February 29, 2008
February 28, 2008
Curliest Hair EVER
Last night, I set my hair in curlers in preparation for an event Jon and I are attending later in the day. I kept the curlers in my hair for 12 hours. This is the result.
It looks fairly ridiculous, like a bad 80's perm - which I managed to avoid getting in the 80's. But don't worry. In a few hours, the curls will die down and my hair will look wavy and pretty. Jon and I had a good laugh.
It looks fairly ridiculous, like a bad 80's perm - which I managed to avoid getting in the 80's. But don't worry. In a few hours, the curls will die down and my hair will look wavy and pretty. Jon and I had a good laugh.
February 27, 2008
February 26, 2008
Super Fine Day
I had two productive days yesterday and today. One day was socially productive and the other was housework productive.
Yesterday, I had two friends over. One friend came over while the sun was out. Together we prepared some food and hung out until the sun went down. It was really nice time spent with a really good friend. Then last night, my friend and neighbor joined me for the Oscars. Jon came home from work about hour or so later. Basically I wasn't alone the whole day. I can't remember the last time I've spent whole a day exclusively with friends and loved ones. Even on days that I visit with family it's for five hours at the most.
Excellent day. Excellent day.
Today. Well. Today was laundry day. Jon and I were in and out of the laundromat in an hour. And we spent $16.00 total doing it ourselves. The cost to have had it done would have been at least $36 or $37. But I did end up spending over an hour folding it at home. The cool part about that is I was able to watch some mind numbingly entertaining television. Have you ever watched Judge Joe Brown? He's like the Shaft of TV judges. Very cool. Very laid back. Very entertaining. I also watched 10 minutes of Ellen after which my mind went blank. But at the end of that hour or of television watching, my laundry was folded.
Today was an excellent food day. My weight dropped a few more pounds, so I decided to eat something naughty. I ordered a wrap with french fries. Our local diner makes this Mexican style chicken wrap with avocado and salsa and it's deliciously sinful. It's also extremely filling. I'm still full from my 4pm lunch. I haven't eaten dinner. Tomorrow, I'll get back on track.
And tonight, Jon and I watched next week's episode of The Wire, which is in its last season. HBO on Demand has this nice feature where you can watch some of their shows in advance. We've been taking full advantage of this for The Wire. It's an excellent show. Consistently, the writing is great, the acting is brilliant and the cinematography is meaningful.
I would write about it but I wouldn't know where to begin. The show is so intricately tied to everything that's happened in the past, I'd have to begin with the first season to bring you up to speed on this one. The show has everything - witty dialogue, sophisticated cultural references, gritty realism - and the people making the show leave a piece of themselves in every episode.
That pretty much brings me up to date. Maybe if I'm feeling frisky tomorrow, I'll tell you about working at the Walter Kerr Theater for the last two weeks of A Bronx Tale, which closed yesterday.
Yesterday, I had two friends over. One friend came over while the sun was out. Together we prepared some food and hung out until the sun went down. It was really nice time spent with a really good friend. Then last night, my friend and neighbor joined me for the Oscars. Jon came home from work about hour or so later. Basically I wasn't alone the whole day. I can't remember the last time I've spent whole a day exclusively with friends and loved ones. Even on days that I visit with family it's for five hours at the most.
Excellent day. Excellent day.
Today. Well. Today was laundry day. Jon and I were in and out of the laundromat in an hour. And we spent $16.00 total doing it ourselves. The cost to have had it done would have been at least $36 or $37. But I did end up spending over an hour folding it at home. The cool part about that is I was able to watch some mind numbingly entertaining television. Have you ever watched Judge Joe Brown? He's like the Shaft of TV judges. Very cool. Very laid back. Very entertaining. I also watched 10 minutes of Ellen after which my mind went blank. But at the end of that hour or of television watching, my laundry was folded.
Today was an excellent food day. My weight dropped a few more pounds, so I decided to eat something naughty. I ordered a wrap with french fries. Our local diner makes this Mexican style chicken wrap with avocado and salsa and it's deliciously sinful. It's also extremely filling. I'm still full from my 4pm lunch. I haven't eaten dinner. Tomorrow, I'll get back on track.
And tonight, Jon and I watched next week's episode of The Wire, which is in its last season. HBO on Demand has this nice feature where you can watch some of their shows in advance. We've been taking full advantage of this for The Wire. It's an excellent show. Consistently, the writing is great, the acting is brilliant and the cinematography is meaningful.I would write about it but I wouldn't know where to begin. The show is so intricately tied to everything that's happened in the past, I'd have to begin with the first season to bring you up to speed on this one. The show has everything - witty dialogue, sophisticated cultural references, gritty realism - and the people making the show leave a piece of themselves in every episode.
That pretty much brings me up to date. Maybe if I'm feeling frisky tomorrow, I'll tell you about working at the Walter Kerr Theater for the last two weeks of A Bronx Tale, which closed yesterday.
February 25, 2008
Crafting
You don't know this about me but I love crafts. I haven't made in anything in a while but I have a book shelf dedicated to crafting books I bought during my last manic phase of creativity. Back then, I loved doing cross stitch.
I just ordered three books on crafting stuffed animals. I'll let you know how they are and might even post photographs of my little crafting projects. I'm so happy I DIDN'T throw away all the orphan socks I just pulled out of our drawers. I knew I was saving them for a reason.
Yay!!!
I just ordered three books on crafting stuffed animals. I'll let you know how they are and might even post photographs of my little crafting projects. I'm so happy I DIDN'T throw away all the orphan socks I just pulled out of our drawers. I knew I was saving them for a reason.
Yay!!!
February 23, 2008
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew- Four Days Left
FOUR MORE DAYS
At the group therapy session at the top of the episode, Dr. Drew asked his patients to make predictions about everybody's future sobriety. Jeff Conaway said something nice to start. He predicted that Jamie Foxworth would be the most successful because she seemed the most stable. I have to agree with him, although outside of a few outbursts, we didn't really get to know her. And that's fine by me. I don't need to know anything about her personal life to wish her well. With that said, Jamie predicts that Jeff will not succeed because of Vicki who is his enabler. The group pretty much agrees that in order for Jeff to succeed he's going to have to stay away from Vicki. Jessica pokes at Rico and accuses him of holding back, not opening up to the group. She predicts that unless he starts opening up about his past, that he'll revert back to old behaviors. She's probably right about that. He used to gamble, lose and rely on his muscles to get himself out of trouble. He gambled away a small fortune and lost custody of his kid. This segment ultimately leads to footage of a one on one session between Dr. Drew and Rico where he tries to find out what else exactly is in Rico's past that he's ashamed of. Turns out he's a criminal and doesn't want to discuss anything in detail because he's scared of the repercussions.
