Ugh

Oh boy. Not having a good day so far. And it's only 8:30am. Ugh.

I think of myself as a pretty positive person, but some days you just gotta be down in the dumps. So far today has definitely been one of those days.

Here's some just pure low down shitty things that have happened so far today.

a. I am temporarily sleeping on an air mattress. When I wake up the mattress has usually deflated a bit.....but today was just ridiculous. This morning the mattress had deflated so much that I literally rolled out of bed. Mind you, I was still sleeping when this was all going on so it was quite a rude awakening when I found myself rolling toward the floor face first. The same thing happened yesterday, by the way, and that incident involved a cup of spilled milk. Yuck. Good morning!

b. I made it out of the house by 7am which is just a little later than I would like. Luckily, I didn't arrive at the station just as my train was leaving. In fact, I could see one in the distance coming down the tunnel. As the train was coming to a stop in front of me I noticed one car that seemed pretty empty. I was gonna get a seat! But once I actually got on the train I discovered why there were so few people in this specific car. Some train cars tend to lose their air conditioning. People then tend to avoid these cars like the plague. I, for one, don't really mind them so much because I can usually get a seat and if I sit really still it's not that hot. But today I would have really appreciated a nice air conditioned ride to work. Plus, the upper train windows had not been opened so there was a lot of still, humid, sweaty air in there. I tried to distract myself with Harry 6 which worked for a while.....till one of those douchebags with a midget or skyscraper in his shorts decided to come splaying himself all over the seat next to me. I coulda punched him. AND, he threw his newspaper under his seat after he was done reading it. That is BAD subway etiquette! That's a big subway NO NO!

Note to self: Next time if you actually say something to the guy you'll probably feel a whole lot better!

c. I got off at 28th street and headed to grab my Metro newspaper. Unfortunately, the stand was all out of today's Metro. No crossword puzzle for me today. Boo.

Update: A nice fellow at work who heard me bitching and moaning to my coworker about not getting my newspaper just gave me his copy of Metro with a big smile on his face. Could today be getting better?

d. As I grumpily walked to work without my Metro a man almost spat on me.

e. Once I got to work I checked my schedule for the coming weeks and noticed that my boss had pretty much ignored my request for nights off. Well, I guess it's understandable since I sent my request in really late.

Now that I read all of those they really don't seem all that bad. I guess that, then, was the purpose of this blog entry. Today has been kinda shitty but it could be a lot worse, right?!

This cheered me up.....

That's Aretha Franklin singing (SANGIN' is more like it) I Never Loved a Man in 1967.

Another thing that is keeping my spirits up is that I finally got a callback! FINALLY! The show is Altar Boyz and it's happening at the Bethesda Theater. Tomorrow morning I have to go to a dance call which absolutely terrifies me because I haven't been to a dance class since I graduated from school. I mean, I did a little dancing when I was on tour with Willy Wonka but that was pretty basic stuff. To dust off my dancing shoes I attended a dance class yesterday. It was an advanced beginners jazz class. Apparently I am an advanced beginner. This is what I looked like.....

Hey, practice makes perfect so I'm gonna keep going to class!

Also, the Kennedy Center called me again but I'm not quite sure what they want this time around. I'll be sure to let you know!

Bye!

Another New York Day

I'm at work with nothing much to do. It's 9:30am. I've been here since 7:30. I don't think I've seen more than five people walk in here today. Ugh.....I could still be sleeping.

But, since I gotta make those big bucks, I have to sit here and figure out ways to pass the time. What better way to pass the time than to write a new blog entry! Lemme just warn you that this particular entry may go absolutely nowhere so read at your own risk.

I'm gonna walk you through a pretty regular day for me here in NYC. I wake up at 6am and immediately press the snooze button. I attempt to sleep in till about 6:15 or 6:30 and then somehow make it into the shower, into some clothes, and out of my apartment.

