actor61

I kind of liken it to Hitchcock's "The Birds". You don't know why any of it is happening. You're just plopped into it with little to no explanation. However, "The Birds" is a far superior film to "A Quiet Place."

I ventured over to HK last night for an off-off-Broadway show called Afterglow.

 

This show has been running for a few months and is advertised to take advantage of the nudity and provocative subject of production. Naked men, shower scenes, and threesomes all provide tantalizing fodder for a gay audience. And gay, it was, the audience, I mean.

A small and uncomfortable theater space, yet surprisingly filled to capacity, with gay men, in a 60 seat theater. It was very warm, bordering on hot and smoky. The smoke is used to induce a hazy erotic atmosphere. Personally it had an odor I did not care for.

I sat first row and had a view of, well, everything.

The plot is rather simple. 3 gay men. Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex are involved in a long-term relationship and in the midst of a surrogacy. Darius is a young masseur who they add to the mix of their open relationship. Josh is self absorbed and as described by Alex, "Like a puppy that constantly needs to be played with." Alex is a successful researcher who, at first, is relieved when Josh and Darius take up a casual relationship, grateful to be relieved of the stress of work and his relationship. Things get complicated when Darius and Josh become more seriously involved. This is where the story goes downhill, and well, 2 plus 1 doesn't add up to a happy threesome. It all ends sadly.

Ok, yes, lots of nudity, shower scenes and the constant rearranging of the set in various configurations. Penises, naked butts and Water sprays from the overhead shower. Clothes come off, clothes go on. After a while it became a bit tedious. Given the uncomfortablilty of the theater and the intermissionless 1 hour and 45 minute performance, I was relieved when it ended.

I saw it on a TDF ticket, so I didn't have to invest a lot, except time. Actor, Brandon Haagenson was not in the performance I saw and his understudy, Tim Young played the role of Josh.

 

 

 

"Uncomfortability"? Is that a word?

 

"The Tony Award-winning Best Play returns to Broadway in a “near-miraculous production” of “mind-bending splendor” (The New York Times). In 1917 Zurich, an artist, a writer and a revolutionary collide in a kaleidoscopic thrill-ride that’s “wickedly playful, intensely entertaining, infectiously theatrical” (Time Out London)."

 

Perhaps others will be more thrilled than I viewing this show which I think is aptly titled! I found it boring and somewhat Marx Brothers zany. Repetitive scenes only helped make it seem endless. Wordy and inane.

Sorry, I really didn't like it and bolted the theater, along with others, at intermission. Some did not have the patience to wait for intermission and exited half-way through the first act. Looking around I spotted a number of patrons dozing. The guy behind me snored loudly! It was a TDF ticket, so I did not have a lot invested in it.

I couldn't agree with you more!

I think they should just stop broadcasting these live versions of Broadway shows. They are just dreadful. Last night was another perfect example of overblown production values aimed at a demographic that only responds to volume and spectacle, and really, really awful casting. I just hated every minute of it and got so annoyed when the audience cheered every time a lead hit a high note as though that's the only criteria of good singing. From their infamous production of "The Sound of Music" right up to this disaster, they have set a very low bar. "Peter Pan" was boring and never got off the ground mainly due to the amateurish performances of Alison Williams and Christopher Walken. "The Wiz" looked like a community theatre production choreographed by the local gym teacher. "Hairspray" was dismal and what were they thinking with the terrible narration by Darren Criss? I could go on and on but I'll desist. Let the hating begin!

I love this show,I was also a fan of Downton Abbey,I missed last weeks 2 episodes,I think the first 2 or 3 seasons were better and more like a serious drama and now its getting sillier but I still really enjoy it,I love PBS but I couldnt get into Poldark or Victoria but really love Midwife,there was another drama I liked called 800 words,it was based in New Zealand I liked it but was only on food a short time here,hopefully it will return

I hated "Victoria" and "Poldark" too. I'm just so surprised by how much I like "Midwife". I don't like "800 Words", "Death in Paradise", "Father Brown" or any of the other mystery shows. I kind of liked the one David Tennant was in a few years ago in which he avenged his wife's murder but mostly because I like him so much. I adored "The Hollow Crown". I have a friend who thinks that anything on PBS is good and he gets very annoyed with me when I don't like something. Just because it's on PBS doesn't guarantee quality. I listened to the new version of "Prairie Home Companion" today on NPR. Dreadful. Just because it's on NPR doesn't mean it's automatically good. I never miss "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". Very clever. I don't like "This American Life" or the Terri Gross interviews mostly because Ira Glass and Terri Gross really irritate me. And those are my idle ramblings for the day.

There were some very good actors on the original series -- Laurie Metcalf, John Goodman, Michael O'Keefe. Roseanne always came across as a brash comedian reading cue cards. That worked well when the banter was just set-ups for punchlines. It made for an awful sitcom when Roseanne was trying to act in a "very special" scene. I've probably watched less than thirty full episodes of the original series -- mostly reruns when I was home during a sick day.

