Next to Normal Night in NY C

To celebrate Shane's birthday yesterday, we traveled to New York City,
ate at a very nice restaurant (Il Mulino in the Village) and then saw
Next to Normal on Broadway. It was the third time we saw the show and
is our favorite. There is now new people playing the main characters,
so it was different. Nobody can match Tony-winner Alice Ripley's
performance, but the new cast was also amazing. The show itself is
amazing and I highly recommend it. Both the music and story are very
good. I think Shane had a good day. I know I did. My wallet--not so
much.

NYC Trip--Filming Gossip Girl In Our Hotel

Happy Birthday Shane!

Shane turns 40 today, and to celebrate we're taking the train to New
York City! This was taken just as we were arriving in Wilmington, DE.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #251

Gary Coleman is still waiting on his tailor fitting.

This is my submission for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #251.  Let me know if you come up with a doozy. 

Maude's Not Thrilled to See the Vet Again

I took Maude for another visit to the Vet this morning, and she was not very happy about it.  She had a "scooting" issue that we thought needed some follow-up.  This was taken while we were waiting to see the Vet in the examination room--I just caught her in mid-meow.  She isn't as upset as this photo makes her appear.  This doesn't compare with her disdain when she was actually having her butt examined.  I never heard such a yowl.  However, she survived and doesn't seem the worse for wear.  We got some worm pills as a precaution and an admonishment about her weight (15 lbs. 8 oz., she loves to eat).  Luckily, her butt health seems fine.

Mark Is Old, But Still In His Forties

Our friends Dick and Randy sent me this birthday greeting today.  They are very sweet to remember me.  The video is hilarious.  Thanks guys!

I turn 49 today--another year closer to death, but still not dead.  As Dylan Thomas said, "Do not go gently into that good night."  And I don't plan to lay down and die just yet.  As a matter of fact, I think I'll start another running streak today (but I think that every day).

Maude Squats in Bed

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #249

Accounting just isn't going to approve buying 20 tons of sand.

No running!  No horseplay!  Final warning!

Ergonomic said this type of chair would fix my neck pain, but every 

time I reach for the phone, I fall on my ass.  Now that's your job.  

These are my captions for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #249.  Use comments to suggest other captions or, you know, to make a comment.

Hot Hot Hot!!!

That is 103 on the car thermometer. It just went down from 104!

Tweet of the Day - Yoko Tweets

July 24, 2010: "Next time you meet a 'foreigner', remember it's only like a window with a different shape to it and the person who's sitting inside is you."  Gotta love the Yoko... 

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #248

Sweetie, you don't always win by finishing first.

I need my oil checked. Where's your dip stick?

Fasten your seatbelt, it's going to be a bumpy night.

I never met anyone with a dual exhaust.  It's kind of gross.

Will you please stop calling them headlights?

This is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #248.  Above are my suggested captions.  Which one should I enter, if any?  Let me know if you have any captions too.

Waiting to See Idina Menzel at Wolf Trap

Shane and I are sitting on the lawn at The Wolf Trap National Park
for the Performing Arts to see stage, screen and TV star Idina Menzel
perform. She was the original Maureen in Rent and the wicked witch in
Wicked. She most recently played Lea Michaels mother on Glee. We
also have watched her in the concert version of Chess. She is going
to be joined by conductor Marvin Hamlisch. We just saw her playlist
in the program and it includes Roxanne (by Sting), two songs she
wrote, Defying Gravity and I'm Not That Girl from Wicked, No Day But
Today from Rent, and 5 other showtunes. It should be good!

Maude Goes to the Vet

Shane and I loaded Maude up in her carrier and walked the two blocks to the vet for her first trip to the doctor.  Things went very well.  She did not like all the dogs in the waiting room, but once we were in the examination room, she did very well.  Shane snapped this while we waited for the doctor.

She got a clean bill of health, except for the advice for her to lose some weight, and we're waiting for the verdict on her stool sample.  She weighed 14.9 lbs. when we got her, according to the shelter records.  Today she weighed 14.12 lbs.  She is already on the road to a more svelte figure.

What Ever Happened to Doris Day?

I recently (9/13/11) replaced the video above with an audio video (the previous version from a movie was a broken link) and added the video below.  The scene below is a great one from The Man Who Knew Too Much by Alfred Hitchcock.  Doris sings "Que Sera Sera" very loudly so her kidnapped son, who they suspect is in the house, will hear.  Gotta Love Doris!

Maude Laying in the Window

Apparently I am becoming one of those bloggers that constantly posts photos of his cat.  Isn't she adorable? 

Patty Griffin Sings "Tony"

Shane heard this song on Pandora Radio. It is called Tony, by Patty Griffin. It is about a gay boy committing suicide--not exactly a happy song, but very well done. Shane can become obsessed over songs and want to hear them over and over and over. This is one such song. Hearing this has solidified his love of Patty, so we'll be hearing LOTS more from her. Thank Jeebus he is over his Yentl phase.

Classic Mrs. Slocombe from "Are You Being Served"

These are the types of things I can say now that we have a kitty.

And Then There's Maude!