I catch the subway at 157th street in Washington Heights and head down to 28th street in Chelsea where I work. The subway ride can either be wonderfully relaxing or really aggravating. Mere minutes make a difference when it comes to having a good subway ride. If I get to the station at a good time, then I can usually get myself a seat. I can then open up a book and get my mind working a little since it's soooooooo damn early or I can listen to a little music. If I miss a train or arrive just a little later than I usually do, the train is all of a sudden packed and I have to squeeze in to claim a spot of my own. No sitting, of course. This time difference is probably no more than 5 minutes, maybe less. This late arrival usually irks me, unfortunately. The more people, the more aggravated everyone gets. It's hotter, sweatier, tighter, you're all up in everyone's business.....it's just not fun. And some people just have no respect for anyone else but themselves. Some guys apparently have to make space for themselves and for whatever enormity they may have stashed away in their pants. No joke, these guys just spread themselves across seats like they own the place. On more than one occasion I've wanted to tap one of these guys on the shoulder and say, "Excuse me, but do you think you could remove the basketball, or midget, or CAR, or whatever MONSTROSITY you may have in your pants, place it on your lap, close your legs, and make some space for someone else to sit? Thank you! Have a lovely day." But usually I don't have to say anything. Most of the time a feisty woman will firmly place herself in front of one of these douchebags and huff and puff or throw some evil eye in his face till he gets the damn point. And make no mistake, it's usually NEVER the ladies who take up too much space.

Wow. I guess I needed to get that off my chest.

Let's move on! So I get off the train at 28th street and get to work by 7:30. Once at work I take care of my morning duties and stuff and basically wait for people to start arriving for auditions and such. Sometimes work can be painfully dull because there are just no auditions happening. Thank goodness for crossword puzzles, books, and the Internet!

Work is over at 3:30pm. At that point I either head to whatever auditions I can squeeze into or to a yoga class. Yesterday was especially eventful. After work I decided to head to two different auditions. The first was for the new Spiderman musical (with music by U2!). The audition was happening at The Knitting Factory (random) which is way downtown. I headed down absolutely not expecting to be able to audition since it was already 4pm. Also, this musical is a pretty big deal so I would have thought that it would be packed all damn day and that all slots would be filled. I got there and was really surprised to find out that I was gonna get seen! Not only that, I was gonna be in and out in probably 15 minutes. Fabulous. It was all so whirlwind commotion craziness. There was a news crew filming the event, there were assistants buzzing around making what appeared to be important calls on their fancy iPhones, and in the middle of it all stood casting director extraordinaire, Mr. Bernard Telsey himself. He seemed so down to earth wearing his little name tag that said something like, "Hi, my name is BERNIE" that I almost wanted to go up to him and say, "Hi Bernie, I'm Jonny, and I am your Peter Parker." Sadly, though, I didn't. Probably wouldn't have been such a good idea anyway.

I filled out the proper paperwork, attempted to quickly warm up my voice, and then headed into the audition and sang Oh! Darlin' by The Beatles. I thought it went pretty well but yet again got the usual, "Thank you, Jonathan. That was great."

After that I headed over to the Atlantic Theater Company on 16th street to audition for their production of Farragut North. I was able to get a time slot to audition but, unfortunately, I became one of those people I used to hate as a non-Equity actor. When I was non-Equity I used to see Equity actors walking into auditions after I had already been there for hours on end waiting for an audition slot. They would then easily be able to sign up for a time and I would lose yet another chance to audition for something. Understandably, it really pissed me off. And yesterday, I became one of those assholes!!! Well, it had to be done. And, thankfully, it went pretty well.

After the auditions I headed to my regular yoga class. I try to attend a class every day. I go to a donation based studio so if I'm horribly broke I can pay $2 for a yoga mat and that's it! Thank God for Yoga To The People. The class is a sweaty hour long mess and I usually love every moment of it. Even when I'm sweating my balls off and my muscles are screaming at me for mercy.....that's when it's best!

