The Jon Blog

Have They Not Learned?

So NBC had a walloping failure when they tried to adapt "Coupling" for American viewers. Can you imagine my surprise when I saw the trailer for their new version of "The Office" on Thursday evening? I have no clue what makes them think this one will be any more successful.

Speaking of BBC sitcoms, I happened to watch an episode of "My Family" last week, and goodness, that show is hysterical. I really loved it. And what a great cast! It's headlined by Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wannamaker! And on the episode I saw, one of the sons got all done up as a drag queen. He looked a bit like a bad version of Felicia (of "Priscilla" fame.) I promptly added "My Family" to my TiVo Season Pass.

Anyhow, I have to go get ready for brunch. I had three, count 'em, three brunch invites for today, when normally I get none. But I'm a nice boy and am going with the first invite, which is to brunch with a great friend from college who I have not seen in years, until yesterday when she walked into the lobby of my hotel. Very exciting! I can't wait to catch up with her and get to know about her husband. (For the record, the other invites were from my dad's brother and my mom's sister, both of whom are in town to see The Gates).

Speaking of The Gates, I have been to see them on a few separate occasions, including some visits after dark, breaking my "No Central Park at Night" rule. But it was worth it. There's something very mysterious and beautiful about the "saffron" fabric in the limited amount of light created by the park's various streetlamps. Just beautiful. Personally, I'll be one of the people who will be sad that there are no more Gates in the Park, though of course I'll be quite pleased that it is its glorious self, the wonderful Central Park, once again, rather than a canvas for an art project. But for all the people who seem upset by the "desecration" of the Park, I have to say, "Get over it." This has been such a wonderful experience for the people who enjoyed the art, and it gave me a very interesting new perspective on the Park. Not to mention the financial boon it's been for the City (I work in a hotel. Trust me on this one, the City's been way busier than usual for February!). But the bottom line? Who was going to go to the Park over the past two weeks anyhow?

Wait, What?

Liz Smith says "But it isn't 'The Producers' we are talking about. We're moving on to the revival of Neil Simon's 'The Odd Couple.' That production is already taking reservations for this latest melding of Broderick and Lane for next October-December at New York's Palace Theater."

But "All Shook Up" is already playing the Palace. And in today's same (online, at least), Post, Michael Riedel says this about "All Shook Up:" "It'll run for years."

What gives?

Filmmakers Against Drunk Driving

Have you seen Sideways? I mean, it's a strange movie and a weird little character study, but what the fuck is up with all the shameless drunk driving going on in that film? I mean, I found it slightly hard to believe that the only car accident in the movie was one they had to stage.

Anyhow, I had fun seeing it last night. Thanks, Mike, it was a fun evening!

I Know It's Sick, But...

If you're trying to break up with a crazy woman, don't let her tie you to the bed during sex. Proof here.

Randy Bentwick Is My Friend

Oh, goodness. Let's just say that "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" made me laugh my ass off. Oh wait, it's still back there.

Anyhow, I haven't seen this funny of a show since... well, should I say "Avenue Q"? "The Producers"? Hard to tell. But I can say that I had a great time and think it should be seen by all. Or at least by most.

In other news, I've been described, by a commentor, as an "articulate wiseass." How flattering is that?

I don't really feel like sitting in front of the computer right now, so that's what you're getting in this dose of The Jon Blog. Hope it appeals on some level!

What Would St. Valentine Do?

I hate Valentine's Day.

I hate romantic, lubby-dubby people on Valentine's Day.

I hate my job on Valentine's Day, when lubby-dubby people who wait until the last minute to plan go apeshit over the fact that they might only get red roses instead of pink, or that they might, God forbid, have to go to their third choice restaurant because their first and second choices have been filled for a month.

I hate going out to dinner on Valentine's Day, when hot guys who look like they're on steroids and should be starring in Falcon Videos give their girlfriends teddy bears that they dropped off at the restaurant in advance to be able to surprise said girlfriends, even though it's a sushi bar and it's 12:30am.

I think the only thing I like about Valentine's Day is the candy. And the line at the store was long, and full of lubby-dubby, romantic people. Who I hate (See above). And the candy only made me fatter, anyhow.

Thank God it's over. Only 364 days to go until the next one.

Shit.

Gates, Day One

Perspective

So I was feeling a bit depressed this evening. Dinner on Friday night was a quick 30 minutes at a sushi bar around the corner from work before going back to work until 12:30am. Telephone call on the way to said sushi bar was to be informed that my sister, 3 years younger than I, is at the realtor's office, buying a new condo, new construction, loft building, in a great neighborhood in DC. Other sister, six years younger than I am, just bought a house, is closing on it in 10 days, is getting married in 4 months, and planning to start a family not long after.

Me? Single. Crappy rental (granted, it's in Manhattan, but I can't afford to buy jack). Good job, I'll give you that. But both my sisters like their jobs; one a lot, and one at least reasonably.

