Category Archives: Entertainment

Fall Films: A Few Movies, Coming Soon, I’m looking Forward to Seeing

I’ve had enough Politics for a few days….Let’s go to the movies.

Here are some of the Fall Movies I’m really looking forward to…

It’s a pretty diverse group!

The King’s Speech:

This is literally at the top of my list…

True Grit:

Interested to see how this turns out.  With Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges, and the Coen Brothers, it could be interesting.  But Kim Darby owns the part of Mattie Ross…

Love and Other Drugs:

This looks like a great romantic comedy.  And I love Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal

Burlesque

This is either going to be great fun or the next “Showgirls”.  But it has a great cast, including Cher.

Black Swan:

Natalie Portman has gotten some great reviews for this thriller set in the world of Ballet:

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A Broadway Holloween

“One Halloween” from  the 1973 broadcast of “Applause”:

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Movie/DVD Recommendation: “Big Eden”

I was thinking about this movie this morning and that I need to see it again.  It’s one of my favorite independent movies.

“Big Eden” is heartwarming, without being overly sentimental.  It is about Gay people but every straight person I’ve ever recommended it to has also loved it.  It’s about an idealized small town where everyone comes together and is open minded and supportive of each other.  I think of it as kind of like “Northern Exposure”, but a little more Gay.

I encourage you to buy or rent “Big Eden” on DVD.  I promise, you will be glad you  watched it.

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Rose’s Turn: Your Choice

It’s one of the most famous roles in American Musical Theatre.

Moma Rose in “Gypsy”.

Alas, there is no footage of the original Mama Rose, Ethel Merman…but

Thanks to YouTube, there are videos of many of the most famous Rose’s doing the famous “Rose’s Turn”  or other numbers from the show.

Who’s the best?  Your choice….tell us.

Tony Award Winner Tyne Daly

Bernadette Peters:

Betty Buckley:

Patti LuPone:

Angela Lansbury:  No video of Rose’s Turn, so this number will have to do:

Bette Midler:

Rosalind Russell:

Kurt …from Glee

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Cagney and Lacey: The Musical

I love this video…

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My First Broadway Show

I just found some clips from the first show I ever saw in New York on Broadway.

Over a hundred shows later, it was still one of the best…

Damn Yankees. 1994 Revival

 

 

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In Honor of the That Old Devil Moon…

That Old Devil Moon.

One of my favorite songs from one of last year’s Best Revivals “Finian’s Rainbow”.

I loved seeing this show…

It’s a full moon.  The pagan in me wants to celebrate…with show tunes.

With one of my favorite Broadway performers, Cheyenne Jackson and the wonderful Kate Baldwin.

And…with Judy doing it…

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YogaSlackers take a Rest Day – Kinda’ | Wend Magazine – iWend

Yoga Teachers:  Don’t be getting any ideas….

 

From the accompanying article:

This past weekend, we were busy.  Sam, Chelsey and I hosted the largest gathering of advanced acroyogis (blend of acrobatics, yoga, and flying massage) that has ever converged in Arizona. We taught and practiced for nearly 10 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. It was a beautiful sight, to see so many people pushing themselves and trusting each other. Chelsey and I taught a very difficult sequence – possibly the most difficult acrobatic flow that has ever been publicly taught in a workshop setting. We demanded a lot from ourselves, and even more from our students. They did not disappoint.

Sunday night, as we finally made our way to bed after midnight, we looked forward to a sleeping in and waking up to a lazy rest day. Our friend and majestic bodywork Guru — Charlie Roach (Four Rivers Massage 520.406.4703 – worth visiting Tucson for!) — has been working on us off and on over the last year and urged us to take a bit of a rest. The acrobatics, constant race training and serious yoga practice had been taking it’s toll. We were still not fully recovered from the 1080 miles of the YES tour. We all joke about being super-human, but our shoulders, hips, and wrists were all feeling the overuse.

I slept until 7:30, which seemed pretty late since the previous week Chelsey and I had woke at 5:30 AM every morning to practice. I taught a yoga class at 8:00, intending on a leisurely breakfast and lazy afternoon. Unfortunately, Sam and Dan (yogaslacker from Minnesota who was in town for the Acro workshops) showed up to my class, and insisted that we take advantage of Dan’s last day in town. Suffice to say, I am gonna need another rest day after my rest day….

More:   YogaSlackers take a Rest Day – Kinda’ | Wend Magazine – iWend.

 

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Margaret and Helen’s Pledge to America

Here is the latest from the girls!

Margaret, the problem with Populism is that the population includes asses like Sarah Palin and her Tea Party.  Someone needs to remind them that this is America.  The government is elected by the people.  Questioning your government is patriotic.  Hating your government, one the other hand,  is simply a form of self loathing.

And let’s talk about that hatred.  It seems so at odds with the supposed Christian morals they so proudly espouse.  They hate big government but instead of taking issue with the largest part of that government – the military – they take issue with healthcare.  They hate big government in healthcare but they have no issue with government being big enough to intervene in the private health decisions of a woman seeking to end a pregnancy or the private decisions of a husband wanting to end the decade long sufferings of his wife.  They hate big government but they don’t seem to hate using government to legislate hate against homosexuals.  And they hate big government, but they don’t seem to hate it when they can use it to fuel their hatred.  Gosh I hate that…

And now those morons in Washington with the “R” after their names have made another pledge to America.   I guess it’s just one more thing they can do today and then ignore tomorrow .   A Contract With America.   A Pledge to America.  Mission Accomplished.   For goodness sakes how many times are we going to fall for this prank?  They spend years screwing everything up and then eventually pledge to not do it again.  How about not doing it the first time… or the second time for that matter?

MORE:   Margaret and Helen.

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“The Boys in the Band”

I have a love/hate relationship with “The Boys in the Band.”

I love it because it was one of the first Gay plays to be a hit in New York.  It brought homosexuality out of the closet and onto the stage.  It was a true cultural touchstone, coming out just a year or so after the Stonewall riots.

And it scared the hell out of me when I was a young, Gay man in the 1980’s.

It was hard to see past these stereotypes in Danville VA and figure out how they related to me and my life.  But, it was one of the few visual examples of Gay life, of any kind,  available to us.

Thank God, for “Will and Grace”….I can’t believe I’m saying that, but it was so much more positive than this…

I hate “The Boys in the Band” for all the self hatred it shows and all the negative sterotypes.  It was of it’s time…

But it does truly show the way some of us were….

It’s honest.  Scary, but honest.

And it’s a fair reminder of how the times were and how Gay men saw themselves then…It’s a snap shot in History.

And it should make us grateful for how far we’ve come since then…

And make us appreciate how much harder it was for those who came before us…

It’s gotten so much better…

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