Random Musings Of A Mid-20th Century Gay Man On The Memories, Experiences, People, Animals & Things That He Loves To See, Hear, Read, Feel, Smell & Imbibe
This is a first peek at the new film JULIE & JULIA with Meryl Streep playing Julia Child. OMG! I am so looking forward to this film starring four of my most favorite actors: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Jane Lynch & Stanley Tucci. Since working in films starting in 1979, she has been a steady, consistent, & amazing actress whose films got nominated for awards but didn't make a lot of money. Now she's a box office star. Starting with The DevilWears Prada & cemented with Mamma Mia!, Streep (weeks away from her 60th birthday) is now the summer box office champ & is considered to be one of the few actors who can "open" a movie. Instead of competing with Susan Sarandon or Annette Bening to play the latest eccentric mom, Streep is going head to head with Angelina Jolie & Julia Roberts for the title of Most Bankable Actress On Earth. She's bigger than she's ever been. There is a poetic justice to the fact that Streep's career has a eclipsed her male contemporaries: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, & even Jack Nicholson for box office clout. Can't wait!
Lucy in Three Penny Opera Yenta in Fiddler On The Roof Vera Charles in Mame Maude Findlay on All In The Family & on Maude Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls If that were all, it still would have been an amazing lifetime.
A great talent as an actress & singer for seven decades on Stage, Screen & Television Golden Globe, Tony & Emmy winner...here she sings with Rock Hudson about drug use:
"After being in the business for such a long time, I've done everything but rodeo and porno."
This blog is about me, my life, my thoughts, ideas & opinions... I want to start the weekend off with something uber-gay (my friend Tad told me last night- "there is such a thing as TOO gay") & take a moment to reflect, not just on MOVIE MUSICALS, but even gayer- CHOREOGRAPHY! This one goes out to my friend Walter Kennedy, Professor of Dance at the University of Oregon:
This clip is by blogger: And Your Little Blog, Too.
“...it doesn't matter how you feel inside, you know? It's what shows up on the surface that counts. That's what my mother taught me. Take all your bad feelings and push them down, all the way down, past your knees until you're almost walking on them. And then you'll fit in, and you'll be invited to parties, and boys will like you, and happiness will follow.”
This stuff makes me so joyful. This is more Improv Everywhere style madness...this time at Piccadilly Circus in London. I thought I was all done with All the Single Ladies videos, but one more time:
I am a BIG fan of Christopher Meloni. The husband & I watched every episode of OZ. The HBO series gave me "Meloni on the brain" & it made me never want to go to prison.
Stanley Evans Snowdy was born on April 20th, 1954 (interesting that he was born on 420). He became my first BFF. Stanley Snowdy & I met in first grade. We have lived in the same city three times. There were periods where we would loose track of each other for a few years, but we always found each other again. There was an era when we saw each other daily for about three years. We have been through a lot of good times, a few sexy times, & we have helped each other through some major shit. Stanley has lost two partners. He is also a little nutty.
He has lived in Spokane, Phoenix, Portland, Eugene, Astoria, Seattle & now he lives with his two dogs in Palm Springs.
We both moved back to Spokane, for a short sprint in the late 70s, to collect ourselves after some trauma of some kind (boys). At that time he lived in Peaceful Valley, a neighborhood in Spokane, near downtown, that is right on the river, not far from the falls. He lived in an original cabin that was one step up from a squatter's shack. At one point he lived in William Holden's mother's house in Palm Springs. I think he lived in his beloved VW for a time. In the 90s, he didn't live- but might as well have, at our house in Seattle. He collects cigar boxes & he has hundreds. The husband & I have several objects that came from Stanley... so we think of him often. He is loved.
A little something juicy: Stanley & the husband had an affair once, before the husband & I were an item. One Degree of Separation? I think they would have been terrific BFs- two difficult, stubborn, hard headed, artistic Aires!
I found the name Ariel Aparicio written in the husband's handwriting on the back of his physical therapy exercises handout sheet. Hmmm...who is this Ariel? So, I go on the Internet & this what I found. I love him & this cover of the 80s Psychedelic Furs tune (loved the original!). Thanks to the Husband!
