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[MBarnum]

Yes, I bet they are having a grand time in the Big Apple!

I am watching 5 MINUTES TO LOVE, which is one heck of a strange movie!

[Jrand74]

The title is fairly strange as well.  Somehow I don't think Diane McBain is in this one.

[George]

I've never understood this desire for colourized anything.  Black and white films are simply beautiful.  And the photography is usually so much better.

I totally agree.  When my niece was much younger (she just turned 21 last month), she didn't like ANY black and white movies...because they were in black and white.  My dad, however, loves (and grew up with) black and white movies.  They used to watch movies together and would switch off who chose the movie.  My niece would, of course, make my dad watch her latest favorite movie of the moment, but my dad would purposely choose a black and white movie (usually a comedy) and make her watch it.  He said that it took a while, but she learned to love movies and not dislike one just because it was black and white.  Now she has seen quite a few and even Vivien Leigh has become one of her favorite actors.  She was so excited when we went to London a few years ago when we actually went to Waterloo Bridge where the move "Waterloo Bridge" was actually set (if not filmed there, which we didn't/don't know if it was).

[elmore3003]

Well, I met DRRodzinski and Antonia at Tower Reocrds at 7:30, we looked around a bit and then taxied to Joe Allen's, where Dear Friend BK, DRBen and Richard and Tom of SCARLET STREET were waiting for us.  A sparkling time was had by one and all, and millions of ears should be tingling if not erupting into blazes.

I left the merry group in front of the restaurant, got into a taxi and hauled this tired butt home.  The party was to continue without me.  I'm off to bed, and wish you all a good night.

DRDanise, my beloved Charlotte is 16, and she's looking forward to STAR WARS more than I am; I'm only going because I love to spend time with her, and I do adore her.  This may be our last chance before summer madness ties me to my desk and sends Charlotte off and about the globe with her summer activities, one of which is a 6-week high school Shakespeare program in Oxford England.  I'm very jealous!

[DearReaderLaura]

Thank you, Jane and Jrand. It's a shame he didn't live to see it completed; he worked very hard on it.

[Jrand74]

Bring on the photos - HHW'ers!

[George]

Back from a lovely meeting with the web designer who'll be doing the Kritzerland site.  Very nice gal, and I think she's going to do a great job.  We went over every aspect of what the site will be - each menu icon, how the splash page will look and work, and how all the sub-pages will work.  The neat thing will be that in addition to sound clips, we will also have video clips of our recording sessions, and video interviews and such.  We will also have an interview section for people who are connected with whatever CD we're hawking.  She seems to "get" my sense of humor and my personality, and the site will have that sort of fun to it.  She will begin work on it this coming week, and our target date to go "live" will be end of June, with our first releases being available mid-July.

Congratulations!  The best part is finding someone who get's your humor. Can't wait to see what it'll be like.

[Jrand74]

DR GEORGE - my niece Amanda loves Waterloo Bridge as well.  And it is one of my favorite movies, too.  So sad.  Some very nice ballet dancing as well.

One of my favorite recent dance movies was THE COMPANY, if any dance fans haven't seen it yet.  It's a Robert Altman film, with all the baggage that that entails, but I liked the music and dancing very much....even the "new" "modern" stuff.

[MBarnum]

The title is fairly strange as well.  Somehow I don't think Diane McBain is in this one.

Rue McClanahan. It is a bizarre little film from 1963. Very bizarre. Like if Ed Wood and Arch Hall Sr. decided to make a movie together.

It co-stars King Moody from TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE so that should tell you something.

[Jrand74]

DR DANISE I think your idea of a Virtual Tour of Benjamin's World is a great idea!

[Jrand74]

Oh my...is this the one that was advertised:

Monroe!
Mansfield!
McClanahan!

as if......

[MBarnum]

Oh my...is this the one that was advertised:

Monroe!
Mansfield!
McClanahan!

as if......

I hope not.

I suspect this is not a movie Rue cares to remember. In fact I am not sure this is a movie I care to remember.

And you feel like you must take a long shower after watching it, to wash the grime and filth off.

[Jrand74]

LOL.....wait till you seen Aventurera!

[Matt H.]

"One question, why the heck did Il Divo sing?  They are very nice.  But what does that have to do with Daytime Emmys?"

I thought they explained that, Jennifer. For the first time in history, 8 women were nominated for leading actress in a drama series, and the guys were paying tribute to that by serenading them. They played clips from the ladies in their respective soaps behind them as they sang.