 

Roseanne's schtick has a lot in common with Trump's; she's always been into audacity for audacity's sake, and if she has a strong opinion she wants people to argue about it with her. There's no way for her to just have an opinion; she has to beat you over the head with her statement, her position on an issue. It's all very calculated for the purpose of getting attention. Whether she actually does support him or not I'm sure Roseanne's and Roseanne Barr's support of Trump is strategic. Time will tell whether she has engineered some subversive irony into her narrative.

 

I'll pass on the reboot. I don't need another conduit for pop-culture political debate, and I especially don't need Roseanne Barr's take on it.

I think everything she does is calculated, including her support of Trump. I remember when she was married to Tom Arnold and went on talk shows with him where he talked about being sexually abused as a child and she talked about having multiple personality disorder. Then, after she dumped Arnold, she returned to the talks shows to discuss how small his penis is and how lousy sex with him was. She makes the same sexually based, outrageous remarks Trump does to appeal to the base that watches her. As a previous poster remarked, Trump called her the day after the show premiered but it took him a while to call the soldier's widow and then opened his remarks to her with "I hear you're a big fan of mine" or some such. I have a feeling that in "real" life, Barr is probably a decent person - I don't think actors of the caliber of Goodman and Metcalf would put up with her for 5 minutes if she weren't. But she knows exactly what she's doing in her professional life - she knows how to target her audience, she knows how to raise hackles, she knows how to get laughs and she knows how to get rich in the process. I don't plan on watching the show because I just found the first 2 episodes so ponderous and heavy with issues; some of it was funny but she's a terrible actress. She's lucky to be surrounded by a lot of talented pros on the show. As the above poster said, she looks like a comic reading cue cards most of the time.

For the most part, I enjoyed the new "Roseanne", but I really think they overloaded the opening episodes with "issues" - effeminate (for lack of a better term) grandson, mixed race granddaughter, Trump supporter versus Hillary supporter, limited health care coverage, surrogacy and bullying. I loved the original show and often admired how some episodes were just very funny depictions of daily life. This new version is just top heavy. Admittedly, some of it was funny but I felt like I had been lectured to by the end of the 2nd episode.

What was a big surprise was the new show that followed "Black-ish" (now THAT'S a great show), with Oliver Hudson and Jenna Fischer. I think it's called "Splitting Up Together" ? It's produced by Ellen de Generes. I thought it was going to be a generic sitcom with wacky grown-ups and sassy kids and it did have elements of that but it was also very subtly moving at moments, made a lot of sense, and its depiction of the relationship between the parents was really incisive. I also found it very well acted. I'm going to be interested to see how it develops because I think it has potential. I'm also looking forward to the new Zach Braff show - I've always found him very charming and a really good comedic actor without the shlocky sitcom mannerisms that often come with episodic shows. He and Neil Flynn sure have found their niches since "Scrubs" as t.v. and movie dads.

It is one of the corniest, over sentimentalized pieces of crap I've ever watched and I'm thoroughly addicted to it. Last night, there were 2 new episodes on PBS and as always, I found myself grabbing for a hankie before the first episode was halfway over. I knew that the Jewish lady was going to die and her husband would find God again. I knew that the racist hairdresser would end up friends with the Jamaican midwife. I knew the weakling husband would grow a pair and tell off his mother-in-law. I knew the squeamish, macho husband would end up delivering his wife's baby, and I knew Timothy would develop a crush on the hot au pair from Hungary. And yet I just couldn't stop watching. What is wrong with me???

Tommy Davidson and "like". Enjoy.

Other vocal mannerisms or habits that make my skin itch are the use of the phrase "in terms of". We have a local weather forecaster who says, "We will have some precip today in terms of rain". I don't know why the hell she can't just say, "It's going to rain today." I heard a journalist on CNN today say, "I'm going to ask you this in terms of a question." Then there's making up nouns. I have heard "intentionality" and "speakerness" used. And of course - and people are going to argue with me on this one - the ubiquitous use of impact as a verb, as in "this will impact people greatly" or as an adverb as in "this was very impactful". I also despise the verb "incentivize". But all of these are in common usage now, so it's like howling in the wind to protest.

I hadn’t heard of “vocal fry” either.

 

With reference to NPR, almost all the women engage in the annoying “uptalk”. It makes them sound like middle schoolers. Even Ari Shapiro does it sometimes.

So true!

Boy, have you pushed a button on this one! The use of the word "like" actually makes me angry and it has become so commonplace that it is no longer a fad or a tic. Some of the worst offenders are intelligent people in literate professions. Just listen to Terri Gross on "Fresh Air" or Ira Glass on "This American Life." The 2 best female comics working - Amy Shumer and Tiffany Hadish - use like so much that I can't listen to them for longer than 2 minutes without getting so annoyed that I turn off the t.v.

