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Why does everything have to turn to shit so quickly?
Within a week of the new McCarren pool opening, several incidents of violence, innluding robbery and beatings.
Just embarrassing. Trash (including the victim-blamers--no, the victims are not to blame for locking their stuff up, the trash who broke in and stole stuff that wasn't theirs are to blame) always has to rush in and ruin it for everyone. Can't have a lovely new pool, nope, gotta fuck it up as soon as possible!
Sometimes I think Robert Moses had the right idea.
Within a week of the new McCarren pool opening, several incidents of violence, innluding robbery and beatings.
Just embarrassing. Trash (including the victim-blamers--no, the victims are not to blame for locking their stuff up, the trash who broke in and stole stuff that wasn't theirs are to blame) always has to rush in and ruin it for everyone. Can't have a lovely new pool, nope, gotta fuck it up as soon as possible!
Sometimes I think Robert Moses had the right idea.
This just makes me happy
Jun. 26th, 2012 01:48 pm
How can anyone not love rainbows? And Oreos? And rainbow-colored Oreos celebrating Pride? (Can we buy them? Or was this 'shopped?)
All Hail the Blizzard!
Jun. 26th, 2012 10:37 amDair Queen is comin' to Manhattan!
*cue angel choir* My prayers have been answered. No more once a year trips to NJ for Blizzards!
*cue angel choir* My prayers have been answered. No more once a year trips to NJ for Blizzards!
Keep Pumpin' (Blowin'!)
Jun. 22nd, 2012 03:48 pmI've been telling the cast they really should watch The Pirate Movie (and we're planning a viewing party! Thanks to Chris, I own the DVD :) I checked out the imdb entry--you have to love a message board posting whose subject reads ARE YOU PEOPLE HIGH??? (Clearly I'm not the only fan!) I also checked out the "external reviews" section and found this hilarious entry on the site cinemademerde.com.
In the dream we’re back in the 1880s and Kristy is the rich daughter of the major general. The pirates lurk just offshore, a dancin’ and a singin’ like pirates apparently do. This movie was shot at the time, 1982, where if you needed pirates for your movie you just put a flyer up at the local gym, which turns out to yield unexpected benefits for viewers of my persuasion. Yes, the pirates are all muscle guys with mustaches and developed arms and chests, wearing shirts open to their waists, if they wear a shirt at all. This led to a great deal of pause-button use on my DVD remote, all of which was amply rewarded. This is all accompanied by a mildly homo vibe [pirates, hello], and lots of attention to male crotches, noticeable in the bejeweled codpiece of the pirate king.
Ah, the Pirate King's codpiece. I'm getting all happy just thinking about that silliness again. And Fredric's diaper/loincloth...
If you're treadin' water and romance is on the line
Don't you know you have to swallow
Something' more than water
It's your pride!
Ah ha, a-huff and puff
Just to keep love goin'
Ah ha, I've had enough
Of pumpin' and a-blowin'...
In the dream we’re back in the 1880s and Kristy is the rich daughter of the major general. The pirates lurk just offshore, a dancin’ and a singin’ like pirates apparently do. This movie was shot at the time, 1982, where if you needed pirates for your movie you just put a flyer up at the local gym, which turns out to yield unexpected benefits for viewers of my persuasion. Yes, the pirates are all muscle guys with mustaches and developed arms and chests, wearing shirts open to their waists, if they wear a shirt at all. This led to a great deal of pause-button use on my DVD remote, all of which was amply rewarded. This is all accompanied by a mildly homo vibe [pirates, hello], and lots of attention to male crotches, noticeable in the bejeweled codpiece of the pirate king.
Ah, the Pirate King's codpiece. I'm getting all happy just thinking about that silliness again. And Fredric's diaper/loincloth...
If you're treadin' water and romance is on the line
Don't you know you have to swallow
Something' more than water
It's your pride!
Ah ha, a-huff and puff
Just to keep love goin'
Ah ha, I've had enough
Of pumpin' and a-blowin'...
(no subject)
Jun. 22nd, 2012 11:10 amThis week has been literally exhausting. I've had rehearsal every day or night since Saturday, staging the musical numbers, and the weeknight commute in and out of Hoboken is terrible. It's not just the time, it's also carrying the scooter on the train so it doesn't whack people in the shins, and standing on the bus as it jerks around. Also we're rehearsing at the Howe Center which is at the top of a STEEP hill. So, so tired--when I get home all I want to do is collapse. My general routine when I get home is to put on a movie and go over the blocking, cleaning it up in my script. This can take a while as I am a little OCD about notating my blocking neatly. Very glad tonight I get a break--most of the numbers are staged by now, we just have a few left and then the book scenes. Much (though not all) of the heavy lifting is done. Exhausted as I am, I am really enjoying working with this cast--they all seem very positive and friendly. Yay, happy casts! Part of that is Susan, I think--she is one of the friendlist people I've ever known, as she sets a good tone. But also we have Dave and not our horrible incompetent music director we had last time.
We staged Poor Wand'ring One and How Beautifully Blue the Sky last night--one thing I love about Jen as Mabel is how dead-on her comic instincts are. We have so much more rehearsal time this go-around than last time, that I have more leisure in which to add more comic bits. So I ended PWO with Frederic passing out (he's so overcome with joy at Mabel's voice)--she helps him up, and then I had the two of them go upstage and make out really obnoxiously. It is HILARIOUS. They look like the cover of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
I would have loved some tongue action--not actual tongue action but tongues hanging out, a la Jeff Mancuso in Cellular Biology. But they're a little too far upstage for it to read, I think.
