Abby and George

Here's some recent photos of Abby (age 2), my niece, and George (age 5 months), my nephew. They are too cute. I was glad to see them on Saturday.

photos with Neil, plus Ruben and Mark

Last weekend Ruben, Mark, Neil, and I went to see Spiral Theater's production of Charles Busch's "Die Mommie Die." We stopped at The Room for a drink after the play. Here's a couple of photos from the evening. I'm super excited about Neil, and I'm also pleased with my new orange shirt from J. Crew.

Introducting: Neil

I'm pleased to report that I have a boyfriend. It must be official because we're listed as "in a relationship" with each other on Facebook. His name is Neil, and I think that he's fantastic. We've had eight dates over the past four weeks, and all signs are positive. Here's a few photos from one of our dates when we went ice skating at the Pettit National Ice Center. I'm awfully excited about Neil and where this is heading. Stay tuned...

KA-POW!

Lesley came to Milwaukee recently for Barbie's bridal shower. We got together for our usual dinner at Harry's. We couldn't help but notice the new KA-POW! painting in the dining room. It's funny because when Michelle saw the KA-POW! painting, she thought that she had already seen a photo of Lesley and me next to it. She hadn't, but she was wise to recognize that this painting was begging for a photo of Lesley and me next to it.

Why I love "Runner's World"

I love "Runner's World" magazine because they consistently feature hot guys on the cover, as you can see above. I'm particularly taken with Dante Spencer, a 32 year-old runner from Los Angeles who graced the March 2009 issue. Woof! He is so freaking hot. If I lived in Los Angles, I'd do everything in my power to run into Dante. My only quarrel with the people at Rodale Press who publish "Runner's World" is that they make these guys shave their chest hair, and sometimes leg hair, for the photo shoot. Why? Looking at Dante's face, eyebrows, legs, and arms, you can tell that he would have a hairy chest. So why did the people at Rodale make him shave it? Yes, it's sexy in the photo, but it would be even hotter if he had stayed away from the razor. The same is true for the guy from the April 2009 inside cover. I can't locate his name because I already gave this issue away to a friend, but I think that his last name is Hounslow, he's 26, and he's from England. Again, you can see from his arms, head, and eyebrows that he would have a nice hairy chest if the folks at Rodale didn't make him shave it.

So people at Rodale and "Runner's World," keep the hot runners coming on your covers, but throw those razors away!

mint brownies

A couple of weeks ago I went for a long weekend visit to see Bill and Mary Ellen, my uncle and aunt who live in Ponte Vedra Beach, near Jacksonville. I forgot my camera, and the only photo I got was from my phone of Mary Ellen with her homemade mint brownies. She gave me the recipe, and I've made them twice already here in Milwaukee. I shared them with her son and my cousin, Andy, and his girlfriend Lindsay.

Ruben and Mark

Ruben, Mark, and I have an annual tradition of not watching the Super Bowl and instead watching something really gay. It started in 2006 when we watched "Absolutely Fabulous" episodes. Ruben and Mark love that show; I don't care for it. In 2007 we all enjoyed a screening of "9 to 5" starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin. In 2008 we watched "Die Mommie Die" and "Psycho Beach Party," the Charles Busch camp classics. How could we get more gay than that? Well, Ruben accepted the challenge this year and outdid himself. We watched the DVD of "Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall," Rufus Wainwright's tribute to Judy Garland's legendary concert at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed Rufus's tribute, largely because it was a genuine homage to Judy Garland and not pure camp. True, there were some campy elements, but it was the real deal. Not that I have anything against camp, but you don't mess with Judy or the great American songbook. I just love the songs from Judy and Rufus's Carnegie Hall shows. Amazing. They don't write songs like that anymore. How can you not love "Stormy Weather," "The Man That Got Away," "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart," "San Francisco," and all the others?

I'm not sure what we'll do in 2010, but we'd better start formulating a plan now, because I'm not sure what can be more gay than Rufus Wainwright doing Judy Garland's Carnegie Hall concert.

karaoke wrap-up

The highlight of the evening was Lesley singing some rap song that I had never heard of, but is evidently pretty popular. It had tons of lyrics, and she knew all of them. Plus it had the f word at least 50 times. Wish I could remember the name of the song, but take my word for it, Lesley did an amazing job performing it.

Photos of me singing "Nasty Girl" by Vanity 6

Evidence that I (a) have no shame, (b) don't really give a f*ck about embarrassing myself, and (c) I love the song "Nasty Girl" by Vanity 6.

Me performing Vanity 6's "Nasty Girl"

My homage to Vanity.

Me singing "We Belong," the Pat Benetar classic

With my trusty backup singers. With apologies to Pat Benetar.

Lesley sings "Papa Can You Hear Me?" from "Yentl"

Great job, Honey! I know it's an autobiographical song for you.

Nate sings "Too Much Passion" by The Smithereens

Good job, Nate!

Nate sings "My Baby Just Cares For Me" while Lesley dances

more karaoke

We do realize that it's not really intresting or fun for anyone but us, but we had a great time. I'm trying to remember some of the highlights. Lesley and I sang "Sunrise, Sunset" because we know that we aren't allowed to sing it at Barbie's wedding. I sang "You Needed Me" by Anne Murray and "Bigmouth Strikes Again" by The Smiths. Lesley did some fairly obscure songs from "Annie" and "A Chorus Line." Help me out, guys - what else did we sing?

4 hours of karaoke

Yes, the three of us sang karaoke for four hours. And I feel no shame in that. It was a super fun fantastic night.

almost ready for karaoke

I'm not exactly sure what "Mousse Fantasy" is, but perhaps a hair salon? On the way in to karaoke.

Japanese grocery store

The karaoke place we went is next door to a Japanese grocery store. They don't sell alcohol in the karaoke place, but they don't mind if you bring your own in. So we stopped at the Japanese grocery store and stocked up on some Japanese beer as well as way too much Japanese candy. Here's a few shots of us clowning around in the store.

oh, here is that waiter

Here's that waiter from the Japanese-French fusion restaurant.

walking from dinner to karaoke

I love these candid shots of Lesley and Nate walking from dinner to the Japanese grocery store.

Dinner with Lesley and Nate

Lesley found an excellent Japanese-French fusion restaurant in the Japanese section of Los Angeles. We had a superb meal there to fortify ourselves for karaoke. Lesley enjoyed some sake. Nate enjoyed flirting with the Japanese-American waiter. I enjoyed the food and my dinner companions.

Nate showing Lesley his new watch

Nate spent at least 90 minutes picking out a new watch in Palm Springs. Here he is showing the final selection to Lesley.