Tag Archives: Michael Palin

No Xmas for John Quays

2 Replies

Last night, I didn’t get to sleep at all. No, no. Well the hole in the street got bigger and at 11:00 there were two jackhammers going off. Bill, slept right through it, with the windows open five floors above.

I was towards the back, in front of the computer, TV on and I needed to close the windows to hear the TV. We slept with the windows open a little bit. They must have finished working around 11:30. We haven’t put the air conditioner in the window yet, just getting by with fans which is nice. I haven’t had the fear of the window unit falling out and killing someone. It’s something I obsess about.

Before that we watched Nova Science Now, hosted by Neil de Grasse Tyson who you might recognize from his appearances on the Daily Show and The Colbert Report. He’s an amiable chap and reminds me of Bill. He reminds Bill of Bill. Bill mentioned that he could have hosted the show, but I had to remind him that he’s not an Astrophysicist. Something he had forgotten.

I watched the final disc of Michael Palin’s New Europe. He was in Prague and East Germany, winding up in the former East Berlin. One of the people he visited was a holocaust survivor who was in a propaganda film from the early 1930’s about how well the Nazi’s were treating the Jews.

Fooled most of the world as well as the Red Cross. Footage of inmates tending gardens, harvesting food that they couldn’t eat. If someone stole a tomato they would be punished and sent to the camps for extinction.

Then Michael Palin took part in a Laughter Yoga session which was quite the opposite of the Nazi footage. My sister has been involved with Laughter Yoga in Arcata and she’s been enjoying the benefits.

It was interesting to see how a Laughter Yoga session proceeds. It’s laughing and clapping and maybe a little sing song in German. Or if in Arcata, more than likely English.

Then it was the news in a stuffy apartment with jackhammers muted through closed windows on a summer night. The uneasy sleep I had certainly was a contrast from the night before of spooning with Bill. And it set the tone for the day today.

I was just a little bit out of it. Did my job but really could have used an hour or two more of sleep. But it was too late for that. It was Thursday so I saw West Indian Tony and got my egg sandwich, surprisingly Tony didn’t ask about Bill. Just as well I was out the door and headed to work.

It wasn’t humid as it was the past few days and while I still had to change my t shirt when I got to the office, I wasn’t sweating as much. The day didn’t fly by and it didn’t crawl either. Thursday not only means an egg sandwich from West Indian Tony, it also means penne, pesto and chicken for lunch.

I have such a boring appetite. It’s a healthy appetite mainly. Salads everyday except for Thursday. I also try to keep it cheap.

The day finally ended, and I left work, walking across town, taking various snapshots as I enjoyed a Padron 5000. Saw the homeless guy I see almost everyday who calls me ‘soldier’. He started calling me that months ago while I was in a suit and tie, and now it’s every time. He salutes me and I give him some change.

Got on the bus crowded yet air conditioned, cracked open ‘Tweak’ by Nic Sheff and of course, he fell off the wagon and started shooting up meth again as well as just about anything he could get his hands on. Most everyone around him is telling him he’s making a big mistake, but he’s fallen in love with a fellow junkie and that leads to yet another relapse.

Stupid kid. Junkies ruin everything.

and how about that Jesse Jackson? Asshole or what?

Snaps!

A scary looking storm that passed overhead

11:00 PM

Tony Plana (the guy who plays Ugly Betty’s father)

Regurgitating

Mr. Softee (Elaine!!!)

How can these guys wear suits in 80 degree weather?

Now that’s more like it

An arm

A belly

Magic

4 Replies

Well I just got back from Xanadu and yes it was a lot of fun. So silly, great songs, so tongue in cheek and a classic send up of a crap movie, which was acknowledged in the play. Bill and I tried to watch the original movie from 1980 but couldn’t get past the first 10 minutes. Perhaps we can watch it later.

It’s a nice, funny musical for families as well as the large percentage of gay men in the audience. And a mention that most of the jokes would only be understood by gay men in their 40’s which of course is our demographic.

As well as the demographic of the contingent of bears seated right behind us on the stage. I got on stage tickets, in my usual fashion of not doing things the ordinary way, I do extra ordinary mostly. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This afternoon it worked out perfectly.

I got to the theater after an average Sunday morning of bagels and newspapers. Last night was quiet. Juan was supposed to come over at 10:30 to hang, but didn’t call until 11:30 and by that time I was headed to sleep. I wanted to be rested and fully aware for the show, so it’s just as well that Juan didn’t come over.

I watched a travel documentary on The New Europe, with Michael Palin, meaning Michael Palin was on the dvd, not on the couch watching the documentary with me. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in the dvd making it unwatchable. I watched the third episode of the season from Weeds but distracted by the internet.

I watched some of Grindhouse which was good but bad. Tarantino and Rodriquez went out of their way to make the movie look like it was showing on 42nd street in the 1970’s. Scratches on the print, bad editing, skipped frames.

I only watched part of Planet Terror and Rose McGowan was good but Freddy Rodriquez was excellent. Never saw him act like that before. I found it sexy. Woof. Really ferocious zombies.

But it was late and I needed to sleep and so I did. Texted Julio again and got no response. He claimed he hadn’t gotten any texts from me, and that Stine checked the door to see if there were bagels awaiting.

I told him I thought Stine was pissed with me because of the photos and told Julio that. He called me paranoid and I sort of agreed with him, but decided to go with the more fanciful term, ‘writer’s imagination’.

I hopped on a bus around 1:30, anticipating the traffic that I had in June when I went to a Sunday matinée of Sunday in the Park with George with the Field of Gar contingent. But it was smooth sailing. I got to the theater 20 minutes early but I didn’t mind.

I saw Tony Roberts show up. He went unnoticed by the crowd as he walked through the stage door. Bill then showed up early, looking handsome and crisp and his usual effervescent self which is a nearly perfect compliment to my snarky ennui.

I told Bill about Tony Roberts and Bill remembers him from The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3, I mainly remember him from Woody Allen movies. I’m sure we’ve seen him in other things, but nothing comes to mind.

It was great watching the show on stage, though you can’t see what’s going on since the cast is playing to the house and we seated behind the action. And there’s a lot of action and dancing. Very flirty cast, Bill had his chest rubbed by someone’s hands and then had a paint roller applied to his scalp.

He of course, loved it. No playbills until after the show and cellphones off of course, but some people still have to be reminded. We were given glow sticks to wave at the end of the show for the big number and we were also encouraged to dance which didn’t take much encouragement.

We danced as if no one was looking, in front of a full house.

After that, a pleasant stroll through midtown to the Path, me smoking a Padron and dropping off the damaged Netflix dvd at the big ass Post Office. Though my ass isn’t that big, they took my mail anyhow.

Last night’s moon

The view from where we sat, after the show

Outside the theater, taken by a stranger.

Big computer screen outside bus terminal needs reseting.
The giant Ctrl/Alt/Delete keys are just out of frame.

And now, the Larch.