Of course this weekend will be just as busy--I have rehearsal tomorrow and Sunday, and then a production meeting Sunday afternoon. And tomorrow morning I am doing an adult soccer clinic to improve my ball-handling skills and then I go from there to rehearsal. SO excited about the soccer clinic! I really want to dribble better.
Tonight going to see The Empress of Sex. Looking forward to not thinking about Pirates for a change!
We staged Poor Wand'ring One and How Beautifully Blue the Sky last night--one thing I love about Jen as Mabel is how dead-on her comic instincts are. We have so much more rehearsal time this go-around than last time, that I have more leisure in which to add more comic bits. So I ended PWO with Frederic passing out (he's so overcome with joy at Mabel's voice)--she helps him up, and then I had the two of them go upstage and make out really obnoxiously. It is HILARIOUS. They look like the cover of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
I would have loved some tongue action--not actual tongue action but tongues hanging out, a la Jeff Mancuso in Cellular Biology. But they're a little too far upstage for it to read, I think.
Of course this weekend will be just as busy--I have rehearsal tomorrow and Sunday, and then a production meeting Sunday afternoon. And tomorrow morning I am doing an adult soccer clinic to improve my ball-handling skills and then I go from there to rehearsal. SO excited about the soccer clinic! I really want to dribble better.
Tonight going to see The Empress of Sex. Looking forward to not thinking about Pirates for a change!
Pirates So Far
Jun. 18th, 2012 01:12 pmAs I mentioned last month, TTC is remounting The Pirates of Penzance--we're doing it waterside at Frank Sinatra Park. We had auditions right after Memorial Day and are now in the full swing of rehearsals. Interestingly, even though we had fewer people come out this time, the cast is stronger. Our Frederic is TERRIFIC--although not *quite* as strong an actor as Marvin (though still great), he has an amazing voice, absolutely lovely. I cast the same Mabel as before, Jen Connor, who is terrific as always--gorgeous voice and marvelous comic instincts. Dave and I had decided we would open up all the roles (i.e., not automatically offer people their old role)--there were a couple of reasons for this. Mainly because when Dave first wanted to remount it last summer, he got a brushoff vibe--and then when he did a little research, apparently there was annoying backstage drama with some cast members. So whatever, we had open auditions and Jen was 1 of 4 potential Mabels--we had a lot of strong Mabels come out, more than last time. Jen probably had a slight edge since she knew what kind of Mabel I wanted, but still I gave a detailed breakdown of the kind of comedy I was doing, and what I was looking for, and she was definitely the strongest actress. So good for her, she rewon her role! But even better, we have FIVE, count 'em, FIVE pirates, including Paul (who was Rocky in The Rocky Horror Show last fall, total sweetie) and Dylan, (who did tech in Christmas Carol).
Dave is the music director and he ran the early rehearsals; the cast sounds pretty good so far, and of course Dave is so much better than that terrible MD we had last time (he taught them almost nothing--half the cast hardly knew the score after a week). Now we are blocking and teaching dance. Rehearsals are going VERY WELL--we staged "Pour O Pour" and "O Better Far" and they are going to look GREAT. I'm using a lot of the same staging as last time but improving it since I now have much more space and more performers. It is a lot of fun "building" a show with actors--you pre-stage as much of it as you can, but then you have to be open to new possibilites and suggestions. One of our pirates, a guy named Mike Wolff, wants to do a random Russian accent--I immediately said YES and you must also sing in the accent. I said the one person in the audience who will be close enough to pick you out will find that hilarious.
I've been leading the cast in the Pirates mantra--We are not proud. We will throw anything against the wall to see what sticks. As before, I talked to the cast about the two tone-inspirations for my version--Airplane! and The Pirate Movie. About the latter, I said yeah, it's definitely a guilty pleasures--I mean come on, the movie has a song about BLOW JOBS. But still, they will throw anything out there to make you laugh. Crotch jokes? Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark references? A food fight? Whatever works, man. I have to admire that kind of sunny willingness to debase oneself in the service of comedy!
Working with the daughters tonight--they're learning "Climbing Over Rocky Mountain" and "O Is There Not One Maiden Breast?" I just love this score so much. I really have to do my all-female version so I can sing the Pirate King!
Dave is the music director and he ran the early rehearsals; the cast sounds pretty good so far, and of course Dave is so much better than that terrible MD we had last time (he taught them almost nothing--half the cast hardly knew the score after a week). Now we are blocking and teaching dance. Rehearsals are going VERY WELL--we staged "Pour O Pour" and "O Better Far" and they are going to look GREAT. I'm using a lot of the same staging as last time but improving it since I now have much more space and more performers. It is a lot of fun "building" a show with actors--you pre-stage as much of it as you can, but then you have to be open to new possibilites and suggestions. One of our pirates, a guy named Mike Wolff, wants to do a random Russian accent--I immediately said YES and you must also sing in the accent. I said the one person in the audience who will be close enough to pick you out will find that hilarious.
I've been leading the cast in the Pirates mantra--We are not proud. We will throw anything against the wall to see what sticks. As before, I talked to the cast about the two tone-inspirations for my version--Airplane! and The Pirate Movie. About the latter, I said yeah, it's definitely a guilty pleasures--I mean come on, the movie has a song about BLOW JOBS. But still, they will throw anything out there to make you laugh. Crotch jokes? Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark references? A food fight? Whatever works, man. I have to admire that kind of sunny willingness to debase oneself in the service of comedy!