Four days left of treatment and our celebrities don't seem ready to leave. Dr. Drew is proud of the progress his patients have been making so he has them visit a "dry" coffee house to put on a talent show. Dr. Drew schedules these outings to give them a taste of a life with drugs and alcohol. My only other experience with rehab is a movie that Sandra Bullock made called 28 days, in which a young woman goes to rehab to sober up or goes to jail. I recall that the patients in that movie also went on an outing or two. So maybe the outing thing is legitimate. To tell you the truth, I hope to never find out whether or not that fact is true. Truly.
SOBER LIVING
Anyway, it's nice that the celebs have the talent show to look forward to because most of them are freaking out about what comes next. Dr. Drew suggested to the patients that they move on to a facility called sober living which sounds like a halfway house for recovering addicts. Apparently, it's a safe environment where they can learn how to make a sober transition back into their lives. Sober Living scares them. And some of the celebs are shown talking themselves out of going and making excuses why they can't afford it. For some of the celebrities this is a real problem. Jessica Sierra from American Idol, doesn't really have money and she doesn't have a job. All she has is one hit single that may or may not be providing her with an income. And on top of that, her whole life is in Florida, while the Sober Living facility is in California. Seth Binzer doesn't sound like he really wants to go to the facility either. And while his isn't a money concern, his interest level just isn't high enough. So what does he do? He agrees to move into an apartment with Rico the Ultimate Fighter/Cage Fighter/Real Man Fighter and together they will get tattoos and remain clean and sober. Hopefully Seth Binzer will see what a bad decision that would be for him. Rico is in no position to help anybody. His life is a bigger mess than Seth's. But I do appreciate that they honestly want to help each other out and believe they could prop each other up during the tougher days ahead. My wish for Seth Binzer is that he moves back in with his lovely wife and potentially chemically imbalanced child. (And I say that because Seth's DNA might have been effected by the crack he was inhaling when he conceived Halo.)
THERAPEUTIC OUTINGS
Long after group, everybody got dressed up and headed out to the sober cafe. Rico did stand up, Jessica sang a song, Seth Binzer spoke rapidly into the mike and everybody else supported them. It was nice to see the celebs relaxing a bit outside of the center. And it seems like everybody had a good time. Since that trip went so well that Dr. Drew thought he would challenge his charges with a trip to Catalina. I think Catalina was a boat because everything we saw from there took place on a boat. Jessica led a couple of the girls in a rousing chorus of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall and Rico jumped off the boat into the engine churned waters, in spite of warnings from the crew that Harbor Patrol would arrest him for doing so. That trip didn't go as well as the outing to the coffee house. Rico almost did get arrested were it not for the slick talking of Dr. Drew and his crew. But Rico wasn't the only one to act out. The show ended with Seth Binzer and Jessica Sierra participating in a food fight which really messed up the common area outside by the pool. But I guess it's normal for people to act out when they're scared and Seth and Jessica are good examples of that. Both fear leaving and both are acting out. I'm guessing they have to act out because they don't know how to process their emotions without drugs and alcohol. They're like children who haven't yet learn NOT to hit another child when he's angry.
JEFF CONAWAY LEFT
Jeff Conaway left the facility. I assumed it was because he wanted to get back to his drug seeking life style. But I found out after reading an interview with Dr. Drew about the episode that Dr. Drew advised Jeff to see a neurosurgeon for a back operation. He said that after watching a sober Conaway walking around he observed that something was wrong with how his body was moving. Turns out he was right. Jeff Conaway had an operation and Dr. Drew is still hopeful that he'll be able to recover from his varying addictions. If Jeff Conaway hadn't been sober, doctors wouldn't have been able to see that there was a problem.
At the group therapy session at the top of the episode, Dr. Drew asked his patients to make predictions about everybody's future sobriety. Jeff Conaway said something nice to start. He predicted that Jamie Foxworth would be the most successful because she seemed the most stable. I have to agree with him, although outside of a few outbursts, we didn't really get to know her. And that's fine by me. I don't need to know anything about her personal life to wish her well. With that said, Jamie predicts that Jeff will not succeed because of Vicki who is his enabler. The group pretty much agrees that in order for Jeff to succeed he's going to have to stay away from Vicki. Jessica pokes at Rico and accuses him of holding back, not opening up to the group. She predicts that unless he starts opening up about his past, that he'll revert back to old behaviors. She's probably right about that. He used to gamble, lose and rely on his muscles to get himself out of trouble. He gambled away a small fortune and lost custody of his kid. This segment ultimately leads to footage of a one on one session between Dr. Drew and Rico where he tries to find out what else exactly is in Rico's past that he's ashamed of. Turns out he's a criminal and doesn't want to discuss anything in detail because he's scared of the repercussions.
Four days left of treatment and our celebrities don't seem ready to leave. Dr. Drew is proud of the progress his patients have been making so he has them visit a "dry" coffee house to put on a talent show. Dr. Drew schedules these outings to give them a taste of a life with drugs and alcohol. My only other experience with rehab is a movie that Sandra Bullock made called 28 days, in which a young woman goes to rehab to sober up or goes to jail. I recall that the patients in that movie also went on an outing or two. So maybe the outing thing is legitimate. To tell you the truth, I hope to never find out whether or not that fact is true. Truly.
