Single What? Female...

The Loving Story for Valentine's Day :)

2012-02-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

This is the one problem with not having premium cable: no HBO. No HBO when they are showing this assuredly excellent documentary about the Loving case which made it legal for mixed race couples to be married. Seeing as my parents married a year before this case - luckily in Rhode Island - you bet I feel a connection to this story.

At least I should be able to catch this exhibit at The International Center of Photography. They are gorgeous and poignant photographs from what I've seen and I can't wait to see them in person.

In the meantime, whether you watch The Loving Story and/or see the Loving photos, I recommend supporting Loving Day, as well. They are great people and what better way to celebrate The Loving's love, than with a holiday :)

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Really, ladies?

2012-01-31T20:30:00.000-08:00

You know, I like to think that ladies want to help each other out, particularly when it comes to health care. Until recently, most medical studies were only performed on men thus women's health issues were vastly ignored. These days, women have come together to make sure our health needs are taken care of. Groups like the Susan G. Komen foundation partnered with Planned Parenthood, making sure they had the resources to provide breast exams and such.

And then, this happened: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/31/146160911/susan-g-komen-halts-grants-to-planned-parenthood?sc=fb&cc=fp

The Susan G. Komen foundation says that it was due to Planned Parenthood being under investigation. But out of 2000 organizations to whom they give grants, Planned Parenthood was the only one losing grant status.

And this would mainly be due to Karen Handel. Karen Handel is a VP at Susan G. Komen AND a fan of Sarah Palin AND anti-abortion.

Due to the reaction to this on social media - I am guessing the Komen people HATE social media right now - two Komen staffers resigned in protest, Planned Parenthood got more money donated to them in two days than the amount of their grant from the Komen foundation (this included a $250,000 donation from Mayor Mike Bloomberg of NYC), AND it forced Komen to reverese their decision...at least for the existing grants. Most likely, particularly if Karen Handel is still there and gets her way, Planned Parenthood may not get their grant for the following year.

Hopefully, this will not be the case.

Particularly if you go here, and ask Susan G. Komen to fire Karen Handel.

And also stop giving money to the Komen foundation. Only 24% of their donations actually go to research and "the cure". And they have spent a lot of your donated funds fighting groups that use "for the cure" in their title. I generally do not like to ask people to stop funding a group that aids in women's health, but as they are proving more sketchy than helpful, I have to at least suggest you educate yourself before giving them more money than you may have already given them.

and KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Where have I been? What have I been working on?

2012-01-26T23:16:00.001-08:00

This: Benjamin.

And yes, I will look like the nanny when we head out, but I know the truth. He is all mine...and my husband's.

He is, yes, I am going to use this terribly overused word, amazing. And yes, he is a genius, creative, curious, observant...all at 15 days old.

My husband is convinced that he will get darker as he gets older, though I personally think that his pinkness is permanent. My mother married a man with dominant genes and it appears I have done the same. But it does not matter as Benjamin is certainly no less handsome. But it will be amusing that first time someone says something like "You tell his mother..." (this happened to the friend of a friend...)

I plan on being back to work and getting more seriously back to this blog by March at the latest. The present presidential candidates are giving us all far too much material to work with at present for me not to be writing, even if it is with one hand typing while the other holds the baby...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

I keep trying to like Texas...

2011-09-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

as I know that not everybody there loves Rick Perry and George W. Bush, nor do they all want to get rid of art, hate illegals or eradicate women's rights.

But then, there are people like Rick Perry.

And he's the frickin' governor.

And he's running for president.

I heard this story this morning on NPR this morning and I really didn't need to deal with it. I really did not need to hear that he is cutting funding for women's clinics that provide contraception, counseling and other medical treatment (pap smears, diabetes testing, thyroid testing, annual physicals, etc) for women and girls while not even providing abortions. But the fact that they recommend abortion providers to women and girls who ask, suddenly is losing them their funding.

In the meantime, the money that they are losing is not going to help out with anything useful, like health care, infrastructure, or job creation. It is going to "Crisis Pregnancy Centers", those places that are made to look like women's health clinics, but are actually staffed by Pro-Life activists. They offer no health education, no medical services and no contraception. They offer sonograms and counseling about adoption and keeping your baby. Thing is, these "centers" most likely will not take state money and, due to their deceptive advertising, they primarily get calls about abortion services - so this money is going where? Only 1%-2% of the girls who come in to their centers end up keeping the child or giving it up for adoption, yet, at the family planning clinic, you can hear a story like this:

"For hundreds of thousands of Texas women and teens between the ages of 13 and 50, the 71 family planning clinics in the state serve as their gateway to health care, and for many of those women, visiting the clinics is the only time they see a nurse practitioner or a doctor.

Rosalinda Roman, 19, discovered the People's Clinic in East Austin after she got pregnant at age 16 and gave birth to a boy. Now, she comes to the clinic every three months to get her comprehensive well-woman exam and her contraceptive shot.

"I come here and I do my annual physical here. I also get birth control here [and] Depo shot," Roman says. "I don't know what I would do with a second child right now."

With the encouragement of staff at the clinic, Roman has gone back to school and is two months away from becoming a medical technician."

In the meantime, Texas spends more on teen pregnancy than any other state: "The budget cuts to family planning clinics won't in the end save Texas money. The state estimates nearly 300,000 women will lose access to family planning services, resulting in roughly 20,000 additional unplanned births. Texas already spends $1.3 billion [that's billion with a "B" folks] on teen pregnancies — more than any other state."

And somehow that's okay for the state budget?

I would love to suggest writing to Gov. Perry and the Texas legislature, but this is a period of time where I cannot guarantee that they would be listening. Still it can't hurt either...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

What Are You? at the Brooklyn Historical Society...

2011-09-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Jen Chau of Swirl NYC will be facilitating a conversation on the What Are You culture in America and Katrina Grigg-Saito, in whose documentary film and installation FishBird I am featured, is one of the panelists. (and yes, if you see promo materials for this event, that picture is of ME(!) taken by Lindsay Brandon Hunter for the FishBird project).

http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2011/08/18/crossing-borders-this-fall/

Peace --Alex

Swirl NYC on Twitter

2011-09-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

I think this is going to be a great chat and totally worth being a part of. And heck, just join Swirl on Twitter!

Follow Swirl on Twitter and then join us for our next TweetChat this Friday: "Naming Race: What others call us, what we call ourselves" - a conversation about the language of race.

Swirl (@swirlinc) on Twitter
twitter.com
Sign up for Twitter to follow Swirl (@swirlinc). Swirl is a national anti-racist organization that promotes cross-racial, cross-cultural dialogue. @jenkchau @onlyONscripting @kadavids

My contribution to the Discussion about "The Help"

2011-09-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

I told this story for the first time at the Word Up! bookstore as part of the No Name reading series www.nonamenyc.com

I have read the book and may see the movie. There are good things, there are missing things, but overall it is a good book. And it makes me wonder how I would have been seen in those days…but I learned recently that I do not need to go back in time and down south to wonder what a little of that feels like…

The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who told me about a friend of hers for whom she babysits. The friend is of Mexican descent, is married to a German gentleman and they have two children, both of whom are very fair. Thus, there are folks who believe she is the nanny to her own children. There is a great picture of her on Facebook holding a sign that reads “Do I Look Illegal?” For anyone that may see her here in the Heights or in Inwood, she is not illegal, they are her children and as to what she does for a living, when she is not teaching women to properly wrap their babies, she is a Soprano in the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.. Yes, those people who think she’s a nanny most likely have a subscription to see her on stage…and she probably makes more money than they do.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, my friend Jane is a white girl from Western, MA. She married a man from Cameroon and they had a son who primarily looks like his father. When Jane goes around town in rural Massachusetts, no one may think that she’s the nanny, but they do tend to think that she adopted her own child. If you meet her out there, she will be sure to tell you that she is pretty sure that after dealing with 36 hours or so of labor, Xavier is indeed her child.

I think about these situations more now as I am due in January. I am mixed and my husband is white and we are indeed curious as to what our child will look like. Will it be lighter? Will my dad’s dominant genes come through causing it to be darker? Will someone think I am the nanny? Or will someone think it so wonderful that we adopted this lovely brown child? And will I care? I bring this up as, seriously, I just finished The Help a few weeks ago, and while I was reading it, I was up in New Hampshire. A friend of mine invited a few us up to her family’s summer house by a lake, and it’s beautiful. We had an awesome and relaxing week, but, of course, the last day came and it was time to clean. My friend and her boyfriend went out for a trash run, my husband was taking care of the kitchen, while I was finishing up the laundry.
The washer and dryer are right by the front door. As a slung a pillow case over my shoulder and continued to fold sheets, I noticed a car pull in the drive. A white lady and her son got out of the car. I saw that she was holding a bible and Jehovah’s Witness materials, thus this made me go for the door to tell her “I’m sorry, I’m not the regular owner of this house, so if you would like to come back at another time…” To which she replied as she handed me a Watchtower and an Awake!, “Well, maybe you could look at these when you’re on your break…”

As she turned and left, I realized something…She thought I was The Help!!!

I was brown, not the owner of the house and doing laundry, thus, of course what else was she to think?

Now I would like to believe, that if she saw anyone doing what I was doing, white, black, brown, yellow or red, and they also had said that they were not the actual owner of the house, she might also assume that they were The Help. But then again, particularly as during the week we were there - save for a waiter we saw - I was the darkest person up there, I have a feeling that was not the case.

At the time, I was too surprised and they had walked away too quickly for me to stop them and say something. As they pulled away, it really hit me and, admittedly, my first thought was “Oh my God! I have new material for my show!!!”

But as time has passed, I realized, I would love to have said something to this woman’s child. And it's something I am going to have to say to my child, save for the door to door part, as well. This is what I would like to have done:

Excuse me, m’am? May I have a word with your son real quick? Hi, I’m Alex. Could you do me a favor? When you grow up and are walking door to door on your own, if a person comes to the door and they have laundry or cleaning supplies with them and they look like me, or even if they look like you, do not do as your mom just did and assume that they are the help. Because they may not be. Like me. I am a guest here helping my friends clean up before we leave. So don’t make any assumptions about who a person is by what they look like or what they appear to be doing, just offer to tell them about your faith and go from there. That sound good? Because you know what happens when we assume: you make an "ass" out of “u” and “me”. All right, you just remind your mother about that, okay? Okay. Bye now! Have a good day!”

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

How getting pregnant has made me more Pro-Choice than ever...

2011-09-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted. Over a year! And hear I am, kicking things off with a bang, jumping right into the abortion debate.

I've been wanting to write about this for months, but my first trimester was spent in a near chronic state of nausea and exhaustion and I've been playing catch-up during the second trimester, though still vomiting on occasion.

So, as you can see, the man and I are having our child. How has this made me MORE Pro-Choice?

Because, we HAD the choice.

No one was forcing us to have the child, or NOT to have it for that matter. We found out the news, sat down and talked about it and decided to go forward.

Not everybody has this opportunity...

Let me tell you how all this went down for us.

When we got married, we talked about having kids, but, like a lot of couples, we knew we wanted to wait a couple of years first. Well, three years had gone by and we still were just trying to live our lives and not sure we were ready to have a child.

And then, last year, due to my getting a blood clot (and no, I have never smoked in my life, but I did a LOT of long distance travel in a short period of months and next thing you know...), I had to go off the pill. We talked about other types contraception (condoms) and what we wanted to do and then it came down to, "well, let's see what happens..." At the time, I was 38 soon to be 39 and I knew my pregnancy chances were slimmer, but then again, I have what my husband calls "child bearing hips", thus, if bone structure is an actual factor in fertility, perhaps I had a better shot than most women my age. I also am a product of a later-in-life pregnancy as my mother was 36 when I was born, and my mother was a later-in-life surprise to her mother. Still, we were guaranteed nothing and decided to just see how things played out. If we got pregnant, great! If not, fine!

I went off the pill in June of 2010. In May of 2011, I got a symptom I never had with my period. And I got it the day I was supposed to start my period. And I didn't start my period.

Now, as my period used to be highly irregular until I went on the pill, I was never very good about keeping track as to when it happened. It would just surprise me(!) After being on the pill, my period came around like clockwork; I knew it would come on the Tuesday or Wednesday of the last row of pills. The first few months after I went OFF the pill, it was clockwork...and then not as much. I still wasn't great at paying attention to exactly when it came until I finally decided in March to keep track. That was how I knew in May, something was up.

I still wanted to believe that perhaps my math was off, but something in my gut told me otherwise. And even my husband seemed to notice as he asked me two days after I was supposed to have begun my period "Honey, have you had your period yet?" GAH! Luckily, I had a physical coming up a couple of days later so we could settle this once and for all.

I can honestly say that I was actually praying that I was NOT pregnant the morning of that physical. I was completely freaking out. I was like "We can barely take care of our cats, let alone a child!!!" Were we ready for this? This is THE life changer!!! We have stuff to do, still! Stuff we have not done yet, as in procrastinated on!!! How can we fit a child into this?!?! My husband knew I was freaking out, knew I may have wanted to make a decision that, liberal as he is, he may not have liked, but he was ready to support me.

I went to the doctor, asked for the pregnancy test, peed on the stick and got the result. Yes, I was pregnant.

I remember feeling something powerful at that moment. I wish I could describe it as joyous or scary, but I can't. It was just...overwhelming. I knew I still wanted to talk to my husband about this. That I still wanted to take some time and think on it and how we wanted to move forward. I told this to the Nurse Practitioner and she gave me the number of the hospital's family planning office and also told me that she would give me the number of a good OB-GYN if I decided to keep it.

I called the family planning office later that morning to make an appointment to talk about my options...the appointment was for a week and a half later. In the meantime, I had also called my husband with the news and said we needed to sit down and talk about this.

It was then that I realized how good I had it.

I am in a healthy and happy relationship. I am 39 rather than 13. I have been having a life. We may not make a lot of money, but we can make this work. We have insurance. I have a husband who was ready to support me either way. I live in a state and go to a hospital where, if I felt I needed to terminate this pregnancy, I could do it safely and discreetly and get proper counseling before and after.

There are so many women and girls who are NOT in my situation. Women and girls who are dealing with every situation from the one-night stand where the condom broke to the teenage girl who's been told "If you loved me..." to the girls and women dealing with rape and incest. They have families who think sex education is sinful or unnecessary as you should just be able to abstain. They live in states where there's only one clinic left in the entire state...and it's six hours away. They don't have insurance, can't afford it or can't get a job with benefits. They don't have access to contraception. The list goes on...

I am lucky. I am in a good place. We still freak out on occasion, but we are excited about the undoubtedly hyper-active mutant we are going to bring into the world. Nobody is ever really ready for this, but we are as ready as we can be. And we knew we could make the choice.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Oh...Dr. Laura...

2010-08-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

There were times I actually kinda liked her as she occasionally could talk some sense...but then she would start talking crazy and we'd have to turn her off.

It was one of those moments when I heard the clip from her broadcast the other day. A woman calls - a black woman with a white husband who doesn't say anything when his friends make insensitive remarks. Dr. Laura automatically thinks the caller is being overly sensitive. And then she goes on about how "black comics on HBO" and such say "Ni**er, ni**er, ni**er" all the time, basically trying to make the argument that perhaps there is a double standard as white people can just never say "the N-word" (and rightly so). Now I get trying to not be over sensitive and wondering why black people still use the n-word (pretty much to take back a derogatory term and make it their own...but it's still ugly to me), but then, when the caller remarked on Dr. Laura's rather free use of "ni**er", Dr. Laura picked up that shovel and started digging her hole with "Don't NAACP me!". She then kept digging, telling the caller that she was oversensitive and that if she didn't have a sense of humor she shouldn't have married outside her race.

And now she is going to leave her radio show and claims that she is fighting for her 1st Amendment Rights...just as she did back in 2000 when she got in trouble for ranting against gay people saying that they were an abomination and essentially that they needed to be fixed and she knew some good programs that did just that.

Yes, you have a 1st Amendment right to spout your bigoted nonsense, but you have to remember that, like with all of us, there are consequences...particularly when you spout ugliness.

The real problem here is how conservatives are sticking up for Dr. Laura.Conservatives have been encouraging race baiting ever since Obama became president. They can't handle the change and are doing everything in their power to make it impossible for him to do his job properly. It is a sad state of affairs when they, under the guise of promoting free speech, merely support and perpetuate race baiting and fearmongering. Is that really the best thing for our country? Personally, I think not.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

'Cuz it really just more posturing...

2010-08-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am getting real tired of people succumbing to the conservative fear mongering and posturing when it comes to the "Ground Zero Mosque".

Again, all it takes is a handful of words, Ground Zero Mosque, and people get freaked out, and then Fox news and other such folk start fanning the flames of fear, and next thing you know Harry Reid and Howard Dean, rather than try to put out the fire, pick up a fan and join the hell in.

I was here that day. I remember looking down Lexington, Park, Madison, Fifth and Sixth Avenues and seeing the billowing smoke. My husband (who I hadn't met yet) was trapped underground on the subway. I know many others who saw one or both of the towers fall and/or saw people jump from the towers.

We were attacked. By terrorists. Now these terrorists, happened to be Muslim. Not all Muslims are extremist or terrorists. Some of them are in our military. Many are community leaders. Our government does business with Muslims (Saudi Arabia, etc) and we are actually fighting a war not just against them but FOR them-yes, FOR two countries full of innocent Muslims. We are helping everyday Muslims to fight extremist Muslims. Just a reminder...

Also, even though it should not matter, the Cordoba center is a) not being built at Ground Zero, but rather two blocks away, and b) is not a mosque. It is a community center that has a prayer room. And a pool. oooooo...they'll be swimming...

There are strip clubs, churches and tacky shops and somehow they are all allowed in the neighborhood, but not this community center. (which has actually been there since December 2009, they are just expanding.)

I understand how people are hurting. We, sadly, remain at war and extremists are still out there. But we have to remember that just because a community center is being built, it does not mean that it is going to be populated with extreme Muslims. If ever there was a time for tolerance, it would be now. There is enough division and fear out there, why must various politicians and pundits encourage it?

Just boggles my mind that people would rather listen to the fearmongerers than look into this themselves, show some tolerance and actually try to eradicate the hate and bigotry rather than bolstering it.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

If only they knew....

2010-08-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

While nearly everyone that I know is applauding the overturning of Prop 8 in California (and hoping that if it does get to the Supreme Court that the court realizes that opponents of gay marriage are making only a religious argument, not a legal one), there are those who are not. And I am not just talking about folks on the religious right who believe that homosexuality is a perversion and all that nonsense, but those who are perhaps merely anti-big government and don't want the government forcing yet another new idea down their throats. Well, I've got things to say to both these groups.

To the anti-government people: The Defense of Marriage Act was the government forcing the idea of marriage as one man and one woman down our collective throats. The people who voted for Prop 8 and are fighting to keep it, were also forcing an idea of marriage down our collective throats. I understand states rights and understand that Prop 8 was voted in, but in this case, it still does not make it right. It took government intervention for segregation to fall, and for mixed race couples to be able to marry, thus it appears that it will take government intervention to knock down this last fear-built wall - the one keeping gay people from moving forward with their families.

To the people opposed to "the gays" getting married: I grew up in Massachusetts - the home of the Kennedy's, the American Revolution and the first state to allow gay marriage - and then I moved to New York City - the capital of Liberalelitistan (or perhaps just a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah), thus I have never lived in a place or just with people who really thought homosexuality was something that immediately condemned one to hell and a life of perversion. Not to say that the word "faggot" wasn't thrown around my high school, but as things changed in the late 80's and early 90's, gay students felt more free to come out and suffered much less (that I know of). The year after I graduated, a Gay/Straight Alliance was started at my high school and one of the teachers came out. Thus, I just can't comprehend people who think gay people are perverts, pedophiles and believe that they are "recruiting" children and adults into their lifestyle.
I just wish you all - those opposed to gay marriage - could meet couples like my friends Doug and Shawn, who are generous, warm, loving people. Doug is an actor who, between gigs, finds time to coach actors how market themselves better, recommends people for work and sends everybody he has ever worked with or heck had contact with a birthday card every year. His husband Shawn is a financial planner who helps everyone from high end clients who have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest to those of us who can barely put aside $10 a week for a savings account and are trying to get of debt. (They have been together for six years, married for four.) Paul is the music director at the church I sing at and not only has he been extremely patient with my vocal inconsistencies and sight reading issues for over two years, but he and his husband Edd take in "orphans"- those of us who can't get home for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas-every year. (They have been together for 29 years and married for 2 and 1/2.) My high school friend Lynn and her wife Allison have a company called Glitter and Razz, that holds camps and classes for children and grown-ups, getting them involved in the arts, and Lynn is also a co-founder of a theatre company which recently did a show sharing the voices of the older generation of gays and lesbians. (They have been married for four years.) Paul is co-founder and director at one of the top theatres in Boston and was also a teacher for years before taking on his company full time. His husband Jeff is a social worker and, several years ago, they adopted an Ecuadorean orphan. (They have been together for over twenty years.) AND I can't forget the student minister, Leslie, at MABC who not only can PREACH, but served his country in the Navy and has been with his partner for several years as well.
To me, and people in their communities, they are all lovely people in committed relationships with families and who do nothing more than spread more love in the world, yet, depending on where they are, they may not be allowed to take advantage of the legal benefits of marriage, simply because they are gay. I do not get this. I truly just do. not. get this.
And honestly, I would like to believe that if all these people from NOM met my friends, or heck just observed their day-to-day lives, and other such couples in their own communities, perhaps they would get over their hate-filled hoo ha themselves. But sadly, that just may not be the case. It took a LONG time for desegregation to be accepted, a long time for mixed-race marriages to be gradually accepted and we all know it took looooong time for a black/mixed-race man to become President (don't even get me started on how race is still affecting his presidency). It took government intervention for two of the former to happen and it will take government intervention to legalize gay marriage and bring its acceptance gradually into the fore.
As much as I would like to just say "Suck it up, people, change is here" I can't. Just as I can't comprehend the world they live in, they can't - and don't want - to comprehend mine, at present. Instead, I would just like to remind these bitter, angry folk that God - and marriage, at least the way I was taught - is about love, and the LGBT community does indeed know all about love, faith and family. I would also like to remind them, that we do have a separation of church and state in this country, and that this case is about the civil legal rights of gay people, not a moral religious issue. Legally, gay people have a right to be married. Iceland, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina, and SOUTH AFRICA even (they've come a long way in 16 years) have accepted gay marriage as entire nations, not just in part. And three of those nations have Catholic majorities. These nations have not suddenly sunk or crumbled into the ocean, had a mass rash of heterosexual divorce, or burst into flame. They are alive and well and moving along just fine...as will we, when gay marriage gets accepted, we have a big party and then clean up and get back to living our lives...and look for jobs. Don't you think that's the bigger issue at hand?

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Immigration AND Ethnic education...

2010-05-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

So Arizona didn't want to recognize Martin Luther King Day, but they got over that (after a boycott) .

And then they decided that the only way to deal with illegal immigration in their state was to pass a law (influenced by a white supremicist group) basically giving police and other officials in authority the power to stop anyone they "suspect" is an illegal immigrant, pull them aside and ask for their "papers". If they do not have them, they can be arrested and deported which means that if I was in Arizona, walking around with my nieces and nephew (all of them very blond), looked remotely suspicious, and didn't have my wallet on me, I could get pulled aside and arrested. (but I bet that even if I had my wallet on me and showed them my Massachusetts driver's license they would STILL try to kick me out)

Just sayin'...

Now, this is bad.

But what makes it all even worse is how they are banning "ethnic education" in schools. Ethnic children apparently learning about themselves can allegedly lead to separatist behavior, makes the kids believe they are "different" and is just well, un-American.
Soooo...kids are allowed to learn about all the things white people have done but they can't take a Mexican or Black or Native-American history class...which means white kids can't take these classes either...and no one gets to learn about the history and culture of other people who helped create the United States, kids can't learn to take pride in their history and heritage, and perhaps they will take a page from the Texas curriculum and start changing all the books to take out people like Ted Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, and many others.

Oh Arizona...

I don't like your law about people having to show their papers, but as there is 59% of your folk in support of this and I have not lived in Arizona. But the idea that you would take away on opportunity for students to learn about their culture as well as the culture of others in a separate class can't do anything but make the divide deeper in your state. And do you really want that? I know your governor does, but, the rest of you?

Just don't think this is very American, frankly...but perhaps that's just me...and the 41% of folks who do not dig what is happening in AZ.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

'Ladies, you have even more power than you thought!"

2010-04-20T07:34:00.001-07:00

so posted my friend Brad on Facebook when he linked to this article from the BBC.
Apparently, a Muslim cleric has decided to take a page out of Pat Robert's book-you know the one that includes blaming gays and feminists for 9/11 and such-and is blaming "promiscuous women" for the latest earthquakes in Iran-both political and natural.
And, of course, "promiscuous" can mean merely wearing fitted clothing and having some hair show from under your head scarf. Basically, we are left to understand-again-that men are ferociously weak and women are terrible temptresses...even when wearing a headscarf and robes. GUYS CAN'T TAKE IT! And therefore, because guys are weak, God gets upset and causes earthquakes...oh wait, it's not because men are weak, it's because women are evil, I forgot that part.

When I hear extremist talk like this, one of my first thoughts is, do these clerics/ministers/priests realize what they are saying? Do they not realize that this makes the GUYS look bad, not so much the women? Do they not realize that in a backwards way they are actually proving the theory of many a religious scholar that says because women were so prominent in the pagan era-as goddesses, soothsayers, wise women etc-men were led to "create" patriarchal faiths? I'm guessing that's a no.

I'm also guessing Pat Roberts, when he heard about this article was having a tough time with it as in he was caught in a quandary: do I call this guy and say "Right on, brother!" or am I confused because I agree with a Muslim?

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

P.S. As for my own quandary...why is it that if Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, and Mary was impregnated by God him/herself, no help from man, the angel spoke directly to Mary Magdalene when Christ had risen (because the women were the ones who actually went to check on the body to clean it), AND women can become saints {having been given the divine power to perform miracles), women can't be priests? Yes, this still boggles my mind...

The Mad Hatters hit Searchlight...and beyond

2010-03-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

I realized that the Tea Party people and I (and my friend Margaret Ann Brady who got this letter published in the Boston Globe) have one thing in common: we are tired of being told what "the American people" want by people who don't seem to really know who "the American people" are.

What I disagree with is the how the Tea Partyers - or rather in my mind, Mad Hatters - are claiming to be the voice of America when clearly, they do not represent me; let alone all the people who voted for our president and wanted a change in the White House and with healthcare (among other things).

I am one of The American People. Now the Tea Party would immediately look at me and see a leftist elitist. I grew up in Massachusetts wanting for nothing in an affluent town with loving, generous and liberal parents (both of whom came from working class backgrounds and immigrant parents). I did go to public schools (and they were and remain excellent public schools, mind you) and then to a private college (to which I commuted all four years). Since then, I have tended to work multiple jobs at a time, moved to New York City, hung out with many gay people and people of color, volunteered for theatre companies, the AIDSWalk, done peace marches, pro-choice rallies, listened to indie music and to top it off, I also happen to be mixed race. Yep, you can't get much more screaming liberal than me - according to them. But you know, what, I am still one of the American people and I still have a voice, just like they do.

I voted for Obama.
I wanted the public option in the healthcare plan.
I want everybody to be able to have health insurance and I want medical costs to go down.
I want women/girls who make the choice to get an abortion to be able to get coverage and to be able to get their abortion services conveniently, safely, and discreetly.
I don't think all Muslims are terrorists.
I am a Christian but don't think everybody else should be.
I don't believe that Christians who act on social justice and believe Christ preached social justice are Communists or Socialists. They're just nice people!
I think Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are positively hazardous to the nation and I believe that their ignorance and use of fear and bigotry do nothing but divide our nation farther at a time when that is the last thing our country needs after eight years of partisan divisiveness.

I am one of the American people. And I do not hate my country. And I am not a Communist or a Socialist nor do I care to be. So don't tell me, and the many of other folk who agree with me, that I am just because of the way I vote.

(Particularly if you are one of the Tea Party folk I have heard interviewed like this guy: "Why do you want Harry Reid out of office?" - "'Cause he's trying to push the Socialist Pelosi agenda on us" - "How so?" - "'Cause he's a traitor to his country" - "How so?" - "'Cause he's a Communist". If you cannot give me anything more than Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh's talking points as to why someone's a traitor to their country...don't even start with me; unless you are expecting me to sit down with you and give you a long list of reasons and facts as to why [democrat who supported the bill] is not a traitor and actually may be trying to help you)

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

You know it's ugly when...

2010-03-26T14:33:00.001-07:00

I have often said that, particularly over the last several years, the GOP and conservatives are eating and will eat their own. But wow, all joking aside, it is becoming very very ugly.

When Bart Stupak, the guy who made a deal with Obama who will actually sign an executive order confirming that federal funds will never fund abortions, starts getting death threats from folks calling him a "baby killer", you know it's bad.

And the conservative democrats are not alone. Republicans are getting threats, having windows broken and even Rep Cantor had shots taken at his office.

And all John Beohner can say - somewhat insincerely I might add - is that this kind of behavior is "unacceptable".

Sadly, he, his fellow republicans, pundits and various commentators, don't seem to get it. They were the ones who fanned the flames of such behavior, anger and hate. Their fearmongering has led to this...and they are not handling it well. They made the monster, now they have to learn how to tame it...
It appears, though, they like the excitement of the monster and how much it's made the news too much to reigh it in just yet.

I always like to believe that folks with this much hate in their hearts just did not have enough love in their lives. But perhaps, they also have not let enough in..because they've been made afraid...

It's like how Rush Limbaugh, despite claiming that he would leave the country if the healthcare bill passed, can't leave. He's afraid of "socialist medicine", which he would get most likely have to deal with in most other countries; he can't go to Africa 'cuz there are too many black people and we know he doesn't like them; and then there's the fact that he's got issues with foreigners...see, all that fear can be hazardous to your health...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Rachel & Scott are getting married - and other webfibs

2010-03-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

Rachel Maddow is not running for Senate. Just wanted to set that straight. Particularly if you were not convinced by the full-page ad that ran in the Boston Globe today, or her live confirmation of this fact on the Ed Schultz show on Revolution radio this afternoon, or when she said it live on her TV show.

Apparently, someone on Facebook decided to start a fan page called Rachel Maddow for Senate in 2010, and some conservative creative guy working on the Scott Brown campaign decided to jump on it. This person/people decided not to verify it as in, did not call Rachel's show, did not email her, did not respond to four days of calls from Maddow and her people. They just threw in an email to out-of-state conservative donors the "facts" that the Democratic party had try to reach her in order to woo Maddow to run against Brown - and I like to think they added: "ooOOOoo we can't have that happen, can we? Take out your wallets and help us beat the crazy liberal lesbian lady!" (No, they did not say that but I bet they would like to have)

Really?

Rachel Maddow is the big threat?

They can't just say that Scott Brown is a decent candidate, would do his best for Massachusetts and here's why [list good policy points here]?

No, they can't. Because Scott Brown is - least not in my mind - not good for Massachusetts. And as for his being "an independent voice" for the state, I have to heartily disagree with that statement as he has been doing nothing so far but reiterate the conservative GOP talking points.

And allowing this email to go out to people - as I am sure he had to approve it - without checking the facts (I know, like that's ever stopped a politician), as well as believing, like his campaign staff, that "while [he's] sure she's a nice person", she is truly a liberal threat worthy of luring lots of money from conservative donors...oh wait, of course he'd believe that. She has her own show which is "a nightly platform for her liberal agenda" And, of course, the little, unheard conservative folk don't have that kind of voice. Nobody speaks for them [Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and all the Fox News people who repeatedly had Scott Brown on their various shows plugging him like he was the guy to save the state of Massachusetts from all those crazy liberals like the deceased Ted Kennedy are beside the point].