Working with the daughters tonight--they're learning "Climbing Over Rocky Mountain" and "O Is There Not One Maiden Breast?" I just love this score so much. I really have to do my all-female version so I can sing the Pirate King!
Moar Game of Thrones
Jun. 15th, 2012 01:33 pmI posted this on the HitFix review of the Game of Thrones finale:
I honestly don't get Stannis's insistence that that's the law [i.e., that Stannis is the rightful king]. By LAW, Vicerys (and now Dany) should be ruling. Their father was the last King, and they were in line after their older brother and his children, all of whom were killed. Robert usurped the throne--although you could make a legal argument that he became the rightful ruler by right of conquest (which was how Henry VII assumed the throne in 1485). Or, if you want to get very technical, notwithstanding Joffrey, Tommen & Myrcella's actual parentage, they were in fact borne within wedlock and Robert is officially their father, and he acknowledged himself as such. That's the law. The real idea, which Stannis is resisting because it undermines his claim, is that after a certain point, power makes its own rules. Joffrey is king as long as the people want him to be king, or as long as he has an army to back it up. If Stannis's army, or Robb's army or Dany's dragons, can rewrite history, that's what will happen. Stannis's tone-deaf insistence on his "rights" isn't going to win the day, especially since he had his brother murdered to back it up.
I honestly don't get Stannis's insistence that that's the law [i.e., that Stannis is the rightful king]. By LAW, Vicerys (and now Dany) should be ruling. Their father was the last King, and they were in line after their older brother and his children, all of whom were killed. Robert usurped the throne--although you could make a legal argument that he became the rightful ruler by right of conquest (which was how Henry VII assumed the throne in 1485). Or, if you want to get very technical, notwithstanding Joffrey, Tommen & Myrcella's actual parentage, they were in fact borne within wedlock and Robert is officially their father, and he acknowledged himself as such. That's the law. The real idea, which Stannis is resisting because it undermines his claim, is that after a certain point, power makes its own rules. Joffrey is king as long as the people want him to be king, or as long as he has an army to back it up. If Stannis's army, or Robb's army or Dany's dragons, can rewrite history, that's what will happen. Stannis's tone-deaf insistence on his "rights" isn't going to win the day, especially since he had his brother murdered to back it up.
Old Friends
Jun. 14th, 2012 04:23 pmI've rediscovered a couple of old buddies--the Hardy Boys. I read a recent biography of Leslie McFarlane (the original ghost writer of the Hardy Boys series, hired by the Stratmeyer Syndicate to write the first 20 or so titles)--the bio itself was not that great (although well-written) but it got me to thinking again about the series, which I DEVOURED in 4th and 5th grades. A little bit in 6th grade as well. I also loved the Bobbsey Twins and I read a little Nancy Drew but my big thing was the Hardy Boys--I read every one of the original titles published by Grosset and Dunlop, and I still have many of them. Two brothers, a year apart (either 15 & 16 or 17 & 18, depending on which version). Frank was the older and had brown hair and brown eyes, and was more serious; Joe was the younger, with blue eyes and blond hair, and more impulsive. Man, now I want to go home and reread them all! I made my friends play Hardy Boys with me, and I usually insisted on being Joe. AND I wrote fanfiction--the very first I ever wrote, and sadly I do not have it. (I have almost everything I ever wrote, but not The Hardy Twins. See, this is why I'm so hard on fanfiction, I know how bad it really is--FROM EXPERIENCE.) Quite coincidentally I had a huge crush on Shaun Cassidy, and when I found out that Shaun was going to play my hero in a TV version of the books!--you can imagine my reaction. I LOVED that show. I've been catching some of the episodes on YouTube and it actually stands up quite well! Creaky '70s sets and haircuts aside, what matters most is the relationship between the two brothers, and Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson are adorable together. My favorite episode was called "Sole Survivor"--Joe wakes up in a Hong Kong hospital and is told that he's been in a coma for a year and his brother and father (Fenton Hardy, who used to work for the NYPD!) were killed. Shaun acts the shit out of this, no, I am not kidding. (His mother IS an Academy Award winner after all; he's got good acting genes.) Lots of misty-water-colored flashbacks about his brother. They're just so cute together, great chemistry. Of course it turns out not to be true--he's been in the hospital for a week. the first clue should've been your hair, Joe--even with that incredibly long '70s hair, you would've noticed if it had been a foot longer!
As bare-bones as the prose was, the books were not completely devoid of literary merit--I actually learned some interesting things when I read them. For instance The Clue of the Broken Blade taught me the three different kinds of fencing blades--foil, épée and sabre. And The Clue of the Hissing Serpent taught me the Persian phrase "Shāh Māt" meaning "the King is captured" and also how hard jade is. In The Crisscross Shadow I learned about lacrosse and how it was an old Indian game, and in The Witchmaster's Key the London Blitz was referenced, so I looked that up. Very educational! :)
As bare-bones as the prose was, the books were not completely devoid of literary merit--I actually learned some interesting things when I read them. For instance The Clue of the Broken Blade taught me the three different kinds of fencing blades--foil, épée and sabre. And The Clue of the Hissing Serpent taught me the Persian phrase "Shāh Māt" meaning "the King is captured" and also how hard jade is. In The Crisscross Shadow I learned about lacrosse and how it was an old Indian game, and in The Witchmaster's Key the London Blitz was referenced, so I looked that up. Very educational! :)
Soccer Championship
Jun. 11th, 2012 04:54 pmSo...my Dolphman team played our final game of the spring season, after winning our quarter- and semi-finals in dramatic fashion. Last week, when we were tearing into the birthday cupcakes, Alyssa (injured girl) especially liked the pumpkin spice one, so I promised her I'd make some pumpkin bread. So when I got up yesterday I actually didn't have that much time before I had to leave for softball (game at 4) and I needed eggs. Ran to the 7/11, and then stopped by a fruit stand and picked up some limes and avocados. Mmmm....
