Oscar Wilde Knows More About My Life Than I Do.

Why did you make us thus?
Why does this body crave
pleasure to such a painful limit?
We seduce ourselves by what
you made us desire.


— Oscar Wilde


I ask myself this, perhaps not this eloquently, day to day as I fumble for my way along whatever path it is that I seem to be on. It is a path that has so many forks in the road that the forks have forks; I seem to be eternally confused and in my confusion I give in to my body's cravings and desires, hoping that they might sate the eternal throb of loss - the knowledge that something is missing, that I am not able to travel down each and every fork in each and every road, and so in that knowledge I visualize all that I have not accomplished, all that I've lost, all that I've yet to realize.

And so, I desire. I desire it all.

This rather morbid and somber interlude was brought to you by our elusive writer, Billychic, who has just returned from vacation - one that made her do a lot of thinking...drinking...and imbibing of said pleasures that Mr. Wilde may or may not have been referring to...and not enough writing. I quoted this bit once about two and a half years ago but it really seems most poignant for me now.

Did You Get Your NYC Beastie Boys Tickets Yet?

GO GET 'EM.

Oh, you did? Okay, just checking.

;)

Song of the Day: Kinky - Minotauro

Photo: pablozacarias.blogspot.com

Kinky - Minotauro
from the album Atlas

I dig this band a lot - from Mexico, they aren't playing your "typical Mexican music" - whatever the hell that means... These guys are taking the ball and running with it - and having fun, they play. They add all kinds of latino funk, rock, pop, electronica...and some of their songs are really, really sexy (like them - DEAR GOD)...they are so CUTE. When they sing in Spanish, I just melt...hehe

Song of the Day: Me'Shell NdegéOcello - Pocketbook

Me'Shell NdegéOcello - Pocketbook
from the album Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape

This is a SEXY song. Makes me want to go strum a bass and have sex. Ayuh, ayuh.

Talk Radio: A Brilliant Play That Is Worth the Hype

Father's Day was a great day this year: we took Daddy to see Talk Radio on Broadway, starring Liev Schreiber. To say that Schreiber was incredible is simply an understatement. Here's an example: my father, who has taught acting to Sean Penn, Harvey Keitel, Lorraine Bracco, and Calvin Levels (among many others) stood up and gave him a standing ovation (we all did) at the end of the play. Dad never does that unless the persons is truly exceptional...I mean, c'mon...he's seen more theatre and been around/taught/directed more name actors than a lot of people walking around, so for him to be impressed, it has to be a big deal.

Same thing with Mom, but since she's an actress, she's a bit more sympathetic to the actor - but she and I were standing to our feet, like happy puppies. Of course I'm totally in love with Schreiber (he's on my top 3 list of celebrity crushes, being number 2; Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig are the others) so that added to it; but now I'm not just in awe - I'm almost envious. I want to be as good an actor as that. He was so...right on. His work has steadily gotten more an more developed over the years (I've been watching) and now...he's the next Deniro/Duvall/Hoffman...in fact, screw that. He's the next...Schreiber. He does The Work. How the hell he does it, I don't know, but it inspires me to keep up with what I'm trying to do. My beloved pal Bitchy Actress agrees with me; she had just seen it, and her family is in the same industry as mine; they all loved it, and their reaction was the same. She and I are both scratching our chins as we plan how we're going to become the next female Schreibers.

He was amazing. The supporting cast (including Stephanie March, Peter Hermann, Michael Laurence, and Sebastian Stan along with a cast of callers, some of whom were really great) was amazing. The script, by Eric Bogosian, was amazing. The set design was amazing.

The show goes on for another couple of weeks - so get your ass over there and drop $100 and get a seat. If you see nothing else the rest of the year, see this.

Song of the Day: Beastie Boys - Sneakin' Out the Hospital

Beastie Boys - Sneakin' Out the Hospital

from the album Hello Nasty

This song, a pure intrumental, I thought appropriate because the Beastie's latest album, The Mix Up, which comes out June 26th, is an all-instrumental love child on which Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield says "...the Beasties play their old grooves like they realize how bad people miss them and how high their stock remains despite so many years away."

I suggest, if you want this new album on pre-order, to do what I did and go to their website and buy the album with the special t-shirt package.

ALSO....
The Beastie Boys are going to be playing NYC at Central Park Summerstage on 8/8 and Brooklyn at McCarren Pool on 8/9. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at Ticketmaster (they are on pre-sale now and the password is MIXUP, but on sale to the general public tomorrow - I could tell you this information, but then I'd have to shoot you.)