What he and his people appeared to have forgotten is that this is how the internets works: when you don't fact check, other people do.

At the same time, I guess Scottie can breathe a sigh of relief after hearing for a fact that he doesn't have to run against, and potentially lose to a smart, witty, gay woman from Western, MA who actually probably COULD get all her campaign funds in her home state...and definitely from around the country as well.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Healthcare Happens

2010-03-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

it is not a perfect bill by any means, but after presidents fighting for this for over a hundred years, this is indeed a start. We have something...
And the republicans are absolutely freaking...
But they have been freaking for awhile...like since Obama got into office, but really, they made Obama's hardcore push for healthcare reform one of the most divisive issues ever, to the point of outright crazy.

I understand being a sore loser, I went through that for eight years with George W. in office. I called him an idiot, clueless, ignorant; many folks called him and his administration fascists, liars, rich elite white men out of touch with the American people who manipulated them into an unjust war...

So I can see why the GOP might come back calling Obama a fascist, a socialist, pushing "socialist healthcare" on the nation, being elitist and out of touch with what the American people really want. We may think it's wrong, just like they thought the dems and various progressive protesters were wrong about the Iraq and Afghanistan. But here's where I think things differ.

First - War is one thing, healthcare is another. War messes not only with foreign policy, but people - people who volunteer to fight for our nation. These people die, civilians die, countries are destroyed and take years to rebuild, and those soldiers/contractors/reporters/civilian aid workers come home and need both mental and physical care thus when politicians lie and get us into a war that not only kills our people but our economy, people are going to be rather vociferous in their opinions.
Healthcare is...it's our HEALTH. Since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, presidents and their administrations have been trying to fix the perpetually in-flux healthcare system. Why this has been so difficult is beyond me - and beyond various other nations as well. Don't we all want better healthcare? Don't we all want to be able to see good doctors, take better care of ourselves, and be able to afford it? Wouldn't we all like to actually deal with a qualified human being rather than random people with scripts and voice prompts? And have it easier to get care on a weekend (don't make me go into my needing to talk to a doctor/go the ER on a Sunday - except to say thank you to the St. Luke's people who got me in and out of the ER in an hour and twenty minutes rather than the nine hours I had to deal with previously at a different hospital) We can;t agree on THIS?
Okay, I understand worrying about abortion funding. While I am pro-choice and would like everybody to be, I know this is a divisive issue and can understand the arguing about that. I can even understand worrying about cost. We are in a recession, unemployment is still very nigh (hello! still funderemployed here!), and we have a deficit so high it feels like an imaginary number. But...

is this really the issue about which you just want to start scaring people about with things like "death panels", sky rocketing costs and the government forcing socialist medicine on you?

Apparently, yes it is.

They couldn't get Obama on anything else, so they decided healthcare was going to be the Waterloo to bring him down, so they pulled out all the stops on the talking points - "They are ramming this bill down our throats!" they conservatives said (for 17 months), then there were big numbers and the outright fear - Big government is out to get you! But then, it started getting ugly...
The GOP was already going above and beyond on all this forcing fear upon the masses with claims that the government was not only going to kill your grandmother, but make your great-grandchildren pay for all this. The Tea Party movement started with reasonable folks worried about taxes and too much government, but sadly, they started going beyond that. They started not only calling Obama Hitler, a Socialist and a fascist, but then the hate speech started up.
And these folks have been encouraged by pundits like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs and others who a) are still looking for Obama's (on record) birth certificate, b) think Obama's a Muslim and that that's a bad thing and c) have issues with black people, foreigners and anybody who does not look like them.
They have been fanning the flames of fear, hate and have been bringing out the worst side of the American people. At the 9/12 rally, there were folks who had signs referring to Obama as the "monkey in the white house" (graphics included), claiming Muslims were taking over the world and were all terrorists, with pictures of Obama as Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, called him the n-word, etc etc etc.
As mentioned in a previous entry, Glenn Beck had to add to the fire by saying Obama "took" his name to relate to his "radical" Muslim and African father, rather than be American. Rush Limbaugh made (what he considered) a joke about Obama having to find another "Massa" now after the Eric Massa farce.
And then, the day of the vote, the hatiest of the hateful in the Tea Bagger - I mean, pardon me, Tea Party movement, came out to spit on one Congressman, shout the n-word at a few others, and call one more a gay slur. Apparently, three gentleman also surrounded a wheelchair bound guy with Parkinson's, threw dollar bills at him and told him he has to "work for his own healthcare now rather than get the "free ride".
Really, GOP? Are these the kind of people you want to hang with? To have voting for you? To encourage and call "great Americans"? Really?
Being the "party of NO!" has it's drawbacks...as in, you can't say "yes" to anything, when you've already said that you are going to say "no" to it; otherwise you are a weak liberal flip-flopper. (why think about something and change your mind or compromise when you can just change the rules of the game and make it look like you meant to go that way anyway?)
It also sadly keeps you from saying "yes" when folks ask you to tell the most extreme of the tea party folk to stop with the hate speech and violence and be more reasonable. Because, of course, if you say yes to that. again, you'll look weak, like you're against free speech and like you want to take away everybody's guns.

Call me crazy, GOP, but I so would not want to have these kind of folk supporting, voting or working for me...

I would love to say to them, be reasonable and stop encouraging this kind of talk...but then again, I know that such encouragement got the GOP and the Tea Party right where they are now...and while they got there ugly, they got there...and it's hard to slow the crazy train...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION !!!

Peace --Alex

Glenn...now what kind of name is that?

2010-02-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Glenn Beck, bigoted loon extraordinaire, is at it again.

A while back, I wrote an entry on the Republican's use of the term "foreigness" when describing Barack Obama's heritage and name: it's a nicer way of reminding us that he's black.

Glenn Beck decided to come back to this theme on his radio show (for no apparent reason other than to be bitchy and kill time, it seems to me) by talking about why President Obama chose to keep the name "Barack" over calling himself "Barry". He said that Obama chose that name "not to identify with America - you don't take the name Barack to identify with America..."

Wha, wha, Whaaaaat?

Yep, Barack Obama apparently chose to "take" this name to identify with his "father in Kenya - who is a radical..."

So, Glenn...lemme ask you something...if that is the case of anyone who has a funny name they haven't changed, what does that say about you? Did you keep the Gaelic name Glenn (Have you HEARD Gaelic? There's a funny sounding name and language!), which means "Valley in the mountains", to identify with your Irishness? With your roots? You know, if you say that's the case, there might be some folk out there who might wonder if you are identifying with some radical, IRA-supporting relative you didn't tell Fox News about. I mean really - Glenn? You think that sounds American?

You know, some people do "take" new names, but Barack Obama was, like all of us, GIVEN his name and he decided to keep it rather than change it. Sure, he got teased, was made to feel different, but he grew up, matured and grew into his name and his differences and decided to run with his name.

This country is full of people with "foreign" sounding names who decided to keep them, live them, love them because the name is part of who they are and yes, is part of their roots. When my Danish grandfather came to this country from Denmark, he wanted so much to be "American", but he did not change his name - Herman. He kept it, joined the Army, later the Marines, built ships for the Navy and raised a family in Bedford, MA where he gave all but one of his children "American" names. My aunts and uncle were given (English) names which were popular at the time: Mabel, Eleanor and Stanley. My mother, the surprise, was given the Danish name: Grethe. To this day, no one but Danish friends and cousins can pronounce it properly. But you know what? It is HER name. Her given name. The one she decided not to change to make sound "more American". And she didn't keep it - rather "take" it - just to identify more with the Danish people (and that "radical" uncle who worked with the Danish underground during WWII). She kept it because it's her name and who she is. It identifies her, as the name Barack identifies him.

Yes, there are those who have changed their names due to philisophical reasons or religious beliefs, but isn't that also an American thing to do? I mean, they are free to choose to do that. And if Barack Obama had wanted to change his name he certainly could have.

And as long as we're on this name thing, let's not forget those whose names were taken from them: slaves, when they were stolen from their country and brought here, given "American" names and seperated from their people so they could not speak their languages and pass on family names. Or how even immigrants at Ellis Island had their names changed by immigration officers who couldn't read or pronounce Jewish and European names; they just wrote something else down and stole names from a new generation of folks coming here.

And don't forget how, up until the last couple of decades, actors in Hollywood changed or had their names changed to sound more glamorous.

See, there are plenty of reasons to change a name to sound more "neutral" or "normal", but if you don't have to, why should you? And seriously, when it comes down to it, there are no "American" names...well save for these (thank you Jay for the list): Goyathlay; Mishawaka; Tȟašúŋke Witkó; Pocahontas; Tecumseh; Sequoyah; Maȟpíya Lúta; Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake, etc

Yeah, I say these guys get first dibs on the "American" name list. The rest of them - ours - are also American...because WE are. As is the President.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Even in Italy...

2010-02-02T07:24:00.001-08:00

So we just got back last week from two positively fab and rejuvenating weeks in Italy. The man's got family there and his mother lives in Naples (thank you Elsie for the frequent flyer miles allowing us to visit you). We were in Rome and Naples visiting cousins and seeing the sights.

Now I had met two of the cousins and their wives as they came out for our wedding, but the others were new to me; and I to them...and none of them, on first site, believed I was American. Nothing is like getting that look and then hearing in Italian what I could roughly translate into "She's not American, is she?" Generally, they all believed I was Mediterranean, possibly Italian and one asked if I was Tunisian. It was later agreed that I was probably Italian somewhere and no one needed to know about that Danish/Caribbean thing.

I do love that one cousin said, after I told her about the Danish/Caribbean roots, she asked "Then why would you want to live in America?" Copenhagen...Grenada...New York...yeah, it's a tough decision :p

Though I have to say that one reason, perhaps the MAIN reson for me to stay in New York, and the states period, is *DING DING DING!* the diversity. Europe has a growing diversity, but it remains pretty segregated and small. In Rome and Naples, I noticed that the majority of brown people were Africans who were primarily illegal. Sadly, in Naples, which definitely has a prostitution issue, save for maybe 2, all the girls standing by the side of the road were African. The majority of them stand around small oil drum fires waiting for a john...and cars pull up, guys get out, and the police do nothing. (I'm not kidding. We drove by a mall area where the police were dealing with some guy while just behind them, a john pulled up to a girl, she got in the car and they drove to a secluded area to...take care of the transaction. If the police noticed, they did nothin' about it.) In Paris, the plight of Algerians in the poorer parts of Paris makes the news frequently, particularly with violent riots breaking out two years ago which were large enough to make international news. And even in Copenhagen, after 9/11 in particular, the small Muslim population - primarily Turks - started getting a lot of flack. Racial and cultural issues may still be problematic here in the states, but we have had an immigrant culture pretty much from the get-go here, while our older counterparts have only had a few decades more or less to experience and digest such diversity.
At least I know here in NYC, when I get on the subway, the Great Equalizer, I will see all kinds of faces, hear many different languages and if anyone has an issue with what I look like, it's more likely to be an ignorant tourist (from either another country OR my own), than one of my fellow citizens. The diversity-and the acceptance of it-here is wonderful; hence I don't mind living here.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

If only...

2010-01-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that I do indeed like various Fox network TV shows, part of me wishes that Time Warner Cable and Fox had NOT made their deal and Fox ended up no longer on even basic cable. Then, perhaps, some of those FoxNews watchers would somehow force themselves to watch public television, or something more moderate like CNN...and then perhaps The Daily Show. They might scream at the television at first, but then, slowly but surely, they might just end up listening...and perhpas think about what they heard...mull it over...realize that Glenn Beck is a bigoted freak - you know, stuff like that...

A girl can dream can't she?

Particularly after seeing a friend's post on Facebook about how when visiting his family in Missouri, he saw signs around the area about how Obama's out to "take our guns!"; or having my mother tell me how, when listening to a talk radio show discussing the Massachusetts Senate race, some guy said he was voting for Scott Brown [the republican candidate] as he didn't want to vote for a "socialist" [that would be Democratic and Kennedy family-endorsed candidate Martha Coakley]...I mean come on people!!! You're drinkin' the Kool-Aid! Kool-Aid mixed by Gleen Beck and Rush Limbaugh and Brit Hume - that much hate makes it mighty bitter and most likely the color of puse, but, like drinking that mystery college bath tub punch, they are drinking it anyway...

Now mind you, Rush and his ilk joke that progressives have been drinking the Kool-Aid as well - and that Chris Dodd and *Byron Dorgan decided they'd had enough and were leaving, but, not surprisingly, they did not focus on the real reason these gentleman are retiring. They are not tired of the "Obama Kool-Aid". They are tired of the extreme partisanship from which they cannot seem to escape, particularly now that Ted Kennedy - who could work with everybody - is no longer there as a buffer. Rush and Glenn and the rest of them can chortle over the Dems faltering, but what GOOD is such GOP pompousness actually going to elad to. It's not like they are doing this for the people. They are doing this because they can't stand the fact that they lost power. Like a cult leader trying to hold to his dwindling flock, they are going to extremes...and asking their most devout to aid them in poisoning the well water.

Luckily, should one of those most devout actually turn on - I was going say the Leher News Hour but that may be too elitist for them...start with The Daily Show...it's funny and more to the point. So say, that one of these tea Party Devotees turns on The Daily Show and actually listens to how Bush waited six days and remained on vacation when Richard Reed tried to blow up a plane (let alone wasted far too much time the morning of 9/11), and learns that conservative criticism of Obama's waiting 72 hours to respond - while at the White House and talking to all the folks who could give him the information that woudl allow him to make a proper assessment - to the Detroit incident is actually kind of childish...petty...peevish even. The Daily Show is also a great start for the Glenn Beck Devotee as not only is it funny, it teases BOTH SIDES, unlike the majority of FoxNews programming.

The honeymoon with Obama may be over - he has comprimised a bit too much this first year in office - but, you know what? He has at least TRIED to work with the Republicans. He has TRIED to be reasonable and consider all parties. But like with many a dysfunctional office relationship, the Republicans remain the stubborn and unreasonable crazy ex you still have work with, who would rather make your life miserable than find a mature way to deal with the situation (like not doing anything about the mess they left in the office you are taking over).

Keep paying attention, people. And like all girls learn when they first go bar hopping, don't accept a drink you haven't seen poured.

Peace --Alex

*I didn't want to mention it earlier, but doesn't Byron Dorgans's name sound like part of the first part of the Def Leopard song "Photograph"? I know you heard it...

A running start into 2010...

2010-01-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

(here's hoping I don't trip!)

So far, focus has been with me...I just hope it sticks around for the rest of the year...or heck at least for the next 6 months...it would be nice.

I can honestly say I broke in the New Year with two performances. New Year's Eve, I performed a bit of post-fireworks fire poi at our friend's dinner party. (Gotta love a woman with an Upper East Side penthouse complete with deck wide enough for me to spin). I sadly will not be able to start the year with continuing lessons, but I'll be practicing as I will need to play catch up in the summer.
New Year's Day, I got to test out some new material for Single What? Female... at Eric Vetter's No Name special New Year's Open Mic. A great thing about No Name and a Bag of Chips as it truly is a friendly environment at which one can comfortably test out new stuff without being heckled or have things thrown at them. I am so glad that I've been able to try things out there and will hopefully be there again in February or March with more new stuff.

Sunday, I checked out the Salon, formerly at the Algonquin and now at the BNO venue of Etcetera, Etc. I was only there the first half of the night, but had a lovely time - Julie Reyburn just rocks my socks - AND got to take the opportunity to pencil Big Night Out in for 2/18. We may be on haitus for January, but we will be coming back big for February!

Yesterday was a big day for emailing and meeting arranging - Big Night Out AND a recital coming up! - laundry, decluttifying and I even made it to the GYM! SO nice to work out after a month of NOT. I joined the fab Planet Fitness last month (cheap and three blocks away-how could I not?), went twice, and then...didn't while doing the Christmas show; nor during the holidays. Yesterday, I was back, and plan on being back there as regularly as possible.

Today, back at the day job, doing more meeting arranging, audition checking and figuring out where the heck I am going to get a new suitcase.

The man and I are hitting ITALY in a number of DAYS and there is nothing like realizing that the suitcase that I rolled behind me on countless trips back and forth to Boston, that survived a cross-country road trip AND Burning Man, has succumbed not only to wheel damage, but kitty puke and hairballs. I figure I could give it a final scrub, but may have to replace a wheel nonetheless. In the latest LOLcats book, there is a kitty sitting atop a suitcase basically saying to its "hooman" that it's not going anywhere. I like to suppose that out kitties have essentially declared the same thing by marking it, but I think at least one of them will be happy to have us out of her house (because, of course, it's not OUR place).

IN THE MEANTIME...the laptop will be coming with us and I will do my best to blog and see if the Italians think I'm Italian. We will be visiting my Mother-in-law as well as various cousins and seeing Italy their way.(thank you MIL for your frequent flyer miles...) I am ridiculously excited as it has been YEARS since I have been out of the country and have wanted to get back to Italy since we did a family trip when I was 17. We will be in Naples and Rome primarily with a couple of side trips to see couins as well as one layover in Amsterdam. We also do have a layover in Paris, but due to the heightened security, we may not see more than the airport. Was it wrong of me to have my first thought be, after hearing about a stifled terrorist attack Christmas Day, "DAMN YOU, TERRORIST! Charles de Gaulle is a b*tch enough to get out of and around and now we won't be able to LEAVE 'cuz of you!" We have an eight hour layover. Due to Charles de Gaulle airport being one of the most tedious airports to get around and out of, we figured we had a good four hours-maybe-in Paris itself. Since the thwarted attack (which happened on a plane coming from our other layover stop, Amsterdam), Paris authorities have said security will be beefed up enough that it is suggested that passengers heading to the states arrive up to THREE HOURS in advance of their flights. I figure we have time to get lunch at a cafe. Maybe. Otherwise, mmmmm...eight hours in an airport.
Outside of that, I really should be thinking about two things: a) security was obviously not what it should have been. Intelligence was not properly shared and this guy was able to get on a plane with bomb stuff strapped to his leg and IN HIS UNDERWEAR! and b) it is true that if a person wants to get at us badly enough, they are going to get there - and we can hope that there will be forward thinking passengers ready to tackle and thwart said person's plan.
I could also go on a rant that if we hadn't gone into Iraq and had actually gotten Osama Bin laden, we might not have to worry so much about all this nonsense, but I won't...not now...'cuz it's not going to change what's happening NOW. Nor is it going to make my airport experience any better. I'm just going to stick to focusing on what's going to be happening IN BETWEEN airports! Woo hoo!

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

What do you mean it's December?

2009-12-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

So I logged in after forever and see that my last post was 10/28...and it is now extactly two months later. What the hell happened to...time?!?!

I usually lose track of the year by March or so primarily due to audition madness, but as I did not really deal with that this year, I can't imagine what the hell else took up my thoughts enough to lose track of this year..

Or perhaps, yes I can.

2009...what can I call this year? Troublesome? Irksome? Bizarre? Intriguing? And somehow unbelievably the last year of the first decade of the 'oughts? This year could best be described - for me at least - as a fever dream. There were some lovely things, some horrible things, and just some things that outright made you wonder if you were trapped in Across The Universe.

The year started for me in a bit of grey tinted bliss as while I had had to start vocal therapy for nodes on my vocal chords, WE HAD A NEW PRESIDENT COMING IN. It did not matter than I had the nodes, or would soon be celebrating my first full year as underemployed AND I had virtually NO new progress on my show. What mattered was that the Bush Era was over and McCain was not there to continue it. Our first black president was about to be inaugurated and things literally felt on the verge cartoonishly gleeful. I am sure I was not the only one who, on January 20th, felt as if the clouds were finally dispersed over Mordor and green was coming back to Middle Earth. It just seemed so...unreal...and wonderful. Change was here...

and then...not so much. I mean, we all knew that just because he got the gig and Bush's helicopter had finally flown away from DC that the war would not be over and suddenly jobs would miraculously appear for the taking. W. left a mess behind him; a BIG mess and Obama himself seemed overwhelmed with how to clean it up. And the Republicans and the pundits who spur them on and now guide them, weren't - and aren't - going to give Obama a chance. We all know the (in)famous Limbaugh quote: "I hope he fails". Well, Fox News and conservative talk show hosts have been doing everything in their power to bring him down, from questioning his birth certificate to throwing words around like "racist" and "socialist" and "czar" at their GOP-fearing public, threatening the shear dismantling of the nation if Obama was/is allowed to do what he needs to do to clean up the mess left for him. It feels a bit like a rich kid's high school party: the kids leave a disaster; mom and dad can afford to bring in a clean-up crew and bring them in; the kids are resentful that a) they got busted, b) almost offered to clean up, but Mom and Dad already called the cleaning people but, c) don't really want to have to clean it up, thus it sucks it has to be cleaned up at all 'cuz it wasn't supposed to get that bad and like, their friends should have been better about helping clean up later 'cuz now Mom and Dad are gonna like, hold this over their heads forever - so they kick a guy's broom out and say things like "missed a spot" to the cleaning people...

The news has not been pretty: banks got HUGE bailouts (several of whom have paid back their loans); job losses have fluxuated; the unemployment rate hit a record; folks have lost their homes, 401k's and other investments thanks to Bernie Madoff and other such robber barons; theatres and arts organizations have had to close as well as many a small - or large - business; local newspapers and some national magazines have had to close/end circulation; the senate essentially sold out healthcare to appease Joe "F-in" Lieberman (yes, you have now earned the Bucky Dent moniker) and Ben "F-in" Nelson (yes, you too); the Copenhagen conference did a little for the environment, but not quite enough; gay marriage was knocked down in Maine and New York; 13 men were shot and killed while many others injured at Ft. Hood by a fellow soldier (one of the abse SHRINKS no less) who happened to be a, shall we say confused and distraught Muslim, who unfortunately just made things even harder for Muslims in the military for the time being; a plane crashed in Buffalo; the homeless rate went up; Ted Kennedy died; The Yankees won the World Series; the wars in Iraq and Afgahnistan continue to linger; Tiger Woods, David Letterman and the Governor of South Carolina have been added to the list of adulterous celebrity idiots; and some radical dumbass decided to try to blow up a plane (mere weeks before Jeff and I make an international flight - I'll be thinking of you when I'm getting my underwear frisked by American AND Italian security)...it's been easy to feel frustrated and cranky each time you reach for the newspaper (do I really want to do this?!?) BUT...

there are some decent things to remember:
Sonia Sotamayor was nominated to the Supreme Court; "Sully" Sullenberger became a national hero as he safely landed his plane in a frozen Hudson river - and the stars aligned with having the right tug boat crew NEAR BY and FDNY also ready and waiting; banks have been paying back their bailout loans; some people have actually been able to get back to work or create new work for themselves; Bernie Madoff will never get out of jail; Washington D.C. voted to approve gay marriage; Congress added crimes to homosexuals to the hate crimes bill and won; it looks like "Don't Ask Don't Tell" will be repealed next year; Guantanamo is on it way to being totally closed; Obama repealed bans in stem cell research; he has called for the slow withdrawal of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan; new shows have been able to open and some theatres have survived the economic mess; the health care reform we were hoping for may not be what we want, but it is something and hopefully the House and Senate will agree on a proper bill...properly...rather than fighting like kids on the playground; people have been more wary of the environment and are trying to conserve more, drive less, eat locally, etc: and businesses are listening; Dick Cheney is not in office!; The Red Sox have a sick pitching line-up for next year; The Celtics are all over the winning thing right now; the Boston Globe did NOT have to be retired; Massachusetts could get their first female Senator EVER; people in other countries actually LIKE Obama and don't hate us anymore (save for Iran, but they just hate us because we support the opposition protestors who like, want a fair vote and human rights and all that)...

As for personal things...the year started with severe underemployment, the inability to even audition for creative employment let alone take on an offered gig, and SAD taking over my brain. It has come to a close with four jobs, vocal discipline and a Christmas gig where not only was I a soloist, I made some excellent contacts and just had a great time with a cast of 120. In the middle were the show In The Red Room where I got to perform a powerful monologue, tests of new Single What? Female material, some storytelling, lots of auditioning for film and TV stuff (thank you all at The Network) directing for Estrogenius again for the first time in two years, learning poi (FIRE POI!), attaining the opportunity to record for Blank Productions, keeping my job at Madison Avenue Baptist (so. awesome.), and associate producing the cabaret evening The Big Night Out (thank you so much Jenny and Bill for that): it may be have been hard sometimes not being able to sing much in the beginning, but I plan on singing a whole lot more with them in 2010. Big Night Out will be continuing in the new year starting in February, but we will be on hiatus for January.

My husband, friends and family were AWESOME this year...a further reminder that I am blessed to be surrounded by good people.

Here's to more of the good stuff in 2010...and KEEP PAYING ATTENTION so we can GET more of that!

Peace --Alex

Am I the only one...?

2009-10-28T08:16:00.001-07:00

who wants to smack Joe Lieberman upside the head right now? Harry Reid stated yesterday that the health care bill that comes through the Senate will have a public option with an opt-out plan for states who don't want it. So, of course the Republicans are still against it, and Lieberman, of course, has to side with them. Really? Really? There is an opportunity for CT to OPT OUT, Joe. If you really want to jip your constituency, you can do that, but let other states HAVE the public option, [insert expletive, derogatory term but no ethnic slurs please, here]

The arguing continues, folks...the arguing continues...

And my husband is calling our own insurance because they suddenly have cut me off on my vocal therapy...without telling the doctor or letting ME know that there MAY have been a limit to the sessions.

And did you know that to see a specialist and get an ecocardiagram that I did not think really necessary but was suggested by my Nurse Practitioner costs $1175? And is apparently not covered. This is what a heart murmur that apparently is completely non-threatening and that I have had since at least '97 costs.

And the arguing continues....the arguing continues...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Some people...

2009-10-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

just have not had enough love. One of these people must be Reverend Bardwell of Louisiana...

Reverend Kenneth Bardwell refused to marry an interracial couple because he said that he had seen too many examples of interracial couples and families gone bad, thus he wasn't going to put this couple's future child through that.

Obviously, he has not seen our President, who did have some identity issues, but um, he's President of the United States.

Also, if he had only seen couples go wrong in his immediate area, wouldn't ya think it might have more to do with how they might be treated down there? Particularly by ministers i.e folks who call themselves clergy, i.e. men of God, who "don't believe in mixing the races that way"?

He claims he didn't do anything wrong because he told them that while he wouldn't do it, he did send them to a minister who would, but you know, when you tell a couple who is in love and committed to each other that you won't marry them because you think that their marriage and or family will fail because of race mixing - or because they are homosexuals but that's a whole other thing I am sure the Reverend Bardwell is against - don't you think some damage is already done? I mean, you basically admitted to these people that you are not only at least a little but racist, but you also confirmed that there are still people out there who believe that their love is wrong.

You may "let them use [your] bathroom", but obviously, you still don't think they ought to marry outside their kind, thus will pass that trouble onto someone else.

Part of me really wants this guy to come to the church I sing at - Madison Avenue Baptist Church - and to meet this one couple in particular. She is Asian, he is Black, and their new son is adorable and loved and was recently dedicated at the church.

And I don't see that as an exception to the rule. Nor do I care to believe that their living in New York City, where they are more easily accepted, is or should be an exception to the rule. Revered Bardwell, if you say that you have seen such marriages get ugly too many times, why not try to change that by not only taking these couples on, but counseling them on how, while it may be a struggle for such a couple in your area, their love, and God's love is stronger than that hate; that they and their potential family should be prepared for some possible ugliness, but anyone who doesn't agree with their marriage sadly just hasn't had enough love, thus has remained ignorant. Open your own heart Reverend Bardwell and show others in your area and your parish that mixed race couples are couples just like any single race couple: they are people who love and are committed to each other; enough to want to take vows, start a family and work through whatever trials may come their way. Don't perpetuate the hate. Spread the love, Reverend Bardwell, spread the love.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

sigh

2009-10-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

Baseball season is over...at least it is for Red Sox nation, thanks in no small part to Jonathan Papelbon. Jonathan Papelbon, back in 2007, was our star closer. He would stare down his opponent across from the mound, and without a thought, strike out the side. Basically, it became generally assumed that once he hit the mound, the game would be over.
Last year, he started getting a little sketchy.
This year, I started to feel like I was watching Derek Lowe before they made him a starter; he could be brilliant, cause a lot of drama by walking people or letting in runs, but would still win the game, or then he would just give up runs and blow the game entirely.
The other night, Pap went for the "give up runs and blow the game entirely approach.

Now I can't say that the Sox would have won the next couple of games and come from behind from a 2 game deficit, but I would like to believe that they at least would have gained some momentum, and possibly pulled out a win...
And then been smacked around by the Yankees.

Thus, I actually prefer the Anaheim win as the last thing I needed to deal with was all the Yankee fans I know dropping karmic payback on my head for the all the trash talk I've been able to indulge in for the last few years.

There's definitely going to be a shakeup in the lineup for next season...and if they keep Pap, will they make him a starter?

In the meantime, GO ANGELS!

Peace --Alex

wants to know why....

2009-10-09T13:19:00.001-07:00

peace, at least according to Rush Limbaugh, must be considered "emasculating"? Or at least the neutering of America?

President Barack Obama was awoken this morning with the news that he had won The Nobel Peace Prize. I assure you, the surprise was not lost on Obama, who, amidst many who started off the day saying that it was too early for him to get the award as he hasn't DONE anything yet, admitted that he himself does not deserve it. But for the conservative pundits it was again proof of some fey, European conspiracy. Basically, Limbaugh, and others, believe that the honor was given to him in order to keep him from bombing Iran and throwing more troops at Afghanistan, thus "emasculating" the nation.
Why is it...rather...why MUST we feel that the only way to deal with our enemies is to bomb the hell out of them? Pundits like Limbaugh cannot see that this did not work in Iraq. And it is presently not working much in Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden, the man who actually attacked us, is still on the loose, the Taliban has risen again despite supposedly being shut down in Afghanistan many moons ago, and a whole new slew of terrorists started up in Iraq, BECAUSE of our invasion. Officially, MORE people want to kill us, because we took the "pre-emptive strike" policy. And MORE bombing is not the way to get all this to stop.
Gandhi, Mandela, Tutu, King; would the conservative pundits honestly call these people "emasculated" - LESS than men - for trying to fight their fights peacefully? Would these people who call themselves Christians say that JESUS was "neutered" by his stance of turning the other cheek? Violence was used against them, their governments abused them, but did they look to bombs and violence as ways to fix their situations? No. They used peaceful civil disobedience. They may not have dealt with someone attacking their country, but, again, the bombing hasn't brought us justice has it? Not that I've seen.
It is appalling that Limbaugh and others seem to think that the only way for our country to appear forceful and, shall we say "manly" is if we remain the bully on the international playground. We are not the only country in the world. There are other people here and they are not our underlings.
Europe, and a good bit of the rest of the world did not appreciate George making a bully pulpit out of the White House. During Obama's campaign, they, along with the majority of our country, saw hope and change on the way. They saw that yes, the majority of our people wanted out of this war and this tyranny. So while the award may be early, one can't deny that the Nobel committee saw just enough change, hope as well as a light towards a more peaceful world with the election of our President; thus found Obama worthy of this prize. Obama took our country on a sharp turn down a more positive and diplomatic path, but he - and therefore, we - still have a lot of mess to trudge through. We must help him uphold the promises that led to this honor.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Public option... again, why we need it...

2009-09-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine back in MA would like to get state health insurance. She is unemployed (just lost out on a job she waited 3 MONTHS to hear about), supplements her groceries at the local food pantry, but because she made just that little bit over the limit to qualify for state health insurance, she can't get it until NEXT year.