SOBER LIVING
Anyway, it's nice that the celebs have the talent show to look forward to because most of them are freaking out about what comes next. Dr. Drew suggested to the patients that they move on to a facility called sober living which sounds like a halfway house for recovering addicts. Apparently, it's a safe environment where they can learn how to make a sober transition back into their lives. Sober Living scares them. And some of the celebs are shown talking themselves out of going and making excuses why they can't afford it. For some of the celebrities this is a real problem. Jessica Sierra from American Idol, doesn't really have money and she doesn't have a job. All she has is one hit single that may or may not be providing her with an income. And on top of that, her whole life is in Florida, while the Sober Living facility is in California. Seth Binzer doesn't sound like he really wants to go to the facility either. And while his isn't a money concern, his interest level just isn't high enough. So what does he do? He agrees to move into an apartment with Rico the Ultimate Fighter/Cage Fighter/Real Man Fighter and together they will get tattoos and remain clean and sober. Hopefully Seth Binzer will see what a bad decision that would be for him. Rico is in no position to help anybody. His life is a bigger mess than Seth's. But I do appreciate that they honestly want to help each other out and believe they could prop each other up during the tougher days ahead. My wish for Seth Binzer is that he moves back in with his lovely wife and potentially chemically imbalanced child. (And I say that because Seth's DNA might have been effected by the crack he was inhaling when he conceived Halo.)
THERAPEUTIC OUTINGS
Long after group, everybody got dressed up and headed out to the sober cafe. Rico did stand up, Jessica sang a song, Seth Binzer spoke rapidly into the mike and everybody else supported them. It was nice to see the celebs relaxing a bit outside of the center. And it seems like everybody had a good time. Since that trip went so well that Dr. Drew thought he would challenge his charges with a trip to Catalina. I think Catalina was a boat because everything we saw from there took place on a boat. Jessica led a couple of the girls in a rousing chorus of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall and Rico jumped off the boat into the engine churned waters, in spite of warnings from the crew that Harbor Patrol would arrest him for doing so. That trip didn't go as well as the outing to the coffee house. Rico almost did get arrested were it not for the slick talking of Dr. Drew and his crew. But Rico wasn't the only one to act out. The show ended with Seth Binzer and Jessica Sierra participating in a food fight which really messed up the common area outside by the pool. But I guess it's normal for people to act out when they're scared and Seth and Jessica are good examples of that. Both fear leaving and both are acting out. I'm guessing they have to act out because they don't know how to process their emotions without drugs and alcohol. They're like children who haven't yet learn NOT to hit another child when he's angry.
JEFF CONAWAY LEFT
Jeff Conaway left the facility. I assumed it was because he wanted to get back to his drug seeking life style. But I found out after reading an interview with Dr. Drew about the episode that Dr. Drew advised Jeff to see a neurosurgeon for a back operation. He said that after watching a sober Conaway walking around he observed that something was wrong with how his body was moving. Turns out he was right. Jeff Conaway had an operation and Dr. Drew is still hopeful that he'll be able to recover from his varying addictions. If Jeff Conaway hadn't been sober, doctors wouldn't have been able to see that there was a problem.
February 22, 2008
Winter? What's That?
We've been having been such mild weather lately that I almost forgot it is winter. Today I was sadly reminded how cold it can get in New York in February. It's always a surprise when it snows, isn't it? The last time it snowed like this, Jon and I flew to Iceland - after 6 hours of sitting on the icy runway. Fortunately, we are not travelling today except for in and out of Manhatten.
February is our worst month for cold weather and snow. And February is almost finished. The weather will be warming up soon and outdoor exercise can recommence.
February is our worst month for cold weather and snow. And February is almost finished. The weather will be warming up soon and outdoor exercise can recommence.
February 18, 2008
February 16, 2008
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew - Friends and Family
The Jeff Conaway Show
For 10 minutes at the top of the episode, I thought that this was going to be yet another episode where Jeff Conaway dominates. He started complaining again about the imposed limitations and restrictions of rehab and he sucked everyone into a hugely upsetting discussion where he tried to hurt everyone with his words. But eventually he settled down and Dr. Drew convinced him to stay one more night.
Friends and Family
Friends and Family was about the family members of the residents of Dr. Drew's rehab center participating in individual and group therapy. Dr. Drew managed to get everyone to invite at least one member of their family but he was concerned that Joanie "Chyna Doll" Laurer didn't seem to have anyone to call. He wanted her to call her sister and repair their relationship about which we know nothing. But Joanie's adamant refusal to call her was very telling.
The whole idea behind counseling friends and family is to make sure everyone in rehab has a support system in place when they go home. We met everyone's families.
We were privy to a private counselling session between Seth Binzer and his wife. She seemed very stable when she expressed her wished to divorce Seth if he couldn't clean up his act. For all his tattooes and strange hair and general gruff exterior he seemed very fragile in that session. You could see he loved his wife and that her opinion means the world to him. Apparently living with him is very scary especially when he's stoned or looking to buy some drugs. He wants to clean up his act for his son - it was nice to see Seth swimming in the pool with his kid. He looked like a big kid himself. Their son's name is Halo. No comment.
We also met Mary Carrey's mother who survived jumping off a building. Turns out her mother is mentally ill. Mary explained how she made a deal with God to get well if her mother survived her injuries and they shared a warm hug. Her mother expressed great pride and joy in Mary's efforts and Dr. Drew admired Mary for being so patient and caring with her mom. Mary is now my favorite personality on the show.
Outside by the pool, Dr. Drew and a family therapist participated in a huge group meeting with all interested parties.
Brigitte Neilsen's husband and sons came to visit. She had to translate everything they said from Italian to English. Turns out the boys knew all along about their mother's drinking problem and were collectively glad that she was receiving help for her problems. Her husband was lovely and supportive and explained to the group in broken English how much he loves Brigitte and how he hopes she'll be okay in the long run.
With the support of her father, Jessica Sierra's sister told her and the group how scary life was when Jessica lived with her and her son. And with the group's support, Barry Williams told Chyna how embarrassed he was the one time she ran up on stage with him while he was performing. Barry Williams showed up out of nowhere. With no explanation he started speaking to and about Chyna. Very weird. We have no idea at all why he was there.
We also got to see that Jaimee Foxworth has a lot of family ready, willing and able to help her with her problem. But the show still hasn't focused on her too much. Except for when she's told off Jeff Conaway. As I mentioned ealier, at the top of the show, Jeff Conaway was blathering on again about how he wants to leave rehab and he started lashing out at everyone around him. She stood up to him and told him off in the nicest way possible. She's a likeable lady and I hope she gets over her long term pot addiction very soon. I'm guessing, she'll be one of the more successful rehabbers judging by how much family showed up.
