bostonman

I've been with literal dads before, though I don't believe I've ever met any of their kids. However, if I did, I don't think I'd be thrown by that. However, if I can be a bit salacious for a second, there is something just a bit special to me about being intimate with a dad. Like there's an extra strong sense of masculinity involved if it's a guy who has actually impregnated someone. I'm sure I'm not the only guy who's felt that way, but it does feel a bit funny to admit it lol.

I never said that it did.

Back in the day, I don't think audiences would have accepted an overtly gay romantic couple. La Cage was indeed the first large-scale Broadway musical to go there, and although it's made a name for itself over time (and won the Tony award), I have to confess I don't think it's a very good show. But that's neither here nor there. Almost a decade before La Cage, A Chorus Line did feature several pivotal gay characters (certainly Paul, with his devastating monologue about his early coming out). But, no gay relationships. The 70's also brought us Rocky Horror, which some people may not know was a stage musical before it became a cult film. Hair had the character Woof, who called himself bisexual. But, since then, we've certainly had more musicals that either feature gay plots, or at least contain important moments dealing with gay characters, relationships or identity. Some important ones I would highlight: A Man Of No Importance (off-Broadway) Fun Home Kiss Of The Spider Woman Spring Awakening Avenue Q Rent The Color Purple Hedwig And The Angry Inch Billy Elliot Zanna, Don't! (off-Broadway) Hello, Again (off-Broadway) Despite the arguments that Bobby in Company could be gay (it's nowhere in the original text, and I'm not wanting to open up that argument), Sondheim finally did give voice to a gay character in the show that at one point was called Bounce, and is now in its final state as Road Show. When Bounce was revised into what became Road Show, a hetero duet from the former was rethought and revised to be a gay duet in the latter. ("The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened.")

Except, in 2 of the 3 of the shows she originated in on Broadway, (i.e. not the ones where she came in as a replacement) - The Act and The Rink - she was notoriously difficult to work with and missed performances a lot. (There may also be stories about her replacement casting in shows such as Chicago and Victor/Victoria, but I don't know for sure.) She later said in a CNN interview (sometime in the early 2000's) that she would never want to do the 8-times-a-week Broadway schedule again - but it seems to me she may never have really wanted to do that anyway.

And this is the Genuity Black Rocket. Some of you avid TV watchers back around the turn of the current century may remember the very stupidly enigmatic commercials that featured this. It was never quite clear exactly what this thing was supposed to do, lol.

But - one of those reviews was posted the same day he submitted the RM ad (possible of course, but...) - also, both reviews are from out of towners (no local Boston guys?) and neither gives further comments (they would be visible if viewing the site on VPN). And, neither reviewer has links to previous reviews. So, although none of that points definitely to anything wrong, it doesn’t reassure me either.

Merman and Bob Dylan shared a last name that neither used. In her case it was the desire to shorten it. With Dylan, it may have been his desire to have a stage name that didn't seem so Jewish.

Yes - I'm curious about him too. Looks like he just placed a rentmen ad today. Hoping someone has some info.

I've always been a "night person," but I don't think that also makes me a "darkness person" per se. meaning that I really hate the darkness in the late afternoon this time of year. I much prefer the later sunsets we get in the summer. The earlier darkness this time of year, combined with the colder weather, just feels a bit gloomier to me. The upshot of that, I suppose, is that once we start getting into spring and DST, it does feel like a nice awakening.

I seem to remember that in one version of his ad, Alain mentioned a kink that I personally would enjoy quite a bit, though I know many people wouldn’t. But I also don’t imagine he would do it unless he had consent.

Sorry, I much preferred Peter Allen.