Another woman I know, who just got a great new job, has to be considered "part-time", despite the fact that she works there five days a week, because the company can't afford health insurance for their employees at this time. She luckily qualified for state health this year, but by next year, there's a chance she'll have officially made too much, lose the qualification and possibly have to go without unless her company a) starts doing better financially and can actually afford to provide health care OR b) a decent and affordable public option becomes available.

There are far too many stories like this out there and yours might be one of them. Please call, write, fax and/or email you congressfolk and make sure they support the public option. Perhaps even send them this video for a chuckle that still hits home.

IN THE MEANTIME...The Sox...play the Yankees this weekend. The Yanks had the day off yesterday therefore will essentially be more rested. Or perhaps just more cocky and will not be ready for the beat down the Red Sox would like to give them. Let us think positively for the boys in Red this evening and...GO SOX!

Peace and Keep Paying Attention!

--Alex

Cuz, you know...Carter isn't wrong...

2009-09-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

It became a whole lotta news when former President Jimmy "I don't care if it's unpopular I'm gonna say it" Carter claimed that the reason behind the extreme reactions to Barack Obama's first few months in office is racism. It is a blanket statement, but, while he may not be completely right, you know he's not wrong either.

The man has not been in office longer than the average pregnancy (I should know as two friends of mine conceived in January and one of them just gave birth last week - yay Kelly!) but he has already received, as previously mentioned, 400% more death threats than George W. did during his entire eight year reign. I doubt it's just because he's considered a little liberal. If anyone got that viral video that has been all over Facebook and YouTube about the 9/12 rally, there are a good number of folks out there who still believe he's a Muslim - something that shouldn't matter anyway as we are a pluralistic nation AND any rational person knows that not all Muslims are extremists or terrorists...just like not all Christians are fundamentalist wackjobs out to wipe out the Muslims.
Thing is, when these people think Muslim, they don't necessarily connect the word with the faith, they connect it with "Arab"; they connect it with a brown person (preferably with a turban or a burqa). (And one could note how there were virtually no people of color at the 9/12 rally in DC.) it brings us back to when the conservatives during the '08 campaign insisted on discussing the "foreigness" of Obama. He has the funny name, has a father from another country, but not just any other country. Oh no, his father came from a non-European country...a country full of black people and Muslims and therefore, unlike anyone else who has a funny foreign name - like my first generation Danish-American mother - he became listed as truly "foreign". And it gave the conservatives campaigning against him a better word to use than "negro".

I would like to believe that somewhere, there may be some conservative person out there who might actually want to dispell the ignorance abounding with some other argument other than "It's not about race! It's about how the president bailing out the banks! and trying to socialize our medicine! and allowing the gays to get married!" etc etc etc. Those arguments don't work because, a) they make you look bad, b) the banks failed because of various and sundry folks -primarily Republican - taking advantage of deregulation arranged by the Republicans, and c) oh don't get me started on health care and how gay marriage does not mess with the institution of marriage.
But sadly, the GOP does not have an adult leader at this time. They are a bunch of discombobulated lambs - wait, how about young wolves - being led, not by a responsible elder statesman, but by crazy pundits like Glenn Beck, Mike Savage, Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh; and many others, but these folks shout the loudest. The GOP should be embarrassed by their behavior and by how they have allowed themselves to go along with the slinging of misinformation and to become the mouthpieces of over-the-top media personalities rather than actually thinking for themselves. God forbid they stand up, tell these crazy people to shut up and actually try to have some rational discourse across the aisle.

Yes...I actually just felt bad for the GOP. But, you gotta admit, it appears that somehow the election of the first black president seems to have completely thrown them over the edge. Rather than taking in the historic moment, accepting the fact that the people voted this man into office, and taking the opportunity to work properly with the new president, they started screaming like tantrum riddled children. I mean come on, there was a choice between a woman and a black man....I really believe now that this threw the old schoolers into such a tizzy that their present reaction would be shocking if it were LESS extreme, thus it is sadly not entirely unexpected. It is just thoroughly disappointing that rather than to rise above the shock that America is indeed evolving and decided to vote in someone other than a conservative older white man, they would instead prefer to divide the country with ignorance and hate.

And speaking of America evolving, one thing the census is working on improving is how they count multiracial folk. There is also a group out of Arizona State that is actually trying to study the multiracial experience. I've never seen a survey like this before and don't know of many studies, so if you are bi- or multiracial and would interested in taking this survey, I have linked it below. Thank you Jen Chau, head of SwirlNY for posting it on Facebook.

"Under the direction of Professors Brandon Yoo, Kelly Jackson, and Rudy Guevarra at Arizona State University, we are conducting a research study to examine the multiracial experiences of ad...Read More

www.surveymonkey.com

In the meantime, KEEP PAYING ATTENTION! And go hug a conservative as obviously they have not had enough love in their lives.

Peace --Alex

Fall? Already? What?

2009-09-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, the days are already getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping (after already having a cool summer) and football has begun - though someone needs to tell Tom Brady that after their pathetic showing against the Jets (and while they beat Buffalo, there was still quite a bit of sloppy play).

At least the Red Sox seem on track for the Wild Card and are only five games behind the Yanks.

My in-laws are not sports folk - unless you are talking golf, which I still have trouble seeing a sport (SORRY!) - but my brother-in-law and his family are Angels fans. Their oldest, Christopher, apparently can give you names and stats and all the rules, but I don't think he is quite old enough for me to talk baseball trash with him. I so wanted to though after the Sox took 2 out of three from the Angels and are now only five games behind the Yanks and pretty much right on track for the Wild Card. (This despite Manny Del Carmen and the rest of the 'pen blowing the game last night)

IN THE MEANTIME...It is Climate Week NYC and the streets around the UN are blocked and crowded by visiting dignitaries. And according to a guy I know who works at the UN, the cafeteria is no longer - at least during this week - offering plastic plates, but asking people to grab a real plate for their lunches which they can bring back to the kitchen for washing. As this appears to be a new policy, I'm guessing the UN suddenly has new low pressure sinks and toilets and all sorts of new green stuff that they forgot about until setting up a Green conference.
Now while you may not be able to get in on the various speeches inside, you can check out this panel during which my friend Marisa will be debuting a selection from her documentary Glass Houses. Besides watching our plastics and our carbon "footprint", you gotta also think about how we might shrink our "foodprint" as more often than not industrial farms are more a hazard to our environment than a help.

And, unless you've been watching Fox news, you have missed out on the fact that Obama will be seated "a few feet away" from Mohmar Qaddafi during a session tomorrow. Which, of course, proves to Fox that Obama is indeed a fanatical Muslim looking to get some helpful fascism hints from Libya's leader. (see "UN Seating chart")

Speaking of Black/Mixed people, I highly recommend checking out the work of this group of which I am a member. Over the summer, they held an event called SwirlCamp during which a small group of folks sat down and seriously discussed issues of race, multiracialism; what issues we've had and still have and what we can do about them. There are no easy answers, but the ideas were flowing and posted here. I recommend the read...

And now for shameless plugging and deep thoughts...

The second show I ever directed was as part of the Estrogenius Festival at Manhattan Theatre Source. I had an excellent experience and did it again the following year. I missed it the next year and last year, but this year, I am back at it. One reason I applied to be a director again earlier this year was to give myself something to creative to do that wouldn't involved too much talking or singing as I continue to deal with my inconsistent voice, but I'll tell ya, I am already getting so much more out of it...and talking much more than planned :p.

As part of Week 3, The Dueling Princess is one of 5 excellent shows being done. Written by Lisa Zadok of Allston, MA, it is about a feisty Princess who has to marry, but is not going down the aisle without a fight. And because while we may be feminists and fighters, there is still something about being a princess, more women auditioned for this show than any other in the week. I had an embarrassment of riches to choose from, and am so glad I have the fab cast I have. We had a great rehearsal last night and I gotta say, there is nothing like working with good people to bring out the funny to remind you that while things might be frustrating, we can still guide laughter into the world.

Other good things? Two weeks ago, I did some back ground recording for my friend's boyfriend...and came home with ProTools on my laptop, a microphone and an MBox. Last week, I was trying to record stuff and found out that my laptop could not hold the power of ProTools. That was Monday, and I had a deadline for Wednesday. I also had a decision to make: do I head up to Greenwich, give everything back to the boyfriend and go up every few weeks spending up to half of what I might make recording on train fare? Or do I make an investment in a new computer, keep all the equipment and take advantage of the fact that essentially I would have a recording studio - however rough - in my apartment; have the ability to make my own demos, make podcasts, be a Manhattan recording branch for the boyfriend, master ProTools, etc etc.
I made the investment.
I had some initial technical difficulties and as I worked out the quirks of the program and all, and no doubt there will be more. But somehow, after recording pop vocals all morning last Thursday, making sure I was not pushing myself, watching my vocal technique, I somehow surivived four days of immense stress and sleep deprevation and came out with the voice I know I am supposed to have.

And then I did Big Night Out and nearly lost it at the end of the night :p BUT I know more and more what it is supposed to be like.

It has been a very frustrating year - okay YEARS since this all began with the loud jobs many moons ago - avoiding auditions because I couldn't be sure what the voice might sound like, and still not getting work when it was good; really wanting to market myself; get out there on Twitter and FB and work on my brand with The Savvy Actor and my show with all the characters voices I need to work on...It often has left me jealous and bitter and cranky and led to sulking over bad TV and snack food.

But according to my vocal therapist, I've hit a turning point.

And if that is indeed the case, then it is a point of lift off. It may still take a good long time for me to be fully consistent vocally, but I am determined to turn at this point and never go back down the previous path again. If I don't shout over the crowd at ya at a bar, miss a late night because I'd like to healthy for my church gig/audition/recording session/rehearsal the next morning or avoid a chat during a Motorhead show, I do hope you'll understand, it's not you. It really is me...and I'll sing ya somethin' pretty for your patience.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

And where were you?

2009-09-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted on her Facebook page, "Where were you on 9/11?" and told the story of how she was teaching pre-school in Boston at the time and as it got around that two planes which had taken off at the nearby Logan Airport had crashed into the twin towers, she and rest of the teachers were trying to keep it together for the kids.
I didn't want to post the whole story of my day as a "comment" as I never can just shorten it to just that first moment when I and the other fellow actors in line for an audition heard the news, so I sent her this message instead. I added a couple of details that I forgot to add at the time, but, well...here's where I was that fateful day...

The day started out sitting outside on this cool, perfect and clear tuesday morning, waiting in line for an audition. I remember talking and laughing with people, all of us remarking on how gorgeous a day it was. We got let into the building at 8:30am or so - sign in was at 9am - and as we are getting settled, this guy with those radio headphones calls out that "a plane just hit one of the Twin Towers" I got my walkman out, scrambled to get my headphones on and listened to the news as well. The room was kind of hushed already as we took in the news that a "small" plane had hit one of the towers: what sounded like a horrible accident. Next thing you know, the hush is broken by first, the monitor who has not heard the news yet announcing that it's time to sign in and to find our places back in line if we'd left, and then by the guy with the headphones saying "The other tower's been hit, We're under attack!" We're not awake enough and too much in shock to take this in just yet so the line shuffles forward and we get our appointment cards and as soon as I get my card, I get my walkman back out and start listening.
I remember stepping outside and noticing how quiet everything was. No cars, hardly any people...a woman walked up to a coffee cart guy and said "Did you hear what happened?" You heard random "What's going on?"'s and "I can't believe it!"'s and such. When I got to the corner, I looked left like you would for traffic, except there was no traffic, and at the end of the street on the horizon all you could see was billowing smoke. As I walked west to work from 54th and Lex, that smoke continued up Park, Madison, Fifth...I don't think I passed more than 8 people on the streets, and saw all of two or three cars and this was essentially rush hour in New York City.
There's a hotel on 6th avenue whose bar window usually is draped in red curtains. As I passed it, I noticed the curtains were pulled back and there was a construction guy and a businessman, I think, standing in front of the window. The bar had the TV on there on the TV news was footage of the North Tower with a gaping hole billowing smoke. I remember thinking that I had seen some of the building from the street, but there's no way I could have from where I was, but I will never forget that smoke for the rest of my life.
I got to work and immediately turned on the phones, in case someone needed... something. Only a couple of my co-workers were in at the time, one of whom turned on the TV in the boss's office. I somehow felt I had to be glued to my switchboard and rarely left it, as if the news was frivolous and any call that came in would be some sort of an emergency. I did not see the towers fall on the news when it happened, but the guy who had turned on the TV ran down the hall to tell me about it. I remember that was one time I went to the office to see it on TV. And then I ran right back to my switchboard.
Of the few calls I got before they sent us home, one was from my co-worker Marisa in Brooklyn who couldn't get into work because they had shut down the trains...there were ashes that blown across the river and were now on her stoop and the street; another was from my co-worker Seth who had asked if I had heard from his brother as his brother was supposed to cater there that morning and he hadn't heard from him (the catering ended up being some place else, but as cell service was derailed, the only way Seth's brother could contact him was by calling their parents in Alaska and the parents called Seth on a landline...this is why I still have a land line phone in my apartment). Seth asked me to call him if I heard from his brother and then nearly broke down as he told me how he had seen people jump from the towers (he and his brother lived downtown).
I started getting emails. People couldn't use their cellphones in the city, but we managed to have internet. The first email I got was from my best friend's (sadly now ex-) wife and simply read "Are you okay?" Next came from my friend Sean in Boston and then others. I printed up all the emails from that day and still have them...and am so grateful I got them.
The company that was booked at City Center at the time called the boss (who had made it in from Brooklyn that morning) and asked about whether or not they would be performing. We were like "Um, did you see what has just happened?!?!" Apparently, they were worried about missing a chance at a NY Times review (they were from Spain and I would like to believe just in shock). They were assured that the dance critic from the Times was not going anywhere tonight. No one was going anywhere that night.
I remember looking out the window later and seeing lines of people walking. The subways and buses were shut down, no vehicles were allowed on the roads save for emergency vehicles, so people were walking home.
When we got let go for the day, I remember heading to a cafe for lunch with a co-worker. It was packed, full of people talking, but no one was laughing, smiling, joking. Just loud mutterings really. My friend and I were couldn't help but look around, caught up in the eerieness of it all. By the time we were done, the buses were back up. I grabbed a bus that rolled very slowly to 175th and was full of stunned and emotional people. I was planning on walking from 175th, but the subways were back running by the time I got there. I took the train home, walked to my building, went to get a beverage at the bodega at the base of building and looked at the Lebanese guy who ran it behind the counter. His eyes were red and wet...and my first thought was how he and his brother were going to get a lot of crap from ignorant people, despite the fact that they were just as upset as everybody else.
I watched as much of the TV footage as I could stand, but it was so constant...

The next day...I went to work...we were going to be open that night. It would be free to the public. Many folks were appalled, as most of Broadway was going to be dark again in tribute and I was surprised as well, but I volunteered to usher that night even if it was only to get out of the house. I gotta tell ya, so many people were so happy that we were open. We had all these tourists who wanted to get away from their hotel TV's and were so glad to have something else to see and do that night after 9/11. I was so glad that we could be there to help...even if the show ended up not being that great :p
So that's where I was on the the 11th (and the 12th)

Where were you?

Peace --Alex

Because "stay in school"...

2009-09-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

is a socialist mantra.

Really?

I know the conservatives still can't believe that Obama is president and can't stand the fact that he is, you know, trying to improve things, but seriously...spouting to the public that Obama's speech to school children this morning was going to amount to liberal propaganda and his pushing his "communist agenda" on the wee minds of our children is going above and beyond...again.

I saw a woman interviewed on the news this morning, holding her child, standing with her husband...and she remarked how she does not believe in abortion or gay marriage and does not want these liberal views shoved down the throat of her children. Um...you seriously believe that the president is going to actually talk about THAT on the first day of school?

Reagan spoke to the kids, Bush 41 did, even W. did...and while I am sure I might not have been pleased to have my (presently non-existent) children have to listen to W. - mainly because I just couldn't stand listening to his whiny voice for longer than a couple of minutes at a stretch - I would know that George was not going to make a policy speech. He was going to make a speech, like his father and Reagan and others before them, about staying in school and hey, have a great first day!

So...as the speech was put on the internets here for all to see, I decided to see where in his speech he says he wants kids to have abortions and be okay with gay marriage...And I couldn't find it. Nuthin'. I kept looking amidst the sections about how students should take responsibility for their destiny, let alone their schoolwork and not let various disadvantages distract them from working harder or give them an excuse to talk back to their parents or teachers, but nope, never saw anything about abortions and the gays getting married; not even the WORD communism...I'm still looking, and if it's there, I'll let you know...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION! (Like your teacher said!)

Peace --Alex

Remembering Ted Part Deux

2009-08-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Because I grew up in Massachusetts and this man was my Senator and the Kennedy's essentially feel like part of the family in this state....oh and Ted actually did stuff for the state, I was glued to the memorial last night...

and to the church service this morning...

and were I in MA today, I would be standing with my mother and my sister at Hanscom Air Force Base in the rain awaiting a moment to salute the casket that will go by, be loaded onto a military plane and flown to the Capitol where he will be buried alongside his brothers.

It is grey, stormy day...much like the day Ted first brought out is friend John Culver out on the water for the first time. I am quite sure, Ted is getting out the boat, dragging his brothers along and hitting the water.

Remembering Ted...

2009-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

I had come to home to Boston Tuesday night. It was late, I was exhausted, my sister, in her own fog of a long day, had taken a wrong turn and we got trapped amidst the summer construction on the way back to my mother's house. I remember finally getting to bed and was not eager to have to wake up early the next morning - workmen were coming to work on the kitchen the next morning. There was just an odd pall of crankiness and something just not being quite right over that day.

The next morning, I come down for breakfast. The TV is on and my mother says "Did you hear about Ted Kennedy?" It was 8am and the tributes had already begun.

It didn't seem possible.

Really? Ted Kennedy? Dead? Gone? Silenced?

Most people figured that when he didn;t make Eunice's funeral, that that was a bad sign. I remember thinking, after hearing that he was asking the governor of Massachusetts to change the law about being able to appoint a temporary replacement before a special election should anything happen, that that was the bad sign. Still, I think a good many of us figured that he still had at least a few good months if not years in him before he left the Senate floor.

There are those who can't get beyond Chappaquiddick or the case of his nephew William Smith...but like with many a flawed public persona, we have to remember that there were many good deeds done as well:

*WIC
*CityYear
*the ability to vote at 18
*a continual fight for civil rights
*despite being a staunch Catholic, he fought for a woman's right to choose
*while against both Iraq wars, he fought for proper body armor for soldiers and as well as post-war care.
*he started fighting for health care as early as 1964...
*he helped immigrant families

Channel 5 in Boston showed a scrolling list of his legislation and even as they had to finish a particular broadcast, the list would keep rolling as there was not enough time to show all of the work he had done.

To whom much is given, much is required is the family motto, and he lived that motto whole-heartedly.

It is a sad loss to not only the Kennedy family, but to the commonwealth of Massacuhsetts and this country that this voice has been silenced. We can only hope that someone, whether a member of the family or not, takes up the torch and continues the dream.

Peace --Alex

Cuz it's just that good...

2009-08-25T08:53:00.001-07:00

My friend Johanna is a talented singer and actress. Her fiancee Andrea works for a non-for profit and writes a tremendous blog. In this blog, she had written a letter to the president, which I truly hope he reads...and I hope you do, too. Rock on, Andrea.

Sox...Yankees...wild card?

2009-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Sox got swept by the Yanks the last time they played against each other. Previous to that nightmarish spate of games, the Yanks had lost 8 straight home games to the Sox...it felt like when Darth Vader gave into the hate and attacked Luke Skywalker (before Luke reminded him that he still had good in him...) The Sox have - like pre-2003 history - have fallen apart post-All Star Game and are far too many games behind the Yanks...but as they prepare for this next series that starts tonight, they can at least go in having swept Toronto including beating Roy Halladay. They will have momentum...and the need for payback...here's hoping they get it.

The day has been slooooooooow at the office, which is good in the sense that I haven't had to function too much on four and a half hours sleep (if that), but bad in the sense that I could easily have fallen asleep at my desk (or under it...taking the phone and door clicker with me...)
This is the one problem with having a early morning day job AND co-producing a cabaret evening.

Last night was the Finals of 1930's Idol. We had ten excellent contestants, brought down to five, and then it was 3 - audience favorite, runner-up and the winner. To see the different song stylings and costumes, I am sure it was difficult choice for our three judges, but Merrill Grant got audience favorite, Ritt Henn got runner-up and Sigali Hamburger - last year's runner up - was the winner :) If you hear of any of them performing anywhere, PLEASE go see them.

And speaking of seeing people, our guest performers were also pretty darn amazing. Daryl Sherman - a jazz and cabaret icon graced our stage last night in her own inimitable fashion; there's a reason she was the 2009 MAC Award winner for best jazz sinter/instrumentalist. And then we had the just astonishing Gelber and Manning. You have to go see these people if you care at all about jazz age music or just want to see two really excellent performers :)

Dorothy Parker would have been proud I think, to have seen such a wonderful celebration of her spirit...yet would not have shown up for it.

After the night was over, we headed over to one of her old haunts, Flute bar midtown for some champagne and a chance to sit back. I did have to leave after only one Kier Royal as the man and the MIL had headed over to the Carnegie Deli as a final farewell over their famous cheesecake. Elsie - my MIL - is presently on her way back to Italy. That woman saw more museums and other events here in the city in two weeks that most might see in a year. More power to you, Elsie and safe travels.

Peace to all y'all and remember KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Workin' readin', the hustle continues...

2009-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

And it's not just me and a good part of the general populace...the president and the Democrats are hustling now for health care reform. They have hit a brick wall with the Republicans, they feel and are now working to just get their own Congressional posse to agree on proper reform, and the public option at long damn last.

Obama may seem overwhelmed and a bit lost and disappointing, but that is just because HE IS! I don't think Jimmy Carter came into this much hoo ha after taking over for Ford - mainly Nixon. Economic crisis, health care issues, two wars, climate change, the fight for gay marriage and already %400 more death threats than the 3,000 death threats George W. recieved while in office (and George actually EARNED some of that hate). I applaud the man for not having a mental breakdown during a press conference screaming "It's too much! It's too much! I was wrong! Let Hillary take over, I don't care!" (knock on wood)

It is just an outrageous time...and for the Republicans to remain so petty about Obama and the Democrats winning that they have to poison the airwaves and the internet with misinformation, fear and hate is just that - petty and dangerous to democracy. Good God, people, work it out! I mean, do you want to be this lady getting an earful from Barney Frank? (can I just say, it makes me love him all the more?)

Okay, I will give props to one Republican right now...because despite the fact that he essentially gave George his job and his war and fought affirmative action, the man also wants to make sure that gay people can get married...

In the meantime, I saw this headline on the New York Times website - it is a preview to an article that will be in the magazine this weekend - to me, it was a "Duh!" headline and story. Yet it is shocking how many honor killings, baby drownings, rapes, etc continue in this day and age. It is well beyond times for this kind of treatment to change.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

The job today is slow...super slow...and it may stay that way. The woman I am back up for is out sick and things are STILL slow enough for me to gather my thoughts and type all...this. It is not a summer Friday...I am one of four people on this floor right now as the rest are working from home or not in. I figure all hell will break loose with phone calls and food deliveries as soon as Labor Day rears its "Summer's over, suckers!" tongue-waggling head, but for now...I will enjoy the confirmation of the fact that Alex cannot work from home. Alex needs an actual office and apparently the thrill of doing my work while on The Man's dime. Thus I am actually getting some stuff I would not get done at home - particularly now that our second "let's see how well we do without cable?" experiment is over and I can watch as many Law & Order: Criminal Intent's and Daily Show reruns as I want.

Tonight, the hustle continues with seeing some of a poetry reading with the MIL and the man (not The Man, my man, though while he does look more like the oppressor now, he looks darn good), and then hitting my former co-worker Brian Hampton's show In the Jungle Fun Room which is based on his actual experience working at a zoo. There are so many Fringe shows I actually WANT to see and like with social events in general in New York, you can't see them all, but I will at least get to see this one :) And hopefully the Robby Sandler produced Sex In the Holy Land...and...and...and

Before I sign off as I actually do have some paperwork that is not ME related sitting here like the Geico money staring at me and waiting for me to actually get to it, may I ask HAVE YOU CALLED/EMAILED YOUR CONGRESSFOLK?

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Economic Indicators, Health Care and the Hustle

2009-08-18T07:08:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned in a previous post, the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC does a segment on "Uncommon Economic Indicators"...well, here's one for you: I'm actually working.

It's not full time, but after months of not hearing much from the temp agencies, I suddenly have a two day a week gig, got to work an extra day Monday (and that may turn into something more regular in a couple of weeks) and the lady I alternate with at the two-day-a-week job is on vacation so I got an extra day here. (Could have been three but I was supposed to hit Boston Monday and we've got 1930's Idol finals Thursday...I'll get to all that...) I am still a little shocked that I am sitting in an office again and getting a paycheck from someone other than unemployment (still getting the unemployment but at least I am hopefully weaning myself off of it)

But before I get into all that, I have to talk about the Health Care Reform bill and the fearmongerers that are trying to stop it or mangle it.

why, Why WHY are people buying into the fear and misinformation again as they did with Iraq and back when Clinton was trying to institute health care reform and why Why WHY can't the Democrats stand up to the fearmongering bullies and speak properly to the American people about this?

For all those freaking out about the "public option", last check, the public option is AN OPTION for those without insurance and who cannot get it through work. If you have insurance through work and you like it, you get to STICK WITH IT.

For all those freaking about the government "taking over my medicare!" um...Medicare and Medicaid are government run...and last check, they don't plan on messing with it.

For all those freaking out over the co-op option...I don't know enough about that one yet, but it sounds like they don't either...so far, it sounds like some compromise to make the GOPers happy so they don't have to vote for that scary public option.

I really think it is time to CALL, WRITE, FAX, EMAIL your Congressfolk about making sure that the public option is in there and that proper reform HAPPENS. We can't risk it NOT happening.

Now, back to uncommon economic indicators...

*My husband, who has had long hair since well before I met him, got it cut off yesterday.

Why would this be an indicator of the economy?

My husband has worked for an investment firm for about 8 years, grew out his hair while there, and still has his job. He has essentially made himself indispensible (knock on wood) and no one has complained as he maintains a professional demeanor and does his work well.

He has been looking for a second job, had two interviews and he has felt that while his resume and interview skills are stellar, the hair may have actually been an issue. (yes, someone may have actually looked at him and thought, "you dirty longhair!")

Four ponytails later, he is clean cut and ready for interviews. Now, he had other reasons for cutting the hair - just a change, for one - but the job issues were indeed a large part of the decision. We shall miss is long locks, but a) this could lead to a second job, b) he still does look mighty good and b) Locks of Love will LOVE him.

As for me, the jobs, and life in general aka the hustle is slowing down a little bit an admittedly I am okay with it. Allow me to give you an idea of my last couple of weeks:

July 30th
*work at new financial job: skip out on other plans that evening as I have had no time to clean and the sister is coming into town for the weekend. I clean, meet the man downtown at our friend Sam's place for drinks, go meet sister at Bolt Bus stop on 34th.

August 1st
*12-2 Work for Dianne (personal assistant position)
*2:30ish - 8:30ish meet sister and man at The Natural History Museum and then hit Central Park. There is much walking, people watching - where else can you see acrobatic b-boys, Thoth, a drum circle, beach volleyball, disco dancing roller skaters and end with some tango before hitting Topaz for thai?

August 2nd
*Sing at MABC - the wiccan sister comes, does not burst into flames and likes the minister. I think we have a meal at the diner in my neighborhood at some point...late brunch. Sister is too tired to hit MoMA so we chill before...
*meeting mom for birthday dinner which is followed by a walk through Times Square. Sister, for some reason unbeknownst to me, actually wants to go into the madness of the M&M store. She ends up overstimulated from the whole weekend.

August 3rd
*train at new job
*run up to Whole Foods for picnic food and gear
*run down Brooklyn for picnic for friends for husband's b-day...for which he is sadly late due to MTA craziness. We drink enough prosecco to cover for him.
*Watch fab variety show at Galapagos and eat rest of picnic (they allow food!)
*drink rest of prosecco by water

August 4th
*first official day at new job
*do errand for Dianne
*run home for disco nap (which barely happens)
*do some emailing and such for BNO
*go to poi class
*see midnight Roots jam - leave at 2ish - am up for 21 hours.

August 5th
*sleep as much of the day as I can, but am dealing with last minute details and promotion of Big Night Out Ladies Night
*run to bank (I think)
*run home and make dinner

August 6th
*work for Shawn
*run over to Etcetera, Etc for quick dinner before Ladies Night. We are thrilled to find out that Daniele - owner of Etcetera, Etc - has not only purchased a baby grand piano for the room, but has had the sucker set up at least a few weeks ahead of schedule. We love Daniele.
*The open mic happens, we move into Ladies Night, go over time, and it is a fab fab evening. Thank Bo Mi Lee, Crystal Skillman, Amy Shapiro and Carla Lynn Hall.
*It is late night at the shuttle bus is running from 168th to 207.

August 7th
*work at new job
*skip Raul Midon and Michele N'degeocello FREE at Lincoln Center so I can make apartment remotely livable for incoming Mother-in-Law. Body tired. Not as much work gets done as we would like.

August 8th
*11-1 work for Dianne
*2-6ish auditions and call back discussions for Estrogenius Week 3 plays (including the one I am directing: The Dueling Princess)
*grab something to eat
*7:30ish meet MIL and Jeff at Barefoot Boogie where I am DJing. I leave early with the MIL, leaving Jeff with a cd to complete the music for the night. After getting MIL settled in, it is midnight-ish as I get to bed.

August 9th
*Sing at MABC
*run over to Estrogenius callbacks for my play. My hour is 1-2, the last hour is 2-3, from 3ish to 4:30ish - if not later - we discuss our casting and that part of the day is done.
*run back to Dianne's to finish stuff I couldn't get to the day before
*meet Jeff and MIL for...something I cannot remember...
*we get home and I make dinner

August 10th
*work for lovely lady at Public Garden Design
*run down to Trader Joe's - at rush hour - to pick up items for Dianne as well as some groceries of my own.
*get cab to Dianne's with groceries
*take my groceries and head home on subway
*have night in with husband

August 11th
*work at new job
*run down to Don't Tell Mama to meet with Jenny and Sidney about 1930's Idol. Jenny ends up being late thanks to the A train being cranky and I have to leave before she gets there so I can get to fire class.
*eat and head to Brooklyn for fire class
*have beverage before heading back home

August 12th
*work for Shawn
*get dinner
*run to Don't Tell Mama for 1930's Idol.
*I am told to write some introductions for the judges...short and perhaps witty in the vein of Dorothy Parker. This turns out to be a bad idea on short notice and sleep deprivation. I get the judges' bios off one of the judge's iPhones, scribble down as much relevant info as I can...and end up insulting some of the top members of the cabaret community. (will be more prepared for Finals and no attempt at funny will be made)
*after expenses, we make $8.94

August 13th
*work for Dianne
*see vocal therapist - we are both amazed that I have not gone compeletely hoarse. Still, I should take it easy...ha ha ha!
*meet man and MIL for dinner and then see Julie and Julia - Meryl Streep at Julia is wonderful. The movie is rather adorable and does indeed make you crave butter.

August 14th
*work at new job
*tighten up SW?F material. Only get caught once by co-worker for trying to speak it out loud and time it.
*get something to eat
*rehearse Strawberry Letter 23 by the Brothers Johnson with Eric and the band at Otto's before No Name begins
*Go over material one last time and then I get to watch before and after I perform, Aladdin Ullah, Carl Kissin, Kambri Crewes and Tom Shillue test out their own new material and just kill. It is beautiful...somehow I got to be part of this line-up. Thank you Eric Vetter.