Anyway so I threw together a pumpkin bread batter, including nutmeg that I personally ground myself (I buy whole nutmeg and use the coffee grinder). The pumpkin puree, of course, was from the pumpkins I got last fall (frozen). The bread was done *just* in time for me to leave and get to the softball game, which we lost 2-1, and then I had to leave for soccer. Got there in plenty of time--some teammates wanted the bread then, some wanted to wait until after the game.
Again this week we had few players, although at least we had two female subs. Not for long! I let Haruko start because she'd missed last week due to asthma and I said "Nikki or I will have an eye on you if you need to stop." She twisted her ankle after about 10 minutes so she was down for the count. Now we just had 1 sub--but I've played SO much soccer lately, I really didn't need one. Last week was the killer, the marathon--4 games within 24 hours! This? Was nothing. We scored late in the 1st half and then just settled down--I was hoping to score myself and got off a couple of good shots, including one pretty cool one. The goalie kicked the ball but messed up and kicked it right to me. I trapped the ball and kicked it hard right back at the goal--and the goalie sailed out of NOWHERE and grabbed it. So, great save but darn it! That would've been amazing. Some of the guys complimented after the game on that shot. Anyway we ended up winning, and they were a great team. Just kind of lucky, we certainly didn't blow them out of the water. Alyssa afterward was all "aren't you guys excited?!" I said "honestly, last week was bigger for me. Two games in 3 hours? No subs, a player down? That was huge."
There was a consolation game after us--the two teams that had finished 9th & 10th. But one of them didn't show up, so the team that WAS there asked us if we wanted to play. Well, I was up for more soccer, so I said yes, and told my team I'd join them later at the bar. It ended up being 4 on 4, and I scored a goal. nice neat little pass to my left side, I trapped it and then had a nice hard shot with my left foot into the goal. I also did a cool pass!--a backwards pass, when I knew someone was behind me and an opponent in front. I told Sam afterward, he's one of the best ball handlers on the team. After the game, I shared what was left of the pumpkin bread and they devoured it. The referee was raving about it! Well, I take my baked goods seriously.
Yay, champions! Maybe we'll get the threepeat this summer! The field is at Pier 40 this time, a MUCH better field. I expect the games will be higher scoring (this field on the Lower East Side is horrible--very long and narrow and the goals are tiny--and a lot of the games have been scoreless ties).
Anyway so I threw together a pumpkin bread batter, including nutmeg that I personally ground myself (I buy whole nutmeg and use the coffee grinder). The pumpkin puree, of course, was from the pumpkins I got last fall (frozen). The bread was done *just* in time for me to leave and get to the softball game, which we lost 2-1, and then I had to leave for soccer. Got there in plenty of time--some teammates wanted the bread then, some wanted to wait until after the game.
Again this week we had few players, although at least we had two female subs. Not for long! I let Haruko start because she'd missed last week due to asthma and I said "Nikki or I will have an eye on you if you need to stop." She twisted her ankle after about 10 minutes so she was down for the count. Now we just had 1 sub--but I've played SO much soccer lately, I really didn't need one. Last week was the killer, the marathon--4 games within 24 hours! This? Was nothing. We scored late in the 1st half and then just settled down--I was hoping to score myself and got off a couple of good shots, including one pretty cool one. The goalie kicked the ball but messed up and kicked it right to me. I trapped the ball and kicked it hard right back at the goal--and the goalie sailed out of NOWHERE and grabbed it. So, great save but darn it! That would've been amazing. Some of the guys complimented after the game on that shot. Anyway we ended up winning, and they were a great team. Just kind of lucky, we certainly didn't blow them out of the water. Alyssa afterward was all "aren't you guys excited?!" I said "honestly, last week was bigger for me. Two games in 3 hours? No subs, a player down? That was huge."
There was a consolation game after us--the two teams that had finished 9th & 10th. But one of them didn't show up, so the team that WAS there asked us if we wanted to play. Well, I was up for more soccer, so I said yes, and told my team I'd join them later at the bar. It ended up being 4 on 4, and I scored a goal. nice neat little pass to my left side, I trapped it and then had a nice hard shot with my left foot into the goal. I also did a cool pass!--a backwards pass, when I knew someone was behind me and an opponent in front. I told Sam afterward, he's one of the best ball handlers on the team. After the game, I shared what was left of the pumpkin bread and they devoured it. The referee was raving about it! Well, I take my baked goods seriously.
Yay, champions! Maybe we'll get the threepeat this summer! The field is at Pier 40 this time, a MUCH better field. I expect the games will be higher scoring (this field on the Lower East Side is horrible--very long and narrow and the goals are tiny--and a lot of the games have been scoreless ties).
