-- life --

We Break the Night…

2008-12-20T22:07:00.001-05:00

So, because of my position at work, I will be working 11pm-8am until Christmas Eve.

Oh God.

Hometown Glory

2008-09-19T01:57:00.002-04:00

I`ve been walking in the same way as I did
Missing out the cracks in the pavement
And tutting my heel and strutting my feet
"Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I can call?"
"No and thank you, please Madam. I ain`t lost, just wandering"

Round my hometown
Memories are fresh
Round my hometown
Ooh the people I`ve met
Are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of this world
Are the wonders of my world

I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque
I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades
I like it in the city when two worlds collide
You get the people and the government
Everybody taking different sides

Shows that we ain`t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united
Shows that we ain`t gonna take it
Shows that we ain`t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united

Round my hometown
Memories are fresh
Round my hometown
Ooh the people I`ve met

Are the wonders of my world (4x)

A New Year's meme

2008-01-06T01:37:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Cooper at Cooper's Corridor for this meme. I have been waiting for a while to do this, and now with a little quiet and red wine, I present:

Were you named after somebody?

Yes. I was actually named after my father's father. Dan Wesley Meredith.

When was the last time you cried?

Today. at approximately 3:45 pm when Marcus called me to let me know that Baby Lane and Jen were all okay. Tears of relief and joy. Also tears of joy to learn that Baby Lane was a BOY!

Do you like your handwriting?

I like my handwriting. Others love it. When I am writing really fast and carelessly, that is when I get the most compliments. I wish that I had that wonderful print that architects have on blueprints.

What is your favourite lunch meat?

Ham on wheat with whole grain dijon mustard. And maybe a little swiss cheese thrown in for good measure.

Do you have kids?
No. I live vicariously through my friends.

If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
I would probably think that I was too absentminded. And as infrequently as I telephone my friends...I would have cussed me out long ago....

Do you still have your tonsils?
Yes. They are in there somewhere. I guess.

Would you bungee jump?
Yes. I would probably love it. I am not scared of heights, but when I look down, it does make the back of my legs feel funny.

What is your favourite cereal?
I don't really eat cereal. But I sometimes like Oatmeal Raisin Crisp. It looks like Puppy Chow. I also eat something Honey and Oat-ey when Justen gets it. Maybe it is the one with clusters...

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Rarely.

Do you think you are strong?
Emotionally I feel weak. Physically I feel strong. All though I "feel" emotionally weak, I have been through more than any one person should ever go through, and come out okay. So sometimes I feel like I am the strongest person that I know. But in a very sensitive way. Does that make sense?

What is your favourite ice cream?
Mint chocolate chip. Also I once had a gelato that tasted like a cannoli and it was amazing.

What is the first thing you notice about people?
Their eyes, and whether they make eye contact when they talk to you. I second that answer, Cooper.

Red or pink?

Red. Red is the color of passion. Fire. The South.

What is the least favourite physical thing about yourself?
I am about 6'2". but my legs are only about 28" long. Isn't that weird?

Who do you miss the most?
Granny J. She passed away in May, and I still can't talk about it.

What colour pants and shoes are you wearing?
I am not wearing pants or shoes. I am inside. Who wears shoes in their house? I am wearing the robe that Justen gave me.

What was the last thing you ate?
McDonalds. Cheeseburger and Fries. God, I am embarrassed.

What are you listening to right now?
I am listening to the silence of the apartment at 2 am. Even though I live in NYC, this neighborhood: Astoria, is so quiet sometimes that it is scary.

Favourite smells?
Coffee. Sandalwood. Lavender. Ylang Ylang. Sage. The smell of skin.

Favourite sport to watch?
Gymnastics, Diving, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, and Alabama Football.

Hair colour?
Light brown. Someone told me today that my hair was "ash blonde". I asked if they were high.

Eye colour?
Blue. But more on the grey side of blue. Most times. Sometimes I can be a little Greenish. I have always wanted brown eyes.

Favourite Food?
Fresh Tomatoes. Sweet Potatoes. and Bacon.

What colour shirt are you wearing?
I’m not. (me either, Cooper. See above)

Winter or summer?
Winter. I feel like I am an energyless melting puddle in summer unless I am in or near water. I am one of those weird creatures who actually loves snow and cold. Snow-shrouded forest and silvery moonlit mountains …the crackling of a wood fire …the utter peace and purity and loveliness of winter. (this answer was Cooper's. It was so beautiful I left it) I love Winter too!!! Everyone looks so much cuter with a little bit of "winter" on them. I wish I had a place to have a fire. One day.......

Favourite dessert?
I love red velvet cake. pound cake. chocolate. pumpkin cheesecake....all of these things I can make home made. mmmmmm. Also, my sweet potato casserole is pretty much dessert too.

Hugs or kisses?
Kisses are where it is at. I love boyfriend kisses and puppy kisses too. Also, I love when people greet each other with cheek kisses. I love kisses!

What book are you reading now?
Sadly, my attention span does not allow me to read books. I did re-read my friend Scott Heim's Mysterious Skin. wow.

What is on your mouse pad?
I haven't a mouse pad.

What did you watch on TV last night?
Project Runway. (It was on the TiVo)

Favourite Sound?
Laughter. Quiet. I love it when it is so quiet that it is deafening. I also love to hear water. I am a Pisces. So there is always water in my life somewhere. I also love to hear the flicker of a candle. The most comforting sounds I hear daily are the breath of Naomi and Justen when they are sleeping. (Naomi is our dog)

Do you have a special talent?
Yes. A select few know what said talent is.

Where were you born?
Montgomery, Alabama.

If you for any reason want to also do this meme, comment and let me know!!
Happy New Year!
Daniel

WORLD AIDS DAY

2007-11-30T14:42:00.000-05:00

There are an estimated 38 million people in the world today living with AIDS. We have stood by and watched this monster become one of the largest epidemics of our generation. I challenge everyone to wear a red ribbon tomorrow. Make a donation to an AIDS charity. Work at a soup kitchen....do something. If you do not have time to physically do something, take a moment and reflect quietly on the over 25 million dead and 38 million infected.

I will be at work tomorrow, on World AIDS day. As a makeup artist for MAC, I am proud to be working tomorrow. I will be speaking to every one of my customers about the AIDS virus and what they can do to help. At MAC, every day is World AIDS Day. The MAC AIDS Fund was created to give back to the community every single day in a major way. MAC has raised over 100 million dollars. This money is given to groups to support men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS. Every day of the year, MAC sells VIVA GLAM lipsticks and lipglasses. 100% of the retail price paid for this item goes to the MAC AIDS fund. Ever wonder what ONE LIPSTICK can buy? Think on this:

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will provide health insurance for a child orphaned by AIDS in China for NINE MONTHS.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will provide food for an entire support group meeting.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam will buy 1000 condoms in India.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick can fund fourteen Aids test in Hayti

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will buy two weeks of groceries for an HIV positive person in the US.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will buy one month of food, shelter, medical aid and schooling to a child orphaned by AIDS in Africa.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will buy one dose of anti-retroviral drugs to four mothers and their babies to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission from mother to child in Africa.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will buy five days of housing for a family of three in the USA.

One $14 tube of Viva Glam lipstick will buy four HIV tests enabling people to learn their status.

Ever thought you couldn't make a difference. Now you can.

John Allan's

2007-11-01T11:47:00.000-04:00

Here is a story I wrote a while back for a magazine. It never ran, so I thought I would share it with you people. It is about John Allan's, a salon here in the city.
____

When you walk in to the door of any John Allan’s Club, you are immediately greeted, seated, and fitted with a black “smoking jacket” type garment with John Allan’s logo on the breast. Looking around the room you see a dozen or so overstuffed brown leather tuck-and-roll chairs filled with well-dressed gentlemen socializing, sipping beer, listening to the cool jazz constantly streaming from the sound system, or waiting for their turn at the classic-style red velvet pool table in the corner. A few men are seated at the bar, sipping from their private liquor reserves (which are stored on the premises with your name on them for your personal use only); and others are tucked away in the cigar room smoking and watching sports or news on television. You could be at any high class gentlemen’s club in the city. The only difference is that John Allan’s is not a private club; it is one of New York City’s most famous men’s salons.

In the good-ole days, a men’s salon was called a “barber shop”. You wait your turn in a Barbisol-soaked environment to have the barber give you a shave and a haircut and fill you in on the town’s business. That’s a little too Mayberry for New York City, but John Allan’s does fulfill that primal male need for comfort, socialization, class and grooming with four locations in Manhattan.

Most men interested in “grooming” would have to swallow their pride and go to a salon which specializes in women’s needs: hair color, acrylic nails, bikini waxing, and celebrity gossip magazines. John Allan’s is an oasis of testosterone for the male who needs a little extra care. The most popular package, the “Full Service” is a reasonable $65 and includes a scalp massage with shampoo, a heated towel for the face, a manicure, a haircut, a shoe-shine, and all the draft beer you care to drink. Adorning the magazine racks are copies of Forbes, BusinessWeek, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Golf Magazine. The clientele are a mixture of young professionals and older gentlemen.

My stylist, Danny, is from Alaska and we spent the entire session debating who had suffered more culture shock upon his arrival to New York City. A Southern boy, I saw his frozen tundra and raised him a Boll Weevil Monument. During our rather heated and animated discussion, I eventually noticed something extraordinary: Danny was cutting my hair with a straight razor. I immediately commented on the fact, and he assured me that my ears were not in danger. I resisted the urge to tell the lovely woman performing my manicure not to push my cuticles so hard. I winced, bore the pain, and tried not to move at all. Danny eventually loosened me up again (read: brought me another beer), and we were off again discussing our childhood—the fear of losing an ear had left me.

After finishing the haircut I was treated to a shoe shine that rivaled Granddaddy’s. I was then free to socialize, drink, play pool, smoke a cigar, or merely hang out and read magazines. After buying a few products, I went to the register to pay and was able to tip individually my stylists in small envelopes. My coat and bag were returned to me and I exited John Allan’s back into the hustle and bustle of Park Avenue feeling a more nostalgic than I had an hour earlier. I had just experienced something I thought only existed in stories my grandfather told me and old black and white movies. I was given an opportunity to visit an era I thought long gone: one where men had a place to go to just be men.

A Survey

2007-08-25T12:19:00.000-04:00

MY STORY.

Hi, my name is: Daniel Noland Meredith

but you can call me: Daniel

Never in my life have I: Done something that I regret.

The one person who can drive me nuts is: our current president.

My high school is/was: Lighthouse Christian Academy

When I’m nervous: My tummy hurts.

The last song I listened to was: According to my ITunes--"Easy Silence" by the Dixie Chicks. Such a great song.

If I were to get married right now it would be to: Unfortunately, this administration does not recognize my love.

My hair is: still in bed head mode.

When I was 4: I thought that my Granny J was the best thing in the world. I still do.

Last Christmas: Justen and I spent the holiday alone together here in the apartment with Naomi. It was the closest thing to perfect I have ever experienced.

I should be: eating.

When I look down I see: crotch.

The happiest recent event was: me and Justen holding Naomi and singing happy birthday to her.

If I were a character on ‘Friends’ i'd be: canceled, but still in syndication.

By this time next year: I'll probably still be sitting here doing this. Hopefully I will be a union actor then.

My current gripe is: i hate it when it is hot.