At the end of the group meeting, Jeff Conaway's girlfriend Vicki showed up. He mentioned in their session that Vicki brought vodka into rehab and she responded with "You told me too." She then went on to explain that Jeff wanted her to be drunk when she visited so Dr. Drew could invite her to live at the rehab center so he wouldn't be so lonely. He must have because he responded that he was only kidding when he said that.
But Dr. Drew learned that Vicki might really have a drinking problem and may be in need of rehab herself. Apparently, she needs to drink just to get by sometimes and on occassion drinks to help her migraines. She seems to think that keeping alcohol in the house won't be a problem after Jeff comes home. Because for her, his problem is drug related and not alcohol related. Dr. Drew made it clear that all alcohol and drugs must be removed from their house. But I don't think his message got through. As long as Jeff stays with Vicki, he'll never get better. From everything I've seen, she's just absolutely the worst, most enabling person he could have in his life. She a psycho sycophant.
Family Dinner
The episode ended at a restaurant where our rehabbers prepared and served dinner for their friends and family. According to Dr. Drew, there is some therapeutic value in serving others. I'm not exactly clear what it is, although I can see how the rehabbers might find it enabling to know they can care for themselves as well as others. Maybe that's what Dr. Drew meant.
Brigitte Neilsen had a hard time because the restaurant had a full bar and she got deeply depressed but she pulled herself out of it. Jeff Conaway fell asleep cutting tomatoes. Everyone seemed to thrive in the environment and it seemed like everybody had a good time.
For 10 minutes at the top of the episode, I thought that this was going to be yet another episode where Jeff Conaway dominates. He started complaining again about the imposed limitations and restrictions of rehab and he sucked everyone into a hugely upsetting discussion where he tried to hurt everyone with his words. But eventually he settled down and Dr. Drew convinced him to stay one more night.
Friends and Family
Friends and Family was about the family members of the residents of Dr. Drew's rehab center participating in individual and group therapy. Dr. Drew managed to get everyone to invite at least one member of their family but he was concerned that Joanie "Chyna Doll" Laurer didn't seem to have anyone to call. He wanted her to call her sister and repair their relationship about which we know nothing. But Joanie's adamant refusal to call her was very telling.
The whole idea behind counseling friends and family is to make sure everyone in rehab has a support system in place when they go home. We met everyone's families.
We were privy to a private counselling session between Seth Binzer and his wife. She seemed very stable when she expressed her wished to divorce Seth if he couldn't clean up his act. For all his tattooes and strange hair and general gruff exterior he seemed very fragile in that session. You could see he loved his wife and that her opinion means the world to him. Apparently living with him is very scary especially when he's stoned or looking to buy some drugs. He wants to clean up his act for his son - it was nice to see Seth swimming in the pool with his kid. He looked like a big kid himself. Their son's name is Halo. No comment.
We also met Mary Carrey's mother who survived jumping off a building. Turns out her mother is mentally ill. Mary explained how she made a deal with God to get well if her mother survived her injuries and they shared a warm hug. Her mother expressed great pride and joy in Mary's efforts and Dr. Drew admired Mary for being so patient and caring with her mom. Mary is now my favorite personality on the show.
Outside by the pool, Dr. Drew and a family therapist participated in a huge group meeting with all interested parties.
Brigitte Neilsen's husband and sons came to visit. She had to translate everything they said from Italian to English. Turns out the boys knew all along about their mother's drinking problem and were collectively glad that she was receiving help for her problems. Her husband was lovely and supportive and explained to the group in broken English how much he loves Brigitte and how he hopes she'll be okay in the long run.
With the support of her father, Jessica Sierra's sister told her and the group how scary life was when Jessica lived with her and her son. And with the group's support, Barry Williams told Chyna how embarrassed he was the one time she ran up on stage with him while he was performing. Barry Williams showed up out of nowhere. With no explanation he started speaking to and about Chyna. Very weird. We have no idea at all why he was there.
We also got to see that Jaimee Foxworth has a lot of family ready, willing and able to help her with her problem. But the show still hasn't focused on her too much. Except for when she's told off Jeff Conaway. As I mentioned ealier, at the top of the show, Jeff Conaway was blathering on again about how he wants to leave rehab and he started lashing out at everyone around him. She stood up to him and told him off in the nicest way possible. She's a likeable lady and I hope she gets over her long term pot addiction very soon. I'm guessing, she'll be one of the more successful rehabbers judging by how much family showed up.
At the end of the group meeting, Jeff Conaway's girlfriend Vicki showed up. He mentioned in their session that Vicki brought vodka into rehab and she responded with "You told me too." She then went on to explain that Jeff wanted her to be drunk when she visited so Dr. Drew could invite her to live at the rehab center so he wouldn't be so lonely. He must have because he responded that he was only kidding when he said that.
But Dr. Drew learned that Vicki might really have a drinking problem and may be in need of rehab herself. Apparently, she needs to drink just to get by sometimes and on occassion drinks to help her migraines. She seems to think that keeping alcohol in the house won't be a problem after Jeff comes home. Because for her, his problem is drug related and not alcohol related. Dr. Drew made it clear that all alcohol and drugs must be removed from their house. But I don't think his message got through. As long as Jeff stays with Vicki, he'll never get better. From everything I've seen, she's just absolutely the worst, most enabling person he could have in his life. She a psycho sycophant.
Family Dinner
The episode ended at a restaurant where our rehabbers prepared and served dinner for their friends and family. According to Dr. Drew, there is some therapeutic value in serving others. I'm not exactly clear what it is, although I can see how the rehabbers might find it enabling to know they can care for themselves as well as others. Maybe that's what Dr. Drew meant.
Brigitte Neilsen had a hard time because the restaurant had a full bar and she got deeply depressed but she pulled herself out of it. Jeff Conaway fell asleep cutting tomatoes. Everyone seemed to thrive in the environment and it seemed like everybody had a good time.
February 14, 2008
La Vie En Rose
Jon and I just watched the French movie about Edith Piaf. I can't believe this movie wasn't nominated for Best Foreign Language film. I'll be rooting for Marion Cotillard to win best actress. The movie was unbelievably good. I cried from beginning to end. Edith Piaf's life was so tragic, it was hard not to cry.