Penn State trial
Jun. 11th, 2012 03:51 pmI have been a little nervous about the Sandusky trial, since apparently all American juries seem to have forgotten that yes, they can actually find a defendant guilty. (cf., the NYC Rape Cop cases (BOTH of them), John Edwards, Casey Anthony, etc. Never been a better time to commit a felony than right now!) But today an article popped up--Sandusky is actually going to testify. WOW. I'm actually shocked his lawyer is letting him--he will only do his own case harm, since this is the man who, when asked a direct question "are you sexually attracted to young boys?" giggled and preened and repeated the question and basically screamed YES with every twitch. Hell, even the name of his book screams it (Touched)--this is a man who wanted to get caught, I think, he wants to tell the story. Although why he's pleading innocent, I couldn't tell you. What a monster. Those boys (now mostly grownup) who are testufying are incredibly brave.
Game of Thrones
Jun. 4th, 2012 05:32 pmA sudden thought just occurred to me. I have a feeling that Sansais going to die. The Stark children's direwolves are obviously avatars to some extent--Nymeria is alone and on her own (like Arya), Shaggy Dog is shaggy (like Rickon), Ghost is the different one (like Jon)...and Lady died early on.
I haven't finished the second book yet, and haven't seen the season finale yet, so I'm just speculating.
I do hope I'm wrong, she's one of my favorite characters.
I haven't finished the second book yet, and haven't seen the season finale yet, so I'm just speculating.
I do hope I'm wrong, she's one of my favorite characters.
Weekend o' Soccer
Jun. 4th, 2012 02:31 pmPretty much all that I did this weekend was play soccer and sleep. I'm trying to cram it in before I start rehearsals for Pirates, so I played Saturday morning in Long Island City and came home and crashed, then got up and played a full-field game down in the West Village. Sunday, more of the same--soccer in Long Island City, this time with a different group (the Meetup/international guys with whom I play full-field on Saturday nights). The guy who runs the group, EF, was "yelling" at me in mock frustration at one point about how "you always do that, you find these weird places to get into [i.e., as a wing] and then you shoot!" I said "well, that's one advantage of being small." We played small-sided soccer, 4 on 4, and I did VERY well, scoring 3 goals and pulling off 2 textbooks assists. I think the final score was 6-6? Great exercise, really good practice at working the ball.
I was kind of worn out so I went home and took a hot bath (I felt I might've pulled something, heat helps) and then rested for a bit. My Dolphman team had playoffs last night so I had to be as fresh as possible--which turned out to be crucial. A lot of people couldn't be at the game last night and we had only just enough players. As in, NO SUBS. OH MY GOD. NO SUBS. And it got even worse, because the team we were playing was last winter's red team (they're playing under a different color now, they're forest green). The main guy on this team is the biggest fucking hypocrite--he plays a VERY rough game but is the first to whine to the ref if anyone touches him*. Look dude, if you're gonna play a rough game, then own it. I will admit, I can be rough (mainly as a tactic, it's a way of signaling to the other team to back off) but I do not complain to the ref when I get hit from behind--I just go after that person. I'm also quick to apologize--it's a rough game, but I sure don't want to hurt anyone. Anyway this asshole ended up nearly taking out one of our players, Nikki, who is a tiny little wall of awesome at midfield. She was okay after a bit, but still.
Our goalie had the VERY SMART idea of using delaying tactics--whenever he saved the ball or had a goal kick he would streeeetch it out, to give us a little time to rest. We did the same for throw-ins. Very quickly Asshole Team saw through this and started screaming at us to speed it up. At one point another guy on the team THREW the ball at Nikki, right in her stomach. Did I whine to the ref (who didn't see it or he would have yellow-carded the guy)? Hell no--I looked right at him and said "chill the fuck out" (which was also risking a yellow card, you're really not supposed to use profanity on the field). He was one of those super-angry, crunched-faces players, I love getting under their skin, so I started going after him every. chance. I got.
Then one of our players went down for good, with what sounded like the same injury I had back in February. So she was out of the game and now we were DOWN a man. Oh my effing Lord. Poor Alyssa, she seemed to be in a lot of pain. I gave her lots of Advil and water. She cheered us on, swathed on jackets and tape. And what do you know, we scored three goals in the second half and ended up winning the quarterfinal! We were all thrilled--a player down, no subs and we won!
What made it even better was that they were the only team to beat us during the regular season :)
So we had some time to rest, while the other quarterfinal played, and we all surrounded Alyssa and ate birthday cupcakes--yesterday was our captain's birthday, but the captain was one of the teammates who wasn't at the game! Oh well, we enjoyed your cupcakes! So then we had another game, the semi-final--this was against the #1 team who hadn't lost a game during the season although when we played them, we tied. This is when exhaustion really started kicking in, as this was now my THIRD soccer game of the day. At halftime I said "I'll be honest, I'm really annoyed at everyone who isn't here unless they have a good reason. I am completely tapped." I had to play deep since I just couldn't run as much. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, so we played sudden death overtime for 5 minutes. No additional goals. So it went to a shootout, which I'd been hoping for, because the playing is leveled (it wouldn't matter that we had fewer players). And we won the shootout! WE WON THE SEMIFINAL AGAINST THE BEST TEAM WHO HAD TONS OF SUBS AND WE HAD NO SUBS AND WERE ACTUALLY DOWN A PLAYER. WE ARE PLAYING IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT SUNDAY. I almost started crying I was so...relieved, and exhausted and overwhelmed. We all played amazingly well--I speculated that it was because our backs were to the wall and we had to play well or else.
How awesome are we!
