Star Wars...or some may call it Oscar Time!

Oscar season has begun! The grass is greener. The flowers are blooming in the early morning dew. God, how I love Oscar season.

It's that time of year when Oscar campaigning goes on full blast and the stars actually begin to believe they have a chance at winning one of those golden statuettes.

Who will win? Who will the Oscar go to? Tune in on Sunday, March 5th to your local ABC affiliate.

Here's a list of nominees available at Oscar.com.

Apocalypse Now!...a.k.a. David Gest & Da Brat

You: Look, Breezy, you can see two people kissing.

Me: What's going on?

What are David and Da doing?

You: I don't know.

Me: My, God! They're kissing!

Oh, my God, they're uncomfortably kissing!

Are they're using their tongues?

My eyes, my eyes!

I can't see!

I'm blind!

Long Day's Journey Into Night

Have you ever had a whole day pretty much planned out, but as the day progressed your plans went straight out that proverbial window? Today was one of those days. My boyfriend Msh and I woke up this morning with plans to go to the Farmer's Market in downtown New Orleans. He was determined to buy eggplants at a reasonable price instead of the $3/eggplant you get at Super Wal-Mart or our local Winn-Dixie. He was awake at 6:30 this morning. He was a man with a plan apparently. I was not. I stayed in bed till about 8:30 or so.

We ended up not leaving the house till 11 this morning. We went to the bank and then out to the Farmer's Market in the Warehouse/Art district. When we got there, the market was not actually there. The parking lot where they usually have it in was full of cars. Bitches! We then prepared for plan B which was to visit our friend Lindy, whom I've mentioned before in my Panic Room entry. He was doing laundry at Flebbies' house. I can't get into all that because it would take up a lot of space on my blog and I don't want to do that.

So we meet up with Lindy at Flebbie's new pad, and I'm mildy suprised that she has managed to keep it somewhat neat. Bets are still out on how long that will last, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

From there, we walked a few blocks to Port of Call, which is a local restaurant that serves the best burgers in the city. If you are ever in New Orleans, go there for a REALLY good burger. While sitting at our table, we saw our friend Vinny riding by on his bike. We called him up and he joined us for lunch. Afterwards, we dropped by Steve-o's place and talked for a short while. Steve-o eventually kicked us out because he had to go with his daughters to visit his mom.

From Steve-o's we went to Napoleon's Itch, a gay bar that is not frequented very often. I think it has great potential to be a sit-down bar to go to after a night of drinking and just chill. It could even be cool if was a starting point before going out, but it's awkwardly structured.

Eventually, Flebbie joined us after work, but by that time Lindy was bordering on being obnoxiously drunk. Maybe it wasn't even that. Maybe it was that Flebbie was joining us and they do not bring the best out in each other. I tend to believe the latter.

Msh and I ended up taking Vinny home because we couldn't fit his bike in the trunk of my car. While in the car, and this is really the point of me writing this whole long story, we started discussing Vinny's current status with his boyfriend. He told us he hasn't had sex with him since they began seeing each other two months ago. I don't believe there's anything wrong with that. However, I do believe that there's something not right when Vinny has tried to initiate sex and his bf has rebuffed him for doing so.

There's a whole story to Vinny's bf. It seems that he previously dated someone who was not employed, as Vinny is now, and he basically sponged off of him. So, he made this deal with himself that he would hold off on sex until he made sure things were not going down that treacherous heartbreaking and expensive road. I can't blame the guy. Shit though....two fucking months?! I know Vinny's balls are blue. He'll even admit to it.

Before getting out of my car tonight Vinny was saying that he was not going to talk to his bf about this whole no-sex issue. Actually, it's not so much that he doesn't want to talk to him, because he does, it's just that he's not wanting to talk to him about it and then have pangs of guilt coming from his bf afterwards. I want to give bf more credit than he's being given. I believe he's intelligent and reasonable enough to know how to take in all this information.

