2/14/2008

Sitting backstage at a Rufus Wainwright show is not my ideal for Valentine’s Day. But then again, the bills gots ta get paid, so here I am.

Sean Lennon was the opening act. I couldn’t hear much from back here, but he does look like his father (and his mother, strangely enough). It didn’t sound bad, but didn’t really make me go “hey, that’s some really good stuff.” Ah well.

I feel like I’ve been quite lax with my blogging lately (thank you, anonymous, for that comment). There’s so much going on I want to comment about, but just don’t seem to find the time. So I’m going to work backwards from today until I’m done.

Tuesday was nice. The snow didn’t really surprise me, though it did seem to surprise the weather people. Like Lewis Black said, meteorologist is the Greek word for “liar.” Amanda and I went to the Harp and Bard around the corner and hung out with the bartender. Surprisingly, my cousin David showed up. It was great that he came. I really wish more of my cousins came out when I called, but I understand that I usually go out on weeknights and that’s not the best time for most. Ah well. It won’t stop me from trying.

The last week or so before that is kind of a blur. My favorite time of year, Vacuous Week; excuse me, Fashion Week in New York City. Between that and the Concierto Del Amor at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, it was a loooooong week. And after the last show I did at MSG during Fashion Week, it was a very stressful week. Surprisingly, and satisfyingly, everything worked.

The worst part about Fashion Week this year was the fact that I had to work during the Super Bowl. I made it out just in time to hear The Catch on the radio, and made it to the bar just in time for Plaxico Burress to score the winning touchdown. I must say though, that I’m most disappointed about missing the halftime show. For the first time I can remember, I was excited to see it. Dad TiVO’d it for me, but there’s still something about that that’s still not the same.

Other news… we’ve been searching for wedding type places. Still nothing definite, but we’re getting closer. Details will be forthcoming by the end of the month.

Roy Scheider died last week. I can’t say I’m an expert on his work, but he made some excellent films, and was one of my favorite actors. I was very sorry to hear it.

What else: my 29^th birthday came and went, and I still don’t feel like an adult. Though I’ve joked that it’s “my last birthday” and I can’t trust myself after next year, so maybe it’ll kick in in 2009.

Speaking of January 2009, let’s talk about politics, politics, politics! Where to begin? I really think that the more I hear about Barack Obama, the more I like him. Hillary may have more experience, but think about what kind of experience. Her husband was one of the most polarizing figures in American politics. It amazes me that despite how exhausting the late 90’s were politically, with Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky and even Vince Foster, among others, that people actually look back on the 90’s as a great decade. Yeah, the economy was great and people were making money; but at what cost? It was so bad that people thought George W. Bush was a good alternative. I must give Bush credit for one thing: he claimed to be a uniter, not a divider, and that’s true. He’s managed to unite almost the entire world against him and the US. Nice job. You've somehow made us nostalgic for the Clinton years.

How about the other side, you say? Well, in 2000 John McCain sounded like a good candidate. Certainly a much better alternative to W. The guy had combat experience; he was a moderate on things like gun control and campaign finance reform; most importantly: he wasn’t a Jesus freak. I could have voted for him. What’s happened in 8 years? Well, “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” for one. I mean, we’ve spent 5 years, 4000 American lives, and TRILLIONs of dollars on a war in Iraq, for what? And this guy wants to take it to Iran? No thank you. Thanks for playing, better luck next time. Other good McCain points: he wouldn't mind staying in Iraq for 100 years? Let's see, that's 4000 lives in 5 years, so over 100 years that's only 80,000 Americans. Yeah, we can spare that. Just make sure you have two kids and you'll be ok. Most of all, he's 72 years old. It's time for some new blood, some people who still have an investment in the future, not an anchor to the past.

I know Obama has some bad things too, but they seem like mostly superficial things. Yeah, he lived in a Muslim country for part of his childhood. Shouldn’t that be an advantage? Here’s a guy who has lived with our enemy. He understands them. He knows how they think, and why they hate us. Who better to negotiate with them? After all, George Washington was a British officer before he was an American President. Obama may not have beltway experience, but neither did John Kennedy, and he’s considered one of the greatest Presidents ever. JFK had life experience, and so does Barack. Yeah, he's got one or two contributors with questionable pasts; show me a politician who doesn't and I'll show you Ross Perot.

On to my other fave subject: religion! I’ve been reading a book called The Year of Living Biblically. It’s an interesting read. The author is a writer for Esquire magazine, who previously wrote a book about reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover. He’s a secular New Yorker, who decides that he’s going to follow the Bible literally for 365 days. He begins by reading the Bible, and then reads several different versions just to make sure he’s got all the rules. He finds over 700 commandments in the various texts, and proceeds to follow them all as best he can. He begins to wear all white, and attaches tassels to his clothes, avoids mixed fibers, grows his beard out, changes his diet, and begins to pray 3 times a day. He says that the rules are hard to follow at first, especially the no lying one. But as he goes on and researches more and more into Judaism and then Christianity, he finds that function follows form; that is he begins to become spiritual, if not religious. It’s an amazing look at religion from a view you don’t normally get. He tries to follow some of the more obscure rules, things that even the most Orthodox don’t normally do. I won’t say it’s changed my mind about religion or fundamentalism, but I think I’m starting to understand some of those rules.

What else is there? I know there’s a ton of stuff that’s happened in the last two months, but I can’t remember and/or maybe don’t want to tell the whole universe. Rufus and Sean just started playing “Across the Universe.” What a great song. I’ll leave you with this thought: Beatles songs are some of the hardest to cover. Why? Because most people know them, and many people have preconceived notions of them, so if you do it poorly, they’re instantly turned off by them. If, however, you do it well, then it just seems like you’re playing a Beatles song because you don’t have the talent to write a good song of your own. It’s a no win situation, really.

I needed to add this in: After the show, one of the stagehands said to me "It wasn't a bad show, but it had too much ALS in it for me." And my first thought was "What does Lou Gehrig's disease have to do with this?" Then he explained "ALS: Alternative Life Style. It's some politically correct was of saying 'GAY'." Yes, yes it was. From the dancing nuns to the cross dressing to the neon green suit, the show was DEFINITELY ALS.

Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider): I'd love a hot dog.
Walter Curnow (John Lithgow): Astrodome. Good hot dogs there.
Heywood Floyd: Astrodome? You can't grow a good hot dog indoors. Yankee Stadium. September. The hot dogs have been boiling since opening day in April. Now that's a hot dog.
Walter Curnow: The yellow mustard or the darker kind?
Heywood Floyd: The darker kind.
Walter Curnow: Very important.

-2010:Odyssey Two

"The important thing is to do good work, no matter what medium you do it in."
-Roy Scheider