievement win.

but this year..... best supporting actress seems almost a lock.

all signs point to a melissa leo running away with the award for her frenetic turn as alice, the controlling and not-so-lovable mother in the fighter. she has won several major critics awards including the new york film critics and the broadcast film critics (or critic's choice award). most recently she's won the golden globe and the screen actor's guild.

she even has a previous nomination under her belt in the best actress category for 2009's frozen river. and academy members love to vote for nominees when they feel have earned their win by having one or two prior nods.

so how could she not win when all momentum seems behind her.....?

well, supporting actress could easily offer another upset this year. how is this possible, you ask? well, there's a lot of talk about another potential upset due to...... splitting the vote.

the one individual who does not seem to be in this discussion is aussie, jacki weaver. her janine is a slow burn through much of animal kingdom but she really turns out a brilliant and terrifying performance if you stick with it and truly understand everything her characters has done by the end of the film. but despite a couple of very high-level critic's wins (including the LA film critics) the film was not widely seen and her character does fly under the radar for most of the movie.

but let's looks at how vote splitting could work.

there's helena bonham carter. could vote splitting between two nominees from the same movie, combined with the momentum of the king's speech, carry her to victory? it's possible. carter does have a prior nomination for 1997's wings of the dove (best actress) and she is the stoic weight of the king's speech. and there's always this: the academy loves the supportive spouse.

amy adams could win if steinfeld and leo, the two contenders seen as the most likely winners, split academy votes. and adams does have a track record with the academy and gives a very solid performance in the fighter.... most importantly stretching her acting chops with a character outside her normal cute and naive range.

but adams and leo could also split the fighter votes which might lead to steinfeld winning for her magnificent debut performance in true grit. steinfeld could join the likes of tatum o'neal and anna paquin..... two young actresses who appear in every scene of a movie (or nearly every) but are relegated to the supporting ranks because of their age. the lead-ness of their performances also help bolster their potential win.

i would also argue that steinfeld deserves the win. she delivers a nuanced and understated performance far beyond her years. at fourteen, she could become one of the youngest oscar winners in the 83 year history of the awards.

(for trivia lovers: 10 year old tatum o'neal remains the youngest winner for her 1973 best supporting actress win for paper moon. the aforementioned paquin comes in second at 11 years old for her supporting win in 1993's the piano.)

steinfeld's performance is not as showy and leo seems to have all the momentum heading into the oscars..... but look for a very potential upset here. however, my gut tells me all signs point to one eventual winner. so.....

will win: melissa leo, the fighter
should win: hailee steinfeld, true grit

e.

I Suck...

2010-11-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

i shall try to do better.

e.

p.s. blame facebook.

Opening Night

2010-08-26T15:39:00.003-05:00

tonight is opening night.

tonight begins the four performance run for the 2010 10x10 festival of new plays. my nerves are steady. but then i'm still at work. a volunteer brought me "good luck" opening night flowers. lovely....

so my nerves are in check.

i have finally seen my piece... at dress rehearsal on tuesday.

i see it again tonight.

i'm the second play in the second act (bad position... i'm just sayin').

i COULD give you my opinion of the play now. the acting. the direction. but i want to see it in front of an audience. audiences can always make a HUGE difference on how a piece plays.

as a professor told me once: "without an audience, theatre is simply masturbation."

so you shall read my thoughts late tonight or, hopefully, tomorrow. no later than saturday (i promise).

and, as always, i'll post my thoughts on all ten plays after the run.

okay... my throat is starting to close up. maybe my nerves aren't in check.

breathe.

e.

AAAH! Scorpions!

2010-08-23T20:53:00.003-05:00

sooooooo...... my director asked me for musical suggestions to open my play at the 10x10. it takes place a few days after a hurricane... a couple sit, hot, no electricity... no wine. a conversation begins about the direction of their relationship.

i instantly thought of "stormy weather." why not? weather. storms. kinda lazy..... sent her the lena horne version and an even better billie holiday version.

i always think of old jazz pieces for my comedies. classical for my dramas. it's the same genre of music i use to write each.

so guess which piece my director decided to use.........?

"wind of change" by scorpions.

.......?

ummmmmmmm....... sure, okay. i can see the thought process. i mean... billie holiday to a heavy metal band is quite an easy jump, right?

one song is a bluesy ode to a lost lover... the other is a cheesy 90s rock ballad about war and the fall of communism.

i mean, she's clearly interested in carrying through with MY vision, right...?

oy vey... so quickly forgotten are the opening remarks of our initial 10x10 meeting: "directors are here to honor the vision of the playwrights."

i still haven't seen it. maybe tomorrow night...?

(i may develop an ulcer.....)

e.

Please Welcome to the Stage....

2010-08-13T22:35:00.002-05:00

claire madelyn.

yes.... younger brother and kelly the second welcomed their second daughter into the world on wednesday.

apparently the delivery was fast. i assume that's good for the woo-woo... but, really. what do i know?

so the specifics people want: claire weighed in at 8 pounds even. 20 inches long. dark hair. apparently, the exact opposite of my other niece, leah.

claire is skinny with long fingers and toes. apparently, as i'm informed by my parents, she has some of my features.... this mostly including the long fingers and toes.

now, before i begin the official mourning period if, vishnu help us! she looks like me! i assured my brother i had nothing to do with it.

oh... and i guess she "poops" a lot. apparently i shat a lot when i was a baby too. (there's actually a story and a nickname there but... fuck you!)

so i'm an uncle again.

i still adore leah..... and now claire.

will i adore her too? will i develop a favorite? what if claire's dark hair indicates a dark and twisty demeanor later? she could become my favorite?

and the second born is often the gay one... so she could be the dyke of the family. but then there's my friend steven's theory that all leah's are lesbians. and i can't imagine my brother being responsible for two lezzies in a row.

still......

so congratulations, mom & dad. lesbian or not....

mazal tov!

e.

New Experiences

2010-08-13T22:11:00.002-05:00

so i think i mentioned that i've entered the cock-sucking realm of producer... yes, that horrid individual that is responsible for money and worrying about what works and doesn't work....

and essentially sucking the life out of art.

well... fuck that noise. i'm a new kind of producer. allowing everyone to create and express........ while still worrying about money and making a profit and casting and rehearsing and.... ganesha help me! it never ends.

but i've had some new experiences over the past couple of weeks as we really hit hard on advertising our production.

press releases
my father was a newspaper man his entire adult life. a copy editor for most of that time. i grew up knowing every copy editor mark for the editing process.

so you would think press releases would be easy for me...!

no.

first task? write a long press release. okay.... so i had to dissect a video for quotes. listen to sentences over and over again to make sure i got the exact words. i had to fish through synopses and construct the story of the production, the plays... all in a coherent fashion that would make people interested in possibly writing a story about the production.

then i had to create a calendar/event listing press release. short and to the point. this is the show. here. when. how much. done.

and then a third press release which is a shorter version of the long one but a longer version than the short one... for those that want a bit more than the bullet points for the listing but not a graph on every play.

it was... exhausting. and i've spent the last week or two sending them out, tracking down email addresses and submission ports for websites and generally spending all hours of the evening doing this.

fucking crazy. and a lot of late nights.

but i've learned a lot. (and i feel good about what i created.)

logos
yes... now i'm neck-deep in graphic design. two of the other producers have been working with an artist on the poster/program design. i haven't even seen anything.

so i approached a friend to design a logo for our production company. we have a website... but it needs some serious work. i told him we were looking to rush...and he rushed. came up with three good graphics.

LOVE the first one.... but it needs some tweaking.

the second one is a bit corporate for my taste. not creative enough.

third one is good... the graphic could be better but the concept (with some tweaking) could make a fabulous letterhead.

anyway.... trying to get feedback from the other three producers. trying to send the designer the feedback.... then receiving even more feedback from someone who isn't even part of the production company.

and it's been crazy, as well.

but all these new experiences.... marketing. branding. networking.... these have been fucking great lessons for me.

in the matter of a week i've had two individuals (now three, actually) ride my ass about marketing myself better and getting my name and my work out there. i'm taking this seriously.

i need to make a move. going to work everyday and doing work that i believe in but don't necessarily love anymore... while all this exciting theatre work is out there for me. when i'm casting and rehearsing and seeing my plays performed.

it makes that day job hard.

so... i'm trying to do what it takes. i even got (hold on to your hats...) some better pictures of myself taken so i can have a decent headshot to send out. (and you know i hate having my picture taken.)

i'm working on getting a website. i'm updating my resume. and i'm getting my fucking name and work out there.

it's a lot of work and it's stressful. but it's also...... incredible.

and i still have so much more to tell you!

more. soon. (i promise, my lovelies.)

e.

Disconnected

2010-08-12T21:05:00.003-05:00

okay, so.... i entered the scriptwriters/houston annual 10x10 festival of new plays again this year.

i know, i know.... i swore after last year's debacle i was through with the 10x10. but i had several friends entering and they encouraged me to enter and we would take over the 10x10!

plus.... they changed artistic directors. brought in someone younger. brought in younger directors. it felt like something new. like it had promise this year.

so i entered.

and somehow, quite beyond explanation, i was accepted. yes... my profane-laden plays have made it into the 10x10 festival for five straight years.

now, the 10x10 felt very different from the beginning. the old troll was replaced and the new artistic director was brought in. yes, she seemed a bit full of herself. she was bossy. but one of the first things she said was "we're returning to the 10x10 to serving the vision of the playwright."

hallelujah!

yet.... after that initial meeting. after the auditions... things started to slip. most of the directors are new but most of the playwrights are repeat winners. and i know most of them.

and most of them have told me the same thing: "i attended the initial read-through but i haven't been to a single rehearsal since."

well... i went to the first read-through but haven't been to a single rehearsal since.

my director - who i have great faith in - has pulled together a fabulous cast for me. top notch, from what i can see. and both actors were our top choices. the director seems to understand the play. the actors seem to understand it and agree with the direction.

at least, from what i can tell... but this is well over a month ago. and now we're just over a week away from tech week. in fact, the show opens two weeks from TONIGHT!

so i'm feeling a bit disconnected from the entire process.

my director has scheduled rehearsals for 1pm every wednesday. my director nor my two actors work. i work. 8am-5pm, monday - friday. so i haven't been able to make rehearsals.

so i'm feeling a bit disconnected.

what have they been doing? do they understand the characters fully? have they found the humor in the piece? what direction have they taken my creation?

i have one last chance to see a rehearsal before tech week... that would be this coming wednesday. i'd have to take off work. my director asked me to come an hour late to a three hour rehearsal to give the actors a chance to warm up....

fuck it.

i'm waiting for tech week... i'll go in and see what they've done. it might be horrible? it might be the best 10x10 i've had! who knows...? but i know i haven't been stressing over it.

but i also know i've been wondering why a director and actors wouldn't want to take advantage of their play's author when the author is available. i don't want to direct. i don't want to give line-readings. but i'd like to be involved.

even if it just means being there to watch. to answer questions. to affirm my director and her direction of my play.

but i'm disconnected.

so.... i'd like to make a promise now (and i hope i can keep it) - that i'll blog about the first run-through, tech rehearsal on tuesday, august 24th. (the 23rd will be cue to cue and i'll have NO idea what they've done. cue to cue is along, boring, horrible rehearsal.)

luckily the show i'm helping to produce is taking up all my time and stress.

so more on THAT... soon.

e.

Damn My Jewish Guilt!

2010-07-26T23:45:00.003-05:00

okay.... so i'm not really jewish. but fuck it all, i should be. i mean, i suffer guilt like nobody's business.

i learned a hard lesson in theatre tonight. and i hope it's ended with me backing the right horse.

and i'm using a lot of cliche's in this post. for that i apologize (because i feel guilty).

i don't have a lot of experience in producing a play. i've always been the writer. i've helped with casting. i've provided feedback to the director who then filtered it down in a more palpable way to the actors.

i'm about to have my 7th play produced. i've had two other readings. september will see another play plus a prior play produced. so a total of 9 produced plays.

yet i've always only ever been the writer.

in september a group of three other fabulous writers and myself are self-producing a night of short plays. and fuck me: producing is hard.

we've actually had a rather smooth time of it so far. no major battles of picking the final scripts. no fights over which directors to ask. we even have suggestions of actors for each other's plays.

and even when the directors sent along their top three choices, it appeared everyone would get their top choice.

then i ran into one of the directors tonight. i adore this man. i've worked with him before and i think he's amazing.

the man is fucking talented. and, in all honestly, will be the houston theatre NAME attached to the project. he is well known. well regarded. quite often referred to as one of the best actors working in town.

he did not number his choices. he said he would direct anything by me (i brought him into the project) and then would enjoy directing these other two. well, i thought he was being kind to me and seemed more interested in the other two.

but i ran into him tonight. told him which plays he would probably direct. he was. not. happy.

he wants to direct one of my plays. he feels i brought him into the project and thought he made it perfectly clear that he wanted to direct one of mine.

problem.

i sent an email out to the other playwrights... at this point, also known as the co-artistic directors.

the way i guess i made the email sound made the director sound like a prima donna which he isn't. so i felt guilty that the other playwrights now think he's a dick and basically want to tell him to "fuck off."

but i told them i dropped the ball with the correspondence with the director and, really, i'm the amateurish idiot. and i felt guilty talking to the director tonight and feeling like i screwed up.

but fuck, my lovelies.... my co-producers are amazing. they refuse to allow me to blame myself. in fact, they are making sacrifices in order to appease the director they want to tell to " fuck off."

so i feel guilty about that.

and i told them i didn't want to leave a bad taste in their mouth... about me or the director. because he's not doing it as some favor to us - he wants to work on the project. he's excited about the project. and, yes, he wants to work with me again.

yet i have guilt.

the other playwrights have now all called me since our big group conference call to try and alleviate my guilt. as one put it: i have this cyclical emotion of feeling bad about one thing or another.

i told him: bad feelings and guilt are a huge part of my life.

and i think this is why i'm a writer and not a producer.

and fuck! producing is hard.....

e.

Warning! (and Apologies...)

2010-07-20T15:50:00.003-05:00

it's been over four months since i've posted here.... my apologies.

but i plan a return.

soon.

and i plan to refocus the blog back on its original intention: theatre.

talk to you soon, my lovelies.

e.

The Cocktail Conundrum

2010-03-15T20:54:00.004-05:00

this past weekend i had a friend in from dallas for my annual participation in the houston AIDS walk. when i see this particular friend it's about the only time i partake of the bar scene anymore.

so friday night... after seeing a very poor paul rudnick play... we hit the bars.

nothing odd in that.

but sunday... after the AIDS walk... one of my houston friends was all "i'm feelin' kinda sexy... let's go out and have some drinks." well, that just kicked in my dallas friend's chicken hawk senses and he was all "yeah, yeah, yeah" - certain to find some willing post-walk-exhausted twink to take back to his swanky hotel room in the galleria.

so..... we went out. on a sunday afternoon. for cocktails.

that...is odd for me.

anyway.... we hit the first bar and found some really good seats overlooking the rather small crowd.

and, yes, we enjoyed ourselves. we were laughing and cutting up....

but out of the corner of my eye i thought i saw a guy checking me out. but i wasn't sure... there were four of us. only... i was the only one he could really see.

and he kept looking.

we decided to hit another bar so i thought i'd use the clean, safe bathrooms at the current establishment before trudging over to the less-than-sanitary digs of the other bars.

he followed. i thought i caught him looking at me... IN THE MIRROR! there was no "i'll show you mine if you show me yours."

but i ignored it. i'm not good at this sort of thing... at least, not anymore.

i return to the table and find another round of drinks. so i'm all, "what this? i thought we were leaving." and my friends are all, "this guy bought us a round of drinks." so i'm, like, "what guy?" and they say "that guy" and point out the one that just followed me to the bathroom.

so we all wave and smile and thank him. and we start to drink our cocktails.

(please pause for dramatic effect.)

now... here's my question. because here... we differ.

what should have happened?

one of my friends thinks someone should have gone over to him and personally thanked him. and they all decided it should've been me.

but why me? "because he likes you," was the reply. but how do you know? (i mean, i knew it was me. i saw him checking me out plus.... well.... i was ten times more desirable than the three friends with me... but nevermind!)

so, really! how do we know?

he didn't buy a cocktail just for me... he bought one for all of us. well, not one drink for all of us. four.. one for each of us. (nevermind.)

what if i hadn't noticed him checking me out? or maybe i just caught his eye because he caught me catching him checking out one of my friends? (but, i mean... it was me. trust me.. i'm much hotter than my three friends.)

so i didn't go over there.

my argument was that he should have come over to us and introduced himself and chatted up the one he was interested in. right? besides... he was the aggressor with the proffered cocktails... why shouldn't he follow through?

eventually, after we finished our drinks... we all left and one by one we introduced ourselves to him and thanked him for the cocktails. no indication on his part as to which one he wanted to talk to more. he didn't address one of us anymore than the other. he asked where we were heading to next and that was that.

now, i can't remember if anyone has ever bought me a drink before. i want to say yes. (probably...) but much more likely: they just offered me drugs and got me in the sack that way.

i mean... back when i did drugs and drank like dorothy parker... i would've gone over to him. (or just laid one on him after the initial key-bumps of cocaine in a joint bathroom stall.)

but this is now... i'm not like that anymore. so i was lost.

what should have happened?

it bothered me the rest of the day. from that bar to the next bar. back to the original bar. and then to another bar.

should i have talked to him? i mean, he was attractive... i mean, kinda. i mean... he wasn't a troll.

okay... let me put it this way: neither of us are any longer in our prime.

so the guilt kicked in. and i kept playing it over and over in my head.

what should i have done? what would you have done? and here... i open the floor to you, my loyal readers.

....?

e.

p.s. today the fourth friend with us randomly found a picture of the guy online... dressed as a slave boy complete with horse reigns à la madonna's confessions tour from this past weekend's madonnarama.

and, well, shit... wouldn't'cha know it? my guilt over the whole situation just melted away at the equestrian sight.

but i still want input. for next time. because, well... you know it'll happen again. (i'm hot...)

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Picture

2010-03-07T13:54:00.005-06:00

happy oscar day, my lovelies! let's get right to the big one...

the nominees for best picture are:

--avatar
--the blind side
--district 9
--an education
--the hurt locker
--inglourious basterds
--precious: based on the novel 'push' by sapphire
--a serious man
--up
--up in the air

okay.... i'm taking time out from cooking for my big oscar to-do. so i gotta make this short and sweet, my darling readers. it's not that i don't love you... it's just there's spinach & artichoke dip and stuffed mushroom caps to make.

let's begin my knocking out the obvious (and stating the obvious). ten best picture nominees is stupid. take the five without a corresponding director nod out and you have your five REAL best picture nominees left.

so take away up, a serious man, an education, district 9 and the blind side. no directors. no way they're gonna win.

(interesting side note: up is only the second animated film to be nominated for best picture. the first? nope... not snow white & the seven dwarfs. it was 1989's beauty and the beast.)

so let's look at the five remaining best picture nominees.

precious. out. sorry...just not gonna win.

up in the air... i've gone on and on about the loss of momentum for this film. at one time, i really thought it was the winner. and i hated that idea. not that it's a bad film... it's just not best picture material.

inglourious basterds? i think tarantino is still a bit too outside the box for academy voters. he may be a scorsese.... a couple of decades worth of nominations before he and his picture win.

that leaves us with the horse race (kinda).

avatar vs. the hurt locker.

the hurt locker should win... it's the superior film. but an odd new oscar voting system may give avatar a leg up. if a picture does not win over 50% of the first ballot... then the academy moves on to people's second choice. and so on and so on until somebody has over 50%.

it's idiotic. i think i'll change next year.

it gives avatar a chance.

but i still think the hurt locker will take home the big prize tonight. it's already won a string of awards including the biggie: the producers guild for best picture.

keeping it short and sweet, my lovelies.

will win: the hurt locker
should win: the hurt locker

e.

p.s. oscar! everybody loves ya, oscar! everybody wants to get ya, grab ya, hug ya... hold you tight!