I have a hard time understanding: cellphones and fax machines. It weirds me out that there are conversations flying around all the time.

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: Justen.

I want to buy: a new mattress.

I plan to visit next: the New York Library for the Performing Arts

If you spent the night at my house: I would have to pull out the air mattress. And you would have to share it with Naomi.

The world could do without: Conservatives.

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: A mattress topper.

Most recent thing someone else bought me: food.

My middle name is: Noland. It is my grandmother's maiden name.

In the morning I: hate waking up.

Last night I was: working.

There’s this guy I know who: is a movie star.

If I was an animal I’d be a: dog. But I would want to be a dog in my home. Not just anywhere. Otherwise, I would be a manatee.

A better name for me would be: I think that Daniel does just fine.

Tomorrow I am: working. again.

Tonight I am: working.

My birthday is: March 16. Pisces.

THANKS JEN NELSON LANE FOR THE SURVEY!!!

How Come ....

2007-08-22T11:18:00.000-04:00

...when I get into the audition room, the piano is out of tune, the accompanist is playing like she is in a room the size of the Met rather than the shoe box we are actually in, and I accidentally grabbed the resumes that have one of my roles misspelled?

All I am trying to do is get a leg up. Sometimes it feels like someone else has a bigger leg up, and it is hiked up and peeing on me. Just thoughts on the audition that I blew yesterday.....

First of all, I have been wanting to audition for this company for a while. I'm not going to say what it is, because it would embarrass me. The company is Equity, so yesterday I went in expecting to wait. I got there right on time, and no one else did. I asked if they would see non-AEA, they said sure--and just to hang out for a bit. Thirty seconds later, they came back and said that they were ready for me.

The piano sounded like one of those symphonies that I used to beat out on Granny J's pots and pans. I asked her to give me a B before I started. She did, and I looked at her and said, "Really?" I thought maybe I was just anxious, and that the B really was that low. As soon as she started playing I realized that the piano was all over the place. I transposed on the fly dropping down 2 keys to more closely follow what I was hearing. Now my up-tempo song to show off my range sounded like something I could sing after a pack of cigarettes.

They asked me to sing another up tempo. I looked in my bag, and all I had were 2 ballads. One was from an operetta. The other up-tempo must still be in the printer. UGGGG. So, I sang. Then read the side. Secretly inside I was wishing they would just say "Thanks" and put me out of this misery. Could they possibly be considering me? Or are they just torturing me because the rain has kept everyone else away. There they were enjoying their coffee and doughnuts. There I was melting. All scored by "Accompanist's Pots and Pans in the relative key of E flat". They asked me about a credit on my resume. Then asked me why I misspelled the name of the role. I explained that I had grabbed the resumes from the junk pile. You know---the pile that you are supposed to glue new resumes over what is there....

When I got back home, I climbed in the bed, and told Justen that we should just pretend that I never got up this morning.

Welcome to a Day In The Life of Daniel Meredith. You think you know, but you have no idea.

Too Old

2007-08-16T12:22:00.000-04:00

I got typed out of audition today for being too old.
Don't know how I feel about that. Typing makes me so crazy sometimes. With all that training on how to appear old, young, etc...why can't they let me at least try to wow them with my talent?

That is why I feel like this man today.

I can't

2007-08-16T12:21:00.000-04:00

Yes. That was Clay Aiken singing "SexyBack"
I have no words. Remember, he still insists that he is heterosexual.

Secrets

2007-08-13T11:18:00.000-04:00

This is a new video from one of my favorite blogs/sites ever....PostSecret

Zombie Scare

2007-08-06T13:34:00.001-04:00

Only in New York

2007-07-31T11:14:00.000-04:00

She told Jen and Marcus that you could only get these in Florida.

I found some at the CVS on Broadway on Astoria.

So I ate them.

Dance it Out

2007-06-23T18:21:00.001-04:00

Thrown Back In

2007-05-27T13:42:00.000-04:00

Fingers shaking, insides vibrating
I boarded the plane.

Back to the city.

"Just water, please"
"I mean Ginger Ale"
"No, just water."
Tears in my eyes.

"Are you okay?" 11-B said.
"Yes, It's just hard"
"To fly?"

Then I told her.

Then
she
hugged
me

"I have grand children too"

And I realized that the hardest part of flying
is leaving the ground.

And that the hardest part of leaving

Is Being Left Behind.

In Memory

2007-05-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

I have been reclusive for the past few weeks, and I thought that it was about time that I spoke about what is going on in my life. Anyone who knows me well, knows that my family is a huge part of my life, and certain members of said family have played a strong part in making me who I am today. One of those family members is my maternal grandmother, Granny J.

I have got hundreds of stories about Granny J, from saving my life many times (literally) to falling asleep in fried rice. Granny and I had a very special relationship. Born a little less than 70 years ago, Granny J was a true Southern Woman. She brought herself up from nothing (literally--she lived in a boxcar for a while) to become a force to be reckoned with.

On May 1, Granny thought that she was developing pneumonia, so she went into the hospital. While there, the doctors thought that she may have had a heart attack. Later she went on to have a heart cath and repair of an aortic aneurysm. All the time I was here in NYC waiting to be able to speak to her after she got out of the intensive care unit. Finally, I was able to speak to her.

On the morning of May 11th, I received a phone call that Granny J had a major stroke while in the unit, and it had affected her left side. I was told to come on home. (I had just spoken to Granny on Thursday, and she couldnt wait to get home--She was sitting up, eating, and getting ready to go to rehab from her surgery). Apparently Friday evening she threw a huge clot.

When I got home Saturday afternoon, it didnt look good. She was unable to speak, swallow, move or do anything. She was responsive, but uncomfortable. Being a trauma nurse for her life, Granny had wishes that she receive no artificial nutrition or any life support whatsoever. Basically, for the next week, the only thing she had in her body was morphine. Hospice came in to help prepare the family for the upcoming death, and they were great. I had dealt with them when my other grandmother passed, and knew how wonderful they are.

From May 11th until May 30th, I kept a silent vigil beside Granny's hospital bed. Holding her hand and watching her die. I vascillated between anger and utter peace. There is something very beautiful about letting someone leaving this world with the dignity that they displayed while in this world.

Eventually, Granny J passed away. We told her that we would "see her in the mornin'" and to "go rest high on that mountain"...things we have always said.

Granny J was a very proud and private woman. Her wishes were that she would have no viewing, and no funeral. She said "if people didn't come see me when I was alive, I sure as hell don't want them looking at me when I am dead". With a reluctant chuckle, we all agreed that we would keep those wishes. At some point in the near future, Granny J and Granddaddy J's cremains will be scattered into the Gulf of Mexico off of Gulf Shores--their oasis.

I still have great difficulty speaking about this out loud. I have great difficulty socializing. I rarely answer my phone, and reluctantly return emails. Please understand.

Today

2007-05-12T00:00:00.001-04:00

Has been bad. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. More to come.

Daniel on TELEVISION

2007-05-05T00:09:00.001-04:00

If you tune into HGTV tomorrow at 3:30 Eastern, you will see Justen and I on FREE STYLE.

It also will be re-airing on the 14th.

My First Flame

2007-05-02T23:28:00.000-04:00

As a blogger, I pretty much know that no matter what I say or post on here, I have agreed that it be available to everyone in the world. As you also may not know, my most read blog on here is one I posted a while back called Diarrhea Donut Shop. This post (which you may also visit too) is the one that brings most of my visitors. For whatever reason, people search for "diarrhea" or "watery bowels" and my blog comes up. Anyways, regarding a photo I have posted there I received my first flame. The language is quite bad, so I will post it after the jump...

Anonymous said...
you ass hole, stupid, how dare you put that picture of an epidemic child to illustrate such vanal and careless comentary. who the hell do you think you are? i wish you die from a diarrea, like a lot of people in the world who dont leisurely walk!!

I have a few things to say to this. FIRST, I wish that people that comment or judge me please use capital letters to begin their sentences. Secondly, I think that the last sentence is a death threat. Thirdly, if you are ballsy enough to call me an "ass hole" please also be "vanal" enough to leave your name or email address. What the hell does "vanal" mean?

Now, I pose to you, my other two readers...should I leave this comment up, or delete it?

UPDATE: "vanal" is indeed not a word. Also, judging from the commenter's spelling of diarrhea (diarrhea), this person speaks Spanish. (This is the Spanish word for watery bowels.) Please see other translations HERE. (I, too, have misspelled the word.) The correct English Spelling of the word is....Diarrhea. The British spell it diarrhoea. Please see article here.

Fainting Goat

2007-04-20T08:46:00.000-04:00

My mom had a fainting goat. She used to try so hard to get it to faint, and it never did. I think she got a dud.

She said that they used to bang pots and pans together in front of the goat. nothing. Wonder what that goat thought? Probably, "Why the hell is this crazy ass woman banging pots and pans in my face and hollering?"

Just a thought. Oh, click the hyperlink. There's an International Fainting Goat Association.

Do you know Dolphins?

2007-04-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

I think I am going to start regularly exploring different animals on the blog. Here is the first: The Dolphin.

I am extremely passionate about animal welfare. I have supported animal rights for years. There is a part of me who really wants to be a marine biologist and conservationist who spends his days saving sea turtles and manatees and other creatures. Perhaps one of the most beautiful and interesting of all the sea creatures is the dolphin.

Despite popular belief, the dolphin and the porpoise are different animals. There are almost forty different species of dolphin. They range in size from 4 feet (Maui Dolphin) to 30 feet (the Orca). The dolphin lives in every sea in the world, but they prefer the shallower waters of the Continental Shelves. Dolphins are carnivores: their diet consists mostly of squid and fish. Dolphins evolved about ten million years ago, during the Miocene.

ANATOMY
Modern dolphin skeletons have two small, rod-shaped pelvic bones thought to be vestigial hind legs.

Dolphins have a streamlined fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The basic colouration patterns are shades of grey with a light underside and a distinct dark cape on the back. It is often combined with lines and patches of different hue and contrast.

The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlenose, there is a curved mouth which looks like a fixed smile. Teeth can be very numerous (up to two hundred and fifty) in several species. The dolphin brain is large and has a highly structured cortex, which often is referred to in discussions about their advanced intelligence.

Unlike most mammals, dolphins do not have hair, but they are born with a few hairs around the tip of their rostrum which they lose after some time, in some cases even before they are born. The only exception to this is the Boto river dolphin, which does have some small hairs on the rostrum.

SENSES
Most dolphins have acute eyesight, both in and out of the water, and their sense of hearing is superior to that of humans. However, dolphins lack an olfactory nerve and lobes and thus are believed to have no sense of smell, but they can taste and do show preferences for certain kinds of fish.

INTELLIGENCE & SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Dolphins are social, living in pods (also called "schools") of up to a dozen individuals. The individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations. It is thought that dolphins have their own language. Members of a pod may even have a language that is just their own, as well as a universal language. Dolphins can establish strong bonds between each other. This leads to them staying with injured or ill individuals for support. In May 2005, researchers in Australia discovered a cultural aspect of dolphin behaviour: Some dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) teach their children to use tools. The dolphins break sponges off and cover their snouts with them thus protecting their snouts while foraging. (see photo at right) They are also willing to occasionally approach humans and playfully interact with them in the water. Dolphins have also been known to protect swimmers from sharks by swimming circles around them.