Afterward we all went to the bar, including poor Alyssa, and just relaxed. We also picked up a couple of friends who walked with us from the field--one of them was very cute and flirted with me quite a bit. His name is Jay, he is in town until Wednesday and wants to hang out tomorrow during the day :)
*One of the most annoying things about pro soccer is how quick the players are to "flop"--to pretend they were hurt by falling, clutching their knee, etc. Be a MAN, for fuck's sake. How weak are you, you can't handle a little give and take? Why would you want to advertise that you're weak?
I was kind of worn out so I went home and took a hot bath (I felt I might've pulled something, heat helps) and then rested for a bit. My Dolphman team had playoffs last night so I had to be as fresh as possible--which turned out to be crucial. A lot of people couldn't be at the game last night and we had only just enough players. As in, NO SUBS. OH MY GOD. NO SUBS. And it got even worse, because the team we were playing was last winter's red team (they're playing under a different color now, they're forest green). The main guy on this team is the biggest fucking hypocrite--he plays a VERY rough game but is the first to whine to the ref if anyone touches him*. Look dude, if you're gonna play a rough game, then own it. I will admit, I can be rough (mainly as a tactic, it's a way of signaling to the other team to back off) but I do not complain to the ref when I get hit from behind--I just go after that person. I'm also quick to apologize--it's a rough game, but I sure don't want to hurt anyone. Anyway this asshole ended up nearly taking out one of our players, Nikki, who is a tiny little wall of awesome at midfield. She was okay after a bit, but still.
Our goalie had the VERY SMART idea of using delaying tactics--whenever he saved the ball or had a goal kick he would streeeetch it out, to give us a little time to rest. We did the same for throw-ins. Very quickly Asshole Team saw through this and started screaming at us to speed it up. At one point another guy on the team THREW the ball at Nikki, right in her stomach. Did I whine to the ref (who didn't see it or he would have yellow-carded the guy)? Hell no--I looked right at him and said "chill the fuck out" (which was also risking a yellow card, you're really not supposed to use profanity on the field). He was one of those super-angry, crunched-faces players, I love getting under their skin, so I started going after him every. chance. I got.
Then one of our players went down for good, with what sounded like the same injury I had back in February. So she was out of the game and now we were DOWN a man. Oh my effing Lord. Poor Alyssa, she seemed to be in a lot of pain. I gave her lots of Advil and water. She cheered us on, swathed on jackets and tape. And what do you know, we scored three goals in the second half and ended up winning the quarterfinal! We were all thrilled--a player down, no subs and we won!
What made it even better was that they were the only team to beat us during the regular season :)
So we had some time to rest, while the other quarterfinal played, and we all surrounded Alyssa and ate birthday cupcakes--yesterday was our captain's birthday, but the captain was one of the teammates who wasn't at the game! Oh well, we enjoyed your cupcakes! So then we had another game, the semi-final--this was against the #1 team who hadn't lost a game during the season although when we played them, we tied. This is when exhaustion really started kicking in, as this was now my THIRD soccer game of the day. At halftime I said "I'll be honest, I'm really annoyed at everyone who isn't here unless they have a good reason. I am completely tapped." I had to play deep since I just couldn't run as much. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, so we played sudden death overtime for 5 minutes. No additional goals. So it went to a shootout, which I'd been hoping for, because the playing is leveled (it wouldn't matter that we had fewer players). And we won the shootout! WE WON THE SEMIFINAL AGAINST THE BEST TEAM WHO HAD TONS OF SUBS AND WE HAD NO SUBS AND WERE ACTUALLY DOWN A PLAYER. WE ARE PLAYING IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT SUNDAY. I almost started crying I was so...relieved, and exhausted and overwhelmed. We all played amazingly well--I speculated that it was because our backs were to the wall and we had to play well or else.
How awesome are we!
Afterward we all went to the bar, including poor Alyssa, and just relaxed. We also picked up a couple of friends who walked with us from the field--one of them was very cute and flirted with me quite a bit. His name is Jay, he is in town until Wednesday and wants to hang out tomorrow during the day :)
*One of the most annoying things about pro soccer is how quick the players are to "flop"--to pretend they were hurt by falling, clutching their knee, etc. Be a MAN, for fuck's sake. How weak are you, you can't handle a little give and take? Why would you want to advertise that you're weak?
Fashion Alert!
May. 31st, 2012 01:57 pmAlert! Alert!
Betsey Johnson, which is going out of business (mostly), has SLASHED their prices--both in stores and online! I'm picking up an adorbs green snake print miniskirt and some cute lil' black hose.
HOW CUTE IS THIS?!
Be ye warned, the website is really wonky. I had to call them directly to place the order, then their software at the customer call center is also wonky, and I ended up going online after all, It took me awhile finally to get the order through but it was worth it because it's BETSEY MOTHERFUCKING JOHNSON.
That is all.
Betsey Johnson, which is going out of business (mostly), has SLASHED their prices--both in stores and online! I'm picking up an adorbs green snake print miniskirt and some cute lil' black hose.
HOW CUTE IS THIS?!
Be ye warned, the website is really wonky. I had to call them directly to place the order, then their software at the customer call center is also wonky, and I ended up going online after all, It took me awhile finally to get the order through but it was worth it because it's BETSEY MOTHERFUCKING JOHNSON.
That is all.
Game of Thrones, "Old Gods and the New"
May. 22nd, 2012 04:07 pmI hung out at Griffin's last night and got caught up on Game of Thrones. LOVE IT. Arya & Tywin together are gold, I absolutely adore their dynamic. I want to squee at his obvious respect and the beginnings of affection for her, but having just finished the first book (which helps me keep the backstory straight) I know he is a monster in his way, and killed the Targaryen children. So yeah, he's still a monster, but even a monster can have nuance. Charles Dance is THE MAN, though, he owns the stage every time he steps into it. And the little girl playing Arya is a fucking rock star, she is killing all of her scenes. Great, great stuff.