Buy a box of tissues and watch this movie.
Buy a box of tissues and watch this movie.
February 09, 2008
Xanadu
I'm working at Xanadu this weekend which is now playing at the Helen Hayes theater. I was happy to see that Cheyenne Jackson is still in the lead. He may have actually gotten better looking in the months since I've worked the show. But not only is he good looking, he's a super great singer as well. It's almost unfair that he is both that good looking and that talented but he's so likeable as a performer it's impossible to hate him. Kerry Butler continues to amaze as the muse Clio. Talk about great singers, she has the prettiest voice. And she's funny and campy and delightful to watch. Cheyenne and Kerry have a great romantic chemistry on stage that seems to have gotten even better. They work well together and they're adorable of course. As a whole, there have been subtle but apparent improvements in the show. The humor seems to flow more naturally and everybody's timing is a lot tighter.See a Broadway Show
This time of year is slow for Broadway. If you're thinking about seeing Xanadu and in you're in the local area, now is the time to see the show. Today's matinee was only 70% full. The same holds true for many Broadway shows. If the show you want to see was sold out over the holidays, you may be able to get a decent seat in February.
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew - Baldwin Quits
Episodes 1 - 3
The story lines were pretty much the same. We met the celebrities and learned why they were there. The strongest narrative came from Jeff Conaway, who suffered greatly during his first few days of withdrawal. Everyone at the rehab facility seemed very concerned for him and behaved very supportively. Daniel Baldwin was the most supportive. After Conaway returned from the hospital, Daniel Baldwin called Conaway out for having drugs in his pants pocket. Daniel found this a threat to his sobriety. He upset Conaway so much, that he rose out of his wheelchair long enough to deliver a physical threat against Baldwin before falling down again in pain. Even after that incident, Baldwin's support continued. He helped talk Conaway OUT of quitting the rehab facility which he so obviously needed.
He not only gave support to Jeff Conaway but to other members of the group as well. For Jessica Sierra, fallen American Idol contestant, he served as a surrogate father. And for the group, he always had helpful words because he came into the situation already sober and wanting to help those who had not yet seen the light. He seemed earnest in his belief that his presence among the broken celebrities would not only serve to strengthen his own sobriety but he himself would bring to the group, the wisdom that comes with age and experience.
Episode 4
Daniel Baldwin quit therapy, citing a BBQ as the reason. Earlier in the episode, we learned that Daniel and Mary were sending text messages back and forth. And we saw him telling her before group one morning, to destroy those messages. But back to his excuse for quitting. Dr. Drew allowed his patients a BBQ with friends and family as a reward for their hard work. At the BBQ, Seth Binzer's girlfriend/wife/baby's momma jumped into the pool with Jessica and Mary. When their t-shirts got wet, this proved too tittilating for Baldwin. He retreated to his room and promptly called his wife to tell her the temptation was weakening him. And then he called his sponsor and his agent so they could get him out of a situation that was "no longer condusive to his sobriety."
At 1 am, Drew Pinsky called a group meeting so Daniel Baldwin could explain to the group why he was leaving. He left a trail of disappointed friends in his wake. Jessica Sierra felt abandoned by her surrogate father, and to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure how the others felt. I'm only guessing they were disappointed. It's entirely possible that they were relieved that he left because in the end, it was starting to become ALL ABOUT him instead of all about everybody else.
Episode 5
Dr. Pinsky had to deal with the fallout of Daniel's leaving. He knew something wasn't right about what happened.
Mary Carey
Dr. Drew learned from Mary Carey, in a private session with him and a therapist that deals with former porn stars in recovery, that Daniel was communicating inappropriately with Mary. She felt guilty about Daniel leaving because she felt responsible for his sexual feelings towards her. Dr. Pinksy complimented her for her insight into Daniel's behavior. He also noticed that her outward appearance had changed over night. While Daniel was there, she was dressing in a more suggestive, sexy manner. But starting with the morning after, she was wearing a dowdy sweatshirt that covered up her enormous boobs. In that therapy session, Dr. Pinksy told Mary that he signed her up for a ballet class, because before going into porn, she was going to be a ballerina.
Before group, at breakfast, everybody learned about Daniel's messages and Mary received a lot of support. And everybody reacted differently. Generally, everyone felt that Daniel took advantage of the much younger porn star. Everyone that is except ultimate fighting champion Ricco Rodriguez, who believes that both should share the blame for the irresponsible communications. While everyone else in group therapy demonized Daniel Baldwin, Ricco took a more objective approach, reminding the group that Mary is almost thirty years old and not a child easily taken advantage of. Later in the episode, Mary took a break from all the drama at the facility. This segment made me cry a little bit. Mary expressed to the teacher and ultimately to the cameras, how much dancing meant to her. And I could see it as I watched her. If it hadn't been for that extra bone in her ankle, she probably could have been a very good dancer.
Jeff Conaway
Jeff Conaway's girlfriend brought an alcohol laden drink into rehab. He kicked her out and then called her later to yell at her. How she could do that to him was the jist of the call. He yelled at her for bringing alcohol into his treatment center because he is afterall an alcoholic that is trying to get better. The whole incident seemed a little staged to me. According to the coming attractions for next week's show, we'll learn more about what happened. If it wasn't staged, we should all be proud of him for owning his sobriety like that. And if it wasn't staged, there could be hope for him.
Golf Outing
Episode 5 ended on a golf course somewhere in California, where our broken celebrities spent the afternoon having fun and bonding. Dr. Drew provided exploding golf balls as part of the afternoons festivities, which led to light hearted antics and good natured goofing about their more serious drug problems. At the end of the outing, Jeff Conaway presented everyone with a big golf trophy that the members of the group will pass to each other every time they meet for lunch.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
The story lines were pretty much the same. We met the celebrities and learned why they were there. The strongest narrative came from Jeff Conaway, who suffered greatly during his first few days of withdrawal. Everyone at the rehab facility seemed very concerned for him and behaved very supportively. Daniel Baldwin was the most supportive. After Conaway returned from the hospital, Daniel Baldwin called Conaway out for having drugs in his pants pocket. Daniel found this a threat to his sobriety. He upset Conaway so much, that he rose out of his wheelchair long enough to deliver a physical threat against Baldwin before falling down again in pain. Even after that incident, Baldwin's support continued. He helped talk Conaway OUT of quitting the rehab facility which he so obviously needed.