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Director

2010-03-05T14:43:00.003-06:00

the nominees for best director are:

james cameron, avatar
kathryn bigelow, the hurt locker
quentin tarantino, inglourious basterds
lee daniels, precious: based on the novel 'push' by sapphire
jason reitman, up in the air

okay... i don't want to take up a lot of your time here. and i can't even be sly because once i begin using pronouns to dance around my prediction, you'll know...

so let's just say that kathryn bigelow has two... no three.... BIG things going for her this year: 1) she's won the director's guild award (DGA). 2) she'll make history as the first woman to ever win best director and the academy loves to make history. and 3) she deserves to win!

lee daniels is out. let's get that out of the way. yes, precious: based on the novel 'push' by sapphire is very good. but he won't win. a black man can be president... but in this category, a woman can win first.

tarantino needs to win an oscar and will soon.... but he won't here. he is still glorified more for his writing than his directing. but he's superb at both.

jason reitman appeared primed to win for up in the air. he was just nominated recently for juno and it looked as if all momentum was pushing his film to multiple wins... including best picture.

that momentum has flat-lined.

really.... the race is between james cameron and his ex-wife, bigelow. cameron won the oscar for best director for the last feature film he directed: 1997's titanic.

he could win for avatar. but i see everything pushing bigelow into the gold on sunday night.

bigelow becomes only the fourth woman to be nominated for best director..... in over 80 years of best director nominations! sofia coppola was nominated for 2003's lost in translation. italian director lina wertmüller was nominated in 1976 for seven beauties. and new zealand's jane campion was nominated for the piano in 1993.

as i mentioned... the academy loves to make history. and finally crowning a woman as best director would be a HUGE statement.

bigelow also won the DGA. since the DGA was first given out in 1948, only SIX TIMES has the DGA winner differed from the eventual best director oscar winner.

but beyond all that... bigelow deserves to win. the hurt locker is a brilliant study of the tension inherent in a war zone. and bigelow shows an immense patience in telling her story.

most directors today would have a lot of quick edits and shaky, steady-cam shots zooming in and out and around the action. here... bigelow allows her camera to tell the story.... not pump up the story.

take the amazing scene where the soldiers come across snipers in the middle of the desert. there's a fire fight. lives are lost. then all grows quiet. a lesser director cuts away. or only stays briefly.... providing all answers immediately. but that's not war. and that's not what bigelow has shot.

here.... she leaves the camera on the soldiers. waiting. unsure. are the snipers still alive? are we safe? should we even move?

she has the patience to play the scene out. allow the tension to rise. let the soldiers suffer, wonder and fear.... just as we do.

she has made an action movie that is not in a rush to tell the story... but is interested in its characters and the slow revelations of the story. and, yes, of the danger.... and the tension...

it is confident and thrilling filmmaking. and bigelow deserves to take home the oscar as the first woman to ever win best director.

will win: kathryn bigelow, the hurt locker
should win: kathryn bigelow, the hurt locker

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actress

2010-03-04T20:26:00.003-06:00

the nominees for best actress are:

sandra bullock, the blind side
helen mirren, the last station
carey mulligan, an education
gabourey sidibe, precious: based on the novel 'push' by sapphire
meryl streep, julie & julia

this year's best actress category is a two-way race. unfortunately.... that race is between the two wrong women.

the two best performances given this year among these five nominees is between the two new faces: carey mulligan and gabourey sidibe.

sidibe is heartbreaking as precious. but she also shows a strength in the character that always seems to peek through all the abuse, the ignorance and the sadness. in almost any other year she would be my choice for best actress...

but this year there's carey mulligan. her jenny is this year's poppy (sally hawkins in happy-go-lucky) for me. luckily... the academy didn't fuck up this year and nominated mulligan for an education. (yes, i remain bitter over the hawkins snub.)

mulligan's jenny experiences her social, intellectual and sexual awakening on screen before our very eyes...... and we experience and feel every one of those journeys with her. she brings a depth of character rarely accomplished by older actors. joy, pleasure.... the exhilaration of the first-time. not just with sex... but with jazz and paris. it's all there... in mulligan's damn fine performance.

she is both smart and naive. sly but innocent. she is easily my choice for best actress...

but she is not in the race.

neither is helen mirren who seems to have luckily snagged a nomination for her tedious work in the last station. and, mind you, i don't blame mirren... there's only so much you can do with that role.

and let's not forget: mirren just won an oscar for 2006's the queen. so it's also too soon for her to win again.

so who does that leave? oh, yes... the two least deserving winners in the bunch: meryl streep (scoring her 16th nomination) for julie & julia.... a movie that would have been twice as good without the julie. and sandra bullock for the blind side.

(okay... streep would possibly rank third out of these five. before mirren & bullock.... who can fight it out for the bottom slot in my head.)

let me begin by saying streep is not bad as julia childs. in fact, she's quite good. unfortunately, she's in a very unfortunate film. but even without nora ephron's schlock.... streep would not deserve to win here.

and for a long time she appeared poised to win her third oscar (after her best supporting actress win for kramer vs. kramer and her best actress win for sophie's choice).

but then came the broadcast film critics shocking tie between streep and sandra bullock. suddenly, the mediocre film that wouldn't go away was garnering even more oscar talk for bullock.

and then she won the golden globe. and the screen actors guild.

and now bullock scores her first oscar nomination.

bullock has been adored and turned in solid work since she blew audiences (and critics) away in speed. and she has always done well in supporting roles while taking on some truly awful leading roles. but not always awful.

this year also saw a fine performance from bullock in the surprisingly winning the proposal.

so the stars started to align. and now bullock will very likely win what i have termed: "the julia roberts erin brockovich oscar." that is to say... it's not the best performance of the year, but it's a respectable performance. and you know what? gee-golly.... we really like sandra bullock. so let's give her the oscar!

again... bullock's work in the blind side is not awful. it's good, in fact. but it's not oscar-worthy. and vishnu knows the film isn't best picture material (but more on that later).

bullock is much loved. and we love to reward young, beautiful, american actresses the best actress oscar (a long-standing tradition until the last three years).

so here we are... and i have to grit my teeth, try to smile.... and have more wine.

will win: sandra bullock, the blind side
should win: carey mulligan, an education

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

2010-03-03T20:06:00.005-06:00

the nominees for best actor are:

jeff bridges, crazy heart
george clooney, up in the air
colin firth, a single man
morgan freeman, invictus
jeremy renner, the hurt locker

this year's best actor winner could be seen as a potential winner for several reasons:

1) with this year's oscar nomination he has five under his belt and the academy loves a nominee who has paid his dues.

2) while he's not terribly old by peter o'toole and christopher plummer standards... he has been in movies for over four decades.

and most of all.... he probably simply deserves the fuckin' thing.

but i want to back track first. let's quickly eliminate two nominees for the sheer fact that they've both recently won. george clooney won best supporting actor for 2005's syriana. and morgan freeman won best supporting actor for 2004's million dollar baby.

is five or six years too soon to reward these actors again? does it make a difference that this year they're nominated for best LEAD actor?

this is freeman's sixth nomination. two of the six have been for supporting. the other four for lead. so can it be argued that freeman is due a best LEAD actor award?

and what of clooney? this is his third nomination in acting (he was also nominated for both directing and writing good night and good luck). and since his win in syriana, i think there's no doubt clooney is a leading man.

and there was a time when up in the air had all the momentum and clooney appeared on his way to another oscar.

but i think the academy is secure in both freeman's and clooney's supporting statuettes.... for now. and time will come for them both again.

then you have two first time nominees in the veritable unknown, jeremy renner, and the always a bridesmaid never the bride, colin firth.

it is too early for renner. despite the paternal world we live in... men have to work harder for their oscars than women. the academy wants a man to EARN his award. pay dues. put in his time.

it is not yet time for renner.

firth has been very good for a very long time... but he's often overlooked by the showier performances in his films. his work in a single man, however, is superb and cannot be overlooked. he has taken the restraint we've come to know from him and used it to weave a deep pathos throughout his character's ups and downs. you always sense some stronger emotion just under george's surface... but firth will not let you in. and the role of george demands it.

yet firth is able to emote everything without saying much of anything. you hurt with him and you laugh with him... you even long with him.

i'm torn between who i think should win the best actor oscar this year...

i lean heavily towards firth. and on any given day i might tell you he is my choice for best actor.

but more often than not... my head tells me to go with the actor i think the academy will also reward this year: jeff bridges.

bridges garnered his first oscar nomination in 1972 with the last picture show... best supporting actor. he has been nominated three more times for thunderbolt and lightfoot (best supporting actor), starman (best actor) and most recently, 2000's the contender (best supporting actor).

here we have his fifth nomination.... once again for best actor. and his bad blake is amazing in crazy heart and has already brought him a golden globe, a los angeles film critics award, a broadcast film critics award and a SAG for best actor.

it's true that the movie, and maybe even the character, is formulaic... but there is nothing ordinary in bridges' performance. he's charming, pathetic, lovable, frustrating.... he is very much.... human.

and on top of all that.... the man can sing.

bridges has long been overlooked and underappreciated in hollywood. he has turned in performance after excellent performance. and he is adored by his peers and the public.

plus... he's the dude!

the big lebowski has endeared bridges into our hearts more than any film i can think of for most any actor.

bridges has paid his dues. he has put in his time.

it's time to give him his oscar.

will win: jeff bridges, crazy heart
should win: jeff bridges, crazy heart (with colin firth just edged out into 2nd place)

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

2010-03-02T21:15:00.004-06:00

the nominees for best supporting actress are:

penélope cruz, nine
vera farmiga, up in the air
maggie gyllenhaal, crazy heart
anna kendrick, up in the air
mo'nique, precious: based on the novel 'push' by sapphire

as i mentioned when discussing best supporting actor, the best supporting actress category appears to be a lock.... possibly even more so than supporting actor.

and many of the old rules can be thrown out quite quickly.

there is no nominee who could be seen as a lifetime achievement winner. but, as discussed, that rarely even holds true for the supporting categories any more.

you have the "give the award to the actress who has been nominated before" award... and that would be penélope cruz. with nine, cruz snags her third nomination. but after winning just last year for vicky cristina barcelona... it's too soon to award her with another oscar (no matter how incredibly sexy she is).

so that brings us to our four, first-time nominees.

maggie gyllenhaal finally joins her brother, jake, in the realm of the oscar nominated with her nod for crazy heart. and she has long been overshadowed by her brother who was nominated in the supporting ranks for brokeback mountain. but gyllenhaal has turned in a string of stunning performances, including her recent role in sherrybaby, which many people thought deserved a nomination.

this year gyllenhaal was more of a surprise nominee, possibly pushing out one-time nomination fave julianne moore for her work in a single man.

but after several films and a number of critics awards for her work in sherrybaby and secretary, this nomination is more of an acknowledgement of gyllenhaal's talent and the promise of an oscar to come.

at this point in the race, up in the air co-stars kendrick and farmiga most likely cancel each other out... for a time, kendrick seemed the talk of the oscar statuette. and both seemed to be strong candidates for the ultimate win. but up in the air seems to have lost most of its momentum.

and then came a movie with the pretentious title: precious: based on the novel 'push' by sapphire.

and then came mo'nique's shocking and horrifying performance as mary, mother to precious.

to my knowledge, nothing prepared us for mo'nique's turn in precious. her performance is bare-knuckled ugly and she holds nothing back. mary is evil and mo'nique embraces it.... and then hurls it at her daughter's head.

mo'nique's performance is brave enough to leave all glamour at the door. and she creates one of the most despicable characters ever to be captured on celluloid. and if you don't believe... be brave enough to watch until the very end. just when you think mary can be no more pathetic, mo'nique is there to peel back another layer... and sink even lower into her character's darkness.

mo'nique, even after a potentially destructive and obnoxious start to an oscar campaign, has gone on to win nearly every critics award... including the golden globe and the screen actor's guild.

there is no stopping mo'nique with this powerhouse performance. it's monstrous. it's sickening. it's the best performance of the year.... and without question, deserving of the win and a lock for the gold.

will win: mo'nique, precious...
should win: mo'nique, precious...

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

2010-03-01T21:35:00.004-06:00

the nominees for best supporting actor are:

matt damon, invictus
woody harrelson, the messenger
christopher plummer, the last station
stanley tucci, the lovely bones
christoph waltz, inglourious basterds

let me begin by saying we should not be in store for many surprises come oscar night. everything seems to have fallen into place with only an odd new voting system for best picture potentially upsetting the givens.

and in no category may this be more true than best supporting actor. okay.... maybe best supporting actress. but that's tomorrow.

christoph waltz's explosive turn as colonel hans landa in inglourious basterds manages to overshadow a film filled with tarantino irreverence. beyond the dialogue. beyond the slickness of production. beyond brad pitt.... waltz raises basterds. he brings nuance. he brings evil. but beyond that.... he brings weight to the story.

waltz has won every major critics award from the new york film critics circle to the los angeles film critics association. he's won the broadcast film critics and the national society of film critics awards. he's taken home the golden globe and the screen actors guild. he even won the gold at cannes.

i mean, seriously... who can stop him?

this is matt damon's first oscar nomination since his oscar nomination for acting and oscar win for writing good will hunting 12 years ago. and in invictus he is overshadowed by morgan freeman's mandela.

this is actually woody harrelson's second oscar nomination. he was nominated back in 1996 for best actor for his work in the people vs. larry flynt. the academy often likes to award prior nominees but the messenger was seen little and i expect harrelson would come in a distant fourth in the final ballot.

then you have stanley tucci garnering his first nod for the lovely bones. unfortunately, bones is such a mess of a movie it might be difficult for academy voters to find any way to stomach rewarding the film. no, tucci's nomination is more, finally, a recognition of his talent.... it also probably helped that he turned in an equally impressive performance in another mess of a film: julie & julia.

and speaking of a long overdue recognition of talent: christopher plummer, at age 80 and after 5 decades of making movies, garners his first nomination this year with the last station. there was a time (not long ago) when the supporting categories were often used more as a lifetime achievement award than an honor bestowed upon the most deserving performance. perhaps in the 70s or the 80s, possibly even the 90s, plummer would have been given the gold simply for his life's work.

but the academy has moved away from that and has, somehow, found a way to honor (more often than not) the most deserving.

perhaps plummer's nomination - which is much deserved, i'd like to add - will be honor enough for him after all these years. and there just may be a lifetime achievement award for him in the near future.

but this year... i think the academy will once again get it right.

will win: christoph waltz, inglourious basterds
should win: christoph waltz, inglourious basterds

e.

Baby

2010-02-04T22:03:00.002-06:00

i saw photos of my oldest friend's new baby tonight. they made me cry.

not exactly sure what's wrong with me lately....

i don't generally like children. i adore my niece...when i see her....but that's not often. most of the time when i'm around children i feel ill at ease. unsure of how to act. i treat them as i would any individual.... probably too old for them really.....

so why this tug when looking at the baby pictures...?

she is lovely as far as babies go. they say all babies are beautiful.... and i take them at their word.

yet here i am.... wiping away the tears. looking at my friend's two day old daughter.

i think, perhaps, i find myself longing these past couple of weeks. maybe months? what am i missing? what do i want to experience?

love, i suppose.

many other foolish things... do i perhaps suddenly regret that i shall probably never have a child of my own?

in my youth... i always wanted children. excelled at interaction with them. and i would have been an exceptional father. but now... in my adulthood.... i've grown hard. the walls are up and are only allowed to come down at the odd moments of solitude. perhaps the amount of solitude i've sought out in recent weeks has allowed more emotions to surface?

perhaps that is why i cry this evening....?

funny things... emotions. they so often catch you unawares.

e.

For Sister Epiphenita

2009-12-17T17:00:00.002-06:00

because we both love nothing more than blasphemy....

e.

Gay vs. Gay-Gay

2009-11-05T21:21:00.004-06:00

earlier today...after a conversation about a friend of mine and some of his beliefs... i had someone ask me if my friend was "gay" or "gay-gay." i said, "like take it up the ass gay?" she said, "no, like gay-gay."

"you mean, does he decorate and cut hair? have tiny dogs?"

"no!"

finally....we found the crux of the question: "if he were in a relationship, would he be the man of the woman?"

ah.... (straight people. oy!)

so i pressed further: "so, like, does he clean the bathroom and his partner cook the steaks?"

she said, "no! like i'm the woman in my relationship..."

i said, "yes, because you have a woo-woo. and your husband has a penis."

basically, what she was looking for was who fit best into traditional gender roles.

traditional gender roles piss me off.

actually, before i go any further... i should say that it all began because i was explaining to her that this particular cocksucking friend is a very devout christian. he prays daily.... asks whathisface for guidance.

we talked about his interest in the "once gay" christians that are now, thanks to the help of (hallelujah) god and his offspring, straight.

i don't want to go so far as to call him a self-hating fag.... but i do think if god could make him straight, he'd sign on the dotted line.

so that led to whether or not he was "gay" or "gay-gay." for example...where does he fall on the kinsey scale? is he a perfect six or does he wobble around the 4 or 5 point?

"100% gay," i said. "never been with a woman... has no desire."

and then THAT led into the discussion of gender roles. and gender roles piss me off.

are we on the same page now...?

so, anyway..... i think she basically assumes that if you want to be cared for and have the "man" take care of you... then you're the woman. but if you're the one taking care of the little woman... holding them at night, caressing them when they cry... then you're the man.

so i said, "well, he wants to be the woman... but usually ends up the man."

but i despise those labels and those stereotypes. i know so many women that are far stronger than the men in their lives. does that mean these women, vaginas and all, are the men? are the emotionally self-deficient men, no matter how well hung, the women?

fuck that noise.

i don't think all newborns should wear pink if they're girls and blue if they're boys. i don't think all boys should want to grow up to be astronauts and firemen and women princesses and nurses.

when i was younger....besides wanting to be wonder woman...i wanted to be a baker. that's the first job i ever remember wanting to be when i grew up. never a policeman. never a fireman.

am i any less of a man....?

i know women who play sports better than any man i know. does that mean they're uterus is any less...... uterussy?

gender roles and gender stereotypes continue to cause a rift in society and the workplace and they perpetuate inequality. from equal pay to equal expectations.

women can't be strong... then they're bitches. but bitchy men are held up as titans of enterprise.

women who only wear pants and never dresses can never be considered as much of "a lady" than pretty, young things that wear flowy gowns. and they certainly can't be made president. (side note: back in the campaign, i had someone actually tell me he thought hillary would do better if she just carried a purse. i had another person tell me once the WNBA would succeed if the women wore more make-up and cuter outfits.)

on the flip side... men who have sex with men can't be "real" men. don't you dare like the color pink or you're automatically a fag.

it's all such bullshit.

i was so happy when my younger brother and his wife told me they would never buy anything pink for my niece. they didn't want to buy into that nonsense. but guess what? EVERYONE else buys pink for her.

it's so ingrained in our society: men are the breadwinner and will take care of their wives. women should only ever want to get married and obsess over their wedding day and dress and honeymoon.

let me tell you something. a friend and i used to talk about our perfect weddings and honeymoons.... and he is STRAIGHT!

and i watch football. and my "gay-gay" friend doesn't watch football. but my one dyke friend does when my other dyke friend doesn't.... and my straight female friend does... and another one doesn't.

and it's green to some people and avocado to others.... and some take it up the ass and others don't.

and it doesn't make one person more of a man or a woman than the other.

it just means we're all unique. not necessarily special... because, let's be honest, i know some pretty lame, boring, not-so-special people.

but they are, always, unique.

e.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T11:02:00.001-05:00

My Day at White Trash Pride

2009-10-24T22:52:00.003-05:00

this morning i headed down to the recovering and ever-chic burg of galveston to assist in their 3rd annual pride festival.

my assignment: man the human rights campaign (HRC) booth, gather contact information and spread the word about all the great work the organization does.

no problemo.

oh wait.... that's right! i was in fucking galveston.

we arrived shortly before noon and by 1:38pm i had already witnessed three kate gosselin haircuts, enough bad drag to make a grown man cry and the ever-present-galveston quandary: how do you tell the difference between an everyday galveston resident and a lesbian?

i also had to deal with a competing oktoberfest, drunk dykes who asked every couple of hours if they could buy our gay pride flag (to which, every couple of hours we would tell them "no") and one particularly creepy old, bearded man that eyed me off and on for 30 minutes or more.

we had a frightening moment when two christian rehabbers handed us a possible banana bread bomb and...while it wasn't ticking....i told the person holding it to throw it away in the nearest trash bin in hopes of lessening to explosion's impact.

we saw ren faire drag done up in hopes of passing as opera drag. i saw guys with hair straight out of 1990's australian cinema. and just one trashy queen after another.

don't get me wrong... there were some hotties. but they were not easy to find.

the entertainment consisted of the aforementioned bad drag in costumes that would make the late selena cringe. an ex who continues to sing and pack on the pounds. derrick barry, aka britney spears, aka glorified drag queen, aka spoiled, egomaniacal diva. someone named kady malloy who was on some show called american idol who had the hottest fucking boyfriend i have seen in a long time... and that would have entertained me far more than she did.... oh, and we didn't stick around for 80's pop queen, tiffany. who - honestly - i don't remember. but someone told me a song she sang (which i've already forgotten) and i'm pretty sure i had heard of the song.

(on a side note: a old and dear friend of mine was responsible for pulling together all the entertainment and he did a fabulous job in balancing the needs of the local drag divas and the real talent brought in to bring in higher prestige for the event.)

but.....i couldn't stick around for tiffany. i had to get home to watch the texas game.

texas 41, mizzou 7. hook 'em.

and happy pride!

e.

Buy In

2009-09-28T22:24:00.004-05:00

so i just returned from a very entertaining reading of a new play at stages. it's the first of three readings in wordsmyth theater's fall season...once again presented in collaboration with the actor's gym.

well, the same kook who shows up at every one of these readings and then rambles on and on about ganesha only knows what....did it again tonight.

and he went off on his favorite bash-worthy subject: homosexuality.

yes, he went off on my play and it being "gay." he's gone off on other plays for having a gay character.

tonight's play: part comedy of manners. part thriller.

written by a happily (i assume) married gentleman probably in his sixties. teaches writing.... seems very pleasant.

there is one moment....ONE moment...where a person says she's bisexual and likes to kiss other women. probably made the whole thing up to fuck with the guest. but guess who pounced it?

"why did you bring up the gay thing?"

what...?!?

"i can't believe you've bought into the culture."

i had to laugh. the people around me, knowing me, looked for my reaction. i simply turned and said: "well...i'm glad he's bought into the culture. we have this big march coming up and we could use all the help we can get."

what a jackass....

e.

p.s. seriously, though... if you want to buy into the "gay culture" - we're always accepting recruits. thanks....