A New Word I Learned Today

During my weekly excursion of Defamer.com I was reading their post about the Sopranos Show Finale. As usual, it was hilarious and entertaining. What I am coming to appreciate more and more, though, are the commenters, some of whom are as amusing as Lisanti and Abramovitch.

One of the commenters, Everybody Likes Pandas used the word Craptastico.

I love that word. I laughed out loud. I think that's going to be a new word for me. That and maybe it's mate, craptastic. Yeah...I think I'll start using them to describe a few of the new people and things that I'm experiencing in my life lately.

Yeah. To quote the commercial for the new Ani Mondays Animation on Scifi: It's Just a Steaming Pile of Awesome!

My New Favorite Blog: Creed Thoughts

Photo: http://blog.nbc.com/CreedThoughts/

It's no secret to anyone who knows me: I have a few tv shows that I'm nuts about and will even cancel a hot date to make sure I'm home to see (unless that date's really really hot). To answer your question before you even ask it - yes, I am a loser.

One of these shows is NBC's The Office, starring Steve Carrel, (Thursday nights, NBC) which started out as a funny and somewhat passable facsimile of the original British version of this show and eventually found its own voice and developed into an amazing program that could completely stand alone on it's own. The actors, the script, the characters - everything is awesome and I laugh, cry, and spew dinner all over the place when I watch it (the latter not a regular thing, but it has been known to happen).

Recently, during a particularly boring day at work (we'll say during lunch in case someone from work reads this...so...) DURING LUNCH...I was checking out the NBC website to see if any new developments had happened in the plot because I had missed last week's episode (and there's ALL kinds of yummy things going on - including Jim and Pam's relationship and Ryan being the new boss)...and I found Creed's Blog - Creed Thoughts.

Creed is a supporting character on the show that is...probably a sociopath. LOL...he's definitely got a few screws loose to say the least, and they have a "blog" for his character on the NBC site. It only has four entries - but it's totally freaking hilarious.

Even if you don't watch the show, I suggest you check this blog out.

Song of the Day: Underworld - Born Slippy (.Nuxx Mix)

Underworld - Born Slippy (.Nuxx Mix)

originally a b-side to the single Born Slippy, this was made very popular as a track on the Trainspotting soundtrack, a goldmine of amazing music and arguably one of the best soundtracks and best films of the 90's. There's a nice bit of yum yum about it over at Wikipedia.

Gettin' My Diet Groove On

Well, it's been 3 months since I started and I've lost 22 pounds. To be honest, I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to do it. Now that I've hit that weird world of "The Mid Thirties" (yes, please note the capital letters) I've come to realize that it really IS a wee bit more difficult to lose the weight; rigorous exercise DOES make me a little more tired; the pounds just don't melt off like they once did.

This has been an ongoing thing in my life. I remember having a big life-altering change in my mid 20's: I divorced my first (gasp!) husband and got on a health program; became a vegan vegetarian who ate 50% raw and lost like 40 pounds. I would smile smugly when people would tell me I was "almost too thin" and dated and wore clothes that I had never been able to fit into as a teenager...and have never been able to fit into since.



I think the last time I was actually petite and not really aware or neurotic about what I was eating was when I was about...five. Maybe even earlier. Two or three. That's kinda sad, when I think about it. I mean...I wonder...is there ever going to be a time in my life when I don't have to plan meals ahead of time or put thought into caloric intake at every meal? Or if I decide to splurge and eat out with friends or a companion, and eat like they do, not kill myself at the gym later?

I have to answer honestly: probably not. My body is just not made to eat like everyone else. I was out with someone a week ago and we were having dinner at a really nice restaurant and I was going to order a salad and an appetizer as my entree. He insisted that I order a full entree "It's the weekend! You're relaxing!" and split dessert with him. It was nice, but later I thought about it and was really annoyed the next few days because HE wasn't going to have to deal with the repercussions of eating a full meal like that in the way I would - nor would he understand.

I see girls eating pizza, really skinny girls, with a regular coke, and I wonder: Where was I when God was handing out the rapid metabolism genes?

My mother was thin all her life. She was a sex symbol all throughout her adulthood. Even now, at the age she's at, I would DIE to have a figure like hers - as would most of my friends (including the thin ones). How come I didn't get to wade into that end of the gene pool? Don't get me wrong...I'm relatively happy with the cards I was dealt; I'm attractive, I have a "youthful" looking face (from both of my parents) and I've done okay...but in the "look at food and gain weight" department, I ended up with the shit end of the stick.

