Friday is here and it’s cold and damp. Earlier this week it was in the 80’s, now we’re in the 50’s. Brother Frank has been waylaid by a virus and we wish him a most speedy recovery. Last night was a great TV night too. Unfortunately Bill had wanted to record the Bob Barker farewell on CBS but it never took which was disappointing to him, I was too wrapped up in the finale of Ugly Betty and the Office, both of which were somehow recorded in lieu of Bob Barker. Hopefully Bill will eventually buy the DVD of the Bob Barker farewell. Don’t ask me why.

Ugly Betty was a bit intense last night. Here are some spoilers. Betty’s father is still in Mexico. He’s a marked man having killed his wife’s (Betty’s mom) first husband and now that he’s back in Mexico the first husband’s family is gunning for him. Hilda and Santos were planning their wedding and hoping to see their son Justin as Tony in West Side Story. Santos, on his way to the play stopped in convenience store which was being held up. A gun went off but we didn’t see what happened. It could actually be Betty and Hilda’s father or Santos who got shot.

Betty’s boss, Daniel is still popping pills and drinking on top of that. He almost overdosed but his sister (formerly his brother) Alexis was driving to the hospital with him when it was noticed that the brake line was cut and they crashed off screen. The next shot was the brother and sister in the front seat, bloody and very still. Surprisingly, even though it was a sports car there were no air bags. And Betty’s boyfriend, Henry may have gotten his ex-girlfriend Charlie pregnant, but it may actually be Betty’s orthodontist Dr. Farkus’ baby since Charlie was fooling around behind Henry’s back.

It was a bit of a downbeat ending for a show that usually leaves on a positive note. Definite cliffhangers though will we still be hanging in the autumn? The Office was crazy intense. Michael sold his condo anticipating getting the position for Dunder Mifflin in New York City. Jim and Karen drove to New York to interview for the same position. It turns out the position was Jan’s, Michael’s on again off again girlfriend / sex playmate. Michael found out, told Jan (who got breast implants trying to win Michael back and it worked) and Jan flipped out and needed to be escorted by security from the building.

Dwight was insane of course and the ending was perfect with Ryan getting the job without even really trying and getting off the phone with New York, hung up and said to Kelly who is obsessive about being Ryan’s girlfriend that they were done. Brilliant ending. Scrubs was good too, but after the Office and Ugly Betty, was a little bit light. I am happy to report that the Thursday night comedy line up of My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs have been renewed for another year. I should write for TV, or at least a column in a newspaper about TV. I am so qualified, don’t you think?

Thursday. A pretty good day. Woke up solo, Bill at his folks due to some court date he needed to attend to with his mother. Juan came over last night and we watched some Monty Python and then Lost which was intense. Juan being cool and all, hasn’t watched Lost since the first season. But he agreed last night was as intense as the first season and it was. Sad to watch Charlie compile the 5 greatest hits of his life since he thought (as did most viewers) that he was going to die. Juan and I swapped theories which by the end of the episode didn’t really make much sense.

We also burned cd’s for each other for uploading into each other’s iTunes. I burned him the new Rufus Wainwright, Release the Stars (which I will burn for Annemarie of course) and Juan burned Amy Winehouse, Back to Black and Hot Chip, The Warning. Maybe I’ll rip those two for Annemarie as well. All she has to do is ask. All three are very good cd’s and I recommend them to all readers. I also communicated with another blogger, jockohomo about an article in the New Yorker about the artists Banksy from Bristol England. I enjoy jockohomo’s writings and usually get good music downloads from him. If I could figure out how to do it, I’ll share with you too!

I got the new Rufus Wainwright on Tuesday but wound up listening to Arcade Fire instead. It’s really good but there’s so much more out there. On the way to work I listened to Hot Chip. Green from Scritti Politti has played some shows with them so thats a stamp of approval. I can see where Green would be interested in them. Amy Winehouse is a great singer and Juan and I agreed that if she were American she wouldn’t be making it, she’s not American Midol pretty but has a great voice and presence. She’s from the UK too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Chip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_winehouse

Yesterday as I was walking by the Waldorf Astoria I ran into Rob Jakacki. Today near the same spot ran into another former co-worker who works directly with Rob, Alex von York. Alex is another good guy and I asked him if his co-workers from Wanker Banker congregate on these four corners. Turns out that they do. So in case I’m feeling anti-social I will know to avoid these corners. I’m joking of course. I’m never anti-social.

What really made my day and had me smiling and laughing to myself through most of the day was running into Ray Vega. Ray is actually Pedro’s friend. If I’ve known Pedro for twenty years, I’ve known Ray for nineteen. I first met Ray at a private show for Boogie Down Productions at the World, a now defunct night club in the East Village. I had heard a lot about Ray from the Queens Posse and finally met him only to see him being dragged out later on, drunken Jesus style. He’s a great guy and I’m usually the one that runs into him in Manhattan. Sometimes street fairs, Central Park or today as I was outside of my building having a smoke.

It turns out he works in Hackensack as a courier and drives to my building every Thursday. I gave him my cell number and then called Pedro and put him on the phone with Ray. Lot’s of smiles and laughs abounded. Remind me to tell you about the time Pedro and Ray showed up at a Talent Show I was performing at for Bill’s church. That was the last time I saw him. Seeing him today made my day and gave me some well deserved clarity and a feeling of being grounded. Not that I was flying high in the sky or my mind, just that it was good to meet such a good friend after a long time.