The Birthday Doctrine

2009-09-24T16:12:00.007-05:00

my birthday is less than a month away. actually...only a couple of weeks away.

this year, however, the dynamic has changed. i have family in town. a brother. a sister. my parents. two dogs.

so...as is usual in a proper WASP family...they wish to gather and mark the occasion.

but here's the dilemma: i'll be out of town for the big day.

yes, for the first time i can really remember.... i'll be out of town for my birthday... celebrating in my own style in nyc and d.c.

so when my mother called and asked, "do you want to go out for dinner for your birthday?" my response was simple: "i'll be out of town."

i mean, i'm not one of those people who has to celebrate a birthday. i don't require the attention. i don't need a theme. i really have everything superficial one needs in their life so presents aren't really an issue either.

so when she pressed.... i really didn't see a reason to make a fuss. "i'll be in new york..." good enough for me.

but the pressing has continued. and now it appears we'll probably gather prior to my trip. some sort of preemptive birthday strike... which just seems oddly reminiscent of the bush doctrine.

i don't agree with the bush doctrine.

it's like premature ejaculation. not good for much of anything and it usually causes an unholy and wholly unwelcome mess.

and it all makes me wonder? what should be the birthday doctrine...?

should celebration be limited to the actual day...? or...if one is a responsible adult-type person and the birthday falls on a monday, tuesday, wednesday or thursday...saved for the immediate weekend following?

is it presumptuous to celebrate your birthday early? my family and i are looking at about a week prior to the actual day. seems (and feels) early. but the other option would be to wait until after my upcoming travel... that would be about two weeks after the day...... and that just seems too late to even care. i mean... how long can you drag this out? is there some sort of birthday statute of limitations?

of course, i know people who believe strongly in "the birthday month." yes...the birthday MONTH. birthday festivities lasting an entire month... usually from the actual date until the same date, next month.

seems excessive... but i'm happy if it makes you happy.

but at 36 (soon to be, that is) the whole birthday thing seems a bit old. the idea of gifts seem selfish and indulgent.

don't get me wrong... i don't mind gathering with friends... having some cocktails, some food. but i don't need a big "to do!"

is this a sign of growing older....? could it be a darker sense of self-loathing or lack of self-worth at work?

i can get excited about a friend's birthday... love to throw a good dinner party or even take them out for a meal.

i don't celebrate what's-his-face's birthday in december but i still put up a tree.

in other words... i can get into the spirit of the thing. but when it comes to my own birthday....

eh, whatever.

maybe i'm just old.....?

e.

4th Time...? Not the Charm

2009-08-31T15:19:00.004-05:00

hello, my lovelies.... welcome to the long-awaited, much-anticipated wrap up of the 19th annual scriptwriters/houston 10x10 showcase of new plays.

but who am i kidding...? that was two weeks ago... (more?) we've moved on... we've digested the highs and lows of the weekend. but i feel i must revisit this go-around and express my thoughts and insights on the whole operation.

let me begin by saying: this is it. i'm done. i'm out.

this fourth affair with the blue hairs of the 10x10 left little enchantment in my heart for the group. unorganized. amateurish. the whole thing left me wanting. not that any given year has been 100%. but we know how rocky this experience started and, well, it didn't end much better.

i should preface this with stating i enjoyed working with my director very much. yes, he thought my characters were gay when they clearly were not. yes, he left town for nearly three weeks in the middle of rehearsal time. and, yes....he obviously didn't work closely enough with tech to really hammer down the problems with my play.

but before i get to all of that... let's revisit the other 9 plays first.

family portrait
i like the writer and there were some moments of very clever snipes. but, ultimately, the piece is 8 grating moments of hate and slur....with an attempt at putting a positive face on it with a false ending. "i wasn't able to give my children a proper childhood." why not? and is being the screaming banshee of hoboken really the better option? love your children... try your best... don't harp on every flaw, belittle every aspect of their lives and try to pass it off as love. i simply didn't buy it and the lead actress's affected performance only made it more painful.

this play came in third with the judges. i also heard some muttering that this piece had been performed somewhere before...which should have disqualified it. but whatever...

the workshop
it read so funny on the page... but then lost its way in performance. too much going on? too much dependence on slapstick and physical humor as opposed to the words written? the fact that the actor who delivers the final, HI-larious monologue was almost unintelligible didn't help. most people i know tuned out and hated this piece.

it won judges favorite.

dance with me
nine minutes of poorly written dialogue and a buried message. it redeems itself in the final moments when we're all allowed to watch an old lady dance to "the cupid shuffle." that moment won over the entire audience....enough for them to ignore the other nine.

the final dress rehearsal for this was a logistical nightmare. wrong music, wrong timing, wrong sound effects. the first night the older actress lost her lines and the piece lost two minutes of dialogue. it was saved by the booth when they brought in the sound effects early to move the action along.

it was runner-up for audience favorite.

mornings
the sombre, gay play of the year. the first few minutes are jumbled and distracting. dialogue switches back between two gay couples (2 men, 2 women) and much is lost. i think it has it's moments when it allows just two people to settle down and discuss in the second half of the piece. ultimately, however, it's all cliche' and retread. nothing original. some fine acting, i thought... some of the best of the night.

oh....and i still don't see any part of that piece that really shows one of the gay men at the beginning is the one that's dead. so you have a current conversation and a past conversation. how do we know that? where is that said? the only way to know "jeff" is seated at the table at the beginning is to read his name in the program. otherwise, i honestly feel it's never clear.

this play tied for runner-up with the judges.

unleashed
another charmer from the charmer of the 10x10. he writes unoffensive, safe, whimsical, down-home plays and the goblins of the 10x10 love him. i actually really like the play too. it benefits greatly from a talented cast... and it's clever and funny. but safe. always safe. i'm never big on safe.

this play won audience favorite overwhelmingly.

target
some interesting moments... but it feels as if it goes on five minutes too long. again, not necessarily benefited from its lead actor (also its author). originally, the entire show felt like a high school UIL one-act. stilted, stiff, cheesy lighting. the director originally had each "extra" come on and off the stage. made the entire piece feel even longer and dragged it out. finally, she put everyone on stage and it helped. still... ultimately a deeper message lost with a lot of excess.

cuteness
cute. very cute. harmless and aimless.... i actually kinda liked it. the chemistry between the two actors added much. i dunno? beyond the underlying misogyny...i liked it.

forbidden fruit
for some odd reason...this play did not connect with most audience members and friends i've talked to. it's my favorite play out of the ten. it starts off on a very bizarre note and just continues down the rabbit hole. interesting and fresh... funny but dark. the play, i think, provides the most daring ending of the night. a friend of mine was pitch-perfect as the bartender... and i just really enjoyed the ride.

critic's choice
this play runs about 15 to 17 minutes in a TEN minute competition. it feels about 25 minutes long. pointless, self-indulgent. it's a wink to the inner circle that has nothing really to say but attempt to skewer the very person who wrote it. anyone who has to place the PhD after their name in a THEATRE program, is self-indulgent. i do not know a single person who enjoyed this piece.... BUT...

it tied as runner-up with the judges.

upstairs dirty bomb
what can i say about my play....? it never quite lived up the promise of its title. i do think it's better than the production it was given (a familiar feeling of mine when discussing the 10x10). for some reason people laughed more at the second half. of course, my play only runs about 7 minutes. but after the 17 minutes of the prior piece of shit.... i think everyone was simply ready for the show to be over.

so maybe i was partly screwed by placement?

but mostly...i was screwed by the booth. not to mention a bit of slapdash direction and a novice actor who tried his best but simply couldn't bring what was needed to the play.

and again...i really enjoyed working with my director and my cast. two of them i would work with easily again. and one of them received a lot of laughs.

final dress rehearsal was a nightmare, as previously stated. opening night... the sounds were all off. turns out, the booth spent so much time fixing the other plays they royally fucked up during the final dress rehearsal, they forgot to update the changes for my play.

so the vacuum cleaner that was supposed to be over the opening music took the place of what was supposed to be the first big boom from upstairs. and... the booth decided to play the vacuum cleaner noise for a while. which threw off other sound effects. all in all...it just threw off my actors, threw off the timing...and the entire piece came across as flat.

saturday night... music and vacuum cleaner is right... then when it came time for the first big boom...................

nothing.

my actors paused, looking up...waiting. nothing. so he stomped as loud as he could in place of the sound effect. the first half of the play had my actors stomping where sound should have been.

again...threw off the actors. threw off the timing. the piece fell flat.

sunday matinee.... crappy, unappreciative audience all around. matinee audiences always suck. but guess what...?

music and vacuum cleaner fine. first sound...perfect. every sound after that... perfect. on time and rather funny.

remember: this was the first time i'd actually heard all the sound effects in their proper places... after a week of tech and two prior performances... this was the first i heard it all.

it changed everything and i was actually happy with the piece.

i think i took some chances... yes, it probably isn't as funny as i had hoped. but it at least challenged individuals... especially those on the left who think so highly of themselves that they're beyond reproach.

and i'm guilty of this too. hell, it was a pretty autobiographical piece. many of the lines i have said to my friends verbatim.

but anyway... i can't put up with the lack of professionalism and the drive to put on the best shows possible. it's amateurish and i'm done.

i want to focus on longer things and better productions.

the 10x10 has served its purpose for me over the past four years... it got me writing again. it put my name back out there.... and it's put me in contact with a lot of really plugged in theatre people.

but the curtain is down on that part of my life.

onward and upward!

e.

p.s. i'd love to read any comments people might have who actually saw the shows... so don't be shy.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

2009-08-26T09:14:00.004-05:00

as is always the case, i hit snooze on my alarm two, three, sometimes four times every morning. but upon my alarm sounding for the second time this morning, i reached over and heard the dj utter, "we'll talk more about the passing of edward kennedy..." i sat straight up and said, "oh no."

i turned off my alarm clock, headed out to the living room and turned on msnbc. there was the crew of morning joe mourning the loss of the liberal lion of the senate, edward m. kennedy.

the new york times reported it succinctly and put it best:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died late Tuesday night. He was 77.

i've been surprised at how strongly the news of teddy's passing has hit me this morning. i teared up.... i can't stop thinking about it.

it's true i was not alive when kennedy fought for civil rights and led the charge on capitol hill back in the 60's. nor was i around for chappaquiddick... i wasn't old enough to remember his presidential run in 1980 nor was i much into politics before the mid-90s.

but as a student of history and a lover of politics...you cannot look back on the latter part of the 20th century and not see his impact on the lives of all americans.

he championed many causes that are close to my heart such as civil rights, equal rights and the greatest calling of his life: health care for all.

he always fought for "the poor and voiceless."

he came from much, yes, but believed greatly in giving back equally as much.

i'm saddened most by the fact that he didn't live to see any real, substantive health care reform. "health care is a right, not a privilege," he often said.

i firmly believe the debate over health care has suffered without his involvement. he was an adamant voice for his causes but he also knew how to reach across the aisle and bring republicans in to help pass legislation. this type of finesse is simply difficult to find currently in the halls of congress.

perhaps now...out of respect for his legacy....congress will try to work harder on some sort of health care reform.

one can only hope....

this quote from senator kennedy in the times article this morning also stood out to me:

We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make. I have lived a blessed time.

our future is better because ted kennedy lived.

washington, as well as core liberal values, has lost a giant.

edward m. kennedy
february 22, 1932 – august 25, 2009

may the dream live on without him....

e.

Quick Update

2009-08-14T00:12:00.002-05:00

we have sound.

we got some laughs.

it's not perfect. and there's a lot of openings for mistakes.

but it's promising.

we'll see....

e.

Initial/Random Thoughts

2009-08-12T23:17:00.004-05:00

so tonight was the second evening of tech rehearsal for this year's 10x10 festival of new plays. tech rehearsal. that's "technical rehearsal" for you non-theatre types.

so one might hope that during TECH rehearsal....they might have working sound. you know, for timing, etc.

yeah...not last night. not tonight.

some backstory: i swore after the first year i did the 10x10 i would never write anything that depended on sound effects or music. it was a nightmare that first year....wrong music. late music. music not working. just not good.

but now i've gone back on that promise to myself...and i have A LOT of VERY important sound effects. please note my unusual use of all caps... they're THAT important.

and now....we've yet to have sound. two full nights of tech rehearsal. no sound.

joy.

tomorrow night is the final dress rehearsal before we open on friday. i'm nervous... but suddenly excited. allow me to explain....

i had felt a bit disconnected... just not a lot of rehearsal and i've had to miss some that we have had. i didn't feel a strong connection to my cast and i just felt separated from the fucking thing.

but now i'm loving what the cast is doing with the play. and my director has just been a blast the past two nights. especially tonight when he showed up to the theatre ten sheets to the wind. oh. my. god. you could smell the cabernet on his breath. it was fabulous.... and hilarious. and made the cast comfortable... and we were all joking about it and having fun with each other...

and they got up there on stage and just had FUN with the piece.

the first night of tech... they were still a bit stiff. lacking projection, as well. but tonight....they got some laughs (from the handful of people who were still there) and i think it might just be okay.

my director from last year stuck around and i went up to her and asked: "funny or offensive?" and she said, "funny." she seemed to have had a good chuckle. i'm sure some of it shocked her, the sweet thing... but i feel better.

they dropped some lines..... there's still some minor tweaking... but it's looking good.

if they can work out the sound effects and if my actors can remember their lines (and my non-actor avoids freaking out the first time he's onstage in front of a full house) - we should be fine.

so...two funny things and then i'll give my initial thoughts on each play.

a) i was told the most fabulous phrase for babies tonight: "crotch fruit." i plan to write an entire play around these two words.

b) we were all sitting around joking with my drunken director when someone asked me if i would write them a part where they could play a pedophile. i looked at him and said, "yeah... ask the gay guy to write a play about pedophilia. because we don't have enough problems." another playwright put her head on my shoulder and said, "i like him."

just making friends everywhere i go....

okay, the plays and my initial thoughts. names avoided (for now) to protect the innocent.

1. may have had promise at one time... but completely destroyed by a single actress who makes it beyond painful to watch.

2. another play i liked on the page....but here's it's a muffled mess. and the best part of the play (the final monologue) is HI-larious... but killed in delivery. disappointing.

3. not bad...some nice moments. overall, more strongly directed and acted than written.

4. confusing at first... disjointed. but then two actors are allowed to come together and it's very touching. major props to the two actors.

5. harmless. charming. well-crafted. a nice piece. very funny with some very talented actors.

6. why do they always start off the second act with the most bizarre play? a jumbled mess. not helped at all by the lead actor. the lighting and the staging all feel very high school UIL.

7. very cute. doesn't really go anywhere...but you know i love that. and very cute.

8. perhaps my favorite. starts off bizarre and just continues down to it's dark conclusion. well written, well staged. excellent actress involved.

9. still a bit of a mess.... saved by some very good performances (one in particular). goes on WAY too long. when i timed it last night, it ran about 17 minutes.

10. well, you'll just have to wait and judge for yourself.

more thoughts after the run...maybe even after dress rehearsal tomorrow night. i also owe you, my lovelies, some thoughts on the festival of originals (FOO).

nightie, night.

e.

And Last Up...Racism?

2009-07-27T21:48:00.002-05:00

now.....you probably read that subject heading and thought this entry might be about the cambridge police, professor skip gates and barack obama.

well, you'd be wrong.

it's about my 10x10 play. and there have been some surprising developments. most of them good... a couple of them odd.

let me begin by discussing the rehearsal i attended this evening... the cast if off book. that's the first big relief. as previously discussed, one of my actors is not an Actor. this is his first time on stage.... and i had a feeling once he got off book he might be a lot better in the role.

luckily, i was on to something.

now, i'm not sure if it's because the director wasn't there tonight or if it was something else... but they were really enjoying themselves and the material. the actors were joking around, it all felt much looser. and that's what the play needs.

i keep telling everyone... if we play it too seriously, the play runs the trouble of coming across as simply racist, as opposed to a comment on racism.

i feel much better about it after tonight's rehearsal. daryl continues to be the standout and he's doing some truly fabulous and hilarious things with his part. he should totally steal the show. but all the actors seem to understand they should play around with the material more and focus on having fun rather then delivering the deeper message. if we do it right, the message will come across... and, hopefully, people will laugh and not be offended.

which brings me to my next point: some good/interesting news. i was told by the actors tonight that my play will be presented 10th. yes....i am closing out this year's 10x10.

so two things: 1) that means i get to sit longer before my play goes up and i'll be a nervous wreck even longer.... and 2) i have the coveted position of being the play that leaves the final impression on the audience.

this is a big deal, actually. the troll that runs the 10x10 likes to finish the night with a play she thinks is the funniest and one of the strongest.

so i was kinda flattered.

then i received a more complete explanation: the troll believes, in short, if people are offended by my play they can simply walk out and they won't miss any of the other plays.

jesus fucking christ! thanks for deflating my ego. i mean....seriously?!?

yes, apparently, the troll is so afraid that my potentially racist play may offend so many blue hairs that she's placing it last so they can feel okay about walking out and not missing the other nine gems.

first of all.... if i haven't offended anybody by now... i'm not sure this play will do it. yes, there are several racial and sexual slurs in it...including the n-word. and yes...it has my usual amount of profanity.

but dammit.... the play that closed out the first act of the 10x10 last year had an actor calling the audience "a bunch of assholes" and talked about one actor "sucking cock." and that same playwright, this year....has a character uttering that all offensive word: CUNT!

but it appears the troll is more concerned with my play where the language is actually used to make a point...than a play where the word "cunt" is delivered for a laugh, yes, but also out of anger.

whatever... i'm pretty sure this is my last year for the 10x10. i've kept up a four year streak and i want to focus on bigger things from here on out. and, really, they just don't understand my work.

here's hoping, however, the audience will appreciate it. if not... (to steal a line from the first play of mine ever produced) fuck 'em!

i can't wait to see what happens....

e.

A Lesser Anniversary

2009-07-20T20:00:00.003-05:00

good evening, my lovelies.... welcome to my second anniversary blog entry. yes, two years ago today i began this self-indulgent exercise.

but my anniversary falls on the same day as a much more important anniversary: the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon.

it's funny.... i sent out a request for subject suggestions for this entry and i only received one: write about walter cronkite.

it's interesting because cronkite was before my time. when he left the anchor desk in 1981, i was about 8. so as far as cronkite the anchor man... i know him only from archival footage. but two moments in his career stick out most to me.

the first is his announcement of the death of president john f. kennedy... his choking up. and the second is his boyish excitement at watching man landing on the moon.

i'm currently watching the 1989 documentary for all mankind on TCM which chronicles the first moon landing from the astronauts preparing that day to the very end. and it includes commentary from all the astronauts involved. it is most fascinating.

again.... this happened in 1969... four years before my birth. i don't know of a time when we didn't know about the moon. yet earlier today i watched some very humorous movies on TCM about landing on the moon prior to man ever landing on the moon. and our ideas of the moon... our fantasies of this unknown world... they're most intriguing...often hilarious.

and the eagle has just landed on the moon....in the documentary. i can't imagine... but watching cronkite watch the first footage... i have an idea. and i've been watching this documentary, most of it footage i've never seen, with that same wide-eyed wonder.

i've always been an english and history kind of student.... but i have some strong moments of science nerdom. anthropology has interested me ever since i took a course in college. and i'm forever fascinated by space... these images of the moon landing. pictures of saturn's ring and jupiter's eye. i can look at them forever.

and it's interesting to watch this footage. there was a moment when they first show footage of the astronaut's view of earth... and it makes me feel so tiny. so insignificant.

and i know that everyone wants to think they're important. that they're special. why else do we fool ourselves into thinking people are really interested in my bullshit thoughts here on this blog?

why else do people post status updates on facebook? or 140 characters or less tidbits on twitter?

we want to feel interesting. but, ultimately, all this will be gone. and all these characters, here on this blog....for two years now.... may never be read again.

but i guess i hope... bringing it all full circle...that i'll be able to witness as many extraordinary events in my lifetime as walter cronkite. and i've seen some already: the fall of the berlin wall. the wrongful impeachment of a president. the tragedy of 9/11. the election of the first african american president of the united states.

and on a personal level... my parents growing older - turning 70 this year. my own journey of self-discovery and finding my true self. my brothers and i becoming men. their marriages. the birth of my niece. the staging of my plays. and friendships that have become more important to me than i could've ever imagined.

and i'd like to continue to chronicle these events.... and i guess i'm feeling a bit sentimental tonight. probably from the lack of sleep.

but i thank all of you that continue to read the stories i chronicle here. i hope they continue to entertain and (occasionally) make you laugh.

so thank you for reading, my lovelies. here's to another great year!

e.

Approaching Two Years

2009-07-16T23:44:00.003-05:00

as i sit in baton rouge thinking about my niece's first birthday and wondering if saying "nutria rat" is redundant... i was reminded that my own anniversary is fast approaching.

monday will be the second anniversary of my blog. and you know what that means... i'm taking special requests.

what would you like me to blog about? what topics should i tackle to begin my second year as a goddamned blogger....?

please have requests in by sunday evening as i hope to compose the anniversary blog monday during the day.

make the subject suggestions fun.... make 'em challenging. and for buddha's sake... make 'em interesting!

e.

One

2009-07-15T23:25:00.004-05:00

so i'm heading to the backwood swamps of louisiana this weekend to help celebrate my niece's first birthday.

i have my concerns.

first of all....what if i don't like her any more? i mean...sure, i adored her at six months. but she could've developed into a major asshole by now. we all know my record with children and it's not good. and i'm sorry...but i have no time for assholes (shut up, all of you!).

then there's this whole nonsense of the first birthday party. it will be my side of the family... (somewhat smallish) and my brother's wife's side of the family. and that's a big, ole creole side o' family. PLUS! (vishnu help me!) all the neighbors and their idiot children will be there.

i hate crowds. especially crowds with children.....

anyway... i still had bigger concern: the present.

i wanted to buy my niece some books since i am told she really enjoys books. i was thinking something by virginia woolf or, at the very least, something feminist and/or progressive thinking.

but then i was told, no, she likes to eat the books... and shake the books. move and crinkle things from within the books.

i was lost.

don't get me wrong.... i bought her books anyway. one is cloth and i assume she'll enjoy the subtle cotton flavor of the pages. the other has some built-in rattle within the spine. she can shake and shake and shake that fuckin' book until the cow jumps over the freakin' moon. i leave the day after she gets it.

but then i was told this tidbit of information (my favorite!): get her a card.

seriously? a birthday card? she's one....!

