Category: uncategorized

Today my parents and I drove up to the new Cache Creek casino in Brooks, northwest of Sacramento. Apparently the casino has been advertising a lot, and my parents wanted to go check it out. I acquiesced. I’m not much of a gambling man, and this trip was sort of unexpected (at least on my part), so I didn’t hit the ATM first to load up on gambling money. We had lunch at one of the restaurants, where I had a surprisingly good grilled panini, and then took to the various slot and video machines. At the end of the afternoon, my net loss was about $15, basically all I had in my wallet at the time. I can live with that. If there’s something positive to say about the place: it really is a beautiful property, especially for a casino. From the outside it looks more like a sprawling winery estate in a modified Mission style, set amid fields and hills. And inside, despite the machines and card tables, the architecture and decor continue a nature theme, with leaf and tree motifs running throughout. Typical me: I’m all, look at the Wright-like light fixtures! and the massive porte cochère!

On the drive back, we benefited from the unexpected kindness of strangers. As we approached the Bay Bridge toll plaza, we noticed that in front of us was a new Mercedes sedan, noticed because my parents recently bought a Mercedes SUV (yeah, I know). I was driving it on the way back, and when we got to the booth, I held out my two bucks to the toll taker, but he said that the woman ahead of us took care of it. Wow, thank you, random driver! Was it the new-car camaraderie? Was it just random kindness? Were you coming on to me and was I supposed to follow you to get your number?

Lose your money at the casino, make some at the toll plaza. Who’d have guessed?

DALY CITY, CALIF.–Last night’s trip went rather smoothly. Though I was running late yesterday (I had left my office late, finishing a bunch of things that had to be done before I left town, but that’s work talk, so let’s not dwell on it), Thom and I got to Dulles with just enough time for me to glide through security, get to the terminal, and pop over to a nearby fast-food counter for a burger, which I brought on board the plane.

As you’ve probably read or heard, some of things the JetBlue experience has going for it are the inflight comforts: leather seats, extra legroom (thankfully not really ever an issue for a short guy like me), and DirecTV at every seat. I spent the first part of the flight switching among Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and even the History Channel (though a plane was not the most comforting place to watch a documentary on engineering disasters). I napped the rest of the way, and ended up arriving at Oakland earlier than scheduled. My dad, aunt, and mom (who had called Thom earlier in the evening to make sure I’d gotten to Dulles okay, since I didn’t get a chance to call her before taking off, like I usually do) were there to pick me up and bring me home, where much-needed sleep was had. Zzz.

Playbill reports on this year’s Easter Bonnet Competition:

If [Doris] Eaton was the most moving, then the casts of Avenue Q and Fiddler on the Roof, who joined forces for the afternoon’s award winning bonnet presentation, provided the funniest moments. Their brilliant skit, entitled Avenue Jew, employed a mix of tunes from both musicals with revised lyrics by Randy Bobish, Rick Lyon, James Valletti, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Molly Ephraim, Jordan Gelber, and Melissa Bohon. […]

The Avenue Jew sketch began with Trekkie Monster playing the opening strains of Fiddler on the Roof on a fiddle, which he proceeded to eat and destroy after playing a few sour notes. For those who were unable to attend this year’s ceremony, I wanted to share the skit with you, and thanks to the gifted and charming D’Abruzzo, who supplied me with a copy of the sketch, here it is!

Check it out at the Playbill website. Hilarious. More pictures from Easter Bonnet, including the Avenue Q gang, are available at Broadway.com. (Via Mike.)

Update (7 Dec. 2006): Now available on YouTube!

For now, it’s no go for the Hunt High queer guy. From an AP report via Yahoo! News:

RALEIGH, N.C.–A judge Tuesday rejected a gay teenager’s bid to campaign for student body president with posters billing himself as the “Queer Guy for Hunt High.”

Jarred Gamwell had enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union after the principal of James B. Hunt High School removed the posters last week.

Without comment, Wilson County Superior Court Judge Dwight Cranford denied the ACLU’s request for an order forcing administrators to allow Gamwell to use posters with gay references, including one that read “Gay Guys Know Everything!”

School officials said the decision had nothing to do with Gamwell’s homosexuality but was aimed at controlling speech that could be disruptive to the learning atmosphere.