Dolphins often leap above the water surface, sometimes performing acrobatic figures (e.g. the spinner dolphin). Dolphins are used in animal-assisted therapy, particularly for children and adults with Down syndrome and autism.

The year 2007 has been declared as (International) Year of the Dolphin by the United Nations and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

THREAT
Every October, in Japan, dolphins are herded together an massacred for food and also collected to be sold to water parks and zoos. Below, I have a documentary from PBS featuring Hardy Jones, a photographer who went to Japan to do a documentary on dolphins. What he found there shocked him. It will shock you too.

How Can You Help?
Many people are not comfortable with groups like PETA and their guerrila-like tactics and agendas. There is a group called Blue Voice (which was founded by Ted Danson) to help save Dolphins and Whales. Their website is a tome of information on what you can do to help. Every little bit does help. In addition to spreading the word, open your mouth! Blog about this, tell your friends! Never, I repeat NEVER patronize places like Sea World that profit from exploiting these creatures. Volunteer. Pray. Light a Candle. Just do Something. Start by watching this documentary.

Too Much Beyonce

2007-04-05T17:55:00.000-04:00

I have always wondered what would happen if someone had too much Beyonce. Most days, I feel like I have already had too much Beyonce. Take a look at the clip after the jump, and let me know what you think. Is this person a victim of too much Beyonce??

Too Much Beyonce?
Uploaded by apartment3b

He's good, huh?

UPDATE: Many thanks to Frank at OMG Blog for giving this tiny blog a shout out.

Mold Removal

2007-04-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

In New York City, mold in your home is a problem. This problem also exists outside of the city as well, but due to the age of our buildings and other horrible things, toxic mold is a huge issue here.

Now, unless, like Justen and myself, you have had your ceiling fall in revealing all sorts of black mold colonies, you may not be able to tell the condition of your inner walls without doing much damage. I have recently learned that many mold detection services are using specially trained dogs (like the one above--named Hunter) to detect mold in your home. Basically, to understand why dogs are so good at this, you need to learn a little about mold.

Mold is a product of excessive moisture. Most moisture problems go unnoticed and unchecked for many years not because people don't care, but because most of the detrimental aspects of the damage are usually invisible. The way that homes are constructed now makes mold detection practically impossible. It is possible to sample the air in your house and get a spore count, but you have no idea where the mold is coming from--just that it is there. Now we have all seen mold at least once. Chances are, you grew it in science class, have some growing in your shower now, or maybe even have some fruit or bread with a little growing on it.

Penicillin is a mold. Its healing properties have saved millions of people from death. Our bodies are full of bacterium that help us live. But not all molds are as friendly. As molds thrive, they produce three things: spores, gasses and toxins. The spores are mostly confined to an area, and inside of a wall, it is hard for them to escape--unless there is a hole or crack. The big problem is the gasses released by the molds. The gasses mold produces are detected by the human nose as a "musty smell". Unlike spores, gasses can easily penetrate walls and build-up indoors creating discomfort and causing health complaints such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. While this seems like a terrible thing, these gasses are the key to the solution.

The dog's nose is hundreds of times more sensitive than ours. New Jersey Mold Removal is a company that uses specially trained dogs to "sniff out" these gasses. These dogs are led through your space, and sniff around, and alert the handler to the presence of toxic molds. Their noses easily pick up on the nuances of the smells of the different molds. This method is much less intrusive than what happened to us. It is also another way that companion animals are being used to help humanity. Dogs love to "work", it is their nature. Nothing makes them feel more alive than the hunt. This toxic mold hunting is a perfect job for these dogs.

So next time that your pooch is sniffing around, just think what might be behind those walls.

This post was sponsored by New Jersey Mold Company. I support them because of their use of companion animals in such a beneficial way.

Wet Nose Therapy

2007-03-31T13:22:00.000-04:00

Sometimes our pets seem to have a sixth sense about them. Anyone who knows Justen and I also knows Naomi. (The photo above is not her--that is mom's dog) She greets everyone in the house with joy, love, and hundreds of kisses.

Lately, since I have been unemployed and home more often than before, Naomi has been at my side the whole time. She sits with us on the sofa, keeps us warm in the bed at night, snuggles when we are sad, and all she asks in return is love. A good belly rub every now and again and sometimes a little fun outside. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Naomi lives completely in the moment. She has no regrets, no guilt, no nothing. If she is happy, she is 100% happy. If she is scared, her entire body quivers with fear. If she is tired, she immediately drops into sleep.

Naomi has job too, around the house. She barks at intruders. (and neighbors, and puppies, and just about anyone who comes in the building). She makes sure that if we drop any food on the floor that it is quickly eaten. She makes sure that we are always able to rub her belly if we want to. These are her simple jobs. She also listens when we talk to her, and never talks back. When I am on the sofa watching tv, she makes sure that she is nearby to cuddle. Unless she would rather be in the bed.

Through it all, our pets give so much more than they receive. We kiss them, feed them, walk them, etc. and ask for nothing in return. I know that not everyone is a pet person, but I think that everyone can empathize with the feeling of a being of unconditional love.

In China, dogs are bred for their fur. When they reach a marketable size, the handlers will bang their heads on a rock then skin them alive, tossing the skinless carcasses away to rot in the sun. This fur makes its way in to many of our clothes.

Here in the USA, the land of the free and home of the brave, our animals that are unwanted are disposed of, or used for experimentation. Our government requires that all of our drugs be tested on animals before being approved for human use. REQUIRES. (Even though there are models that more closely simulate the human body). We are a long way off from changing this, and it is a long, slow process. I am constantly writing letters.

Something that is in everyone's hands to change is cosmetic and household product testing. The lipstick that you are wearing may have been forced into a rabbit's eye before you could purchase it. Your hairspray may have been sprayed repeatedly into dog's eyes to determine how much would blind them. The lotion that you put on your skin was probably force fed to dogs to see how much it would take to make them ill. Why? Why not. The animals can not speak out for themselves. It is cheaper for the companies to purchase unwanted animals than to purchase human skin simulation. How can you stop this? Educate yourself. Purchase products that are not tested on animals. Be careful. Many companies do not test on animals, but get their products from people who do.

Write letters. Write to Procter and Gamble on behalf of the Naomi's of the world. Write a letter to pet-friendly companies thanking them--on behalf of the Naomi's of the world. It doesn't cost a thing. You can email them. go to PETA for help. The Naomi's of the world thank you. In their own way.

Know what---even if you never wrote a letter, even if you only use cruelly-produced products, Naomi will still greet you with a kiss. Thats just how animals are.

Ghost in This House

2007-03-30T20:15:00.000-04:00

I have been working more on videos. Here is a quickie I shot today. Would love to know what you all think about it. Basically, I was practicing using opacity and layers. Plus I love this song, and have felt this way many times.

** Note. If you have looked at this, look again. I tweaked it.

Ghost
Uploaded by dmeredith2

Fear Called Living

2007-03-29T12:58:00.000-04:00

Living in New York City, you are almost constantly bombarded by independent musicians just trying to get a break. You see them everywhere. On the street, in the subway, in the parks. Most of the bands are good. Many are very good, yet their sound really is not that much different than what is out there now. It's those rare artists who break away from the mainstream who are able to break out of obscurity. "Fear Called Living" just may be one of those bands.

Fear Called Living (formerly called Arcadia) is a trip hop group formed in the Bronx. (Who ever said nothing good comes out of the Bronx?) Their music is a mix of electronica and hip-hop with a cool, melodic vocal track. The sound is quite indescribable. You must hear it to believe it. The best way to imagine the sound of this band is to imagine Evanescence with a much more cool and hip background.As of now, the band is currently unsigned. The website Unsigned.com has a place for them there.

Unsigned.com bills itself as, "the new voice for independent Artists looking for the chance to be discovered". They boast that over 2000 independent Artists have already signed on. The website is unique in that it allows listeners to interact directly with the artists, thereby building a "grass roots" listenership.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a hip-hop fan. Do not let the use of that term to describe this music steer you away. This entire genre of music is out there, and is not being played outside of big cities. All you have to do is ask. If you like a band that is getting no radio play, call the station and ask for it. Keep calling. Get everyone you know to call. That's what happened to John Mayer.

In the meantime, check out Fear Called Living and the entire trip hop genre at unsigned.com. While you are there, you can look around at some of their other genres...but trip hop is definitely something you may have never heard before. And I guarantee you will like it.

View the page here: Trip-Hop Bands

This post sponsored by UnSigned.

Burger King starts the trend

2007-03-28T19:57:00.000-04:00

If you know me, you know that I am a compassionate meat eater. I was at one point a vegan, but very unhealthy. I have always stood firm on animal rights, and it is a passion of mine to speak out for those who have no voice to speak for themselves. That being said, it is with great pleasure that I point out:

Burger King set to make "historic advance" in animal welfare: "...the world's second-largest hamburger chain, said Tuesday that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that did not confine their animals in cages and crates. The company said that it would also favor suppliers of chickens that use gas, or "controlled-atmospheric stunning," rather than electric shocks, to knock birds unconscious before slaughter. It is considered a more humane method, though only a few slaughterhouses use it."

For more information, please visit PETA at: http://www.goveg.com/corp_murderk-victory.asp

And please, go out and have some BK fries or something.

The image posted above shows how mass-market chickens are treated in captivity. They have their beaks chopped off to prevent them from killing each other after being confined to crates makes them insane. Eat free-range, or don't eat it at all.

This Weekend

2007-03-26T13:44:00.000-04:00

Spring has sprung here in NYC. As of the end of last week, you couldn't really tell. The ground was covered in snow and we were still all wearing our puffy coats. Alas, the equinox has noxed, and we are now beginning the "light" half of the year.

Speaking of the light half of the year, Daylight Savings Time really kicked my ass this year. I don't really know why. All of a sudden, the clocks sprang forward, and left me behind in the dust. I have slowly recouperated in the recent weeks, but it. was. a. bitch.

My friend from my previous life, Ashley, came in to town this weekend. He was here for a blogging convention. He is working in Marketing at PayPerPost, and was here for a BlogHer convention. Ashley and I were friends through a girl that I dated over 10 years ago. We eventually became roommates and had some great times. He has lived in Orlando for a while. Due to just plain life, distance, and my phone anxiety, we have been spotty about keeping in touch. This weekend was the first time that I had seen him in about 7 years.

Anyways, Friday night we decided to go out and get drunk. We started our night at VYNL, which is one of my favorite places in Hell's Kitchen. After eating a little dinner there and of course having a couple of their amazing martinis, we decided to start our night. That's me standing outside VYNL.

When we were leaving VYNL, we ran into Kacy, mine and Justen's roommate, and his friend Brad. We decided to all meet up at Phoenix in Alphabet City. (Justen was on the way). The Phoenix is a really cool place to start your night. It has the feeling of a pub and is quite laid back. The music is not loud. It's very much a hang-out place. There is a pool table there. The movie that I was just in, Skull and Bones used it as a location. We took a seat in the side room (which looks like a dungeon) and waited for Justen. We drank a couple of more beers while there, and Justen came and joined us. Every time I go to Phoenix, I see a celebrity. Well, I use the term celebrity loosely. I see someone who is on TV. Last time I was there I saw the guy who plays the forensic investigator on Law and Order SVU, and this time, we saw Jay McCarroll, who was the winner of Season 1 of Project Runway. He has finally released his ready-to-wear collection and was there at Phoenix with a small entourage. He was wasted. When we were outside about to leave, he came barrelling out the door slurring his words. Either that or he may have been completely sober and speaking in tongues. I'm just sayin'.

