Pen and Ink

Good morning, Baltimore

Hard to believe, but Hairspray has been out for more than a week and it was just last night that I got to see it.

It was worth the wait.

Just as infectious (in a good way) as the stage production is, there's some good talent in this film. Nikki Blonski was terrific casting -- she has an amazing voice. Queen Latifah, Elijah Kelley...both excellent. That cutie James Marsden? Who knew he could sing. And I just love Allison Janey, even though she had a small role.

Unfortunately, Travolta was the wrong choice for Edna. Everytime Edna sang, all I could hear was Harvey. True, he doesn't have a major box office name, which is why they cast the homophobe Travolta. But the role should have been his. I would have loved the duet between Harvey and Christopher Walken.

The movie had some well-placed cameos: Ricki Lake, Jerry Stiller, and a very appropriate walk-on for John Waters.

They've added a couple of new songs for the movie (including one written for Broadway but not used), but sadly, dropped some from the stage version (Mama I'm a Big Girl Now; Cooties; The Big Doll House). Happily, the soundtrack has Mama and Cooties recorded. The album even has a nice treat: a version of Good Morning Baltimore recorded by Blonski, Marissa Jaret Winokur (who originated Tracy on Broadway), and the original: Ricky Lake. Fun recording.

This is one that I might very well go to see again on the big screen, and certainly buy on DVD.

* * * * *

The evening brought another treat: seeing my friends Mark and Zane from Boston. I hadn't seen them since I moved at the beginning of 2003. John and Cary came along for drinks, dinner and the film. I know Mark is reading this (and in turn reading it to Zane) -- I miss you guys! You have to move here.

Show me the money.

I hit a professional milestone today: my first seven-figure gift. As in one million smackeroos.

It's coming from someone with whom we've been conversing for some time. You might remember that I went to New York a few weeks ago for a meeting. This was the guy. This was the "ask."

Today, the answer came back. And it was music to my ears.

To celebrate I went for a nice dinner with a friend and allowed myself a few tasty treats at the Calvin Klein outlet. 

Wonder if I can take the rest of the year off?

Mortality.

Just back from a visit with my parents and the subject of mortality is on my mind.

My folks are a healthy 71 and soon-to-be 70. They're both retired and enjoying their lives, without any major ailments.

But as I look at them, I see them getting older. Relaxing in their home this weekend, I took time to look at some of the pictures on shelves and tables. My mother looks more and more like her mother. And my great grandmother.

There's some strife in other areas of my immediate family, which I won't go into. But it has my parents -- or more to the point -- my mother, thinking about "who gets what when we die." My sister Sue won't have any part of the conversation. I'm not sure Kathy has been subjected to it. I played along, at least for a little bit.

With steno pad in hand, Mom took notes.

"I want the dishes with the maples leaves, Grandma's drop leaf table, her table clock, and the little porcelain cat."  (The latter has been affixed to the front of all three houses my parents have owned.)

Then it just got too weird for me.

"Why are you doing this? Don't worry about it."

My father echoed the sentiment, so my mother retreated with her steno pad.

It's very difficult to think about our parents not being there. Mine are in good health, but who knows what could happen. A bus could hit them tomorrow.

Or today, as the case was. Really.

Mom called this evening to tell me that a bus hit them as they were driving for an evening boat cruise with some neighbors. Thank God for seatbelts. They are fine, although I suspect they will be sore tomorrow. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about the car, which is probably totaled.

The whole thing makes the "what do you want when we die list" even more surreal.

Off I go.

I'm headed up to New Jersey this afternoon to see my parents.  And Chris and Drew.  And Drew's parents Len and Marge.

My poor parents. Five house guests for the weekend.

The boys are driving down from Boston. They get along really well with my parents, and in fact, the four of them visit when my parents are passing through Boston. They even continued to talk during the time Chris, Drew and I were "separated."

My parents and Len and Marge met a few years ago, when we all converged on Len and Marge's house in Vermont. The 'rents got along really well and have been talking about this NJ thing for awhile.  So when Chris and Drew were down in Lauderdale visiting with me back in May, we picked a date and made the plans.

It will be a great weekend, I'm sure. Spending time with the boys is always wonderful. And Chris is about to start a new job as executive director of a large affordable housing agency. Being still new as an executive director myself, he and I have lots to talk about.

