$38

Can we talk? Just a little thing really, as I gratefully type on my new laptop? I really should think about this before I say it.

It's petulant, somewhat...

especially since I'm grateful, really for all the discomfort I've avoided this year -- and how I am and was so well taken care of while I was out of work this summer and I didn't suffer -- which is different from being grateful for all I've received, which is a lot mind you.

Ok, oh, alright, I'll make a list.

I drive weekdays to a job, which I didn't have in the summer in a car that I have salary enough to pay for. I work for a company that has profit sharing, paid vacation, sick leave, insurance...

On weekends I sleep in on Saturdays, and sometimes I have a meeting or work on a set, or rehearse for either my theatre company or someone else's. Often, I go to the theatre, dinner, a movie or any combination of the above in the same weekend. On Sundays, I actually have to warn the youngest beast boy if we're not going to church so that he won't be surprised and terribly disappointed. I annually tithe to my church more than a middle class family makes in a year in Singapore -- and after placing my check in the offering basket and enjoying the music from some of our city's finest talent, I usually go out to lunch.

On weekends I also do portraiture -- using my not so cheap camera and lighting equipment and while my fees for one session would feed a child for a year in Bangladesh, they're very reasonable here in our country.

I am grateful for a frankly, huge, HDTV and the other tv's in two of our three bedrooms in a house on which there is no foreclosure. Everyone is healthy, and even though I've got palpitations caused by anemia... well... we're pretty sure there's a very manageable fix for it.

By most of the world's standards , my car is a honker -- a Mazda6 with a V6 engine that I am able to fill up twice monthly with exorbitantly priced gasoline that is made from a world resource that the next generation may not get to use.

I have satellite, high speed internet, wireless, food in the fridge, heat when it's cold and air when it's hot (which in this part of the world, at this time of year, happens in the same day.) Two dogs that are fed very well -- go Zeta! -- wonderful clothes to wear...

A loving friend, partner and Sexy Beast, and Beast Boys who have never had to, out of necessity, go hungry, without clothing, shelter, or warmth.

I am blessed with friends galore, a loving community that accepts me as I am, and a family that does, too.

Why am I so freekin' pissed that I have to pay the IRS $38???

ARggghhhhhhhhhhhh....

...what IS that???

Juliet van Otteren

Last night I did my first class with Juliet van Otteren. She is an outstanding artist and an sizzling, passionate person. She loves life, her work, and being on the planet. Prints from her books, Heart of The Horse, and the upcoming Being Dog, are hung in an exhibit where I go to church which is probably the least prestigious place she’s ever hung an exhibit. She has otherwise had exhibits at The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The National Portrait Gallery in London, The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in France, and lots more. In terms of the success terms we white bread Americans can understand, she’s so good you can buy her stuff at Art.com and Amazon.com.

Her results are in and of themselves amazing but how she does it is a courageous, spiritual experience. For Heart of The Horse, she used real film and painstakingly took the time to go into the darkroom herself to accomplish the results she wanted. I spent some of the evening staring at her photos in ways that are considered impolite if you are looking at real people. But that’s not as astounding as how she gets the shot.

So Juliet sets up a studio and lets the animals roam about as they wish, and do what they want. For her horse series, she used five strobes with a gi-normous backdrop set up in a barn. She left the barn door open so the horses could leave any time they wanted. She did the same for the dogs.

I'm inspired and intrigued. Our first assignment, a self portrait. Hmmm oh geeeesh... the anxiety!

When The Sexy Beast is Away... or I Should Have Bought The Dell Sooner...

No, I don't play, when the Sexy Beast is away.

I miss her. It's glorious out today, a balmy 80 degrees and she's in rainy cold Salt Lake with her mother, brother, and grandfather, who is dying. He's quite old enough now to deserve a good send off, and according to my love, his body is doing what a body does when it's just too worn out to keep going.

I'm so glad she gets to be with that part of her family even though this part of her family misses her lots and lots.

As for me, I am feeling a bit overly geeky in happy anticipation of the arrival of my new laptop. Yeah, I got a Dell... it seems so Republican in light of being a creative person who entertained voting for Apple. But Apples are too rich for my blood. Here's what I got:
I shopped the factory outlet and then kept going back to review the competitors, who couldn't even come close --even on refurbished models.

A refurbished Apple costs three times what this honker costs. And I confess it's a honker -- weighing in at around eight pounds with a 17 inch screen. I need the big screen! I do photo work! And I don't plan on schlepping it to every Starbucks, airport and boardroom in the country. I plan on using it at home on a consistent basis without feeling guilty for bumping Beast Boy 2 offline when he's doing homework (if he's really doing it.)

Yes I chose a brown cover. Black lacked expression, white was too... "apple-ey." Flamingo Pink and Spring Green will either a) never resell on Craig's List or, b) never be used by Beast Boy Two if he wants it down the line and is willing to use a hand me down computer that is older than an infant's shirt size. Red and Blue both seem so ... so... I don't know... elementary. school. (What's your favorite color? Blue. Red. Pfft.)

So, here we are with brown. Unique, but not outrageous. Risky, but calculated. The messenger bag that matches though, it's very cool... Home design fashionistas have enjoyed this color combination for a few of the most recent years.

I am further blessed to be able to get the bag at just over cost! Whee!

Ok, I can't believe that I'm about to have this conversation, but I am. The Dell comes with 3gb RAM and 160 gb Sata hard drive. Now it also comes with a Graphics Media accelerator X3100, which pulls it's performance from the main memory, but I really won't be playing a bunch of games, or running DVD's while I'm working in Photoshop -- but, I might do either separately. The card is built into the motherboard chipset, and that's what slows her down. What? ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZ... I know a little about these things. I work for a company that builds workstations. No, they didn't make me one because they're workstations, not laptops. We don't do laptops.