We left the Phoenix and decided to cab across town to Mr. Black. This hipster haunt on Friday nights sports waiters wearing only aprons. The cover charge was $10, but we thought it may be fun. On the way there, we saw Kacy stumbling down the roadside, so we did what any friend would do. We rolled down the cab window and heckled him. Priceless.

The line at Mr. Black was around the block, and we didn't feel like waiting, so we walked into the West Village to Pieces, which is a little dive bar. Its right there across from the gay pride statues. We stayed there about 1 beer's length and were deciding to call it a night.

As we were walking down the street to get to the train, I saw Marie's Crisis, and knew we had to stop in. Marie's Crisis is a little bar in a basement that is a piano bar. You can go there and get a drink from the bartender and sit at the piano and sing along with god only knows who. Last time I was there, Dawn Weiner from Welcome to the Dollhouse was there. She was apparently having a sapphic convention there, and was getting a lot of attention. We arrived late, and there were no notables there. We all decided to do a Lemon Drop shot. I did mine, but Justen and Ashley didnt like theirs, so I did theirs too. That was my mistake. I was fine until I drank 3 shots of cheap vodka.

We got in a cab headed back to Astoria. We took the Williamsburg Bridge, which was bumper to bumper at 4am, then came here and crashed. I managed to get the airbed blown up for Ash, allthough I don't remember.

The next morning I awoke at 3pm in a black haze.

Justen went to dance class. God. 31 sucks.

wii

2007-03-21T12:35:00.000-04:00

Ok, I did it. Since last year, I have been secretly lusting after the Nintendo wii. (which is still, btw, impossible to buy in stores). Yesterday, afterreceiving birthday money from my parents, I went and stood on line outside the Nintendo world store in midtown from 6:45am until opening--i was first in line--and got the Nintendo wii.

Why may you ask? Well as a young man, I used to stay up nights with friends playing my first-generation Nintendo trying to beat the games. Many of you have been there with me--Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, and most importantly THE LEGEND OF ZELDA.

When Legend of Zelda came out on the NES, I played it and played it. My nights were filled with the quest to rescue this princess. Later versions of Zelda also transfixed me. I was particularly into The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. This was for the Nintendo 64.

After seeing the advertisements for the wii, i thought that this would be the game system for me. I owned a PlayStation 2 for many years, and eventually sold it because I never played it. I had beaten "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds" and lost interest in the system completely. The games for the PS2 were just not for me. Most were war simulations and battle type games and frankly I never liked them. I started seeing the "trailers" for the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and my interest was picqued again. I researched the wii to determine if it would be a one-hit-wonder with me. I don't think so. Here are the reasons:

Nintendo releases many games that are not just bloody war type simulations. They even have a game tie in to the movie Happy Feet.
With the wii, you can buy all of the old games that you love so much. For 5 bucks, I was up playing Super Mario Brothers last night just like I did a decade ago. (okay, over two decades ago--the original came out in 1985) It is interesting to note that playing Super Mario Bros. is like riding a bicycle. You seem to go on auto-pilot as soon as the music starts.
With the wii I can send emails and messages to friends all over the world...which brings me to my question:

DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ONE OF THESE THINGS? IF YOU HAVE A wii, my number is: 6047 9712 3060 1158

Happy Day to everyone.

King of the World

2007-03-18T13:30:00.001-04:00

What is it about birthdays? I have recently celebrated my 31st one. Justen and I went out to eat then saw COMPANY on Broadway. I don't really recommend it. Wait till it comes on video. Its just not that good. If I feel compelled later on, I will write about why I did not like it. Anyways, back to the lecture at hand....
I would like to start this off by saying that I am so excited to be in my thirties. If your twenties are representative for the quest to find yourself, then the thirties are definitely a time to chill inside said self. All of the pressure that I used to feel to "assimilate" or "be" or "do" is no longer there. I am just as happy on the sofa watching TV as I am at the movies. It's just that chill. Go out to eat, order takeout, cook...these are the questions that plague me daily...now I just go with the flow. If I want pizza, I eat pizza. If I want to fry chicken, I fry chicken. If I want to make brownies, I make brownies. And don't care.
The feeling of "laissez le bon temps rouler" or "laissez-faire" has spilled over into my professional life. Thats not such a good thing. If I go to an audition, I go. If I don't, I don't. I no longer have that little cheerleader Daniel in the back of my head saying "DO IT" "GO THERE", etc. And honestly, I don't miss that twit at all.
That being said, I realize that at some point, I do have to "shit or get off the pot" so to speak. But now I don't feel terribly motivated. And that's okay. I feel like as an actor I am in a weird transitional period between playing the roles that I have played thus far and the roles that I am yet to play. I think I am just gonna coast for a while. And pay my student loans.
So as I wake up today, closer to 40 then I am to 20, I wonder what will this decade hold. I am only one year into it, and I love it. So far. The past few years of my life have been the best ever:

meeting Justen
getting Naomi
backpacking across Europe
Moving to New York
working as an actor

Time will tell what is to come, but right now I am the "King of the World". Or at least the unemployment line.

Its been a while, but here goes

2007-02-22T12:14:00.000-05:00

Golly, it has been a little while since I last blogged. So much has happened...lets see where to start...

First, the audition I went on was for Periwinkle National Theatre's tour of HALFWAY THERE.

That being said, getting that job has opened a door for me. Actually it kicked me in the ass a little. So, I quit my PR job. I think that I need to focus hard-core on working in the business here, and with my cushy job, I cant do that. I am only going on safe auditions, and I need to get out there more. And make money. So thats that.

Tim and Derek came over President's day weekend, and I made some good 'ole gumbo for everyone. Beau (their puppy) stayed with us while they went to the theatre, and Naomi had a field day. I haven't seen her play like that in years. It was so refreshing. Beau is welcome in our house ANY day.

Later that night, Justen, Tim, Derek and I went to a local bar called Albatross. I have nothing else to say about this bar. Its there. 'nuff said.

LOST is actually getting better. Thank God. Maybe it wont get canceled now. We will see.

Are Jim and Pam ever gonna get together on the Office? I wonder. Cause probably if they did, there wouldnt be any reason to watch. Except that I love that show. I love it bad.

We saw Pan's Labyrinth recently. I will write a separate review of it at some point, but the gist is, go see it. Its beautiful. Its also a bit bloody, but it is good. If you are expecting Narnia, its not like that at all. More like Titus. or if Titus and Narnia had a child, it would be Pan's Labyrinth. Oh, and the child would have to be Spanish.

I have been working hard on my ancestry. Nothing crazy new to report except that Gore Vidal is actually a very close relative to me. 3rd or 4th cousin. Kinda cool, since I like him.

OK. time to go back to work.

Mimin' Hurts, 'yall

2007-02-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

So on Saturday, which was also the day of Jen Nelson Lane's big blowout birthday party, I went to an audition for a character in a TYA show. The character is basically the personification of bad. He tempts the characters back into a life of drugs, booze, or whatever. ANYWAYS, the part is masked, and a mime.

Ok, so it has been a while since I have mimed. Maybe since my last mime at grad school (i remember all of us doing a scene where we were all in a gym. Then another scene where we were attacked by our bathroom necessities---mine was shaving cream.) where was I...OH yeah. pain.

I did a little of the choreography from the show as well as some leans and other basic mime stuff on Saturday. No problem. I was actually quite good. Problem is...it is monday now, and I still cant walk right. I used muscles that havent been used in years. There are parts of my quad which are used in mimin' that arent used in anything I have done since 2003.

I put a heat patch on today, and had to take it off cause I was sweating my ass off. And it felt like the skin on my thigh was gone. all of it.

Anyways, I have a callback for this part on Wednesday. Please pray for my little used muscles.
and my burned up thigh.

Spring Awakening

2007-02-09T11:38:00.000-05:00

Last night, Justen and I went to see Spring Awakening with Brent (who was in town for the week). It has been a while since we had seen a show for several reasons--nothing really piqued our interest, and we just never went to get tickets. I am so glad that we decided to go see this show. Duncan Sheik (of the 90's Barely Breathing) and others have adapted Frank Wedekind's 1891 play "Spring Awakening" to this year's Broadway smash. The play centers around a group of teens who are dealing with their burgeoning sexuality juxtaposed with the adult world which is withholding information from them in the name of protecting their innocence.

The cast is an ensemble of fresh-faced young actors (average age here is probably 19) who take on this material with voracity. What RENT was to me years ago is what I feel this will be to young people seeing this today. The music is angst ridden: at times melodic, at times raucous. The stand-out of the cast is definitely John Gallagher, Jr. in his role as Moritz. From the moment he takes the stage in the first number, you can see he has a fully developed character that only comes more to life throughout his subsequent scenes. Also noteworthy is Lea Michelle, playing the female lead role Wendla. Her angelic voice echoes throughout the theatre as pure as a ringing bell from her first scene to the last. Jonathan Groff, who plays the male lead Melchior, comes off a little flat against the colorful supporting characters.

The choreography, done by Bill T. Jones, is at times beautiful and at other times odd. I found the phrase of movement repeated throughout the show to be quite interesting, yet I could decipher no real reason or meaning for it. There were points in the show when I felt that the movement expressed the pent up sexuality of the characters, and other times when it seemed that the characters were simply playing with themselves. or mentally challenged.

The set design and lighting design were brilliantly executed. It is obvious that these two designers worked very closely together to achieve a certain aesthetic. The show is played on a simple acting space with audience on three sides and the band behind. The characters intermingle with the audience, some vocalists are seated as members of the audience the entire time. This Brechtian presentation forces actors to become observers thereby almost making the "audience" another character in the play. I would even go so far as to say that at times, the set and lighting were just as interesting as the characters on stage.

New York Times, New York Post, and USA Today have all called this the best musical of the year. I would have to agree. (But I have not seen any of the others). The raw energy of this show leaps from the stage early in the show (BITCH OF LIVING) and stays strong. Due to plot points being resolved in the second act, the mood is much softer and the energy is a little low. I'd love another big number early in ACT 2, but honestly couldn't imagine where it would go.

Overall, I think that Spring Awakening is the show to beat at this year's Tony's. I hope that this show stays around for a while. It is so refreshing to see something on Broadway that is truly original. Like it or lump it, Spring Awakening is a force to be reckoned with.

Enjoy the clips:

Anna Nicole Smith

2007-02-08T16:01:00.000-05:00

I have learned that Anna Nicole has passed away. Get ready for the media maelstrom to commence. Its so strange that this one event can trump all of our PR efforts.
uggh.

OK, now that the news has broken....
I can not believe that I knew about it moments after it happened. MOMENTS. Calls poured in from all over bumping our client.

Now we just have to take this and use it to our client's advantage.

Anna Nicole Smith was just slapped with a class action lawsuit yesterday due to her TrimSpa campaign. It's a shame when someone's celebrity is related to their drug use, family trauma, and string of lawsuits. This was inevitable.