So...at the age of 35, I am finding that I can't do it on my own anymore like I thought I could. I have yo-yo'd so much that I think I broke my string. But I have been using Nutrisystem and the gym, and for now, that is doing the trick. The food is wonderful and I've been very happy on it.

I just get a little unhappy sometimes when I think about the fact that I have to always always keep in mind WHAT I'm going to eat BEFORE I even eat it...like a day before, sometimes. So much for spontaneity...or bread...or wine. I really miss booze. LOL

Oh well, I guess my aspirations to be a gutter lush will have to wait.

Song of the Day: Björk - Possibly Maybe

Björk - Possibly Maybe

This cut is from the album Telegram

Stewart Copeland: "Police Tour Totally Lame"

Dude...I paid $417 for 1 ticket...this is a horror show. They better not break up before they hit MSG...

Great article; I need to check out Copeland's blog on his site.



Police drummer rips band's "lame" concert

06/01/2007 2:00 AM, Reuters
Dean Goodman

The singer in the Police jumps like a "petulant pansy," the drummer is making a "complete hash," and who knows what the guitarist is doing?

Notes from a bitter critic? Actually, it's a disarmingly frank concert review from the aforementioned drummer of the newly reunited rock trio.

A philosophical Stewart Copeland unleashed his vitriol in a posting on his Web site on Thursday, a day after the band played its second show in Vancouver, the Canadian city where it began its first world tour in more than 20 years on Monday.

"This is unbelievably lame," Copeland wrote of Wednesday's show at the GM Place arena. "We are the mighty Police and we are totally at sea."

Most of the 20,000 fans at the venue might not have noticed a series of small flubs, but Copeland, singer/bassist Sting, and guitarist were painfully aware of them.

Copeland started the show off on the wrong foot, literally. He tripped as he took to the stage, and then banged his gong at the wrong time so that "the big pompous opening to the show is a damp squib."

He did not hear Summers' opening riff to "Message In a Bottle," and Sting in turn misheard Copeland's drum intro -- "so we are half a bar out of sync with each other. Andy is in Idaho."

They quickly recovered, but then Sting got his footwork wrong as he leapt into the air to signal the end to a shambolic version of their rat-race rant "Synchronicity II."

"The mighty Sting momentarily looks like a petulant pansy instead of the god of rock," Copeland reported.

"And so it goes, for song after song," he wrote, with tunes such as "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" and "Don't Stand So Close To Me" reduced to ruin.

"It usually takes about four or five shows in a tour before you get to the disaster gig. But we're The Police so we are a little ahead of schedule," he said.

Fortunately, no fists flew backstage as they did back in the Police's heyday. The threesome fell into each other's arms laughing hysterically, Copeland said.

"Screw it, it's only music. What are you gonna do? But maybe it's time to get out of Vancouver."

The band's next show is set for Saturday in Edmonton.

One good sign is that they didn't fight afterwards...I mean, at the end of their run in the 80's, they had to show up to gigs in separarate limos...so I guess this is a good sign...Copeland is awesome...he doesn't give a fuck. He's like "This is the what happened...and how much we sucked!" -- I have a lot of respect for the guy already, but I'm just wowed by this.

J was like "yeah, it amazes me."

LOL

I paid $417...and I want to see them. I don't care if they just stand on the stage and have a farting contest...That will still rock.

Song of the Day: Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

from the album 1984, arguably one of the best rock albums of the century, and certainly one of the most definitive albums of 80's rock.

I love love love this song...it reminds me of a few teachers I've had (hehe...yes, I was always the Lolita in the class; a precocious girl who gave her teachers a run for their money and the hot ones an even...harder time)

One that comes to mind was my Spanish teacher in 11th and 12th grade...because he flirted with me right back. He was a single man in his late 30's, handsome, very eccentric. It was AP Spanish, and we used to go to the park and eat lunch and talk in Spanish the whole time...One day I was totally flirting with him and we were sitting on the wall at Riverside Park. He had announced that he was not returning the following year. I was in 12th grade, and had already turned 18...and would be going off to college. I said something like, "Well, now we can start our affair," and he spread out on the wall, laid down with his head in my lap, looking into my face. He had to look past my breasts to do so. I was a bit shocked, especially since a group of students were not that far away.

"You look good from this angle...you want to repeat what you just said?"

It was an interesting end of the year...lol...he was a nutjob, but I miss Andrew.

I found out later when asked by other male students if he and I were having an affair, he said "Yes!"...even though we never really did. Well...not really...lol...details, details...