So I feel like I'm not doing "as well" as they are. Anyhow, I go into Starbucks to buy a cappuccino, in order to remain properly caffeinated for the evening. As I'm leaving, I notice a homeless guy. Filthy dirty. And I realize, wow, I ain't got it so bad.

Even though there's nothing wrong with wanting more, isn't it nice to realize that there's nothing wrong with what you have?

Clever Analogy du Jour

Do you know that I love analogies? I don't really blog about them much, I guess, but I am always waxing metaphoric, and I came up with a really clever one this evening. A colleague was reading something on auto transmissions, and when I asked him about it, he was talking about how much cheaper it is to work on his own car, and how he does a much better job than any mechanic he ever had work on this car.

I informed him of my lack of automotive expertise. "I know about as much about car engine parts as I do about... well, lady parts."

He was vastly amused by this comparison.

I was not, however, vastly amused later in the evening when I opened a box I had received earlier in the day. See, when I was in Bangkok, I went to a tailor which had been recommended by a friend. I had a suit made and a few other things.

Well, the first time I wore the suit, in Manila, the jacket lining ripped. Luckily, I was with a colleague who works not far from where said tailor is located. I asked her if she wouldn't mind taking the jacket back to Bangkok to be repaired, and then get them to ship the jacket back to me. She was pleased to do so.

And today, I finally got a package from the tailor. From Thailand. There were three shirts in it. Not a jacket to be seen.

Arrgh! I'm about as happy with them as I am to have to think about... well, lady parts.

I'm So Excited!

So The Philharmonic is performing one of my favorite pieces, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherezade" (or some such combination of letters), and I got a ticket! They're also doing "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" which should be amusing, and a new oboe concerto. Yay!

Otherwise, just busy with work. I'm working on planning some big events in 2006 and 2007, so that's keeping me busier than I would normally be.

And today's schedule was complicated by an unforseen trip to B&H, the best camera shop in the City. See, I went yesterday and bought a new camera and a new camera bag, too. But one of the many zippers on the camera bag wouldn't work, and the tooth looked like it was really fucked up. So I went back today, after trying many times to fix said zipper, to exchange. And the guy behind the counter just went... "Zip..." and it was fine. $11 buck cab ride, for nothing. Well, not exactly for nothing. I went around the corner and had a T-bone for lunch at Uncle Jack's. Mmm, I love steak!

I Promised!

Seriously, what does this boy look like he's doing? Where are his hands?

Flop Goes The...

Brantley's review of Good Vibrations had me laughing pretty damn hard. What a well written bad review.

Luckily, I did not spend the evening anywhere near the Eugene O'Neill theatre (do you think he's spinning in his grave at the thought of this tragedy taking place in a theatre named for him?). I was at the Met Opera for this evening's performance of "Pelleas et Melisande," an unusual opera by Claude Debussy.

It's unusual in many ways, not the least of which is that it's not a very frequently performed opera. It is lovely, but not a very "traditional" approach to the medium of opera. For one, I don't recall a single moment which would qualify as a "duet." Indeed, there's very little that can be defined as an aria; it's almost like they took a play that was entirely dialogue, with only very brief monologues, and set it to music.

Dramatically, it's lovely, and the production is fantastic, though. If you like opera and are in the mood for something different, check it out. I very much enjoyed it. And the tenor was real cute - he gave me good vibrations all night long, if you know what I mean!

Fifth & Fifty-Sixth

Oh. My. God.

Fellow Manhattanites, have you been by this corner lately? Have you seen the under-construction A&F shop? They have a few photos of their current boy supermodel up there, and in one of the shots, well, let's say he's wearing less than a CK Underwear model and... well, is it just me, or does this boy look like he's masturbating on 56th Street? I'll take the camera with me the next time I go by for the benefit of all you non-NYC readers.

Seriously, it looks like he's jerking off! And I do it enough to know what it looks like...

Firefox and MT

Well, I'm back from my trip. I hope nobody missed me all that much.

God Damn, am I jet lagged. I really just want to lay down and sleep for like 18 hours. Which I've already done once, the first day I was back, but I want to do it again.

So anyhow, I have figured out a small amount of why I didn't blog during the trip, aside from the fact that I couldn't find a computer in Japan to let me type in English...

I have ceased to be able to log into my main MT page using Firefox. If anyone is still reading my blog and has any ideas as to why this might be happening, would you let me know? I started back with IE when I returne from the trip, and I have to say that after getting used to Firefox, it really sucks to have to go back to IE. It's slower, for one big factor...

Anyhow, I'm off from work tomorrow and I intend to try and transfer some of the trip photos to this computer so I can post them to the blog. Or maybe I can just log on from the laptop using IE. What a pain...

Although, in the long run, not as frightening as what I read about Evolution in today's Times.