I believe, and Vinny knows it too, that he's afraid of looking foolish. Well, who the hell wants to look foolish? I wouldn't want to either. My problem with this whole not talking is two-fold. I believe that the bf does deserve to know what is on Vinny's mind before Vinny takes matters into his own hands (i.e. seeing other people). I also believe that in order for Vinny to grow as an individual he needs to realize that being one half of a couple means being able to talk to one another about what's bugging you.

I understand what Vinny is feeling. Not only is he feeling frustrated sexually, he's also feeling frustrated not knowing what is expected of him from his bf. In the end, Vinny is a grown man and he'll do what he pleases. I'll respect whatever decision he makes. I just hope he does what's best for him and not worry about guilt or embarassment. This guy really likes Vinny. He calls him all the time every single day. Vinny says they haven't said anything about exclusivity, but if you call someone several times during the day every day like bf does, then chances are you are not seeing anyone else.

My rule has always been this...if someone thinks you are worth the time, then they will make the time to call and see you. If that sentiment was not in bf's mind, then why the fuck would he be calling Vinny all the time? Hence, it wouldn't be fair to bf for Vinny to not say anything and then start seeing other guys no matter how "understood" that rule is in this situation. There's never a good time to talk to anyone about what's bothering you, but if he cares enough about bf, then he'll have the courtesy to talk to him about not getting the "sex." Am I making sense or have I been repeating myself? I tend to do that. I hope I made sense.

UPDATE
They broke up. Not my fault. I promise. Vinny did try talking to him, but bf was ready to talk too. He actually told Vinny,"It's not you, it's me." Sad little man!

I'm proud of Vinny because he tried talking. YAY, Vinny!!!

Now, Voyager

My friends were mildy surprised the other day when it was mentioned to them that I watched Battlestar Galactica. It is an awesome show and there is no denying it. I really threw them for a loop when I mentioned that I also liked the Star Trek Series, Voyager and Enterprise.

I only recently began watching Voyager because my friend, Silly-Monkey, lent me his Season 1 DVDs. I was never a fan of The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, or the Original Star Trek. Voyager tackles a different array of contemporary subject matter and makes it relevant to their time period. Naturally, it's told in a sci-fi way, but it still resonates.

Enterprise, which was cancelled after only four seasons, was a different show. It tried tackling some of those issues that the other series did, but they also tried to be different. They had someone singing the theme song as opposed to being an instrumental cut. They also tried taking various story lines beyond one episode.

One particular storyline involved the hostile aliens, the Xindi. This storyline involved the Xindi creating this weapon of mass destruction that would completely anhilate all of Earth. The story line went on for all of Season 3, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Then season 4 began and the series went back to the tried and true format that all the other series had done before. It wasn't enough to save the show. People stopped watching. I didn't. Bitches!

All the studios distributing these shows have to do now is lower the prices on their DVDs, but they know the fans out there really want them. Naturally, they sell them for $100 a pop! Can you believe? I'm apalled!

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore...except unless she's on meds

Leisha Hailey, Alice Pieszecki, on the the Showtime drama, The L Word, is one of the most natural actresses on TV these days.












Leisha, out actress and ex-gf of kd lang, plays Alice as a vulnerable and funny character. Alice is going through a bad break-up with her ex-gf Dana. Well, it's only bad because Alice still hasn't gotten over Dana. So now, Alice has become this crazy obsessed woman who stalks Dana and her new girlfriend, Lara. I suppose it wouldn't be so funny except that, even if you can't or won't admit it, we've all gone through these feelings at one point in our lives. Alice keeps a shrine to Dana in her home. I would say tens of pictures and one life-sized cardboard cutout of her. I've gone as far as stalking someone to see if they were home and to, you know, see if they were home and all. However, going on many psychotropic drugs to aleviate your sorrow is probably not the best way to recovery.

I have a friend, whom we'll call "O" who once told me she'd gone as far as walking up to the guy's parked car and feeling whether or not the hood of his car felt warm. This way she would be able to tell if he'd gone out. Mind you, as she told me this we were having a casual lunch at a local eatery, and I was looking at her in utter disbelief. On the inside, however, I was thinking,"Damnit! Why didn't I think to do that?" I mean isn't that great? I was just sorry I hadn't thought of it myself. We all have our little addictions, don't we? (January 4th, 2006 entry)

I can understand Alice's sadness and obsession. I blame it on the person's inability to communicate clearly why they are breaking up with the breakee.

