Ali Gator

What a great interview these two did on 'The View' today (it's available on YouTube). I never realized how shy Bomer is in real life. Bailey is as cute and sexy as ever. They make such a great couple.

Too bad Shelley Winters is no longer with us. She could do a swell job.

"Aspects of Love" with Michael Ball and Anne Crumb; May, 1990. My third time going to NYC with my then-boyfriend. We really wanted to see 'Phantom' (the hottest ticket in town) but it was impossible to get tickets. The ticket agent in the hotel suggested 'AOL' - the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical which had opened just about a month earlier. We should have seen red flags everywhere when the eighth row orchestra was available. We bought the tickets and we'd never been so bored in our lives. We were ready to leave with everyone else during intermission, but we stayed. Horrible show (though back then, at 29, Ball was eye candy). A year later we tried out chances again with 'Phantom' with no luck. This time the ticket agent in the hotel (different from the year before - this woman was a clone of Joan Rivers, so we trusted her) suggested Tyne Daly who had just returned to 'Gypsy'. She promised we wouldn't be disappointed, so we took another chance. BEST SHOW WE EVER SAW - still the best in my book, and I've seen about 50 shows on Broadway from 1990 - 2019.

I need a cold shower.

YES ! I wouldn't have minded that, either (though it's a bit tired these days, as everyone on Facebook has a 'birthday' fundraiser for every single birthday, not just milestones). One of my favorite charities I support is "God's Love We Deliver" (became aware of them via Joan Rivers and the work she did for them). It would've been nice if they did donate to them.

You bring a present to help celebrate the person being honored with the milestone birthday dinner. It's not just any dinner, it's a milestone birthday dinner. Etiquette once required gift giving on such an occasion - and as @Danny-Darko points out : nothing overboard, just something practical. As he says - it's the gesture.

Bailey and Bomer are going to be guests on "The View" this THURSDAY, according to their promotions this morning.

The universe is telling you something this Christmas - 'skip the fruitcake'.

This is true. I was expecting some small token gifts because I, myself, never go empty-handed to a celebration or simple dinner party. It's not how I was raised. So I 'do unto others as I'd like them to do unto me'.

I can't recall the last time I received a paper invitation with an RSVP (aside from wedding invites), let alone a 'save the date card'. All the invites I received since the late 1990s - birthday invites, Christening invites, 50th Anniversary and 25th Anniversary invites, retirement parties, etc.- have been through eMails and texts. 'Eventbrite' has been popular for email invites. Paper invitations ? Not in this century. Provide gift bags for the couple to take home ? Actually, I was expecting gift bags from them since I was the birthday celebrant. Hire a band ? Again, this is the 21st Century - I've been to events where programmed music from an iPod is the entertainment. Following your advice - inviting someone to dinner, even if they happen to me married (Christened, retired, etc.) on that day, doesn't command a gift.

Well this was inevitable: HBO Films has a movie in the works about former disgraced Congressman George Santos. The movie network has optioned the rights to the just-released (as of Nov 28) biography "The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos". Exec producer Frank RIch,Z ("Veep" and "Succession") is at the helm of this project. HBO has described it as a 'forensic and darkly comedy look' at the Congressman from Long Island. So who will play George Santos ? Casting has not been announced yet, so let's give HBO some ideas. (Bowen Yang does a passable 'George' on SNL - especially on Dec 2 in the 'cold open' - but don't think he could carry a movie. A little of him goes a loooooooooooong way.)

His endowment was impressive - and very memorable to me. (Yet when he deflated, it did get very small.)

There's a current newsmaker named George Santos who may be the next patient in this rehab.

Here is the latest on him as he heads back to prison: Illinois appeals court affirms actor Jussie Smollett's convictions and jail sentence APNEWS.COM Appeals court upheld the convictions of Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself and lying about it to police.

As season 2 progresses, somehow 'Julia' has played second fiddle to her supporting cast. WTH is going on ? "Julia" belongs in WGBH studio - not in France, not at home - and the focus belongs on Julia. This past episode (Dec 1) was a waste of time.

That's where I hired him from - didn't see any RMen ad.

And THIS is exactly my point. And to reiterate - this wasn't ANY birthday, it was a milestone birthday (something not everyone gets to celebrate). I wasn't expecting anything elaborate or expensive, but something to mark the occasion in celebration (a gift card to Dunkin' would've been just as thoughtful as a bouquet of flowers, and preferable). It makes me wonder, if this is the acceptable social etiquette these days, what does a guest do if they are invited to a 25th Anniversary Party or 50th Anniversary Party ? Would it be just as acceptable to show up and not acknowledge the couple celebrating with a gift (I can't imagine it myself, but...I'm learning here.) Same with a wedding - is your 'presence' enough or do you have to bring a gift these days ? (Maybe I'll start attending weddings again - I cut them out for the past twenty years as they were getting too expensive to attend and bring a gift).

Excellent reminder about this 'kink' in the biz. But in the biz is it with this demographic going to the restaurant (Millennials / Zoomers) ? For some reason I would associate it with older clientele, and a very specific clientele.

