on the road again

Highlights from the June travels:

New York

the biggest piece of pizza ever for only $2!


of all the upper west side's millions of statues, this was the best.



Wescher's Currywurst! This is where I worked in New York, but I left the city before the restaurant actually opened, so this was the first time I got to see the baby all grown up.

Colorado

This day Jeff led a group of about 60 volunteers to work on trailbuilding and nature maintainence.


cheyenne my parrot friend


this river is wild


teva games

Mass.


Father's Day morning on West Beach :(


the Bali Hai=my favorite Chineses in the world


the view from Marissa's deck


FIZZMAN


thanks to mapquest + the george washington bridge

the mermaid chair

I just read The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. A+

Favorite quotes

You can't stop your heart from loving, really--it's like standing out there in the ocean, yelling at the waves to stop.
*
When a person was in need of a cataclysmic change, of a whole new center of personality, for instance, his or her psyche would induce an infatuation, an erotic attachment, an intense falling in love. He knew this. Every analyst knew it. Falling in love was the oldest, most ruthless catalyst on earth.
*
We stood there staring at each other. I wondered if I would've fallen in love with him if he'd been a shoe salesman in Atlanta. It was a bizarre thought, but it seemed somehow the most sensible thought of my life. I doubted I would have, and it was disillusioning to me in the sense of stripping away the last remaining illusions. My falling in love with him had every thing to do with his monkness, his loyalty to what lay deep within him, the self-containment of his solitude, that desire to be transformed. What I'd loved in him most was my own aliveness, his ability to give me back to myself. It felt cruel and astonishing to realize that our relationship had never belonged out therein the world, in a real world where you wash socks and slice onions. It belonged in the shadowed linings of the soul. I had come to the irreducible thing, just as I had with my father, and there was nothing to do but accept, to learn to accept, to lie every night and accept.
*
You brought me deeper into life--how could I regret that?

hallelujah, i adore it.

memorial day night

the ghost of halloween past

In cleaning out Grey Gardens, I found an old Halloween costume. Compare the glory days:


To the aftermath:


Moral being: do not depend on electrical tape for the backbone of a quality costume.

antoinette perry

My 2009 Tony Award opinions.

Best Play

Dividing the Estate
God of Carnage
Reasons to Be Pretty
33 Variations

* I vote Reasons to Be Pretty bc Neil LaBute is clever and Moises Kaufman has had his day. Kaufman has good ideas that I don't think translate quite as well, but LaBute's actual writing is so much sharper. I don't know too much about God of Carnage but it does seem kind of awesome [or boring].

Best Musical

Billy Elliot, The Musical
Next to Normal
Rock of Ages
Shrek The Musical

* Obviously, it will be Billy Elliot & that is ok by me.

Best Revival of a Play

Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
New Version: Peter Oswald
The Norman Conquests
Waiting for Godot

* I'm hoping for Mary Stuart since it's a Donmar import, but Waiting for Godot is more of an easy, name-casted production, so boo.

Best Revival of a Musical

Guys and Dolls
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

* It's funny that G&D and WSS could have pretty easily had great, crowd-pleasing productions & both have gotten terrible reviews. Hair would have been my first choice anyway, but now I think it actually has a shot. But stupid Pal Joey will probably win since it's gross and people love gross revivals.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to Be Pretty

* Geoffrey Rush is in his own category here.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

* What does it say about the quality of actresses in a season if they can only pull the nominees from 3 shows? Jane Fonda's a joke, Marcia Gay Harden is old news (but I think the front-runner), and the Mary Stuart ladies are gold.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish ‚ Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal

* Brian d'Arcy James is so 1990s & Constantine is an American Idol gremlin, so no. Gavin Creel is hott, so that would be fine. But I like it when children win Tonys, so cheers to the little tripping billies.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

* Alice Ripley & Sutton Foster are pointless. I want Josefina the underdog.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot, The Musical

* Karen Olivo is so pretty, but my heart belongs to Martha.

Best Choreography

Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5: The Musical
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Randy Skinner, Irving Berlin's White Christmas

* I just think it says something that both West Side Story and Guys & Dolls were both left out of this category when they could have had such easy nominations.

the incident

killer snow man attacks gill's room from the attic



a way close-up

hometown heroes

I went to Wilmington the other day and ended up staying longer than intended, which is my custom when I go visit people. We went to Deer Park, which sucked, but we forgot that Newark in general sucks. The silly Pangs were the reason why I was at Deer Park. But I also found out that the silly Pangs will be playing at All Good, so I am hoping to find myself there too.

Sweet Rockwood.

Because grass & sky are what water & sand used to be.

And live from Mojo


The only CD I have listened to lately is Fall Out Boy's Folie a Deux, which had bits that sounded like The Relay, Britney's Circus, All That You Can't Leave Behind, Maroon 5, and awesomeness. I love it forever and always.

I forgot that I had the DVD of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button out when I left. My first impression of the movie: Skeleton Key meets boring & serious. After 20 minutes, I pretty much put it on pause for 3 hours. I liked this though:
A: Are you afraid?
B: I'm curious.

thirsty/sleepy

thirsty


sleepy

baby names

"The top five boys names remained unchanged from 2007. Jacob was followed by Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel. Alexander joined the top 10 at No. 6 while Andrew dropped out"-yahoo news

5. Daniel Faraday


4. Josh Holloway (a stretch)


3. Ethan Rom


2. Michael Dawson


1. JACOB

follow the leader

I loved:
-Sawyer and Juliet's love.
-Sayid crouching in the jungle like a neon tiger.


I disliked:
-The fact that every line that Sun delivered was a variation of, "Where is Jin?"
-That Kate just had to show up to ruin Sawyer & Juliet's love.
-Young Charles Whidmore looks like a Narnia character.

I want from the season finale:
-Some solid information on Jacob.
-Sun & Jin reuniting.
-Some more time travelocity.
-Claire.
-The Jack & Kate break-up.
-Identity of Penny's mother.

Best quote:
John Locke: Beautiful day, isn't it?
Benry: Yes. So far.

faraday's journal!

My journal:


vs.

Dan's journal:

*note how they are exactly the same.

Obviously, Daniel Faraday is not dead & time-travelled to NYC in September to tell to Mandi buy the journal. Or, we will be seeing Mandi in line behind Eloise in a flash-back. Both goood options.

sheena

objects in the rearview mirror

honey

"Put up Christmas lights and the musicians will come."
-Devin Zito, quoting someone I forget.

Goodbye to Newcomb Road. You have brought me many happy hours and eaten the majority of my posessions.