Now, since we're all nodding off from this boring conversation, I think I'll sign off and watch the Oscars... before getting bored and switching to The L Word.

It would be a perfect weekend to have set up my new laptop, but I still would miss the Sexy Beast.

YaaaAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Lookie what I found today: X-Files 2

Yay for summer.

Yay for The X-Files. Yay!!!!

Snipped entirely from Variety Online:

"Fox sets date for 'X-Files' sequel

Scully, Mulder return to theaters on July 25

The long-awaited second "X-Files" film is finally a go, with 20th Century Fox setting a July 25, 2008 release date.

Untitled project reunites "X-Files" creator Chris Carter will thesps David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who will reprise their signature roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

Carter begins lensing in December in Vancouver from a script he co-wrote with Frank

Spotnitz, a veteran scribe of the long-running "X-Files" television series, which became a worldwide hit during its 1993-2002 run on the Fox network. Spotnitz also co-wrote with Carter the screenplay for 1998 feature "X-Files." Carter and Spotnitz will also serve as producers.

Studio is keeping the film's logline under wraps, but stressed the pic is a stand-alone story and supernatural thriller that takes the complicated relationship between Mulder and Scully in new directions."

Oh that they had been shooting in Vancouver at the VERY SAME time as The L Word.

The Sexy Beast would have had to fly me there.... pant, pant.

The lovely ladies in the last blog have nothing on Gillian Anderson.

L Girls

I was at Subway today, getting that favorite sandwich of mine that, the last time I was at Subway, the guy before me ordered in exactly the same fashion until we got to the end of the line. He went for Ranch, I went for Italian -- on our sandwiches. Creepy. But I digress.

While there today, I heard OMG! Flashdance! Playing! Remember that? It actually made me smile to hear it somewhere besides in my head after all this time. Remember this?


Well... now we have this:
And we like it. It's one of the things that currently rocks. I may have to rent Flashdance from Netflix and laugh and laugh and laugh.

One of the things that doesn't rock:

Where is Rachel Shelley? Whaaaaaa? I like her best. When I have time I'll go trolling and find spoilers or something and see what's up.

Aside from Rachel's absence, it's been a pretty good L Word season. Some worthy plot lines. Some Tibette goin' on. They've got the right chemistry. Doncha think? Cheating sucks though, but I guess there just wasn't a more creative way to thicken the plot and keep viewers? I mean, it is a soap opera, if we get right down to it.

So I'm off to the gym... laugh if you must.

Fin.

Jane Lynch... But I Digress

I love Jane Lynch.

You know those ridiculous questions on Myspace pages like "who would you like to meet?" -- Does that mean, like, a mate, or Jesus, or what? BTW, the only reason I have a Myspace page is to spy on the Beast Boys. There's nothing there, don't go looking.

So, anyway... I "would like to meet" Jane Lynch. Here's an actress that works. (Six films coming out in 2008) I mean never out of work. And she's never been in the closet. I would go for meeting Catherine O'Hara, too. They're both brilliant, but something about Jane Lynch suggests she's just lots and lots and lots of fun offscreen.

Now, I got sidetracked looking for a Jane Lynch clip and ran into this (read this if you care at all about the rights of GLBT people) on The L Word's "Our Chart."


I wish I had taken that photo. Richard Phibbs took it. It's all retouched but it's great. I know someone who lurks on my blog who would love this photo -- if she hasn't seen it already.

But, I digress.

Sorta.

I'd like to meet Hillary Clinton. I WOULD. I know, I know, Obama is great, but I think Hillary has bigger cahones. And our next president will need them.

I have seen Hillary in person a couple of times. She said in an interview last week or so, that she sits down and has a beer with people, lots of them. I wouldn't mind being one of them.

Here's a little of what Hillary says in her address post on Our Chart.

"My father was a conservative Republican, who held very traditional views for much of his life. Yet in his last years, it was a gay couple who lived next door who provided much of the compassion and comfort he and my mother needed as he grew ill. And it was that same neighbor who held his hand as he died. If my father can move, America can move.

To each and every LGBT American, I say this. You have done so much to help this country understand your lives by simply being open and honest about who you are and living your lives with dignity. Thank you for your courage. It is time that we recognize your hard work. I know that this country is ready for changes in the law that reflect the evolution in our hearts."

Ok, so Jane Lynch. Jane has done lots and lots of work, in film and television, including two of my favorite shows, The X-Files and The L Word. (If it doesn't have a single consonant somewhere in the title, I don't watch it.) I know, I know! You're wondering if I know WHICH X-Files episode she's in -- "Lord of The Flies." Season Nine. Crappy Season. I had to look up which episode, and only vaguely remember it.

Ok, so Jane Lynch. Here ya go.

Enjoy.

Five Women Wearing The Same Dress

I suppose I should encourage the six people that read my blog to reserve their seats for Five Women Wearing The Same Dress. At least two of you have.

To the other four of you, I say make your reservation.

I've become somewhat compulsive about checking out the reservation system -- only because this show is selling so fast! Under the blog entry "Things That Rock," this is one of them... it's a phenomenon, I guess. I say this because we're a new theatre in our first season and our third show. That we're booking at 80-90% capacity is, from a business standpoint, absolutely amazing.

Anyway, I'm sure my webmaster can keep stats on this sort of thing and tell me how much traffic we get, but still, I love watching that number go up 20-30 seats a day.

In other news, I did two photo sessions last weekend with two beautiful women, and, when Beast Boy #2 isn't standing over my shoulder to get online, I'll post them. Looks like it's time for another computer in the house, as the Beast Boy usually needs it for home work at the same time I am working on photo management. Nice to have that sort of problem! Suggestions are welcome -- and I think a laptop is called for.

...make your reservations for Five Women.

The End.