"i have all of my birthday cards from my first birthday," my friend tells me.

so i buy my niece a card. nothing with a princess or cookie monster. nothing cutesy and vomit-inducing. a simple card: giraffe on the front with a one over its head. and it says something along the lines of "reach high in the sky." and then you open it and it says something about birthday wishes or something.

nothing overly sentimental. nothing cheesy.

but then i remember: she can't read. she's only one! otherwise, i would've been wrapping a copy of mrs. dalloway and not some rattle book.

so i wrote on the envelope: "to [my niece] - (but someone will have to read it to her)." you know... in case there was some confusion and nobody thought to help my niece out.

and inside i wrote: "happy birthday - if you could read i think you'd really enjoy the simplicity and classic style of this card. alas, you are only one. maybe next year, kiddo."

so my next question is: do children read at age two...?

e.

Theatrical Update

2009-07-05T11:55:00.004-05:00

so just a few notes for those of you who hold some sort of interest in my theatrical endeavors.

as some of you know... i had submitted two short pieces for two separate competitions earlier this year.

the first was a 20 minute piece for theatre southwest's annual festival of originals. i have never submitted to this competition and i was really looking forward to breaking into something new. however, i was also conflicted over the piece i submitted and the rawness of the subject matter.

well, i was not selected. so i didn't have to stress over my conflicted emotions. but...it did bring up another emotion i hadn't experienced (theatrically speaking) in some time: rejection.

with modesty i submit to you: i've had a pretty good track record. the first year i submitted to albee (back in the mid 90's) - i was an alternate. the next year i was selected...not even the playwrighting class, but the production class. then the following year albee wrote me personally saying he would like to do another one of my plays, but felt he should give others a shot. then he selected another piece of mine the following year for his production class.

then i went on my loooooong writing hiatus. but when i submitted to the scriptwriters/houston 10x10 in 2006, i was selected. then i was selected again the next year and the next.

when i submitted to the wordsmyth reading series late last year... my play was selected for the march debut of this new series.

but then i hit a wall with the FOO. i'm actually quite happy with the play i submitted so my writer's ego was bruised when i wasn't chosen... and i found myself hit hard by the rejection. it actually took a week or two to heal the wounds. and others have made me feel better by letting me know who you need to know and what you probably need to do to get into the FOO... so i'm not as upset.

also helping matters... i was selected for a fourth straight year into the 10x10. i have officially impressed even the most seasoned of 10x10 activists.

and again... i was surprised to be chosen. the subject matter is a bit different for me... i mean...it's political... but different from my past three plays. and, i hope, funny.

it's interesting... i finally got the director i've wanted to work with for the past three years and, as it turned out, he completely missed the mark on my play (initially). my reputation must've proceeded me because my director thought...for some odd reason...that my characters were gay.

i told him, "no, i've purposely written them straight this year." and he said, "well, i don't know why i thought they were gay." and i answered: "probably because you saw my last three plays." and he smiled and said, "probably."

but he had precast my play and had some nervous nelly in the main role... i was not happy. and i went round and round for about three days wondering if i could compromise my original vision to make my director happy.

luckily...he recast and the latest conflict was put to rest.

and the cast has promise. we had our first rehearsal just about a week ago. the director has some nice ideas... he is a bit more concerned with "business" than i care for in a director... but i know actors like to have shit to do around stage. i'll never quite understand why they can't allow the words to do more of the work for them.

but anyway... one actor - he will be superb and will totally steal the show. he's hilarious and i really lucked out. the actress has also shown some nice insight and some very funny timing. i have no worries.

then there's the "lead." it really is an ensemble piece but one actor has more of the heavy lifting. we had trouble finding a replacement so a "natural" was recommended by the actress in the play. turns out... she's dating him and he's never been on stage before.

here i have some concerns.

my first play in the 10x10 was destroyed by a cast that couldn't really handle the comedy. this play has an even trickier subject matter and, therefore, a steeper comedy mountain to climb. i hope he can handle it.

he was very stiff during the read-through and the short amount of time we spent blocking. but after we finished the rehearsal and stood around chatting... he did some impressions and told some stories and was really very funny. so he has the ability. he simply needs to translate it to the show.

so....my theatrical calendar isn't as busy as i had hoped... but two out of three shows isn't bad. and i now have more time to fine-tune the two act and get it to a place where i can start submitting it again for a full production.

i've also been asked to read submissions for the wordsmyth fall reading series and have seven plays waiting for me to read. so it's not like i'm not busy.

in fact... i'm crazy busy.

i also have two ideas for the next full-length i'd like to act and i'm waiting to see which one fights to prominence in my head first. i hope to get a good first draft of that finished by year's end.

and i have seen some shows. including a string of musicals, oddly enough... three very fine productions of grey gardens, hedwig and the angry inch and cabaret).

so... at this point i feel a bit caught up on the blogging (if not with two truncated entries) but will once again attempt to be better about forcing my thoughts on you, my loyal readers.

hope you had a nice holiday weekend. and now, if you'll excuse me, i have some plays to read.

e.

Palin Pulls Me Back

2009-07-05T11:19:00.004-05:00

wow... i went the entire month of june without a single post. i guess that shows how busy i've really been.

but wouldn't ya know it? it took sarah palin to bring me back to the blog.

now.... i've watched a lot of press conferences over the past several years. as i dig deeper and deeper into politics, i love a good presser.

governor sanford's "i've been unfaithful to my wife" press conference will go down as, probably, the most bizarre. but palin's announcement on friday that she would not only NOT seek a second term as alaska's governor...but would step down at the end of july... well, that's polling a close second right now.

i don't want to focus too much on the rambling, mixed-metaphor announcement.... but what i now see as her future.

i'm hearing and reading a lot of people saying "don't count sarah palin out." but i'm sorry.... she's out.

she can't even claim she's a one term governor anymore... she will NOT complete her first term. and if you can't handle one term in alaska... you will NOT make it in d.c.

and we could spend some time on why she's getting out now... her lame excuse that she won't be a lame duck... well - then DON'T be a lame duck. but i think we all know that she is probably focused on 2012 and a run for president.

sorry.... but you might as well forget it.

she can spend the next three years fine-tuning her folksy bullshit persona. she can actually learn a thing or two about domestic and foreign policy... but it will always come back to "you couldn't even finish a single term as governor of fucking alaska."

and yes.... she will now be free to tour the lower 48 and she can give speech after speech and start building up her own war chest. but it won't help her.

it's true that palin is very popular among the GOP base. and some of them may buy into this bullshit, "unconventional" move. but beyond that... she came to the national stage as a joke and this makes her even more of a joke.

so let's look at 2012. first up, as always: iowa. she'll do fine in iowa. there's a boatload of evangelicals there. but, of course, she'll have to compete with huckabee to win those votes.

then there's new hampshire...home of the independents. she won't even come close.

she may then take south carolina... after all, they've elected mark sanford so they clearly like 'em crazy. but then she's done.

she does not poll over 50% with independents...who you MUST have to win. she'll remain a national joke if she continues to stay in the news when she stated part of the reason she's stepping down is for her family (and yes, the press has been harsh on her family.... but they're hard on every woman. i give you hillary clinton).

and then....we once again return to: she couldn't even complete her first term as governor of fucking alaska.

i just see this as political suicide. and maybe that's what she ultimately wants. but i do think she's done it to set up a run in 2012... OR...there's something bigger that hasn't revealed itself yet.

but i read the vanity fair article and it was damning. and as matthew dowd said on this week this morning... she can have all the natural political ability she wants... but she doesn't have the discipline to make it on the national stage.

apparently...she doesn't have the discipline to make it on the alaskan stage either.

and, really, a life without sarah palin on my t.v. every day... is a life i welcome with open arms.

R.I.P. sarah palin's political career.

e.

Gotta Love Bobby Gibbs

2009-05-13T13:50:00.003-05:00

we're all familiar with white house press secretary robert gibb's little tête-à-tête with rick santelli of cnbc...where robert invited rick to the white house to actually read the president's economic plan over a cup of "decaf" coffee.

and i love heading home for lunch around 1pm CST each day and catching a bit of robert's press conference. yes, i'm a political geek and i'm proud to admit it.

but come on! the man is funny.... confident, calm.... in charge.

today was extra-special.

mr. gibbs was being grilled over "enhanced interrogation technique" photos... and i'm sorry, but i must digress for a moment. is this some sort of frank luntz bullshit phrase or what? just like the GOP shifted the scary "global warming" phrase to the less negligible phrase "climate change" - they are now attempting to rename TORTURE as "enhanced interrogation techniques."

you can put lipstick on a pig but....

anyway... they were questioning bobby about the release (or non-release) of the photos and he was attempting to explain the difference between releasing memos (which they have done) and releasing photographs (which they argue may further endanger troops overseas).

now... i didn't catch the very beginning - but why did mr. gibbs not just say, "photos are simply more inflammatory than a memo." plain and simple. whatever.

but he was being grilled by ed helms of cnn and mr. gibbs said, (paraphrased) "ed, why does cnn show the computer graphic of waterboarding?" ed fumbled for an answer. mr. gibbs continued, "you drew up that graphic long before we released the memos. everyone was aware of the techniques being used."

i thought it was great that he called cnn out on some bullshit. they're trying to be high and mighty yet they're out there showing graphics, etc.

"the public deserves to know." fine... i'm good with that. i hold no ill will against the times or any news organization that helped shine a light on the atrocities that took place under bush43.

and again.... at this point in time, we all know TORTURE happened... the bush administration has said as much. so releasing the memos was no big deal. it hasn't made us "less safe" as prick cheney would like everyone to believe.

and since when are we listening to someone with a 19% approval rating? is this who the GOP wants to stand behind?

but wait....there's more from the press conference. someone's cell phone went off.

mr. gibbs: (exacerbated) "just put it on vibrate, man. you know... we've talked about this before. actually, this is the third time. (motioning) just give it to me."

and he made the reporter turn over his phone! is was fucking great!

he then excuses himself for a minute, goes to the door leading out of the press room and tosses the phone to someone in the back. brilliant.

but then someone else's cell phone rings! bobby stops... he motions for the phone. you can hear the reporter tell the caller mr. gibbs wants his phone. but he gets up (from the front row, mind you) and excuses himself to take the call.

robert was not happy.

best part... when the reporter returned, mr. gibbs said, without missing a beat, "will someone please brief bill on our new supreme court justice nominee."

very clever... yes, you gotta love robert gibbs.

and yes, i'm a nerd.

e.

Not in the Face!

2009-05-05T12:39:00.001-05:00

one of my favorite moments ever from dom deluise who passed away today at 75.

"watch. me. faggots."

i was always one of the fags that enjoyed watching him.... whether it was blazing saddles or even the cannonball run movies.

farewell, dom. thanks for all the laughs.

e.

Switch Hitter

2009-04-28T13:54:00.003-05:00

senator arlen specter of pennsylvania has become a democrat!

the moderate republican announced today that he was leaving the grand ole party to caucus with the dems and run as a democrat next year in his pennsylvania senate race.

assuming al franken wraps up the ongoing senate battle in minnesota, specter's defection would give the blue party a 60-member, filibuster-proof majority in the senate.

i'm sure much of this decision comes from specter's internal polling which shows him in a rather unfavorable position with most conservatives. his support of obama's stimulus alone could cost him his seat.

in a news conference today, specter said:

I know I'm disappointing many of my colleagues. The disappointment runs in both directions....I'm putting principle at the top of the list.

specter added "the decision has been reached as i have traveled the state in the last several months. specifically, i got my home poll results last friday...and consulted with my campaign managers and had a long discussion."

i think in an ever-bluing new england, he saw the writing on the wall and wants to do all he can to reach his sixth term.

his statement reads:

Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right."

Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.

welcome to the party, arlen.

e.

On the Boards

2009-04-26T17:55:00.004-05:00

well, i'm trying to focus this blog a bit more on theatre as of late... the blog title would insinuate that it should involve more theatre musings. and i've been hitting up the theatre a lot more lately. i've decided it's shameful how little theatre i see since i want to make a life in that arena. and there's so much theatre in houston. i want to try and see AT LEAST one play a month. i've actually been seeing much more than that.... i'll try to take these in order.

rabbit hole by david lindsay-abaire
i have great respect for this play and i thought it was incredibly powerful in its simplicity. simple plot. simple language. linear construction. deep, conflicted characters. everything i think i strive for when i write.

the play focuses on a couple dealing with the loss of their four year old son. "dogs chase squirrels. boys chase dogs." it's really about how different people grieve in different ways and how a simple phrase can bring back a memory that causes sadness or anger. it's about finding or attempting to assign blame when it's truly an accident. you blame yourself. you blame the driver.

stages repertory theatre really put on a top-notch production here. and the play quietly makes its way to a quiet conclusion. a fitting one: the couple still trying to cope but giving hints that they will move on. it's a quiet conclusion one without a big dramatic blow out. it's what i want for my play. so this play gave me comfort in what i've created with stop, traveler.

and - it won the pulitzer.

the only down-side....? i submitted a piece to the FOO (festival or originals) about a couple dealing with the loss of their 16 year old son. it hits on a lot of the same themes and i'm afraid people will think i stole the idea. oh well.

five flights by adam bock
a curious play... more interested in language and the absurdity of organized religion than much else. this was put on by unhinged productions which is a local theatre group that is committed to putting on plays that deal with gay themes. they are a group i want to submit to but i've been less-than impressed by the majority of their past productions.

but this was a fine piece of theatre... better actors (save for one laughably bad dolt) and a better theatre space..... the play focuses on three siblings who have to decide what to do with an aviary built by their late father that he built to house the soul of his wife that died years earlier. birds as vessels for the human soul in a constant theme and one character even wants to turn the aviary into a church (the church of the 5th day - the day god created birds). two of the siblings are seen... ed (gay) and adele (possibly gay). the other brother we never meet... but his rigid and anal wife is there and tells us all we need to know.

the themes were really interesting and i liked the simplistic staging. again - something i want for my piece. so i may look into this partnership a bit more. but the play was good.... not great... but there are moments of poetry and real intimate realizations.

mr. bock could be someone to look out for in the future.

in the bar of a tokyo hotel by tennessee williams
how could i pass up an opportunity to see tennessee williams in a black box production?

this is a seldom-produced williams play that came late in his career. 1969, i believe. it is also very personal.... and somewhat uncomfortable to watch.

depending on who you ask will depend on how they see the plot. mark and miriam are a married couple staying at a tokyo hotel. miriam likes to drink away the day and flirt with almost any man - but in particular, the japanese barman. mark is a painter clearly suffering a mental collapse. he is developing a new form of art... and actually thinks he is the first to discover color.

one person may say this is the two parts of mr. williams. the conflicted, insane artist and the alcoholic letch.

someone else may say tennessee has constructed a portrait of mr. and mrs. jackson pollack.

i tend to lean towards the former. although i believe this production decided to bring out more of the latter. it's a really interesting little play. a long one act drawn into a two act for this production. there is some great use of language in this piece. most of the crowd i saw it with seemed lost, confused and joked about the oddness of the play. i found it rather compelling. and placing it in a black box theatre made it very intimate. i'm in love with intimate theatres.

the lead actress and the barman were the standouts... although - it's odd to see the stereotyping of the japanese barman. i found the other two men a bit weak... in particular the actor who played mark....who seemed too incoherent and lost from the beginning... it gave him no place to go.

i found the original review of the first production in the times. it seems to hit everything pretty well. plus - it's just a funny, snarky read.

wallflower by deborah stein
this was a world premiere at stages repertory theatre. i was really excited to see this.... a revolution is started by a simple youtube posting. the girl (she's 16, i believe) is then holed up in an apartment when the authorities begin looking for her. her sister and her lover become her only companions and her link to news of the outside.

the use of technology was very interesting in this play... the idea of a youtube video starting a revolution seems very prescient. of course, the revolution quickly takes a violent turn....a turn unwelcomed by milena (the poster) but just the ticket for her lover.

there are odd moments of misogyny in the play which is particularly strange considering a woman wrote the piece. i can only assume she intends for us to see the lover in this way.

ultimately, however, what we see on stage does not seem nearly as interesting as what we hear about taking place outside.

stein struggles to fill just under 90 minutes with the three stuck in the apartment... and i think the idea would be better served if she had opened the action up to the outside.

who are these followers? how does milena react when actually faced with her revolution and not just hearing about it?

a disappointment.... and i've heard that the majority of audiences have felt the same way.

all the pretty little horses by nancy geyer
this was the second play in the wordsmyth reading series. what i heard from individuals the most was the dichotomy of the two audiences between my play and this one. there was about a 30 year difference in the median age. it was crazy.

but a very nice turn out and just as odd a talkback.

i found the play about a lonely woman who is taken prisoner in her remote farm house by a younger, overtly religious man who may or may not have killed his mother somewhat intriguing.

my friend told me it reminded her of a lesser "good country people" by flannery o'connor and i went home and reread the short story and she's right. similar but different... but definitely the same feel of the warped, southern gothic.

i felt there was too little push back from the woman when the man barges into her home. and i say "barges in" but he's almost let in (or so it felt). and you immediately know where the story is taking you.... they will fuck and they will profess love... but ultimately, of course, they part.

i recommend the o'connor story much more. i forgot how much i enjoy reading ole flannery. i'm sure i had read "good country people" before but i didn't remember it... the description and characterization of joy is really something special. interesting that she's so hard and, really, dislikable going into the story... and then this horrible thing happens to her.

of course, o'connor's greatest talent is combining the southern gothic with the darkly, humorous.

next weekend
my friend steven and i see the seven year itch next weekend. i'll be sure to include some thoughts.

now go out and see some theatre...

e.

A Final Curtain Call for Bea

2009-04-25T21:12:00.004-05:00

long before women and gay men around the world started asking each other "which sex and the city character are you?" - they were asking "which golden girl are you?"

the answers were always clear for me: miranda and dorothy.

and today we lost dorothy.

yes, the great bea arthur passed away from cancer today at the age of 86.

she will be best known for her stints as maude and dorothy but long before her days on television she was a diva on broadway. she originated the role of vera charles in the musical mame. she was the original yente the matchmaker in fiddler on the roof.

a few years ago i was fortunate enough to see ms. arthur on broadway in her one woman show: just between friends.

i had already seen elaine stritch's one woman show on that trip and thought we might be better served seeing another show... but my friend james was insistent and since i dragged him to stritchie's show (of which he followed little, i think), i owed him.

he found us tickets on the third row.... center.

it was an amazing show. hilarious. sardonic. classic bea.

she started the show with a simple phrase: "i'd like to talk to you about lamb..." then she quickly rambled into a story/recipe before stopping suddenly and asking: "you are interested, aren't you?"

and of course we were.

we hung on her every word. laughed at every joke. loved every song. it was one of the highlights of the trip... listening to bea sing "the man in the moon is a lady" from mame. or "what can you get a nudist for her birthday?" asking "tell me on the level...can i send her a muff?"

or explaining that angela lansbury has "a mouth like a longshoreman."

i adored bea arthur. she was the type of quick-witted, strong, independent woman i love.

i'm sitting here listening to my cd of her one woman show (yes, i'm the type of fag that collects cast recordings and the like) and i'm a bit melancholy knowing this talented actress has left us.

she will be missed....

but i thought she deserved one last chance to take a bow at curtain.

farewell, bea.

e.

M.I.A.

2009-04-23T12:12:00.003-05:00

where have i been? what has happened to me....?

have i been held captive by spitzle the clown the past couple of months?

all these questions and more shall be answered soon.

promise.

i've been neglectful. and i apologize. i'm debating a press tour à la eliot spitzer, but my agent is a bit of a flake. and if he can't get me the cover of newsweek, well, what's the point?

it'll work itself out.

see you soon.

e.

Night Critters? Seriously...?!?

2009-04-07T12:04:00.003-05:00

so last night i was startled out of my sleep at about 12:30am by either the terrorists upstairs or a large rat trying to get into my closet via a crawl space. either way.... i was certain it was the latter and had to get up, throw on some clothes and shoes (it ain't bitin' my feet!) and arm myself...

this included a large blanket, big box and a long broom.

i attempt to locate the rodent. i poke around in the closet with the broom. it does not appear.....

i shove everything that's on the floor in my closet tightly against the tiny door that leads into the crawl space. i then place an old suitcase in front of the door to block the space between said door and floor.

i was then left to stare at my closet for some time before i decided i should at least read until i heard my night visitor again....

i think i last looked at my clock and it was around 3am...maybe later.

i slept with a light on... broom and box next to my bed... and woke up about once an hour until 6:30 this morning... when i was pretty much up for the workday.

i'm tired.

and i'm still not sure if it was the construction of the dirty bomb upstairs or an unwelcome nighttime guest that ended my restful night.

these are my "girly" moments.... when i wish i had a big, butch partner to go into the closet and search out the offender.

damn my inability to open up... it's cost me a rat-catcher boyfriend.

at least i finished my book.

e.

Night Terrors? Seriously...?!?