Since this and the Oscar/David Canary skit were the only entertainment segements on the show, I found it most welcome.

I was happy to see them pay tribute to William Bell, but the other famous faces who passed away during the past year (like the venerable Ruth Warrick) weren't mentioned.

Still, they got ALL those awards given out in two hours. The nightime Emmys and Oscars and Tonys can't do that.

[Matt H.]

I had remembered correctly about MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. The film's richness in color does seem to increase as the film plays. It's a lovely restoration job.

I next have put in DIE HARD 2.

[Jrand74]

Time for Bed.

And we had just been discussing IL DIVO here....we are on the cutting edge.

[JoseSPiano]

Good Evening!

DR Jane - I keep saying I won't eat at Cold Stone Creamery, but...  And, of course, each time I finish my cup of ice cream and mix-ins, I find myself saying to myself, "Hmm... That really wasn't all that good.  I could have bought a pint or two of Ben & Jerry's.  And should have."



Birthdays in the Simbulan household are still routinely celebrated with a Carvel Ice Cream Cake.  And, yes, it's all about the Chocolate Crunchies!  Thankfully, there's a Carvel within a mile of my parents' house.  Technically, it's walking distance, but...



*And there's still something strangely comforting about Carvel's pistachio ice cream.  That very artificial green color, the hint of pistachio flavor, and, most "intriguing", the fact there are usually cashews in it rather than pistachios!

[JoseSPiano]

-Did we ever discuss the origin of "Il Divo"?

If so... well...

If not... In short, it's a group of four operatic tenors singing pop-style music.  And they were put-together and discovered by Mr. American Idol himself, Simon Cowell.  The four gentlemen were chosen not only for their good looks, but also for their singing talent.  

The American one, David ??, was in the recent La Boheme on Broadway.

[MBarnum]

I picked up the Il Divo CD the other day, but haven't listened to it just yet.

[bk]

Back from a perfectly perfect mini-hainsies/kimlets gathering at Joe Allen.  What a delightful group it was - dear elmore, dear reader Ben, dear reader Rodzinski and his ever-lovin' Antonia, and my pals Tom and Richard of Scarlet Street fame.  I tell you we laughed and laughed and just when we thought we could laugh no more we laughed again.  It was daft and goofy and a lovely time was had by all.  Then we tried to go to Don't Tell Mama's but it was too crowded.  Then we walked up to some Russian bars but they were too crowded.  Antonia left us, and Tom, Richard, Rodzinski and I went back to Don't Tell Mama's.  This time we at least go in the door, but despite the promise of a table in a couple of minutes, no table was forthcoming and we left thirty minutes later.  We went across the street to Danny's Skylight Room and had a drink there.  I was pooped, so I left our merry troupe and came back to the hotel.  I must now write the notes and then get my beauty sleep.

[JoseSPiano]

RE: Playgirl

When I was on that audition tour with Universal Studios Japan two years ago, there was a gentleman who had come to the auditions in Orlando.  He had this very "old" headshot - very dated-looking, from the 80s.  And he still sort of looked that way too - the semi-afro, curly brown hair, the mustache that probably should have been trimmed down a bit, etc.  In any case...

I kept looking at him, and his name, and some far off distant bell kept ringing in my head.  He came in for the stunt men/gymnastics call.  He made it past the first two rounds, but eventually got cut.  When he left it finally hit me who he was...

Steve Rally.  A former Playgirl Man of the Year!  And I believe he was also one of the first Playgirl models to be photographed in a state of tumescence.  Talk about an image burned into one's mind!

I also remember him appearing on Donahue back during his "reign" with some other male entertainers and Playgirl models.  In particular, I remember one audience member asking someone on the panel if he would take off his shirt.  He would not.  But as they went to commercial, Steve Rally did, as did a few of the other guys.

-Just like it was yesterday...

And then there was that Donahue with Rex Chandler "telling" his parents for the first time that he did adult movies.  Gay ones.  And, of course, they showed a clip... And then Donahue went to his mother who was in the audience for her reaction...

Oh, and that particular episode also had the weather guy from Chicago turned porn actor on it too.  And that guy actually showed up on the ABC affiliate here in DC a few years ago...  He lasted a week, if that.  Apparently, the station received lots of phone calls...  Now as to whether they were in favor or against... Hmmm...



Well, I think that's enough "information" for this post... NEXT!!!

[JoseSPiano]

I had two good shows today.  Not perfect, but good.