From his website:
Ariel Aparicio knows rock and roll, & on his latest releases, he grabs hold of this knowledge & a host of life experiences & hoists them violently & unapologetically onto the recordings, for all to hear. Ariel’s latest endeavor, his version of the Psychedelic Furs ‘80s classic “Pretty in Pink". Not only has the response been overwhelming, but Richard Butler (lead singer of The Furs) chimed in - “I loved the version. Well done!” His latest full-length release is titled All These Brilliant Things.
Cuban by birth, Ariel is now a full-time Brooklynite. Having gone from bartender to the owner of two of Brooklyn’s hottest restaurants, JOYA in Cobble Hill and SONG in Park Slope, Ariel is attuned to the abrupt highs and lows of life in the city. Ariel spent three years cooking up the tasty numbers on All These Brilliant Things, following the release of his acclaimed punk-rock jaunt Frolic and Fuck, which the Hot Indie News called “an indie rock classic.” His debut, titled All I Wanted, was released in 2002 & was also favorably received.
Ariel and his partner opened JOYA, their first restaurant eight years ago. He was a struggling musician and waiter, and his partner was a court reporter. According to Ariel, they figured, "what do we have to lose? We will always be in debt anyway." Both restaurants serve Thai food & provide delicious, inexpensive food in a very cool rock & roll environment. He says, "There is always music playing. It is always a good time! That's what I wanted to do. I wanted a restaurant that was an expression of ourselves. Music is vital in our lives & it's vital in our restaurants. If you listen closely, you will occasionally hear an Ariel Aparicio tune coming off the iPod during the week or from our DJ's on the weekend."In early 2009, Ariel was given the honor to be a part of the OUTMusic “Freedom of Expression” campaign - a campaign that addresses the silent discrimination that goes on within the entertainment industry & focuses on positive encouragement for GLBT artist to be “out” & “open” about their sexuality.
Currently, Ariel resides in Brooklyn with his life partner of 15 years & their 3-year-old son.
Our dog- Larry, a rescued Jack Russell, had surgery today for a cancerous growth on his foot...
& that growth was UGLY! The "thing" looked like "Alien". We should have called in Sigourney Weaver, but $1000 (!) later & he is recouping nicely at home. He is a grouchy little dog, but he has been sweet during this entire ordeal.
My husband is an amazing guy... a world class designer, a truly talented artist, a champion of the underdog & he has put up with me for 30 years. His fine art is collage, slightly in the vein of Joesph Cornell, made from found objects. I am sharing a few of his pieces here including his giant work- Boys' Fort, which is in our back garden. In his lifetime he has been a first rate theatre designer & director, actor, husband, father & friend. I wish him lots o' love & a long happy life, on this- the day of his birth April 16th.
I used to sing- BILL from Showboat for auditions. I would sing it "straight",with no hint of camp or irony. I loved doing it, but I think it flipped out some directors & music directors. I have not viewed Dr. Who or Torchwood, but I have been following John Barrowman in the press. He seems to be a really popular star in Britain. He is out of the closet & proud. I think I love him (he has been with his husband for 15 years)! He is singing here with Daniel Boys, a British stage actor now appearing in Avenue Q in London. I would like to be in the middle of that final hug! I love the score from Chess & used to listen to it often when it first came out. I think some people are confused about this song. It isn't meant to be a love song, its two people talking about their relationships with the same man - both realising that they can't fulfill him, but in different ways.
I love Rachel Maddow & I really love that the NOM has used this acronym! What Rachel doesn't mention is that 2M4M is an acronym for a male couple seeking a male (I have no idea why I know that!)!
1984 was my favorite year of my 55 years in this lifetime. There will be more about my favorite year in a future post, but... 25 years ago today (April 10 1984) the number one song was: Footloose by Kenny Loggins & damn, if I didn't dig it at the time! Oh well, I have several guilty pleasures in my music collection.
Favorite Kevin Bacon film: Wild Things (check it out). Kevin is looking pretty damn fine at 50 years old! Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Try one degree: I am in the film SINGLES with Krya Sedgwick, wife of Kevin Bacon.
High 70s today in Portland Oregon... this really lifts my spirits! I am going to spend time cleaning the gardens & see what made it through the "Winter Blast" 08/09. Here are "before & afters" of our Magnolias. They usually are in full glory during torrential rain, so nice to be able to enjoy their short run. We live on a regular city lot & we have 15 trees! Cornus Mas blooms first, in early February, with tiny yellow flowers. The Magnolias are next in late March/early April.