2009-03-19T16:39:00.003-05:00

i think it was all due to a trifecta of bad juju. an ill-conceived heavy dinner. a lack of sleep and overall exhaustion. and just a stressful week or two (or three). couple these conditions with my lack of ingesting my little blue pill on a regular basis lately and..... i woke up screaming last night.

scared the shit out of me, people.

i was dreaming that i headed into work early. current job but my old office... the old office building had a long hall that ran down the middle of the building with a large glass door and windows at the back entrance (where i entered). i pulled up and saw a dark figure at the far end of the hall. i had remembered that the alarm had been set off late sunday night (something that actually happened this past weekend) and i assumed someone had been stowing away in the building until we left and then slept through the night. when someone arrived in the morning to turn off the alarm, he'd slip out the front of back door.

so i entered the building and he slipped around the corner. i turned off the alarm and stepped back outside. i looked around the building to see if i could tell who was sleeping in the building. but he was not to be seen... so i thought i missed him.

i reentered the building. he appeared from around the corner and started walking towards me. i could not make out a face.... i patted my hands over both walls trying to find a light switch... there was not a switch to be found.

so i started to call out at the approaching figure. "hello!" but "hello" was not coming out right. i couldn't form the word properly... it sounded like a deaf person trying to speak. so i started to scream.... repeatedly... unable to form words properly.

then i awoke... sitting up in bed. screaming.

night terrors. fuck me.

i mean.... my list of phobias and hang-ups are well documented here. i don't need to add fucking night terrors to that list.

so i took one of my blue pills today.

oy.

e.

Notes From All Over: Theatrical Edition

2009-03-16T20:25:00.007-05:00

well, my lovelies.... even my apology for the neglect is rooted in the theatre. it's been crazy. in just the past couple of weeks i've had a public reading of my full-length play and then i needed to complete a satisfactory version of a new twenty minute play for theatre southwest's annual festival of originals (FOO). the deadline was the 15th. it was dropped in the mail on the 13th.

at rise...

at home with albee
really, the past month or so has held a lot of theatrical goodies for me. it started with a farewell reception for dr. sidney berger at the university of houston. i never really took a class with dr. berger, who was responsible for making the UH theatre department such a successful program, but he did sit in and offer insight on both of my plays performed through the albee workshops.

plus.... the evening held tickets for the houston premier of albee's "at home at the zoo." this is an evening created by combining two albee one acts. back in 1958 albee shook the theatre world with his the zoo story...an in-your-face deconstruction of the american dream. thirty years later, he has given a prequel to this piece: homelife.

i had not had the opportunity to read or see homelife and since albee's zoo story is what first ignited my passion to write, i was beyond curious to see what albee had concocted for peter prior to his encounter with jerry in zoo.

homelife is really albee at the top of his craft. honing his use of words like a master. and while zoo is a bit less shocking 30 years later, homelife adds a new layer of intensity to the piece while providing fascinating insight into peter.

rutherford cravens, who has long been one of my favorite actors in the houston community, dominates both pieces as peter while i thought caleb george, a student at UH, was a touch out of his league as jerry. he started zoo too big, too agressive and did not allow himself enough room to grow in intimidation and urgency.

of course, having mr. albee in the audience probably didn't help with nerves.

yes, edward albee was in the audience and i was able to speak with my former mentor before the reception. i immediately regressed to calling him mr. albee when i first approached him. i had become comfortable enough in my second workshop class with him to call him edward... but that was some time ago.

i was relieved to learn he still remembered me and we fell into simple, if not brief, conversation. he remains very busy, which is good. not terribly long ago he lost his partner, jonathan, a sculptor who's work i had seen at an exhibition here in town several years ago.

we are both skeptical of the UH theatre department and its future under the new leadership. he and i have both heard individuals express concern. plus, it was dr. berger who was responsible for bringing in all the world-renowned talent such as albee and lanford wilson.

he asked what i'd had produced recently and i told him i've been writing and that i had a reading coming up.... he was pleased. i said otherwise i've mostly been doing "smaller things."

"what do you mean, 'smaller things'?"

"you know, ten minute plays."

"oh, god."

"i know... aren't they horrible?"

"the only good ten minute plays are either four minutes or 20 minutes."

it was classic albee....and i felt refreshed.

scene 2: a legend passes
i'd be remiss not to mention the passing of horton foote. the pulitzer prize-winning playwright was a texas native and had a unique gift for making poetry out of the simplicity of rural life.

he won two oscars: one for adapting harper lee's to kill a mockingbird for the screen and other for his original screenplay, tender mercies, with robert duvall (he's actually in mockingbird too).

and while i love both of these films, especially mockingbird, for me he will always be the author of the trip to bountiful with the immortal geraldine page. i've long-loved that movie and the charm and wit his writing brought to the script.

i was also fortunate enough to see some of his plays on the boards, most notably his pulitzer prize-winning the young man from atlanta.

another major voice lost.

scene 3: back on stage
i've been on stage once... maybe twice. but the only time i really remember is as a freshman in college in a production of ionesco's exit the king. i doubt i was very good... but in a production that went full-tilt-boogy with the absurdity of the script, i at least made people laugh.

but i'm not an actor and my nerves at having to mingle in large groups, not to mention SPEAK to large groups, have not only led to my little blue pill habit, but also to the realization that i prefer to write for the theatre than act in it.

when a friend asked me to help with a staged reading of his play, however, i couldn't turn him down. he's been beyond supportive over the years and is a very loyal and generous patron of the theatre here in houston. so i agreed to read stage directions.

and while stage directions may not seem like much, just the idea of getting up on stage in front of an audience to read stage directions called for one full blue pill and several halls cough drops to keep my throat from closing up due to nerves.

i will say, however, it was interesting being on a different side of the creative process again. i'm used to being the author....working closely with the director to cast, probe, discern meaning.... but here i was....utilized not as an actor per se but in an actor's capacity.

strange to see actors go through the discovery process. to watch the director lead actors through exercises of deconstruction of meaning and intent of the scene. all the while really being on the outside of the process. i didn't dare make directorial suggestions... and i was not there as editor/author.

but i was treated generously and, oddly, as a plus to the production. the other actors were very encouraging and allotted me additional applause at curtain call. probably because they all knew how uncomfortable being on stage made me... and the host of the reading series even asked me to plug my own reading.

so it was a good - if not nerve-wracking - experience. the oddest moment was the pre-performance....tradition(?) not sure if it's tradition for everyone... but this group liked to come together, hug, and then pass a kiss around the circle.

now, those that know me know i'm not big on the warm-fuzzy, touchy-feely shit.... so the hug itself made it uncomfortable. but i was also responsible for passing along a kiss on the cheek to an expectant father.

yeah.....

act II: the reading
so i had a reading of my play.... it was at stages where my first two plays were produced back in the late 90s. i can't tell you had good it felt to be back in that space.

it was the full length play that i finally completed last year after 8 years of distraction, obstacles and reworking of every bit of it in my head. after all that time gestating in my cranium, i thought it had turned out well. and a smaller reading last year received an excellent response.

but this was bigger than that reading. the theatre company that put out the call for scripts (they chose 3 out of 15 submitted) provided a director and a group of actors pulled from a very prestigious "actors gym" in houston. most members are on company at the alley theatre.

i have to be honest when i admit that i was really stressed going into this. they decided to put my play up first and i was cast less than a week out. i met my director for the first time face to face the friday before the monday performance.

but justin, my director, was amazing. the first thing he said to me was "i feel like it needs to move." and that's what he did. he took the reading and put it on its feet.... stripped the entire play of the majority of its stage directions and had characters move in and out of the scene. he wanted everything focused on the words.

as a playwright..... how could you ask for a better director?

and what he put on stage was a very sophisticated, very honest representation of my work. i honestly feel that out of every director i've worked with over the years.... he understood best what i wanted to accomplish with the script.

and i was honored with a very strong group of talented actors that brought amazing depth and emotion and humor to the characters.

the rehearsals had been slapdash versions of the play so i didn't know what to expect... and the morning of the play i made my debut on KUHF's "front row." it was surreal hearing my name and play discussed in the opening of the program... and then listening to myself discuss the finer points and benefits of a staged reading.

i thought, actually, it went well... but it took half a blue pill and several cough drops to get through it.

then walking into the performance without any clue what to expect took the other half of the pill and even more cough drops. but ultimately, i was very pleased. it was what i had hoped for on stage and more (the stage itself, however... leftover from the always patsy cline show... that i didn't love so much).

scene 2: the talkback....
that was different. as discussed, i hate being on stage. well, here i was....onstage and placed before an audience for vivisection.

for the most part.....the comments were helpful. i felt some were off base. i felt some were well-intentioned but perhaps not germaine to what i had hoped to accomplish.

a dramaturge from UH (PhD and all) helped moderate and i hope to talk with him more. he made an interesting comment about chekhov not seeking a climax so much as letting the play fade to its conclusion. not realizing this was, perhaps, what i was going for... it is exactly what i want.

mostly there were comments about dramatizing more of the monologues or cutting back on the self-realization of emotions on the part of the characters. i thought these were excellent points.

i did not, however, agree with the big-mouthed nut job that went off about "feminine mode" plays and how i care more about characters and relationships than plot. i really just wanted to say, "so you found the play faggy? is that what i should take from this?" and then he went on and on about mamet (who i love) and how the theatre has lost its sense of dialogue.

now.... i'll take lots and lots of criticism....BUT....if there's one thing i know i know: it's dialogue. my dialogue is good. it's solid, it's realistic..... it's stylized enough for my taste where i feel like playing with it.... don't come at me with dialogue.

then there was the "mother" who wanted to know how old the children who never even appear in the play are... my answer was "hell if i know?" but if i had taken a moment i could've given her a range. but she felt that was important to know.

and then there was mr. psycho-babble who talked about the "gay cancer" and the second, third and fourth chromosomes and the 2nd and 4th months of gestation and bladdy, bladdy, blah.....

oh - the guy at intermission who told me i looked like dom deluise and then went on to tell me about his historical book that takes place in the days of custer and the indians but how he has trouble with "small talk." and all i can think about is "why the fuck do you need small talk when your characters have arrows being shot at their asses?"

but my favorite....? the actor who had a lot of good points during the talk back.... had made it all the way to his car.... came back.... and decided he HAD to perform a monologue from cyrano de bergerac in two different ways in order to illustrate a point.

yes, my lovelies... i got it all that night.

but most all.... i got the realization that the play i had hoped was completed, still needs some work. i don't think it needs a lot. but it needs some fine-tuning. i think it can only help the strength of the play.... breaking up the constant two people in every scene... dramatizing more action.... cutting back on the sentimentality that still exists in the play. cutting the entire final monologue and allowing the final dramatic moment to close the piece.... all this can only help.

it was a tough night.... it was hard to sit up there and not say much and not defend my work. but i also hope i'm evolved enough as a writer to know when criticism is valid.

it's all turning itself over and over in my head at the moment... i'm waiting for a follow-up discussion with the dramaturge, and then i hope to polish the piece... and shop it around.

scene 3: the next piece
just a quick coda... i was able to complete a 20 minute piece for the festival of originals (FOO) at theatre southwest. not sure when the five plays that are chosen are announced.... but i expect late april, early may. a long time to wait.

it took me exactly a month to conceive the play and drop the finished product in the mail for competition.

it was not the play i originally planned to write. i had planned to condense a full-length play about two lesbians i have in my head down for the FOO.... but something very tragic happened at work and it set my brain in motion.

i have extreme guilt over writing the piece... a friend, an employee.... had something incredibly awful happen to her and she lost a family member. at first i was really struck with how hard it hit me.... in all honestly, it knocked the wind out of me.

and then i found myself dealing with it the way i always deal with such events.... i started thinking about how i would deal with the situation. what would i feel? how would i react? and the scene started developing itself... and then i was suddenly in front of my laptop writing it out.

so i have guilt over it.... am i taking advantage of a friend's tragedy? am i simply expressing my emotions in the best way i know how? and what if the play is chosen and performed? do i warn her? do i try and keep it a secret because i feel so guilty?

or as one friend put it... should i never censor myself and simply acknowledge the fact that this is how art is often created? out of tragedy?

i'm conflicted.... but i'm trying not to worry about it too much. at least, not unless it's chosen for the festival.

on the upside.... i'm writing. and i'm writing consistently.

scene 4: (in an attempt to change the mood and subject)
so....? any ideas for a 10 minute piece?

curtain

e.

It's Howdy Doody Time!

2009-02-24T21:26:00.005-06:00

okay.... obama just gave a very inspirational and beautiful speech to a joint session of congress.

and now....the republican response is on.

as governor bobby jindal walked out, keith olbermann's mic was not fully down and you could hear him mutter, "oh, god..."

jindal came walking out like fuckin' howdy doody on puppet strings.

how the fuck is an indian american gonna come across like some "gee, golly shucks" hillbilly?

seriously? they want this guy running for president in 2012?

bring. it. on.

e.

Happy Oscars!

2009-02-22T08:28:00.001-06:00

happy oscars, everyone!

sorry the video is a bit pixilated and the sound is a touch off… but this is the song that goes through my head all the time around the academy awards (and it’s liza!).

three other quick predictions for you, and i would give all three of this a will win/should win declaration:

best animated feature: WALL-E
best adapted screenplay: slumdog millionaire, simon beaufoy
best original screenplay: milk, dustin lance black

and i’m still feeling mickey rourke for the win.... just really wish it was sean penn.

oh well....

oscar! everybody loves ya, oscar! everybody wants to get ya, grab ya, hug ya... hold you tight!

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Picture

2009-02-21T12:08:00.003-06:00

the nominees for best picture are:

the curious case of benjamin button
frost/nixon
milk
the reader
slumdog millionaire

once again for the benefit of my anonymous poster... it should be said that the dark knight is a far superior film to at least two of these nominees, if not more.

i am not willing to say that milk or frost/nixon do not belong on this list. they are easily in my top five.

milk for it's heartbreaking and inspirational storytelling of a movement that is still alive today but is beholden to a great man. van sant and penn make a moving biopic here that is just outside my top spot.

frost/nixon for it's compelling cat and mouse intellectual mindfuck between a fallen president and a man desperate to prove himself. in fact, aren't they both attempting redemption here? the tension builds beautifully until everything unwraps itself in the climatic interview.

i understand the technical and visual wonders that garnered benjamin button a nomination. but it does not belong in the top five.

the reader most certainly does not belong in the top five.

i would replace either of these with the dark knight, revolutionary road or WALL-E.

but one film i most definitely would not replace is slumdog millionaire. this is one of the most thrilling films i've seen in such a long time. it's not thrilling in the way an action film is thrilling...but it will leave you breathless. and from all the grit and grim that these characters are able to pull themselves up from and push themselves to the most delightful and surprising endings in a film this year.... how can slumdog not win?

yes... there is some backlash. there always is when a film becomes this big so fast. there will be naysayers. but fuck 'em all. slumdog millionaire is the best film of the year and deserves to take home the big prize.

it has won near unanimous praise and continues to rack up every prize in its path... including the PGA (producer's guild).

pair the PGA and DGA win...and slumdog seems the final lock of the evening.

final answer...?

will win: slumdog millionaire
should win: slumdog millionaire

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Director

2009-02-20T23:19:00.004-06:00

the nominees for best director are:

david fincher, the curious case of benjamin button
ron howard, frost/nixon
gus van sant, milk
stephen daldry, the reader
danny boyle, slumdog millionaire

this category is pretty open and shut so i'd like to take a moment and note a particular individual who was not nominated in this category. it will make my anonymous poster happy to know i think it was a great shame that christopher nolan was overlooked this year for directing the dark knight. a great shame.

i'd also like to see both daldry and fincher replaced here.... but these are the nominees we have and, therefore, these are the nominees we must analyze.

ummmm.... ya know? who are we kidding.....?

danny boyle will win sunday night for his direction of slumdog millionaire. i'm just not sure i have the energy tonight to really go on and on when the outcome is so obvious.

i should also point out.... i think boyle should win. his direction is fresh and innovative... it's fantastical and yet rooted in a deep reality. it's just a fabulously constructed film.

i'd put gus van sant and then ron howard next.... as i said, i'd leave the other two off the list.

and it's hard to argue any other director when i truly feel boyle deserves it.

i can't even pretend to think that someone else might even possibly upset boyle. it's not gonna happen...

boyle won the DGA (that's the director's guild) and i believe there's about an above 80% chance that the winner of the DGA goes on to win the oscar. that may actually be the percentage for the picture to go on to win after the director wins.... in all honesty, i'd think it was over 90% likely that the winner of the DGA goes on to win the oscar.

and i feel good about it all.... what more is there to say?

will win: danny boyle, slumdog millionaire
should win: danny boyle, slumdog millionaire

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actress

2009-02-19T21:18:00.003-06:00

the nominees for best actress are:

anne hathaway, rachel getting married
angelina jolie, changeling
melissa leo, frozen river
meryl streep, doubt
kate winslet, the reader

interesting category this year... mostly for the absence of the person most deserving of the award: sally hawkins for happy-go-lucky. it's hard to pick a winner when the one person that should win didn't even make the cut.

and far as i'm concerned....she deserves it head and shoulders over the rest.

but i am faced with these five. i agree with three of the nominations. i have problems with the other two... on one level, it's just insulting that they made the cut over hawkins. on the other level, the ultimate winner in this category will be undeserving for this role but wholly deserving for her other role this year.

but let's start with who will not be winning. always a good way to start....

and angelina, i'm sorry - but your nomination hurts me the most. she is unremarkable in a film that is equally forgettable. i'm not sure what happened with clint eastwood this year.... i've often claimed him to be one of the best directors working in films these days... but i found both changeling and gran torino lacking. no, i think mr. and mrs. brangelina will both go home empty-handed this year.

but wasn't nominating them both just adorable.....?

anne hathaway, i thought, was very good in rachel getting married. it was nice seeing her push her acting skills. my friend jason thinks she was a bit over her head... but i thought she did a very nice job so i have no problem with the nomination (accept for the fact that sally hawkins wasn't nominated). but annie will not win this year.... but keep an eye on her.

that leaves three individuals. all three of whom could potentially win.

the least likely of the three is melissa leo. but her performance in frozen river is easily the best performance in this group of five. she gives a hard-nosed and steely performance and felt the most completely inhabited of her role. she is heartbreaking and funny and infuriating...... it is a big performance in a small film and i am so happy she was remembered. i think she has the greatest outside chance of the three at winning....

i read some grumbling on awardsdaily.com today that they see a victory for leo as a real possibility. perhaps if the other two split the votes? it would thrill me.... you know, since sally hawkins wasn't nominated... but i don't really see it.

the next most likely winner is meryl streep. jesus.... what can you say about meryl that hasn't already been said? i think my friend jason put it the best: "streep haters be damned, she played to the back row because this character plays to the back row."

i think it's really a solid performance..... i'm not sure why some people panned her? she is incredible. and i'd rank her second in this group of five.

so what does meryl have going for her? well, beyond the strong performance, this is her 15th nomination. the last time she won was for sophie's choice back in 1982. that's a 26 year and 10 nomination losing streak she's on. and let's be honest... if ANYONE deserves a third oscar, it's the great meryl streep. and the academy voters may decide, yes, it's time to honor her again.

but then there's ms. winslet. kate winslet is easily one of the greatest younger actors working in movies. and this is her 6th nomination. that means this talent has gone home empty-handed five times.

it's really a crime.

the problem i have here is.... she's simply nominated for the wrong film. her performance in the reader is good.... she's good in everything... but she is far superior in revolutionary road. if she were nominated for road, i'd have her at the top of my list (behind sally hawkins, of course).

but in the reader.... she uses the wrong accent... it's easily argued a supporting role.... but here she is. and she's due an oscar. and i do think she'll win the oscar.... i just wish she were winning it for revolutionary road. she is superb in revolutionary road. gut-wrenchingly good. and if she does win, it may be because of that performance just as much as the one she is nominated for (which, by the way, she's never lost when nominated for the reader, no matter what category).

so i predict ms. winslet will finally win her oscar sunday night.... and i will have quibbles over the role and the lack of sally hawkins and that ms. leo is the most qualified in this grouping..... but i will be happy for her. and all my bad feelings will quickly dissolve.

but i'm allowed to bitch tonight.

will win: kate winslet, the reader
should win: melissa leo, frozen river (but really: sally hawkins, happy-go-lucky)

e.

p.s. in case you can't tell.... i put the academy's inability to nominate sally hawkins (who won every critic's award) as the most shameful black eye since judy davis lost to marisa tomei.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

2009-02-18T22:53:00.005-06:00

the nominees for best actor are:

richard jenkins, the visitor
frank langella, frost/nixon
sean penn, milk
brad pitt, the curious case of benjamin button
mickey rourke, the wrestler

here is a category where the academy got it just about right.... i could quibble with probably one nomination here.... but even mr. pitt, it can be argued, deserves a nod. there may be a more deserving nominee out there... but it's not a horrible nod.

unfortunately for most everyone in this category, it's a two man horse race.

let's start with who will not win and we'll go from the least likely to the most likely.

richard jenkins, bless 'em... he was probably lucky to be remembered and even nominated. don't get me wrong, i was thrilled when he was nominated. i've been a long-time fan of jenkins... even before his brilliant turn as the paternal fisher on six feet under. and i think he gives a touching and understated performance in the visitor. but let's be honest... he doesn't stand a chance.

hmmm... the next two are probably interchangeable. but i'll go with brad pitt next. brad pitt is possibly the least deserving in this category.... however, he should get points for ably carrying that mammoth film... once again (like henson in supporting actress), it's a role tailor-made for the oscars and they ate it up. believe it or not... pitt does stand a chance at winning. once again, if they're looking for a way to reward benjamin button, why not honor the man who makes his way through the entire story and must carry so much bullshit on his back to even make the film somewhat watchable? but no.... mr. jolie will not win.