Yes, but that's only because it's been that way for so many years, and audiences have come to accept it. (Though it seems to me that intermissions have actually gotten a bit longer in the last decade or so.) The professional goal should be quite the opposite - design sets that can be changed over in less time. Though, one way the Met has tried to help that is to present operas with less intermissions - something that is often done for 4-5 act operas but has become more common even for shorter operas. On the other hand, of course, longer intermissions also mean that more concessions are sold, more people get through the bathroom lines, and singers that prefer more of a break between acts get their wish. I do enjoy seeing the bits of backstage work that they show on the HD's. What I do lament is the quality of the radio broadcast features, which when I was a kid (in the first years when Peter Allen took over as host and Geraldine Souvaine was the intermission czar, lol), just felt classier, so much more informative, and fun. Even the ubiquitous Opera Quiz doesn't feel like it did back then. Ah, well...

Anyone familiar with A Chorus Line should know it, though. "She walks into a room, and you know She's uncommonly rare, very unique, Peripatetic, poetic and chic..."

H-Mart (which is a chain of Korean markets) sells a "bibimbap" kit - all the veggies and toppings you need to make your own at home. I really like that.

"The news" - "the things that are new." Which also makes "old news" a wonderful oxymoron.

Although I think this Selsun Blue commercial is obnoxious, it does give us some nice eye candy: Here's the full commercial, with the full shower moment and more of his pits (starting at the :25 mark):

Not a clown per se, but related - I was in the supermarket the other day and at one point saw a guy walking with someone dressed in a big Tony The Tiger suit, out of the blue. I found myself stopping and changing my route to avoid them. I won't say I was "creeped out" but I did find it a little disorienting. (This took place in the produce/deli area, but I was not aware of any big special displays of Frosted Flakes either. Why was he in that costume??)

Pharmaceutical commercials are always annoying - but this new one takes the cake. Ugh almighty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCZyrHON24c

Yup - that one too.

The new crop of ads with Warburton are perhaps even worse. Can somebody even explain to me what happens at the end of the “lose the wait” one when he ends up with Tony what’s-his-name’s hair? Huh? Though I do like him in general - I thought he was sexy as “Puddy” on Seinfeld. One of the newer Jamie ads - where he shrieks in falsetto when they go to “a bigger room” and his mother appears and all that - what the hell is all of that shit?

I'm sorry - as a musical theatre musician myself, I can't let you get away with that. You know full well that musicals these days are written for sound design - the balance between the stage and the orchestra is 100% controlled by the sound board op. With many shows now, the orchestra isn't even in the pit, or even isn't in the same BUILDING as the show - they may be playing in another room somewhere. So don't tell me about overeager orchestras. Those of us down in "the pit" often have zero control about how we're being heard by the audience. Now, I'm not blaming the board ops across the board - sometimes the producer or director is dictating a certain quality/voulme of sound that they want as a final result, and sometimes it actually does no good to tell them that the sound isn't balanced right - they hear what they hear and they want what they want and that's how it is. But when every performer - actors and musicians alike - is miked, the ultimate balance relies on the mic levels, not the degree of "overeager" players. If a show is done in an unmiked space (as is often the case in smaller regional theatres), THEN you might be able to complain if 'the band is too loud" - but don't you dare blame the musicians if it's a miked show. But what you should keep in mind, of course, is that the nature of a heavily edited and micromanaged/mixed studio recording is always going to be different than the balance that you hear in an actual theatre. That's actually not the fault of the live theatrical performance, more that the "perfection" one hears on a cast album is very artificial. End of rant.

I think these kind of "top 100" lists are pretty much useless - they really only tell you what the author of the list likes, and without any reasons to back up the choices.

That morning show on WEEI (originally Boston's only full time sports station, though not for a long time now) has been in trouble a number of times over the years for racist/sexist comments, particularly when it was "Dennis And Callahan" before John Dennis left last year, to be replaced with their 3rd wheel, Kirk Minihane. Somehow their on-the-air adolescent comments just don't surprise me at all.

I met and worked with Mr. Pickett at one point. (And yes, the "Monster Mash" got shoehorned into the show.) Nice man, as I recall.

Well, that can't possibly be a worse idea than this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVxF1nul4UM