Maude relaxes on the ottoman in our living room. She hid under the chair at first and I think she spent most of last night under the guest room bed, but she has used the litter pan (praise Jeebus!). She has only used the litter pan once in 24 hours, but she hasn't appeared to go outside the litter pan. She is a great cat, and we have no regrets. She loves to be petted and rubs up against us all the time. Things couldn't have gone better.

Riding Home from the Shelter

We picked our new cat, Maude, up from the DC shelter last night. She meowed all the way home, but has been adjusting pretty well to home life.

Living In a Musical

We went to visit Shane's grandmother in an assisted-living facility and we had to "SING" in and out.  Above is a photo of the Guest Registery with what we found out later was a slight typo.  I wish we would have figured that out before the second verse of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina."

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #247

There is no "Y" in Monkees and Davy Jones looks dead.

This is my caption for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #247. Click the link to enter your own caption and also share it here by leaving a comment.

Yoko Ono Is Following Me on Twitter

I was playing around with Twitter over the holiday weekend and started following a bunch of people, including Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon.  I was very surprised when she followed me back.  Now, she will be closely monitoring all my important tweets.  I hope she doesn't try and break up Shane and I.

You also might notice that I added a Twitter gadget in the sidebar.  Follow me and I'll follow you!  Also, if you follow Yoko, she'll most likely follow you too.  But, be ready to get lots of messages about peace and ending war, etc.  She's crazy about the peace.

Lunch at the Mucky Duck

Shane and I drove out to Capitva and had a wonderful lunch at the Mucky Duck. I had the seafood platter and Shane had BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp. Yummy!!!

Shane On the Beach In Front of the Mucky Duck

The Seafood Platter at the Mucky Duck

Enjoying the Mucky Duck Red Ale

Tweet of the Day -- Paula Poundstone on Kagan

Unable to discuss cases that might come before her, Supreme Court Nominee uses time during Senate confirmation hearings to clean out purse--Tweet from Paula Poundstone, 6/30/10.

We're Expecting!!!

Shane and I went to the DC animal shelter tonight and decided to adopt Maude.  She is about 3 years old and very fat. Her current name is Imagine, but we are going to rename her Maude.  She is a little stressed in this photo because she doesn't like other cats and they were out all over the place.  We think she is going to love living alone (with us) without all those other cats around.  We still have to pass our interview, but we hope to have her home with us very soon.

Maude and Shane

Maude

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #246

We'll have to go to plan B and throw him under the bus.

This is my caption for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #246. Click the link to enter your own caption and also share it here by leaving a comment.

Goin to Carolina In My Mind by James Taylor

In my virtual run to Florida, I'm halfway through South Carolina and I heard this song today and thought it would be appropriate to post.

Viirtual Run from DC to FL -- Update #16

This is another update on my progress doing a virtual run from our home in DC to our vacation home in Punta Gorda, Fl. It is a distance of about 1,003 miles.  You might notice these updates are becoming fewer and farther between, but I am still keeping track of my progress and still plugging along.  Now the big question is will I make it to Punta Gorda before the oil (not likely).

As I mentioned in my last update, I slacked off a bit on my trip to Florida over Memorial Day and fell behind in my progress. To make up for this, I have begun the Streak, which, as of today, is at day 19.  This is by far the most days I've ever run in a row, and I find it a great motivator, because I don't want to mess up my streak, so I run a minimum of 3 miles every day. EVERY DAY!  I realize there are people with much longer streaks.  I've read articles about people that have run every day for 70 years.  I am not one of those people... yet.  I'd have to live to be very old to become one of those people.  Here's an update on my progress.

Total Distance Run Since Last Update (May 26): 84.5 miles

Total Distance Run in 2010: 484 miles

Total Run Time: 66 hours 57 minutes

My Virtual Distance to Punta Gorda: 519

I am on track to being halfway to Florida (over the 500 mile mark) by July 1.  There are 6 more days in June and I plan on running at least 3 miles each day. As far as where I am on my virtual journey, I'm in the middle of South Carolina, just past Interstate 26 on I-95.

PUSH UPS

Goal for the year: 10,000

Total Push Ups Since Last Update: 25

Total Push Ups in 2010:  2,701

I have all but given up on doing the push-ups.  I hate push-ups.  HATE.  I am going to concentrate on the running goal for now. 

Where In the World Is Shane?

Shane is traveling this week.  He took this photo last night from a riverboat excursion he went on as part of a conference he is attending.  He is flying to Florida from his business trip, and is staying at our house in Punta Gorda until Sunday.  Can you guess were he is?  Below are photos from his hotel and another from the boat. 

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #245

Jesus Christ!  Who still uses Sanka?

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #245. Let me know if you come up with any captions too.

Landscaping the Yard In Punta Gorda

Below are some pictures of the work being done on our yard in Florida.  It was a mess.  The sprinklers were broken, the grass was a weedy mess, and their were huge hole where previous owners had removed (sold) the palm trees.  We're getting a new sprinkler system, trees, and sod.  We're going to have the house painted and then flower beds with concrete boarders installed.  I'll show before and after pictures when it is all done.  