More Lyrics:
This song is in my all time top twenty songs. I play it often at this time of year & I have two different versions that bookend my April Mix that my friends are clamoring for:
Once I was a sentimental thing
Threw my heart away each spring
Now a spring romance hasn't got a chance
Promised my first dance to winter
All I've got to shows a splinter for my little fling!
Spring this year has got me feeling like a horse that never left the post
I lie in my room staring up at the ceiling
Spring can really hang you up the most!
Mornings kiss wakes trees & flowers, & to them I'd like to drink a toast
I walk in the park just to kill lonely hours
Spring can really hang you up the most.
All afternoon those birds twitter twit,
I know the tune, this is love, this is it!
Heard it before and I know the score
& I've decided that spring is a bore!
Love seemed sure around the new year
Now its April & love is just a ghost
Spring arrived on time, only what became of you, dear?
Spring can really hang you up the most!
Spring can really hang you up the most!
Spring is here, there's no mistaking
Robins building nests from coast to coast
My heart tries to sing so they won't hear it breaking
Spring can really hang you up the most!
College boys are writing sonnets
In the tender passion they're engrossed
But I'm on the shelf with last years Easter bonnets
Spring can really hang you up the most!
Love came my way, I hoped it would last
We had our day, now that's all in the past
Spring came along a season of song
Full of sweet promise but something went wrong!
Doctors once prescribed a tonic,
Sulphur & molasses was the dose
Didn't help a bit, my condition must be chronic
Spring can really hang you up the most!
All alone, the party's over
Old man winter was a gracious host
But when you keep praying for snow to hide the clover
Spring can really hang you up the most!
This version represents one of the many summits of Ella's artistry. What could possibly have inspired a songwriter to write with the idea that Spring is the cruelest season? It's such a striking idea for a song that is otherwise more or less full of the usual Tin Pan Alley cliches, I have been really think about this. Thanks to my music library & the Internet, I found the answer... I discovered that the song's composers are Fran Landesman (lyrics) & Tommy Wolf (music). Even though the song sounds like a classic of the Great American Songbook variety, Landesman is alive and has set up her own site to expound on her art: "Fran Landesman is still the poet laureate of lovers and losers: her songs are the secret diaries of the desperate & the decadent. No one can convey the bitter-sweet joys of melancholy or the exhilaration of living on the edge like Fran." Well, that certainly sounds right, but what about that song? According to the intriguing biography on her site, Landesman wrote the song shortly after she initiated her collaboration with Tommy Wolf at the Crystal Palace in St. Louis: "Fran and Tommy soon began writing songs which he would sing nightly to the drinking masses at the Crystal Palace. One night the British born piano player George Shearing came into the club & was particularly taken with a song whose title Fran had come up with while speculating on how a hip jazz musician might express the T.S. Eliot line "April Is The Cruelest Month..." The song was called "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most." Hmmm....that is it! The source of this striking song lies in the "The Waste Land": April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. For me, Spring has always been equal measures of invigoration & melancholy. No wonder this song has always struck a chord.
I love the gorilla happening/theatre group- IMPROV EVERYWHERE. This makes me very happy & gives me faith in the human race once more. Same Sex couples can marry in Belgium. I hope that this is the chaos, that is the result of same sex marriage, that the Freepers keep warning us of! Op zoek naar Maria - Dans in het Centraal Station van Antwerpen
Jay Brannan I love the music of sweet, sexy, talented, 27 year old Jay Brannan. He appeared in one of my favorite movies- Short Bus. I really like this song. If you don't know about him, let me introduce you to...
In his biography Alec Guinness: The Unknown, Garry O'Connor reveals that Guinness was arrested and fined 10 guineas for a homosexual act in a public lavatory in Liverpool in 1946. Guinness avoided publicity by giving his name as "Herbert Pocket" to both police and court. The name "Herbert Pocket" was taken from the character in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations that Guinness had played on stage in 1939 and was also about to play in the film adaptation. The incident did not become public knowledge until April 2001, eight months after his death. The authenticity of this incident has been doubted, however, including by Piers Paul Read, Guinness's official biographer, who believes that Guinness was mixed up with John Gielgud, who was infamously arrested for such an act at the same period, though Read nonetheless acknowledges Guinness's bisexuality.