Now, the question I ask you....how come i know within minutes of Anna Nicole's death? Wonder how much better this world would be if every soldier that died in Iraq got the same media attention---we knew all about their life, their children, their families.
When we were at the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, I noticed the following quote:

"One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did, but whose faces have remained in the shadows. Perhaps it is better that way: if we were capable of taking in all the suffering of all those people, we would not be able to live." Primo Levi

Wonder how different we would be if we DID know?
ADDENDUM:
This is from THINKPROGRESS. I have to admit that I am quite embarrassed.

References to Anna Nicole and Iraq on Cable Networks After 3PM ET:

NETWORK ANNA NICOLE IRAQ

CNN 141 27

FOX NEWS 112 33

MSNBC 170 24

Time Of Segments Devoted to Anna Nicole and Iraq on Broadcast Networks:

NETWORK ANNA NICOLE IRAQ

NBC 3:13 0:14

CBS 2:00 2:17

ABC 2:21 2:58

Transcript:

LARRY KING: The death of Anna Nicole Smith — it’s the number one story around the world tonight.

BILL O’REILLY: Hi, I’m Bill O’Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight. The talking points memo will be in our second segment this evening. It concerns how the left sees Americans killed in Iraq. But first, 39-year old Anna Nicole Smith dead in Florida.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: For better or for worse, would you call Anna Nicole Smith an American icon of the early 21st Century?

ANDERSON COOPER: Jennifer, you met Anna Nicole back in the early-90s through Playboy. You saw her at the Playboy mansion. What was she like back then?

GUEST: Back then…I remember coming home from college and everyone was talking about this really hot woman and um…

RITA COSBY: Although it’s interesting — we talked to a friend earlier today and he was saying she was dumb like a fox.

GUEST: Exactly.

ANDERSON COOPER: ‘Cause a lot of women become Playboy Playmates, but they don’t end up with long careers — certainly not in the spotlight.

MSNBC GUEST: But you know everytime we saw Anna Nicole, the reason people are watching is to see what she said or what she was trying to say through some of her slurred words.

GRETA VAN SUSTERN: Anna Nicole did not live anonymously in the Bahamas. People there knew she was living there.

RITA COSBY: So what was the charismatic blonde like behind the lens, and why was she so intriguing to so many people?

LARRY KING: Larry, this story will have a lot of legs, won’t it?

GUEST: Oh absolutely.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: David, why the obsession with Anna Nicole Smith? Why have the cable shows and even the broadcast news shows — and certainly the morning shows tomorrow — why have they all focused in on this story? And why are they going to be providing a lot more time to Anna Nicole Smith than the war in Iraq and the possible coming war with Iran?

GUEST: Well, you know, America has fallen in love with Anna Nicole Smith.

JACK CAFFERTY: Is Anna Nicole Smith still dead, Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER: Yes, We’re going to be updating our viewers shortly on –

CAFFERTY: Can’t wait for that.

BLITZER: — the mysterious circumstance surrounding that. Jack, thank you.
(SOURCE)

Couch to 5k Week 1 Run 2

2007-02-02T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well, here is my second run of the "training" program. There was a lot of rain, and I was dodging puddles the whole time (while getting wet). But, I still feel like I did a great job. If the image does not load, I did a total of 2.59 miles in 32 min and 13 seconds. (this is still the same 5 min warm up, 60 sec. run, 90 sec walk (repeat 6 times) then cool down for 5 minutes) I will be doing this again tomorrow, then next week moving on to Week 2 of the challenge.

I have also challenged my self to log 28 miles this month. Should be easy, if each of these is 2.5 miles. (They will be longer next week because there is more runnin')

Hope that everyone out there in Cyberbia has a great weekend. I know I sure am gonna try.

Speaking of trying, I think that Justen and I are going to take this new bottle of $20 wine we bought and go to the cafe on the corner. Gotta love New York--where you can bring your own bottle. everywhere.

Overheard in Forest Hills

2007-02-01T15:25:00.000-05:00

Overheard today in Forest Hills, NY
Group of 3 13 year-olds:

Girl: Did you know that Zeus had sex with three girls?
Boy 1: Really?
Boy 2: What's his last name?
Boy 1: Who's class is he in?
Girl: We don't know him. He's a God.
Boy 1: A God?
Girl: Yeah, a Greek God.
Boy 2: Oh.

I thought I was going to choke on my Cherry Coke.

Children of Men

2007-01-31T13:40:00.000-05:00

Last night, Justen and I decided on a whim to go out for "date night" (since we had tried this weekend, but didnt make the movie). We are trying to make our rounds to see all of the Oscar movies (that we are interested in) before the big night. Last night we decided on dinner at Locale in Astoria, and then seeing CHILDREN OF MEN.

I will talk more about Locale later, as it is one of our frequents, but for now I will talk about CHILDREN OF MEN.

As anyone who knows me can attest, I am not the biggest Sci-Fi fan in the world. Justen has gotten hooked on Battlestar Gallactica, and allthough I think that the show is beautiful, I seem to lose interest. Generally with Sci-Fi, there is so much back-story that I don't know that I don't really buy into the whole thing, and mostly feel kinda dumb when I watch it.

Anyways, CHILDREN OF MEN basically takes place in the year 2023, when the world is infertile and basically collapsing on itself. The major powers of the world have crumbled, and the UK exists as a police state. There are severe treatments of immigrants (very Guantanamo Bay) and sweeping views of rampant warfare (very USA in Iraq) and even a few throwbacks to the Holocaust. And this is just to the casual viewer.

Much of the movie is filmed hand-held with long sweeping shots (which I love). There is even a moment when the lens gets splattered with blood, and you can see how long the shot is because the blood (obviously) stays there.

The film stars Clive Owen and Julianne Moore (and I am a fan of both) and as a wonderful supporting character, Michael Caine. The problem with this film is that I went in expecting one thing, and definitely got another. I went in expecting something very heady, very thick, very suspenseful. Thats not quite what this is. It is very Bourne Identity in the way that it is just an action movie with a very simple plot, yet the former definitely introduces many interesting plot twists that this film does not.

The main twist in this film occurs when you discover that the "rescuers" may or may not have been responsible for a major death in the film. This twist is not quite unexpected, and our protagonists drive on towards their goal.

There is a beautiful scene in the film when the baby is brought through a war zone, and as the baby cries, everyone stops and stares. (There has not been a baby born for almost 19 years). The fighting quickly resumes as our clever Clive Owen manages to dodge bullets that are flying every which-a-way. After all that gun-fire, it seems odd that he is only hit once in the whole film.

The vision of "the future" is not far off from where we are now (which I am sure is intentional) the environment is a wasteland, government is corrupt, and people destitute. You would think that the movie would be more interesting than it is.

My First Couch to 5K training session

2007-01-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I promised that I would update you on the state of my new "Couch Potato to 5k" training.
I ran/walked the first training run of this week. It was actually VERY easy. I barely broke a sweat (well, it is very cold) and I barely lost my breath.
Here is the status of my run:
Basically, I ran for 29:02. There was 5 minutes of warm-up and 5 minutes of cool-down. The graph you see is imported from my Nike+ website, and shows my "pace" throughout the run. Actually, I didn't do too shabby. I bet there are a lot of other beginners out there who don't cover almost 2.5 miles in the training. (Remember you are only running for 60 seconds at a time--then walking for 90 seconds.)

I will keep you posted. Tomorrow, I will do the 8-minute mile again, and go back to the long run on Wednesday.

Hope all is well out in Cyber-bia. (Did I just make that up? If I did, it's mine, if not--oops)

OH- I almost forgot...after my "workout" Lance Armstrong came onto my Ipod, introduced himself, and said "Congratulations, that was your longest workout yet!"
How cool am I?

Please Help Me----

2007-01-29T16:35:00.000-05:00

I would like to ask your help. New York State Senate is about to vote on a bill that would increase the punishment for people who run puppy mills, fight animals, etc. Basically, this law would increase the crime to a felony for people who torture, beat, injure or kill, or deprive food or drink to 10 or more animals at a time.

Please politely urge your senator to support S913.

Then sleep a little better tonight knowing that you have given innocent animals a chance to live.

If you do not know what to write, here is a copy of what I wrote to my Senator:

Dear Senator Onorato:
I would like to take a second of your time and urge you to support Senate Bill 913. If it becomes law, S913 will make it a felony to torture, cruelly beat, unjustifiably injure or kill, or deprive of adequate food or drink to 10 or more animals at a time.
As you may know, animal abusers who wrong large numbers of animals—including animal hoarders, puppy-mill operators, and those who fight dogs and birds—are notoriously unlikely to end their cruel ways, especially when they only face misdemeanor charges. This piece of legislation would ensure that such criminals are appropriately charged for their cruel acts.
Thank you so much for taking a stance on this important issue. It is important that we New Yorkers speak up for those who have no voice to speak for themselves.
Best Wishes,Daniel Meredith

Interesting stuff.

2007-01-29T13:21:00.000-05:00

What else will they think of.

Should Naomi join?

Dogster: the dog lovers community to share pictures, stories, and information.

Everywhere I went, I was RUNNING

2007-01-28T19:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I noticed that I needed new sneakers, so I went to Macy's to take a look. I had a $25 off coupon, and while I was there, I became interested in the new NIKE+ shoe and program. Basically, there is this egg shaped piece of thing that sits in your left shoe, and talks to your ipod while you are running. It keeps up with your distance, speed, pace, etc. and loads it onto the internet.

This inspired me. I had heard about the "Couch to 5K" program before. Basically, it is a training program that gets you from couch potato to 5k runner in 9 weeks. I have decided to give it a shot. I will keep you posted. This is week one, and I have run a mile each day yesterday and today, but tomorrow, I start my "training" which are 20-minute intervals. I will do these intervals 3 days a week. On the days in between, I plan to do the quick little 8 minute mile that I already have started for myself.

Here is a description of what I will be doing this week:
"Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes."

I will let you know how I do. I have also given myself a goal of running four 8 minute miles this month. (These will be separate of the other training. Which is why I have challenged myself to only 4)

Keep your fingers crossed!

SO, Whats in a Name anways?

2007-01-24T11:58:00.000-05:00

As of late, I have been researching my ancestry. I think that we all reach a point in out lives where we wonder "Where Did I Come From?" (and not in the birds-and-bees sort of way). This question has plagued me for years. Different members of my family have said different things about "what we are" and I decided to find out for myself. My journey started a couple of years ago with a visit to the genealogy room at the Henderson County Public Library in Hendersonville, NC. (or as I say, "When I lived in the mountains") They have a room specially designed for library users to sit and spend hours tracing their roots. Thats where I began. Well, actually, thats where the thought began. Records of living people are kept confidential in most cases, so the best start for me was to speak with my family. I knew the names of all of my grandparents, and I knew a couple of my great-grandparents, but that was about it. After about a week, it slipped my mind... Until late this fall. I started wondering again--and started searching again. I joined ancestry.com (they had a special) and began my search. After a week or so, not only had I gained a lot of information (both records on ancestry.com and then webpages of people who have gone before and done research) but I had met several cousins in the process! What a small world it is. Bob, a cousin who lives in North Georgia (and who I was strangers with until this research) is a couple of generations older than me and has been researching our family for a while. He had in his records a letter written by my great-great grandfather that explained "Where we came from". In my own words, Here is what I learned....(oh ps, this is about the MEREDITH part of my family) Sometime in the 1760's three brothers left Wales for the United States. Their names were John, Charles, & William Meredith. (the Welsh spelling of my name is Maredudd or Meredydd--and the correct pronunciation is mu RAY duth) The naming system was patronymic, which means that all Meredith's are not related. Patronymic naming systems basically make the son's last name his father's first name. It's really complicated and interesting, and I don't want to go into it. Google it if u care.