One highlight, I'm sure, will be a trip to the boardwalk at Seaside Heights. This was were many summer vacations took place, so it brings back memories. Not much has changed, except my ability to go on rides. I tried it a couple of years ago when we took my nieces and nephew to Seaside. The Tilt-a-Whirl put my stomach in a whirl. (Sucks getting old.)

So no Tilt a Whirl for me.

I won't have internet access -- or time -- while away, so I'll post some pics on Monday. Have a great weekend.

You can have this too.

I've previously written that my Weight Watchers thing had plateaued. I'm trying, but just not getting there.

So on Sunday I hauled my butt back into the gym. It had been some time, as the scum-suckers who owned the former Better Bodies Gym here in Fort Lauderdale, shut the doors, shuttled their customers off to a dive gym across the city, and turned the old place into a bathhouse.

But I decided I needed to do something new. I'm going back to yoga weekly, which is good on so many levels. And I'm joining a new gym. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the gym (more hate than love), but I have to do it.

Cary has been such an inspiration when it comes to getting in shape. Until a few months ago, we shared a similar body type. But After his break up from "fucker," he stopped eating for a week. No, it's not a good way to lose weight, but it prompted him to keep going once his appetite returned.  He's lost 32 pounds, has been going to the gym, and is just brimming with confidence. I am so proud of him.

We were chatting at lunch on Sunday and he said that once he makes the move north from Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale (after he sells the condo he owns with Fucker), we will start working out together. I told him how proud I am of how he has gotten into shape and what it's done for him.

"You can have this too," he told me.

So After lunch we went over to Main Street Gym, which is the new gay gym in town.

It was nothing fancy, but it was well equipped and clean. What more can you ask for? I met with the sales guy and got the rates, which were pretty good.

Later on, I went back and did cardio and abs, and even ran into someone I know.  The sales cutie was gone for the day, but I'm going to join one night this week.

Let's do the time warp again.

I went back in time this past weekend. The Lake Worth Playhouse is presenting The Rocky Horror Show this month.

Rocky Horror has never been on my top ten list of favorite movies. I enjoy watching it every few years and even own it on DVD, but I've never become part of the cult. No midnight movie showings. No dressing up, no water guns.

John needed to review this live production and I was eager to go, as I had not seen it on the stage. I think a lot of people don't even realize that it began its long and illustrious life as a stage play.

I figured that this would not be an audience participation show as there were signs on the doors admonishing theatergoers not to bring in the usual Rocky accoutrements. But people were dressed up, so I knew it would be fun.

This production was being presented by a community theater group, which has a decent group of actors, but a terrible system. I had seen some of these actors before and must say that they were very well cast.  Shane Blanford, who did a great job last summer as Pippin, was a superb Frank 'N' Furter. Kara Schwarz was terrific as Janet, and Tom Cooch nailed Riff Raff. His facial expressions rotated from bored to mildly amused to disdainful. And while he didn't play a major character, Gregg Maliff was just nice to look at. On top of it all, the sound, while not great, didn't suck.

And, by the way, it was a full-blown audience participation thing. They sold "survival kits" inside the theater, complete with newspaper, rice, water guns, etc.

If you're reading this and you live in South Florida, please go see this show to support the playhouse. They need to fill 300 seats per show to make this financially viable. It runs through July 28. More information at the company's website.

You must go.

I don't often go to animated films. The last one that I saw in the theater -- and loved -- was Wallace and Grommit.

Last night John and I went to see Ratatouille. What a delightful film. And it had Janeane Garafolo as an added bonus. You should go if you haven't already.

What I found particularly enjoyable about both of these films are the facial expressions that the animators are able to create. Grommit never speaks but conveys through his face so much more than words could communicate.

Remy, the hero of Ratatouille, talks, but only to himself or when he's with the other rats. Never does he speak among the humans. And it's then when he is his most adorable and communicative.

Ding, ding, ding.

Gambling holds no appeal for me. I grew up in New Jersey, but have only been to Atlantic City once. For a conference. I've been to Las Vegas once. For a conference.

Recently, voters approved casino gambling -- slots and poker only -- for the race tracks in Broward County. The nearest one to me is just about 10 minutes away.

Kathy and Mike went on one of the first nights they were here visiting and had a good time. On Saturday evening, they convinced John and I to go with them.