"CBS Sunday Morning" had a segment on today about a popular restaurant in Japan among Millennials and Gen Zers known as 'The Rude Restaurant'. The concept is for the servers to be purposely rude to the guests, to the point of insulting and humiliating you and serving you horrible - though edible - food. The young clientele love this - posting pics and video from their experiences on social media, while the owner told reporters the place is booked 'months in advance'. They point out that this is happening in a country where social etiquette has gone above and beyond for centuries - everyone is treated kindly in just about every business (stores, banks, airports, restaurants, etc). Why in the world would anyone go to a restaurant to be purposely and intentionally mistreated and humiliated ? Why would these young Japanese men and women patronize this place ? Is it just because its different from the norm ? (Bad enough when that happens unintentionally - like here in America.)

Impressive. Very, very imoressive. He's a runner / swimmer - so his chest is not 'gym sculpted' (as he said, he goes maybe once or twice a month to lift weights - it's just not his thing), so his chest is defined but not sculpted. His legs are as sexy as hell.

Loved 'The Goldfinch' but couldn't get into the rest - especially 'The Little Friend'.

The book remains in the TOP 10 of the NYT Non-Fiction Best Seller's List (which combines eBook, print book and audio book sales) but the book itself has been a major disappointment. On the USA TODAY Best Seller's List (combining fiction and non-fiction) she falls to #28, from #18 in its second week (and debuted at #6 three weeks ago). On Publisher's Weekly Top 10 Best Sellers, she has dropped out of the list in week 3. For the week of November 19-25, she sold only 20,0003 copies. And this covers the week which Amazon offered 'Buy 2 Get One Free' on her book (and other books) - so that didn't help her either. Over the three week period, she has sold just over 80,000 books according to her publisher. (Comparatively, Brittney Spears has sold just under 800,000 in five weeks on the bookshelves). She should have released her memoir 20 - 25 years ago. Her "Evergreens" CD - supposedly a 'tie-in' with the memoir, which was released a week before the book - has also been a flop. It has sold only 7000 copies. Her '40th Anniversary' Remasterd YENTL CD has sold about half of that.

Thank You @Fidler ! I just left my appointment with him - he was so easy to book with, handsome and charming once I met him. He was a better birthday gift than I expected ! I can't wait until he visits here again.

I have a neighbor who just graduated with an MBA from a prestigious business college this past, at 24. He's responsible and mature for his age. He's quite handsome, tall, with a hot gym body - very sexy and he knows how to use it. He was hired in June at a brand new upscale restaurant / club which opened in one of the 'upscale hotels' in our financial district. He was hired as bartender in their club, which is what he wanted so he could meet and network with people his own age and potential head-hunters from the companies in the area who went to this place after work. He has a full-time job, but this was a weekend job to supplement his income. (I've checked out the social media pages of this restaurant / club over the summer and the past few months - all the female patrons look like Taylor Swift or Kim Kardashian, and all the guys look like Harry Styles or Timothee. Seriously. ) I was catching up with this young neighbor over Thanksgiving weekend when he was outside. He told me he hated his server job as he's making no money. He told me about the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving (big 'going out night' for younger singles) - the place was packed all night and he 'busted his ass' with the other servers. He made no money (or as he said, 'less than $150 on tips', while he correctly was expecting at least double that working the bar all night). He said some of the women left him their phone number where it said 'tip' on the check. (He also said this wasn't uncommon during the summer). My neighbor said he gave a month's notice to his boss the other day. He really likes his boss and coworkers, but he can't survive there any longer. He will stay through New Year's Eve since the place is booked for December for Christmas parties, mostly from the financial community. Again, I commend him for being responsible - especially to his boss and coworkers. So then he will be looking for another p/t job to supplement his 'entry level' income - I think he should be an escort (I'd hire him in a heartbeat), but that's a suggestion for another day. (With a handsome face and a 24 year old muscled chest with actual hair on it - he has little competition! 😊).

In case you haven't noticed, the service industry is in an open revolt - Starbucks is trying to unionize each location (because the servers say they are not making enough money in their hourly wage or in their tip cup (and who is their core demo who should be tipping ?); restaurants are closing each day or cutting back on open hours because they can't find help (no one wants to be a server these days when they're not getting tipped); fine restaurants are cutting back / eliminating valet service as they can't find anyone to fill those positions (again, no one is tipping); major hotels are slowly getting rid of 'bellman' services as those jobs can't be filled since no one tips them any more (BTW - read up on the hotel industry these days: they can't staff bellmen, housekeepers, restaurant staff, room-service, and other service-oriented positions which depend on tips), etc. Many thought the 'answer' was those cash-out terminals now found in every restaurant where the "tipping suggestions" pop out for you to choose - but everyone found a way around it by tapping on 'custom tip' and leaving "0" (I learned this trick from a young professional in her 20s.) And who is the core demo who is the clientele these days for the above ? 22 - 50 year olds.