John Meredith settled in Virginia and started a family there. His ancestors, according to my great great grandfather Virgil, were the "brained ones int he family". One of his children was Judge Meredith, who "filled Talmage's pulpit while he was touring Europe". Talmadge was a famous Presbyterian minister.

Charles Meredith settled in North Carolina, and most of his offspring began working in the rail road.

William Meredith (my ancestor) settled into South Carolina and lived there until after the Revolutionary War. He served in that war with distinction (as an officer). After the war he married and settled into Franklin County. One of his children, John (my ancestor) along with three of his brothers moved into Wilkinson County, Georgia in the spring of 1802 and settled on the Oconee River at Toomsboro. They were one of the few original settlers of the county. My family stayed there and eventually, my great grandfather (who worked on the rail road) moved to Montgomery, AL and became a foreman for the ACL, or the Atlantic Coast Line rail road.

That story is much abbreviated, but you get the idea.

Since I found out that I am of Welsh heritage, I have looked into Welsh society. My family (which is descended from Lord William Meredith) settles in central and southern Wales. The family had a tartan, but in Welsh society, tartans and kilts were not quite as important as they are to the Scots--all though they were quite important.

The Welsh spelled kilt "cilt" and many Welsh still honor tradition and wear their cilts today--especially in formal occasions. This is a photo of both our "Meredith" tartan and what a welsh cilt looks like. (The blue tartan to the left is the example of a cilt, the yellow and navy tartan to the right is the Meredith tartan. The very green one below is a more "modern" Meredith tartan. I like the classic one better.)

Why blog about all of this, i dunno. Hope you aren't bored.

I thought I wouldnt talk about this....but

2007-01-23T16:56:00.000-05:00

My mind has been reeling lately about Isaiah Washington and his use of the word "faggot" on the set of Grey's Anatomy, then his denial, then his joke, then his "meeting" with GLSEN.

First I thought that it was well-placed publicity for ABC, which given their ratings of late, needs absolutely no help. Then my mind started to bend some more. The New York Times recently made the editorial decision NOT to print the word "faggot". CNN has made the editorial decision to allow the use of the word. In a conversation with Glen Beck, talk show host Dave Glover and he had the following exchange: full transcript available here

BECK: Dave, what is the -- what is the controversy? One of the guys called another guy a naughty name.
GLOVER: Yes. Basically you have Isaiah Washington, who's one of the stars of the show, who referred to one of his co-stars during a heated argument as a derogatory term for a gay man that starts with "F", rhymes with maggot. Did it a couple more times after that. And do you like how I did that?

BECK: Yes.

GLOVER: And...

BECK: Do you know that The New York Times wouldn't even print -- I mean, we can say the word. We`re having an adult conversation here. Wouldn't even print the word "fagot [sic]."

GLOVER: Right.

BECK: Wouldn't print it. I find that amazing.

Now I feel like it is my turn to have "an adult conversation" here. I feel, and think that people would agree with me, that the word "faggot" is indeed culturally accepted as defamatory. I also think that people will agree that the rights of homosexuals (since homos are indeed human) is a civil rights issue. I will further purport that people will be able to call to mind (without me listing them all here) many other defamatory words that people use. It is unfortunate that there seems to be a hierarchy of defamation. People today feel less guilty using the word "faggot" and other defamatory homosexual slurs than they do, for instance, making remarks against Jews, African Americans, or Hispanics--among others. This has got to stop.

Andy Towle at towleroad has said, "It is now ABC's turn to step up to the plate and demonstrate that they have zero tolerance for anti-gay bigotry by firing Washington." (source)
And I have to agree with him. Grey's Anatomy is one of the largest shows on television now. We, as caring human beings, need to continue to speak out against this indecency until our voices are heard. It has been reported that Mr. Washington has indeed had a meeting with GLSEN to understand what steps he needs to take to "heal" this wrongdoing. (Mama said always start with an apology--and not to me....to Mr. T.R. Knight). Will this happen? As a publicist, I know that Mr. Washington's publicist will indeed issue all kinds of "statements" that he/she has written for him where Mr. Washington appears to grovel. It is quite possible that Isaiah never wrote, much less read these "statements". Given Mr. Washington's behavior when flippantly making jokes about the remarks he made, I find it hard to believe that he is not a homophobe. What Mr. Washington needs is to be fired.

It has been said that the American people shine lights too brightly onto our celebrities, and whereas I believe that is true, I do know that in order to become a celebrity, you have to make a choice to make it happen, and hire many people to insure that it happens. Celebrities are celebrities because they want to be. It is their responsibility to live a life under a microscope. It is our responsibility to end the attention when we choose fit. How? By merely allowing the person to fall back in to obscurity. From this moment forward, I pledge to do so towards Mr. Isaiah Washington. I intend to never speak or write his name from this moment forward. I will abstain from watching Grey's Anatomy until he is no longer featured. (i'm not a huge fan anyways. I have seen the show twice) I will also use my database to send these sentiments to the producers and executives of the show.

I urge you to do the same thing. Condemn the behavior. Demand catharsis. Remember, ABC is the top network now because we watch it. Never forget that you have the power to change that. Thursdays at 9/8 central.

2007-01-22T10:27:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of Andy Towle at TOWLEROAD:

Yesterday, George W. Bush issued a White House proclamation that Sunday was National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2007:

"America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth. National Sanctity of Human Life Day helps foster a culture of life and reinforces our commitment to building a compassionate society that respects the value of every human being."

Meanwhile, 12 U.S. soldiers died in a helicopter crash on Saturday, bringing the total number of American troops killed in Iraq to 3,054. Let's not forget the other coalition forces and the thousands of Iraqi civilians. The rest of the grim figures are here.

And Story Landis, the National Institutes of Health official overseeing the implementation of President Bush's embryonic stem cell policy, which is filled with restrictions, made what the Washington Post called "an unusually blunt statement" that the program is "delaying cures".

Yet Bush says he plans to veto a bill passed by the House this month that would lift restrictions.

Bush says he values the sanctity of human life yet pushes policies that say just the opposite. As AmericaBlog notes, a "mind-numbing hypocrisy".

That is so Gay

2007-01-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

I copy this post from Sodomy Creek. Its a great blog. I'd love to hear your responses to this, as I agree with the author.
*******
Last week a friend of mine (Amber) did a short post about using the term “retarded” as an insult. I whole heartedly agree with her, although I too have been guilty of using the term when I was younger, but do not use it currently. I really don’t hear the term used as much as I used to. Maybe it is because I am older and most of the people that I hang out with have the common sense not to the use the word retarded in a derogatory manner. It might also just be an internal censoring mechanism of sorts where I just tune out anyone who uses the word in such a way. After all they don’t deserve to be listened to anyway if they talk in such a manner.

However there is one term that I just cannot tune out, when someone says something is “gay”, and it grates on my nerves every time I hear it. I am sure you all know what I am talking about. Very rarely is the person actually saying something is “happy”, nor do they actually mean something is “homosexual” (As in, “Look at that guy in the pink assless chaps, that is so GAY!”). Although the underlying meaning of the word “gay” is meant to be homosexual, the inferred meaning is “stupid”. In essence making Homosexual = Stupid. I suppose the main reason I can’t seem tune it out is, as a gay man, it is offensive to me personally.

I can sometimes hear this phrase echoing through my ears coming from conversations that I am not even a part of, such as several tables away in a crowded restaurant, behind me in a movie theater, across the room at a party, etc. It is usually coming out of the mouth of some teenage boy. If it is a group of young people, then it is often used repeatedly, as if it were the only phrase they knew. However, it is also not that uncommon to hear this phrase coming from someone who you would think should know better.

I bring this up because while I was at lunch the other day with some co-workers. At a table near to us was what appeared to be a mother and her teenage son. During the conversation I heard the boy refer to the person he was talking about as a “retard”. The mother quickly leaned in a whispered what I assume to be a reprimand because the boy said “Yes ma’am, I’m sorry”. There was a brief, uncomfortable pause in the conversation between the two as a result and the boy looked around the restaurant at the big screen TVs which were showing various sporting events. Apparently something about the restaurant’s choice of games was unsatisfactory and less than minute after being admonished the first thing the boy says was “That is so gay! (quite loudly) Why aren’t they showing…?” The boy went on for several minutes, uninterrupted, about how they should be showing such and such game. However, there was no reprimand this time. I was annoyed. Apparently “retarded” was unacceptable but “gay” was perfectly OK.

Key West

2007-01-18T20:28:00.000-05:00

Justen and I just got back from a wonderful relaxing week in the Florida Keys. I will post a couple of photos below.

This is Justen and I at the beach called "Sunset Beach" which is in Key Colony Beach. (Its on Marathon Key). The picture, while beautiful, is somewhat staged. We were watching the sunset with Marcus, Jen and Eileen (from TVs Law and Order CI).
This is me with my head through a hole to make a funny picture. In Key West.

This is Justen and I at Mile Marker Zero. (its a big landmark there) The End of The Road....

Here we are at the Southernmost Point. It also could probably qualify as the world's largest Sex Toy. I'm just sayin'
Did you know that Earnest Hemmingway's cats all had 6 toes? Me either. Now you do.

I have plenty more to share, but I don't want to waste it all at once. Patience is a virtue.
Stay tuned loyal readers.....if there are any out there.

I am in Fangoria

2007-01-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

This is about the movie that I wrapped this past summer. Just so you know, this is mature-ish content. If you are a child, you shouldnt be reading my page anyway. (But totally SFW)

http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=3046

12 of 12

2006-10-13T11:22:00.000-04:00

I have been watching people all over the world participate for a while, so I decided to give it a go. Here is the basic premise: on the 12th of the month, you take 12 photos of your day and share it with the world. This is the brain child of Chad Darnell, and you can visit his site to see other people's 12 of 12.

So, without further ado, here is my October 12th, 2006, and also my first ever 12 of 12.

10:14 am- Out of the shower and ready to leave for work. Except that I am not all the way dressed yet. Note how happy I am that I have slept in a bit today.

10:20 am-- Naomi in the bed. She always jumps right into where I was sleeping and cuddles up next to Justen and goes to sleep where I was. It is cute every single morning, but always makes me want to get back into the bed.

10:35- Getting to the train station to head to work. Note that because I am running late, my photography is not so good.

10:40- Here comes my carriage.

10:55 am- Walking to work, and see the most beautiful display of Autumn in New York. Had to snap the photo....even though I was probably going to be late.

11:10 am-- Booting up the computer at the desk and running through the news. This I do every morning. You can't see but there is a TV to my right that has CNN playing all day. Have to keep up on breaking news, as well as watch all of the daytime shows. (for media placement--oh havent told you, I do PR). Todays news was all about the plane crash that had me crazed the day before. (Justen works near there, and I was worried that he would have trouble getting home on the train...alas, he didn't)

2:15 pm- Lunch. A grill cheese sandwich. Reading both the Wall Street Journal and emails that I had to print from the office, because I didn't have time to read them. Note: I saved the chips and ate them later as a snack. I knew I had a long day ahead of me.