I promised myself I wouldn't spend much. We even took two cars because I knew John and I would leave early.

With just $5 in my wallet, I took $40 out of the ATM, adamant that I would spend not a penny more.

Well, after a bit of time on the $.25 slots, I hit. All $562 worth!  When all was said and done, I came home with $532.50 in my pocket. And that was after spending $8.85 for a drink at the bar and giving John $10 to play (he was pulling the handle on the slot machine, so one could argue (as he did) that he helped me win.

Not bad for about an hour and a half.  It was certainly close enough to get to. I could see myself going every now and then, with just a $20 or $40 limit.

But, then again, this place is new. Kathy insists that when these kinds of places open, the slots are "looser" so that more people win. That attracts customers. Then they tighten the machines so it's harder to win.

So maybe I won't go back regularly. Besides, I can think of better things to do with $40.

Stop me in my tracks.

The very first line of my very first posting on this blog went like this: "An early adopter, I'm not."

That point, and my age (just a wee bit under 45) were brought home today in dramatic fashion.

Before I start my little tale, I should point out that as I hire people for my leadership team, I select folks who know more about their areas than I. They're specialists, so that's why I hire them. I have enough knowledge of what they do so that I can supervise, but on a technical level, they're much smarter.

Today we had a meeting with "K", the VP of Information Technology for the college. He wanted to give us an update on some of the projects the institution was pursuing because he knows we're interested. He also wanted to hear what things we are working on so he can figure out how to help us.

I had a basic understanding of what K was talking about. My colleagues, N and M, seemed to grasp the particulars so I wasn't worried.

But he said something that stopped me in my tracks.

"College kids today think email is something for old people."

Uh? What? Suddenly, something he said was something I could understand. Well, just the words, not their meaning.

"What are you talking about K?"

Today's "youth" use texting on cellphones and instant messaging like AIM, Google Talk and the like, to communicate. Email is antiquated. Who knew?

Then he proceeded to tell us about this thing called "Second Life." Somehow, I didn't think it had anything to do about where we might go when we kick the bucket.

Turns out there's this whole other world. It's got nearly 8 million residents. You can create your own persona, buy property and things. You can travel, have relationships, do just about anything. And some people are actually making lots of money off this thing.

All of it (except the making money) is virtual.

This place has been around for three years. Where have I been?

The rest of the meeting was a blur.  I was just stymied by the whole concept of a virtual life. Clearly, I could see how such a place could consume a person (those idiotic AOL chatrooms were nothing compared to this), especially someone you create. The social implications are astounding. The ramifications for my chosen profession of fundraising were just as mind boggling. I'm in a field where we're still figuring out how to use email as a solicitation tool.

After a lunch with Cary, I caught up with N and M again. We sat down and talked about what we heard.

"That really threw you for a loop, huh Glenn?" teased M.

An endless feedback loop a la Star Trek is more like it.

It was a really weird sensation, to be just stopped cold like that, with my mind barely able to process the whole thing.

When I got home tonight, I went to Second Life on the web and created my own avatar (that's what they call a "person" in this world). I did the basic orientation and right now I'm on orientation island (or some place like that) trying to figure this out.

I remember working for a hospital back in the mid 80s and being one of the first people in the organization to have a personal computer on my desk. I thought I was such a hotshot.

Damn, I don't know shit.

Happy birthday, not quite.

My sister Kathy has always been a bit of a mystery.  Born nine years after me, we were almost a different generation growing up. Yet, we've always been close, especially as adults.

But Kat's always marched to a different tune than the rest of us.

In junior high school, she was a bit out there in how she dressed. Actually, she was a bit of a trend setter.  I also remember, younger than that, when our family would be around the table for dinner, she would sometimes get up, go upstairs into the bathroom, close the door, and scream. Then back down the stairs, and in her seat, resuming eating her meal.

Uh huh. OK.

She's quirky and fun and I love her.

When she and Mike got here for their visit the other day, she declared that we would celebrate my birthday while she's here.

"But Kat, my birthday isn't until August 31. That's two months away."

"I don't care," she replied brushing away my argument. "I never get to celebrate your birthday with you, so we're doing it this weekend."

And by celebrating my birthday, we're not only talking about a present, but a birthday dinner. Spiral ham and homemade mac & cheese.

Gotta love kid sisters!