Just the other day at work, one of my co-workers came back from a long weekend with friends and the unexpected happened. Her boyfriend of 5 years broke up with her. She, on the one hand, thought that he was getting ready to propose, but it didn't turn out that way. Instead, he broke it off. How sad! How sad to not see it coming, but you bet he knew it was in the works for some time. They always know. The little bastards!

I'm sure the character of Alice will recover. I'm also sure my friend will recover too. It just takes time and an understanding group of friends who will allow you to repeatedly talk about the whole fiasco until you are blue in the face .

In the meantime, catch the L Word. You won't regret doing so!

Cold Comfort Apartment

Ugh! I really dislike it when the weather/temperature fluctuates from COLD to WARM to COLD as it does where I live. Inevitably, my allergies appear and then my stuffiness becomes a cold or a sinus infection.
It all started last Saturday and continued through Wednesday when the weather turned cold again. Then Thursday and Friday the muggies returned and I was stuffy again. I just want to be in bed sleeping. I also want some seafood gumbo or french onion soup. Hell, won-ton soup would be perfect too. I can't wait to see the doctor on Monday. For now though I'll have to settle on watching TV and sleeping whenever I get a chance to do so.

Tonight I'll be going to my friend, Silly-Monkey's house to play a home version of "Street Smarts." It should be interesting.

Bringing Down the House

If you haven't seen "The Best Week Ever," then you are missing out on a weekly chuckle. Trust me. Watch.

My favorite panelists are Frances Callier and Angela Shelton. They crack me up! They call themselves Frangela and I linked their website to their name. Bad website, but funny ladies.

Mean Girls and Wannabes

Whether in school, at work, or in show biz, there are MEAN GIRLS all around us. You know who they are, don't you?

Today I heard that Mariah Carey has had a decade long feud with Madonna. You may not know this, but I have all of Madonna's CDs...but I'm not defined by her. I digress, it all started when Madonna commented that Mariah's music was too mainstream and safe. She even stated, "If I were Mariah, I would kill myself." I guess she meant if she had to sing songs like Mariah sings, it would be deadly for her.

Well, then the poopy doop hit the proverbial fan because Whoriah, I'm sorry, I meant Mariah, bitched back! Mariah told a reporter that she'd stopped listening to Madge when she was in 7th or 8th grade when she was actually popular then. muahahaha!!! Get ready to rummmmmmmmmmmmble!!!

Today, the fight for Queen Bee continues...Madonna refused to go onstage at the LIVE 8 finale when Mariah was added to the setlist. Why even bother to bitch when you have so much money? I'll never understand. It's a shame they couldn't put their differences aside for the starving bloated children.

Sleepless in Seattle

In my case, it's Sleepless in the South, but the title fits. I can't fall asleep because I made the mistake of falling asleep right after dinner. I know better than to do that, but yet I do it anyway.

I've been busying myself with watching E!'s Fashion Police show after the Golden Globes. Honestly, it's just not the same without Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa. As much as I cringed at Joan messing up stars' names on the red carpet, she was much better than frakking Ryan "allegedly gay" Seacrest and Debbie Matenopoulos. I kinda like Debbie considering she put up with the biotches over at "The View" for a whole season, but Ryan...UGH!!! Not only did they put Ryan Seacrest on, but they let Kathy Griffin go. Isn't that a shame? I loved Kathy's catty commentary.

Sleep has got to come soon. Come on sleep!

Thank goodness tomorrow, or should I say today, is Wednesday. I look forward to the weekends. I think it's just because I don't have to be at work. I don't hate my job. Actually, I find it very satisfying, but when I don't sleep I look forward to not having the pressure of waking up and having somewhere to go.


I'll try to sleep now. Until next time...