August 15th
*work for Dianne. It is my last Saturday - and last day overall - to work for her. The only thing I will not miss is the home health aide drama which went on for at least four of the five weeks. Otherwise, a nice gig. Thank you, Jaye!
*head .. home...I don't know quite to do with myself
*go over church music
*take care of Estrogenius emails
*take a nap (?!?)
*meet the man and MIL at La Estufa. I forget the coupon we have and have to run home and get it. Luckily home is not too far away and the service, while not slow, is laid back just enough to give me time.

This week will be all about trying to properly fit writing in my soon-to-be less hectic schedule, getting back to auditioning, actually doing my vocal exercises fully each morning and...just getting organized.

Oh and getting ready for NEXT week's storytelling event at the Tenement Museum where H.R. Britton hosts LES Stories. It is an excellent storytelling event and I will be there telling a story with the theme "melting pot". Think I can put something together about that?

And don't forget to come down to the finals of 1930's Idol THIS THURSDAY AUGUST 20th!!! We got ten excellent finalists and it is going to be an excellent show :)

Lastly, people, CALL YOUR CONGRESSFOLK about health care reform and KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Skip Gates and my wacky work hustle

2009-07-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Here's my take on the whole Skip Gates (yeah, I call him Skip, he and I go way back...sure we do...) Hoo Ha after reading the articles and agreeing with my mother that racial profiling most likely occurred...

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=528584
http://wonkette.com/409970/famous-harvard-intellectual-arrested-in-connection-with-attempting-to-enter-his-own-home/
http://wonkette.com/409973/new-details-on-gates-arrest-make-slightly-more-sense/

I gotta say a) that neighbor lady, who has not responded to calls from the press, has got to feel like ass right now; b) Gates and his driver are black men dealing with police men - this sadly, even today, still rarely starts or ends well and c) I would like to believe that after a long international flight, dealing with the airport, time change and potential further travel (even if it is just to my summer home on the Vineyard), coming home to a damaged door so I gotta fight to get into my own house, and then after getting into my home, suddenly seeing police INSIDE MY HOUSE asking me for ID and whether or not I live there AND them telling me they got a call about a break-in, that I might be more reasonable and calm and not start shouting something like "Dude, get outta my house, you big dumb bigots!":...but I can't guarantee that. Personally, I would like to see the moment when Gates walks over to his neighbor lady's house, knocks on her door, with his cane and says "Hi, I'm your neighbor Skip Gates. I believe there was a misunderstanding the other day..."

IN THE MEANTIME...

The job hustle continues. One job (The Network) had to be phased out, but another - covering a personal assistant friend - came in to replace it...at least for a few weeks. I still sing - and very happily - at Madison Avenue Baptist Church, still work for my friend Shawn (need a financial advisor? anyone? anyone?) and as of August 3rd, I will be working 2 days a week at a financial firm. I may have to hustle, but I've at least got somethin'...AND it's somethin' that allows me to continue with creative endeavors.

The voice is getting stronger (yay!) and I've been singing more at the cabaret show I am associate producing called Big Night Out. While my co-producer calls my work "thankless", I can't be more thankful as I am learning what goes into producing, making great contacts and helping put on a great show. It is a fun and relaxed evening and I am diggin' it.

AND NOW FOR SHAMELESS PLUGGING....

Big Night Out has it's last open mic of the summer July 30th. Bring your book, test out that new audition song, that new piece your wrote, or have a drink and just listen.

AND THEN...perhaps you'll want to sign up for 1930's IDOL. Yes, in honor of Ms. Dorothy Parker herself, we are having a Jazz Age singing contest. You can sign up and get more details here...

AND IN BETWEEN THE OPEN MIC AND 1930's IDOL is a night that we've been wanting to do forevah! LADIES NIGHT. There are amazing women writing amazing music and it is time to show a few of them off. Amy Shapiro, Crystal Skillman, Bomi Lee and Carla Lynne Hall will be performing their music AUGUST 6th. I am very excited for this evening and do hope you will join us in celebrating the work of these women.

AND NOT RELATED TO BIG NIGHT OUT...

AUGUST 14th, I will be at No Name testing out new material for Single What? Female... I am FINALLY getting back to writing now that the hustle has slowed down a bit. Come on out and cheer a girl on...Actually, cheer the line-up on. It is sick featuring Michele Carlo and Alladin Ullah among others. It really will be an awesome night.

In the meantime, KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Time to play Catch-Up...

2009-07-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

May? It's really been since MAY that I last posted?

Well, we did have a month of rain that messed with my head so that might have been part of it. People in Seattle were laughing at us, I swear as we suffered through a near month of rain in June. And I, of course, somehow thought I was stronger than the weather...oooooh how wrong I was. So wrong.

IN THE MEANTIME...it only took until July, but we finally are having some actual summer. Today is one of those days, were I still at City Center, I would have again been pushing for the the wireless office. With all the frickin' apps out there for your phone, you'd think someone would have come up with the wireless switchboard for receptionists.

So much political stuff that I cannot believe I took no time to type about...the Republican party essentially having a breakdown with three crazy congressfolk...thank God for The Daily Show for keeping me up to date. The way I have been running around and ignoring my blogging duties, you'd think I had a job. Even now, I am nearly twitching to check SOMETHING ELSE on the computer...something perhaps job/audition related as this almost seems frivolous. Particularly after several chapters of Eden's Outcasts - a revelatory book about Bronson and Louisa May Alcott. Bronson was all about the self-denial, but somehow managed to write in his journal for hours at a stretch. This may not be my journal, but it is worthy of some time.

Particularly as I actually have some work related things to talk about!

August 14th I am tentatively on the bill for No Name again for a fab theme night known as 'Summer Reading". People will read from new work, do storytelling, or heck read what they are reading. I plan on bringing again some fresh summery Single What Female material and see how it goes over...and if I can stick to a strict ten minutes this time.

I also was recently photographed for a visual art piece called 'What Are You Anyway?" created by Samantha Isom. Her pictures are phenomenal and include statements made by the subject (there was a questionnaire to fill out). Ms. Isom is putting together a show featuring bi-racial artists. I do hope to be performing opening night of the exhibit as well as putting in a visual art piece myself.

Things is getting exciting again :)

The work continues...

2009-05-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Thank you Eric Vetter and No Name for squeezing me in this past Friday. I tested out some more new material for Single What? Female... and it went really well. It is nice to get such great response: laughter and cheers even! Thank you to all who came out for it! Now I just need to find another place to keep this going. There are story telling events, comedy nights, play reading evenings, but I have to do further digging for solo show test evenings. And if I can't find one, I need to create one. I need to keep the momentum going! If you know of anything please feel free to pass on the info.

In the meantime, talked too much yesterday...and last weekend, hence I have put myself on conversation pad status. I can honestly say that this has been the longest six months - mentally - since my father died. The nodes should have faded into nothing some time ago, but I am a talker. And a singer. A talker and a singer who is not allowed to talk or sing, but I need to do both in order to get a job (and do the jobs I have), whether it be performance related or just to pay the bills. And thus I am a bit tense. Which is not good for the chords...and the nodes...hence the reason I am on conversation pad status.

I have a very patient husband and equally patient friends.

IN THE MEANTIME...The Red Sox are in first place!!! Yes, they lost two out of three to the Mets, but Toronto lost and the Yankees remain behind, and the Sox did win last night and today, thus they are in first place and I want it to stay that way :) GO SOX!

Also, I do hope you took some time today and this weekend to remember those past and present in the armed forces. remember them now and all through the year.

and KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Getting there...

2009-05-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Before I start could we have a brief moment of silence for Ryan, my Omaha host last April who was killed in a motorcycle crash a year ago around this time. He was a good guy and like too many, died too young.

...

IN THE MEANTIME...

I've been trying to get back into the audition game again, slowly but surely. I've done a few things at The Network and yesterday went to my first theatre call for the Midtown International Theatre Festival (first half of the monologue felt rough, second half went well). Today I went to my first singer's call in MONTHS. They are trying AGAIN to do a revival of one of my favorite shows A Little Night Music. I went in, was the first person to sing the last verse of The Miller's Son of the day (I SO need to get some Charlotte Music...unless some director finally decides to make Petra a slightly older woman - Petra: Maid...Cougar - I have got no chance :p). I admittedly was probably thinking more about my sound than the song, hence was not brilliant, but it was nice to hear the sound is stronger and better than it was, thus still felt pretty darn good. Definitely is inspiring me to hit the PA library at long damn last and get some new music - Charlotte is a start, Adam Guettel stuff is next and I will take suggestions...

I still have work to do - hence I have to remind myself "baby steps" - but there has been enough improvement for me to feel ready to at least get back out there. Singing two minutes at a stretch (after proper warm up, not too high, not too low, and certainly not belting) can't be too bad. *was that lightening that just tried to strike me?*

The man and I had to pleasure of seeing Kristin Chenoweth Monday night at a special gala performance for City Center. (thank you to those who need to be thanked for helping us go from Rear Gallery to Rear Mezz). She was wonderful and funny as usual, but had a heartfelt moment when she broke down a bit towards the end talking about how she was so glad to work with that orchestra and to be able to sing at City Center again. "I really just needed to sing again.."she said through tears. ...boy howdy do I know that feeling.

*"baby steps, alex"*

The only other place I am singing these days is the Madison Avenue Baptist Church which is so excellent. If you are a motorcycle person, get yourself and your bike to the church May 31st for "The Blessing of The Bikes" Yes, Reverend Sparks herself is an avid biker and got the permits to do a blessing of the bikes on Madison Avenue. I so can't wait to see this. As well as hear the solo that fellow mezzo Darryl will be doing that day - there will be "riding" in it somewhere :)

Speaking of things to see and be at:

*No Name and A Bag O' Chips - It is a good time no matter what, but tomorrow night one of my favorite storyteller/performer ladies will be there: Michelle Carlo. She has done her own work in comedy, solo shows, and story telling; hosts her own storytelling series "It Came From New York", and is working on a book - Red Sheep Of The Family. She truly is a marvelous artist and so worth seeing. PLEASE go and see her along with one of my fav close up magicians, Lee Alan Barrett, comedy songwriter Sarah Herklots among others. It is going to be a great night so GO!

*BIG NIGHT OUT! - Yes, Dillon's has sadly closed and just as sadly, they did not handle their sudden closing well. It was like a break-up by post-it: sudden, unexplained and makes you feel a little dirty. But this does not stop the Big Night Out! We may not be happening at Dillon's, but we are happening! Just someplace NEW! The San Martin on the east side is taking us in and we have our first show there next week on May 21st. it will be a great night with Featured Composer Robert Rokicki and his fab writing partner Mike Ruby. You gotta come, you just gotta!

*Dance Parade! - yes, what started out mainly as a protest of the cabaret laws in Manhattan, has evolved into a true celebration of dance with all kinds of groups and companies parading and dancing in the streets. Don't get busted by the dance police for just standing there, join the parade and shake your groove thing this Saturday!

All right, the laptop is about to give out and I have to head to work at The Network, but I do hope all y'all are well and remember to KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

'Girly Manny'

2009-05-08T10:44:00.001-07:00

I gotta say that so far, that is my favorite headline about the Manny Ramirez steroid scandal. And, of course, it was in the New York Post.

If you have not heard, former Red Sox hitter and possibly former Dodgers player, Manny Ramirez got busted for taking steroids not just in the past, but NOW. How did he get past the testing? Female fertility drugs: hence the Post headline. He has been suspended for 50 games and fined over $8 million. It is believed that he started this business towards the end of his career with the Sox, basically starting it up as while he could definitely belt them out of the park without help, he wanted a new contract and was not going to get it unless he proved he was worth the years he had left on his Sox contract in addition to a anything else.

I almost feel bad for Torre having to deal with the nonsense. Didn't he have enough of that with Giambi and A-Rod?

This is Manny being STUPID not just...Manny...

So I'm listening to the BBC...

2009-04-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

this morning and they are, like all the news outlets, talking about Obama's"first 100 days". They sent reporters to Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, SC and just outside Wichita, OK. One reason they went to Oklahoma was because it voted 97% against Obama and remains one of the most conservative states. Now I know a few folks from Oklahoma and they are good people, but the ladies the reporter spoke to...well, even he said that you wouldn't meet any more generous and welcoming souls...but then again, it was a disclaimer, and I get the feeling that the guy's not black.

He was asking the ladies about how they felt about the direction of the values in this country and one of them talked about how terrible it is now: "Homosexuality...marriage of the same sex, abortions coming out your ear," [out your EAR?] and then another lady started talking about "And the blacks taking over everything. You don't see normal ads anymore. They're all black black black black." She even believes that her business is going to be shut down because she's not black. The reporter asked her if the government or anyone had actually said anything as such to her and she had to pause for a second before saying "No, but the blacks are getting promoted more now; they're getting the higher positions now..." - "Well, you know, there might be some people listening who might find what you're saying racist," - "Well, it's racist coming down on me, now."

Man, I had hoped to hit Oklahoma while on the road last year and now I feel I need to make a special trip. I would love to talk to these ladies myself, as their view of "what are you?" would indeed be um..interesting, that's for sure...I think I would also like to give them a hug as obviously they have just not been getting enough love.

IN THE MEANTIME...MAY 22nd (good lord, is it really going to be MAY tomorrow?) I will be back at No Name at Otto's Shrunken Head testing out new material for Single What? Female. Come on down!!!

Peace --Alex

Baby steps of revolution...

2009-04-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Just as I found myself happy that I am from the home of the American Revolution, I am very pleased to be a citizen of New York City. New York may have abstained when it was time to sign the Declaration of Independence, but Mayor Bloomberg is not abstaining when it comes to a woman's right to choose. He set up and signed the Clinic Access Bill which basically assures that women will have proper access to clinics. Whatever you may think of Bloomberg these days, you gotta give the man props for that...and why don't ya right here.

At the same time he is also pushing for gay marriage...as is Governor Patterson...as is the majority of the legislature...but there still could be a fight. If you live in this state, please call your assemblyfolk and senators and make sure that FINALLY gay marriage is an accepted right. My marriage has not been harmed by "the gays", neither will yours, people.

Peace --Alex

and KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Midnight Ride..for real...

2009-04-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah...midnight on a chilly April night...hundreds of locals and tourists hanging out in Lexington, no less...guy in period clothing on a white horse calling out "Arise! The regulars approach!" oh yeah, it happened...

Normally when they do the reenactments of Paul Revere's midnight ride - and eventual capture - they do it during the day, so families and tourists can come out at a decent hour. The capture was actually done at the capture site in Lexington during the day on Saturday (missed that one, sadly). But it was decided that things would be done a little differently this year. This year, they did an actual midnight ride.

There is nothing like heading out to Lexington, MA on this afromentioned chilly April night and see not just the streets that were rolled up by 6pm or so, but the cars lined up on curbs for nearly a half mile and crowds of folks in their layers heading out to watch a historical reenactment.

We love our sports. We love our history (perhaps not quite as much as our sports, but close)

Even teenagers on skateboards and wearing hoodies were hanging out in the cold waiting for the sound of hoofbeats and huzzahs.

By the time my sister and I got to the Hankock/Clarke House, the parsonage where Rev. Clarke - a Son of Liberty - housed John Hancock and Sam Adams just before the "Regulars" hit town, there was already a good-sized crowd. It was just before 11:30 and the rest of Lexington was dark save for the Lexington Minuteman on the Battle Green. There had to be at least a couple hundred people clambering for a good spot across the street from the house, which was all lit up (yay! lights make it easy to find!) and ready for the show.

Just as the cold was numbing our fingers and making me feel like a citified wimp next to the teenagers wearing nothing but thin hoodies and t-shirts, a gentleman came out to tell us the story of the famous midnight ride, and how Longfellow's poem was wrong - okay not out right wrong, but there were definitely a few historical inaccuracies. The two main ones are how a) Paul Revere did not make it to Concord himself, and b) he never shouted "The British are coming! The British are coming!" (most folks still saw themselves as British subjects so that would have been...well, willy. The soldiers were called Regulars so most likely the cry was "The Regulars Approach!" or "The Lobsterbacks are coming!"...something like that.)

After he was finished, a short play began, telling the story of how word was spreading about The Regulars and how Sam Adams, John Hancock and Rev. Clarke were making plans for defending themselves against them. Soon enough, from down the street, you heard the urgent gallop of a horse and the cry 'Arise! Arise! The Regulars approach! Arise! Arise! the Regulars approach!" In comes Paul Revere, on a lovely white horse who only got mildly freaked out by the digital cameras and phones flashing from the darkness. We are told how Dr. Warren had send Revere out, Paul goes in, talks to the others, and a few minutes later, William Dawes comes riding down the road with the same message as his predecessor and is also allowed in to discuss the plan for the next day.

The ladies of the house are, of course, distressed and we hear talk of how the men are handling it and "will protect us". Yes, I would have like to have rewritten that section to have the ladies own up to their own plan of signaling the ladies of the town with cauldron signals or coded needlework, but most likely, what was written, is closer to what actually happened (though I am tempted to look this all up :p)

There is more talk of plans, children and house staff are seen peering out of windows or looking directly out of an open upstairs window, but soon all are shuffled back inside, made to consider what they will take when escaping, and soon Dawes and Revere are back on the horses and galloping past the crowd. Milita and camp followers slowly march out...show over.

And somehow no complaints from the neighbors...that we know about.

There may be pictures as the sister did bring her camera (I sadly remain without for the time being), but the battery was going so I haven't heard if they came out yet. Still, pictures or no, it was something very cool to see and be part of, and reminded me that I am glad to be from the area where the revolution began. It is also a reminder that no matter who is power here, we need to KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!

Peace --Alex

Feeling the powah...

2009-04-18T09:22:00.001-07:00

Two of my Canadian cousins were planning on running the Marathon this year, but as one did not qualify, they decided to wait until next year to run. But, of course, my trip was already planned and I decided that while I may not be cheering on my cousins along the Marathon route, I could at least catch up with my friends and family up here over a slightly extended weekend.

So yes, I am the public library in Concord, but at least I sitting inside and not stealing WiFi from the parking lot and worrying about hitting the horn with the top of the laptop. The town is filled with more than it's usual Colonial fervor as this weekend, besides being Marathon weekend, is Patriot's Day weekend.

Yes way back in 1775, the British came out to shut up the Concord and Lexington rif raf and LOST, thus the beginning of the Revolutionary War and The Shot Heard Round The World. Presently, there are reenactors preparing for the parade Monday and tonight is the Patriot's Ball at the armory. I sadly have missed this ball every year and I hear it is quite the soiree, with folks dressed in their best Colonial attire. Thing is, back then, I most likely would have been the help...

In the meantime, I visited my sister at the Alcott House this morning. She had just finished up giving a tour and finger puppet show to a group of Brownie's (SO CUTE!) from New Hampshire. Gotta say, you really do feel the energy of a bunch of strong women in that house and I think all young girls-and women-should get a tour at some point. But as time is tough all over, Orchard House, like many places is not getting as much money to keep it going as it usually does. That may be one reason they are listed with Partners in Preservation. Partners in Preservation is like IdeaBlog and other such sites in that there is an amount of money ready to be given, and then YOU get to vote who gets it. In this case, there is $1 million dollars up for vote to spread around to various historical sites in Massachusetts and many of these historical sites are hoping you will vote for their site more than the others. And I am now doing the same thing. I am pushing that you vote for Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.
If you ever read Little Women, Little Men, Rose in Bloom or any of her other work and were touched by it; if you have prospered from a decent education (thank Bronson Alcott for changing the way kids are taught); if you ever looked up at the Lincoln Memorial in awe at the sculpture (Daniel Chester French was a student of May Alcott); if you just liked the various movie version of Little Women and were ever inspired to come see the actual house where Alcott wrote the book and performed the plays she wrote for she and her sisters; if you have a feminist bone in your body (or not!), you have vote to keep this site going. It is a wonderful home to see and experience. Just as Louisa contributed so much to the empowerment of women all over the world, and the family contributed so much to this nation, please see that Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House gets the funding it needs from Partners in Preservation. I assure, you it's a hard decision as there are a LOT of great sites there to vote for, but please cast a vote for Orchard House. and VOTE NOW!

That's my news of the day..

Peace -_Alex

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Forgot one!

2009-04-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

I knew that there was someone I forgot to add to the list there.

Joanna Parson - She has a fab and fun show called "Reddy or Not", a cabaret featuring the music of Helen Reddy. I have seen it and it truly hysterical. Helen Reddy herself saw it and agreed. There is going to be a benefit performance this coming Monday the 20th on behalf of the Transport Group - an excellent theatre company, perhaps best known for the ever fabulous A Train plays. Go. See Joanna. Support local theatre. www.joannaparson.com
(And if you do not make it to Reddy or Not, 4/27 is the nexy Happy Hour Salon hosted by Ms. Parson!)

In the meantime, I would love to thank Bolt Bus for having WiFi. And the man for his acquisition of a laptop for me. it may be an older model, it may be second hand, but it has the latest Mac software and is in my lap right now as we pass a truck from the New England Casket Company (is that a bad sign?). Sooooo excited, I can't even tell you.

I am heading up to MA to catch up with friends and family and may actually catch the Patriot's day parade for the first time in what seems like aeons. I did grow up in Minuteman Land, was in a fife and drum corps and my dad used to narrate the reenactment of the Battle at the Old North Bridge. I have marched in that parade and know some of the reenactors. For me, this will be a trip...and one day I will get the man up there to see it as, well, he has too. I don't think I'll drag him out for the dawn reenactment of the Battle at Lexington - for which there remains a huge crowd - but definitely the parade. Who needs the Marathon when there will be muskets?

Peace and Happy Weekend all! --Alex

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION

Blog...List

2009-04-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

I cannot beLIEVE that it has been just over a year since I did my fabulous trip. I would love to be promoting the cross country tour of Single What? Female, but sadly that is not the case, BUT I will be testing out new material again May 22nd at No Name and a Bag O' Chips and am looking for other venues as well. The great reaction at the last event really inspired me to make sure I get as much performance time as possible for this, so here's hoping :)

If you would like to relive any of that fab journey, feel free to go back to the April and May 08 archives of this blog :)

IN THE MEANTIME...

My husband and I have a list we have generally put out weekly about events going on around town. I am taking it over this weekend as well, I know too many fab people doing awesome work for me not to.

*No Name and A Bag of Chips - THIS FRIDAY at Otto's Shrunken Head. Eric's got a great line up including close up magician Lee Alan Barrett and the BTK Band! the show is twice a month and dude, it is FREE!!! No cover, no minimum and there is lots of funny. You can't ask for much more than that, my friends.

*Prospect Theatre - I love these people. I've done my cabaret with them as part of their "Dark Nights" series and did the fab show "Museum Pieces" last Spring. The two main things they got going on right now are the new musical Golden Boy Of the Blue Ridge which I hope to be catching soon AND Map Quest. Map Quest is like Museum Pieces in the sense that teams of writers have been asked to write short musicals, but this time rather than pieces of art, it's Map Quested locations. I am very excited to see this, particularly as the team of Alden Terry and John Herin are back and we all so dug singing their Kasinsky-based piece last year.

Perhaps a story - My friend H.R. Britton runs a storytelling evening at The Tenement Museum called Lower East Side Stories. He himself is a great storyteller and has his own show in the works. Tonight's theme: Down and Out in New York- basically tales about being broke in New York and who;s not feeling that right now? He's got a great line up including the ever fabulous Faye Lane AND if you have a three minute tale to tell, you can put your name in a hat and get a chance to tell your story! 6:30pm TONIGHT!

BIG NIGHT OUT! - TONIGHT is the one year anniversary of The Big Night Out hosted by Jennifer Wren and Bill Zeffiro. I am the co-producer of the Featured Composer Series the Big Night Out offers and tonight will be a great feature. The legendary John Meyer will be performing tonight after the open mic and will indeed be worth catching. Head on down to Dillon's Reprise Room on 54th between Broadway and 8th. Show starts at 9pm!

AND BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT...

*The Savvy Actor - Need career help? Wanna do something for Earth Day? Wanna do these things together? Wednesday 4/22 the Savvy Actor and Industry Power Play are having an Earth Day soiree. You get to help the earth as well as help yourself to some fab entertainment industry help from both these groups. I don't know Industry Power Play just yet, but I do know the Savvy Actor folks and they really are excellent. We are artists, but we are also a business and they will help you easily be both. I was working with Kevin (and will again when I can properly pay him) and I would not have gotten as far on SW?F again without him. If you would like to meet The Savvy Actor folks on your own for FREE, there are still a few spots yet for their seminar on faster and better mailings: they have a fab service which my friend Doug uses (surely you know Doug Shapiro) and I will start using myself once I have a proper voice again :) The seminar is at Pearl Studios at 6:30pm, Monday 4/20.

*And now that your taxes are done...they are done, right? But perhaps you want to start saving more, perhaps do some safe investing? Or finally start that emergency fund? Get life insurance? All those fun grown up things? See my friend Shawn. Shawn Cowls will not try to sell you anything and he spells everything out for you. Call him at his office and tell him Alex sent ya: 212-697-1355 x614

Now get out there and enjoy the gorgeous day! (well, at least it is gorgeous here in NYC...:))

Peace --Alex

A job that requires little talking...

2009-04-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

but does require basic fire safety...

Gotta say, though that spinning fire last night is indeed one of the coolest things I have ever done and that poi is a new joy. Thank you Claire de Luxe , the ladies of my poi class, and thank you husband for getting me her class as a Christmas present(!!!) My shoulders might be a bit sore, but the stress that comes with being unemployed somehow disappeared with the sounds of spinning of flames. (should I be worried that I didn't stress so much about the fire flying around my head as much as I do about whether or not I will hear about a second interview from Fracture Atlas?)

I sadly backslid a bit..again...with the vocal progress. I was doing REALLY well, but then got tense, talked too much in loud places and while the nodes are smaller, they are still there and that is not good. SO, if you see me talking in a loud place, tell me shut the hell up! (or just pretend you are Dianne Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway and say "Don't speak, don't speak...")

IN THE MEANTIME...it's recommendation time. Since I can't plug myself much right now, allow me to plug my friends!

The Savvy Actor - Jodie, Kevin and Doug (surely you have heard of Doug!) are the people you want to talk to if you are looking to give a boost to your career. We are not just artists, we are a business and The Savvy Actor can help you be the best of both. I've been seeing Kevin myself, have seen Jodie perform, and know Doug and his ridonculous business savvy so check out the website and CALL THEM!

Shallow Graves Magazine - My friend Sean Kelley - professional juggler/jester, owner of and performer at the King's Feast in Rhode Island, and devoted metalhead - and his wife Yvette have started this magazine. "Shallow Graves Magazine is...a cross between Fangoria & FATE magazine. A lot of the Horror mags out there today are mostly Horror with a touch of Supernatural. We're Supernatural with a touch of Horror." And they have an online radio program Friday nights as well on blogtalkradio.com.

And while I mentioned Claire, my fab poi instructor, I should also mention the troupe she is with called Lady Circus. They will be at Bonaroo this summer if you're heading down to Tennessee, but you can also see them here in NYC as a group or as solo performers. They really are amazing and worth catching!

No Name...and a Bag O' Chips! - Eric Vetter has been hosting this show for 15 years now and it only gets better and better. He's got a killer lineup Friday 4/10 including Tom Shillue (SuperNormal, HBO, Comedy Central...go Norwood!), and Michelle Buteau (Last Comic Standing). I have been testing out material for years with him and am every grateful when he's got a spot for me. The show is at Otto's Shrunken Head on Friday nights and starts at 7pm SHARP! Comedy, music, variety and CHEAP DOOR PRIZES! What more could you want?

Lastly but certainly not least - BIG NIGHT OUT! I will be working the door tomorrow night and it's OPEN MIC ALL NIGHT LONG! It is a good time, you get to hear some amazing music and voices and heck YOU can test out that new audition song for your book, your new showtune or pull out a fav standard you'd never get to sing anyplace else. Come on down to Dillon's on 54th for the Big Night Out!!! And dude, it's $10 ($5 with an Equity, EMCC or MAC card) and a one item minimum. That's cheaper than a movie these days :p

And people, Obama may be going a little stimulus crazy, but look what he walked into. He was left with pure ridiculousness and is trying to work it out within his first 100 days it seems. Somebody get that man a nap at Yelo between trips to the G-20 summit and the next government bailout...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Cuz I'm a pro...

2009-03-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

At least it looks as such on my college website.

I have no idea who submitted this...perhaps a student who's job it is to search for alumni stories on the web...or someone who took the alumni email about submitting "Your Alumni Story!" seriously. Nonetheless, it kinda blew my mind when my friend Michael texted me yesterday afternoon about how he had heard my "alumni story" on my college radio station (WERS - it really is the coolest college station, and just overall radio station broadcasting these days). And I was like "I beg your pardon?!" He calls me, tells me about it, then tells me to hit the website. I do, and this is what I found:

Alumna produces featured composer series

Broadway World reports Alexandra de Suze '93 recently served as associate producer of the featured composers series Big Night Out, with singer Jennifer Wren at New York City's Reprise Room at Dillon's. "Billed as a delicious gathering for the musical community, Big Night Out is a unique and supportive environment for performers and composers of all backgrounds to come together and perform the music that they love." Participants, with the help of resident musical director and co-host William "Bill" Zeffiro, are encouraged to try out new material, sing the roles that they aspire to play, sing the roles they will never play, or just show off for the joy of it. De Suze's many artistic forays have taken her all over New England and New York and her extensive acting career includes turns at the Prospect Theatre, the York Theatre, Passajj Productions, Speakeasy Stage, and the Public Theatre. She has sung in numerous productions at Don't Tell Mama, The Encores, New York City Center Encores!, The Bronx Opera Co., and the New York Choral Society. In addition, she has directed at the Riant Theatre and the Manhattan Theatre Source, and written a multitude of works including sketch comedy, "Single What? Female," "Following My Voice," "Stories At The Creek," and "Louder Than Words."

As I did not write this, I will let the errors of grandeur stand for the time being...

By the way...Big Night Out is happening again Thursday April 2nd and it is ALL OPEN MIC. Get out your book, your songs, your audition material that you want to test out and those songs you can't sing at auditions because they're not your "brand" or "type", but you dig them anyway (like when I heard Raul Esparza singing "Defying Gravity" from Wicked once). Big Night Out really is a fab and comfortable cabaret experience, so come on down!

Another reason I'm a pro? There is nothing like playing injured professional athlete last night icing and heating my neck and shoulders trying to relieve tension. It actually worked hence I might do it again...one of these days, it will go away...like perhaps when I get a job? Or perhaps it is just time to put on some funky music and dance it out...

In the meantime, thanks to whoever wrote my glowing bio :)

Peace --Alex

La Soiree Rouge TONIGHT!

2009-03-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I will testing out new Single What? Female material at Gordon Farrell's La Soiree Rouge tonight. It will be a fab evening with swing music, slam poetry, opera arias and ME! It'll be a late night but come on, it's Thursday and nearly the weekend anyway!!! So if you're in town, come on down!

Peace --alex

diagnosis? or are we returning to the soft core?

2009-03-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Interview last week - check

Visit to unemployment/Work Force 1 orientation today (missed it LAST year) - check

Visit to vocal therapist this afternoon - check...

Two reasons for this episode of "vocal therapy porn"

1) It is time to look at the chords, ladies and gentleman. See the progress for real. Problem is, to do this, a nearly foot long metal rod has to be put down my throat. The procedure includes my sitting facing her, chest forward, her holding my tongue with gauzed fingers and then the insertion of a long metal rod down my throat as I try to breathe through my nose. (somebody just fainted with terror and glee, I know.) Sadly, this is not procedure I do well with. I have relaxation issues as it is (we'll get to that), but to have my tongue held out of my mouth and then having to bite down on a metal probe saying "eeeeeee" and breathing through my nose, does not quite do it for me. She saw some redness, but "nothing else". This may be a good sign as, while she could not see much due to my strong gag reflex, she didn't see nodes. I see another doctor next week who will probe my throat by going in through my nose...mmmmm....nose probe...