OMG, Sansa's scene!In the hallway! With the rioting peasants! So, so intense--I was literally clutching my head watching it. Very upsetting. It was awesome seeing Joffrey getting clowned with cow pies, though.
I fucking ADORE Jaquen,the guy who's killing 3 men for Arya. I just love the way he speaks ("a man needs a name..."), and his look and his exquisite highlights. (As Lori and I joked, it's always great when you can schedule your highlights right before you get captured and thrown into a cage for several weeks.)
Tonks
naked! My eyes! I knew from the start that she was sucking up to Theon for a reason. She seemed too solid to betray Bran like that. As soon as Rodrik goaded Theon into doing the job himself (as Ned Stark would have done), I said to Griffin "he's gonna botch the job." And he did. Read about the botched execution of Mary Queen of Scots--that one also took several blows.
I adore this comment on TWoP:
We really need a spin-off set in Harrenhal. It would mainly consist of Tywin bonding with Arya over how incompetent everyone else is, and a man killing people in amusing ways.(Tywin's annoyed expression when Amory Loch falls down dead is priceless). I imagine by the end Arya is his chief general and very confused about how she got there. In case that would be too awesome to put on TV, we could intersperse it with Theon finding new and exciting ways to be a complete fuckup.
I am completely bored with everything to do with The Wall and beyond (I don't want to see beautiful people swathed in furs and bulky clothes, I want to see them looking pretty, preferably naked).But I did like Jon's protracted flirtation with the red-haired wildling. She played him like a fiddle.
OMG, Sansa's scene!
I fucking ADORE Jaquen,
Tonks
naked! My eyes! I knew from the start that she was sucking up to Theon for a reason. She seemed too solid to betray Bran like that. As soon as Rodrik goaded Theon into doing the job himself (as Ned Stark would have done), I said to Griffin "he's gonna botch the job." And he did. Read about the botched execution of Mary Queen of Scots--that one also took several blows.
I adore this comment on TWoP:
We really need a spin-off set in Harrenhal. It would mainly consist of Tywin bonding with Arya over how incompetent everyone else is, and a man killing people in amusing ways.
I am completely bored with everything to do with The Wall and beyond (I don't want to see beautiful people swathed in furs and bulky clothes, I want to see them looking pretty, preferably naked).
Weekend Athletics
May. 21st, 2012 04:48 pmHad a great weekend, BTW. Saturday morning I went over to Long Island City to play a pickup game. Three 30-minute games in upper 70s heat--I was desperate for water and a couple of English guys helped me out. Then I went back into Manhattan, back to Central Park to play softball. One of my Dolphman/soccer team mates, an Australian guy named Sam, wanted to play as well so he joined us and did very well. He and I worked some drills with my soccer ball after the softball game. We left around 4:15 and as I walked back to the 81st St subway stop I passed through one of those bridge underpasses where a cello and a violin/viola were playing "Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik." The violinist needed to tune up a bit! That's the thing with that instrument, sometimes you have to tune up right in the middle of a performance.
I wanted to find a place to watch the Preakness so I went over to the bar/restaurant where Griffin works and got there juuuuust in time. The race was AWESOME! I'll Have Another was in 3rd or 4th place for most of the race and on the last leg just kept inching closer and closer. I was literally jumping up and down, I was so excited! So now I'm goin' to Belmont Stakes with Tim--pleeeeeeeeease let us have a Triple Crown winner this year! It's been so long, over 30 years--please!
I had more softball yesterday, including a game with the Michigan Business School team, which I had to leave early so I could make it to my soccer game in time. This is the team with the shortstop with whom I have a curious rapport. He talks a LOT to me--which is generally to be expected (SSs and 2nd basemen are a team) but he is constantly offering feedback. He is a terrific player for sure but sometimes I have to tell him "okay, I really don't need to hear how I shouldn't have made that play or what I did wrong kthxbye." He is SUPER cute though, I'm sorry to say :/ Yesterday we were the first team in the outfield and I made a silly error--basically fumbled the throw to first. I felt horrible but SS said no worries, just do better next time. Well I DID--a couple of batters later, we had runners at 1st, 2nd & 3rd. The ball was hit to the 3rd baseman who scopped it up and flipped it to me--I got the out and then noticed the 3rd base runner booking for home, so I whipped it home. BAM! Catcher grabs and gets the tag. BAM! A double play! SS (and really, all the guys) were showering compliments. I was just glad I'd redeemed myself!
A little while later, when we were up to bat, I asked SS for clarification on an earlier remark that he'd made that I couldn't quite remember. He said "Are you asking me if you made a good play? [He was kidding, it was clear I was asking him something else.] It was a great play, it was an awesome play." So cute!
And in our last regular season Dolphman soccer game, we won, so we are definitely going to the playoffs!
I wanted to find a place to watch the Preakness so I went over to the bar/restaurant where Griffin works and got there juuuuust in time. The race was AWESOME! I'll Have Another was in 3rd or 4th place for most of the race and on the last leg just kept inching closer and closer. I was literally jumping up and down, I was so excited! So now I'm goin' to Belmont Stakes with Tim--pleeeeeeeeease let us have a Triple Crown winner this year! It's been so long, over 30 years--please!