Shakespeare Not So in Love

I've been watching The Golden Globes tonight. I'm usually a freak about awards shows, but I was not able to catch the very beginning of the Globes tonight. I'll have to catch the rebroadcast on Bravo. Anyway, regret is not the reason I am writing tonight. I'm writing because Gwyneth Paltrow was on tonight doing her best impersonation of Madonna impersonating a Brit. Yuck! I know Mrs. Paltrow lives in the U.K. and all, but must she enunciate every single syllable? She annoys me now and it's all because of Kathy Griffin. I love her!


I'm so happy Brokeback Mountain won Best Picture Drama. I didn't get a chance to see Capote, but I think Heath Ledger was robbed. After doing some fact checking, I discovered that even though someone wins the Golden Globe for acting it doesn't necessarily mean gold at the Academy Awards. It seems that if you had a solid performance in a movie and you won the best supporting actor category, then you will win the Oscar. However, when it comes to Best Actor/Actress a win at the Golden Globes does not equal a win at the Academy Awards. Phew! So much to talk about, but I'll have to spread this stuff over time because I'm afraid of boring you, my reader.

As you can tell the awards season is equivalent to football season to straight men for me. This is the time to make predictions and see all the nominated movies before they leave the theaters. I am SO excited!

PS. I'm watching the E! Post Show coverage and I happened to catch the cast of Desperate Housewives. I noticed Marcia "Crazy Kimberly" Cross not even acknowledge Terri "way too skinny" Hatcher. Biotches! They don't hide their alleged animosity well. They don't stand next to one another, nor do they sit next to each other. I wonder who the biggest biotch is out of the two? Any thoughts?

Until later...

The Comeback

"Give her another take! Give her another
take!"

That is a memorable quote from the now defunct Lisa Kudrow show, The Comeback. I'll be the first to admit it initially was not very funny to watch. At times, it was very painful to see Lisa's "Valerie Cherish/Aunt Sassy(sitcom character within a sictcom)" be put through various stages of humiliation.

The character of Valerie was a former sitcom star from the early 90s who was looking to make a comeback. She was offered the chance to star in a sitcom and also star in her own reality series. The reality series would follow her throughout this so-called TV comeback and would chronicle all the ups and downs of her life. Throughout the thirteen episodes Valerie was put through hell by her arch nemesis, head writer Paulie G, and through various situations she put herself into. I miss this show not because it was laugh-out-loud funny, but because it was subtle and dry in it's delivery of humor. You would like to believe that actors not on A-lists anymore are not treated that way, but they probably do get treated in such a bad way. I often felt sadness for Valerie, but she usually walked away with her dignity even though it got tarnished along the way.

I was reminded of this show because I was doing my usual reading of entertainment news online and I saw pictures of Madonna from her "Hung Up" video. I've heard it said before and I will repeat it here. Madonna is an Aunt Sassy/Valerie Cherish wannabe. You be the judge...

Panic Room Part Deaux

So the last time we left off, Flebbie was ready to move out of Lindy's apartment, but alas she had not yet received the key to her new place from her landlord. Apparently, there's nothing unusual about putting down a deposit of almost all of your rent, not signing a lease, and not receiving a key.

When we finally made it down to Flebbie's, this morning, she still hadn't heard from her landlord. We were told that we would be moving a couch from a friend of Lindy's house who did not return after Katrina to our mutual friend Vinny's apartment. We all couldn't fit in the cab of the pick-up truck we came in, so I had to stay behind with Lindy. Flebbie was packed for the most part, but she just needed to get organized. I folded a bunch of her clothes and put them in shopping bags. I also organized her boxes so they would be easier to get to when we started packing the car. As it turns out, we never got to move Flebbie. The landlord never showed and her apartment didn't look done yet. Could she have been scammed? We don't know. We'll have to wait and find out. Until then, she'll have to live in the small confines of Lindy's apartment.

Until next time...