After yoga I head back home which can take up to an hour since I'm way down in St. Mark's Place. Yesterday's trip home was particularly interesting. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince right now. It's the sixth book in the series which means I have one book left till the whole adventure is over. So far no one has spoiled the ending of the series for me (except for one pretty important fact, thanks Paul!) so I get kinda nutsy when people start talking about it. I cover my ears and start humming or singing so I don't hear anything they might happen to let slip out. Anyway, yesterday when I got on the train I sat down and pulled out Harry 6. A few stops later, I was deeply immersed in some sort of shenanigans happening at Hogwarts when a girl came exploding onto the train with a whole slew of Excuse me!'s and Pardon me!'s. She barreled her way through the packs of people to the single seat beside me and proceeded to open her copy of HARRY POTTER 7 RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Now, there are several things about this scenario that just made me say, "Really?"

a. She sat right next to me.

b. She was ready Harry 7. The LAST book.

c. She was right at the end of the book and the fact that her face was close to the page made it clear to me that something very juicy was going on.

d. We must have looked like complete dorks. Just two dorks on the train reading Harry 6 and 7 next to each other. D-O-R-K-S.

I can't even begin to say how much of a struggle it was for me not to take a peek at what she was reading. Oh my God.....it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. For real. Just one simple glance was all I wanted. But no. No! I restrained myself. I didn't even take one little minuscule sneak peek. I'm very proud pf myself. Thankfully, my Harry Potter partner in crime left after a few stops and I was left to read in peace. That is, until Whistling Willy began blowing away next to me. Now, there are a lot of annoying things that people do on the subway. Some people listen to their music too loud (I am occasionally guilty of this), some people talk as if they want to whole train to know their business, some people SPIT (no lie), some people are perfectly well behaved. But never before have I had someone start whistling. I don't think there could be anything more ridiculous. Could anyone really think that everyone on the train would be pleased to hear him whistling? I mean, is there anyone out there who would honestly be happy that a man had decided to grace the train with his whistling magnificence??? Well, I'm not one of them. I gave that guy a look that said "Are you for real, Whistling Willy? Shut it!" He did.

Hmmm. Seems like I have a lot to get off my chest.

Once the train ride was over I headed home and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

So, here's a brief summary of my regular day.

-Wake up-
-Work-
-Auditions-
-Yoga-
-Home-
-Bed-

Hopefully something will come from all these auditions soon. I'm itching to get back up in the spotlight!!!

Bye all. Thanks for listening to my rants and raves.

Three New Yorks

Saw this on the subway on my way to work this morning.....

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.

-E.B. White, excerpt from Here Is New York.

The version I saw on the subway was an edited version of the excerpt above. Pretty interesting, right? I looked it up online to post it here and apparently it has caused some controversy among New Yorkers. People are always trying to start shit over anything! Nuts.

I didn't feel offended at all by the excerpt, but I guess that's because I feel that I'm one of E.B. White's settlers. And even though I feel that sometimes this city saps me of my passion, I guess it is also what ultimately gives it right back to me.

Anyway!

Saw these shoes on The Sartorialist today.....

Merry Christmas, Paul :)

Bye!

Washington

A few weeks ago I went all the way to Washington State for the first time ever to meet Paul's family.

Needless to say, I was a touch nervous.

I mean, I was obviously also really excited to meet them and to get to see where Paul grew up and Washington and all.....but I was nervous.

Paul and I started our trip out in Washington DC. Backyardigans was doing 7 shows in DC so I decided to come down and enjoy home for a bit since my parents live pretty close to DC. It's always wonderful being home because I get to relax and get the insanity of NYC out of my system for a bit. Also, it's always nice to see my folks and having Paul there made it even better.

Paul had a day off so I took him sightseeing. We intended to go the Museum of American History but the damn thing has been closed since 2006 or something. Ridiculous! No Dorothy's ruby slippers for us then. Instead, I took him to the Museum of Natural History which was an absolute favorite of mine as a kid. We didn't wanna wander around the whole damn huge museum so we made a quick stop to see the Hope Diamond, the Insect Zoo (ugh), and this nice butterfly exhibit in which you walk through a little forest surrounded by all these butterflies.

