Capricorn Blues

I'm into the whole astrology thing so I'll break it down for you. Capricorns are moody, moody, moody and for me, that's where I am right now. There isn't much reason for it, but that doesn't matter.

Even though I'm in one of my favorite coffee shops in the city, I wish I was home. Tonight is a friend's showcase in Midtown. I want to be supportive and I want to see his work, but I'm just in a weird mood. He understands because he's a Capricorn too. Would a drink help?

I'll be glad when Pride is over! And this city is returned to it's correct state of gaydom. If I see one more couple... Oh, and the amount of beautiful men has shot up about 200%. Now, if you know NYC that's huge. There's already an incredibly huge amount of attractive people here.

Oh well, wish me luck. Showcase at 7:30pm, then home as soon as possible. Who knows the wind could change and I'll feel better. I hope so.

The Cock & Butai (BOO-TAY)

Those are actual places in the city. Last night a friend of mine needed to blow off some steam so we hung out all over the east village. I didn't get back home until 1:15am and went to bed around 2am. I'm doing okay, but I need another cup of coffee.

We stumbled upon Butai running around looking for a raw foods place called "Pure" that my friend couldn't find. We walked from Union Square to Gramercy Park. We walked past Butai, peeked in, left to continue our search for Pure Food and Wine. See, I need an iPhone!!!

Let's just say it started to rain and we headed back to Butai.

The host/server bows to us as we walk in (which felt weird). We had:

• Both: Bottle of Nigori-zake (unfiltered sake)
• Me: Jidori (Breast or Thigh) & Tsukune
• Friend: Spider, tuna, and salmon roll

Not sure if I'd get the Nigori-zake again, but everything else was delicious and the service was good (keep in mind there weren't many people in the restaurant and the upstairs was closed). Next time I will get the sushi; it was delicious.

Keep this in mind if you're looking for a nice sit down place near union square that's not too crowded.

American & World History

I saw this BBC article and I thought I'd share. The middle passage is something no one ever talks about. My great grandmother was born a slave in the United States of America. She died well into her 100's. I wonder what she would say about the progress this

Immigration Lifts Wages

The report by the president's Council of Economic Advisers makes no sense, but one should consider the source.

Hillaryland

I'm not behind any one candidate right now, but I do like Senator Clinton. This Washington Post article calls her campaign Hillaryland. That name doesn't bode well with me. I smell sexism. You never hear them saying Guillianiworld or Romneyville. Hillary's campaign is groundbreaking. The media needs to show it some respect.

Let's also not forget Victoria Woodhull's run for office. Her inspiring story definately warrants a look. Sad to say I had never heard of her until today. She's my kind of woman, a pioneer. Check out her story.

Porn and Alcohol Banned?

Is banning porn and alcohol really necessary? I smell a rat. How will they enforce it? If they banned porn and alcohol here in the United States, we'd have riots. Americans are a hostile and impatient people and need a way to release aggression. There. That's my argument for porn.

Actually, porn is a 10 billion dollar industry here in the United States. That's a lot of fake breasts going on unemployment.

Don't Forget

The world community shouldn't forget when 13 people are murdered by a suicide bomber. In fact, it should make headline news. 13 people that have families, friends and in some cases children. Is the Pentagon doing all it can to bring out brothers and sisters home?

I wonder if Congressional leaders would end the war sooner if their children and relatives where in a foreign country fighting for "our freedom". Bush's two daughters should fight and make their father proud or maybe even Bush's nephew.

Nope, they probably won't go. We'll keep sending young women and men who see the military as a way to get an education they normally couldn't afford. Again, the poor fight a war for the rich.

The real war is between the poor and the rich...the battles are healthcare and immigration. Who will win?

Morning Ritual

Most mornings if I'm doing well with time I stop by Greenleaf Gourmet to pick up my bagel w/butter and coffee. I don't even need to watch how they make it because it delicious every time. So, here's to Greenleaf in midtown and the staff who starts making my order the moment I walk in.

Another thing to I love about city living.

A New Album...thank goodness

I got this info from Janet Xone and got chills. I'm so glad Janet Jackson is back in the studio. Hopefully, she'll tour with this record. I didn't hate 20 Y.O., but I was disappointed with it.

Note to Janet: Talk about something else besides sex.

HILARIOUS

Check out all the rocking back and forth. I was laughing the whole time.

Somtimes you want to be caught

I have always loved dance. I'm a big modern/contemporary fan. Check this clip from So you Think you can Dance. It's bare, exposed and you can see the relationship. Congrats to Lacey and Kameron for a job well done.