Getting In Line for Stanley

It was 4 years ago this month that we lost our dog, Chloe.  We have talked about getting another dog, but haven't done much about getting one.  Today, Shane was surfing on some local animal shelter Web sites and found Stanley, pictured above.  We've discussed that we would like to get either a pug or a French bulldog.  Stanley looked like the perfect choice.

We jumped right in the car and drove to the Arlington, VA, animal shelter.  We got there and asked about Stanley and we were immediately warned that there were already applications for him ahead of us.  We met Stanley anyway and got to play with him a bit in their outside area.  He was adorable, of course, but wasn't that interested in us.  He was a stray and they estimate he is about 2 years old.  I would have taken him home immediately, but that wasn't in the cards.

We did fill out an application, but there are FOUR other applications ahead of us.  So, it isn't likely we'll get Stanley.  Luckily, Stan is going to be getting a home, though, we just wish it was with us.  Anyway, we'll keep looking.

Streaking With Blue Sponge

I was bad about my running when I was down in Florida over the Memorial Day holiday.  In the week, I only ran twice.  So, when I got back, i vowed that I would do better.  Starting on Sunday, June 6, I decided to run every day.  And that is what I have been doing.  I've run every day for 14 days now, including today--I ran over 5 miles in the DC heat.  I'm on a 2 week streak.  How long will this streak last?  BTW, I run with my clothes on.

Auto-Tune the News #12

A Scene from "Memphis" -- Best Musical?

From what I've seen of this show, I just don't see how it became the Tony winner for Best Musical. It just doesn't look that good. None of the nominated original musicals sparked my interest. I'm much more interested in some of the revivals. The Addams Family must have been pretty bad, as it was the only one of the five original musicals staged not nominated.   I think it is shocking that only five original musicals were staged. There were 11 revivals.  Sorry about the video starting automatically when you open the page.  I don't know how that happened.  If the above video doesn't work at all, try this link.

Blue Sponge TV Top 6 for the Week

Although lots of series have ended for the summer, there is still some stuff to watch on the tube (mostly on cable). Here's what is set on my DVR this week.

1. The 64th Annual Tony Awards --This has always been the most entertaining award show to me. I've saved copies of past shows on DVD. I have to admit with the shows nominated this year and the people set to be on the show, I'm just not that excited about the ceremony this year, but maybe I'll be surprised. (Sunday on CBS)

2. True Blood -- This series finally returns for a third season of vampires and craziness. I love this show! (Sunday on HBO)

3. Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List -- Kathy returns for another season and the series premiere features Liza giving Kathy acting lessons. It can't get much gayer than that. (Tuesday on Bravo)

4. Hot in Cleveland -- This new series stars Valerie Bertinelli, Wendi Malick and Jane Leeves, as three ladies who move to Cleveland where they are considered "hot"... Huh? Betty White is their wise-cracking landlady. It is suppose to be part Golden Girls and part Sex in the City. I've seen mixed reviews, but I'll give it a try. I love Betty. (Wednesday on TV Land).

5. Work of Art -- It is Project Runway, but with art. (Wednesday on Bravo)

6. Top Chef -- It is another season of the Project Runway clone, but with chefs, and this season it is in DC! (Wednesday on Bravo)

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #244

Did you ever hear of knocking before entering a room?

I just want my kitty back.

Dad is going to love his homemade wallet!

Look up on Wiki and find out where's his doodie winkle.

Miss Jones, do you know how to perform mouth-to-mouth?

Rubbing his belly just puts him to sleep? I don't get any wishes?

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #244. I wrote a few captions. Are any of them contest-worthy (i.e. not funny enough to win)? Let me know if you come up with any captions too.

Backyard Renovation in DC

Our backyard of our row house in DC is teeny tiny and up until recently not in very good shape as you can see by the photo above. Further damage was done when our neighbor decided to chop down his huge pine tree, some of which landed on our fence, along with the other neighbor's cable TV wire. So we had the fence replaced, along with the deck, and the bricks relaid (which were so wavy and uneven from the tree roots that you could barely walk on them).

Below are photos of the result. One side of the fence is our other neighbor's (the dark fence in the second photo below) and we think they are going to have their fence replaced too. It is currently being held up by a rope tied to our crepe myrtle. You will also notice the cactus is blooming like crazy and we added a small flowerbed.

Update: One of the blooms open wide at night.

Rumor of Revival of Carrie the Musical

There are rumors that they are going to do a Broadway revival of Carrie the Musical. The original broadway musical, based on the Stephen King novel, was one of the biggest flops ever on the Great White Way. Even the poster for the show (above) was bad. Judging by the clip (bottom of this posting) showing a review of the original show, it is easy to see why this show was such a disaster. The dancing in the prom sequences looked laughable (sorry Debbie Allen).

However, I have heard some of the music from this show and I like what I've heard. The first clip below is the audio of a studio recording from the show by Betty Buckley called When There's No One. I LOVE that song. It is haunting and beautiful. The next two clips are scenes from the original show with Buckley as crazy Momma and Linzi Hateley as Carrie. I think it deserves another chance. They could try to fix its problems and Patti Lupone would kill in the role of Carrie's mother.