Ooh!Aah!We also stopped by the IMAX theater in the museum and watched Sea Monsters 3D!!! or something like that. I would post the picture of us in our 3D glasses up here but we look so preposterous I can hardly handle it. Paul may have it up on his blog, go check there if you're that curious!

Luckily, we were in DC for my Mom's birthday! We went to Chesapeake Bay and sailed around for hours. It was lovely. We drank, ate, we even got to swim! The water was so warm but unfortunately really murky. I hate murky water.....makes me think something is gonna swim up and bite my balls off or something. Ha! Anyway, after the sail we had a little barbecue by the bay. Paul and I also had a sensible photo shoot.....

This is my 'don't-mess-with-me-murky-water-ball-biting-sharks' face. That's just Paul's regular face.....What you doing back there, boo?'Gave good face.....'Yup.ANYWAY!!!

The next day we were off to Washington!!! We flew to L.A., had a long layover which involved lunch (and a few drinks), and then were finally on our way to Seattle. Paul's mom, Kari, and Paul's brother's girlfriend, Autumn, came to meet us at the airport. Unfortunately, we arrived to a bit of bad news (which is not blog or gossip material, sorry!) but our spirits were immediately lifted once we got to Paul's beautiful house. Paul's parents have been working very hard at remodelling their house and it looks absolutely wonderful. It has these amazing, huge windows which spill tons of light into the living room and kitchen. They also have a hot tub and a beautiful yard with a badminton net! In celebration of Paul's visit home (and my visit, maybe? A little?) there were tons of family friends at the house. I met A LOT of people. Naturally, I was pretty nervous but everyone was really welcoming and kind. We drank some wine, ate some delicious food, and even played a few games of badminton. Paul and I played against Autumn and one of her friends, and then against Kari and her friend Charel.

We sucked.

The next day Paul and I went to a place called Deception Pass. It's this beautiful forested area where water flows through these two hills and creates lots of really turbulent tide pools. There's also lots of trails for hiking and stuff.

This is a patch of fog passing over the bridge over Deception Pass. Pretty right?On the bridge.....

Deception Pass!Yeah yeah, I know. Corny.

We then hiked up to Goose Rock and, let me tell you, it was quite a hike. We passed a bench named after some guy along the hike trail. We assumed the bench was placed there in memoriam of this guy who had probably had a heart attack on his way to Goose Rock.....it was that rough. I know that's not funny at all but I wouldn't be surprised if I was right!

View from the top of Goose Rock.....TREES!!!Pooped.After the hike we took a ferry back to Paul's place. Paul wasn't too pleased when we got to ferry, though, because we got there a little late. The woman in charge of directing cars onto the ferry stopped us right when we were about to get on. Paul almost ran her over.....not so fun. Once we got on the next ferry, he threw a little of this in my face.....But he cheered up after a bit :)The next day we went to visit Paul's Grandma, he calls her Nanny, in Tacoma. We had lunch with her and talked for a good long while. She's a fascinating woman with a lot of very interesting, strong opinions. Some I agree with, others.....well. At least she said I was a nice fellow! She kept asking Paul and I if we had girlfriends. Ha. She's a smart woman; I'm pretty sure she knew exactly who Paul had brought for her to meet. She was probably just confirming her suspicions. Before we left, though, she made sure to let us know exactly she felt about gay marriage and such. I must admit, I like Nanny a lot. Even if we don't agree about certain things!

The next day was the 4th of July which was just all around nuts. First we went to Paul's Grandpa's house at Birch Bay (I think). I got to meet a lot more of his family then and they were all really open and relaxed with me. I loved meeting them. They sure know how to make a guy feel welcome! We then went to a Native American reservation to buy fireworks. I was a little worried about Paul's safety as he stepped out of the car in his green suede loafers. We definitely felt a bit out of place but everyone was actually really helpful and kind.....the guy selling us the fireworks even gave us a HUGE discount, mainly because he was going to rehab in a few days and needed to get rid of all his stuff. True story. We then went to Camino (or Camano?) Island for a little party with some family friends. It turned out to be quite a large party so after a drink or two we went back home where the real fun started. Fireworks and margaritas.....could there possibly be a better combination? I think not. Anyway, here are some 4th of July pics throughout the day.....