Panic Room Part 1

My friend, Flebbie, is moving today. She is moving out of her ex-boyfriend's, of many, many years, apartment. They've been living together and broken-up for as long as I've known them. Flebbie is a 37 year old woman who is a great business woman. Her "hobby" is money. I know money is not a hobby, but it's what she says. She could tell you anything there is to know about handling transactions, managing her place of employment, and other business concepts. However, when it comes to managing her life, the greatness that is Flebbie falls apart like the tissue you've had in your pocket after washing it. I'm proud of her for moving out of Lindy's apartment. I'm proud that she'll be living on her own now. (imagine the Mary Tyler Moore theme)

OK, she just called and she said she didn't even have a key to move into her new place. So much for the swelling of Mary Tyler Moore's theme. It just peetered out. I'll write more when I return from this forecasted fiasco.

Kumonosu jô

Who knows how to say the title of this entry? I certainly don't. It reminds me of going to see Brokeback Mountain with my boyfriend MSH on Monday night. I'm usually the one to get the concessions, so I was the one to stand in line waiting for a nice young lady to give me my damned food! She took too damned long,but that's another story. Fast forward about 7 minutes and I am at the head of the line giving my order when I notice the girl's nametag. It said Chotoni. Yes, Chotoni. Naturally, I had to ask what her name was, but I had to do it in a way that it would sound complimentary.

Me: I'm sorry, but what is your
name?

Chotoni: Trochoni

Me: I didn't catch that? Could you repeat
it.

Chotoni: ( by this time showing some
annoyance...thinks I am making fun) Trochoni

Me: I think your name is so unique. Could you
repeat it for me? I just want to make sure I heard it correctly. (She probably
thought I would name my baby after her)

Chotoni: Trochoni

Me: Thank you.

Chotoni: Enjoy your movie.

Me: Thanks!

Is it just me or has the CH blend never made the TR blend's sound? All I can say is that even though she has a very odd name, she didn't mind repeating it for me. I believe and hope that she's very proud of her name. I'll still giggle when she's not looking, but who the heck cares in the end.

Until next time...

Love, Actually for The Sound of Music

As child I remember going to the movie theater on Sundays. My Aunt Toya would take me to the see whatever movie was showing either at 10 am or noon at the Tropicana theater. An odd name for a movie theater I know, but it was in Honduras...San Pedro Sula to be exact. OK, so the one movie they loved presenting was The Sound of Music. From the moment you see the cloudy skies and the helicopter shot slowly and methodically descending over the Austrian Alps, the country side of Salzburg, and then the city of Salzburg, as a child, you know you're in for a wonderfully enchanting movie. Then you see the 'copter slowly approaching a small figure who turns out to be Julie Andrews who is about the sing the title song. In my opinion there is nothing better in the cinema than this movie. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because I've finally lost track of how many I've seen. Maybe it's because I've been crazy enough to own the soundtrack in 8 Track version, Cassette, LP (several) and CD versions. I own the VHS tape and the two DVD versions including the latest 40th anniversary edition. Am I crazy?

My craziness/addiction came to a head recently when I tuned in to Will & Grace this past Thursday. Their episode was title "VonTrapped." Basically, the premise was that the four main characters were going to attend a local screening of Sing-a-Long Sound of Music. Words can not do justice as to how hard I laughed throughout the whole half hour. There were many inside jokes related to the movie and you really had to be a fan, like crazy...a-cuckoo fan to be in on most of them. My favorite was the one where they are all hiding in the supply closet and Ralph(Rolph) flashes his flashlight in their faces just like they did in the movie during the cemetery scene towards the end of the movie.

The costumes were great and they looked as if they had been perfectly planned to copy the originals. It was a great homage to a great movie, and a high note for a show in decline.


Love Actually, while not my all time favorite like The Sound of Music is right up there. It's a movie with a large cast and many storylines. While the stories loosely come together at the end of the movie, you never feel that it is forced. It takes place during the Christmas season in the U.K. It's a lighthearted comedy that no matter how hard I try to say I will never watch again, I always end of coming back to it. It's simply irresistible.

I always find it very difficult to quantify things. While I think it's OK for people to make lists about their favorite things, no pun intended, I often can't bring myself to do so. I realize that I have just said I have two favorite all time movies, but it's only because I fell so strongly about them.

Drugstore Cowboy

On my way home, for no real reason whatsoever, I began thinking about all the blood pressure medicine I take on a daily basis. I take three in the morning:Atenelol, Norvasc, and Lasix. In the evening before going to bed I take Lisinopril. Then, if I am feeling anxious, I also have Xanax to fall back on.