He not only gave support to Jeff Conaway but to other members of the group as well. For Jessica Sierra, fallen American Idol contestant, he served as a surrogate father. And for the group, he always had helpful words because he came into the situation already sober and wanting to help those who had not yet seen the light. He seemed earnest in his belief that his presence among the broken celebrities would not only serve to strengthen his own sobriety but he himself would bring to the group, the wisdom that comes with age and experience.
Episode 4
Daniel Baldwin quit therapy, citing a BBQ as the reason. Earlier in the episode, we learned that Daniel and Mary were sending text messages back and forth. And we saw him telling her before group one morning, to destroy those messages. But back to his excuse for quitting. Dr. Drew allowed his patients a BBQ with friends and family as a reward for their hard work. At the BBQ, Seth Binzer's girlfriend/wife/baby's momma jumped into the pool with Jessica and Mary. When their t-shirts got wet, this proved too tittilating for Baldwin. He retreated to his room and promptly called his wife to tell her the temptation was weakening him. And then he called his sponsor and his agent so they could get him out of a situation that was "no longer condusive to his sobriety."
At 1 am, Drew Pinsky called a group meeting so Daniel Baldwin could explain to the group why he was leaving. He left a trail of disappointed friends in his wake. Jessica Sierra felt abandoned by her surrogate father, and to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure how the others felt. I'm only guessing they were disappointed. It's entirely possible that they were relieved that he left because in the end, it was starting to become ALL ABOUT him instead of all about everybody else.
Episode 5
Dr. Pinsky had to deal with the fallout of Daniel's leaving. He knew something wasn't right about what happened.
Mary Carey
Dr. Drew learned from Mary Carey, in a private session with him and a therapist that deals with former porn stars in recovery, that Daniel was communicating inappropriately with Mary. She felt guilty about Daniel leaving because she felt responsible for his sexual feelings towards her. Dr. Pinksy complimented her for her insight into Daniel's behavior. He also noticed that her outward appearance had changed over night. While Daniel was there, she was dressing in a more suggestive, sexy manner. But starting with the morning after, she was wearing a dowdy sweatshirt that covered up her enormous boobs. In that therapy session, Dr. Pinksy told Mary that he signed her up for a ballet class, because before going into porn, she was going to be a ballerina.
Before group, at breakfast, everybody learned about Daniel's messages and Mary received a lot of support. And everybody reacted differently. Generally, everyone felt that Daniel took advantage of the much younger porn star. Everyone that is except ultimate fighting champion Ricco Rodriguez, who believes that both should share the blame for the irresponsible communications. While everyone else in group therapy demonized Daniel Baldwin, Ricco took a more objective approach, reminding the group that Mary is almost thirty years old and not a child easily taken advantage of. Later in the episode, Mary took a break from all the drama at the facility. This segment made me cry a little bit. Mary expressed to the teacher and ultimately to the cameras, how much dancing meant to her. And I could see it as I watched her. If it hadn't been for that extra bone in her ankle, she probably could have been a very good dancer.
Jeff Conaway
Jeff Conaway's girlfriend brought an alcohol laden drink into rehab. He kicked her out and then called her later to yell at her. How she could do that to him was the jist of the call. He yelled at her for bringing alcohol into his treatment center because he is afterall an alcoholic that is trying to get better. The whole incident seemed a little staged to me. According to the coming attractions for next week's show, we'll learn more about what happened. If it wasn't staged, we should all be proud of him for owning his sobriety like that. And if it wasn't staged, there could be hope for him.
Golf Outing
Episode 5 ended on a golf course somewhere in California, where our broken celebrities spent the afternoon having fun and bonding. Dr. Drew provided exploding golf balls as part of the afternoons festivities, which led to light hearted antics and good natured goofing about their more serious drug problems. At the end of the outing, Jeff Conaway presented everyone with a big golf trophy that the members of the group will pass to each other every time they meet for lunch.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
February 07, 2008
Nutritionist Update
Goal
I saw the nutritionist today. My results were better than last time. Last month, I'd lost 3 pounds and change, almost 4. I was upset because I'd set a goal of five pounds and didn't quite make it.
But today was different. Not only did I lose 5 pounds, but I lost 5.6 pounds. That means I'm down over 20 pounds in total. I was so excited I didn't even get the specifics with regard to my BMI and body fat percentage.
Checking In
At today's meeting, the nutritionist and I discussed the difference between contemplation and commitment. The nutritionist explained how frustrating her job is sometimes because she meets people contemplating weight loss without being ready to commit.
My friend B asked me later in the day how I felt about my new style of eating and I told her that it's not something I think about. It's just something I'm doing. It's just how things are. I'm completely committed to losing weight. My new habits are ingrained. I don't really have to think about my diet beyond paying attention to my food counts.
Clothes Shopping
I'm excited at the prospect of being able to shop in stores that DON'T have special sections for people who wear larger sizes. I've been contemplating going clothes shopping - a lot actually - but I'm not yet committed to that idea. It still makes me angry that larger runs of clothing that I like are almost impossible to find. And don't get me started about Macy's. If you want to buy plus size clothing at Macy's you have to go all the way to the 8th or 9th floor. At Lord & Taylor it's the same thing. Lane Bryant has great clothes but I always have the same problem with their shirts - too much of a seam allowance in the chest because the assumption is that if you wear a larger size you have a larger chest.
Anyway, I'm not quite ready to deal with all that yet. I know I'm rambling. Issues relating to weight loss and self worth are serious. And almost everyone deals with self esteem issues at some point or the other if not daily.
I worry that a negative experience clothes shopping will undo the small gains I've made toward recapturing the self confidence I had when I was thinner. Not that self confidence comes from weight but you know what I mean, right? What I mean is I'm starting to feel better about myself again.
I saw the nutritionist today. My results were better than last time. Last month, I'd lost 3 pounds and change, almost 4. I was upset because I'd set a goal of five pounds and didn't quite make it.But today was different. Not only did I lose 5 pounds, but I lost 5.6 pounds. That means I'm down over 20 pounds in total. I was so excited I didn't even get the specifics with regard to my BMI and body fat percentage.
