TBA

Being that I'm in school...I have stopped posting on here for a while. I hope to begin again soon.

It has been a while!

Hello Friends...

So it has been a while since i posted last and there has been no explanation or anything. Since starting grad school about 5 weeks ago...I have been working my ass off and obviously blogging has fallen by the wayside. I can't guarentee that I will be writing on a regular basis again...but please don't give up on me...cause I will still make some entries (maybe more then i think).

Anyway...moving on...

I am really stressed about this campaign! Obama must win...MUST! That being said this video was sent to me by a friend...and i think it is very good...



okay...that's it for now...

More for Golden Girls fans...

My dad called me today at work. I answered the phone and he said, "I want to send my condolences." I FREAKED OUT! I thought someone had died! Nope, he wanted to send his condolences for Estelle Getty. He knows me so well!

From Lifetime TV:

Friday, July 25, from 12 noon to 5 pm et/pt, see a special on-air tribute to Estelle Getty, who played the cantankerous Sophia Petrillo on "The Golden Girls." Ms. Getty passed away on Tuesday, July 22, at age 84. We'll air 10 episodes showcasing the actress's character, Sophia, in all her blustering, sarcastic splendor. The final episode shown will be one picked by the fans, so vote for your favorite Sophia moment now.

Lifetime has other links in memory of Estelle. Check them out.

A Sad Day...

I am very sad to report (for those of you who do not already know) that Estelle Getty passed away. Estelle is known mostly for her role as Sophia on The Golden Girls.

From the NY Times:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's ''The Golden Girls,'' has died. She was 84.

Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.

More to come later…

A big day for Reviews...

Both Mamma Mia and [title of show] were reviewed this morning in the NY Times. Both got good reviews but both certainly had reservations. I'll start with Mamma Mia cause I thought it was the most humorous:

Even those of us who habitually favor serious, austere, aesthetically correct drinks — single-malt Scotch, green tea, pomegranate juice, whatever — may occasionally indulge in a frivolous cocktail bedecked with fruit and umbrellas and served in a bulbous, sugar-rimmed glass. The next morning’s headache seems a small price to pay for the rush of cheap liquor and uninhibited conviviality. As long as you don’t operate heavy machinery or wake up in the wrong bed, or operate heavy machinery in the wrong bed, what’s the harm?

All of which is to say: Don’t be afraid of “Mamma Mia!” (That exclamation point, by the way, is part of the title, and it’s by far the most understated thing about the movie.) You can have a perfectly nice time watching this spirited adaptation of the popular stage musical and, once the hangover wears off, acknowledge just how bad it is.

Now for [title of show]:

Nobody you ever heard of is in it. There aren’t really any characters to speak of, just four performers in everyday clothes acting like everyday people. (Everyday people who break into song and dance a lot.) The set consists of four mismatched chairs, a keyboard and a turkey burger. The darn thing does not even have a proper name.

What on earth is this show doing on Broadway?

That question is confronted head-on in the peculiar and quite adorable musical called “[title of show]” that opened on Thursday at the Lyceum Theater. The improbable story of this mini-musical’s inception, creation and determined effort to break into the theatrical big leagues is precisely what this obsessively and hilariously self-referential show is all about.

I'm convinced I'd see both of these...Happy Friday!

I’m a bitch!

Do people ever get under your skin so much and you have no idea why? Sometimes I feel bad because just looking at these people make me so frustrated I just want to punch them!

Let me explain a little more. There are people in this world that just bug me. I can’t explain why they bug me; they are generally good people. But something about them just MAKES ME SO MAD! At times, like right now, I feel guilty for disliking and thinking less about these somewhat harmless and usually good people…but everything they do just irritates me.

Why is that? Is it that I’m just a nasty, bitter person with a complete dislike for humankind? Is it jealousy (of some sort)? Do I dislike these people because I see myself in them? Whatever it is…I just want to push them in front of on coming traffic or a crowded subway car.

Now I’m not talking about the people that actually DO something to aggravate me (i.e. slow people on the sidewalks, my noisy neighbors who think every day is Cinco de Mayo, the idiot who stands in front of the doors on the subway)—I mean these people deserve my hate and wrath. I’m talking about innocent people who just, based solely on their tone of voice and manner in acting piss the FUCK OUT OF ME!

Is this how bigots and homophobes and anti-Semites’ feel about all the black, gay, and Jewish people? I don’t think so. I’m not saying I don’t like you cause you wear ugly clothes (though that could be the case)…I’m saying when you talk to me you just bug me! When you make a joke…it’s not funny! I just think you are dumb, and of a lower class than me…based on mores and social intelligence! I mean that isn’t really being discriminatory…it’s not like someone I’m judging on the street who I have never met…these are people I actually do not enjoy being in conversation with.

