WilliamM

Yes, absolutely.

Interesting, Awwshuck, Kenny sent me a Christmas email today. Also agree about nynakedtop

How can he be considered a wonderful man, if you think he would leave you for someone with much more money.

French, but it is clear. Excellent video.

Apparently the Rob Loew sex tape was available two weeks after the Academy Awards Snow White disaster, just folks were over Lowe and Snow White. The tape added to controversy. I do not remember much about the tape beyond Rob naked for the entire video.

The tape was made in the summer of 1988. I do not remember when it was available, my guess would be after Snow White.

The most cringe-worthy moment in Oscar history history. Lowe and Snow White in a reworked version of "Proud Mary." Lowe remembers the looking they received from the audience during the song. But, he talked to an elderly Lucille Ball in the Green Room who said, "I did not know you were such a good singer." Lowe: I sat with Lucy until she presented an award; it was her last appearance on TV. That ended up being my all-time favorite moment because a lot of people didn't like it, but Lucy did. She asked me to sit and hold her hand untill she went on stage.

Yes, @LoveNDino. Also, thanks for your praise of the film.

Two days in St. Petersburg is not enough time to see much, or get a feel of the city. It leaves no time to attend a ballet or opera or to enjoy the many canals or experience a Russian weekend after a vodka or two.

That is why I visited Sarajevo in 2013, 99 years after the beginning of WW2.

Never again use the word companion for guys I hire!

Should have added: I am not bailing. So far Tumblr has not silenced me.

An old Christmas film: I believe Kenny knows one of Rosemary Clooney's children (and knew Rosemary also). He is not here to vote, but I like the film "White Christmas" (1954) too.

Just taking time off at the end of 2018. Enjoy Christmas and Dec. 31 William

I have never had any concerns about bringing someone to my home. Why? I met my first hire in a New York bar, and we talked several times on the phone before he took the train here to Philadelphia. The second reason: I often hired from a Philadelphia agency (Premier), which provides some back-up protection. And my job was not depending on being straight or gay. Also, I was in the Army for two years, with one year overseas. I had slept in the same rooms with dozens of other guys in the service, especially in basic training and in SE Asia.

I spent several winter months in the South of Spain years ago. The weather in Malaga is milder than the rest of country in January.

Since the trip is in January, Malaga.

CRITIC’S PICK Review: Gustavo Dudamel Delivers a Seething ‘Otello’ By Anthony Tommasini Dec. 16, 2018 It’s hard for a conductor not to make an impression with the surefire opening of Verdi’s “Otello.” The terrified people of Cyprus look out to sea where a vicious storm is battering the ship carrying home Otello, their governor. The orchestra captures the sounds of crackling thunder and roiling waves; chorus members erupt with cries of fear as they see the ship tottering. Gustavo Dudamel, one of the most dynamic conductors of our time and, arguably, at 37, the face of classical music today, made the most of this scene in his much-anticipated debut at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, when Bartlett Sher’s sleekly contemporary 2015 production returned to the house. The orchestra seethed and heaved with intensity. Slashing chords had raw, brassy power. Mr. Dudamel kept the scattered choral declamation and fitful orchestral stretches in sync, while making the episode seem utterly spontaneous. And when the full chorus breaks into a collective appeal to God to save the ship, Mr. Dudamel pulled back the tempo to give more lyrical fullness to the pleading melodic line. From the compelling way he handled this stormy opening it seemed like we were in good hands. Mr. Dudamel came through, leading a surely paced, textured and exciting performance of a challenging score. If there were no interpretive revelations — and, for me, a couple of scenes that lacked tragic weight — this was still a significant, and overdue, debut. Though Mr. Dudamel is best known for his visionary leadership at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he has actually conducted quite a bit of opera, including appearances at La Scala, the Berlin State Opera and the Paris Opera. And he’s innovatively presented operas at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His feeling for Verdi came through especially during the opera’s tender scenes. In the great Act I love duet, he conveyed the bliss and rapture of the music, while giving play to its nervous flutterings. He sensitively followed the lead of the soprano Sonya Yoncheva, an exquisite, uncommonly passionate Desdemona, as she shaped the character’s soaring vocal lines with suppleness and ardor. And during moments when Otello (the tenor Carl Tanner) can barely contain his breathless desire for his new wife, Mr. Dudamel made the palpitations that course through the orchestra seem like panting. On this night, he demonstrated another skill opera conductors must have: the ability to adjust to cast changes. Mr. Tanner had taken the place of the scheduled Otello, Stuart Skelton, who was ill. It surely helped that Mr. Tanner had sung the dress rehearsal, and then had an extra coaching session on Friday with Mr. Dudamel at a piano. Mr. Tanner proved a solid, if somewhat blunt Otello, with a burly voice that can turn shaky during vocally sustained passages. But he summoned the requisite power and intemperance when the villainous Iago fills Otello with doubts about Desdemona’s faithfulness. Yet, Otello’s wrenching soliloquy in Act III fell flat here. This emotionally broken leader sings to God in halting phrases that he could have withstood any other trial — poverty, a failure turning his military trophies into a heap of rubble — better than the torture of doubt and humiliation over what he thinks is his wife’s betrayal. In this grippingly understated music, I wanted more sense that Otello is shattered, almost unable to function — a quality Mr. Tanner did not convey. And Mr. Dudamel’s conducting, though aptly subdued, was a little square. The baritone Zeljko Lucic, the Iago when this production was introduced, was again excellent, singing with dark, brawny sound. During the chilling “Credo,” when Iago declares that he was shaped in the image of a cruel God and that life is a mockery ending in nothingness, both Mr. Lucic and Mr. Dudamel took the soliloquy at face value to chilling effect. There was no hint that Iago might be inwardly tormented. The orchestra playing was lean and mean. [/url] Ms. Yoncheva, the Desdemona when this production had its premiere, was even better on this night. During the final scene as Desdemona prepares for bed, Ms. Yoncheva blended vocal radiance and aching sadness in her performance of the wistful “Willow Song.” In a recent interview, Mr. Dudamel said that the tender harmonies in the strings that usher in Desdemona’s “Ave Maria” prayer may be his favorite moment of the entire opera. He drew softly luminous sounds from the orchestra, and then beautifully cushioned Ms. Yoncheva’s eloquent singing. Though it’s essential to bring major conductors to the Met, the long rehearsal and performance schedule involved makes this difficult. That Mr. Dudamel has finally arrived is an important signifier for the company. Otello Through Jan. 10 at the Metropolitan Opera. 212-362-6000. metopera.org