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