It really was harder switching gears, switching keyboard parts from the matinee to the evening than I thought it would be.  I would find myself listening for my next entrance, only to be reminded when I looked at the music in front of me that I was thinking about the other book.  I never got really confused, but I did have to concentrate a bit more today than usual.  But I had a good time, and I received some more nice words from the conductor and assistant conductor.

[JoseSPiano]

OH!

And I brought my origami papers and books into the pit this week too.

After the show, there was a family hanging out in the house watching the crew do their post-show stuff on stage.  I happened to walk back into the pit to pick up some stuff I left on my stand.  The mother asked if her children - two girls and a boy - could have some of the "confetti" that falls during the wedding scene.  "Sure.  No problem."  So, the guitarist and I gathered up some of the pink and white circles and hearts from the floor of the pit, and handed them up to her.  Then I went ahead and grabbed the two peacock and the pelican I had folded during the shows today, and handed those to her as well.  The two girls each took a peacock, and the boy took the pelican.  *I used some printed paper for the peacock - some nice colors and designs on them - very "girly".    The pelican was green.  

*Of course, after a few seconds, the older girl asked, "Can you make me some more?"  Hmm... Her mother gently "corrected" her, and I made my way out of the pit.

[JoseSPiano]

Between shows, I just headed over to Potbelly for a sandwich - a Wreck on Wheat, extra hot peppers.  It's been a while since I've had a Potbelly sandwich.  What a good sandwich they make, and just the right size, and just the right price too.

After my meal, I headed back over the theatre, and spent sometime just sitting on one of the ledges around Freedom Plaza.  It was a gorgeous afternoon!  No sign of the thunderstorms that had been forecasted.  A bright blue, partly cloudy sky.  Beautiful clouds.

I just laid back on the cool marble, and took a brief nap.

Each time I opened my eyes, I noticed that they sky, the clouds had changed.  The skies were actually clearing up as the sun was setting.  It was so peaceful.  Even all the skateboarders nearby weren't bothering me.

I realized that it had been a long(!) time since I just had just looked at the sky.  Just watched it.  It truly was beautiful.

It was also nice just pulling back and being a part of the world at large again.  Just watching the skies, the clouds.  That's all.  No thinking.  No judging.  No critiquing.  Just being.

It was the perfect way to spend my break between shows.

[JoseSPiano]

BK - Glad to know you made it NYC safe and sound.  Great news about the website.  And now I know why I had this "buzzing" in my ears during the first act of the show tonight.  I had thought it was just the bass turned up a bit in my headphones,  but...  Glad to know that the mini-HHW get-together was another splendid gathering.

[JoseSPiano]

DR ozderek - Thank you for the update on the Queen.  

Be sure to give King Colin a royal hug for me too.

[George]

About my first encounter with Playgirl Magazine :  

When I was in high school, I was learning how to drive a stick shift (no pun intended!).  My sister, who was going to the local community college, had a Ford Fiesta and she let me drive it every once in a while.  One time (after she had come from a friend's house), my sister let me practice driving her car.  She had obviously forgotten (or maybe she didn't ) that she had left a Playgirl magazine in the passenger seat of the car (I assumed that she got from her friend).  Anyway, I drove around and stopped at my former elementary school (it was on a weekend) and looked through the magazine!  No, I didn't "enjoy" myself!!  I only looked!!

When I was younger (in middle school, maybe), I had found some of my dad's Playboy and other adult magazines ( ), but I knew even before that, that girls didn't do anything for me.  This Playgirl was the very first time I had seen an adult magazine with mostly men and, if there was any doubt, definitely confirmed what I was interested in!

I hope that this isn't TMI!!  (Too much information )

[JoseSPiano]

GREGARIOUS, Baby!  GREGARIOUS!

[bk]

I'll post the notes shortly.

[JoseSPiano]

Besides being a bit physically tired right now - two show days really do take it out of me (and everyone else) - my brain is also still recovering from the day.  I actually had more "moments" during the matinee when I was back on Keys 2.  I hadn't played that book - except for the brief rehearsal on Wednesday - since Indianapolis.  I played Keys 4 when I was in Richmond, and I've been playing Keys 4 here in DC until last night.  I also was being 'observed' by yet one more keyboard sub today.  I knew him, he knew me - and he had played the show before - but still...

I am sooooo looking forward to Monday.  I was thinking that I'd head back to Richmond for the day, but I think I may be changing my plans... We shall see...