On Friday, September 23, 1955, Guinness was at the Villa Capri restaurant in Los Angeles, and found no table available. The actor James Dean, then filming Giant, invited Guinness to sit at his table. During lunch, Dean talked about his new car, a Porsche 550 Spyder. On leaving the restaurant, Dean insisted on showing off the car to Guinness, who said "Please never get in it. If you do, you will be dead within a week." Dean died in a crash in the Porsche the following Friday, September 30.
Guinness won the Academy Award as Best Actor in 1957 for his role in Bridge on the River Kwai. He was nominated in 1958 for his screenplay adapted from Joyce Cary's novel The Horse's Mouth and for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977. He also received an Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievement in 1980. In 1988, he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Little Dorrit.
HAIR-the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical opened on Broadway, produced by The Public Theatre 30+ years after the original. The new production received ecstatic reviews when it played in Central Park last summer (how cool was that...the show takes place in Central Park!).
The show got rave reviews this morning.
It remains one of my favorite scores & I love the movie directed by Milos Foreman.
This is Gavin Creel , the openly gay actor who plays Claude.
My postings got really GAY there for awhile. Gay Life & Gay History are important subjects to me, but certainly not the only interests that I hold. One of my life long obsessions has been - The Popular Song. When I was very young, I would come home from school at 2:20pm (I had the house to myself until 5:30pm) & I would listen to & dance to music for most of the afternoon (or until Dark Shadows started). I used a candlestick as my microphone & I would pretend that I was a guest on the Mike Douglas Show. I would sing my newest single & then settle down for my interview with Mike. Then Mike Douglas would urge me on to do one more number, as he asked the studio audience to applaud loudly & with enthusiasm to encourage me. I would oblige. My parents recently made a mixed tape of all my favorite songs from when I was under six years old. They claim that my first favorite song was "Constantinople"... " oh you can't go back to Constantinople, no you can't go back to..." by The Four Lads. As a very young man I started to collect books about composers. I received a big "coffee table" style book of the Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter for my 12th birthday. I soon had books about all the major composers & lyricists of popular songs & show tunes, which for decades were the same thing. Two of my favorites are Lyrics On Several Occasions by Ira Gershwin (1959) & a big thick collection - Reading Lyrics (2000). Here are two of my favorite lyrics from two very different talents:
Cole Porter
My story is much to sad to be told But practically everything leaves me totally cold The only exception I know is the case When Im out on a quiet spree, fighting vainly the old ennui Then I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face
I get no kick from champagne Mere alcohol doesnt thrill me at all So tell me why should it be true That I get a kick out of you
Some get a kick from cocaine I'm sure that if I took even one sniff It would bore me terrific'ly too But I get a kick out of you
I get a kick evrytime I see you standing there before me. I get a kick though its clear to me You obviously don't adore me.
I get no kick in a plane. Flying too high with some guy in the sky Is my idea of nothing to do, Yet I get a kick out of you.
(my Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter has 16 more verses... some very ribald)
Elvis Costello
Don't tell me you don't know what love is When you're old enough to know better When you find strange hands in your sweater When your dreamboat turns out to be a footnote I'm a man with a mission in two or three editions
And I'm giving you a longing look Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book
Chapter One we didn't really get along Chapter Two I think I fell in love with you You said you'd stand by me in the middle of Chapter Three But you were up to your old tricks in Chapters Four, Five and Six
And I'm giving you a longing look Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book
The way you walk The way you talk, and try to kiss me, and laugh In four or five paragraphs All your compliments and your cutting remarks Are captured here in my quotation marks
Don't tell me you don't know the difference Between a lover and a fighter With my pen and my electric typewriter Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel
And I'm giving you a longing look Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book
I am a mid-20th century gay man still trying to get a handle on how to live life with meaning. I live in Portland Oregon with my husband/partner of 32+ years & the terriers: Lulu & Junior.
As an actor I have been in over 150 full stage productions, 12 films/TV, over 50 commercials & voice overs.
Our home & garden in Seattle (1981-2001) were published several times & were featured in a "coffee table" book- Flea Market Decorating by Meredith Press. That garden was on the Seattle Art Museum's Tour Of Artists' Gardens in 1999.
We moved to Portland in a fit of middle age anxiety in 2001.
We spend our time & money working on our house & garden in a working class bungalow, in a working class neighborhood.
The old-ball-& chain & I are thought to be a little nutty. ME:
complicated &
opinionated &
neat-nick &
cocktail drinker, tree hugger & seeker.
Kinsey 6, Myers-Briggs ENFJ, Capricorn/Snake