frank langella is possibly my second favorite performances in this category. i mean, he makes richard nixon fucking sympathetic. now THAT'S acting, my friends.... and it's the type of role i, personally, eat up. literate, historical.... demanding. and who ever knew langella's eyes were so expressive....? it's a marvelous performance and, at one time, i thought he was the actor to beat. long-admired, long-overlooked..... it's a prestige film and a historical one at that.... very popular with the academy.

but then there came two other performances. one, i think deserves to win. the other, as of this writing, i think will probably win. but this is the race that i think is most up in the air for the entire oscar evening.... and it comes down to penn v. rourke.

sean penn gives what i believe is the strongest performance in this category. in fact, i think it's one of the best performances of the year. his harvey milk is charming and engrossing and inspiring... and his performance is nothing short of miraculous. he inhabits this character, as he does all his characters.

roger ebert said it best when he said penn creates his characters from the inside out... he is possibly the greatest actor currently working in films. and his win would be a highlight of the evening for me. but he must contend with rourke.

mickey rourke has shot to the top of the charts with his role in the wrestler. once again, personally, i was underwhelmed with the movie. it's possible i was simply turned off by the amount of wrestling. i thought it would take a backseat to the personal stories told... but it's front and center and often a bit more graphic than i would have liked (and no, i don't mind graphic films. i'm a scorsese fanatic, for chrissakes!).

rourke does give a very powerful and moving performance. but i think the strength of his performance and, in fact, the driving force behind his current momentum to win, is coupled much too strongly with his personal story. it is the story of mickey rourke that i believe will win him the oscar more than his performance.

the oscars love a good story.... and rourke's personal life perfectly mirrors the role he presents on film. and it all makes for a very compelling argument to award him the gold.

i think it can go either way... if you ask me in two hours who i think will win, i'll say penn. but if you ask me tomorrow afternoon, i'll be back on rourke.

and they've split the critics awards pretty evenly. penn has won the broadcast film critics, the chicago film critics, the LA film critics, the ny film critics and the SAG. his winning the SAG actually makes me think he may take home the oscar. afterall, it's the same people who vote for the oscars.

rourke has won the BAFTA, the golden globe, london critics circle, chicago, kansas, toronto and san diego.

but they've also both tied in awards presented by the boston society of film critics and the san francisco film critics.

so who will win? will penn's harsh words over the years concerning the academy and the awards season in general hurt his chances? will the fact that he's already won for mystic river hurt his chances?

will rourke's bizarre behavior and momentary flirtation with actual "professional" wrestling hurt his chances?

sadly, we won't know until sunday night.... but for now:

will win: mickey rourke, the wrestler (with penn an easy upset)
should win: sean penn, milk

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

2009-02-17T18:10:00.006-06:00

and the nominees for best supporting actress are:

amy adams, doubt
penélope cruz, vicky cristina barcelona
viola davis, doubt
taraji p. henson, the curious case of benjamin button
marisa tomei, the wrestler

tonight we arrive at my favorite category... best supporting actress. i'm not sure why i have a special affinity for this category but i just love it. maybe because you get a nice, diverse group of actors? maybe because you find the best character actresses in this category? maybe because they love giving the award to woody allen actresses?

but we'll get to ms. cruz later.....

first i'd like to start with what i perceive as one of the worst nominations of the night: taraji p. henson. my only thought is there remains some residual guilt on the part of the academy for not nominating her for the superior performance she gave in hustle and flow. but whatever it is... i knew two things as i watched benjamin button:

1. this entire film and this particular role was created to woo the oscars.
2. the academy would probably be duped by both.

and they were.... the entire movie is overblown and over-lauded. but here we are....

luckily, i don't think ms. henson has a chance at winning the award (unless the academy is looking for a way to reward benjamin button because it will not win any major award and has so many nominations). i would also like to point out that she has not won a single, major award (critics or otherwise) except the austin film critics. exactly.

so let's look at the other contenders....all of whom, conceivably, have a shot.

we have the prior nominee: amy adams, nominated before as best supporting actress for junebug. ms. adams will one day win an oscar, i believe that. but she is greatly overshadowed here by the other three actors nominated for doubt. i'm afraid she'll have to wait a bit longer.

we have the previous winner: marisa tomei who won in the same category for my cousin vinny. OVER, i might add, a much more deserving judy davis for woody allen's husbands and wives.

a side note: tomei's win over davis continues to be the thorn in my academy's side. tomei is marvelous in vinny, yes... but davis dominated that year and should have easily won. one of the biggest mistakes, in my opinion, in academy history.

tomei was also recently nominated again for in the bedroom. i honestly go back and forth and whether or not i feel she deserves this nomination. she is very good in the movie, but i don't feel the same groundswell for her as i do mickey rourke for that film.

no...this year i see the ranks of the woody allen supporting actresses taking their revenge.

but more on ms. cruz in a minute.....

we also have the first timer: yes, henson is also a first time nominee.... but viola davis quietly and intensely took hold of her first nomination. there was no need to showboat and overact.... instead, her performance is all about holding back.... every struggle her characters endures must take place within.... and davis allows you to see it all without ever letting you see inside.

davis deserves to win this category. she takes on the greatest living screen actress and steals the scene without chewing the scenery. she is easily, the greatest performance in doubt.

and much will be said for her lack of screen time. most estimates have her screen time around 8 minutes.... just over 10 when you include a scene that contains no dialogue for the actress. and her lack of screen time is the biggest hurdle she has to overcome in order to take home the gold.

but there is precedence: judi dench won best supporting actress for shakespeare in love with a mere 8 minutes of total screen time in a much longer film. and her performance was spread out over four scenes.... davis must accomplish it all in one remarkable scene.

beatrice straight won a supporting actress oscar for her 6 minutes in network. they are six amazing minutes.... but again: only six minutes.

so will davis win? sadly, probably not..... i'm not sure she can escape the naysayers who simply say there wasn't enough time.

so the oscar will go to the second most deserving nominee in the category, the woody allen supporting actress. i categorize penélope cruz as a woody allen supporting actress because she comes from a long line of supporting actresses nominated for woody allen roles.

there's the aforementioned judy davis. dianne weist has been nominated twice, and won twice, for supporting roles in hannah and her sisters and bullets over broadway. maureen stapleton received a nod for interiors. mira sorvino turned her nomination into an oscar win for mighty aphrodite. samantha morton in sweet and lowdown. and mariel hemingway in manhattan.

yes, cruz joins a long list of actresses to be recognized in the supporting ranks via an allen film.

and cruz gives the academy voters everything they like... beauty, wit, a range of emotions with lovely dramatic scenes.... and there is a beautiful mixture of fire and insanity behind cruz's eyes throughout her performance.

i basically see the race between davis and cruz. it's difficult to gauge based on prior awards due to kate winslet's oft inclusion (and win) in this category for the reader.

but cruz has raked in an impressive list of wins including: the LA film critics, national board of review, ny film critics, boston society of film critics and the BAFTA.

ms. davis has only won a breakthrough award via the national board of review. cruz topped here in the actual supporting category.

this year, the academy keeps it's current european streak alive:

will win: penélope cruz, vicky cristina barcelona
should win: viola davis, doubt

e.

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

2009-02-16T21:53:00.003-06:00

the nominees for best supporting actor are:

josh brolin, milk
robert downey jr., tropic thunder
philip seymour hoffman, doubt
heath ledger, the dark knight
michael shannon, revolutionary road

funny how similarities can run from year to year. last year's best supporting actor race also saw p.s. hoffman in the third slot....alphabetically. and just like last year, if i were to declare any category a lock this year.... i would bet on best supporting actor.

heath ledger is set to be the first actor to win a posthumous oscar since peter finch won for network back in 1976.

and there has been a lot of talk about whether a ledger win would be a deserving win or simply a way to honor a talent silenced too soon.

i can say without hesitation: heath ledger deserves to win this award. he easily turns in one of the best performances of the year.

his joker is so haunting... so engrossing.... so terrifying. and there is a soul and an understanding deep in those eyes that peer out from behind that deranged make-up. ledger created a villain to rival the cinema greats and silenced any critics.

but those who deserve to win don't always win.... this is true. but i do believe this year the oscars will once again get this category right.

just as last year was too soon for hoffman after his recent win for capote, so is it this year... not that it isn't a deserving a powerful performance.

michael shannon came out of nowhere to snag a nomination for revolutionary road... but despite the surprise, this is probably the second most deserving nomination in this category. and if he had just one or two more scenes... he would probably give ledger a run for his money. the movie lights afire when shannon is on screen and his scenes are the most devastating in an overwhelmingly devastating film.

josh brolin, however, is probably the second actor most likely to win this category. he has won several critics awards include the national board of review and the ny film critics. and his victory would also be for the superb year he had last year with no country for old men, american gangster and in the valley of elah but for which he was ultimately overlooked. he also garnered critical praise this year not just for milk but for his captivating work in w.

that leaves robert downey, jr. for tropic thunder. true, he is one of the three individuals in this category who have previous nominations (best actor, chaplin). and the academy often likes to reward individuals with prior nods. but they rarely give out the big prize to comedies... of course, this category is known for rewarding comedic performances, most notably kevin kline for a fish called wanda and, more recently, alan arkin for little miss sunshine.

but i don't see downey or anyone else winning here.

the night will belong to ledger... he has already won countless awards, including the screen actors guild, the golden globe, the BAFTA, the los angeles film critics, as well as the chicago and broadcast film critics.

depending on who else wins come sunday night... it may prove to be one of the most deserving moments of the evening. and depending on who accepts the award for him, it could also be one of the most moving.

will win: heath ledger, the dark knight
should win: heath ledger, the dark knight

e.

So What Did They Do?

2009-02-13T13:42:00.004-06:00

(steven...you may just want to skip this post.)

as prologue: this is the type of shit that pisses me off...

so i'm home over lunch, listening to msnbc as i'm known to do. amongst all the chatter over the stimulus package and the house and senate voting, there is a lot of coverage following the plane crash of flight 3407 in buffalo, ny.

let me begin by saying... i can't even imagine. believe it or not...but a fear of a plane crashing into my home is actually on my list of phobias. obviously, it's not something that happens often. but obviously....it happens.

so msnbc is speaking with a woman who lives about a block from where the plane crashed and they ask for what she witnessed.

"i heard the plane and i knew immediately that something wasn't right. so i started to pray for those individuals that god would watch over them."

well, guess what? god must've been busy. 49 people died on the plane and 1 on the ground.

then she was asked what she felt. "tell us what you felt."

and she started talking about how god must've been looking out for all the people in her community because...all things considered....with the closeness of the houses and the plane coming down.... god was clearly looking out for everyone and had a hand in the miracle since more people were not killed or injured.

so my question for this woman is this: what did the individuals on the plane do? what did the person on the ground do? why did god decide, "yeah, fuck 'em" but not them? why was god looking out for every other individual but those 50?

and what about the woman who was a widow of a 9/11 victim? what did their entire family do that god would take two individuals from this one family in such horrific ways?

were they atheists? all of them....? jews? muslims?

what did they do? why did god look over all of these other individuals but not these 50? what were their crimes?

it pisses me off when people say that shit....

why was god not protecting everybody.....? shouldn't that be the question?

or maybe there simply is no god and the universe is violent and haphazard and sometimes bad shit happens to good people and other times good things happen to shitty people?

but whatever you believe... please...! stop saying god was looking out for everyone... because then you insinuate that god was not looking out for those who died. and how should their loved ones feel about that?

e.

Return of the Live Blog II

2009-02-09T19:41:00.003-06:00

okay....i do a quick spell check on the previous post and suddenly we're talking about the RV capitol of the world. did i miss a turn....?

okay... "stabilizing the housing market." we seem to be back on course.

breaking news!
president obama does not have a crystal ball.

well, shit... now we're all fucked.

afghanistan
oh, there's ed henry of cnn. oh, wow... interesting. he's brought up the policy of the white house not allowing the flag-draped coffins returning to the united states to be broadcast. since he's promised so much transparency, will he reverse it? wow.... good question. tough question.

obama reminds everyone it's a timely question: four soldiers were killed in iraq today. but he brushes it off and says they're reviewing it and will not give a definite answer until they're done reviewing the policy.

ugh...what a dodge!

as far as afghanistan.... once again: reviewing all the details and information and intel regarding that forgotten war. sounds like he wants to refocus military efforts on afghanistan. and that includes more diplomacy.

and he just brought up 9/11. a bit of a throw-back to the bush years... but it worked. and bush would've brought it up in the first 2 minutes of the conference.

no timetables. huh...sounds like another throw-back to the bush years.

return to/of credit
another question about the need for credit and lending. he wants everyone to wait for tim geitner to make his announcement tomorrow. seems fair, i guess. he is the new treasury secretary. no need to steal his thunder.

okay....i'm drifting, questions are drifting. obama got his first laugh when a question about a joe biden comment came up and he said he doesn't exactly remember what "joe was referring to."

oh, that crazy joe....

a-rod!
holy shit... a brother from the washington post wasted his question asking about a-rod's use of steroids. seriously? i mean...what's obama gonna say? "well shit, blood. you know.... it improved his game and he kicked some ass. i say god bless 'im!" NO! of course he finds it sad and disappointing... but he seems to think baseball is on the right track to setting things right.

helen
and helen thomas gets a question. probably the final question... she asks about pakistan and if obama knows of anyone who has nuclear weapons.

he gave an answer about pakistan that, i'm sorry, i zoned out. i was thinking about helen and placing the washington post in italics.

but he will not speculate concerning nuclear weapons but he believes conversations need to begin anew about the need for a reduction in nuclear weapons....with the united states leading the way.

glad to hear that.

nope.... helen does not go last and is not allowed a follow-up. but she's on the front row again.

the huffington post goes next. and they ask about any potential prosecution of bush officials or will obama "officially" rule it out now.

he does not rule it out... but does say he's interested in looking forward. but also says he does not think anyone is above the law.

oh! i see ben smith of politico. good site....

and he ends at 8pm CST.

wow... what an interesting change of pace from the past 8 years. not smugness. no verbal fuck-ups. not bravado.

he was serious. he was compelling. he was specific about the stimulus package. a nice inaugural news conference.

and with that... we spell check and sign off.

it feels good to watch a competent, DEMOCRATIC president again.

e.

The Return of the Live Blog

2009-02-09T18:59:00.004-06:00

yes, my lovelies... i've been missing in action. but i return to you with a special live-blog of president barack obama's first live news conference.

i'm informed by keith olbermann that the president is expected to talk for about 10 minutes before he starts to take questions from the salivating press.

we await the 44th president of the united states....

and here he is and away we go.....

4.7% to 15.3%
he immediately says we need to pass the stimulus package and referred to his stop in elkhart, indiana today. they have the fastest growing unemployment in the united states. it's risen from 4.7% to 15.3%.

he is laying out fact after fact. the number of jobs lost in january (over 500,000). the lack of money in individual's pockets to buy goods which then causes employers to lay off more people which results in less people with money in their pockets to buy the goods which causes more layoffs... well, you get the point.

specifics:
the stimulus package will ensure individuals who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own will continue to receive unemployment benefits and health coverage. $2,500 tax credits will go to individuals struggling to pay their college tuition. and finally, $1,000 in tax relief to working and middle class families.

tax cuts
obama points out that tax cuts alone have not helped over the past 8 years... especially when they're targeted to the richest individuals.

lots of talk about infrastructure and dams and bridges and wind turbines and fuel efficient cars.

firefighters, teachers....

god, i love liberal plans! welcome back!

over 90% of the jobs will be in the public sector... not in government.

and there's the rub
"my government inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion." keep reminding them of that, barack.

"doing little or nothing at all" will cause more job loss, more deficits, etc.

once again...a call for congress NOT to delay. (best of luck, barack!)

"we have to work together." (once again, good luck!)

nice first question from the AP. "do you lose credibility when you use such dire language?"

oh, nice answer. bringing up japan in the 90's and the "lost decade." he follows with the loss of 3.6 million jobs and the greatest "recession" since the great depression. but he makes sure to emphasize that he thinks we can pass a stimulus package and turn things around.

okay...once again answering criticisms. government MUST do something. it can't just stand by.

good, good... he brought up the need to get credit flowing again. without banks lending credit...all bets are off, people. there MUST be credit available to individuals and businesses.

this continual phrase "saving or creating 4 million jobs" worries me. we need to do more than save 4 million job. yes, that's a good start. but you need to CREATE jobs. i feel like that phrase leaves too much wriggle room.

hmmm, reuters goes second. (the first two questions are also asked by women. nice!) and foreign policy is the topic. a question about iran.

well, pretty tow the line answer. they're interested in nuclear weapons. they're fucking with israel. funding terrorists, including hezbollah. all options are on the table...but he emphasized, "that includes diplomacy."

come on... if you're not giving us anything new, move on!

he keeps taking some nice little jabs at bush and his failures with the economy and diplomacy and foreign policy.

and here's chip reid. what network is he with now...? is he still with nbc or msnbc? and it's a bipartisanship question... or a lack of it question.

"when i made overtures to both republican caucuses"...three republicans in my cabinet (unprecedented) and other ways he's built up trust. but currently, they are not interested in bipartisanship.

"i can't afford to see congress play the usual political games. what we have to do now is deliver for the american people." nice.....

remember george bush's constant smirk...? yeah, i don't miss it.

oops... he took a swipe at republicans... "when i hear this from individuals who presided over the doubling of the deficit" and once again reminds everyone he inherited the deficit. hammer it home, mr. president.

i'm happy to hear him say that certain environmental proposals are NOT wasteful spending... they create jobs immediately and reduce costs in the long run. same with helping move all medical records to electronic records... helping rebuild or improve schools. these create jobs.... and improve things in the long run.

i'm sorry.... i think he's doing one helluva job at selling this package.

ALL RIGHT! chucky t! chuck todd of nbc. my favorite. his question concerns the lack of help tax cuts will make if everyone is simply saving the money or using it to pay off debt. (this is why, by the way, tax cuts do NOT help alone. i know the GOP wants to sell this shit....but as rachel maddow says: "its bull pucky." and it is. you get more bang for your buck using federal spending than by giving tax cuts. over 50 cents more on the dollar.)

hmmm...so if chuck todd is there representing nbc... where is chip reid? abc? cbs? ahh... he moved to cbs in september 2007.

bloomberg news is next. no love for abc or fox (duh!). and a good question about the credit crisis and what to do with the remaining $350 billion in TARP.

lack of oversight and other problems are listed as reasons why it didn't help as much as it should have helped. the president wants to make sure the remaining money is spent wisely. and it will be "transparent" and with clear oversight.

i feel like i should post this and then start another one....i don't want to lose everything i've written.

oh...and there's abc. same question, asked a bit differently. something about all the legs of the stool in place. hmmm....

e.

Once More with Feeling!

2009-01-21T22:10:00.002-06:00

well, because chief justice john roberts fucked up yesterday... and because you know conspiracy theorists and hardcore republicans would question it for the next four years if not performed again......

president barack obama took the oath of office for the second time today.

as cnn reports (and because it's too late for me to write the whole story myself):

The second oath -- also administered by Roberts -- took place at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday in the White House's Map Room. Roberts asked Obama whether he was ready.

"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.

The do-over was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday's take -- in which "faithfully" was said out of sequence -- and erase any question that Obama is legally the president.

However, per the Constitution, Obama became president at noon Tuesday without taking the oath.

"We believe that the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately yesterday," White House counsel Greg Craig said Wednesday in a written statement.

"But the oath appears in the Constitution itself. And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time," the statement read.

i'm certain no president in history has had to take the oath a second time within a day of taking it the first time.....

do you think obama having voted against roberts' confirmation for the supreme court had anything to do with it?

who knows? well, at least we have that out of the way....

onward and upward!

e.

Official Pre-Announcement Predictions

2009-01-21T19:29:00.005-06:00

the nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards come out tomorrow.... so you know what that means, my lovelies? time for my official predictions!

and away we go........

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Spoiler: Doubt or The Wrestler

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus van Sant, Milk

Spoiler: Well, Aronofsky would be the real spoiler and I think Ron Howard might be a more secure prediction for Frost/Nixon. But let’s have a little fun.

Best Actor
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Spoiler: I would love to see Richard Jenkins nominated for The Visitor.

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristen Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Spoiler: Angelina Jolie replaces Thomas for The Changeling.

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

Spoiler: Either James Franco or Emile Hirsch for Milk. In fact, I can easily see Franco taking Patel’s spot.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Spoiler: It seems that this category may be the most up-in-the-air. I could easily see Amy Adams snag a nod for Doubt. But I also think a Slumdog groundswell could pull Frieda Pinto into a nod instead of DeWitt. DeWitt is the most vulnerable.

Other Possible Scenarios:
Okay...just to put some fear into everyone. Here are some possible scenarios that I could see happening but hope will not. Awardsdaily.com gave me the idea and some of these are from there:

The Dark Knight is left out of every major category except Best Supporting Actor. Instead, Eastwood and Torino slip in or even The Wrestler. Or that fourth nomination comes for Amy Adams from Doubt which pushes that film into a Best Picture/Director race.

Kate Winslet is seen as a lead in both her films and cancels herself out and receives a nomination for neither. (Please note: I'm predicting two nominations for her tomorrow.)

Slumdog receives NO acting nominations I see this as a strong possibility.

Also...if Revolutionary Road gains any traction, expect noms for Picture and Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio.