You can walk way out at Birch Bay! From left to right that's Hershey (the Flanagan dog), Autumn, Kari, and me.Paul, me, Autumn.HERSHEY!!! Paul says she smells. I say she's fabulous. I love this dog.Happy 4th!!!Woo!We have one super flying sparkler thingy when you can have two!Paul and Autumn told me to put a super flying sparkler thingy in a bottle. Then they lit it.....I was a little scared.....Paul was just excited.....Strike a pose.Blurry.....but kind of a cool pic!On our last day in Washington, Paul finally took me to Seattle. Well, actually, first we went to this sandwich place that Paul is obsessed with and met up with his cousins Amy and Erin. We then went to Gas Works Park to eat our fabulous sandwiches and, lo and behold, they were pretty good! Gas Works Park, by the way, is where they filmed the paintball scene in 10 Thing I Hate About You. I LOVE that movie.

Amy, Erin, Paul, me, Seattle in the background.....There happened to be a wedding party there taking some pics. Cute :)Seattle!Gas working machinery, apparently.....I thought this pic turned out pretty cool with the plane in it.....I have lots more to report on but this entry is way too long! I promise to finish it up soon.

Bye!

The Sartorialist

Josh Schulteis and I have a strange sort of connective history even though we haven't really spent that much time together. I went to Interlochen Arts Academy for my senior year of high school in 2001/02. Going to Interlochen was a huge, great, scary kind of awakening for me. I learned a lot, opened up a lot, made a lot of new friends, learned some more, and truly discovered what I wanted to do with my life.

One of my closest friends at Interlochen was Carolyn Zeppa. I called her Co. We met over lunch one day in the cafeteria which was one of the places at school where all the different artists (dancers, actors, visual artists, vocalists, etc.) would blend together and inadvertently create this really intense atmosphere. I mean, not all the time, but enough of the time to keep things very interesting. Co and I connected over, surprise, Madonna and Michael Jackson. I probably had a Madonna CD in my discman (yeah, no iPod for me back then) and that sparked her interest.

Co and I became great friends and as the year went on she told me all about her friend Josh. He was a really talented dancer who had graduated the year before and they had apparently practically been soul mates. When Co found out that I would be going to Boston Conservatory for college she was really excited for me, especially since Josh was studying dance there.

I got to meet Josh at the end of my senior year when he came up for graduation and he was just as fabulous as she had described. Once I got to Boston, he was really welcoming and kind. I also discovered that he was from my hometown!!! Crazy. We had different friends so we never really hung out all that much, but whenever we ran into each other at school it was always great.

I even ran into him at a store in Georgetown when I was home for break one summer. Random.

Anyway, this is totally not the point of this entry but just to wrap up this little section, let me list the random connections Josh and I share:

a. We instinctively became very close with the exact same girl.

b. Unfortunately, we have both lost touch with our girl because of distance and such. It sucks.

c. We both went to Boston Conservatory.

d. We're from the same place.

e? We're both kinda ethnic? I think? Not quite sure what his background is but I'm pretty sure he's just as much a mutt as I am.

That's all the connections I can think of right now. And those may all be pure coincidences but I don't really like to think of them that way.

I still haven't even reached the point of this entry. Wow.

I was snooping around Facebook the other day and I happened upon Josh's profile. I looked under his Interests and one in particular caught my eye. I'm always looking for other interesting blogs to add to my page so when I saw that he had listed TheSartorialist.blogspot.com under his Interests I immediately went to check it out.