Checking In
At today's meeting, the nutritionist and I discussed the difference between contemplation and commitment. The nutritionist explained how frustrating her job is sometimes because she meets people contemplating weight loss without being ready to commit.
My friend B asked me later in the day how I felt about my new style of eating and I told her that it's not something I think about. It's just something I'm doing. It's just how things are. I'm completely committed to losing weight. My new habits are ingrained. I don't really have to think about my diet beyond paying attention to my food counts.
Clothes Shopping
I'm excited at the prospect of being able to shop in stores that DON'T have special sections for people who wear larger sizes. I've been contemplating going clothes shopping - a lot actually - but I'm not yet committed to that idea. It still makes me angry that larger runs of clothing that I like are almost impossible to find. And don't get me started about Macy's. If you want to buy plus size clothing at Macy's you have to go all the way to the 8th or 9th floor. At Lord & Taylor it's the same thing. Lane Bryant has great clothes but I always have the same problem with their shirts - too much of a seam allowance in the chest because the assumption is that if you wear a larger size you have a larger chest.
Anyway, I'm not quite ready to deal with all that yet. I know I'm rambling. Issues relating to weight loss and self worth are serious. And almost everyone deals with self esteem issues at some point or the other if not daily.
I worry that a negative experience clothes shopping will undo the small gains I've made toward recapturing the self confidence I had when I was thinner. Not that self confidence comes from weight but you know what I mean, right? What I mean is I'm starting to feel better about myself again.
February 06, 2008
February 05, 2008
Persepolis
Jon and I saw Persepolis yesterday at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. It's a French film based on the graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi about her life as an Iranian. Compelling.
She's a great story teller and the animation is beautiful.
February 02, 2008
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
I'm four episodes into the show and I've decided that it's definitely worthy of a weekly writeup. The premise is pretty basic. Several wrecked celebrities have enrolled in a rehab program run by celebrity doctor, Drew Pinski. I don't want this post to overwhelm so I'll start simply with the basics.
Here's a list of the celebrities participating thus far with a brief history.
1.Jeff Conaway - best remembered for his role as Kenickie in Grease, he is also remembered for playing out of work actor Bobby Wheeler on the TV show Taxi. If you look at his resume, he's worked a lot in both film and on television. But his most recent appearances on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club proved to be the most revealing. It was on Celebrity Fit Club that TV audiences learned how far his health has deteriorated. Not only did he appear bloated and out of shape but it was apparent he was dangerously medicated. While all the other celebrities have serious problems, without a doubt he is the most heavily damaged celebrity on the show in terms of drug years.
2. Brigitte Nielsen - Remember how gorgeous she was? She had a few good years in film. She starred in Red Sonja with Arnold Schwarzenegger; she played a villain like person in Rocky IV and she had a good part alongside then husband Sylvester Stallone in that forgettable movie Cobra (which starred an actor who looked a an awful lot like Schwarzenegger but then ended up dying in the end because he was a bad guy). She disappeared for a while but VH1 found her for Surreal Life and stuck her in a house with some other forgotten celebrities.
Thanks to this show, we were able to see how far her looks and health have declined, thanks to alcohol. While appearing on the Surreal Life, she had a drunken affair with Flavor Flav which was followed by VH1's Strange Love. Now, thanks to VH1, perhaps she'll be able to sober up and stop appearing drunk on VH1. It's hard to believe she's only four years older than me. Drinking has caused her to age badly.
3.Daniel Baldwin - This guy is famous for being a mess. He's probably best remembered for being the Baldwin brother with the most problems but I like to remember him from Homocide:Life on the Street. While doing research on him for this post (two minutes on Wikipedia), I learned that he also participated in VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. He's been in and out of trouble for years because of his drug problems. And he joined Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew to help reinforce 9 months of recent sobriety. Unlike the other participants he was sober when he walked through the front door.
The above three people are perhaps the three you would consider celebrities. The others are famous, if you happen to be fans of the specific genre where they excel; a porn star; a rock star; a would be singing star; a wrestler; a former child star; and an ultimate fighter.
Let's start with the porn star.
4. Mary Carey - doesn't want to do porn anymore. She's learning it's not healthy for her and is a gateway to other bad behavior like drinking and doing drugs. When she arrived at rehab, the staff removed all her porn and sex toys when going through her belongings. I think she's interesting. She's certainly not stupid and she doesn't possess a mean bone in her body. Also, she ran for governor of California during the recall election. You may recall that Schwarzenegger won that election. (Perhaps Schwarzenegger is the gateway).
5. Seth Binzer - He is the lead singer of Crazy Town, whose one big hit I've heard but couldn't sing back to you. He's pretty messed up. In the first episode, we watched a home video of a typical night out for Seth which included an intimate closeup of Seth smoking from a crack pipe. He's a good looking guy with a great singing voice and a serious addiction problem. And yes ladies - he's Jewish - which I found surprising because he is covered with tattooes. But according to his myspace page, he's married. So. You'll just to wait his marriage out before trying to hook up with the hot Jewish rock star. Oh and you'll have to wait until he sobers up because you probably don't want a crack addicted boyfriend, even with the shortage of available and exceedingly hot Jewish men.
6. Jessica Sierra - is the least famous person on the show. She had a brief moment in the spotlight as a contestant on American Idol but only became a headliner when she got arrested for something or the other having to do with drugs. She's very young and very sad. Her mother was a drug addict whose bad behavior left Jessica emotionally scarred and ill prepared for the world. The kid is a mess but like Mary Carey, she's very sweet and seemingly good natured. For me, watching her is like watching Britney Spears in rehab by proxy. And I'm sure it's no accident the producers put a young blond singer on the show. Pretty smart move on their part. I'm hopeful that she succeeds and achieves sobriety in this bizarre environment.
7. Joan Marie Laurer - aka Chyna Doll - formerly a wrestler with the WWF. She also starred on a season of Surreal Life and became good friends with Brigitte Nielsen on Surreal Life Games. (I have not seen any of these shows but somehow I know a lot about them). Chyna does not seem to be addicted to anything. I'm not quite sure why she is in rehab. While she's not exhibiting drug seeking behavior, she is definitely exhibiting attention seeking behavior. Not to say that she doesn't need therapy or counseling but I'm not exactly sure she needs rehabilitation. Maybe VH1 felt like they owed her one for all the ratings she generated by being
on their programs.