6:55 pm--Walking to an event in midtown west, I was standing in Bryant Park, and caught a great view of the Empire State Building.

7:05 pm--I attended the opening of the alice + olivia boutique in Manhattan. (Thanks Randi!) They weren't quite ready for us when we got there, so we are waiting outside to go in. The paint on the walls was still wet, but I did get to see some old friends, and met Moby.

9:30 pm-- Back at home, Justen had ordered pizza. We had pizza and watched The Office, Earl and some other shenanigans. If you look closely on the windowsill, you will spot a halloween decoration.

10:30 pm-- About to watch My name is Earl off of the DVR. DVR has completely changed my life.

11:45 pm--Justen and I hanging out on the sofa, had a couple of beers and watching TV. Note that Justen does not seem too excited to have his photo taken. He really was smiling, a second later.

*BONUS* This is the 13th, and optional bobus photo. This month's theme was Halloween. I chose to photo the haloween candles that we grabbed at target last week. How cute are they?

Okay, so by doing this, I have realized a couple of things: 1) I spend a lot of time on the train.
2) I hate leaving home in the morning
3) I dont think that I am a very good photographer.

Oh well, there is always next month. Go here and check out the 12 of 12, and better yet, do it with me next time! Either way, drop Chad a line and tell him how cool this is...

XOXO

Photos from SKULL & BONES

2006-10-12T15:34:00.000-04:00

Thought you may want to see some production stills from the film Skull & Bones that I shot this summer. I play Zack, a student at an Ivy league college who becomes a victim of two young serial killers. More to come.....

ITS A RANT!!!

2006-08-02T18:01:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I have to do this, but here goes...these are some things that I am completely tired of. Completely.

1)Stinky Sweaty People with No Deodorant: Last time I checked there were hundreds of bottles of deodorant and anti-perspirant at the store. I am so tired of my entire neighborhood smelling like a sweaty third-world armpit. This is America. We hate body odor. You have it. Get a clue. Can't you tell that people's noses squinch when you are near? If there can be a law that we have to wear seatbelts, then there should be one that we have to wear deodorant. Its a matter of public health.

2) Flip Flops: Women. If you have on a cute outfit, $300 worth of makeup, and cheap shower shoes with black dirty calloused feet that have a french manicure---i hope that you fall into the subway tracks.

3)Hispanic Men: You have got to stop playing with your balls. If they itch, nonchalantly scratch them. Dont walk down the street holding them. We arent going to try to take them. They are not going to escape. The macho act has got to go.

4)Guido Haircut: How many times do you have to be told. You look horrible. No gay man would ever be caught dead with that hairstyle. Take a clue. You look rediculous...and its dangerous to your fellow humans. How long does it take you to make that piece of work? Oh, and dont do it to your kids. They dont know how ugly they look.

5)Panhandlers: no. you may not have a cigarette, a dollar, my coke, my biscuit or anything else. Stop riding the subway after days of pissing yourself. I know that you dont have a home, but even when I am not at my home, I can still manage to remove my clothes before I pee. Even if I have to emergency pee in the alley.

6)Ladies with Babies: Where in the fuck are you going at rush hour? I know it is not to work, because you have triple decker strollers with babies stacked all over the place. I know that you can pick up your welfare AFTER rush hour. Please clear the streets. We need the sidewalks in the morning and in the afternoon. Let us have it. It is all we ask. Get out of the way! Stay home! We're trying to get to work and your shitty-diapered, tit-clinging, milk-breathed infant is in my way. OH dont breast-feed in public. Noone wants to see a drippy tit. Thanks.

7)Young Girls: Please make sure that your shirt covers the rolls of fat that are cascading over the top of your hip-hugging extra-tight jeans. Better yet...stop dressing like that for one month. During that one month, stick your finger down your throat and throw up everything you eat. When you no longer have hair or a period, you may again wear the outfit. Thanks. Anorexia and Bullemia are such great looks. Try it. Oh, ease up on the make-up. You look like a whore. There will be plenty of time to look like a whore when you are trying to fuck your way through high school. Thanks.

Dont hate me because I am honest. I am just trying to help people out. Thanks.

My New Hobby

2006-02-18T18:59:00.000-05:00

I love that I have a new hobby. Hope you enjoy the movie.

Thanks Google.

2006-02-07T00:12:00.000-05:00

Isnt this a hoot. Sometimes I browse the net and see a picture that i think would be fun. Sometimes, like today, i go to google and put something crazy in...like ronald mcdonald arrested. This is what I got.

I guess that the plants in the Burger King corporation finally got their way.

(that was stupid)

Well, I have begun the South Beach Diet. I am trying to get a little slimmed down before bathing suit season, and my 30th birthday. Today is day two, and I had a little bit of Coke. Oh well. cant be perfect.

Naomi was sick last night, and Justen and I got all worried. I think things are fine now, so I wont belabour it.

ok, i cant type much more. I did some push ups, and my arms hurt.

Stiff Upper Lip!

2006-01-20T13:16:00.000-05:00

The above is a photo of a whale spotted swimming in the Thames River in Central London this morning. According to BBC News, the 7 Ton whale has made its way up the Thames to central London where it is being watched by riverside crowds. The whale is a 16-18 foot bottle-nosed whale. This species usually is found in deep sea waters (Arctic and North Atlantic) and lives on a diet of squid and fish.

A commuter on the tube reportedly called in at 8am to say that he may be hallucinating, but he thinks he saw a whale in the Thames. Liz Sandeman, a medic at the Marine Connection, a whale and dolphin protection organization, has said that "The last thing we want to do is stress the animal out." I hate it when scientist types use big words and noone can understand them.

This bottle-nosed whale (whose population is at a lower risk for extinction--they have been protected since the 70's) usually travels in groups of 3-10, but this one arrived alone. No one is really sure why the whale may be in the Thames, but it has been speculated by many that it may be "confused".

The curator of the London Aquarium has said, "Getting that thing to do anything it doesn't want to do is going to be extremely difficult. " I guess it would be.

Authorities in London are watching the whale for the rest of the day to see what it will do. It seems to be having trouble navigating around bridges and such, so scientists seem to think that its sonar isn't functioning properly. They are all hoping that the whale will leave the Thames before the flood-tide receeds, or it may become beached. Efforts could then be made to refloat it using specialist inflatable pontoon equipment that was being sent to the scene and could help direct it back towards the sea. In the meantime, brilliant Londoners merely stand in the water and splash away at it.

This is the same Londoners who were shocked and frightened one day when a seagull dropped a barely dead piranha onto a boat. Everyone was very worried how a piranha could be in London, since the water there is much too cold for it to survive. Thank God that in America piranhas do not fall from the sky.

But I guess the reason is that we are such a God Fearing Country.

Or maybe its because God Fears Our Country.

We just seem to blow up anyone who messes with us. Then go blow up people for blowing up people who mess with them. . . it's a very "Do as I say...not as I do" kind of country, the USA.

Happy Weekend.

Guilty Pleasures

2006-01-12T17:01:00.000-05:00

What is it about Guilty Pleasures that makes us feel so....guilty? I mean in this very me-centric culture, why should we feel bad for doing anything? Haven't the Oprah's of the world taught us that we should do whatever the hell we want to and not justify it to anyone? (Well within reason)

If you know me at all, you know that my stomach is shot. It's just a whole mess down there only inches from my throat. A couple of years ago, I went to the doctor complaining of upset tummy, and after an endoscopy, I learned that I had Barrett's Espohagus. Anyways...I had to give up many things that were staples of my diet.

Tomatoes are such a large part of America's culinary culture. Did you know that they are also extremely acidic? Too acidic for me to eat. Now. Think about this. No Tomatoes = No Ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Pizza, Marinara Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Garden Salad, and the list goes on and on and on. After all those years not liking tomatoes, now I Love them and can't eat them. I think that is what Dante called Divine Comedy.

No this little girl over here has not been playing in dirty diapers. She has merely been eating a little bit of chocolate. MMMMM Chocolate....creamy milky chocolate. I can't have it anymore. Yup, Chocolate is also extremely acidic, and makes the tummy problem worse. So for all of the little children out there, enjoy the chocolate while you can....even play in it like little girl over here. Cause one day you will grow up, and chocolate will make you ill. Perhaps if I, like this child over here, tried to insert the chocolate in my nose and eye, I could still eat it....

No, I'm not done with the chocolate rant. Why? Why does something that is so good have to be bad for you in so many ways. It seems that it should just be fattening, or just cause cavaties...or whatever. It should only have one detrimental outcome. No not dear chocolate...it has to run the gamut. Much like this child runs the gamut. Dirty. Mullet. Wal-Mart t-shirt. She is 7.5 years away from being toothless, pregnant, and owning her very own trailer.

This over here is big-ole deaf Christy from Survivor Amazon. Christy is the first deaf Survivor contestant. God damn. I love survivor. Not only do I watch the new episodes on CBS, but I also TiVo and watch all of the re-runs on OLN. Justen got me into it. This is a wonderful show. Survivor Amazon is currently on. Christy is still not voted off...allthough she may be...i can't remember. Who the fuck cares anyways. She is deaf. Had a full armpit of hair on day 1. And 5 minutes after she was on the island, she was complaining that noone liked her because of her disability. I don't think that is true. People were starting to get to know one another, and just had not made it to her yet. Plus maybe if they did say hello, she never heard it. That was so wrong for so many reasons. I don't dislike deaf people. I love deaf people. I think i even know how to perform the Hail Mary in Sign Language. I also can sign the chorus to We Are The World. I just don't like any person who lets a disability disable them.

Well, mu cousin Lauren, the photographer, is coming to NYC as we speak. She will be here tonight through Sunday and will be taking mine and Justen's headshots. Too bad I just got a haircut and look slightly chemotherapeudic. Oh well. You only live once. Might as well have fucked up hair. Dont have a pic of the hair. But I guess I will after Lauren takes some.

This is the end of the blog for today. Keep on Keepin on.

Disappointments

2005-11-28T11:10:00.000-05:00

dis·ap·point·ment - n.
The act of disappointing.
The condition or feeling of being disappointed.
One that disappoints.

I saw the movie version of RENT this past weekend. Needless to say (because of the title of this post) I was quite disappointed. Before going, I read the reviews online and was hoping that they were a bunch of snotty, stuffy bastards who had nothing better to do than slam this movie. I was wrong. They were right. The movie was lukewarm at best. Let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE RENT fan. There was a time in my life when I considered myself one of the RENT HEADS. I have seen the show on Broadway, seen many tours, own the soundtrack, and even personally know some of the cast members. I was still disappointed. This story was written for the stage. A very specific stage. The songs are very expository. The lyrics speak for themselves, and the story unfolds in the mind of the audience. It seemed as if the director called up all the original cast members, threw them into the East Village and said, "Do the show!"

After watching the movie, I pondered if the making of this movie was a task that anyone could have done. I like to believe so. I can remember years ago when the buzz was starting that a movie would be made, I was so very excited. This story spoke to me. It had to speak to everyone. What better way for it to speak to everyone than to put it on ever silver screen.

Maybe its my age.

Columbus has directed such box office hits as Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies. Why didn't he direct the last 2 Potter movies? I believe that they reason is because of CONTENT. Columbus is very good at directing, dare I say it, children's movies. His lush, indulgent, shallow style is quite beautiful, but empty. And that is how I felt this movie played. Emptily.