I was a dancer in a company of "Carousel" about 30 years ago. The music is glorious and it is famous for its "serious" book but I found being in it, in spite of very challenging and beautiful choreography, a chore. It is not a happy show. The revival for which Audra McDonald won her first Tony was remarkably good and beautifully sung but it's still a show that requires a lot of work both onstage and in the audience. Some consider it R&H's best score and the music is thrilling but the spouse abuse, the suicide, Billy's return from heaven only to slap his kid doesn't make it a show you leave feeling happy to have spent 3 hours watching.

I watch the show regularly and because of the apron, I can't tell if he's muscled or just a big man. The curiosity is killing me!

Watch him and Lombard in "To Be Or Not To Be". That's all you need to see to understand his brilliance.

He got me with that "upper class" psrt of Vegas.

Do I bring my own sheets for the table?

Too many tatts.

Two goodlooking brothers, one dumb but loveable, the other goodlooking and loveable. Gay kid who quotes B'way shows, sings like a bird, loveable. Yawn.

I enjoy playing cards online, especially Hearts but due to the aggressively belligerent attitudes of many of the players, I think I'm going to give up playing. The vicious remarks and horrifying language used in the chat boxes that accompany the games are really demoralizing and discouraging and disheartening and sickening. I once shot the moon but still lost by one point and one of the players typed, "Typical. N.....s can't count." When I have succeeded in hitting somebody with the Queen, I've been called a cunt, a faggot, an asshole, a douche bag, and accused of fucking my mother or watching one of the players fuck my mother or selling my mother to ISIS as a sex slave. I've also been told to suck dick, eat shit, fuck off, and to finger myself.

Enough. I think I'll just watch movies instead or play solitaire. People are often just disgusting when they're anonymous.

The haters are going to be all over me, calling me "grammar cop" or "spellcheck queen" but I couldn't resist citing the correspondence below.

An escort recently emailed me after I texted him and the spelling, punctuation and grammar errors were so frequent and frankly funny that they actually turned me off. I'm not looking for Einstein with a big dick but a little rudimentary English is not a lot to ask for.

( I always' like to keep on TOP ! Of anything that I get involved with! (Specializing! In Toy’s!

I’m in A (# 1 all around good health ! ( And like within Safe limit’s )

Expert in bodywork, have trained in Thailand it's self, for real! And also know many other styles . I have at Rates are in calls 150 or 220 out

In his email, he said he'd give me the code for his "pryvet" photo.

Why do people use apostrophes for plurals?

Let the hating begin.

Candles, candles, candles. I'm at the age where it's the only flattering light!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Spot on but I almost felt like I was being preached to. Big difference is that President Dalton’s “incapacity” was organic; a brain tumor. That’s far more transitory and cureable than a severe personality disorder.

Does anyone remember the "West Wing" story line in which Bartlett's daughter was kidnapped and he invoked the 25th Amendement and stepped down while John Goodman filled in as Acting President? At the time, I thought it was absurd and took the show's quality level down a couple of notches, but now I wish it would happen for real. I don't mean that I want Ivanka or Tiffany kidnapped; I mean that I wish some portion of the 25th could be invoked and John Goodman could take over for Trump.

Agreed on that particular ad. And on most of the pharmaceutical ads. Here's one that I thought was inventive but also unduly weird - I still can't decide if the sleep/wake "pets" are more cute or creepy, lol.

 

 

And of course the oddest thing about all such ads is the amount of time spent telling us about all the side effects, etc - when NOT to use the drug in question. I know they have to do that by law, but it does also seem to work against the point of having the ads at all...

You're absolutely right about the ad with the sleep/wake pets. That was just plain creepy. I tended to hit the remote whenever it came on. It reminded me of my childhood dreams of monsters.

I find the Leslie Mann ads kind of funny because they're a little offbeat but I can see why you find them obnoxious.

I have posted about this before but the ad I find heinously obnoxious is the one for a medicine for some kind of intestinal disorder where an actress in a tan leotard and a red wig portrays the disorder as vaguely mentally disabled and physically klutzy. In previous discussions, people said that I shouldn't deride the actress who took the role as she's probably making lots of money and boosting her career and I don't blame her. I blame the ad people who put this moronic commercial together.

When I tuned in near the end, right before the ball drop, Cohen was trying to get Cooper to talk about wishes for the New Year. Cooper wasn't cooperating. Seems that the chill in the air had nothing to do with the weather in Times Square.

The proof of their inanity is most obvious when they cohost with Kelly Ripa. Cooper uses the word "like" so much that I have to turn him off, and the giggling is really annoying. Cohen can be clever at times but he's so superficial and such a show biz princess that it all starts to sound like drivel after about the first sentence. But what do I know? They both have gorgeous boyfriends and lots of money. Of course, I wouldn't expect either one of them to date anybody less than physically perfect as that seems to be what counts for them. So Hollywood typical.

I once read a gossip article somewhere (doctor's office maybe) that said Cohen was teaching Cooper how to be a better top. And now that image is just stuck in my head.

While more of a food consumption than cooking show, I will watch anything that cutie Jordan Andino is on, including his show Late Night Eats.

 

 

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Holy canoli!