Or maybe I’m just on the path to being a miserable, nasty, grumpy curmudgeon.

You decide (just don’t tell me what you think or I’ll be forced to throw you out a window)

Don't just sit there...DO SOMETHING! [call to action]

I found out about this yesterday from being on the HRC emails I receive...then I just read that Dan Savage posted about this:

Republicans are moving to retain the HIV travel ban—did you know that Jesse Helms got this passed in the first place?—so I’m reposting this call to action.

There are major writing campaigns going on to let the Senate know this is not okay and repeal the ban. I have emailed my senators (Chuck and Hillary)...and I would encourage my friends and family to do the same! The HRC website makes it very easy; please go to http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hivtravelban to write your congressman/woman.

On another note; I went to Ikea this weekend...and for the 15th time I will say this publicly:

I AM NEVER GOING BACK THERE AGAIN!

I did get a new Pokal though...

HOT DOG!

First off...I apologize for the bad title of the posting.

I don't know how I feel about this:

Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics

Canine cuisine is being sent to the doghouse during next month's Beijing Olympic Games.

Dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday...

Dog, known in Chinese as "xiangrou," or "fragrant meat," is eaten by some Chinese for its purported health-giving qualities.

The dog lover in me is happy about this but the humanitarian feels like different cultures eat different things and who am I (and who is "western culture") to dictate that.

But I do think it's gross!

Why don't you just put me in a dress?

I can’t take being assumed as a woman anymore! It’s starting to do a number on my self esteem!

So I am now on, what we call at work, “Inbound.” This means that people call and email us with questions and I answer them and help them out. GREAT! I try to be friendly and helpful…as much as humanly possible. But…on almost every call people think I’m a woman! I try to laugh it off…but it is just starting to get hard.

This morning a woman called me. To set the stage…I had talked to this woman yesterday and we had a lovely conversation. She had a thick Brooklyn accent and was probably in her 60’s or above. She sounded like she probably smoked for years. I answered the phone and she gave me her name. Then she asked if I was the nice young woman who she spoke with yesterday. I said yes…why fight her on it? Then she asked me for my name. I told her it was Aaron (accenting the hard AAAAAAA as I try to do, like Aaaaaaapple). So she says, “spelled E-r-i-n?” and I reply “no, A-a-r-o-n.” So she retorts, “oh, I got an email yesterday from you and assumed it was coming from a man.”

At this point I wanted to hang up and cry…but what do I do? I just moved on…QUICKLY! “oh…well how can I help you…?”

I don’t know what upsets me more; that people assume I’m a woman or that people open their big traps and say anything. I never call anyone ma’am or sir. I assume all people’s gender is neutral when on the phone with them. When I tell people these stories they always question me. My friends and co-workers don’t think I sound like a woman…but deep down I know I do…at least on the phone. I think in person it is easy to see that I sound like a man cause when you look at me I AM A MAN. And then I question myself…should I correct people? I always correct people when they are being rude or mean to me…but nice old ladies from Brooklyn? Do they really deserve to be corrected? Will I ever meet them? No! So I keep my mouth shut.

But it effects me. I get this all the time. And the worst is always when I spell my name for people and they say, “oh, I thought that was just the spelling for the male version of the name.” At this point it’s like, “just stop talking!”

So amongst the millions of other things I’m feeling insecure with these days…it’s my voice and masculinity.

Sometimes I wonder when I’m going to wake up and all the bullshit of life will be a nightmare?

Speaking of which, I had some horrible dreams last night. I only remember one but I know there were a few. At one point in the night Michael woke me up telling me I had been screaming in my sleep! The only dream I remember is that I was torturing a good friend of mine and my friends were trying to capture me and turn me in…WEIRD.

Well, that’s all I got today!

It’s been a while…

So I have been on a little hiatus from writing my blog. The summer gets busy…I’ve been busy. Costa Rica was great and beautiful and amazing…and I WANT TO GO BACK RIGHT NOW!

So last night I went to see the musical [title of show] which has just transferred to Broadway. Anyone who likes musical theater, New York, or sitting through 90 minute shows should go see it…It was hilarious and fun and, for me, UTTERLY DEPRESSING!

Why is it that every time I see a show about young people trying to make it in New York or theater I get depressed? Is it jealousy? Is it self loathing? Is it sadness that I don’t think I’ll ever have that moment myself? I think it’s option D: all the above! I wish I could take these feelings and use them for good instead of evil. Use them to push me forward and give me drive. Instead I stay depressed for a few days…and just feel sorry for myself. That is exactly where I am right now…just feeling sorry for myself…

I’m gonna go now…and I’ll write when I feel better.

This is probably the crappiest blog I’ve ever written!