The Sartorialist is a collection of pictures taken by a very handsome man named Scott Schuman. He used to be the director of men's fashion for Bergdorf Goodman here in NYC but quit in order to raise his daughter. He then began taking random pictures around the city of people who caught his eye. Some of the people are very fashionable, some have a sense of style all their own, some aren't really fashionable at all but they do seem very comfortable in their own skin. I guess you could say The Sartorialist is Scott's take on fashion. Fashion is whatever makes the person, be it the latest trend or whatever that person felt comfortable wearing that particular day.

I myself think I go through fashion phases. Sometimes I'm all about creating something all my own. Usually it's a pretty simple, or 'sensible' as Paul would say, ensemble with something kinda drastic added on for good measure. Other times, most of the time, I just wear anything that feels good and doesn't make much of a statement (if it even makes one at all).

The Sartorialist is kinda inspirational in its own way. I looked at picture after picture and was totally awestruck by the outfits people put together. And I'm not talking about ridiculous Harajuku-like craziness here. I'm talking about simple pieces put together in order to create something really interesting but really simple at the same time. The best outfits to me are the ones that you may not even notice if you're walking down the street, but if you pause to take a look you'll see how everything fits together and works perfectly.

Here are some of my favorite examples.....

Those gladiator sandals!!!!!!!! No words. I'm not gonna lie when I say I'm pretty sure I would wear those. No shame. And everyone in this picture is so disgustingly fashionable it kinda makes me sick.
When I go to Italy this is all I'm wearing.....the whole damn time. Except for the pendant. I hate choker style pendants on guys. Blech.

Look at the cutoffs! Now my friends can't make fun of me for cutting off the ends of my pants. It makes no difference that she's a girl.....

These green pants remind me of Paul. They're totally something he would wear ;)

I own this brown striped sweater. Does that make me fashionable?!?

Simple old Asian man perfect.

If all goes according to plan, this will be me in 50 years. Ha!

And there you have it. Fashion! Ooh! Thanks to Josh for pointing me in the right direction. I'm gonna put The Sartorialist under my other blogs to check out.

Bye!

Little Dancing Man

A few weeks ago Ashley and I were wandering around with nothing to do. We passed by Bryant Park and noticed that there was some sort of concert going on and since we didn't really have a plan we decided to check it out. It was a pre-Pride event with live music, booths, food, and all sorts of fun stuff. Just in case for those of you who may not know, by Pride I mean Gay Pride which is HUGE in NYC. It's pretty huge all over the place but in New York it's usually especially crazy.

Anyway, thank goodness we stopped by because if we hadn't we would have missed the little dancing man. This is our first discovery. Unfortunately, some random sunbathing guy blocked my shot at the end.

Please keep in mind that he is the ONLY one dancing...and I love it. I have more videos of him dancing but I'm having a little trouble uploading them. Hopefully I'll get them up here soon! This video has nothing on his later moves...I'm talking kicks, hip swivels, maybe even a shimmy.

Bye!

Post Secret

My newspaper this morning featured a little article about a website called Postsecret.blogspot.com. Since I usually have some time at work to wander around the Internet I decided to give the website a look. It turned out to be really interesting! People send this man, Frank is his name I think, postcards with their deepest, darkest secrets written on them. Some aren't so deep, some aren't dark at all, but they are usually pretty fun. Here are some examples.....

I've actually done something kinda similar to this one. Not gonna lie.
This one? :(
Four years? For real?!

I LOVE this one. So 70's and creative. And although being stoned is a thing of the past.....it sure sounds fun!

This one doesn't surprise me for some reason.....

There you have it! Pretty cool, right? I'm gonna add it to my list of other blogs to check out.

Bye!

It's Britney, Bitch.

I have much more important things to talk about than Madonna and Britney Spears. Things like my recent trips to Fire Island and Washington State, and an encounter Ashley and I had with a little dancing man (just wait till I post the videos up here) at a pre-Pride event here in NYC. But since I am yet again stuck at work without the necessary pics on my laptop I'm gonna talk about Madonna and Britney Spears.