Familiar with my love of all things air travel, Sonal suggested I check out Patrick Smith’s column in Salon, “Ask the Pilot.” Can’t wait to delve into the archives. I’m reminded of an entertaining column, also on Salon but since discontinued, written by flight attendant Elliott Neal Hester. Good stuff. Which also reminds me that I have a copy of Salon’s anthology of travel essays, Wanderlust: Real-Life Tales of Adventure and Romance, still unread. Hm, lots of reading in my future. Maybe I’ll bring the book with me on my plane trip home this week. That seems appropriate.

Thom is away at a conference for the next few days, so it’s just me and Alex the cat holding down the fort. Today’s activities included catching up on TiVo, websurfing, and occasionally playing with Alex or watching him nap. For the first time in a long while I found myself quite bored, momentarily. I suppose it’s not that there wasn’t anything to do; I just had too many choices of things to do (I also considered calling up friends or doing some housework or going out to see a movie), but had insufficient energy to do them. Yeah, so today was nice and lazy; nothing too taxing or strenuous. I’ll get enough of that when I get to the office tomorrow. Oh, wait, it’s still the weekend: I will not think about work.

I’m going to either watch some more TV or do some reading, then it’s off to bed.

Update (23:44): Thom reports from the field, posting mere seconds after my entry. We’re coincidental like that.

Last night Thom and I drove to Union Station to pick up Sonal, who is in town this weekend. We had a nice long dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Arlington. I had the pasta with pesto, chicken, and mushrooms–a serving which really could’ve fed two or three people easily. Thom and Sonal each had salads which were also pretty huge. Mmm.

Today the weather is gorgeous. Early this afternoon the three of us met up with Sonal’s brother and his wife at Lauriol Plaza, a Mexican restaurant in Dupont on 18th Street. I hadn’t eaten there before (though I’ve passed by its distinctive building several times), and boy, it was a treat. The atmosphere was leisurely, and the food was delicious–I had the pollo toluca (chicken topped with scallops, shrimp, and bell peppers). It was a fun time. As I often say, I’m always thankful for good food and good friends. (Sonal told us beforehand that her brother and his wife had seen and loved Avenue Q, so of course we knew we’d be simpatico.) After lunch, she had the excellent suggestion of going to Teaism, so we walked towards the Circle, and stopped in for some refreshments. I had my usual, a mango lassi. We sat and talked in the dining area upstairs, overlooking R Street. (Thom remarked that it’s times like these that he misses living downtown, and I agreed, though technically, on paper, I still do live around there.) Time flies when you’re having fun, and before we knew it, it was already 5 p.m., and the others had to head out to another engagement, so we said our goodbyes.

Left to our own devices, Thom and I did some strolling around. We stopped at a store that used to be The Left Bank (what’s it called now?), which carried unique toys and travel photography; it still does, but emphasis is more on the photos now, with only a few shelves of those quirky Accoutrements action figures (e.g., librarian with “shushing action!”), among other amusements. We also stopped at the little houseware store next to it. They stock every gadget you’d ever need for your kitchen, and other unexpected items, like clever cards from Knock Knock, which I’ve mentioned here before. At Lambda Rising, I bought a few books from the bargain shelves: Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas by Douglas Murray, André & Oscar: The Literary Friendship of André Gide and Oscar Wilde by Jonathan Fryer, and Pictures and Passions: A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts by James S. Saslow. (Apparently the title-colon-subtitle formula is alive and well.) Thom bought Michael Chabon’s Summerland, which I hope to get around to reading as well.

Definitely a lovely day all around.

This morning I opened up the Post Express and saw an ad for the 2004/05 “Broadway at the Warner” subscription series: Miss Saigon (Nov. 9-14, 2004), Contact (Feb. 8-13, 2005), The Graduate (Feb. 22-27, 2005), and Evita (May 3-8, 2005). Additional subscription options include Together Again (Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, Oct. 7, 2004), Rent (Mar. 18-20, 2005), and Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance (Apr. 8-10, 2005).

Hm. It’s an okay season. None of them really grabs me in a must-see kind of way, though I think I’d like to see Contact and Rent again (which would make a total of six times for the latter).