Addictive personalities, or personalities that find things or people to attach themselves to are very common. I believe there are many types of addicts and addictions out there than people are actually led to believe. It's just that no one wants to come out and expose themselves as being one of "those."

As a teenager and well into my late 20s, I was addicted to sinus medicine. I would take one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night before going to bed. Not only would I take regular sinus medicine, but I would also combine that with prescription strength Claritin-D, a decongestant. Can you imagine taking those pills daily for just about over a decade? I didn't know what I was doing to my body, until about five years ago when I went to the doctor about a sinus infection. It turns out it wasn't a sinus infection, but that my blood pressure was so high that it was causing all the vessels to constrict and giving me a very stuffy nose. My blood pressure was about 217/115. If you don't already know, normal blood pressure is about 120/70. Imagine my shock! Naturally, they didn't tell me right away, but instead the admitting nurse took my blood pressure twice because she thought it was "a little off." Ha! Then she got the doctor to take it, and that's when I asked what was going on because that was not the usual routine. They told me and immediately I thought the top of my head would pop off and steam would come out like in the cartoons. Either that or I would have a stroke right then and there. I didn't. Long story short, I was eventually admitted into the local hospital for two nights and three days and they got my pressure normalized.

I have some kidney damage for the undiagnosed blood pressure, but it comes with the territory. My kidney function has actually improved since those days, but it's not at 100%. These days my blood pressure is 117/75, and those are excellent numbers thanks to the drugs I take. It's ironic that I still have to take pills everyday, but only to keep me from dying. Interesting.

Everyone is an addict of some sort. Some are worst than others, but others, and you know who you are, just choose not to hang those addictions out to dry.

My sinus problems, remember those? They "miraculously" went away when my pressure went down.


Until next time...

Breezy

Las Horas

Have you ever felt like such a nerd that even the ones closest to you laugh at you because of it? I am such a nerd. I was so excited about beginning my blog that I had to play one of my favorite DVDs to get the title for my own blog spot. Dear reader, you'll have to take a guess as to what movie that is because I do not want to reveal it in fear of being thought of as a goof or otherwise. On the other hand, I believe you are intelligent enough to know what it might be, so I'll just leave it at that.

Lately, I've come to the realization that I stress out about everything that I can possibly think about. Today I stressed out about a performance I'm in charge of at school. By the way, I'm a grade school teacher in the New Orleans area and very glad and fortunate for my job post Katrina. Back to stress...I stress about my health (a.k.a. hypochondria), my friends, my family, my everything. In reality it doesn't make any sense why I worry so except that I wrap myself in all these thoughts and they play over and over in my head. Sometimes, I stop and I have to give myself a little talk to tell myself that I should not be so preoccupied with worrying about such small matters.

I suppose much of this stems from being a teacher. Seven hours a day I am in charge of so many minds and when I leave I have this strange need to feel in control of others actions. Mind you, I'm not a control freak because I would rather let someone else make the decisions, but it is very difficult to break away from something you do for so many hours of the day. Recently, what's been worrying/upsetting me have been my friends. Sometimes I just want to slap them and say,"Snap out of it!" The choices they make and the situations they put themselves in simply don't make sense to me, and I guess I want to just solve their problems. The fly in that ointment is that I can't. It's not my life. It's not my problem. It's not me. It's still difficult.

Time seems to be important to me these days. The time I spend seeing the beautiful sunset on my way home when I cross the Mississippi River. The time I spend laughing with my boyfriend, Marshall. The time I spend with my family. The time I spend with my friends. The time I spend realizing that all those things that tend to bother me don't really matter in the big scope of things. Waking up everyday and seeing that sun shining and streaming through the windows is something that I look forward to even through groggy eyes. The only thing that matters is that there is another day to experience.

Wow! Way too deep for my first entry,but I guess it's what's on my mind. I need to "Relax, Relate, and Release." If you can guess where that's from, then you deserve a cookie! hehehe

Until next time...

Breezy