2) (go ahead - cue wah wah pedal music...cuz you're gonna go there...) "You're very tight today," the vocal therapist tells me. "Is there anything bothering you?" (end wah wah music)

Um, lost two weeks of unemployment because I had to reapply, am getting less than I was before, got a check TODAY that I was waiting for to give the man for bill money, am hoping I will have enough to pay rent when I get unemployment Wednesday, will not get paid by The Network until next week, had job interview - did well - WILL get job, BUT I won't hear about the second interview until NEXT week, have a performance of new SW?F material this Thursday, my mother comes into town tomorrow for her birthday and she will see the apartment for the first time Wednesday, I am signed up with 5 temp agencies and had to turn down a gig because my interview interfered with the days of the gig and I could not come in late, etc., would like to renew a website I am on but can't do it until after I pay rent, I can't audition for anything until the nodes are gone, but the nodes won't go away until I relax. BOTHERING ME? WHAT COULD BE BOTHERING ME?!?!?

(back to wah wah music) "Go get a massage," the doc says. "A rub down, even a fifteen minute rub at the nail place, something..." What I think I'll do is pop open some [favorite alcoholic beverage here] and get the man [who actually did train] to give me a rub down. Uh huh...Ooooh yeah...

All right, time to get stuff together before I head to The Network.

Peace --Alex

Uncommon Economic Indicators

2009-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

On the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC here in New York, they have a segment called "Uncommon Economic Indicators" where people call or email in about the little things they've noticed that are signs of today's economy; things like, there's more food in the office fridge, and how the subways are more crowded. I've personally taken note of the ladies in full length fur coats taking Greyhound and how the washers in my building cost $.25 more.

And then there was the Daily Show Smackdown of Jim Cramer.

If you have been living under a rock and missed this, John Stewart of the Daily Show has had some issues with CNBC and a "war of words" began between Stewart and Cramer. Well, Jim Cramer came on to the Daily Show last night and basically was beaten the hell up by John Stewart. I got the feeling that neither of them planned to have it go the way it did, but Stewart, like many of us, is angry about the economy, had some valid points about how CNBC handled-rather mishandled-the predicting of the various banking debacles and went all out on Cramer. Cramer, in response was, in the word of CNN, was "contrite". He may be wrong - and his show is ridiculously annoying - but he could have put up more of a fight. My husband, the high school debate champion and spirited conversationalist was dreadfully disappointed with Cramer...and basically recounted to me various arguments Cramer could have used...and then I had to come back with what I believed Stewart would have come back with. (It was hot.) Stewart, on the other hand, I think went off more than he planned as referenced perhaps from his final statement of the night "I hope that wasn't as uncomfortable for you to watch, as it was for me to do..."

But who can blame him for being angry and wondering who is cahoots with who after listening to Madoff describe what he did with the money he took, leaving various victims and pundits asking "How could the SEC and the IRS MISS THIS?!?!?" One can't help but believe that folks had to have been paid off - there had to be corruption at the SEC*, the IRS and Chase Manhattan for this to have gone on as long as it did. Could there have even been corruption or at least soft reporting at CNBC? Could CNBC also been part of the problem rather than helping folks find a solution? No one can - or will - say for sure right now.
*Jim Cramer himself said that the SEC wouldn't know certain scams anyway (see 2006 video used by Stewart)

What we do know, is that the head guy at Cramer's website "The Street", just resigned. And John Stewart is probably stillpissed.

Peace --Alex

P.S. The Network had a staff meeting this morning. A STAFF meeting. It was early for all of us, not just the nightstaff people, but I have to say, that after being out of work for so long, it was surprisingly pleasant to actually be part of a meeting.

Another pleasant surprise? An email from my fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas. They have a position open and I have an interview next Wednesday. (yay!) Time to buy some new shoes and make sure I don't talk too much.

"I am ashamed for these criminal acts..."

2009-03-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

Yes, Bernard Madoff said that in court today while pleading guilty to 11 counts of fraud. He kept the money in "a" - yes, apparently one - Chase Manhattan account. He never invested the money and thus put out heaps of false statements to folks about what they were investing in and thus must have had heaps of people helping him...but who, we don't know...yet. He has made a plea, but not a plea bargain hence he is not cooperating with the court/the feds/investigators and will not get credit for cooperating when it comes to sentencing. We can only hope that this monster gets a tough judge.

I personally picture this happening when he gets to prison:

He's sitting in the "yard" trying to read The Wall Street Journal (an old copy from the prison library). A rather harsh looking musclebound gentleman comes up to him, "Hey, F***off. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Bernie F***off" Bernie looks up over his glasses (he was allowed to keep those). He looks at the guy like he's some loud guy from the subway and goes back to his paper. The paper is lowered and snatched away from him. The large gentleman squats down in front of Madoff and says, "You know...my grandmother invested with you. Florence Shapiro of Long Island? You know her? She invested her life savings with you. She's had to move in with my sister. She's selling the house my grandfather built, you fat f***. And just so you know, Jerry here-" Jerry has appeared out of nowhere...is smaller but wiry and definitely angry. "Jerry's pop was invested with you, too. Lost everything, right Jerry?" Jerry spits on Madoff. "Oh and that guy over there?" he gestures toward a VERY large gentleman lifting a HUGE dumbells. "Yeah, his moms lost her pension as the company she worked for invested their 401K's with you and poof, all gone..." Bernie is beginning to look uncomfortable. "She's not sure she can afford to come up here to visit as much as she used to...and he gets nasty when he can't see his moms..." Bernie looks up and suddenly sees a sizeable group of men surrounding him. "Bernie, do you remember a Christmas Carol? And how that guy Scrooge had ghosts visiting him every night to bug his ass until he accepted Christmas? Meet the ghosts of Christmas future, motherf***er. Scrooge got nothing compared to the visits you're going to get." Madoff is not happy. "Catch ya later, Bernard F***off," and the unnamed gentleman and those around him slowly disperse. Madoff realizes too late that he has wet himself.

That's what I picture right now, no matter what, though, I figure it will not be pretty.

Peace --Alex

Vocal Exercise...or is it phone sex?

2009-03-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

One of the many exercises I have been given by my vocal therapist is a list of sentences I am supposed to read out loud in a "high and light voice". "Kristin Chenoweth range" the doc says to me. Of course, this is difficult for me. After a few sentences the doc says "You don't have to sound like a ditzy whore..."

But then again when you get sentences like these, how can you not go there? (just so you know, this is NOT the whole list...just the most fun to play with...though you can definitely play with the rest of the list as well...)

"I need you."

"He gave it to me."

"Please give it to me."

"I want some more."

"I know what I am doing."

"Are you coming?"

Making vocal therapy fun...

Peace --Alex

'Cause it only took a year...

2009-03-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

When one becomes "underemployed" and then has been as long as I have, one loses track of time and space a bit. You also may beat yourself up swearing that you are not going to do anything fun until you get a job, gosh darnit. I am going to stay holed up in my apartment in front of my computer, endlessly searching job listing after job listing. You email the temp agencies you are signed up with making sure that they know that you are available; perhaps you hone your computer skills, contact your friends about jobs at their companies, keep track of the economy and other news, yet you still also somehow find time to watch far too much of the [enter cable channel you have watched far too much of here].

Well, particularly after hearing a story on NPR about a "camp" for the unemployed where folks are networking, learning new skills, and also finding other people who are free to "go to a museum on a Wednesday", I decided to follow up on an idea I've had for months, but not acted upon over not wanting to take time away from all my job searching.

VOLUNTEERING.

I can job search a few hours a day and then GO DO SOMETHING!

I know. Some of you are goin' "DUH!"

Yes, it took me longer than most to finally take advantage of the time and do something productive, but I did it, and of course will do it again.

The place I volunteered at was the Actor's Theatre Workshop where they have a fabulous program called Builders of The New World. It is an afterschool arts program for homeless children and last night was their "graduation" ceremony. I could not stay for the ceremony which included performances and displays of the children's work, but I did get to fill their schwag bags and pick up some of their dinner at a crazily busy Fairway. If you are interested in more info on them and how to volunteer for or donate to them yourself, click HERE.

Next opportunity will most likely be Friday at The Actor's Fund. I went there for a couple of job events and they do so much good work for actors and other entertainment professionals from the Shoe Fund to the Actors Home in Jersey, how I can I not volunteer there?

If you are underemployed like me, and perhaps are stuck in a rut and are not already a regular volunteer, the opportunities are all around you, and heck, could even lead to a new job!

Peace --Alex

the pros and cons of sleep deprivation

2009-02-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

Most times when I am sleep deprived, I get brilliant ideas. Who needs drugs when...? But then there are times like Sunday night when, after being up for I am pretty sure was about 20 hours (perhaps 22 as has been known to happen with me..but for a good reason..not so much this time), I was just tired, sensitive and ended up with a racing brain by the time I got into bed again. Within an hour, I was back out of bed and writing in my journal in the dark and then having a cry in the kitchen.

After that, ideas came.

4 Domino's Pizza napkins worth.

See, there is a gentleman who is looking to do a documentary on my father (woo hoo!) and would like my sister and I to come up with a basic outline. We'd been kinda struggling with this, but suddenly, after the stress writing and the cry, I had a burst of ideas and wrote them down. Later that day, talked to the sister and looks like we may have an outline soon for this guy.

Now if only I could get an outline together for my own show :p

I did test out new material at No Name this past Friday and got some decent response as well as some of that quiet like "um...isn't this a comedy show?" - talking about the comparison between "what are you?" and the Obama campaign quandry "Was he black enough?" might do that - so it was nice to get it up in front of a crowd, despite the fact that I had to use notes. I am looking to test out more of it soon an will keep you posted as to when.

In the meantime, hum good karma as I try to finish my claim for the latest extension of unemployment benefits...I would prefer to have a job, but until then...

Something that made me chuckle while on the phone with unemployment: as I went through a phone prompt menu, one of the statements made was: "You must be determined to be unemployed" I know what they mean, but...perhaps there is a way to reword that? or not...'cause it's funny...

Peace --Alex

and KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Oh yeah, the politics are back...

2009-02-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

The New York Post proved to me why I don't look at it very often. They published a cartoon which most likely was meant to merely be a play on the random chimp attack that occurred in Connecticut, and the "monkeys" in Congress. Instead, what people saw was a cartoon with two white cops having shot a monkey and remarking "Now someone else will have to write the stimulus package". Anyone who knows their black history knows that black people were compared to monkeys...and that we now have our first black president...and that he is the face of the stimulus package.

How the editors could not know that such a connection might be made - "post-racial" era, whatever - is just beyond me. It is the post and they could a) have decided to run with the controversy and hell, people are looking that cartoon up and b) be targeting that fringe audience of people who are angry that Obama got the top job or c) just be idiots. Personally, I think it is all of the above. Feel free to give them your opinion through the Color of Change.

And speaking of idiots...what the heck is up with Utah? I know some perfectly nice and tolerant Mormons, but sadly they have not been elected to political office, as has Senator Chris Buttars. The one good thing about Senator Buttars is that he actually spoke (spewed) his anti-gay views - gay people have no morals and are "the meanest buggers he's ever seen" - to a documentary film maker, thus we can call him out on such virulent remarks. He actually believes that homosexuals are the biggest threat to America "going down" that he knows of. Really? GAY PEOPLE? Not corrupt investment bankers? Not extreme deregulation and those who have taken advantage of it? Not biggoted buggers like yourself? I mean, even over the terrorists...GAY PEOPLE?!?! This man needs some serious help and perhaps a hug, if he believes gay folk are the biggest threat to the country. He obviously has not had enough love in his life, or ever enjoyed a good musical...or really considered that staffer who baked him a basket of muffins for his birthday. So what is he going to say when suddenly photos show up with him in drag at Rawhide during the Republican convention...In the meantime, you can say your piece, and offer a good therapist for him to get over this fear of "the gays" here at the Human Rights Campaign.

IN THE MEANTIME... It's time for SHAMELESS PLUGGING! Last night we had performance deux of In The Red Room. We had a great crowd and I'll tell ya, when you are working in an intimate space, good energy from the audience helps A LOT and boy howdy did we have it last night. I think we all kicked it up a notch and found our groove. It was a good night and if you want to catch this unique performance yourself, come on out to People Lounge for our final performance next Thursday 2/26.

Also TONIGHT I will testing out new material for Single What? Female at long last over at the 15th birthday of the No Name variety show. We will be at Otto's Shrunken Head and it will indeed be a good time. But get there early as the show starts at 7pm SHARP!

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

What Obama and I have in common today...

2009-02-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

President Obama is in Denver. I am in New York. And we were both trying to get some money.

President Obama had to fight Congress. I had to fight all the people trying to call unemployment at the same time I was.

In the end, President Obama got the stimulus package, despite the GOP, and I finally got through to unemployment this morning, despite being on hold for nearly twenty minutes, spoke to an actual person and therefore got some held back funds, released! Woo Hoo for both of us!

I sign up at yet another temp agency tomorrow and perhaps I can get some work from it! (note to self: email schedule to the other temp agencies I am signed up with)

IN THE MEANTIME...

I may not have had the Happy Lites with me this past weekend, but I can assure you I did not need them. Endorphins cure all...endorphins and Guiness.

The man and I hit the Dance Flurry this weekend and essentially danced for 2 days straight. For those who are not Flurry alum, I'll give you an idea of a day at the Flurry:

*started with contra (a type of folk dance...lots of spinning...do not drink and contra)
*moved on to Vintage - Victorian and Ragtime type stuff. Nice waltzing and some tango :)
*had lunch at a creperie called Ravenous...soooooooooooo good.
*moved on to swing. It ended up being a lot of lesson I did not need, but got some good dancing in with a guy who goes by Rat, and then...
*moved on to Indian/Afghani/Bollywood dancing. Very fun and silly, particularly with the teacher who did not "want to be too far away from you!" and wanted us to be this "big ball of people" that followed her as she ran around the room and we followed her choreography as best we could.
*after Bollywood, it was time for a dinner break at Mrs. London's - some of the best pastry and French style sandwiches you will ever have.
*Then there was some Rock n' Roll contra (a killer band!)
*Listened to an Irish music jam
*1978 Disco Line Dancing...yes, we did the Saturday Night Fever Dance
*Finished the night with Zydeco with CJ Chenier and his band. It...was...awesome. I am pretty sure I snuck in on Zyedeco at some point earlier in the day and may have missed listing some other event I hit, but you get the overall jist of things here.

I so wish I'd had my camera (it died a couple of weeks ago) as I would have taken a picture that would have represented just how serious Flurry goers are. Picture a balding gentleman, mildly paunchy, just below average height, in his 50's in a yellow polo shirt, khaki shorts and knee braces. We're not talking ace bandages here, or some foam sleeve, we are talking knee braces with hinges that make him look Borg. And he was out there groovin' to the Zydeco with whichever partner he could find. As I said, these people are serious.

We stayed with our friends Chris and Stacey in their lovely house, ate the fabulous food Chris cooked, and had some great conversation...okay, Chris Stacey and Jeff had great conversation; or rather more of it, as I couldn't talk...as much. Things are improving, but still have to stop every once in a while and pull out the conversation pad. And sometimes you have to realize the limits of writing speed...I think I managed not to hurt myself this weekend, but still say all the prayers as I see the doctor this afternoon :)

Yesterday, we drove back down to the city (thank you Stacey for letting us borrow your car!) and we got smacked back into reality as Jeff dropped me at The Network for my shift and he went to his old apartment to try to fix his old roomie's computer.

All right, time to get to the sit-ups and other exercise as I will NOT be dancing for hours today...

AND...DO NOT FORGET...as I have to remember myself...got lines to go over :p...COME SEE IN THE RED ROOM at People Lounge THIS THURSDAY and check out some of my NEW MATERIAL for Single What? Female at No Name and a Bag O' Chips at Otto's Shrunken Head (it's FREE!!!)

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

Love in the Time of Economic Hoo Ha

2009-02-13T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, despite the fact that millions of people have lost their jobs and the economy is the worst its been, Valentine's Day is still on.

And I gotta say, Hallmark Holiday that it may be, I'm still all for it. I am all about spreading the love and man, if we ever needed some love it is right now, so people, think of your loved ones and those you don't even know and put out the love vibe today *mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....loooooooooooove.....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm*

Put out special vibes for the those who were lost and lost loved ones in last night's Buffalo crash. Just awful business.

And send a little extra love to our president today if you can, as well, he's trying to get us all some jobs, keep arts and education funding in the stimulus and good lord, what is with the Secretary of Commerce Position? Let alone just trying to get a few decent people who actually pay their taxes for their cabinet? (oh, I just gave myself the nasty reminder that I have to get my taxes together and after all the 1099's I'm gonna have to PAY for the first time in years...with what, I don't know but I will figure it out)

IN THE MEANTIME...In The Red Room/ Every Woman Dances for Someone opened last night at People Lounge. We had a packed...lounge (so if you plan on coming, make a reservation as there ain't a lot of space!), and despite the various distractions of performing in a bar/lounge, things went well and we got good reaction. There are only two more performances so come on out!

And speaking of limited performances, I will indeed be testing out NEW MATERIAL from Single What? Female, Friday February 20th at No Name and A Bag O' Chips at Otto's Shrunken Head. It will be a great night as host Eric Vetter has a fierce group lined up, and again, I FINALLY have NEW MATERIAL for the show. Progress may be slow with me, but it's happening at long damn last.

And speaking of slow progress, the vocal therapist says things are indeed progressing and next Tuesday she may actually LOOK at the chords again and hopefully give me good news. After nearly reversing weeks of progress with one dinner party, I worked at, you know, not talking, resting the voice, taking it easy at rehearsal and so far so good. It does not hurt that as I sit at my friend Nicole's desk - I am covering for her today as she heads up to Boston to take her mom see John Edward's Crossing Over (Nicole is a GOOD daughter) - that this is a quiet office and I think I have spoken all of 8 words today. It's reception without answering the phones...and there is access to Rock Band. No one has played it yet...might be saved for guests...but gosh darnit that fake drum kit is calling me...

This blog has been brought to you by the vitamin D. Nothing like unemployment. nodes, a lost temp gig and the having to turn down a PAYING and FABULOUS singing gig to throw you over the edge into Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you are presently unemployed and have been for some time, and do NOT live in a sunny, warm paradise, vitamin D, exercise and perhaps a Happy Lite are good things. Just when I thought being a half Scandinavian New Englander was enough...

I do hope you all have a lovely V-day, and weekend, that you get to sleep in Monday and hopefully I'll see at least some of you at In The Red Room or No Name :):):)

And as I listen to a song called "Just get out there and Dance", makes me think of my weekend...where I may have to wear a sign that reads, "Don't talk to me. Just DANCE!"

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

It's official...

2009-01-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

The man and I have cut off the cable.

It is a money saving measure, but also a measure to keep us from getting our time sucked up from spending far too much time in front of the tube. We mainly stuck to watching stuff we DVR'd (is that a verb now, like "googling"?), but on weekends, we could end up all day on the couch. Sometimes, this is good. But when we are also trying to get things done, whether it was cleaning or actually trying to do a project, or read even, it could get problematic. We figure we will survive as we can get the Daily Show on line as well as many of the shows we really like to watch and if I get a craving to CNN's news-on-crack, I can get that on line as well.

I do wonder if I will actually end up missing commercials for HEAD ON! and those sleeper blankets that look like cult robes (I kept waiting for either purple Nikes to appear or for them to show them in tan with Yoda modeling them.)

All right...time to...not turn on the TV, continue listening to the radio and actually clean up this place :p

Peace --Alex

And just so you know...

2009-01-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

I am FINALLY making more progress on SW?F.

I may remain a statistic in the city, and have been distracted from creative ventures by, you know, trying to find a job and all that, but - thank you Kevin from the Savvy Actor for keeping me on a schedule - but the transcriptions are DONE!

Last Friday, I finished typing up Rivka from Atlanta...and I cracked open a bottle of Bourdeaux - thank you Trader Joe's wine shop.

Now I just have to write the rest of the thing.

But the editing has begun. There is nothing like sitting on the subway, reading these, pencil in hand, hearing the voices nearly as clearly as I did on the tape and starting to figure out what's gonna go where. The process is beginning..

And you can SEE some of this progress-well, at least the New Yorkers can-February 20th as I will be testing out new material at my friend Eric's long standing variety show No Name and A Bag O' Chips which will be celebrating its 15th anniversary that night! There will be great comedy from Leighann Lord, music, one of my fav close-up magicians Lee Alan Barrett, solo performer and comedian Marilyn Torres and me at Otto's Shrunken Head.

I will also be in Gordon Farrell's one-act In The Red Room at People Lounge on Allen St. The shows are Thursday 2/12, 2/19 and 2/26. It is a combination of spoken word and monologues taken from conversations Gordon had with various women - strippers to a Christian fundamentalist - essentially about being a woman. It really is some great work, the actresses I am working with are excellent, but I will give fair warning that I have one of the saddest monologues ever. Bring the kleenex.

AND...tentatively (have to clear up one conflict!) on the 26th, I will be at The Tenement Museum for H.R. Britton's storytelling series.

And so ends my shameless plugging.

Hope to see you one of these events!

Peace --Alex

A week and a day...

2009-01-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

And it already does feel better...expansion of stem cell research; the closing of Guantanamo; global gag rule repealed; decent cabinet picks; already trying work on the Israeli/Palestinian situation; trying to work his stimulus package...

Though he is - as a compromise move for the GOP I'm sure - planning on stripping provisions that would expand access to proper family planning for low-income women. This is a compromise I just don't think the president should give in to, and if you feel the same way and have not already gotten an email about it, call about keeping the Medicaid Family Planning State Option in the stimulus plan. The White House comment line is 202-456-1111.

Now...about the Inauguration itself which I had been writing about on my husband's computer, but then I did not get a chance to upload everything so here's the jist of everything...

There is a button I have on my bag that reads 1-20-09: Bush’s last day. Today is that day my friends.
I am not in D.C amidst the throng, but instead I am in an auditorium here in New York at Credit Suisse (one of the handful of investment companies that told its clients NOT to invest with Bernie Madoff). The man told me that they were showing the inauguration here and I was all over coming in to watch it. Some friends are in D.C. (but did not decided to go until last night), most friends are working. I would have been watching this thing at home alone as the man has to work himself, but I knew I had to be among people for this. If this opportunity had not arisen I would have gone out to Times Square in sixteen layers of clothing…admittedly I am very happy to sit indoors amidst the bankers and other folk here at Credit Suisse, holding a spot for the man with my coat as if I were at a movie theatre for an opening night show.
The room started filling up a little after 11am and is nearly full now at 20 after. What I like best is that this room has a crowd like the one in Grant Park the night of the election: a nice mixed crowd. Old and young, black, white and everything in between, gay, straight…yes even at an investment institution, we got a mix here, and it is nice.
The lights were dimmed so we could get a better view of the three screens – one giant screen in the middle then two plasma screens on ether side. Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer and Suzanne Malveaux were commentating. As often as I blame CNN for the state of broadcast news today with creating news and hype where it is not necessary, I can’t imagine watching this on any other network.
They are showing the crowd in front of the capitol-packed…and then they show the crowd on the mall…I don’t think there’s been a crowd like that for an inauguration…ever. Just a sea of people. I figure there are people also in their hotel rooms, in the living rooms of the houses they are staying at, I know one guy who was staying in a yurt last night at a camp ground and hopefully amidst that crowd…or perhaps watching on line from the yurt. It truly is an historic time…and Bush can look at that crowd, and know that pretty much all of them hate him. Okay maybe that’s a strong word, but you know they have been waiting for this day to come when he and his ilk would be out of office and the celebrating…began Novemeber 4th and will continue until at least the end of the week.
And Cheney in a wheelchair. Can’t take the pain of leaving. Jeff says "Where's his big white pussy cat?"
Obama will be using the Lincoln Bible for his swearing in, and it has not been used for an inaugural since Lincoln used it.
Michelle is in a yellow ensemble that frankly looks like something my mom would have gotten in 1969…not sure how I am feeling about this...though it does look good.
Anderson Cooper says that that the crowds stretch about 2 miles from the capitol. Just amazing.
You know, people have asked me how I feel as a mixed race person about Obama becoming president, and I have to say I’m not sure how to answer that. I only found out that I was mixed race a few years ago. And I was a Hillary supporter and am thrilled that she is at least going to be secretary of state. What I am glad about with Obama being President is that he is a SMART man in the job for the first time in eight years and he is a true face of this generation in America. To see that we have finally gotten beyond our past history and chosen the best man for the job (if not the best woman – meow), is a joyous thing.
That is what I started with and then, as they got to actual swearing in and oath taking, I had to stop typing.
As Rick Warren gave his invocation, I found him...ironic. For all his talk about asking God to forgive us when we disrespect someone, I was thinking " You must ask for this forgiveness a lot," as he disrespects and entire population of people. I know people who grew up in churches like his; where they believe gay people need to be and can be "fixed". It is the fault of the parents if their children turn out gay, yet also the fault of the gay person for choosing this lifestyle. It still galls me that Obama chose Warren to give the invocation, but one friend did say that if it keeps Obama from feeling obligated to choose someone of Warren's ilk to be part of the cabinet, well...
Okay maybe not "well..." Rick Warren needs to be taught a true lesson in Christian generosity and love by Bishop Gene Robinson, all the gay and lesbian couples who adopt and give good homes to children, many with special needs, Zenobia Conkerite, an ordained non-denominational minister who came and blessed our apartment the day we moved in, and definitely Susan Sparks, minister at the church I sing at (Madison Avenue Baptist) who, while not gay herself, has created an open and loving space for all congregants. God loves all his/her children, and as we are all perfect is his/her eyes, why would any of us need to be "fixed"? (can I get an amen?")
Joe Lowry, who gave the benediction was...okay not only was he fantastic, but he was just adorable. Someone needed to get that man a box to stand on so he was not obstructed by the microphones. Still, he was fierce, funny, open, poetic and definitely should have been the one to give the invocation AS WELL AS the benediction. And he made Obama crack up at last after what I am sure was a mildly stressfull morning.

The Inauguration was not over for me though, until I saw the helicopter take off. I know I am not alone in this thinking. Most of the other folk with whom I shared the Credit Suisse auditorium, including my husband, had to head back to work, but a handful of us knew we had to stay until the copter took off. I was sitting there goin' "Come on! Get on the copter! Stop waving and get on the frickin' helicopter! Come on, now..." luckily, they did, they were waved off, we all applauded...and there was much rejoicing.

The man has many toils and trials ahead of him, and he is running at them at full speed, but feel free to nag him about the medicaid family planning option and about repealing the Defense of Marriage Act...and anything else you want to nag him about. This guy is actually trying to OPEN THINGS UP, unlike our last clandestine administration. So let's hold them to it!

Peace --Alex

the end of an error...

2008-12-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

That was one my favorite 1/20/09 bumper stickers. After eight years of wondering if we were in some horrid parallel universe, and the economic nightmare of this year, one can't help but hope that '09 really will be the gateway out of the darkness and into the light.
Over the last six month in particular, I've, admittedly, allowed myself to fall more into the dark than to see the light, but, as I sit here in the house of one of my closest friends, my husband looking out the window at the blowing snow, with the knowledge that a small group of us will be bringing in the new year together tonight at a good concert, I am reminded that, despite the many annoying things that happened this year, I have also had many blessings.
*I got to celebrate my first wedding anniversary - happily!- with my husband.
*I got to be part of and witness to three fab weddings: our friends Lil and Steve, Rooney (excuse me, Christine...one of these days I will call her that), and Steve (different Steve from Lil's Steve) and Samantha and Henry.
*Got to go to California for the first time (only took me over 30 years).
*Careerwise, I got to be part of a fab show called Museum Pieces at Prospect Theatre, working with amazing composers and writers - I frickin had a song written for me by Carol Hall(!)
*I was part of the New York debut of Oscar: The Musical performed at the York Theatre. *I did an amazing classical recital with my friend Teresa (the cat duet will never be the same)
*I started working - and have managed to keep the gig thus far - at Madison Avenue Baptist Church as part of their quartet.
*And biggest coup of all: I got to do my trip (see the archives of April and May 2008) and met my "mystery aunt" at last. I also got to meet new cousin Margaret in Jersey and am hoping to meet many more. I am still transcribing...job hunting and all sadly became a BIG disctraction from creative work...but I definitely hope to have a decent first draft soon! Seriously!
I can't thank the friends, family and all the people I talked to enough for that 29 days of joy which I get to relive every time I pull out out the tape recorder to transcribe another interview.

I've officially been unemployed for ten months. I have nodes on my vocal chords. I have had ridiculously bad cell phone karma since May.

But I have had great people like Doug Shapiro (surely you've heard of Doug Shapiro!) helping me out with gigs, his fab husband as a part time boss, Sam the Ring Man as another part time boss, great opportunities with The Network, and then just amazing times with all my and my husband's people. So I say thank you to you all for an excellent 2008.

I plan on writing more in 2009, so don't forget to check us out in the new year!

I do hope you all have an amazing New Year and I hum good job/career/gig/love/bing (Chinese for Double Happiness) karma in your direction! *hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......*

Peace --Alex

And yes, you all still have to KEEP PAYING ATTENTION! even with Obama :)

Shameless advertising....

2008-12-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

for my friend Sam the Ring Man...

Looking to get some bling for that special someone, but a) your budget (who's not hurting right now?) or b) you, or that special someone, might be averse to such jewelry due to the environmental and political impact of mining?

Look no further!

Sam Abbay, jewelry maker and facilitator of New York Wedding Ring has the answer!

Check out his Eco Studs! They are stud earrings made of cultured (lab-grown) stones and recycled gold or palladium (a type of platinum). They really are lovely and are available in red ruby, pink ruby, blue sapphire, padparadscha sapphire (orange) and alexandrite. They are real stones, they just happened to be lab-grown rather than mined thus not harmful to the environment...and less expensive. Yes, here comes the budget part. Rather than you paying hundreds of dollars for mined sapphires and rubies, these studs are $150 a pair.

Stocking stuffer or the "big gift", first gems for a daughter, special earrings for mom, or the get-in-good-with-the-environmentally-conscious-girlfriend gift, or heck a HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH A NEW PRESIDENT gift, talk to Sam about picking up a pair of Eco Studs.

...and if things go well with that environmentally conscious girlfriend, you could also talk to him about making your engagement ring (also with recycled gold and cultured diamonds. (Yes, he has those, too! just not for earrings as yet)

In the meantime, I hope you all are having a lovely holiday season and aren't going too crazy just yet. :)

All right, back to making my Christmas playlist for my iPod...

Peace --Alex

some GOOD news...

2008-11-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have recently heard that all countries that use the Euro are now claiming that they are in a recession...

Yes, the automobile industry and three major cities are looking to be added to the present or given their own "bailout"...

And yes, George Bush is actually meeting with global leaders right now to try to (cough) fix things... (forgive me as I just don't see Bush leading this conference as a good thing)

BUT...I did get hired at The N___. It is the few-hours-a-week night staff position with the great perq of free seminars. I start training next week. Woo Hoo!

I also will start working weekly for my friend and fab jewelry designer/facilitator Sam the Ring Man as of Monday.

They are small jobs, but added to other small jobs, they can, well, add up. We shall see.

And who knows, I may even get a call from one of the temp agencies.