The Bloodbath Continues

The United States can't forget that our servicemen are still in danger. We need to take care of business and get out of there. It's not okay to have our family members in harms way because a realistic plan wasn't in place before the war started.

If this war was a company, investors would have pulled out due to mismanagement. Check the link below.

BBC Article

Do you have a Food Budget?

I don't cook much, if at all. The last time I did was about three weeks ago. I normally buy fruit, OJ, milk, cereal and bread. Most of the other times I order out and I know that's expensive. I'd love to cook, but when I get in from work I just get on the computer, read or do whatever it is I want to. Yeah, I'm lazy.

I found this story at the NY Times. It's about an experiment with Congressmen testing to see if they could survive on the amount of money given by the Food Stamp program. Check to see how much you can get for $120 a week. This is what I spend a day on food.

$1.75 - Bagel and coffee
$7.10 - Salad and water
$3.00 - Green grapes
$10.00 - Dinner & misc.

That's $21.85 a day. That's five days a week for a total of $109.25. That's just while I'm at work. I still need to buy milk, etc. Enjoy the article and if you have any easy quick recipes, let me know.

Once - The Movie...I have a question

This looks like a great movie and I'll end up seeing it. While I was checking out the website I thought of this question. When was the last time you saw or heard of a love story starring two actors of color (movie, play or TV show)? These come to mind:

I'd say Love and Basketball and Love Jones.

Which ones do you remember? The Brownout got me thinking.

Is it just me? Doesn't look like it.

The Republican and Democratic parties know their position on immigration is about votes and not about what's best for Americans. Legal immigration is supported by most Americans, but not illegal immigration. The President is interested in legitimizing a group of people that work for nothing. Employers love that because they don't want to pay a living wage in the first place. The argument is that illegal immigrants take jobs Americans won't take. That's not true. Americans can't survive on such low wages.

The real issue, take care of Americans first and worry about immigration later. We've got a war and millions of people with no healthcare. Congress needs to reject this bill and work on a healthcare initiative.

CNN article

Brownout pt. 2

Describe the American Theatre Landscape today. Where do you see it going? If theatre isn't your thing, think of film and TV.

I see it becoming more formulaic and young. Seems like new shows are appealing to a "niche" market. You've got Xanadu for the gays, Spring Awakening for the youth, Wicked for little girls, Color Purple for black folk, Disney shows for kids, and Frost Nixon for the old. Besides Spring Awakening, there's nothing out there pushes the envelope. Spring Awakening wasn't perfect, but it did take some risks (staging and theatricality) that paid off with 8 Tony Awards.

This fall we can look forward to shows like The Little Mermaid. Soon kids won't have to watch the cartoons, they can just come to Broadway. Maybe that's the plan. At $111.00 for an orchestra seat, I don't see that happening.

Back to the discussion...the topic of racial neutrality came up. Why can't people of color be cast as sons of white or Asian parents, if the idea of race isn't central to the story? Can the image of neutrality shift? Are audiences of film, TV, and theatre ready for that?

The country is changing and like I said before Broadway needs to change with it or risk it's own extinction. Again, we need a table that can seat the entire community.

Texting on Broadway

I guess, if you're the hot new young musical you need to have a way to get to the hot youth. I guess the producers are thinking out of the box to make this musical as much fun as possible.

NY Times article

What's next? Time will tell.

In the Hospital

I'm at Grounded and this is the first time I've had a chance to blog. There was no unsecured wi-fi at the place I was in. New York is hot and humid today and I'm not ready for the walks across town where your back is sweaty. You can't even wear jeans in this weather and it's only going to get worse.

I have been in a hospital all weekend being examined by medical students taking an exam. My job is to "act" like a patient and see if they "do their job". I have to be vague, cause I don't know who's reading this, but I can say that it's been an eye opening experience.

This is not every doctor, but I realized that if doctors just ask the right questions they can get more information so they can administer the correct kind of tests and save you and the hospital lots of money. I had to think about my own doctor and ask if he/she:

1. Uses open ended questions
2. Doesn't cut you off
3. Shows concern
4. Asks you about you and your family's medical history with specific questions.
5. Washes their hands
6. Makes eye contact

So many of the students didn't do these things, but they are students and still learning.

Thankfully, my doctor does all these things and I even have an HMO. I found my doctor through a referral. I needed a SGL (look it up) doctor and he's AMAZING! Actually he's gone, but I found another doctor in the same group (long story).

For those of you who care to answer, what do you look for in a doctor?

p.s. Why are so many doctors attractive??? I wanted to give a few my number! LOL