RNC in NYC

GW and his entourage are in New York rallying for re-election. (I've never been so happy to live on the Upper East Side!) The presence of the RNC has created a lot of problems in the city. Barricades and street closures, not to mention the countless number of protesters who got their groove on early: Friday night. They were thoughtful enough to take to the streets and close 14th Street and Second Avenue this past Friday. And most recently, some freak protester got out of hand and beat a police officer. I'm all for people speaking their minds and taking advantage of their Constitutional Right to gather and make their voices heard, no matter how controversial. However, as Professor Zimbardo at Stanford University will attest, there's something about the mob mentality, being told "hey, it's ok to do that!" by an authority figure, say the protest organizer, that gives people this psychological permission to do things that they normally wouldn't. This makes for a dangerous situation in New York this week. Luckily, only the Falun Gong folks are outside my office building, across from the Waldorf Astoria (could it be any more nerve-wracking to be here?) where the Republicans are staying--gives new meaning to the term "peaceful protester." Thye are practically meditative--to me, that's more powerful than the whole screaming, shouting, images of dead people. We see that stuff daily so this quiet protest (literally near silence) strikes me more.

Jason Mraz's new live CD is out and I highly recommend it. Makes me want to go to San Diego--no, not to stalk him! I want to see Jano and frolic in the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I'm having big time Jano missing and after his whole thing in Antarctica, I feel I should take advantage of him being in the United States and I want to visit San Diego!

Playing on WINAMP: Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom by Jason Mraz

Rejuvenation

As Jano likes to call it, I've been in a funk. He and I have festered, trying to recover from great relationship loss and re-learning how much we enjoy being on our own. But the past year has gradually helped me come out of it. This weekend, I continued my journey out of funk. Saturday, I spent with myself in the East Village, buying lovely hats and sitting at a cafe sipping limonata and enjoying bruschetta and carpaccio, and then, I took the evening with Steve to watch the weekend's number one box office draw, Hero and grab drinks at the Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Bar. I got an early evening considering I was in bed by midnight. I woke Sunday to send out headshots and acting resumes for upcoming auditions and then sat at DTUT to read through plays and then ventured to Barnes and Noble to continue my search for better monologues for my audition repetoire. As I headed home, I took a detour to the movies and caught Zach Braff's superbly crafted Garden State. It was a great day that slipped back into funkiness for a brief moment and then shot back out when my dear friend, Esther, helped me put everything back into perspective. We both discussed how the past few months have been very trying, but how every autumn is like a re-birth for us. Grand plans and new adventures, discoveries and experiences to be had. I've never been short on adventures or plans--always busy, always wanting to do more and try new things. Just like the beginning of a new school year. We both have so many exciting things going on, we can barely contain our excitement and joy. Here's to the new year!

Reading: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

Marooned Mayer

John Mayer is on tour with Maroon 5 and DJ Logic and they passed through New York via Jones Beach last night. Yes, I'm a big guitarist whore. Mayer's an amazing guitarist and I can't help but get sucked into the music. Wow. We got there in time for Maroon 5 to take the stage and go through most of their album along with a cover of AC/DC's "Highway To Hell." Incredible. John's set was very mellow and his encore of "Comfortable" (love that song--who hasn't felt like that for someone?) and a mix of "This Love" into "Neon" was to die for. I love "Neon's" intro chords sans lyrics. There's no other song opening that makes me swoon like that one does--I love that funk. I could probably just listen to those opening chords for a few hours and be content.

I've been quite absent from my blog of late. Too busy living life? Sure. I'd gone through serious contemplation of moving back to San Francisco after the past couple months of stupid dates and stupid people. It isn't gone yet, but I've decided to give NY another go before I up and relocate to be with my chillin' friends on the other coast. What spurred this on? A feeling some of my friends have unabashedly tried to take advantage of me and treat me like the hired help. The list of disappointing dates which, for this movie fanatic, included a guy who couldn't shut the hell up during "The Bourne Supremacy" which is a big no-no. Everyone who knows me knows when the movie comes on, the talking has to stop. The cineplex is this zealot's cathedral; no one talks during mass. An idiot "friend" lied to me about a birthday party they "weren't having"--the kicker--being dumb enough to tell me about it afterwards. The knowledge that Old Man Winter is right around the corner. Mostly, the string of unfortunate encounters with people is enough to make me move to an island in the South Pacific. But I'm turning a corner and am working towards focusing on me,me,me! That means I need sleep. More sleep. Less party evenings. Hard since I've fallen into that mode over the summer and the thought of being home is not very tempting. If there's a bar, I'm going. Jazz at the Blue Note Friday, and a showcase and two birthday parties Saturday will satisfy my need to be out and about, socializing like a crazy beast. I need a vacation--again. Beach--I hear Costa Rica is pretty cheap and they have great surfing!

Reading: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Now Playing: Collateral with Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Mark Ruffalo, Jada Pinkett Smith, Barry Shabaka Henley, Javier Bardem; directed by Michael Mann

Lobster Baby

About a year and a half ago, when Shenan was in her first trimester, she had a dream that she was to give birth to a baby with lobster claws and tail. We joked about her lobster baby for months which I'm sure allayed her anxieties. How appropriate then, that we should take Calvin (sans lobster claws and tail) to Maine this weekend for the 57^th Annual Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland to enjoy the sweet meat known as the Great Maine Lobster--not to be confused with the Great Pumpkin. That one isn't in season yet. The festival begins Wednesday, August 4, and runs through Sunday, August 8. They even have a pageant for this thing--can you believe it? I'm never gonna get away from that beauty pageant shite am I? We plan to drive up and make it in time for 2-1/2 days of cracking shells and devouring those little critters. When we aren't sucking down lobster meat or steamed mussels and clams, we're going to take a whale watching tour in Booth Bay Harbor, 1 hour south of Rockland, or Acadia which is an hour north. We only get humpbacks in Hawaii, so I am looking forward to all the different whale species (pilot, bowhead, grey) and potential seals and puffins we may greet on our 3 hour tour hopefully not on a boat called the USS Minnow. It is the summer when the whales feed like mad before their long journey to breeding waters in the winter.

I'm most delighted by this journey because I can finally say I have made it to every state in New England (New Hampshire and Maine are my final two states)--not to mention 2 full days of eating nothing but lobster. If you think you'd like to make it to the festival, good luck! Every hotel, motel, resort, B&B is booked within a 1 hour radius. Not daunted by an hour plus drive from your lodging? Try Augusta or Portland--they are your best bet. If you do manage to make it out, come find the Lobster Baby cannibalizing!