And Mr. President-Elect, if you need a singer for the inaugural or a future state dinner or something, feel free to give a call. Just putting that out there...(and in these economic times, wouldn't it be better to support a lesser (okay, barely) known artist than, say, splurge on the luxury of, oh, I don't know, Renee Flemming?...just saying...:p)

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION...particularly with the way the media is playing out the Minnesota recount.

Peace --Alex

economic hoo ha

2008-11-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

To my left, is the TV. The news is on, and it's all about the "dismal economy". Consumer sales down from 6.8% at one store chain, to 11.4% at another. Best Buy is down 7.6%. And then stocks are down...again...Oil dropped to below $50/barrel (great for drivers!). I even saw a headline on one of those elevator TV's that online job listings are down. (I can confirm that from personal experience, thank you.)

(Please send a hug to my financial planner friend Shawn who I imagine these days wakes up curled up in a small ball wishing it would just "go away!!!!"...or rather, wakes up, hands clenched around the pillow after dreaming that he was strangling bad bank people...George.)

Last night, I was able to indulge in my creative endeavors, performing in the Stories At The Creek storytelling series along with host Brad Lawrence, Jen DeMerritt, Tracy Rowland (ask her about the "bucket of blood for Christmas") Peter Aguero, and one of my fav comics from the Boston area, DJ Hazard.

Today, it was all about the dayjob...as in, my continuing search for a new one.

This has gone on far too long if ya ask me...it's been since the end of March, and while I did qualify for the unemployment extension, that extension ain't gonna last forever. I am sooooooo lucky the man remains employed at this time, but you know, he can't cover everything (much as he would like to).

Most of my days are spent on the job hunt whether it be on line, checking with friends, trying to remember to go to auditions, etc, but today became a day that felt a bit above and beyond.

Here's the schedule for the day:

10:00am: Dropping by the P__ E__ temp agency to sign up. I got through the paperwork and the Excel test before I had to leave for appointment #2. (Will be returning to complete word and power point tests tomorrow at 10am)

11:30am: Interview at N___ (thank you Doug for recommending me). They are looking for an administrative night staff person. It would be a few hours a week, $15/hr, and - major perq - I could do their seminars for free. It felt good, so that may be a nice little part time thing should it work out.

12:15pm-12:45pm: Hot chocolate at Starbucks while I wait for the to look up the address of a job fair my former co-worker Kymberly told me about yesterday during a random subway meeting. I, of course, forgot to write down the address.

1:00pm: Stood in line for an hour trying to get into aforementioned job fair. If anyone needed evidence of the present economic situation, at least when it comes to unemployment: if they needed to put faces to those numbers they've heard about on the news or read about in the paper, they should have headed down to 32nd Street and Broadway, and looked at the line of folks in their best suits and business attire, holding envelopes, folders, and portfolios stuffed with resumes. It brought back images of Depression Era bread lines, save for the fact that everyone was dressed so nicely. There was indeed a TV camera there, and the guy I saw them interview talked about how he had been laid off 6 months ago and was feeling "the dread" of not finding anything else anytime soon.
I thought I had found the end of the line near the corner of 33rd, but then, a gentleman asked me "Did you just join the line?" I replied "Yes," to which he remarked, "You know the line goes around the block...?" I had been fooled by regular folk who had cut through the line to just, you know, walk down the street, leaving me to accidentally cut in line. I hit the corner and found myself facing the continuing line of business-clad folks which, as I walked...and walked...and walked looking for the end, appeared to be about halfway down the street. And, no doubt, during the time I (and the rest of us) stood there...waiting...that line bumped up on to 5th Ave. I was not the only one on my cell-phone goin' "Duuuuude, you should see this line..."
By the time we got into the hotel, we were a) happy to be inside and a bit warmer, and b) expecting to walk into the job fair. But oh no, mon frere, we merely were joining the indoor line. Yes, the line snaked from the ballroom where the event was being held, down the hall and back to a no man's land behind me.
And then...oh yes...then we finally got into the ballroom. It was time to fill out a name tag and get that job, baby!
About 25 companies had tables in there, some had lines behind them, some did not. The MTA was looking for bus drivers, a catering company that works out of JFK was looking for lounge and service staff, and everybody else appeared to be looking for sales people. Sales are important right now as basically, if these companies don't sell, they will not be around for much longer. I am not a sales person. And most sales folks really annoy me (I guarded the main office from LOTS back at City Center..perhaps this is payback). But this did not keep me from giving out some resumes to these companies, and one of them actually seems more promotions than sales. It is a graphics company called Optima Graphics and they need a New York rep to push large banners for large events (they are pitching to the Superbowl and the Inauguration). I found myself intrigued, liked the rep, and suddenly my resume was in his hand!
No one was looking for reception/pres tech/admin/actor people, but they appeared ready to train you for sales. I found myself handing out a good number of resumes...and thinking about only ONE of the jobs I looked into...and really hoping I get this part time night staff position at N___...

2:30pm: I leave the chaos of the job fair and see the line remains long, even though this thing apparently was only going until 3pm.
As I hit the lobby, I check my phone and see that I have a voicemail (like I could have heard the phone ring amidst the job fair hoo ha). I check it, and it is my friend Sam the Ring Man saying hey, if I still want to help him with random secretarial stuff, he'd love to have me come on down. Sweet!

3:00pm: I meet the man at work to pick up music he's found and printed up for Sunday (solo time at church!). I get to hug him. This is good. I also finally get the address of the catering company I worked a gig for a couple of weeks back and am able to pick up a check! YAY!

4:30pm: I walk on over to Tiffany to see if they need seasonal sales people. The floor manager is very pleasant and tells me to talk to the concierge. The concierge, also very pleasant, gives me a card with the internet address I should submit my resume to, as that is how they are handling that. Therefore, flashing my Gehry "fish" engagement ring to prove I know (some of) the product, does nothing. Nor will telling them that I would also could be very pleasant at Tiffany.
It is time to go home...

8ishpm: While typing, I get a call from a number I recognize, but can't think of from where...I wait for the voicemail. I check it, and find out that it is Charlene from the temp agency with whom I worked Credit Suisse. I find myself trembling with excitement over potential pres tech work as she talks about a weekend gig. Turns out the gig has nothing to do with Credit Suisse, but with working for $10/hr essentially helping visitors at the newly reopened Intrepid Museum. They need the same person Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Due to the church gig, I can't do Sunday, but I am apparently on stand-by for Friday and Saturday. In all my years here, I have never been on the Intrepid, so what the heck? I'll do it, AND I'll be getting paid! (if they call me...)

All of this will be very fun to explain on my taxes...

All right, time to hit the Tiffany website...and then a bubble bath...

In the meantime...KEEP PAYING ATTENTION...and do a little happy dance that Obama is already planning to get executive on George's a** by turning over various of W. "orders" (can we really call them "executive orders" if he stole the election(s)?)

Peace --Alex

"Is it just me..."

2008-11-05T06:27:00.000-08:00

"or does the air smell sweeter this morning?" my husband asked after he got out of bed.

No, it's not just you.

It may be overcast outside, but through that thin layer of clouds is the dawn of a new era. And it is a happy one.

Does anyone else feel like the clouds opened up and rays of light just came down from the sky? (angels singing, flowers popping open randomly, dry earth becoming green with grass and trees, the sun finding its way to formerly dark corners and alley ways...) :p

Last night, Jeff and I headed to Times Square with the initial intent to watch the Daily Show live broadcast, but a) they were not going on until 10ish...and it was around 8:30pm and b) the crowd in Times Sq. starting around 47th was already heavy. We went to the CNN set of two jumbo-trons at the TKTS set-up and as the crowd poured in around us, didn't move until after midnight.

Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer and Campbell Brown wandered the CNN set around their two sets of pundits, while John King stood faithfully by his giant touch screens, which I am sure he will be so glad never to have to touch again. (If he has an iPhone, he's probably thrown it out just so he will not have to deal with touch screens ever again.) And every time a poll closed and a projection could be made, the music started and a huge graphic of "CNN PROJECTION" splashed across the screen (in case you were watching some other network. By the way. CNN also that must have some sort of military technology contract as they used 3D table-top graphics and interviewed artist Will.I.Am by hologram...it rivaled Star Trek and the X-Men for sure).

The crowd was mildly apprehensive, and who wouldn't have been after 2004? I personally was treating it like a Red Sox game: it is not over until the last out, rather, until the last vote was counted. And speaking of the Sox, in 2004, we got the World Series, thus we were not allowed the election. This time, we did not get the World Series, hence, it appears the election was okay...to have had both would have been too much joy to have asked for...and would have been a sign of the apocalypse for sure. In 2004, my mom came to visit, we had dinner at Rockefeller Plaza, watched NBC crew members paint various states red or blue on a map on the ice rink, and watched the rest of the painful, gut-wrenching returns in her hotel room. We all have some sort of memory like this which we have tried to block out. But as the returns came in last night, more and more often, the states came back...BLUE. The crowd went wild when Obama got Pennsylvania...and then Florida...and then Ohio...(we got OHIO!!!)

There were some who figured it was all good; that is was a done deal: they cheered, held up bumpers stickers that read "Mission Accomplished: Obama for President", but one could tell that others were more like me, holding back and shouting at the pundits to "SHUT UP!" as they began to predict an Obama win before the west coast was called. It just seemed too good to be true. After eight years of darkness and a near complete lack of faith in the judgement of the American people was this really finally going to happen?

There was a countdown at 15 seconds to 11pm...and Wolf Blitzer didn't even try to say "California goes to Obama" he just said "It is official. Obama is president..."

CHEERS! SCREAMS! JUMPING UP AND DOWN! TEARS OF JOY! I remember just looking up at the screen, near tears; moved, surprised, thankful...and then I just started hooting and hollering with the rest of the folk.

John McCain came on later to make his concession speech, which was gracious and thoughtful...and went on a bit too long. (It's hard to leave the stage sometimes, I know.) As the cameras panned the crowd in Phoenix and my husband muttered, "Come on...one black person. There has to be one in that crowd..." Upon closer inspection of the John McCain faithful in Phoenix, it appeared difficult to even find a brunette. There was one Latina girl that was glossed over, but the crowd remained...well, just surprisingly (or not so much) white. And was it just me or did Sarah Palin look like a teenager not picked from prom queen? (oh Sarah, don't cry...we all know you are going to go after Ted Steven's senate seat...)

And then they showed the dancing crowd in Chicago...

There were white people, black people, Hispanic people, Asian people, mixed people, young people, old people...it was a true representation of our present nation, and by midnight, the new representative and leader of this great mix of peoples we call the United States of America came to the podium. Horns were honking, people were cheering, and then as Obama began to speak, the crowd went quiet...

and then the screens in New York went out.

Yes, CNN either just screwed up or there was a disgruntled Republican intern who messed with the picture, so instead of looking up and listening to our new president on TWO jumbo-trons, both screens showed the rainbow flag of technical difficulties.

Suddenly the chants changed from "OBAMA!" and "YES WE CAN!" to "CNN SUCKS!" and "WHAT THE F***?!" Jeff and I took this moment of brief dispersal to finally make our way out of the crowd to meet with friends we'd been trying to join and when we cound each other, we all headed out through the masses for the Playwright's Tavern up the street. We paused only once on our walk to join a small crowd surrounding a van who's owner had turned on the radio so people could hear the speech. I pulled out my own transistor radio (yes, I own one), but the volume would not go high enough. We hit the bar, joined the overflow crowd and watched the end of Obama's speech. As he spoke if the things a 106 year old voter had seen and lived through, describing the evelution of our nation, I could not helped but be moved and feel the power of the moment. I looked around at the people around us and then back at the screen...It was real. This man was actually up there, making this speech in front of his fellow Chicagoans, and to the nation.

I so wish my father had been alive to see this...though I am sure he was watching :)

America spoke last night. America said eight years of a stolen, secretive and criminally prideful and incompetent presidency was enough. America said over 200 years without a black president was enough. America said that this is a new generation where a man's actions are indeed more important than his race. America said it is time to get over old prejudices and just elect the best person for the job...and that one day that person may be a woman (you know I had to go there...)

In the meantime, I feel, this morning, the continuation of the evolution of our nation. I am proud. I am happy. And boy am I feeling for the Obama people as they prepare to take on the mess and the pressure - the pressure on historic level - to follow up on promises made. As we got ready for bed around 3am last night, I thought about how mice it would be if later in the morning the stock market immediately would shoot up, peace in the middle east would be declared and I would wake up with a job just because of the seismic shift caused by an Obama win; but I know better. It will be a long, hard first couple of years...and we will, like with any president, have to hold him to task...keep him honest and focused...but at least a change has come...it really has and it does feel like the nation has finally decided to see the light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Woo Hoo!

Peace --Alex

ELECTION DAY

2008-11-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

This morning, a lovely, surprisingly warm fall day, I found myself getting dolled up for the polling place.

After hearing on the radio about the long lines, the heavy turnout; the calls from poll workers across the country talking about voters showing up well before the polling area was open; about having to handle overflow and machines that were already causing trouble, I found myself feeling electrified...the excitement of this day finally coming was and remains palpable.

As I got ready to head out this morning, I caught myself actually thinking very carefully about what I was going to wear. I wanted to remember what I wore on this day, November 4th, 2008 when I went to vote. I got out the nice jeans, my orange turtleneck sweater, my black oxfords with the flame decorated toe and heel, my rubber ducky earrings, my orange pea coat and orange/yellow/black/red shag scarf. I even put on lipstick! It was as if I was putting on my Sunday best! But I felt I had to...it's an historic day...why not look decent?

I walked the 16 or so blocks to my polling place and was almost a bit disappointed when I did not see a line down the block, but then again, I thought, there's hardly ever a line here: it's a large space, they tend to have a good number of machines...And then I walked in, as did a few others behind me. Suddenly, the line was pouring outside on to the steps, and the line ahead of me, was nothing I'd seen at this polling place since I'd registered there. Not even in 2004 did I have to wait more than a few minutes. Today, the poll workers looked a bit frazzled, were understaffed, a machine was being difficult (not completely broken, but definitely had issues and was constantly being kicked or shaken by one staffer, while a coordinator paced around the room, cellphone glued to his ear, trying to get someone to come up to Inwood to look at it, as well as trying to wrangle a few more poll workers), and it was forty-five minutes before I got to pull the lever.

As I stood in the booth looking at the wall of choices, I have to admit, I still wished that Hillary had been one of them. I would have been so thrilled to pull the lever next to her name and see the 'X' pop up. Still, to pull the lever and see the 'X' pop up into place next to Barack Obama's name was an exciting and moving experience. I even took a picture of it with my cellphone.

My mom is writing in Hillary, not sure who my sister is voting for (she was leaning towards Bob Barr last I recall), but whoever you may be voting for today, I hope you took a moment to appreciate it. This truly is momentous occasion...and should be every election day.

You might also just want to raise a glass somewhere that, no matter what the end result, this ridiculously long campaign is finally frickin' over.

If you haven't voted yet, GET OUT THERE NOW!!!!! VOTE!

Peace --Alex

ugh...

2008-10-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

So close...yet...so far...

It felt like it could happen again. Like we might have our third come-from-behind ALCS and move on to the World Series for a second time in a row, and a third time in 4 years after an 86-year drought.

But no, the young guns of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays pulled out a win last night, ending that dream.

And the only people that will care about this World Series live in two swing states. So sad.

It really is the economy, stupid...

2008-10-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

at least according to Time Magazine which devoted nearly an entire issue to the race issue in our present presidential campaign. Right now, folks in the most contentious county in Missouri (MISSOURI!) really are more worried about how they are going to continue to pay for gas, feed their families and keep their businesses going rather than whether or not Barack Obama is white or black enough (he's really equal parts of each, so we can share!).

Thing is though, while many may not worry so much about white or black, there is now the "foreigness" issue. Fox News and other such fear-mongering media have not helped with this as, particularly with McCain's numbers dropping, they STILL feel the need to point out that his middle name is Hussein and that his father was not only an African immigrant, BUT a MUSLIM, too. Sadly, there are too many folks still freaked out about Muslims, (did anyone NOT see the clip from one of McCain's last rallies?) still believing that they are all extremist terrorists who want nothing more than to blow up our country and shout things like "Death To America!" in the streets...while jumping up and down shooting guns. Therefore, many say that it's not okay to vote for Obama because he is some crazy Muslim extremist thanks to his father while others twist the argument saying that it is okay to vote for Obama as he "wasn't around his father much anyway..." The first is just crazy talk as um, a) not all Muslims are terrorists and b) I know it doesn't feel like it, but we really DO still have freedom of religion. Meanwhile, the second argument...is it just me, or is that almost as or more offensive to Obama? The offense his father committed was leaving his family, not being a Muslim...or giving him a "funny name" (though of course, some of us would LOVE to be able to call out our parents for giving us funny names...my parents sadly just had really high hopes when they named me :p)

And speaking of Obama's being the child of an immigrant and a citizen, isn't that kinda part of the American Dream? My mother's parents were from Denmark, my father's parents were from Grenada. Therefore, my parents were children on IMMIGRANTS! And they certainly were not alone. Of course, anyone remotely "foreign" right now - with exception to the foreign nations who are lending us money and contributing to our debt (cough[China]cough) - for some reason is to be considered un-American. Our country was built on the fact that a whole lot of foreigners felt - and do feel - free to come here and later, become AMERICANS. The Republicans are notorious for using race as an attack tool, but now, with the inability to truly go there, they are testing Obama's "Americaness"; his patriotism. They are using the campaign slogan "Country First" as if Obama isn't true to his country...or is really even from here. (Um, by the way, he was born in Hawaii while McCain was born in PANAMA.)

The GOP doesn't dare use race outright, but still, they are afraid of what Obama stands for in the sense that he is the new face of the quintessential American Story. He is the child of mixed race parents - one of whom happened to be an immigrant. Other politicians have been raised by single mothers, have had patriotic extended family and even had immigrant parents, but they've also been all white and had escaped having truly foreign sounding names. My mother was the surprise last child of Danish immigrants who, after giving "American" names to their previous three children, decided to give my mom the serious Danish name. If she had gone into politics and tried to run with her unpronounceable "foreign" name, she might not have made it. But it has been a long time since the registrars at Ellis Island changed people's names to make them roll easier off the tongue or since folks changed their names to appear less "ethnic". These days, you see "foreign" names all over the place - on TV, in the news, next door. And like when you watch the Olympics and can't always tell which folks are the Americans, isn't that one of the great parts of being American?

The GOP has to get over this ridiculous fear. I know that they are pulling out all the stops due to McCain's slipping poll numbers, but, seriously, are these the tactics they want to use...again? And have they not seen that those tactics are not really working? (except with crazy bedhead ladies who think Obama is an Arab...and do you really want that as your target audience?) I got something else for them - and the candidates - to think about

I want to know who is going to fix my shrinking IRA and help me get a job. That's what I care about right now...and I am not alone.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION AND VOTE!!!!!!!!!

Peace --Alex

RED SOX!

2008-10-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Why talk about the debates or the fact that John McCain showed up on Letterman tonight when my boys - The Boston Red Sox - who were down 3 games to 1 in the ALCS, and down 7-0 in the 7th inning this evening, decided to come back.
It starts with Dustin Pedroia hitting a homer while I am not watching the game, followed by a David Ortiz - yes, Papi hit something tonight - hitting a 3 run homer and next thing you know, it is 7-4 and it's still a game.
In the 8th inning, the Rays walked Jason Bay, thinking they could get past JD Drew - and any other night they probably could have - hence JD's homer to right was completely unexpected and the game was suddenly 7-6 in the 8th. Oh wait, did I forget to mention Coco Crisp's at bat at the bottom of the 8th that scored a runner therefore it became tied 7-7?
Next thing you know, it's the bottom of the ninth, the crowd has been on their feet for 2 and a half innings, there are two outs, two men on, JD Drew is back up...all he needs is a base hit...and he gets it: a sweet line drive that should have been caught but was missed and Youkilis crosses the plate and the Sox win it 8-7.

Unfreakin' believable.

But then again...maybe not so much.

BELIEVE!

Peace --Alex

Bailout Bust...

2008-09-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

And so Congress, mainly the Republicans, many of whom according to John McCain and Paul Begala on CNN "didn't like Nancy Pelosi's speech" and had hurt feelings, voted down the $700 billion "bailout" and there may not be another vote until after the election.
This, of course, led to panic on Wall Street where the Dow dropped 777 points, the largest drop since the Great Depression.
I remain unemployed at present, and certainly not for lack of trying, but you know, as I walked out of Trader Joe's with two bags full of groceries that cost nearly twice as much as they would have even a few months ago (and Trader Joe's is CHEAP compared to even my uptown grocery), I saw a guy sitting at a little table with a typewriter and a stack of mimeograph paper (kids, look it up). On that table was a handmade sign reading "Poetry while u wait". I had seen this before on TV as there is a guy in Berkeley, California who does this outside a grocery store in his neighborhood and has inspired a handful of others, including Allan Andre, the gentleman I met outside Trader Joe's.
It's been a grey weekend, the economy is a mess, we have a tight election 36 days away...I figured it was time to get a little poetry.
As a topic, I looked into my grocery bag for inspiration - golden raspberries. he got right to it. As I waited, and he typed away, there was a moment when he shook his head and said "This is weird..." When he handed it to me, he even apologized a bit for it, but you know, while the poem itself is not brilliant, it is oddly charming and a nice distraction from the present way of the world...
Mr. Andre, for doing your best to put a little more art into the world, here's to you:

They're hard on the teeth
but your stool will be worth millions
Provided you decide to eat, and risk
the passage of new laws
that lower the price of precious metals
to rock bottom
There is no end to them
these twisted fruits
that scream to be devoured

--Allan Andre
New York, NY
9.29.08

Okay, now that you have had a distraction, I just have to say VOTE, DAMN YOU VOTE! If you are not already registered, get out there and get registered and make sure you're friends are registered. And if you live in Ohio and you see my friend Nadette coming at ya, say hello, give her a hug and allow her to help you register to vote.

It is a crazy time my friends and it is time to do what we can to keep McCain and Palin out of office...

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

It's still going to be crazy...

2008-08-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Obama was up there last night and he made a riveting speech. He brought out some specifics he really needed to bring out, he got the crowd going, he made some good jabs at McCain and the Bush administration; it was well done.

But McCain found a way to overshadow him today. He announced his running mate. And he chose a woman.
She's a conservative pro-life conservative Christian who supports oil drilling in the Arctic, but she is still a woman...a woman most likely just clinched the votes of bitter women who decided already that they were going to vote for McCain once Hillary lost in the primaries. (admittedly, I STILL think all those women are crazy as while Governor Palin is of the female persuasion, she is still a conservative Republican: merely a wolf in former beauty queen clothing)

Why this hurts Obama right now in particular is because, during his fab speech last night, he talked about how much he wants to do for women. How he wants to bring about equal pay for equal work, support women like his night-school attending single mother and business owning grandmother...but he couldn't take on a great woman for his running mate. It's a moment of hypocrisy that I am sure was not lost on the Hillary supporters - former and present - and that was brought into glaring light as soon as McCain made his announcement this morning.

Yet, while Obama and his people may have to work on spinning that mess, McCain and his folk may have to backtrack a bit themselves as for all the times they have talked about Obama's inexperience, the running mate they have chosen has been a small town mayor and only Govenor for two years...and heck even ran for "change" in Alaska when she campaigned for her present position, hence, she's got no experience either. (does anyone else hear Jimi Hendrix's "Are you experienced?" right now?)

The next couple of months, I think, are going to be two of the craziest we've seen in campaign history.

I just have this to say to all the Hillary supporters who are going to vote for McCain: DO NOT BE DUPED!!!! You may think McCain was positively visionary in his choice of running mate, but he was not. He and his advisors were merely targeting you and your votes, yet they are not going to help us in the next four years. They are going to bring this country down even farther. Write in Hillary if you feel so inclined and are still bitter by that first Tuesday in November, but in the end, don't you think the "bandaid" will be better than allowing our country's present wound(s) to fester?

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Hillary, unity, acting...presidentially

2008-08-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

Let's just face it.

Hillary gave good speech.

And she looked pretty damn presidential. Look out for her in 2012.

She also could not be accused of NOT supporting Obama and trying to bring the party together. And she made three great points of why we should come together behind Barack Obama:

Exhibit A): “I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me?” Mrs. Clinton said. “Or were you in it for that young marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage?” Yes, we gotta think of the people that have been, and will continue to be disserved (is that a word? spellcheck says no, but...) by the present administration and by the McCain administration.

Exhibit B): “And you haven’t worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.” Okay, I'm sure some die-hard supporters are thinking, "Yeah, you're right! That's why we voted for YOU rather than Obama!", but face it, McCain and his ilk are the enemy here. Do you REALLY want his campaign and the GOP to WIN over a man who actually does support women's rights to choose, proper health care and education and a proper withdrawal from Iraq?

Exhibit C) “No way, no how, no McCain.” Again, we can't have McCain be the next man in the White House. Whatever experience he has over Obama, and so many people do have more experience than Obama, his experience is related to supporting the troop surge, supporting the war in Iraq, supporting the Bush tax cuts, supporting the overturning of Roe V. Wade, voting against proper sex education, voting against decent support for public schools...the "maverick" is no longer...and hardly ever was.

I agree that Obama is not ready. I agree that the presidency is not a position where you should just learn on the job. I also believe that he should have chosen Hillary as his running mate. BUT, Obama and Biden are who we got running. And I think smart cabinet choices will be made and that they will work together, starting to fix the mess we are presently in. If McCain gets into office, the mess will not even begin to be fixed; it will merely get worse. Obama and Biden can lay some groundwork for whoever comes in 2012 as they begin to rebuild our reputation as a nation among our allies, perhaps even get in a more liberal judge into the Supreme Court; start the work of a withdrawal from the war in Iraq; start making changes that need to be made. Things can only get better with Obama and again, only get worse or stay the same with McCain.

You can see the rest of the speech here.

There are some people out there who will vote for McCain in order to punish the Democratic party. But do you really want to punish the whole country and yourselves by voting this bugger in for FOUR YEARS?!?!?!?! I understand being upset, and I've been a glutton for punishment, but good lord, this is just wrong.

My mother is going to write in Hillary. I support that as it at least it is not a vote for McCain. But I will be voting for Obama as, right now, every vote counts. The race in the polls is already a statistical dead heat, hence, I would rather vote for Obama and keep McCain out of office, than risk another four years after the mistake of the last eight.

In the meantime KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!

Peace --Alex

And I am back...for the time being...

2008-08-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

And I am at job! I was just about done with my 6 months of unemployment when I walk into a temp agency Tuesday and they actually tell me "Well, we have something that starts Thursday..." WHAT?!?! You have something to offer me? I was so thrown, rather than actually take a moment to really think about it, I actually just said yes...despite the small pay. But it's a non-profit that helps bring reading opportunites to various communities, can I really say no to that?

Anyhoo, I have been meaning to write about our buddy, our pal Keith Olberman since last week. After the whole Edwards scandal broke, he busted Rush Limbaugh on comments the "drug-addled gasbag" (thank Stephanie Miller for that one) made about Elizabeth Edwards and how basically, John couldn't help but cheat on her because she was, essentially, too smart for him...and should have used her mouth for "something other than talking". Keith made yet another extremely eloquent retort and I felt I had to post it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677#26186923
(please cut and pasted for now as I am work computer and certain things like attahcing links appear to be not allowed for the time being.) Also, I gotta give John Edwards points for not making Elizabeth sit with him holding his hand during his interviews.

In the meantime, oh...my..God...the convention really is happening next week. And no one can deny that it is going to be interesting. Hillary supporters will be able to have their voice heard, but not make a scene 9there will be "whip teams" with Obama signs to get in front of overly unruly folk). Then there is the Vice President hoo ha. There are folks whoa re saying that they believe the present veep choices out there are merely a smokescreen before Hillary is called out as the Veep of Choice. I cannot deny that I would like to see this, but cannot see this actually happening right now. But who's to say? I can't recall a campaign (that I've paid attention to and that started in fourth grade when Anderson was running as an independent) causing more heartburn - and I'm out of Prilosec! I do hope Obama makes a proper choice and that McCain...doesn't win. HE CANNOT WIN! (where's my prilosec?!?!)

AND...I've been transcribing the interviews from the trip and man, it has been wonderful reliving those conversations...no matter how tedious the typing can be :p And right now, there is a great interview on www.wnyc.org that is worth catching. The Brian Lehrer show is presently discussing multiracial issues int he country, particularly in relation to Obama and the campaign. So worth catching so if you can get it on line, it should be on until a little after 11am. And hopefully can be picked up by podcast later :)

All right, back to the job here, but hope all is well and remember KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Peace --Alex

Three things...

2008-06-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

First, before I get into the history of the day...

I should have posted about this when I first found out about a week and half ago, but have let myself get too focused on getting resettled back here in the city...

Please say a prayer, hum karma, send out healing vibes to the family and friends of my Omaha host Ryan Guinn. Ryan was killed in a motorcyle accident mere days after I returned here. I only met him the once, but he proved to be one of those well-raised good guys...I raise a glass to you Ryan.

Now on to the main news of the day.

Last night the first black/mixed race man in our country's history claimed the Democratic nomination for president. If Hillary could have claimed it, it would have been the first woman. Either way, it is and would have been a momentous occasion in our country's political and cultural history. If Hillary is offered the VP position, and she accepts it...well then I think the collective GOP's head will explode.

Personally, I think Obama ought to offer it and that she should accept it because a) they have a better chance at winning and b) the nightmare campaign that McCain's ilk will hurl at Obama is one that I feel he is not ready for...and Hillary knows how to deal with all the crap that has been thrown her way and c) the combination of their experience is ideal.

Now, to all the women who said they'd vote for McCain if Hillary does not get the nomination, this is for you.

ARE YOU HIGH?!?!

For those of you who have only read my blog about my trip in April (the transcribing is coming along), before I was able to work on that, this whole blog was started as a place for me to rant about our present administration. And right now I have to rant about our present campaign...

Look, I have been a Hillary supporter, mainly because I think she is a) like Eleanor Roosevelt - nobody liked her either but that woman worked HARD and did right, and b) as I said earlier, could definitely take McCain in November as she knows and can handle the evil that will be flung at her...I fear Obama will not be able to handle the nightmare the conservative right has awaiting him...not yet. I really wish he and Hillary were one person some days...

IN THE MEANTIME...there are a large number of angry women out there - my mother is included among them - who said that they would not vote for Obama should he get the nomination. Unlike my mother, some of these women are angry enough that they will actually vote for McCain instead...to which I can only reply with a "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!?!?"

Look I can understand you being upset, particularly after what has to be the longest, most grueling and perhaps nastiest campaign since Andrew Jackson's days. But to actually decide to throw your vote toward a man who not only contiues to support the war in Iraq and wants to keep us there, has been pretty consistent in his voting along with Bush's policies, and has indeed said that he would turn over Roe v. Wade if he could is just complete delirium in my mind. Don't let post-campaign trauma break you! Particularly as there is another option for you: WRITE IN HILLARY.

You don't want to vote for Obama? Fine. But don't waste your vote and actually potentially send McCain (Bush Lite) to the White House. WRITE IN HILLARY instead.

or perhaps by voting time, if it comes down to Obama and McCain, you might want to just unite with the party and vote for Obama anyway. (did someone just throw something at me?) just sayin'...

And speaking of uniting, remember that there is still this slight chance at an Obama-Hillary ticket, so you may not need to worry about this at all :p (we can only hope)

In the meantime, KEEP PAYING ATTENTION!!! Enjoy this historic moment in politics, breathe...and do NOT vote for McCain!