I had more softball yesterday, including a game with the Michigan Business School team, which I had to leave early so I could make it to my soccer game in time. This is the team with the shortstop with whom I have a curious rapport. He talks a LOT to me--which is generally to be expected (SSs and 2nd basemen are a team) but he is constantly offering feedback. He is a terrific player for sure but sometimes I have to tell him "okay, I really don't need to hear how I shouldn't have made that play or what I did wrong kthxbye." He is SUPER cute though, I'm sorry to say :/ Yesterday we were the first team in the outfield and I made a silly error--basically fumbled the throw to first. I felt horrible but SS said no worries, just do better next time. Well I DID--a couple of batters later, we had runners at 1st, 2nd & 3rd. The ball was hit to the 3rd baseman who scopped it up and flipped it to me--I got the out and then noticed the 3rd base runner booking for home, so I whipped it home. BAM! Catcher grabs and gets the tag. BAM! A double play! SS (and really, all the guys) were showering compliments. I was just glad I'd redeemed myself!
A little while later, when we were up to bat, I asked SS for clarification on an earlier remark that he'd made that I couldn't quite remember. He said "Are you asking me if you made a good play? [He was kidding, it was clear I was asking him something else.] It was a great play, it was an awesome play." So cute!
And in our last regular season Dolphman soccer game, we won, so we are definitely going to the playoffs!
To get to my Saturday softball games in Central Park, I enter at 81st Street and walk due east, toward the Delacorte. When you start on the footpath that leads to the Delacorte (and the softball fields beyond), there are a couple of ice cream novelty vendors. They are not cheap--they sell Magnum Doble bars for $4, which is ridiculously high. Hell, you can buy a BOX of them for $6! But they're charging for the convenience and that's fine, I get that.
Whhat really irritated me was seeing something new--one of them has put up a clear plastic job with large black magic markered letters on it. THANK YOU FOR TIPS.
If y'all are Mad Men fans, you may remember an episode last season, "The Suitcase," wherein Peggy complains to Don about how he never thanked her for her contribution to an award-winning campaign. He barked "That's what the money is for!" (meaning her salary). $4 for an ice cream treat and you're angling for a tip on top of that? That's what the money is for! You didn't make me anything. You didn't bring it to my table. You opened your cart and handed it to me. Really, really tacky.
There are services for which we (in the States) have always tipped--table service, taxis, shoe shines and manicures, etc. NYC has a strong tipping culture and I support that--but man, people get a little entitled here sometimes. It gets annoying. Another example is the Fine Fare grocery store near my apartment--it's always uncomfortable getting your groceries bagged there, because all the guys have tips jars and sometimes they'll even shake it. No. That is a service that is routinely provided everywhere else. I am not going to slow myself down by digging into my change purse or trying to find a dollar bill. You need to talk to your manager if you think you should be paid more, especially since that grocery store is not cheap. So I just bring my own bags when I go there and bag my stuff myself.
Whhat really irritated me was seeing something new--one of them has put up a clear plastic job with large black magic markered letters on it. THANK YOU FOR TIPS.
If y'all are Mad Men fans, you may remember an episode last season, "The Suitcase," wherein Peggy complains to Don about how he never thanked her for her contribution to an award-winning campaign. He barked "That's what the money is for!" (meaning her salary). $4 for an ice cream treat and you're angling for a tip on top of that? That's what the money is for! You didn't make me anything. You didn't bring it to my table. You opened your cart and handed it to me. Really, really tacky.
There are services for which we (in the States) have always tipped--table service, taxis, shoe shines and manicures, etc. NYC has a strong tipping culture and I support that--but man, people get a little entitled here sometimes. It gets annoying. Another example is the Fine Fare grocery store near my apartment--it's always uncomfortable getting your groceries bagged there, because all the guys have tips jars and sometimes they'll even shake it. No. That is a service that is routinely provided everywhere else. I am not going to slow myself down by digging into my change purse or trying to find a dollar bill. You need to talk to your manager if you think you should be paid more, especially since that grocery store is not cheap. So I just bring my own bags when I go there and bag my stuff myself.
(no subject)
May. 14th, 2012 01:36 pmMad Men namechecked Ozymandias OMG HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! *And* I loved Stan's riposte--"you should read the rest of that poem"! Didn't like Stan last season but he's awesome now.
Peyton List has got to be one of the most beautiful women on the planet. She is rocking the shit out of those '60s fashions.
Are we ever going to learn more about Dawn? If the show is partly a vector for the '60s--hello, Dawn is black! The civil rights movement was a huge part of what made the era. Let's hear her story already.
I'm really not a fan of Ginsberg. He was way rude to Don.
Love Betty and I'm glad we saw her again. Her story is so moving to me.
Peyton List has got to be one of the most beautiful women on the planet. She is rocking the shit out of those '60s fashions.
Are we ever going to learn more about Dawn? If the show is partly a vector for the '60s--hello, Dawn is black! The civil rights movement was a huge part of what made the era. Let's hear her story already.
I'm really not a fan of Ginsberg. He was way rude to Don.
Love Betty and I'm glad we saw her again. Her story is so moving to me.
(no subject)
May. 10th, 2012 12:15 pmHarry Potter fans--have you joined Pottermore yet? It's FINALLY open to all (although there seems still to be some kind of beta testing going on)--I registered last night. Very interesting and so much fun to click through and explore. Among other things, you can go through the books chapter by chapter and re-examine each chapter with new revelations and explanations from JKR.