As some of you may know Madonna is currently in rehearsals for her Sticky&Sweet Tour. She is actually rehearsing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which is only a hop, skip and a shimmy away from where I live. I've been tempted to take the subway over to BK, listen carefully for an incredibly thumpy bassline, and head in that general direction to see if I can illegally spy on her rehearsing. There's actually a video out there on YouTube of a fan who recorded a short rehearsal segment of one of her past tours. But then I think twice and realize that I don't wanna spoil the concert once I finally see it in October and, of course, I don't wanna be a psycho. I mean, that would be a kinda psycho thing to do.

Maybe I'll do it if Ashley (my good friend and an equally ardent fan) convinces me.

I digress.

Back to my point. I tend to not focus much on Madge's personal life. I like the fact that she's married and all and think her husband Guy Ritchie is really hot and her kids are totally adorable.....but I don't really care about that. What I like about her is her music, her performances, her visual aesthetic (um, I think that's what it's called), and her attitude. So all this A-Rod/divorce bullshit doesn't really matter to me. To be honest, I don't think it's true at all. But whatever. What really sparked my interest in recent Madonna news was the fact that she was teaming up with Britney again. Everyone remember this?

Filthy. Back then I thought it was absolutely fabulous. Now.....well.....it sure sparked those headlines. In Madonna speak, she stated that she was "passing the torch" to Britney and Christina Aguilera (remember she also kissed her but they cut away from that kiss to tape Justin Timberlake's reaction).

Anyway, so Madonna and Britney are collaborating again. This time, Britney is gonna be a part of Madge's new show. She won't be appearing live onstage with her but she will be in one of Madge's famous video interludes (basically, these interludes are Madge's chance to get backstage and into another outfit while her dancers work their stuff onstage in front of these huge screens with amazing videos and projections). According to some random rumors, the video will feature Britney in an elevator performing some "deep" dance to Madge's song Human Nature. Interspersed within the song you'll apparently hear Britney's famous line "It's Britney, bitch" from her recent song Gimme More.

I think this is kind of a great idea. The song Human Nature was Madonna's way of saying "lay off me" to all the critics who gave her a lot of shit for all the explicit work she was doing in the late 80's and early 90's. She had released the album Erotica (my all time favorite) and the book Sex (you read that right) at just about the same time. Erotica was pretty dirty but it was also a really great album. I guess people just couldn't quite get past that fact that she was presenting herself in such a balls out manner. The book Sex which featured her in all sorts of compromising positions was definitely pretty racy, but if you got past the fact that you were staring at butts and boobs and.....things, Madonna's message was kinda interesting. One about acceptance, openness, and embracing human nature and instinct. Plus, she was a huge advocate of safe sex!!! That's a GREAT message!

I've never been a big Britney fan. I mean, I already had the real thing with Madonna, I didn't need Brit. All these nutsy shenanigans she's been going through recently have been really made me sad, though. I don't really know why. Back in the day, even though she was a huge success, people would still give her a lot of shit for not really being all that good. But if you watch some of her performances, she was seriously kicking ass. She was a fucking PERFORMER. Maybe she wasn't always singing live but she was definitely, as I call it, giving it to me.

Thankfully, it seems like Britney is finally digging herself out of her huge mess. She got herself into rehab, away from that terrifyingly creepy manager, she got back in touch with her folks, and is slowly working her way back into the lives of her kids. This is a great chance for her say "So, yeah, I was a disaster and you thought I was over, but look at me now.....bigger and better than ever and in a Madonna show" and, maybe even, "It's Britney, bitch" but this time with a little more confidence. Ha.

Featuring her in a video with the song Human Nature in it seems pretty appropriate to me. She may have lost it but in the words of Norman Bates, "we all go a little mad sometimes."

Yikes. Creepy.

Here's Human Nature. It's one of Madonna's best.


Wow, what a random entry.

Bye!

I'm baaaaaack!

Oh boy, do I have a lot to talk about. Unfortunately, though, I'm stuck at work and don't have my laptop with all my pics and goodies in it. But I promise to post a real big blog entry soon. There's much to discuss.

See you soon!