Last stop: Atlanta

2008-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Atlanta, GA. (that's right, start singing Georgia on my mind...you know I just did) I haven't been to this city in 13 years (it does not seem possible that it was that long ago) and who knew that it would be the last official stop on this...I can't just say "trip"...this journey I have been on for the last 29 days. I had planned to drop in on Washington, DC, but I admit it, I miss my husband and the idea of getting back a day early overruled hitting the nation's capitol. And knowing me, I would have slacked off more than I did in New Orleans as I just love all the Smithsonian Museums and would have decided to just walk through all of them and forget to talk to people at all...unless I saw somebody intriguing in one of them...

Anyhoo, once again, my friend Doug provided me with a lovely interview in the form of his college friend Rivka. (by the way, Doug, I have now seen the picture of you when you were 4...sooooo cute!) Rivka has indeed been asked "What are you?" but finds that it is more often in the rural areas than in Atlanta proper. She explained how this most likely is probably due more to the fact that the folks who immigrated to the south tended to be white Europeans - your blond or sandy- haired Irish, English and German. Her people are Russian Orthodox Jews with primarily fair skin and dark hair (Rivka does have a quite amazing mane of black curls...if I could be sure my hair could look like hers as it grew out, I'd actually consider doing it). Like the majority of southerners I have met, she does agree that the blatant question of "what are you?" is rather rude and intrusive and prefers - and has more often been asked the more polite and subtle "Where are you from?" or even "What is your heritage?" She is happy to oblige with an answer, but at the same time, particularly as a performer, would prefer not to be pigeonholed. "What about the rest of me? What about my personality?" The "what are you?" factor for her also means, like for the Native Americans I spoke to, straddling two worlds. She grew up in and lives in an Orthodox household, but in order to perform, she did have to give up living the Orthodox lifestyle as in that culture, women are not allowed to perform in front of men. She did struggle with this decision as she feels very strongly about her faith and culture - "it is very much a part of who I am", she says - but she also feels that she was given this gift and passion for a reason. I gotta agree with her after seeing her perform at the Georgia Renaissance Faire with her groups Three Quarter Ale and Half Pint. She does at least have one outlet that allows her to live in both worlds: she directs a musical every year at the Jewish girls high school in her neighborhood and just loves it. If her girls read this, she just brags on you and is so proud. "I just love my girls!"

I have to say that this was a nice connection not only because Rivka was such a cool host and fun person to chat with, but also because her father's side of the family goes waaaaay back in New Orleans. If you know any Levine's down there or see store fronts with that name down there, they most likely are her people.

It was also fun to go from JazzFest to the Ren Faire (ah...memories of my days at the Medieval Manor...yes, I was a wench once...)

So what have I learned along the way? That, like Wendy is LA said, "there's no distinct face of America". We truly are our own entity and the "what are you?" culture we have, which is everything from honest curiosity to learn more about each other and our many mingled traditions, to something used in judgement or as a litmus test (though I am wagering with the younger generation that this is increasingly less frequent), is an ever evolving part of who we are as a people. I also feel I had it confirmed for me that, as I say in my show, we are not whats, but endless generations of whos and it does not matter "where you are from", because "we all got somethin'". There is still so much more learning to do... :p

I am presently on the train back to New York, where the next phase of this journey begins: some last interviews and then putting all this material together. But before all that begins, I have so many people to thank. There are the people who donated funds for this ages ago and just before I left (and even while on the road - thank you Michael!). There are the people who put me up and put up with me in their homes: old friends, new friends and new family. There are the folks who have been reading this blog and sending comments and positive thoughts along the way. And then there are all the people who took the time to talk to me, whether it was for five minutes or for an hour, it was such a pleasure and an honor. I have to say I've been truly blessed all around. And particularly with the support of my husband without whose encouragement and support - emotional and technical - this trip may not have happened and certainly would not have gone as well.

I should be home soon, and for those not in NYC, I hope to see y'all again soon either here or back where you are. There's still work to be done, hence this blog is not done, so come back if y'all want to stay updated on the latest! In the meantime, be well and...

Peace --Alex

Rolling with the good times...

2008-05-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

5/3
We all know the motto of New Orleans: Laissez bon temps roulez! (let the good times roll!) And it is very hard not to live by that motto while in the Crescent City. Being poor/on a budget actually kept me out of real trouble, though not out of Jazz Fest.

Wednesday night was spent first settling into the hostel I was staying and then getting a bit of my bearings in the city. My friend Rachel, a native New Yorker now living in NOLA, started us off by having us meet at Lafayette Park for a food and music festival. Blues artist Marcia Ball was performing when we got there and serenaded us through sandwiches involving pulled pork (hers) and handmade sausage with the place's own mustard (mine). Just when I thought I was slipping back into decent eating habits, I hit New Orleans; though I suppose the New Orleans sense of "decent" and mine differ...and I happen to like their "decent" better...

After checking that scene out for a bit, we mosied by foot through the warehouse district and eventually to "the quarter". I have now seen Bourbon Street in its tacky, neon, tourist-geared glory...and somehow managed not to get a yard of Hurricane. The rest of the quarter is lovely and I could tell that should I have time to spend there, it would be a dangerous place full of small shops, galleries and antiques. And there does seem to be a constant hum of music throughout the place.

We later got dinner at a fine restaurant called August where we shared a tasting menu that included crawfish and other fab fare...the food is just ridiculously tasty there. And I had to remind myself, "wait! I'm here to get work done!" I actually got a little twitchy about it as it was becoming painfully obvious that it was going to be hard to do that here.

Thursday: JazzFest. This day had been planned as such as I had been told that besides all the amazing music (excuse me, was I drooling?), and food (gotta stop that), they do have tents dealing with the traditions and heritage of New Orleans. The city truly is it's own entity with history that precedes it's annexation into our nation, down to fairly laissez-faire race relations until slave revolts firmed up anti-miscegenation laws. I went to one of these tents that dealt with cultural traditions such as the parade and costume clubs. I met two ladies from the Ladies of Unity: "a social and pleasure club" that has been around for decades and mainly gets ladies together to do events and fundraising. They are one of the last groups in the city to hand make their own costumes with elaborately beaded sashes and brightly colored fans of ribbons and feathers. One lady, Elaine, had never been asked "What are you?" and also wouldn't think of asking it. The other lady had been asked a few times, did not necessarily find it rude, but did find it unecessary as most people are "something" here anyway. She knows that besides being black, she's "a little Chocktaw, a little white" and "it don't matter" as that's just the way it is.

Another woman I spoke to across the way at a table about the making of the floats for Mardi Gras said that she had been asked "What are you?" fairly often as, while French and Italian, she is often mistaken for Mexican or other Latina cultures. She feels that it is general curiousity and generally feels bad that she can't reply to the people who may just go right up and speak Spanish to her.

The last woman I spoke to creates Day of The Dead work (truly gorgeous and as I have a thing for skulls, some of my favorite art). She said she frequently has been asked "What are you?" from her home state of Virginia, to the Southwest, to New Orleans. And while working on Day of the Dead pieces, which many in New Orleans see more as VooDoo pieces...and she herself is often seen as Creole...she decided to explore her own culture more as she had never really gone into the depths of her own Mexican and South American background. She feels that making the Day of the Dead work is an expression of that exploration of her roots, herself and her art.

And then, it was back to the music...

Friday was spent with beignets, beads and a muffaletta sandwich as well as searching for a not so busy coffee shop in the quarter, but with NOLA being a tourist mecca AND having JazzFest in town, it was something close to impossible. And then there was more music to be seen...depsite the heat...and the intermittent rain...and with humidity that rivals a New York or Boston summer; it's the kind that makes you feel like you can never quite get dry or clean. It makes you see why things move a little slower in the south.

At the finish of Stevie Wonder, I did manage to pull a guy aside for an interview (and it turned out he also happens to play in a favorite band of mine called Topaz). Bob is from Texas and has occasionally been asked "the question", but doesn't think that much about it. His grandfather was adopted so there is some missing info as it is, but otherwise, he is "a Texas boy" and that is what he knows most and best.

Today, I am on the way to Atlanta for the final stop on the trip. It, again, boggles the mind that I have been traveling for a month and this journey is nearly over. As I got out my ticket for today, I saw that I only have one left from the pile of over twenty. Tomorrow I will use that last ticket to get back to my home and my husband and my own bed...and then get crackin' on putting all of these experiences together.

Peace --Alex

The Gentile South...

2008-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I was first entering into Jackson, MS on the train, and it was taking a bit too long to get to the station platform, after taking a bit too long to get to Jackson, period (did I mention the sinkhole in Memphis: 24 feet wide, apparently, and one of a handful that are reeking havoc on train travel right now?) I was talking to some ladies and one of them asked me about my travels. When I explained how I am exploring the "What are you?" culture of America, she replied with "What an ill-mannered question!" and that is the general response I got from folks here.

One girl I talked to, Rita, is Hispanic-Italian and does get the question a lot, but does figure it's curiosity, let's it slide. But doesn't think it's necessarily polite either.

Another woman I spoke to, a Coast Guard gal who's name I cannot remember to save my life at the moment (sorry! but I have it on tape!), said that she has not been asked the question, but has asked it...in her head. She believes it is terribly rude to ask someone that, particularly if you barely know them. "Maybe after you know them a while..." and both of you are more comfortable, but otherwise, certainly not. She does believe it is something unique to this nation, mainly as "Americans are bold."

Lastly, I spoke to a great woman named Leah on the train. She is Cajun and yes, she gets asked all the time about it. She also finds it rude to ask, particularly as a first get-to-know-you question. She also finds that many men use this as an ice-breaker and perhaps a way to judge and finds it awkward. She told me that I ought to talk to wait staff on Bourbon St. or elsewhere in the French Quarter: "If they're Cajun...Creole...they will not hold back..." Looks like I'll have to check this out when I get there.

In the meantime, Jackson, the home of Eudora Welty, Jackson State University, and the Mayflower Cafe which has been around for 73 years, was a lovely place to stay, and thank you Pastor Rob for not only being a pleasant host but recommending Cups cafe as a place to camp out :) And look out for his friend Henderson at the Democratic Convention as he was elected as a delegate for Obama from MS.

Peace --Alex

Cannot believe...

2008-04-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

that this is the start of week four. This month has gone by sooooooo quickly like when the train is cruising through the middle of the night...

It's Monday, therefore I am in St. Louis (was it wrong of me to enter the town in my Red Sox cap and sweatshirt?...just thought of how in Denver I totally forgot to get a picture of Coors Field as the cab went by it.) My very pleasant (remarkable as he is going through finals right now) host Josh dropped me at a coffee shop in The Loop, a great quirky neighborhood with mostly local businesses lining it's main drag. Meshuggah's coffee shop apparently has the best bagel in town, and I would have tested that out, but they were actually out of bagels this morning! Still, it was a great place to camp out today. Like the St. Mark's Coffeehouse in Denver, it is a place where many folks may hang for the day doing their work or merely watching the day go by. It was the perfect place to watch the weather change as it went from sunny, to rainy to hail and back to sunny within an hour. I almost felt like I was in MA again.
In the meantime, I also got to kill a couple of hours talking to Asif, who, when I asked him if he had ever been asked "What are you?" he replied "No, but I have asked it a lot" Turns out he is studying cultural identity in America, particularly through the lense of religion. At one point, when in areas that were particularly white and conservative Christian, he asked folks if they thought themselves white, Christian or American...and they could only choose one. The majority of them chose American first. While he believes that a potential cultural clash in inevitable in the future, he does think that we have a unique society here where our identity is automatically pluralized. Save for the Native Americans, we are either a mish mash of our ancestors or (country of origin)-American. He himself was born in Pakistan, grew up in the states, and has been back and forth and back and back so, perhaps a bit like travel writer Bill Bryson, he has had the chance to have a distinctly different view of both his home countries.

Another gentleman, Daniel, with whom I spoke in the Central West End neighborhood, generally gets "Where are you from?" to which he responds "Missouri" as, while his parents are from the Phillipines, he grew up here (and lived in New York for 13 years...yes we talked apartments). He noticed that in smaller towns he might get "oh you're accent is so good! where are you from?" but in larger cities he does not get asked that.

And I had it confirmed: the main question you get asked in St. Louis is "what high school did you go to?" as the surrounding neighborhoods are small and distinctive enough to be able to define who ya are.

Lastly, before I forget, before I even got the fair ciy of St. Louis, I had a fabulous time talking to Amtrak cafe girl Dorcea and fellow passenger Krista.

As I started making my back east, I started making a tradition of getting a chocolate chip cookie and milk as a snack on the train (my husband and I like cookies and milk, what can I say?) and after I ordered my treat from the cafe girl, she whipped back around and asked "Excuse me, but what is your nationality? I mean, you got me all confused here!" I laughed and told her about my show. And SHE laughed out loud ("for REAL?") and then told me her own story. An older woman came up to her and started really staring at her...and then asked "Miss, are you all black?" Dorcea was rather surprised by such a question and was like "Um, are you all white?" and then replied that yes, she was black. The woman persisted: "Are you sure, because you look like you might be a little Hispanic?" Dorcea said "Um, I think I would know-" and again assured the woman that she was not Hispanic. The woman then explained how she was "taking a remedial Spanish class" and was looking for folks to practice with. Well, not seconds after she said that, a Latino gentleman went by them. The woman caught him at the stairs and asked him about his back ground, if he had a family, if they spoke Spanish and whether or not she could practice with them. The gentleman agreed and if anyone knows who he is, and sees him, give him a medal as this woman proceeded to follow him around and plunked down at each meal with him and his family to practice for TWO DAYS. You all also have to meet Dorcea and have her tell you the story herself as it is truly hysterical when she tells it.
While we were talking, fellow passenger Krista came up to order a cocktail. She asked about the show and said that she herself is Italian and Irish "like 1/18th Irish, but look at me! Look at me!" and she gestured to her very fair and freckled Irish looking skin. AND she had reddish hair and hazel eyes. She does indeed look Irish. "I am like allergic to the sun. I went to Florida and could only go to the beach when it was overcast..."
Further proof that when this topic comes up, there's always a conversation.

Peace --Alex

More than BBQ in Kansas City...

2008-04-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Kansas City, like Buffalo, is pretty much a layover for me and I was not really expecting to interview anyone here. (my real plan was to find WiFi and then a place to nap...and, of course, some BBQ as I have a feeling the jazz musicians are not up this early). But, it turns out Virgil, an Amtrak employee who helped store my bags for the day, turned out to be a character...and he had time to kill to chat.
After I told him about my reasons for traveling, he talked to me about when he applied for a job with Amtrak...and for jobs period. When he gets to that part of the form that asks you to check race, he's always checked "other" and then written in "Human". He believes this may have actually cost him a few jobs, but when he interviewed with Amtrak, he was asked about it. "Well, I only know two races: the human race and the rat race..." This "cracked them up" and next thing you know, he was hired and he's been with Amtrak ever since.

In the words of Michael Franti, "Every soul has a right to be bloomin', stay human"

Peace --Alex

I do like it when I am proven wrong...

2008-04-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

at least about a town that I think may be a complete wash for me.

When I came into Trinidad, CO, looked at the construction box that is the "rail passenger" office (it is an unmanned station) and looked across the street at the overpass that is under construction (Trinidad is having its own Big Dig!), and remembered that there is no taxi service here, I wondered about whether or not I would really see much here, despite the history offered up on the website.

I was at least met at the train station by Kenny, a staff member at the Trinidad Motor Inn where I was staying and he got me to the hotel.

The closest food that was open is a Sonic down the street, therefore I gave into my first fast food of the trip (save for a sandwich I got on the train...once). I happened to get there just after an entire unit of traveling young Airmen stopped there and gave the staff there more business than they probably see in a week in one fell swoop. What little I saw of the rest of the town appeared to be dead already, hence I took my fried fat back to the motel and prepared to mope.

Then, after check-out this morning, I decided to take a walk down main street...and soon I saw shops, cafes, jewelry I have to avoid buying no matter how pretty it is: let's just face it, the southwest with its unique design and generally wholesale prices is a dangerous place for an accessory addict like me...but I have remained good. (therefore I will not talk about the sleeping beauty turquoise necklace with silver and turquoise heart pendant and matching earrings or the white buffalo turquoise necklace I saw today...so many pretty things..."my preeeeeeciousssss") While I can't say that I have met major interview material here, I did have a lovely conversation at New Heritage Antiques with the owner, Merle. She has lived all over the west despite starting in rural Pennsylvania. As we spoke, I brought up the topic of my show and she talked about how she herself is a "kind of mongrel...anyone who could swim, walk, crawl here from Europe is in my family...somewhere". Most folks in her family are fair and blue or green eyed (she herself has rather brilliant green eyes), "but there have been some brown eyes that have popped up here and there". While she may not out right ask "What are you?", she does indeed ask "Where are you from?" as it's a "conversation starter and the only way you learn...". She loves talking to people and should you ever find yourself here, I highly recommend you drop in on her shop and have a chat. And ask her how during some time in NYC, she ended up riding the elevator with Sting - arm over her shoulder - every morning. And if you were at all involved with the 2001 production of Bat Boy the Musical, send her a note as she saw it and just looooooooved it.

All right, time to prepare for Kansas City and St. Louis...

Peace --Alex

Some of the best stuff never recorded...

2008-04-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Once because I forgot, once because I was not allowed and once because we were just talking in the car and the idea of having the tape recorder ready was far away from my mind.

This is what Albuquerque has done to me.

Albuquerque, New Mexico seems, to me at least, to be the epitome of the southwest (yes, I am sure folks will beg to differ). The Native American culture here pretty much overwhelms everything else, even the Mexican and surely the Caucasian and it is one of the reasons I wanted to come here as it is so rare to really meet or discuss this facet of America on the east coast. Yes, there are tribes in my area, but the culture is not so prominent as it is here.

I started at the Frontier Restaurant, a college (the University of New Mexico is across the street) as well as general greasy spoon has a well ridden feel and has the foot traffic my ever gracious hostess Kahleetah promised. I managed to talk to a couple of girls there- Julia and Maria - both of whom have mixed heritage and get asked the question a lot, when it is not just assumed that they are Mexican (an assumption that bothers both of them after awhile). Julia though finds the question a compliment as it means "that they find you exotic looking or something". Both do not really celebrate their roots here, but have said that when they go to various family gatherings, it's all about the Latin traditions. Maria talked about how, growing up a military brat, roots were not so much an issue, but when she and her family go to Florida, where the rest of her Ecuadorian father lives "it's like a typical Spanish family". They do not see it so much as a regional question, but do find one's response to it rather particular here as, with the Native American and Mexican culture so strong here, it is a different situation than in the rest of the country.
After having a good stroll up Center street, full of quirky shops and cafes, I stopped in at The Flying Stars cafe. I wasn't sure I was going to get anywhere here, but I ended up sitting next to two sisters who let me interrupt their meal (I didn't know they had ordered food! I swear!) to chat with them. They asked not to be recorded but man did they give me insight to the area and I scribbled down as much info as I could.
They are black and Pueblo and have been mistaken for everything from Mexican to Ghanian: "claimed by many and subscribed to none" they say. They don't mind the curiousity, but do not like to be claimed by a group who then may turn on them if they claim their own heritage. I remember a woman at a neighborhood store who looked at me, positively shocked when I did not respond to her in Spanish, looking at me as if she were saying "what do you MEAN your parents did not teach you Spanish?", so I know this feeling. They also worry about not having enough role models for women like them as many may see their being black, Native American AND women as three strikes against them, but the sisters themselves see this as something to take pride in and feel other women in the same situation should do the same. "It may be the southwest but it's still the south" one of them remarked as they discussed the racism they still encounter here. One, a college professor, was recently stopped at a mall and accused of being a gang member because of how she looked. They also have to worry about the racism encountered amidst their own cultures as one side will degrade the other or think that one is more important than the other. It made me think of a conversation I overheard on the A train once where a girl very loudly protested to her friend after he had asked her not only "what are you?" but "What are you most?": "What do you mean, what I am most? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm an American and yeah I'm mixed but what the hell has that got to do with anything?" etc. These ladies and I sat talking about race and gender issues for nearly an hour and when I thanked them for taking the time to talk with me, they said "Well, you know, even if you hadn't shown up, we'd have probably had this conversation anyway. We talk about this all the time..."
Lastly, my fabulous hostess Kahleetah has her own "what are you?" with her name. She works in commercial real estate and tends to deal with people on the phone first. She can develop a whole relationship over the phone and then, when they meet her, the general reaction is surprise. "I'm 100% Swedish on my mom's side and kinda white trash Oklahoman on the other, but because my Dad's from Oklahoma, he wanted to give me a traditional (Native American) name from there...so there's this 'Wait! You're Kahleetah? I thought you were black!' or 'I pictured you as..,' etc etc" Kahleetah also brought up the trying time her stepson had with a school project. He and his classmates were asked to bring in a dish traditional with their heritage. Well, this turned out to be an agonizing assignment as 1) he didn't know what to choose - mom's side? Dad's side? (and this can be complicated within blended families) and 2) there are so many things to choose from as neither side has just one heritage (as so few families do these days). He ended up choosing his stepmom's favorite New Year's dish of cheese fondue. It's good, it's simple and as Kahleetah remarked, does have the "social aspect" of bringing people together around a shared pot. I have a new respect for fondue.
I sadly am missing the Gathering of Nations here in Albuquerque as the events start today not long before my train leaves town, but I do believe that I got a good taste of the Southwest here and this fab city.

More ramblings from the road later and may I thank you for your patience with all typos, spelling errors and left out words.

Peace all --Alex

Standin' on the corner...

2008-04-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I stood on the corner in Winslow, Arizona first thing this morning. (for those who do not know the signifigance, listen to the Eagles's song "Take it Easy".) I got off the train and in my search for breakfast, I found "the corner" and took pictures. And then I camped out at coffee shop The Seattle Grind, enjoying a fantastically rich cinnamon roll, hot chocolate and conversation with the girl behind the counter. Brianna has never been asked "what are you?" nor has she asked the question. She's never really thought about it and is used to the diversity in her small town.
As I prepared to call a cab to the Super 8 where I am staying, I found myself chatting with Peggy, the Hopi representative of Winslow. She says she's still figuring out what she is. For her the question goes beyond just background; it is more about a constant struggle for Native Americans: finding the balance between traditions (such as how she would not let me record her or take a picture as it is against tribal tradition) and retaining culture, and finding ways to move some of her more tradition-oriented people into "urbanization" and dealing better with other cultures. She studied at UC Berkeley a while back and it was her first time seeing so many different people in the same place and working together...and she liked it. Promoting and encouraging Hopi culture comes first - her brother is a museum director and helped with the new Smithsonian Native American Museum - but there is also promoting education. Though she believes it's harder now with this particular administration as there is even less trust in the government now than there previously was. She can't wait for the election stuff to be over and, like everyone else, for change.
Anna, another coffee shop employee, does get asked "what are you?" all the time, when folks do not just assume she is Mexican. She is Navajo and German and is stupidly pretty. "It's a pretty diverse area here..." so it's more curiosity and not so much an issue. And then there's the woman who runs the "Take It Easy" gift shop opposite "the corner" who said to me "'What are you?' I don't even know what you mean! I mean, I guess I'd just say that I was American. I mean, that's what I am. Or maybe Scottish as that is what I am descended from...".

And now to fun facts about Winslow:
*The last of the Harvey houses, the La Posada hotel is located here.
*80% of the Native American population lives in this area. There are reservations on each side of the town, primarily Hopi and Navajo.
*We all know about "the corner" and there is a even a park being built in honor of it.
*The Turquoise Room at the La Posada has some of the best food I have ever had. The combination of Native American and Mexican flavors is truly nothing I've had before and boy howdy does the chef know how to work with them. Sweet corn and black bean soup with a chipotle cream drizzle, Pika bread (the flakiness of filo dough without the butter and made with blue corn, flower, seeds and baked flat on a hot rock with ashes) and Hopi hummous (made primarily with sunflower and other seeds), their Killer Vegetable Platter that includes sweet corn pudding, a Goblano pepper stuffed with three cheeses (sorry vegan friends), polenta, black beans, grilled corn on the cob with spices, mixed veggies, tofu and tomatillo sauce...and then there was the quince pie with mesquite scone and vanilla bean gelato that threw me over the edge and my stomach committed the absolute felony of not allowing me to finish it. Go to Winslow, stand on the corner, then go to the Turquoise Room, ask for Ali to be your server and eat ridiculously well.

Tomorrow, it's Albuquerque and something close to the end of week 3...

Madhatters and mystery aunts...

2008-04-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a trip. That's really the best way to describe it.

After arriving in LA the other morning, I was greeted by the parking angels who allowed me a space right across the street from my host Dave's (brother and in-law of our friends Steve and Lil), building. Steve and Lil came by later for lunch and we hit the last original Bob's Big Boy in the city. The Beatles apparently used to head over there during west coast recording sessions. I can also say that I have seen the Brady Bunch house (sadly...tacky...but for sale!). After more walk around I got to have dinner with one of my first New York friends, Christina where we caught up and should you be in Chicago at the end of May, GO SEE HER in the show "A Kid From Brooklyn: the Danny Kaye story". She plays Eve Arden as well as many other women in Kaye's life and will definitely be worth seeing. She also happened to alert me to the LA habit of looking up at people because you never know if you are going to see somebody famous. We saw no famous faces during dinner, but it was kind of funny to see folks just sort of automatically looking around at anything that moved juuuuust in case.

Then, there was yesterday.

It started out at the Magnolia Blvd Starbucks where apparently all the actors in North Hollywood (aka NoHo) hang out. I was able to talk to people nearly straight away starting with stagehand and writer Lewon (sp?) who regularly gets asked "What are you?" and thinks it is definitely an LA thing as, like New York, it's just part of the landscape: so many different types of people how can one NOT be curious. Barista Wendy says that she mainly gets asked the question when she speaks Spanish as folks don't see her as Latina despite her Mexican heritage. Alexandra gets asked "What are you?" all the time, and gets people guessing as well: "everything but the real thing." She and Wendy also believe that it is something unique and cool about America. "There's no distinctive face of America," Wendy said. We just are.

Also at this Starbucks is writer and king of Magnolia Blvd.: K. Elliot. This man is just a character. According to the locals, he knows "everybody" and keeps track of the up and comers in the area. He thinks race in America is "a stupid ass thing..." as people have been getting together for too long for anyone to be pure anything. His lawyer friend Charles, who is in discrimination law, believes he will be out of business by 2030...save for sexual discrimination..."that will always be around...".

After two green tea lattes and hours of talking, mostly with Elliot I must admit, I headed out to La Verne to try to meet the woman I call my "mystery aunt". I call her this as, when I was growing up, we'd get Christmas cards from her every year with a small check and we'd have to write thank you notes, every year, and no matter how many times my sister and I asked for a photo or a letter, we never got one. My father had no photos of her that I know of and did not talk much about his family (he was older and really had no one left by the time my sister and I came around). Since my father passed away, I've been trying to meet her and we have kept missing each other, so rather than call ahead, I wrote a letter before I left for the trip and then decided to just drop in on her and see if she was there. I got to her house...and I rang the bell...and...nothing. I rang it again...and a third time...nothing. I was preparing to write a note for her to leave at the door and then turn around and head back to LA, when I heard a shuffling from the back of the house. An older gentleman helping an older woman with some groceries...the gentleman saw me and motioned for the lady to turn and see that she had a visitor. The tiny, hunched lady turned as best she could with her cane, and when I saw her face, there was no doubt that this was my aunt. "Oh look at you! I know who you are." She said gleefully. "You are the spitting image of your daddy. Come on in!"

Next thing I know, I am in her living room and we are talking and hours go by. I am hearing her life story about how she was with the Coast Guard Auxiliary for over 30 years (it all started with a bad fishing trip). I also learn about how her 52 years with Lockheed started by working for Douglas as a "Rosie the Riveter" during WWII (when those jobs dried up after the war, she did factory sewing, but as soon as she could get back to building airplanes, she was on it). She invites me to stay overnight as she has the guest room and even a pair of new flanel pajamas. She makes me a TV dinner and despite the worry of my contacts drying and sticking to my retinas, I stay and we end up talking til midnight. I thought I got the gift of gab just from my father...it is obviously a family trait.
In the midst of the conversation, we did get to family photos. I have never seen pictures of my father as a child, nor of my grandparents on his side. It was amazing to see these people for the first time. There are only two pictures of my grandfather, and one group photo that I believe has some cousins from the de Suze side, but once again I was left thinking, these de Suze's are hard to find :p
Nell, my aunt, gets up at 5am every morning as that was her shift when she worked, hence I found myself up at the same time...but able to fall back asleep til 7am. I had a last chat with her over coffee cake and tea and then helped her get ready for her excursion to San Bernardino (she gets her nails done there). The gentleman I saw her with yesterday, a quiet man named Clyde, dropped over by a little after 8 to drive her. He lives next door and drives her around and keeps an eye on her. (thank you Clyde). While she went off to her nail appointment, I went to the local Office Depot and started making copies of photos...photos of these people who were, sorry to be cliche, but it's best now, missing pieces of my puzzle. They are of different shades but the same..spunk. As I looked at these photos and listened to Nell, I realized something. I come from spunk. I've got determined and strong women and determined and charismatic men on both sides of my family. As Nell talked about how her mother was determined to make her a nurse, yet she wanted to work on airplanes, I thought of my mother who, rather than go to secretarial school, was determined to work in communications. Both sets of grandparents set out to leave their lives in Denmark and Grenada respectively and came to the US, the only children in their families to so do, in order to try something new...try out the American Dream, or rather, continue it.
I may not have seen the Hollywood sign or the Chinese Theatre; or danced at the Brown Derby or bought flip flops at Venice Beach, but I met my mystery aunt and she is mystery no more...just my aunt...a piece of my puzzle that I finally found and could fit into place.

Patriots weekend musings...

2008-04-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

4/18
I have to say I am almost annoyed by the insane beauty outside my window here on the train as it is highly distracting. How is a person supposed to get any work done when if I merely turn my head, I am made thoroughly agog by the wonder of nature? As the scenery changed from the desert plains, rolling hills and scrub brush of Nevada into the towering pines and deep green valleys of the America River Gorge passing into California, I could not help but be left hunting for my camera rather than my laptop. It's either that or I end up just gazing out the window dumbstruck (and surely drooling). It's bad enough that I am the type to be distracted by bright and shiny objects; well this is well beyond something pretty in a shop window, on a person (or a person), or on the street.

With about an hour and a half before we roll into Sacramento, I have managed to pull out the laptop and am doing my best to ignore the deep cut and jagged red clay on either side of the tracks, as well as the numerous trees. Spring has surely sprung here as trees are in full leaf reminding me that by the time I get back to NYC, trees should be in full bloom in Ft. Tryon park and across the street from my building at Inwood Hill Park. I can also hear my husband (who I miss desperately by the way...countin' the days, baby) telling me about Santa Barbara, CA. Basically, on any good spring day in New York, he will suddenly say "It's like this every day in Santa Barbara, honey, every day..." And of course, I am left to remind him how I would miss the seasons...but I'll tell you, I am so ready for Spring, particularly after seeing snow in Omaha and Salt Lake, and while looking down the snow covered mountain above Donner Lake (yes, named after the doomed Donner Party). Good thing I am a New England girl and know how to work with the layers.

4/20
It is Patriot's Day weekend in Massachusetts and again, I will be missing the festivities...what? you don't know about Patriot's Day? When I was a kid, and we got April 19th off from school (before they started doing the three day weekend thing), I thought it was a national holiday. "What do you mean the rest of the country does not celebrate the start of the American Revolutionary War leading to our independence as a nation?" I would find myself asking. Growing up in Concord, where they still reennact the battle at the Old North Bridge (after the dawn reennactment of the battle on Lexington Green), as well as have a parade I marched in as a Girl Scout and later as a member of the 4-H Fife and Drum corps, the idea that this was relegated only to our town and state boggled my mind. This was the Shot Heard Round The World! The start of the War for Independence! This was how our country began! AND it was a day off from school, I mean, come on! Who are these philistines who won't celebrate the start of America? People not from Concord who are not completely surrounded by the history. I still think it should be a national holiday, but until then, should you come into Boston anytime for the marathon, take the commuter rail out to Concord and see the parade and the reenactments and get some history along with the exercise.