8. Jaimee Foxworth - she was the little girl on Family Matters. I don't know much about her except that she's seriously addicted to marijuana. And she seems very nice. Even though she says she's got this really bad problem, she seems to have more control over her life than all the other celebrities.
9.Ricco Rodriguez - is either a cage fighter, a mixed martial arts fighter or an ulitmate fighter. This guy definitely needs to be in rehab. He's got real problems. His problems with drugs are so bad that the courts took away his kid away not only him, but from his baby's drug addicted mama as well. I think the producers knew that either Jeff Conaway or Daniel Baldwin was going to leave the show, so they brought in another guy in episode 3 to fill a potential void. Daniel ended up leaving the facility in episode 4.
I think that's everybody. And now that you know who everyone is, I can write about the show freely without having to explain everyone's background each and every time. I'll provide links back to this post in my future recaps.
Here's a list of the celebrities participating thus far with a brief history.
1.Jeff Conaway - best remembered for his role as Kenickie in Grease, he is also remembered for playing out of work actor Bobby Wheeler on the TV show Taxi. If you look at his resume, he's worked a lot in both film and on television. But his most recent appearances on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club proved to be the most revealing. It was on Celebrity Fit Club that TV audiences learned how far his health has deteriorated. Not only did he appear bloated and out of shape but it was apparent he was dangerously medicated. While all the other celebrities have serious problems, without a doubt he is the most heavily damaged celebrity on the show in terms of drug years.
2. Brigitte Nielsen - Remember how gorgeous she was? She had a few good years in film. She starred in Red Sonja with Arnold Schwarzenegger; she played a villain like person in Rocky IV and she had a good part alongside then husband Sylvester Stallone in that forgettable movie Cobra (which starred an actor who looked a an awful lot like Schwarzenegger but then ended up dying in the end because he was a bad guy). She disappeared for a while but VH1 found her for Surreal Life and stuck her in a house with some other forgotten celebrities.Thanks to this show, we were able to see how far her looks and health have declined, thanks to alcohol. While appearing on the Surreal Life, she had a drunken affair with Flavor Flav which was followed by VH1's Strange Love. Now, thanks to VH1, perhaps she'll be able to sober up and stop appearing drunk on VH1. It's hard to believe she's only four years older than me. Drinking has caused her to age badly.
3.Daniel Baldwin - This guy is famous for being a mess. He's probably best remembered for being the Baldwin brother with the most problems but I like to remember him from Homocide:Life on the Street. While doing research on him for this post (two minutes on Wikipedia), I learned that he also participated in VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. He's been in and out of trouble for years because of his drug problems. And he joined Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew to help reinforce 9 months of recent sobriety. Unlike the other participants he was sober when he walked through the front door.
The above three people are perhaps the three you would consider celebrities. The others are famous, if you happen to be fans of the specific genre where they excel; a porn star; a rock star; a would be singing star; a wrestler; a former child star; and an ultimate fighter.
Let's start with the porn star.
4. Mary Carey - doesn't want to do porn anymore. She's learning it's not healthy for her and is a gateway to other bad behavior like drinking and doing drugs. When she arrived at rehab, the staff removed all her porn and sex toys when going through her belongings. I think she's interesting. She's certainly not stupid and she doesn't possess a mean bone in her body. Also, she ran for governor of California during the recall election. You may recall that Schwarzenegger won that election. (Perhaps Schwarzenegger is the gateway).5. Seth Binzer - He is the lead singer of Crazy Town, whose one big hit I've heard but couldn't sing back to you. He's pretty messed up. In the first episode, we watched a home video of a typical night out for Seth which included an intimate closeup of Seth smoking from a crack pipe. He's a good looking guy with a great singing voice and a serious addiction problem. And yes ladies - he's Jewish - which I found surprising because he is covered with tattooes. But according to his myspace page, he's married. So. You'll just to wait his marriage out before trying to hook up with the hot Jewish rock star. Oh and you'll have to wait until he sobers up because you probably don't want a crack addicted boyfriend, even with the shortage of available and exceedingly hot Jewish men.
6. Jessica Sierra - is the least famous person on the show. She had a brief moment in the spotlight as a contestant on American Idol but only became a headliner when she got arrested for something or the other having to do with drugs. She's very young and very sad. Her mother was a drug addict whose bad behavior left Jessica emotionally scarred and ill prepared for the world. The kid is a mess but like Mary Carey, she's very sweet and seemingly good natured. For me, watching her is like watching Britney Spears in rehab by proxy. And I'm sure it's no accident the producers put a young blond singer on the show. Pretty smart move on their part. I'm hopeful that she succeeds and achieves sobriety in this bizarre environment.
7. Joan Marie Laurer - aka Chyna Doll - formerly a wrestler with the WWF. She also starred on a season of Surreal Life and became good friends with Brigitte Nielsen on Surreal Life Games. (I have not seen any of these shows but somehow I know a lot about them). Chyna does not seem to be addicted to anything. I'm not quite sure why she is in rehab. While she's not exhibiting drug seeking behavior, she is definitely exhibiting attention seeking behavior. Not to say that she doesn't need therapy or counseling but I'm not exactly sure she needs rehabilitation. Maybe VH1 felt like they owed her one for all the ratings she generated by being
on their programs.8. Jaimee Foxworth - she was the little girl on Family Matters. I don't know much about her except that she's seriously addicted to marijuana. And she seems very nice. Even though she says she's got this really bad problem, she seems to have more control over her life than all the other celebrities.
9.Ricco Rodriguez - is either a cage fighter, a mixed martial arts fighter or an ulitmate fighter. This guy definitely needs to be in rehab. He's got real problems. His problems with drugs are so bad that the courts took away his kid away not only him, but from his baby's drug addicted mama as well. I think the producers knew that either Jeff Conaway or Daniel Baldwin was going to leave the show, so they brought in another guy in episode 3 to fill a potential void. Daniel ended up leaving the facility in episode 4.
I think that's everybody. And now that you know who everyone is, I can write about the show freely without having to explain everyone's background each and every time. I'll provide links back to this post in my future recaps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)