But these are all outside chances...and I remain true to my predictions... Knowing full well that I’ve made some dicey predictions just to make things fun, I fully expect to get a couple wrong.

But I do love this time of year.......

e.

Breaking News!

2009-01-21T19:11:00.005-06:00

the new york times is reporting that caroline kennedy has withdrawn her name for consideration to replace the vacant senate seat left by now secretary of state, hillary clinton.

On Wednesday [Kennedy] called Gov. David A. Paterson, who will choose a successor to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her concerns about Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s deteriorating health (he was hospitalized after suffering a seizure during President Obama’s inaugural lunch on Tuesday ) prompted her decision to withdraw, this person said. Coping with her uncle’s condition was her most important priority, a situation not conducive to starting a high profile public job.

i assume this means the seat is almost assuredly AG andrew cuomo's to accept.

stay tuned.....

e.

p.s. did i mention hillary is secretary of state!?!?

she was confirmed today by the full senate in a vote of 94-2. senators vitter (R-louisiana) and demint (R-south carolina) were the only "nay" votes.

The Dress, At Last

2009-01-20T20:22:00.009-06:00

so president barack obama and first lady michelle obama attended their first ball this evening, the neighborhood ball.

at 8:33pm, introduced by denzel washington and serenaded by beyonce singing etta james' "at last," the obama's kicked off a long night of inaugural balls.

and what has been the biggest question leading up to today's transition (i mean, beyond what type of dog the obamas will get)? what will michelle obama wear to the balls?

well, i'm, umm.... underwhelmed.

i dunno.... the dress isn't great. first off...it's white. i mean... i promised "IN COLOR!" and now.... it's kinda boring. and there are tiny things on it.. and just one shoulder... that shoulder strap almost wants to be a bjork swan song.

cnn reports:

The first lady was clad in a long white gown designed by up-and-coming designer Jason Wu. His design style combines modern lifestyle dressing and haute couture, according to his Web site.

but....judge for yourselves. what are your thoughts?

i mean... it's okay. but i was hoping for so much more.

i dunno? talk amongst yourselves....

e.

p.s. she still looks beautiful. what a stunning, strong woman. i can't wait to see her in action over the coming years.

For Those Wondering... II

2009-01-20T19:24:00.002-06:00

if you've been watching closely all day.... you may wander what was in the white box with the red bow that the incoming first lady handed to the outgoing first lady first thing this morning.

well, the gift michelle obama handed to laura bush was a leather-bound journal and pen for mrs. bush to begin writing her memoirs in.

very nice.

also...just FYI. by the time obama finished delivering his inaugural address, the white house website underwent a change of its own:

e.

The Hat

2009-01-20T18:48:00.005-06:00

don't ask me why... but i really feel like aretha franklin's hat deserves its very own post.

yes, i'm backtracking to the beginning of the festivities... but look at it!

i mean, don't get me wrong. the queen of soul knocked it out of the park (a baseball analogy for my baseball-lovin' readers) with her rendition of "my country 'tis of thee."

but she clearly picked out her best easter sunday hat for today's event.

my, my, my....

e.

The Dress

2009-01-20T18:03:00.002-06:00

a very punchy chris matthews just reported via norah o'donnell via kelly o'donnell (a lot of irish over at msnbc) that michelle obama has still not yet picked out her inaugural gown for this evening.

and let's be honest.... as a fag: the dress is all a care about for the rest of the evening.

will bring a picture as soon as it's revealed and appears in a picture online i can snag.

and...in the tradition of the women (the original film, not the remake)....i may just bring the dress in full color!

e.

The Parade Continues

2009-01-20T16:21:00.006-06:00

the obamas are done walking... they're now watching the parade from the observation platform. sasha and malia look like they're having the time of their life. they really are just a beautiful family.

there are bands from all 50 states and the grandeur continues.

oh - and there was an estimated 2 million people attending the inauguration today. amazing.

e.

update: senator ted kennedy is awake and alert. he is talking and they believe the seizure was brought on by fatigue. he should be released tomorrow morning from the hospital.

For Those Wondering...

2009-01-20T15:22:00.003-06:00

shortly after being sworn in as the 44th president of the united states and delivering his inaugural address, president obama signed three documents.

these were his first three official acts as president and, for those who were wondering, included:

–-a proclamation declaring today a day of "national renewal and reconciliation."
–-a list of his cabinet nominations
–-a list of his sub-cabinet nominations

apparently, the last three presidents have signed similar proclamations upon being sworn in as president.

the list of cabinet nominations were to be presented to the senate this afternoon and are required for individuals to be confirmed.

while signing the documents, obama told those present: "i'm a lefty. get used to it." he also shared that he was told "not to swipe the pen."

e.

The Parade -or- He's Outta the Limo

2009-01-20T15:07:00.004-06:00

at 4:04pm...the people's president stepped out of his limo and walked among the citizenry.

it's a gorgeous day in washington. cold, yes... but sunny and clear. just a beautiful picture.

and the obamas look superb. and the crowd is going INSANE! so much excitement in our nation's capitol.

at 4:12pm, president obama stepped back into the limo for this next leg of the parade. he will step out again later.

e.

Kennedy/Byrd

2009-01-20T14:29:00.002-06:00

there are conflicting reports on a medical emergency that occurred during the presidential luncheon.

cnn is reporting the following:

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, collapsed Tuesday afternoon during a luncheon held for President Barack Obama in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.

Paramedics were called to the scene at 2:35 p.m. ET.

Kennedy, who appeared to be suffering from a seizure, was transported to a hospital.

"Senator Kennedy had a seizure" which "lasted a while," a Republican House member told CNN.

The member said Kennedy was still experiencing seizures when he was put in a wheelchair and taken out through the Rayburn room, located to the side of Statuary Hall.

Kennedy, 76, was first elected to the Senate in 1962.

The source did not know whether President Obama saw it happening because "there was still a lot of talking" and the program was still going on - the incident happened at the end of lunch.

This source was sitting at table in front of Kennedy and said Kennedy was sitting with former Vice President Walter Mondale and Senator Daniel Inouye.

but msnbc is also reporting that senator robert byrd has suffered some sort of emergency:

Byrd fell ill and was escorted out. The nature of his ailment was not immediately known. Byrd is the longest-serving senator in history.

Byrd, 91, was hospitalized March 5 for tests after a reaction to antibiotics. A week earlier he was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a fall at home.

will update if i hear anything later today.

e.

Adios!

2009-01-20T13:06:00.003-06:00

at 12:54pm, EX-president george w. bush boarded marine one and left washington.

our long, national nightmare is over. after eight years, bush has left the building.

is it just me... or do you simply feel better today?

e.

The Speech

2009-01-20T12:51:00.002-06:00

at 12:07, president barack obama delivered his inaugural address.

it was a moving speech and i would think it lived up to most everyone’s expectations. beautiful, inspirational language.

i did think about 1/3 of the way through his speech, obama’s language describing his desired programs became a bit too intellectual. i bit too professorial. and i think you could feel him losing the crowd. but it was only a moment... and then he brought the back in and lifted all of our hopes.

he began:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

obama was up front about the difficulties facing us.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.

but then he continued... "But know this, America - they will be met."

and then a tiny dig at the outgoing administration:

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

i found this paragraph particularly strong and resonant:

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

and i hope that we can follow through on this promise...that all ARE equal. and the EVERYONE has the “chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.” forgive me for politicizing the moment, but that should include equal rights for EVERYONE. and THAT includes marriage for all.

and then obama called for the nation to “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking america.”

and this is where i think obama lost the crowd for a bit.... talk of economic plans, electric grid and digital lines. talk of markets and ending programs that don’t work. oddly, it was several graphs concerning our domestic issues, the issues most critical to our nation at this time, that lost the audience. but then obama changed to our foreign policy, and the crowd became engaged again. probably because, again, it included tiny jabs the failed policies of president bush.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

one of his most powerful moments:

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

and obama talked a lot about inclusion (although, no mention of “gay” in his address). and i thought this was a beautiful moment...except for the term “non-believers.” it sounds as if we’re missing something. why can’t everyone else be "false-believers”?

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

some of my other favorite lines:

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

...

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

and forgive the long quote, but i must publish how he ended his speech. so powerful.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you.

God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

we are living history.... and tomorrow looks brighter. there is much hope being placed on the shoulders of our 44th president of united states. and he will experience a bit of a honeymoon. but there is a lot of work to be done.

i hope that obama has the strength, wisdom and courage to do what must be done.

the next four years promise to be as electrifying as today.

e.

History

2009-01-20T12:03:00.003-06:00

for now...the public pomp and circumstance has ended.

what a moving ceremony. so much beauty... so much inspirational language.

a bit of a recap with some more specifics to come in other posts.

again, times are eastern:

11:57am justice john paul stevens gives the oath of office to joseph robinette biden, jr.

11:58am joe biden is vice president of the united states.

noon a beautiful arrangement by john williams is played by yo-yo ma and itzhak perlman.

12:05pm chief justice john roberts takes to the stage to swear in barack obama. i thought obama's nerves finally got to him as he fumbles some words. i was wrong. apparently, c.j. roberts fumbled the oath and obama caught the mistake and tried to correct it.

12:06pm barack obama is the 44th president of the united states. "hail to the chief" is played for obama for the first time.

what a day... what a moment.

e.

Time Out

2009-01-20T10:51:00.001-06:00

i'll be taking about the next hour off to watch everthing. but i will be taking notes and will come back soon.

e.

p.s. rick warren is delivering the invocation. i've heard nothing controversial.

The Crowds

2009-01-20T10:47:00.005-06:00

Obama

2009-01-20T10:44:00.002-06:00

president-elect obama was just announced and took to the stage.

The Exes

2009-01-20T10:18:00.004-06:00

how exciting to watch all the ex-presidents and vice presidents come in: AL GORE, mondale, quayle, carter, bush #41 and BILL & HILLARY CLINTON!

ex-president bill clinton and current secretary of state, hillary clinton. how exciting.

the ex-presidents are being introduced now. jimmy carter first... hard to believe we have so few ex-presidents left.

there was a lovely scene of bush #41 and barbara bush greeting, hugging bill and hillary clinton.

HUGE ovation for the clintons.

e.

Heading to the Capitol

2009-01-20T09:58:00.002-06:00

barack obama is en route to the capitol for the swearing in. but mostly, i just really liked the above photo.

interesting tidbit...the car transporting obama has holes in the doors where the presidential seal will go. the car cannot yet have the seal on it.

e.

The Attendees

2009-01-20T09:44:00.002-06:00

it's 9:44am central time and i finally found time to pour my first cup of coffee. so i'm feeling better.

as you can imagine, there are a lot of top-tier politicians, celebrities, etc. at this inauguration for the 44th president of the united states.

seen so far: mohammed ali, dustin hoffman, steven spielberg, john kerry, BILL & HILLARY CLINTON, caroline, kennedy, chris dodd....

dick cheney just popped out from the pits of hell.... apparently, he hurt himself packing up and he's now in a wheelchair. maybe he's trying to get some pity to help out his exiting approval rating of 13%?

e.

p.s. note to andrea mitchell: when speaking to governor david paterson, don't use the phrase: "you're seeing history made here today." maybe choose the word "witnessing" when speaking to a blind man?

The Lincoln Metaphor

2009-01-20T09:29:00.005-06:00

as anyone who has watched any coverage since obama won the presidential election knows... the man loves himself some abe lincoln.

and why not? he's from the land of lincoln. lincoln played a part in making his journey possible with the emancipation proclamation.

so....it's no surprise that his inaugural picks up where all the discussion of lincoln/obama/doris kearns goodwin's team of rivals left off.

he rode the train to washington following lincoln's trip.

he held a kick-off concert at the lincoln memorial on sunday.

he will be sworn in on the same bible which lincoln used to take the oath of office.

but...a little tidbit from our good friends at nbc. apparently, when obama dined with the conservative, media elite last week at george will's home... well, mr. will owns a glass that belonged to president lincoln.

and guess what? mr. obama drank from the glass.

i suppose if you have to be obsessed with a president.....

oh, wait...another tidbit from nbc's kelly o'donnell: the obama's will dine on the lincoln china this evening.

e.

Live Blogging the Inaugural

2009-01-20T09:08:00.005-06:00

good morning, my lovelies.... and it is a BEAUTIFUL morning.

today is the day... we've been waiting for eight years. a democrat takes back the white house...

others have been waiting even longer... over 40 years since dr. king shared his dream of individuals being judged by their character, not the color of their skin. and history is made today as an african american is sworn in for the first time as president of the united states.

i've taken the day off and hope to live blog much of the day for those of you who were unable to watch it all. and...ganesha help me...i plan to watch all day.

they'll be short entries. but some insight (i hope).

shortly before 10am (i'll do eastern times even though i'm central), president elect obama arrived at the white house to have coffee with out-going (yay!) president george w. bush.

michelle obama arrived in a lemongrass-colored dress with a gift for mrs. bush. mrs. bush has on a light blue dress. george in a blue tie. mr. obama in a red.

what a beautiful tradition.... a calm, cordial coffee... a peaceful transition.

more to come.

e.

Today Is Bush's Final Day In Office!

2009-01-19T14:44:00.001-06:00

happy happy joy joy!

You Are Woman...

2009-01-15T22:22:00.003-06:00

so earlier today i was having a very good conversation with a fabulous, feminist friend of mine...

actually, before i go much further.... let's get a couple of things out of the way up front:

1) i think i get away with a helluva lot more than i should because i'm a gay man. even my friend says she doesn't get as upset with certain things when it's said by a 'mo.

2) despite all that....i do consider myself a feminist. and i'm sure some (or maybe several) would disagree.

that line would begin with twisty of "i blame the patriarchy" fame. twisty does not believe a man can be a feminist. period. no discussion. you got a dick...you're not a feminist. but despite that...i've enjoyed reading that blog from time to time...

and ganesha knows i love all of my strong-willed, feminist friends....

i believe strongly that due to our patriarchal society...women get fucked over more times than not. hell, let's just take the simple issue of equal pay for equal work.

and i understand that as a man (as a WHITE) man...i'm part of the oppressive patriarchal society. but i do work to buck it. (plus...as a gay man.... sorry, sisters: i'm a second-class citizen too. at least you can marry.... and get tax breaks on the lesser salary you earn than me. but you really should be able to get tax breaks on the SAME salary....)

i'm getting off topic.

here's the rub: sometimes i'm just horrified by some of the things i hear from my feminist friends. and i ask myself, "why the fuck is a feminist saying these things?"

this is a case in point... a viral video of a rather misogynistic beer commercial made the rounds today amongst some of my friends. it was sexist, yes. basically, it's slowly revealed that a woman was having a threeway with three (yes, count them...three) men as they rest their beer on her back.

it was sexist.

but twisty, and my friend, also consider this "gang rape." if sex involving a woman, apparently, consists of any more than ONE man... it's gang rape. obviously, this includes threeways.

"but what if the woman enjoys group sex?" i asked (knowing full well i love a good threeway).

"it doesn't matter," was the answer. she went on to explain that no woman can possibly enjoy group sex... and that if she does it's only because the patriarchy has convinced her that she should enjoy it. this goes with anal sex, as well.

twisty takes it even further.... high heels? the work of the patriarchy.

so all of these things women are doing, either consciously or subconsciously, are influenced by the patriarchy.

oooooo-kay.... so i asked my friend: "doesn't that logic make all women inherent victims?" i mean....it sounds like any woman that might really, truly enjoy sex with a man....much less two or three...is brainwashed by the patriarchy.

i don't understand this thought process.... you're basically arguing that women aren't smart enough to distinguish feelings and instincts on their own. that their feeble women minds can't function outside of the patriarchy's influence.

i find the logic insulting.

now most of this comes from aunt twisty and my friend does have some more lenient views on women and their sexuality. but twisty is pretty fucking adamant against the feminist theory that taking control of your body and sexuality is not a feminist trait but an offshoot of patriarchal submission.

now... i'm in no way defending the ad that began this conversation and i can easily differentiate sexist male-driven advertisements and the objectification of women in our society from, well, some good-ole fashioned fucking.

but i firmly believe that women...strong women....can enjoy sex. hell, LOVE sex... with another woman. a man. several men.... a man and a woman at the same time. and it doesn't have to be to satisfy some skinamax bullshit hammered into the minds of most men.

but because she is a smart, beautiful, independent, glorious woman. a woman that knows what she wants because she wants it and not some idiotic fantasy designed by a horny, undersexed man.

i love my female friends... and i love that they're all so strong-willed and intelligent. and most of them are sexually free and fulfilled.

and don't you let some twisted version of feminism tell you otherwise.

e.

p.s. yes, i understand how odd this post is coming from a man. but dammit... i told you i'm a feminist!

Don't Let the Door Hit'cha...

2009-01-15T21:23:00.003-06:00

well, i sit here.... watching the idiot of the united states deliver his farewell address. couldn’t he just leave washington as soon as he’s finished talking?

fuck me... what an abysmal eight years. but let’s live-blog the speech:

shortly after 7pm CST....he begins. it’s. already. painful....

7:02: he is thankful and honored. yeah, yeah...

7:03: he wishes the obamas luck.

wow, really? he’s thanking the American people? wouldn’t most of us not thank him?

7:03: first mention of 9/11. the issue he’s based his entire presidency on. right or wrong, politicized or not... his entire ideology always returned to that september day.

7:04: he’s “transformed” the intelligence agencies. yeah....they’re spying on us now!

7:05: “there are legitimate debates on many of these decisions.” ummm, yeah. but i don’t think we all agree on the results.

he makes his biggest argument that his presidency has offered some sort of success: no attack on our soil since 9/11. yes, but at what cost?

7:07: only george would smirk as he delivers the line (after faltering, at first): “providing AIDS medication to bring dying patients back to life.” what a prick...

okay, sorry... fuck the time stamps. i’m too busy stopping and rewinding to copy down some of his idiocy and hypocrisy.

“around the world, america is promoting human liberty, human rights and human dignity.” really?!? i’m not sure torture is a human right? and no matter what you’re doing around the world… you sure as hell limited the rights of individuals here at home.

and go ahead...taut the appointments of alito and roberts... but they’ll help limit our rights here at home for years to come.

oh, oh… “set backs.” “done things differently” is he about to admit more mistakes?

nope... “but i hope you can agree that i was willing to make the tough decisions.”

“greatest threat remains another terrorist attack. our enemies are patient.” hammer it home, georgie. your numbers are at their highest when you scare the shit out of us.

“reject isolationism and protectionism.” umm...didn’t bush do more than anyone to isolate us from the rest of the world by making everyone hate us? i think the only thing we really reached out to other nations for were loans (i’m lookin’ at you, china!).

“i’ve often spoken to you about good and evil. and this has made some of you uncomfortable. but good and evil are present in this world and between the two there can be no compromise. (and here bush hits it home.) murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right.”

okay, so.... let me get this straight: you’re admitting that every innocent life you killed in iraq when you unjustly invaded a sovereign country in order to forward your narrow ideology that “freedom” is only defined in your terms therefore you’ll force it down the throats of the entire middle east....was wrong? or do you find your war crimes somehow “eternally right”?

“there have been good days and tough days.” no “bad” days? really, george?

bush's final words:

And so, my fellow Americans, for the final time: Good night. May God bless this house and our next President. And may God bless you and our wonderful country.oh, thank vishnu! the moron only spoke for just over 13 minutes.

and so endeth the lesson.....

well, tonight we continued to see a man who truly believes that every choice he made was right and good... that he did nothing wrong. that he’s made america better in every way.

there was minimal talk of the economy. no mention of the current crisis in gaza. no mention of the plane crash in a river off new york this evening and the true heroism on display there today.... (a story, in fact, that has completely trumped and eclipsed any coverage of his address. seriously, right now: go look at any news website and story #1 is not georgie porgie saying “ta-ta.”)

instead...he once again tried to sell a bunch of hooey (yes, i said “hooey”) to the american people.

the man kills me!

four more days.... just four more days....

please let time fly!

farewell, #43. and good riddance....

e.

Oh HELL No!

2009-01-15T16:31:00.002-06:00

it's like looking at a snapshot from my nightmare.....

e.

Pay To Play

2009-01-13T14:31:00.004-06:00

so i rushed home for lunch a bit late today so i could pick up on the senate foreign relations committee's confirmation hearing for hillary clinton to be the next secretary of state.

and, of course, i'd been reading all day and it quickly became clear, that the big question concerns a potential conflict of interest in respect to her husband's foundation and clinton global initiative.

ignore the fact that the clintons have agreed to disclose more information than is required by law or ethical rules... or that hillary is just too fucking kick-ass to allow some schmuck who makes a donation to the CGI to sway her mindset....

but i'm watching and the questioning gets to STILL-SITTING louisiana senator, david vitter. and he's all trying to play hardball with my girl, hillary... and he wants more assurances and more promises in writing.

and all i can think is.... YOU SLEEP WITH HOOKERS!

i mean...if you really want to talk about paying to play..... where does vitter get off? (forgive the double entendre.)

i just really wanted hillary to sit back, sigh, and say... "ya know, senator vitter. why don'tcha just go buy yourself a hooker and make yourself feel better? okay...? next!"

but my girl is keeping her cool and she's kicking some ass.

one week from today.... changing of the guard.

e.

p.s. speaking of "pay to play." i think it's awfully nice of illinois governor rod blagojevich to fill the void left by the absence of sarah palin on the national stage. man, blago fuckin' cracks me up!