Did I care about the characters? Yes. Because of the movie? No. The actors in this film appear to be slightly distant from the world that they are portraying. Is it because the actors are 10 years older and 10 years beyond the material? Perhaps.

The movie Chicago is a great example of what should have happened to this story. That movie LEPT off of the stage and on to the screen. But Chicago isn't the same as RENT....ok, how about TOMMY--thats another rock opera. That movie rocked the screen. It was rediculous, over the top, yet still gripping. The story of RENT is already gripping. I think that the movie could have been.

Unfortunately this movie doesn't speak to a wide audience. Perhaps it just doesn't speak to me anymore. I had hopes that this film would have a mass appeal. Somebody's grandma in the Midwest would go see it and be shaken to her core. I was when I saw it 10 years ago. Why? Because I lived it....or at least thought I did...or at least wished I did.

Now that I have actually been here and seen the gentrification of the lower east side and village and how it is now...and seen neighborhoods that were like it was then, i know i wouldnt have wanted to be there. Maybe thats why the movie made me feel empty.

But I know these characters. I love these characters. I have lived with them for many years..their words and stories echo in scrapbook-like sections of my life.

Has "No Day But Today" lost some of its hold on me? Yeah I think it did a little...yesterday.

Our DISASTER

2005-11-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

Sometimes in life there are disasters. Hurricane Katrina was one such disaster. New Orleans practically wiped off the face of the earth. Large gambling ships in Biloxi blown onto the beach. Sea animals blown into parking lots. These are huge disasters. Era-defining disasters. Then there are other kinds of disasters.
Little teeny tiny disasters that only seem to have their effects felt in the tiniest of microchasms. Take this little dog here to the left, Kate. Kate broke her leg. Did you know about it? No? Why not? Her owner, Michael, felt so sad and destroyed that his dog had an accident that he posted an entire webpage on the internet discusing the dog's accident and chronicling her recovery. You mean you didn't read it? Well, needless to say, neither did I. This disaster (large though it may be to Kate's family and friends) did not affect my life at all.

How about this disaster here to the right? Extremely high gas prices. Staggeringly high gas prices. Did this disaster affect you? Does this image echo in your heart and wallet? Most likely it does. For me, though, this image was just a photo on the web, a blurb on the news, a bitch session from my family. Why? I have no car. I live completely at the mercy of the ever so wonderful New York City mass transit system, MTA. Our loving subway runs on electricity, so gas prices did not affect fares. Our busses and cabs run on gasoline though, yet Mayor Bloomberg would not let fares rise in order to protect his precious economy and tourism revenue. Cab fares are still reasonable. Prices have not risen one penny. Gas prices in New York City never shot up. Now the unthinkably high gas prices that have always been here are about even with the rest of the country. Payback? I think so. All those years of tourists driving here only to scream, kick, spit, and yell when looking at the prices at the Sunoco or the Gaseteria. (Gaseteria is my favorite of the gas stations. One thinks of a toothless woman wearing a hair net dispensing gas and mashed potatoes). Now after all of this dissertation on disasters, I have a disaster of my own to share with everyone.
Just the other day, I awoke, took a shower, got dressed for work like I always do. When I was standing at the bathroom sink brushing my teeth, I happened to look up at the ceiling and noticed that the ceiling appeared to be sagging a little. I stood there in my "before noon" haziness and contemplated if the ceiling always sagged like that and I never noticed it before. Then to test it out, I jumped on top of the toilet and placed my hand on the sag, and it felt like it gave a little. Note that I did not press on the sag. I decided to call the landlord. After telling them that the ceiling appeared to be sagging, and having her ask "what do you mean sagging" and me explaining "Sagging means that it is hanging down a little bit from where it used to hang before." I hung up and went to finish getting dressed before leaving for work. Then I heard it. It sounded like the ceiling fell in. Well, the reason it sounded like that is because that is exactly what happened. The ceiling fell in. Thats the photo over there of what our bathroom looks like now. Note that it is much cleaner now than I found it. When I went to investigate the sound, there was half a ceiling hanging down from the ceiling, and there was gross shit and black mold all over the bathroom. Thank God our toothbrushes have covers on them. After I called the landlord back to tell them that the ceiling indeed had fallen, they came over and speculated that it was because the upstairs neighbors had been using too much water in their bathroom...like washing clothes in the floor or something. That was all they said. They also said later that the ceiling had to be left open for several days to dry out. Meanwhile...there is still debris and black mold falling from the ceiling onto the bathroom floor. Justen and I both have horrible allergies, but most importantly, little Naomi has allergies. And she is so little. That's her over there being all little and stuff. Now, not to sound persnickedy (sp.) or anything, but shouldn't we be given some other answers? Shouldn't we be given some BETTER answers? Shouldn't we be in the Ritz-Carlton now with a view of the park? Okay maybe not a view of the park, but at least a view of the city. Shouldn't we be furious? Well, we are furious. Shouldn't we go upstairs to the Walker's apartment (not their real name..its a pseudonym because they walk constantly all around the apartment..24 hours a day) and beat them senseless. Or at least cave in their ceiling? How can we get catharsis for OUR disaster? When will FEMA arrive to help us? (well its only day 2. They didn't go to New Orleans till day 3) Shouldn't Anderson Cooper be over here crying and interviewing us while CNN presses cameras into the gaping hole in our ceiling through which you can see the upstairs BATHTUB? Shouldn't our landlord at least had the decency to call after the maintenance men left to say "We're working on it" or "You have to let it dry out" or "Did you understand the maintenance men? I know that English is not their first, second or third language." Did any of this happen...NO. Anderson Cooper is not here. FEMA is not here. Our phones have not rang. All we know is what broken Spanish Justen could scrape out of the maintenance men. I guarantee you if the ceiling fell in at THEIR apartment, it would be fixed. I guarantee that the LANDLORD wouldnt have to stay in the apartment with black mold falling from the ceiling. Don't we deserve better than this?

Diarrhea Donut Shop

2005-11-17T21:59:00.000-05:00

I know that this post has a HORRIBLE name, but sometimes its best just to share it with everyone in a way that gets attention. Sometimes on the way to work, or when out leisurely walking along, i get a little hungry and have frequently stopped into THIS bagel shop.

it has to be one of the most popular bagel destinations in the neighborhood, and i see them EVERYWHERE. This one in particular is at Broadway and 35th in Astoria.
The first few times that I ate there, I noticed that every time I would get where I was going, I was having terrible abdominal pains and immediately had to go to the bathroom....DIARRHEA.
Since I am one of those people who have chronic stomach problems, I thought this was mere coincidence. So I decided to break it up a bit. I would eat bagels from other local shops. No problems....then I would go back to this place:

and give it another try. DIARRHEA. So, i have come to a decision. This place should change its name to Diarrhea Donuts. Thats what they serve. Justen even said that after eating one of the bagels from there his tummy felt funny. Maybe he was just sympathizing with me...or maybe it is a conspiracy.
I know how supermodels and lots of other New York types would welcome watery bowels. There is nothing better for the figure than an epidemic.

BUT faithful friends, I need to be able to keep my food down. I work sometimes 16 hours a day! How many hours does Kate work? How many lines does kate snort?
Anyways...the morale of the story is...Diarrhea sucks. errr, blows.

The HBO Premiere

2005-11-14T00:39:00.000-05:00

Oh, I forgot to post the picture of me at teh HBO Premiere for the Tourette's Documentary. Without further ado...here is me and my boss and my $600 suit.

and thats all she wrote.

Pochahontas

2005-11-14T00:28:00.000-05:00

Tonight I spent a lot of time adding photos to my photobucket.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d181/dmeredith2/
Its kinda fun to pore through digital images of yourself and put them up for potentially the entire world to see....potentially.

So, I decided to give a little story from my life.

Justen and I worked together at the outdoor drama, UNTO THESE HILLS in the summer of '03. One evening when we were there, for some reason or another, there was no power. No, the dorms we were in had no air conditioning, so we depended on the fans in our windows to put cool air from the mountain stream outside our window into the room. So when the electricity went out...no dice...

We were stuck. would we stay there all night long sweating and cursing..or would we brave the tourist trap cum historical landmark that is Cherokee, NC and look for suitable accomodation. We braved it. (note use of the word brave. we were playing indians in the drama. ironically, cherokee did not call their young warriors braves. That is just a baseball phenomenon)

It was at about 4am that we stumbled across the pochahontas motel. We had tried many others, but they were too expensive. We just wanted to take a bath, turn on the airconditioning, and go to sleep.

While Justen was taking a bath, I wanted to give him peace and quiet (a luxury we had not yet experienced since being on the hill together) so I went outside armed with my digital camera.

This is what awaited me. The swimming pool that used to be in front of the motel is now a gravel flower bed. It had been raining. The roads were deserted. I dont look the least bit tired.

As can be seen in this photo taken minutes later.

Well, nothing exciting happened. To my left there in the last photo is a Coke Machine (which is no longer there last time I drove by Pochahontas). I bought a soda, took a bath, and Justen and I went to bed with the TV on. We had not had a TV in quite a while either...well one that wasnt playing DVDs.

Gosh I miss living up on top of a mountain. The biggest decision of my day was whether I would go to dance class today...or skip it and have to go the rest of the week.....

SURVIVOR

2005-10-30T22:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, I wanna talk a little about Survivor. It is my guilty pleasure. Not only am I currently hooked on Survivor Guatemala, I am watching all of the re-runs on OLN. Yes. I have seen Survivor Australia, Africa, and now Marquesas. So far, Australia is my favorite. It was a season with all really likable people, and you could tell that they all really liked each other. Which brings me to this survivor. I cant really believe that they sent AMY home. She is a freaking linebacker. I think that they needed the strength a little longer...and she would have been an easy pick off later on. I think that Gary's lying ass should have gone home this time.
I read in Variety that Bobby John and Danni are both really evangelical Christians. Thank God they dont have all that praying in there. In Marquesas it seems like everytime the camera angles change...someone in praying. Give me a break...or give God a break God has better things to do than to make sure you win a million dollars. Hes got Hurricanes to make.
Speaking of hurricanes....
I am starting publicity this week on a book by Time Magazine called,"Hurricane Katrina:The Storm that Changed America". The cover is a shot of the flooded New Orleans area. It is all brown and looks like someone threw up on it. Thing is...there are some really great photos inside that would have made a better cover...there is one on the inside front page of a Mardi Gras Mask that is on te ground and all dirty and messed up. That would have made a better cover.
Anyways, SO back to AMY. I think that she proved to the tribe that she was a good hard worker and stiff competition....maybe they thought she would win too many immunities....but I doubt it with that ankle that kept getting worse. Maybe they voted her off so she could go to the doctor. Who knows. Who cares really. She is voted off. I wonder how far Stephenie will get....looks like Bobby Jon might make the jury after all. Wonder if Lydia will get much farther....

My first post

2005-10-30T22:18:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am on Blogger. I have been on LiveJournal for a while, but I never posted. I probably wont ever post here either. I wanted to start by posting picture of the play that I am doing now.

Yup thats me fingering the squirrel. Fun Times.
So, i think that is about all that I can post tonight. God my life is so interesting.

NETWORK	ANNA NICOLE	IRAQ
CNN	141	27
FOX NEWS	112	33
MSNBC	170	24