Fall Into The Gap

If you remember the above advertising campaign, then you probably remember when The Gap made comfortable jeans that everybody could wear. But like any business it's grown over the years and had become an important part of the fashion industry. Mostly, they sell comfortable casual clothes for men, women and children.

I was surprised however when I went to their website today and found this picture of an emaciated woman on their front page.

I know that there are some of you that are looking at the above woman with the thought that she is hot, sexy, or desirable. Maybe she is to you. But when I see her, I see a woman who is putting her life in danger for the sake of maintaining an ideal that can't be maintained without long term damage to her body.

The woman pictured above is WAY too thin. I mean you can see her shoulder bones poking through the shirt.

I'm disappointed because GAP is an American institution like Levi's or Nathan's hot dogs. When they picture a model this thin in their advertising they are sending a message to hundreds and thousands of women, teen girls and children that to be this thin is okay.

There should be more intervention when it comes to featuring emaciated women like the above.

There should be a minimum size requirement based on height. The woman above could gain 10 pounds still look thin and be healthier. But instead she looks like a Holocaust survivor in a pretty outfit. She even has that dull starving to death look in her eye.

Not fashionable.

My Sister's Keeper

...is the title of the book I just finished. The book is about a 13-year-old girl who is suing her parents for the medical rights to her own body because all of her life she's been a blood and tissue donor for her sick older sister. This compelling story is told from the points of view of several different characters and explores a family's dynamics where everyone's life focuses and has been focused on one of their teenage daughters and her lifelong battle with a rare form of cancer. What happens in that book made be burn through it in only 3 sittings. You'll need a box of tissues for this one. I was pretty wrecked by the ending.

My Sister's Keeper was written by Jodi Piccoult and it's the second book of hers that I've read. The first book I read from Piccoult is called The Pact which deals with the aftermath of a pact where one of the suicidal teenagers survives. That's also a good read. And after that one you'll have second thoughts about children using public bathrooms alone. That's all I'm going to say about that one.

Both books were recommended to me by J, my sister-in-law. She's currently reading a third by Piccoult book called Vanishing Acts. The plot revolves around a woman who as an adult discovers that the man who raised her, that she thought was her father was actually a kidnapper who abducted her years and years ago. I'll probably read that one after I finish the book I'm currently exploring.

That book would be the Dover edition of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I've had a hankerling lately to read the book that was the basis for a legacy of mostly ridiculous movies about a man raised by apes and living in the junble. But the book is off to a good start. It's written in that Victorian era style that combines third person accounts with first person narrative. I've made it past the mutiny that caused Tarzan's parents to be stranded in the jungle in the first place and just started reading about the apes that I guess will eventually adopt little Tarzan.

I'll let you know what happens.

The Drowsy Chaperone

Did you know that Georgia Engel appears in the Drowsy Chaperone as a supporting player? Her performance is one of many reasons that you should go see this play.

If you don't remember who she is, perhaps I can refresh your memory. Did you ever watch The Mary Tyler Moore show? Do you remember the ditsy blonde character with the high pitched voice and perfect comic timing that appeared as Ted Baxter's wife? That was her. Have you ever seen the later episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond where his brother Robert has to deal with his somewhat naive yet very judgemental in-laws? She played the mother-in-law. She's always sweet, funny, naive and charming and she brings all that and more to her performance of Mrs. Tottendale - mother of the bride.

Another great performance, that makes the > $100 asking price worth every penny, is given generously to willing audiences nightly by Danny Burstein as the Latin lethario Aldolpho. When I worked there last week the understudy was in and the performance while good wasn't quite the same. Burstein is a comic genius. His performance is hilarious and convincing and hilarious. I dare you NOT to laugh at his performance. He really delivers.

Everybody else is pretty great too.

As far as female comedic performances go I'd say Beth Leavel and Georgia Engel are pretty equal. Beth Leavel is shameless. She really goes balls out playing the title character to the max without going over the top or making it silly. Her voice is strong. You wouldn't believe a little skinny woman like her could belt the way she does but boy does she belt. And she is just so funny, using the perfect combination of camp and candor.

It's worth two hours of your time.

Who's My Little Monkey?

I worked at the Drowsy Chaperone for two weeks - the last week of 2006 and the first week of 2007. One of the lower lying themes in the Drowsy Chaperone has to do with monkeys. At the souvinir stand, a monkey wearing a t-shirt that says "Who's my little monkey" is available for the low, low, low price of $20.00. For the first week I worked there, J.M. (the woman working the stand)was selling the standard dark brown monkey pictured to the right. And every time I looked it I thought that it was cute but it was missing something.

Well into the middle of the second week I was working there, J.M. started running out of the dark brown monkeys and had to put out the light brown terry cloth monkeys discontinued months ago. That is what was missing. The dark brown monkeys were dark and plush but the light brown monkeys were happy and terry cloth. Much cooler.

I don't have any photos of the monkey yet - they are forthcoming. Jon and I have made a nice home for him. He likes to read with us in bed and he enjoys watching the occassional game of Lingo on the Gameshow Network. We named him MONKEY.

Which is my Good Side?

One of the marks of beauty in models that you see in high fashion magazines is symettry of their facial features. Most people don't have symettrical faces which is one of many reasons why models stand out. I wanted to see what my face would look like if all my features matched up perfectly. So, I looked through my old photos for a straight-on shot that I could manipulate in photoshop, which I did.

Which do you think is my better side?

My right side

or my left?

Hugh Jackman As I Live and Breathe

Yes. Saturday night, I was standing in front of my booth and something quite out of the ordinary occurred. Hugh Jackman walked by with his wife and a friend and then stopped 10 feet away from me to talk a little before the show.

What show was I working on? Does it matter? Well. You might want to know. I was handing out headsets at Drowsy Chaperone, standing by my console, waiting for hard of hearing patrons.

10 feet away from me. 10 feet. 10. Ahhhhhhhhh.

He is taller and thinner than he appears on screen. He was wearing glasses, a striped scarf, a plain sweater and jeans. And no one, with the exception of a couple of guys who may or may not have been a couple, recognized him. Of course, the house staff recognized him but we pretty much know better than to bug celebrities on an outing to the theater.

Anyway, this couple asked me if he was who he was and wanted to know if they should go up to him. I told them that he was indeed Hugh Jackman and that since no one was really bothering him that he probably wouldn't mind. They did approach him and Hugh Jackman handled the situation very nicely. He shook hands with them, spoke with them for two minutes or so and then posed for a photo.

I didn't find out until later that the blond with him was his wife. She's lovely but she's not GORGEOUS. I guess he's good looking enough for the both of them. She was an ordinary beautiful person (as opposed to a ridiculously beautiful movie star person). Not knowing anything about him, this didn't strike me as odd. Based on his demeanor, body language and tidbits of conversation, I judge him to be as regular a guy as I've ever seen a celebrity be.

So. Here is what I've learned from this experience.

1. Hugh Jackman is exceedingly handsome both on screen and in person.

2. He's not put off by fans approaching him and will probably react well if you were to approach him in a non-threatening way that wasn't in anyway rude or interruptive.

3. He's down to earth and married to a seemingly nice, down to earth person.

Look Deep Into My Eyes

Happy New Year - 2007