Golden Afterthoughts

2009-01-12T15:42:00.007-06:00

well, after being diminished to a paltry new conference last year, the golden globes returned last night in all their glory. the alcohol. the gowns. the cleavage!

yes...it appears jewel-colored gowns and cleavage are on the menu this awards season. (thank you, salma hayek!)

so, my lovelies, let's think back for a moment....

there was a time when the globes meant something. there was some stock in winning a globe. but lately, especially after the reports of scandal and "buying" statuettes, the globes seem watered down to a glamour, popularity contest much more than a ceremony to recognize a distinguished performances.

put simply: celebrity helps.

there are always exceptions.... especially in television work where HBO once again rules in most categories (and 30 rock, thankfully).

the extraordinary john adams took home acting prizes for paul giamatti, laura linney and tom wilkinson, as well as best mini-series/movie.

but let's be honest... what we really care about are movies here. so some preliminary thoughts on the globes that were:

i think "slumdog" winning the big prize can only help the film. i'm sure it will be a lock for pic and director nominations... but does this help it even more as it tries to break into the academy's need to give it's big prize to an american film?

yes, the academy has a long tradition of patriotism and it generally wants its big prize going to an american-made film. this often means more deserving pics are left to lesser categories (often best original screenplay).

but if the globes are good for anything... it's highlighting smaller, often foreign films and performances that may otherwise go unnoticed by the academy... and perhaps that exposure could ultimately help garner an individual or movie an oscar nod....

the biggest movement
i think kate winslet (the reader) has jumped over viola davis (doubt) and penelope cruz (vicky cristina barcelona) to be the best bet for supporting actress. she is long over due for some academy love and i think they'll be able to finally do it in a supporting category. plus - the buzz on her is exceptional. and if she is also ultimately nominated for revolutionary road in the best actress category, can they really let this woman go home empty-handed again? as a double nominee in the same year....? winslet will be the "losingnest" actress in academy history... and she's young, people.

endearment helps
now.... i haven't seen the film yet (because it hasn't been released here yet) and i'm sure he is very good in it... he's very possibly exceptional in it. but does the "story" of mickey rourke help him more than his performance in the wrestler? will the academy be caught up more in the comeback story than anything else...?

i think possibly. but i also don't think rourke's rambling, rather crass, acceptance speech did him any favors last night.

it never hurts to endear yourself to the academy. some think eddie murphy's globe speech cost him the oscar for dreamgirls. of course, i'm sure having norbert out the same year didn't help.

unlike rourke, sally hawkins of happy-go-lucky was so sweet and nervous and adorable up there...... i'm certain she'll at least garner a nomination for best actress. and that will make me happy.

senor spielbergo
i find steven spielberg films are often hit and miss... they always look great, but they're not always great. he is more consistent these days and his cecil b. demille award did not upset me last night... especially after a very generous, very enthralling acceptance speech.

if there is a lock
heath ledger appears to be on his way to winning the first posthumous oscar since peter finch in network. and this is well-deserved. his win last night was a moving moment with some very well-spoken words by christopher nolan.

the other categories
i see no real locks... but i do see some tight rices:

best actor: sean pennn (milk) vs. mickey rourke (the wrestler) with frank langella's nixon as the spoiler. does penn's recent win for mystic river hurt his chances? honestly... i think if anyone deserves two oscars, it's penn.

best actress: god, probably meryl streep vs. anyone. if winslet is nominated for revolutionary road, some things could change and open up supporting actress.

supporting actress: a three-way race between winslet, davis and cruz.

director: boy, wow.... ummm.... nolan (dark knight) vs. danny boyle (slumdog)?

picture: i almost think it's a race between dark knight and slumdog millionaire.

in conclusion
the globes are fun... they're loose and boozy... with great gowns and actors having fun. but what everyone really needs to look out for are the guild winners. screen actors, directors, writers and producers.

and i promise: i shall keep you posted on the developments.

until then.... happy movie-watching!

e.

p.s. i forgot the funnies!
ricky gervais was very funny last night.... he appeared onstage after winslet's first win for the reader. and he said something along the lines of, "see, kate. i told you to go holocaust. do a holocaust film and the awards come in." his follow-up line about the disappointing lack of gag reels on holocaust film DVDs did not go down as well.

nor did sacha baron cohen's line about the economy even hitting celebrities hard. "even madonna had to give up one of her personal assistants. and i know all of our hearts go out to guy ritchie." ouch.

oh....and a very awkward moment when seth rogen talked about how he wished he had been at the globes in the 80s because he wouldn't be just getting drunk with mickey rourke like tonight... but doing coke with him. very strange.

this after colin farrell admitted he was sniffling because he had a cold, "and not the other thing it would've been before."

lots of cocaine talk at the globes last night... weird. funny... but weird.

New Year's Blah Blah

2009-01-08T15:40:00.005-06:00

happy new year...exactly one week late...and my apologies, my lovelies.

i've been busy, tired, movie-watching and just all around sluggish. so i thought i'd wrap up some end of year/beginning of year thoughts in a nice, tidy post.

i have made some tentative plans for the new year. call them resolutions, if you must.... i prefer to think of them as ways to improve my happiness. maybe "improve" is the wrong word. increase?

like much of the masses and against the sage advise of my beloved epiphenita.... i do plan to diet and lose some of my excess tonnage. i do it for a couple of reasons.... but (and i don't think most people can argue against this) mostly because i am simply unhealthy at my current weight and i'm finding simple tasks taxing once again:

--walking up to the top row of a movie theatre.
--bending over to tie my shoes.
--simply finding a comfortable way to sit as my stomach pushes itself up into my chin.

two years ago i lost over 50 pounds... i have slowly and successfully put all 50+ pounds back on.

hooray for me!

so, yes... the dieting, the exercising....the probable veganism is back in my present.

i am being smart and not using january 1 as my start date. for this i think sister epiphenita of the disapproving sneer can congratulate me. i do agree that january 1 is too arbitrary a date.

i have some left over remnants from the holidays that did cost money and i refuse to throw away. these are mostly various cheeses from the wisconsin parental units and other yummies. it's also the big BCS week and i plan to enjoy my games.

this weekend, however, it's on.

but i've also wanted to make some other decisions to help better myself.

--cut back on t.v. viewing. this has been helped immensely by the cancellation or season end of several of my favorite shows. (fuck you, ABC, for canceling my pushing daisies.)

--attend the theatre more. it's embarrassing how little i attend the theatre considering i plan a life in the venue.

--i've always wanted to draw a subject out of a hat and then research it for the month.... pick twelve topics that have always interested me and then look into them. i hope to start that this weekend.

--and finally.... i want to write at least one thing new each month. it could be a short play... a scene in a new, longer play. it can be a short story or an entry into a book of essays i'd like to pull together à la david sedaris and sloane crosley.

i need to keep my creative juices flowing. last year was a great year for me creatively. another 10 minute piece produced and the completion of my two act. this year i will focus on shopping around the two act and creating my next two act.

plus, hopefully, a 10 minute (see if i can keep the streak alive) and a 20 minute piece (to enter for the first time in theatre southwest's festival of originals).

these are mental and health improvements i'd like to make... i realize they are assumed to be resolutions and i don't mind the label. but i need to continue the creative flow and get back to a healthy weight so i don't start losing appendages to diabetes.

plus...a heart attack at 35 is just embarrassing.

boy, ya know.... i had plans to talk about all these other topics: rick warren, the obama inauguration, the "oops" richardson appointment.... frost/nixon, slumdog millionaire, doubt, the texans, the longhorns.....

but i think i'll keep this entry devoted to thoughts on the new year. i'll do an NCAA football wrap up after tonight's championship game... and there will be plenty of movie and oscar posts in the coming two months.

for now... i hope everyone had an enjoyable new year's eve. i wish you all the best in 2009.

and thank vishnu bush #43 is gone in 12 days!

e.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T15:54:00.001-06:00

whether you're buried under five feet of snow or sweltering in the southern heat... happy holidays!

e.

Notes From All Over: Political Edition

2008-12-19T08:21:00.003-06:00

after obama won the democratic primary fight i purchased an obama magnet to put on my car. it has been displayed there ever since... but i've always joked with my friends that i bought the magnet because if obama ever disappointed me...i could take it off and put it back on once the feeling had passed.

the obama magnet is in the trunk.

the purpose driven inauguration
so obama has asked evangelical, bigot rick warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. well, fuck you too.

warren runs one of those evangelical monstrosities out in california...the bareback or saddleback church... something like that.

he was also one of the leading voices in support of prop8 out in california and has used strong, divisive language when discussing homosexuality. he called his defense of "traditional marriage" "a moral issue that god has spoken clearly about."

andrew sullivan, the openly gay obamacan, said "if anyone is under any illusion that obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now."

obama himself has tried desperately to defend his choice:

obama mentioned that warren asked him to speak at saddleback church two years ago eventhough obama has beliefs "that were entirely contrary to his." right...two years ago before you were even the democratic nominee. not at an inauguration that will be watched around the world. not at the precise moment when you're supposed to move this country forward and start the "change" you've been preaching.

no...warren seems like a spectre of the bush years kicking off your big day.

obama also said, "we're not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere when we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as americans."

yes...we fags can be so disagreeable.

what pisses me off is that this is the issue obama seems okay to set aside for his inauguration. this is the issue that clearly does not concern him enough to make an effort to not ask a leading homophobe to provide the invocation.

i am fearful that obama simply does not give a flying fuck about equal rights for homosexuals in this country.

will he even carry through with his promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell?"

his transition team met with leaders from the GLBT community yet there has not been a single, openly gay individual posted to his cabinet.... despite my earlier post which lead us to some optimism in this regard.

obama's invitation to rick warren to play such a pivotal role in his inauguration (and don't even get me started on why there's an invocation and benediction at the inauguration of the president of the united states when there's supposed to be a separation of church and state) just shows obama's lack of empathy or support or whatever you want to call it....solidarity? with the gay and lesbian community.

a large number of us supported hillary in the primary and then happily (or begrudgingly) backed him in the general... but this large voting block that helped usher him into the white house is the first group to get a giant "fuck you" from the president-elect.

call it political savvy or maneuvering or whatever... i'm afraid he just doesn't care.

the clintons, the bushes and the saudis
so records from president bill clinton's foundation and library have been released. turns out he's received millions from the saudis. what a shock.

but what amazes me even more is that the republicans.... even the media... seem to want to make a big deal out of this.

"can hillary stand up the saudis as secretary of state when her husband received so much money from them?"

if these questions are to be raised by the media and the republicans...we must yell "foul!"

were these questions ever asked of president bush with all the connections his father has with the saudis? no.

ex-presidents who continue to play an active role on the international stage will have ties with other countries. bush41 and clinton have them...

if anything...i'd say poppy bush being in bed with king abdullah played an enormous role in bush43's blind acceptance of the atrocities carried out every day in saudi arabia.

but hillary has never been under the thumb of bill...and i see no reason why any donations (charitable or otherwise) to her husband would make any difference in her negotiations with any country.

hillary is one tough broad. that's why i love her...

she will be a great secretary of state. (she would've been an even better president. but there's still time for that....)

farewell, deep throat
w. mark felt...a.k.a. deep throat, has passed. the man who leaked information regarding president tricky dick and watergate was 95. felt admitted he was the linda lovelace of the political world in 2005.

caroline, or change
so the last-living spawn of john f. kennedy wants to be senator from the empire state.

well, la-de-da.

i have mixed feelings on this. initially i loved the idea of caroline kennedy serving in the senate. but then i started thinking more about it.

sure...she's an intelligent woman. a constitutional scholar and lawyer. an advocate for education and schools.

but where has her voice been over the past eight years? where was she during the dark days of the democratic party?

my friend sally sent me a great article from the huffington post that said caroline was silent during all this time but now that everything is coming up roses...she wants to be an active member of the democratic party.

and not just any member... a senator from one of the most powerful states in the country. a senator from new york is no small thing.

but i have a bigger concern. this is hillary clinton's seat. hillary.

who did caroline support in the primary? obama....

in fact, several pundits may say that caroline and teddy kennedy's support of obama was a major turning point in the primary campaign.

so should hillary's seat go to someone who isn't even a supporter?

sure....now caroline is saying she's an obama/clinton/kennedy democrat... but are we really sure about that middle one?

of course, nobody's opinion really matters but that of governor paterson. he has the sole discretion to pick hillary's successor. and i heard some reporting last night that it's a done deal: the seat belongs to caroline if she wants it.

i can't say having another liberal kennedy in the senate is a bad thing...especially with teddy's future in question.

all i'm saying is...i have questions about caroline. and if she wants to be the senator from the tough as nails state of new york.... she better buck up, stop running from the press.... and flash us her balls (and i say that in a metaphorical, funny "ha-ha" way and not a sexist, anti-feminist "you need balls to be successful" way).

in conclusion
only 32 more days until that fucker is out of office.

that, at least, makes me happy this morning.

e.

Four In a Row, Baby!

2008-12-15T15:05:00.003-06:00

yesterday was a good day.

thursday night i was surprised by a call from sister epiphenita and st. barbara offering me a ticket to yesterday's match-up between the houston texans and the tennessee titans. and how could i say "no"?

luckily for me...sister e is not a big fan of the football. st. barb is.... and you know where i stand on the whole thing.

barbara and i sat 26 rows up from the field in the endzone....lined up directly behind the right hash.

good seats.

i had the best time with barbara... we drank our beer. chatted with the season-ticket holders around us.... we yelled. we jumped out of our seats. we shared some frightfully inappropriate stories that may have shocked any of the straight people around us.

we checked out the cheerleaders and compared notes. we admired my new favorite, kevin walter, and discussed how mario williams scares me a little bit and that turns me on.

and when it was all said and done...it may not have been the prettiest win.... but we broke our seven game losing streak against the titans. final score: 12-13 houston.

for the first time in texans's franchise history... they have won four in a row.

the texans seem to be turning a corner. they have found ways to win ugly...something that has always escaped them in the past. last week they pulled off the win after four turn-overs in green bay.

and yesterday.... the texans became the first team this season to hold tennessee from scoring a single touchdown.

tennessee.... the team with the best record in the nfl at 12-2.

and how did we play? from the houston chronicle today:

Johnson scored the game’s only touchdown on a 13-yard reception from Matt Schaub. Slaton is the only back to rush for at least 100 yards against the Titans, and he has done it twice. He finished with 100 yards on 24 carries, including 46 on the last drive when the Texans were running out the clock.

we looked impressive enough that peter king of sports illustrated actually put houston in his "fine fifteen" at number 15 with the caveat:

What? The Texans at No. 15 over the Jets and Cards, two division leaders? No question.

mr. king, in his monday morning QB column that i always highly recommend, also listed andre johnson as his offensive player of the week:

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston. At various points this year, I've considered Brandon Marshall or Larry Fitzgerald the best receiver in football. Not the past two or three weeks. In the first 20 minutes of Sunday's game against the best team in the conference, Johnson had five catches for 129 yards and a touchdown. He finished with 11 for 207 and the TD. In the first meeting between the teams, in Nashville, Johnson dropped two touchdown passes, so he made this game his personal shot at vindication. He succeeded and went over 100 catches for the season in the process. Johnson is big, fast, acrobatic and, though he doesn't have the soft hands of Fitzgerald, his hands are plenty good to be a superstar for a long time

king also went on to say:

I think if Steve Slaton (last five games: 156, 73, 130, 120, 100 yards) had been playing this big a role all season, he'd be challenging Adrian Peterson for the rushing title right now.

...

I think the receiving race is going to be a good one down the stretch. Andre Johnson's up on Wes Welker, 103 catches to 102, and Johnson has a 98-yard lead on Roddy White for the yardage title. Johnson's amazing. He's averaging a 100-yard receiving game per week. Exactly.

i know this may be confusing to a lot of texans fans.... but this is called praise.

several people are now predicting an above .500 winning season for the texans for the first time in franchise history. next week we play at oakland and should win. then our final game is against chicago at home.

if we can pull these two games off....we'd not only win six straight, but end the season 9-7.

i don't think we're quite a play-off team yet... but we're close. next year, we should honestly be able to hope for our first playoff berth.

fingers crossed.

e.

Keep It Gay, Keep It Gay, Keep It Gay...

2008-12-11T10:15:00.004-06:00

i seem to be obsessed lately.... but since i seem to be on the subject of gayness, here's an exclusive from mike allen of politico:

Gay and lesbian activists, who had been getting a bit restless about the Obama transition’s centrism, were welcomed into transition headquarters yesterday for a big meeting with John Podesta, who’s leading the transition, and Jim Messina, personnel director of the transition and a deputy chief of staff in the new White House. Participants said afterward that the session, which drew about 60 attendees and a cadre of senior Obama advisers, was very positive and productive. A prominent lesbian activist will chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality. And at the meeting, Obama officials said they’re giving serious consideration to two favorites of the community – John Berry for Interior and Mary Beth Maxwell for Labor.

and that's just plain secretary of the interior... not secretary of the interior design, my lovelies. and if anyone knows about labor, it's those hardworking lesbians. sister epiphenita of the power tools and st. barbara are DIYing their garage apartment repairs...

so butch.....

e.

It Does the Mind Good

2008-12-09T14:27:00.004-06:00

so last night i saw gus van sant's milk.

it is an extraordinary, moving, inspirational, devastating film...

i'm not always the best fag, but i know harvey milk... i knew a lot about harvey milk going into this movie. but i didn't know everything. and i wasn't old enough to remember him on the news or hear his inspirational, groundbreaking messages.

i have friends who remember him.... and how i'm envious of that memory.

but how i don't regret not having to suffer through his assassination at the hand of a homophobic bigot.

i've already stated that i hope the combination of this film with the passage of prop8 in california will serve as a wake-up call to homosexuals. no longer can we be content with our cocktails and go-go boys.

i have found myself very angry since the passage of prop8... and anger is not generally an emotion that comes terribly easy to me. i don't generally care enough for something to make me angry... i'm not generally surprised enough for something so hate-filled as prop8 to make me angry. i am a very accomplished cynic, after all.

and yet i'm angry.

last night i struggled to fall asleep as thoughts of milk consumed me. and i found myself asking questions of....myself.

what have i done? what can i do? does it make sense to stay in houston when there's obviously no chance of change for homosexuals coming any time soon? should i go somewhere i have a better chance of making a difference? or is it more important to fight in a state like texas because it is a tougher battle?

and i was angry at my fellow fags in texas who seem so complacent in the face of growing hatred and bigotry rearing up from grassroots efforts of the religious right.

have we just given up in houston? in texas?

the anti-prop8 rally i went to in san francisco saw 7,500 angry homosexuals out to protest. there were a couple of hundred in houston.

but my anger was not only towards my complacent, cocksucking compatriots.

i found myself angry at a brother who votes republican.... a brother who i believe loves me but doesn't care enough about the hatred i face every day to vote against those individuals that would strive to uphold that bigotry.

i was angry at the thought that certain family members may still not pass the final test of acceptance when i finally bring home that first boyfriend.

yes, my lovelies... now entering the latter part of my thirties, i've yet to find love.... and introduce a partner to my family.

my friend sally put it best when she said my homosexuality is still in the abstract with my family. it's easy to accept the wise-cracking, artistic faggot son when you don't have to watch him hold hands with his lover... or kiss his lover.

and i honestly don't know how they'll react. i think it will be hard.

my parents are children of the 40s and 50s.... very different times. for all their progressive strong points, mindsets from that period are still present. it wasn't easy for them when i dated an african american woman in college.

there are also conservative streaks in my brothers and their wives.... how will they handle it? will i be asked not to kiss my boyfriend in front of the children?

it's not every day a movie stokes this type of debate within myself.... but milk has shaken me.

i hope it shakes a lot of people.... we need to be shaken out of our slumber.

we need to make noise.

we need to make those who are uncomfortable.... uncomfortable.

we need to demand equal rights....

not separate but equal.

not tolerance. fuck tolerance. i don't need to be "tolerated" by anybody.

i don't need to be "accepted" by anybody, for that matter.

what i need is equality.

and if you haven't seen milk.... see it. and let's talk.

e.

Oscar Wilde Wannabe

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Picture

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Director

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actress

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

I Suck...

Opening Night

AAAH! Scorpions!

Please Welcome to the Stage....

New Experiences

Disconnected

Damn My Jewish Guilt!

Warning! (and Apologies...)

The Cocktail Conundrum

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Picture

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Director

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actress

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

Baby

For Sister Epiphenita

Gay vs. Gay-Gay

Happy Halloween

My Day at White Trash Pride

Buy In

The Birthday Doctrine

4th Time...? Not the Charm

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Quick Update

Initial/Random Thoughts

And Last Up...Racism?

A Lesser Anniversary

Approaching Two Years

One

Theatrical Update

Palin Pulls Me Back

Gotta Love Bobby Gibbs

Not in the Face!

Switch Hitter

On the Boards

A Final Curtain Call for Bea

M.I.A.

Night Critters? Seriously...?!?

Night Terrors? Seriously...?!?

Notes From All Over: Theatrical Edition

It's Howdy Doody Time!

Happy Oscars!

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Picture

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Director

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actress

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actress

Countdown to the Oscars: Best Supporting Actor

So What Did *They* Do?

Return of the Live Blog II

The Return of the Live Blog

Once More with Feeling!

Official Pre-Announcement Predictions

Breaking News!

The Dress, At Last

For Those Wondering... II

The Hat

The Dress

The Parade Continues

For Those Wondering...

The Parade -or- He's Outta the Limo

Kennedy/Byrd

Adios!

The Speech

History

Time Out

The Crowds

Obama

The Exes

Heading to the Capitol

The Attendees

The Lincoln Metaphor

So What Did They Do?

Oh HELL No!