In the meantime, it is amazing at all that I can think of that as I sit on the train from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. I now know that my husband was not kidding. SB, for the brief time I spent there primarily waiting for the train after overnight service from Sacramento, looks more like Greece or Monaco with it's houses in the hills and palm trees, than some place in our own country. Since leaving there, we've been cruising along the coast: the ocean to my right and the lush green hills and farms to my left. The Surfliner is more of a commuter train to me and it's tighter than the California Zephyr, but I'll tell you, the view is worth it as we pass through Carpenteria et al...I feel a bit like I am not allowed to think about living in such an area as not only is it most likely far out of our price range but...I am a New Englander. I do not understand this west coast thing. This...sunny and warm all the time thing. The west coast lush greeness...and a DRY HEAT. There are patches we pass by that look more like footage from Vietnam than the state of California. It makes me think of this piece I heard on NPR. There were two women who were headed to LA to pitch their screenplay. Initially, they hate it. They hate the people, the waiting in Hollywood, it's too darn cheery. Then, they get to pitch their script, it goes well, and they head back to New York...where it is raining...and chilly...and suddenly they "so miss LA! Oh my God it was so nice out there!" I fear this may happen to me. ..but then again, I will be spending time on the freeway, where after a few minutes in traffic I may end up crying for the subway.

It's Patriot's Day back east...

2008-04-19T15:50:00.001-07:00

But here in Sacramento, it's just beautiful. Spring has truly sprung with all the trees out in full leaf and palm. It is in the 70's and breezy and I am reminded that one does not rush around here. You sit, you stroll, you linger, hang back. It's niiiiiiice.

My hostess, Sheila, lives just outside the city in a lovely neighborhood called Fair Oaks. She took me 'round the neighborhood which is literally in full flower (who DOESN'T have a garden here?) and then dropped me off by the main coffee shop this morning so I could take care of my interviewing...and eat a GIGANTIC cinnamon bun.

Here I am, trying to not eat horrible and/or fattening things on this trip and well, I gave that up last night. I have in-laws in the area who were kind enough to have us over for dinner last night. We feasted on baked potatoes and serious meatloaf (stuffed with cheese!!). I knew then that I was going to eat this weekend.

Hence the bagel this morning, the cinnamon bun, the positively lovely hand-done falafel made at the the Sunflower Drive-In restaurant (all vegetarian and FRESH) and the soon to be grilled New York steaks....

In between all this, I did actually talk to people.

At the cafe, as the sugar kicked in from the cinnamon bun, I enjoyed a conversation with three generations of women (well, two really as the young granddaughter did not join in the discussion at the time :p). The daughter gets asked "what are you" fairly frequently "and nobody ever guesses right either," she said. I admit it...I wanted to know, and did everything in my power not to go there, but her mother suddenly said, "You want to guess?", chuckling. I did give it a shot saying possibly Latina, due to her olive-toned skin and dark eyes, but I was wrong. She is French and Chinese. She does not get annoyed when asked, and has not been one to celebrate her heritage. It's more that she knows her roots, but it's not all that important. Her daughter, a fair-skinned, blue-eyed, brown-haired little girl (so adorable!) has not hint of her mother's Asian heritage. The grandmother remarked "Do you think people are going to look at her and know that she is a quarter Chinese?" I can honestly say "no". The ladies had a friend with them who, as coming from a military family, believes she has "a drop of a little bit of everything" in her. She does not know all her roots, but finds that uniquely American. She had been approached by a gentleman at a bar who asked her the question. He apparently was quite taken aback by the fact that she did not seem to know her roots. He was of 100% Portuguese descent, was very proud of that fact and was passing on the traditions to his family that had been passed on to him. "Aren't you proud of your roots?" he had asked, and she just replied that she was proud to be American and otherwise, did not really know her roots...and what's so wrong with that? She also said that, after living all over the country growing up, she was never asked "What are you?" until she came to California, hence she does believe that it may be a regional issue.
At the Sunflower restaurant, I ran into some students (okay, student age...I could be wrong on the student thing...I am old enough now to look at certain people and just automatically think 'Oh my God! they're so YOUNG!') and asked them about their experiences with the questions and one of them, Max, told me how when he was in 8th grade, just after 2001 (!!!), he was living in Kentucky. A little girl came up to him and asked him "Are you a terrorist?" "Well, I figured I was the darkest person in the neighborhood at the time and she just thought I looked [Arabic]". Since then, he's been asked a few times but doesn't see it as a big deal and wonders why everybody else seems to make such a big deal about it.

A common ponderance for sure.

All right, gotta get ready for Los Angeles. But I gotta say, Fair Oaks is a mighty fair place and I definitely would not mind coming back.

Got Picon?

2008-04-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

It is a dangerous thing. A Basque beverage served in the Basque restaurants here and is no doubt an acquired taste.

Winnemucca, NV not only is the only town in Nevada (remember it is Nevada not Nevahda), named after a Native American (Chief Winnemucca) but also is a major Basque community. Apparently, back in the 1800's the Basque and their sheep made it out here and decided this was the place to raise and herd sheep. A good number of the folk here have Basque ancestry. And they are proud of it. This is a tight community. But, as for having actually been asked "What are you?" the folks I spoke to, never have been.
One gentleman said that he looked too Scottish (and he did) so no one ever asked him about it, but when he told folks that he was half Basque and came from a family of sheepherders, it usually was a surprise: "You're what?".
A shopowner I spoke to had also never been asked but she was of Basque decent and would gladly tell you if asked. She does not speak the language as her ancestors were so proud and intent to be Americans that they learned English and never went back. There appear to only be a handful of folks who still speak the language, but there are a number of Basque restaurants here and a festival in June.

In the end, I can now honestly say that I have had sweetbreads (one of my dad's favorite entrees)...I actually liked them(!) And should you come to Winnemucca, you cannot leave without trying the lamb...and you must have a Picon!

Tomorrow we move on to Sacramento...and the adventure continues!

Peace --Alex

My Favorite Mormon

2008-04-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

4/16
Ahhhh...Salt Lake City. I arrived two hours late into town but my hostess, Pat (a childhood friend of my mother-in-law) was up when Wes, the ever personable Haitian/Mormon cab driver pulled up in her driveway. I was sent straight away to bed and within minutes I was out cold.

Speaking of gracious people, my friend Doug (surely you know Doug Shapiro!), made a last minute call to a friend of his with whom he worked many moons ago, in order to procure me an interview. As genealogy and heritage are so important in the Mormon faith, I felt I had to interview a Mormon, and what better place than Salt Lake City!

And I could not have had a better Mormon with whom to speak than John. He is thoughtful and witty and explained how heritage is important so that they know who they are through their families and their history, therefore, through sharing and joining this information and history they are more like one big family. Like with folks on the east coast who like to claim Mayflower roots, Mormons like to be able to claim pioneer roots, but, of course, it's hard for all to claim as such as not all are descended from such beginnings. John has never been asked "What are you?" (more likely he's been asked "What ward are you?"), but if someone did, he could tell you his and his wife's history for some generations back and be proud of it.

Of course, with all this talk of genealogy, and being so close to the Family History Library, how could I not stroll on over there and do some searching myself?

An Elder talked me through the process and then various other Elders (all SO helpful...there is no denying just how nice they all are) helped me get to the International microfilm and I started looking through a very long reel of records from 1860's Grenada. Thanks to a new cousin in New Jersey, I have seen a family tree of my paternal grandmother's side, and found a few records on the Neckles side of the family in the microfilm, but as for the de Suze side, these folks are hard to find. I spent about two hours looking through a reel of tiny, tight script and not one de Suze to be found. My husband says that on his Dad's side, he is descended from a group of Irish horse thieves who changed their name, so Bratcher isn't even really the family name...I had a moment where I wondered the same about the de Suze's but I do know, thanks to another potential cousin, the names of my great-grandparents, and that they are indeed named de Suze, so, I figure they got to be in the record somewhere. If I'd had more time, I may have actually found them. As I sat in front of my microfilm machine, surrounded by others with papers, notes, pencils and hopes of doing the same thing, I can understand the addiction of the search and after even seeing the name of a Neckles relative, understand the elation of finding someone; some connection. While I had to leave without seeing my name amidst the squished yet elegantly written handwritten records, I did, at least, leave with a better idea of how to search and may eventually find that history yet :)

Fun facts about Salt Lake City:
*Like the majority of streets in Boston lead to the Boston Common, the streets in SLC lead out from the Temple.

*There is a very wide street designed by Brigham Young. It was made so wide so that a wagon with a team of oxen could turn with ease.

*Utah is named after the Ute tribe.

*The mountains are EVERYWHERE! It really is just amazing to turn out of a driveway and there before you, purple mountains majesty for sure. And they are the mountains where the SLC Olympics were held as well as the Sundance Film Festival over in Park City.

All right, time to finish this and get going to Winnemucca!

P.S. Pat and her husband Clete's son is name Brian. Brian is on his second tour in Iraq. He has 89 days to go. Please send your prayers, thoughts, get-home-safe vibes, etc to Brian and his family.

On the way to Salt Lake...

2008-04-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

After a lovely stop in Denver (Thank you again Rosie and Doc and family for having me and to the owner of St. Mark's coffe shop for letting me pretty much camp out there), I am now on the train to Salt Lake City. This train ride began around 8:30am and will continue til about 11pm, but a) I am not driving b) I am not flying and c) I am not on the bus. The train really is the best way to do this kind of long run as one can spread out, sleep if you need to, eat (thank you Starbucks in Denver for providing healthy and inexpensive food for the day) and one can also camp out in the Lounge car. The lounge car of the California Zephyr is really an ideal spot to watch the passing scenery, particularly that of the vast west we east coasters forget exists unless watching a movie until just seeing it for ourselves. Seeing the natural beauty of the Rockies and the carved canyons of red rock that jut and flow down to the Colorado river's edge is truly awe inspiring. It is a reminder that a) we still have these natural wonders in our midst and b) we need to make sure they remain. There is a song by India Arie called "Now I know that God is real" talking about seeing various beautiful things in nature I am left to think about that song as I pass through these hills. I am also left to think about how every New Yorker needs to see this. Not just Westchester, not just upstate, not just New England. They need to see real wide open spaces (if I may steal the chorus of the eponymous Dixie Chick song). I am talking serious vastness here and barely a road in the midst of it all. Like when driving back to Reno from Burning Man, I was amazed by similar scenery and I had to remind myself to keep my eye on the road, even though I was the only one on it for the majority of the drive. Being in New York as long as I have, I get nervous when a place is too unpopulated. A subway platform and a street is always better to me if there a lot of people there. But I also like space. Supermarkets and apartment buildings and restaurants can be cramped and tight and we get used to doing as much as we can with as little space as possible. But out here, it is reminder that there is space and that every once in awhile, should we come out here, we can open our eyes, our lungs, and our minds to open skies and air. You can feel muscles relax, shoulders loosen after months or years of holding them in so you can all fit on the subway. And one can do this even while on the train, without getting off, just by looking out at the view and rather than sitting at your desk, or in a car dealing with traffic, or looking through a tiny window over somebody in a big metal tube with recirculated air, you can sit in the open room of the lounge car, sit back, talk to your fellow passengers, share the moment and go ahhhhhh, this is nice.

...until you are stuck in the middle of this lovely vast open nowhere, and there is a signal issue. I suddenly was flashed back to moments on the MTA when the train stops and after what feels like just a bit too long, you hear the announcement that there is a faulty signal up ahead and that it is being investigated at this time and "we will be moving shortly, so please be patient". Well, we just had that here. A faulty signal had to be switched by hand...and when that did not work, I am not quite sure what was worked out, (particularly as once the signal thing was dealt with we then had to deal with which train went first - I figure someone won a match of rock, paper scissors) but we are moving again. And then, of course, everybody started talking and complaining about it. Ahhh, a little bit of home.

Peace --Alex

From corn to horses and hipsters...

2008-04-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am in Bronco country but I have been surrounded by hipsters most of the afternoon as I sit in a rather fabulous coffee shop called St. Marks on 17th street. As I look around the cafe and see nearly EVERYONE with a laptop of some sort out in front of them with their coffee, I realize that I, too, am one of them. I have become one of the laptop people. St. Mark's is excellent though as decent music is played over the sound system and while loud, somehow does not drown out conversation. The Brazilian manager working the counter is smart, flip and makes a mean iced chai. I gotta say, the sandwiches and baked goods are also fierce.

It also definitely has a city feel. While still a bit more laid back than New York, there is an edgier feel here and when I went up to a couple of people for a potential interview, it was the first time I was met with a true sense of suspicion. They agreed to talk but as they had other places to go, it was not for very long, but I still got a tale about while being and looking black, the woman has been stopped at the airport for looking Arabic...and even had someone shout at her from their car "Go back to your own country!" She does get asked "What are you?" frequently yet only is annoyed by it when it happens at the airport...for obvious reasons.

I also spoke briefly to a waitress at Pete's kitchen who gets the question frequently, mainly due to her name - Sinai. It is Japanese and she is Japanese, Spanish, Irish and German (will have to check the tape about the German). She doesn't mind it, and doesn't think it defines her as she doesn't "celebrate" her culture. She's just Sinai.

The Brazilian owner/manager here says they do not ask "what are you?" in Brazil, as it is just assumed, you are Brazilian. He has been and is regularly asked "What are you?" due to his accent and his hats from Canada (he has friends there). I asked him if he minded it, and he said, "No...sometimes I mess around with them and I say that I am from Brazil, Kansas. And they look at me like, 'Oh I thought you were from Brazil!'" Gotta love it.

In the meantime, I am going to try to get a visit to the Denver art museum which is apparently near by and then hopefully get a disco nap as it is hitting me now that I got here just before 7am this morning (we left Omaha late and got here EARLY!)

I also have to say "Hello!" to the Red Hat ladies I met at the train station last night who are on their way out to a convention in Los Angeles. They were a trip chatting and laughing and all wearing their various red hats - happily over fifty (I believe the majority in this group were over 60) and enjoying life. Rock on, ladies, rock on.

Peace --Alex

Cornhusker country...

2008-04-13T16:59:00.001-07:00

4/13
Omaha-ans..that's the official name for residents of Omaha, so say my host Ryan and his roommate Tony, both of whom are natives of this fine city and who've been charming hosts. I also have to say that they are prime examples of healthy corn-fed boys as they are both strapping and over six feet tall.
I interviewed them today as we took a break from walking nearly the entire expanse of the Omaha Zoo which is apparently the number two zoo in the country. I asked them if they had been asked the question and while Ryan has gotten it as an American in Europe, Tony gets it all the time as he happens to be Italian, Mexican and black. "People are curious, and it's no big deal..." he said. The two of them also deal with the stereotypes of being from Nebraska "You live on a farm? You have a John Deere?" Ryan has actually told folks that sure, he goes cow tipping and rides around in his truck with a twelve pack of beer, "gun next to me...we shoot clay pigeons..." Ryan is actually far from the stereotype as an amateur aviator and business owner. Tony is also working on being a professional pilot and both, with their laid back manner and speech could seem more like surfers than farmers; but you do get the feel from these guys that they are hard working, decent people: another yet different part of the Midwestern stereotype. (Okay, okay...Ryan may actually have a John Deere as his business is landscaping.) Overall, the "what are you?" here appears to be more regional than ethnic, and at least with these guys, they'd rather not label things anyway...though they do take issue with Ohio being considered Midwest.

Onward to Denver!

Musings on the way to Omaha...

2008-04-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

4.12
Just remember...

"Who cares if the glass is half full or half empty as long as there is still a bottle in the cabinet." Bill in Ottumwa

I am not sure how much of the material I got today can be used in my show but boy howdy did I enjoy talking to Bill, owner of O'town Books, Kim, weekend worker at the adjacent antique store, and Brandy, bartender, waitress and cook at Nick and Joie's. Just funny, earthy warm people with whom I chatted and laughed the afternoon away.

The general consensus from the folks that I spoke to in Ottumwa is that they can't wait to leave it. It's apparently full of rednecks (got that feel at the Tom Tom Tap last night), and a number of Mexicans who came to work at the Exel (Cargill) meatpacking plant. There were a couple of Mexicans at the Tom Tom last night but they sat on their own, hence you get the feel that they are not fully integrated into the society really and I did not see any of them while walking around...but then again, I hardly saw anyone while walking around today.
Part of the problem may have been that, while it was a gorgeous spring day out east, today in Ottumwa it was in the 30's and there was a threat of snow. The sky merely remained grey the brief time I was out with the exception of some passing flakes that began to flit around as I made my way back to the train station. At the same time, it may have just been the town. Kim at the at Antiques store told me that it's usually slow enough for her to read a book between customers. I think two people wandered around during the time I was there visiting which had to be for over an hour. Kim is a teacher a couple of towns over and going to grad school while working in Ottumwa a couple of Saturdays a month. She is smart and funny and we had a great time talking about the town.
Bill, when not selling books and toys, whittles figures of Santa, Iowa Bulldogs, frogs and gnomes which are for sale as well. He was whittling the entire time were talking and is a total character. He claims to be a "Missouri half-breed" as that is where his mother is from and Missouri is close enough to Ottumwa for it to matter there. Bill also claims that the Missouri connection is the redneck connection (have to see how the Missourans feel about that :p).
He worked for Amtrak for years and enjoyed the diverse population of employees and does feel that Ottumwans do not see enough of that, but he does love the place and would "rather be raped in prison" than move to Des Moines.
Brandy is a bartender, cook and waitress at Nick and Joie's Irish Pub and Italian restaurant. It is a beautiful pub with antique 1880's oak and walnut woodwork that was actually shipped from a closed down bar in New York and reconstructed on site. Brandy agrees that there are rednecks there and not many folks travel (her own sister, she says, lives in a tiny town further north and when traveling to North Dakota with Brandy thought bags would be checked at the border...of the state), but she's been there her whole life and plans on staying.
The "what are you?" factor is not really an issue in Ottumwa, so while I can't say that I got that much material there, I still enjoyed my visit and hope to chat with these folks again :)

Ottumwaaaaa!

2008-04-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

(to the tune of "Tradition" from Fiddler on The Roof)

OttumWA! Ottumwa! Ottumwa! OttumWAAAA! Ottumwa! Ottumwa!

And yet it is not quite that thrilling.

All right, first I have to acknowledge my snobby New Englander moment right when I got off the train. When one gets off the train in Ottumwa, Iowa, you not only enter the train station, but also the Wapello County Historical Museum. There is large glass case holding a collection of black and white photos depiciting items and more photos that are in the museum. There is also a sign that reads "See what it was like to live 50 to 150 years ago!" I read that and think "You youngins..."
Hotel Ottumwa is walking distance from the train (as is everything else by the look of it), and is a lovely old fashioned hotel, save for the Tom Tom bar which has large screen TV's and serves cocktails such as Papoos Juice, Kochese Cocoa, Tomahawk Tea and don't forget the Bloody Pocahontas (made with Clamato!). I'm not sure Chief Wapello (who, according to the menu, started giving away parcels of land to the government in the 1840's) would approve.
The bar is definitely a neighborhood place and I definitely got the feeling that they could tell right away that I was not from there. The bartender eventually warmed up to me and I figured others might as the night wore on, but well, looks like getting an interview here might be more of a challenge.
I did speak to Scott though who, after confirming that it was obvious that I was not from here ("you have all your teeth...and their WHITE."), while talking about his days in North Dakota and St. Louis, mentioned that in St. Louis, the way folks ask "What are you?" is by asking "What high school did you go to?". Apparently the high school defines neighborhood, class, race and ethnicity all at once. I will be in St. Louis closer to the end of this run so I will look into confirming this.

THERE ARE PICTURES COMING!

2008-04-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

I swear! Just been having some issues with uploading but they will be coming soon :) Also, I am not always good about taking them, but I got a good bunch in Chi-town yesterday and in Galesburg so I will post them when I can figure out how to soothe my cranky camera...

IN THE MEANTIME... I could not have had a better hostess than Sommer Austin during my all too brief stay in Chicago. When not temping and doing promotion work, she is a serious improver, working with the Playground Theatre and having recently graduated from the Improv Olympics program. She is charming, funny, and active coming up with numerous suggestions, helping me print up a sign and accompanying blurb in order to help attract interviewees in coffee shops et al and also just being a great guide of her neighborhood.
She and her boyfriend Andrew (also a lovely and smart person) also have an apartment that would make most New Yorkers cry...HUGE (7 rooms I believe?), spacious, great neighborhood and costs half of what a similar place would cost in NYC; it was a little painful and hard to leave. They live uptown in Chitown. kinda like Jeff and I live uptown in New York and do have to deal with folks who claim they "need a passport" to go that far north, but I'll tell you, Sommer and Andrew have it good in Andersonville as it is a very diverse neighborhood featuring a heavy Swedish contingent as well as Middle Eastern (Taste of Lebabnon rocks, by the way), Vietnemese, and Thai primarily. It was amusing to see looming over the Middle Eastern bakery, the water tower painted with the Swedish flag.
Andersonville also boasts one of the longest drags of local businesses in the country. There was ONE Starbucks, but no other chain stores or coffee shops for blocks, which for this New York resident, was something close to shocking after dealing with the ever growing proliferation of Duane Reades, Starbucks and other such chains. (Though admittedly, Inwood does have a handful of new local businesses; a trend I hope will continue :))
The day started as soon as I got off the train with heading uptown to dump my bags, clean up, finally check internet and make the plan to hit various coffee shops in the neighborhood.
We made our way to two coffee shops where my little sign reading "What Are You?" did not spark much attention...or rather, got a few odd looks at one coffee shop and the none at the other really. I did get a great interview out of Sommer, though, who talked to me about how she never had to deal with the question herself...until she dyed her hair red. Since then, she's been asked about her background weekly(!) We later met Rafael. He had walked into Coffee Chicago to kill time before going to the Blockbuster across the street and luckily agreed to kill some of that time talking to us. He grew up in Jamaica, Queens and then lived in Florida and was never asked "What are you?" until he came to Chicago. He claims it's due to the fact that in his old neighborhood, you were either Puerto Rican or Dominican so it wasn't a big deal. Later when he was in Miami, Florida the general feeling was "'well, you're not Cuban...'". But in Chicago, "they need to be sure. They need to put you in a category...and they like to guess here "Oh I thought you were 'this' or 'this'" He happens to be Dominican. Lastly, we met Big Al, bouncer at the Green Mill. The Green Mill is a FAB jazz club from the Capone days and Big Al is a stocky, cue-ball bald, handlebar moustachioed gentleman with a bear claw ("pinky of a brown bear...you ever seen a brown bear?")hanging around his neck. I asked him if he'd ever been asked the question and his first response was "Well, I'm Polak." Second generation American apparently, and he says he has been asked a few times, but it's no big deal to him.
After the gypsy jazz we saw, we headed over to the Improv Olympics building where you can see photos of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey among others as well as some pretty darn fierce improv. Andrew had told us that he had heard that playwright Tracy Letts might join improv icons TJ and Dave on stage tonight as he has been known to drop in, so reservations were quickly made. Even if Mr. Letts did not show, I was told that seeing TJ and Dave is generally a spiritual experience hence I was excited to go. And for $5, I did get to see them do some INSANE long form improv. Just amazing. They basically performed characters from a party that went awry. It was a great story told in an hour with full characters and a great random moment; it was funny, touching, real...and amazing to see these guys work so well together...amazing flow.

And then...I came to Galesburg.
Katie Rich, a funny and quirky improv pal of Sommer's who went to Knox College here said of Galesburg "there are more pigs than people". I haven't seen the pigs yet, but I haven't seen that many people either. When out last night, I went to Cherry St. as I had been told that's where the college students hang out - there are THREE colleges in this town. Three of the four bars I looked in on had two to eight people in them. McGillicuddy's, the last, was PACKED. Apparently, Thursday night is jazz night and all the young folk head there for it. There, I met Emily - a professor at Knox, and Lyndon, a local who gave me some great lines that I could not write down fast enough. He is black, but doesn't check that on forms as 1) he fears it may still keep him from a job in some places, and 2) he knows what he is. "I'm all black".

4.11
Besides being the home of Carl Sandburg, "The Old Main"-the last remaining site of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and Ronald Reagan trail (apparently he was born here, too), Galesburg also happens to be home to one of the largest train depots in the country. I can tell you, when at the motel, despite being assured the quiet around here, one can hear the trains going by regularly. And that happens all day long. Wherever you are...save for the Gizmo - a Knox College cafe where the sounds of excited college chatter drowns out the train whistles. (I feel like such an old woman typing that).
Last night, as previously mentioned, I ended up at McGillicutty's, one of a handful of bars on Cherry Street. Compared to the other bars along this short drag, McGillicutty's looks like..well, the hip place that it is. It has an art deco feel with 1920's liqueur advertising, a large oak bar and a large open room full of high oak tables where folks can sit, sip their cocktails and watch the band play in a carved wood ensconced corner at the front of the place. Thursday night is jazz night and it's mainly students who play, but the occasional older pro may join them as did one phat trumpeter last night. While listening to the jazz, I enjoyed a $3.75 Guiness (!) and the conversation of Lyndon and later Emily and Greg as we discussed everything from my show to jazz, Jane Austen to feminism. Emily teaches at Knox college and recommended talking to her fellow English professor Gina Franco, a Chicana writer and poet who, as one of possibly two faculty of color, was made chair of the diversity committee mainly because she was, as Emily described her, "the resident brown person".
Of course, today turned out to be a busy day for Ms. Franco as she was running around to newly-accepted student events, but she managed to squeeze in some time to talk to me. She had some great insights about racial identity in academia, particularly at a small midwestern college that is TRYING to diversify their student body and faculty. And she also brought up that while being Latina, it is assumed that her literary focus would be on Latina issues, but she loves "the dead white poets" and would rather focus on her passion for their writing rather than be stuck in one genre.
Before speaking with Gina, I also happened to see three girls chatting at a table. I felt moved to talk to them as I figured at least two of them had been asked "What are you?" at some point. I was right. One student was Peruvian, the other Mexican German and French (though identifies as Mexican), and one adopted who does not know her roots yet. When I asked them if they had been asked "What are you?" Carmen and [ ] both nodded straight away. "Yes, all the time." Carmen, who grew up in a primarily white suburb of Chicago started getting the question early on, and like Rafael had mentioned, most people guess first and then finally ask her what she is. Then, when she says "Peruvian" she gets the "Peru? Where is that?" ahhhh...the sad state of geography in America.

I would have seen more of the sites in town, but I, of course landed in town during a stormy patch. I somehow, thankfully, was indoors during the downpours last night (eating dinner...speaking of dinner, I have to remember not to forget this rule when traveling across the midwest: do not eat the ethnic food. "Authentic Mexican" my a**...) There is supposed to be snow in Galesburg tomorrow and I fear that as Ottumwa is only two hours a way that I will deal with the same there, but next week is supposed to be lovely...should be lovely for Omaha and Denver...and Salt Lake City...and Winnemucca, NV...and and and...

the adventure continues...

Peace --Alex

Single What? Female does America in 30 days...

2008-04-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

It is amazing that this journey has begun. The first couple of days were a little rough as you will see in the following entries and this is my first day with internet since I left (YEE HA!), but overall, all is good and people have already been talking. Hopefully that shall continue as I make my way to the smaller towns. Below is what happened over the last couple of days and I assure you there will be more later...:) Peace --Alex

4/7/08
And so the journey has begun. The man saw me off at the Penn Station and I was on a train for what seemed like far too many hours, yet thanks to sleeping, texting and pleasant company, it felt shorter than some of the bus rides I've taken between NYC and Boston. I figured I'd keep Canada out of the show, but as I chatted with my seatmate, we eventually got to the topic of my journey and this is what she had to say:
"Well, you know in Toronto, it's multiculturalism and in the US it's "the melting pot" and I always liked that term. This nice mingling and mixing. But then I came to New York and I just felt like...well, it just seems so segregated, no? No, not segregated, that's the wrong word, but it seems like people...these people live here and...well, in Toronto, people just seem to mingle more..." I have felt since I moved to New York that the city has got to be the most mingled place in the world. But then there is the fact that there are indeed specific neighborhoods and people have been moving into these familiar places following or joining family and friends since before Ellis Island. But then, there is the subway...where everybody - class, race, ethnicity, etc - mingles like no other place I have seen.

Last night I somehow fit approximately a month's worth of stuff into two bags. It was not easy and did include a minor breakdown, but it all got done and here I am in Niagara Falls.
Why Niagara Falls? If you had not read previously, part of my cross country journey must be through Canada, so here I am just over the line. I haven't been to the Falls since I was about ten years old. I remember seeing the falls, hearing the rush of the water as it went over the edge, the sudden chill brought on by that rush of water and the positively abnormal amount of wax museums. Tonight, sadly, it was the same thing. The wonder of nature, the roar of the water and the abnormal amount of wax museums, fun houses, tacky shops and even a Hard Rock Niagara Falls (no I did not visit it...though I admit to being tempted). Otherwise, Niagara Falls, to me, had to be one the most depressing places I have ever seen. Beyond the Falls and the surrounding shops and hotels, it is a worn down town. You can practically hear the collective sigh of sagging buildings and peeling paint. It is a sad place and I admittedly will be glad to move on.

Tomorrow, I spend a few hours in Buffalo and then hit my first real stop: Chicago!

By the way, tonight, I type from the fab Hi Niagara Hostel. I am watching an episode of New Amsterdam. It's not that great a show but has a cute Danish actor in the lead and tonight's episode takes place at one of my favorite places in the world: Coney Island. Yes, Coney is kind of run down, too, but doesn't seem quite as sad as Niagara here.

In the meantime, be well and soon there will be more from the road.

4/8/08
It's Tuesday therefore it must be Buffalo...

As I type, I am not there yet. I am sitting at Niagara Falls on the US side where we are sitting for approximately another hour until we leave for Buffalo. There is hardly anyone on this train (I share my present car with three other people- two others were taken off the train for not having the right tickets or something), and yet...we wait.
The ticket guy just came over and told me that we would be departing in 55 minutes...I supposedly have an internet connection, but no signal...I may take this puppy outside and see what happens... IN THE MEANTIME...
As I seem to be able to make a Boston connection nearly anywhere...I went to breakfast this morning to Dad's Diner, a homey place around the corner from the hostel where the transit guys and police hang out and where one can get an English muffin with sausage egg and cheese homemade and a large chocolate milk for under $5. I also happened to notice amidst their slightly kitschy wall decor, a Boston Bruins flag...and then a team photo...and then a line of team photos and logos. I asked the manager who the Boston Bruins fan was and was told that the owner was a fan. One of the transit workers, an older gentleman who made me think of those guys you know have been doing that job for 20 years, told me how the farm team for the Bruins used to be in Niagara Falls and how a lot of locals had played for the team. Being an overall Boston sports fan, I had to admit to the guys that sadly, I did not know enough about hockey: that my sports loyalties started with baseball and hockey was at the bottom. "The little fish" the transit guy said and laughed. New York is where I live and love, but, you know, I love that dirty water and Boston always really will be my home :p.
Buffalo today is going to be a challenge as the train to Chicago leaves from Buffalo-Depew. Buffalo Depew is the airport...hopefully a shuttle will be avaiable to get me in and out of Buffalo central as I would prefer not to kill ten hours at the airport if I do not have to. Call me crazy...

4/9/08
New rule...when killing time in Buffalo, know the pubic transportation schedule better, but also remember that not all cities stay open past 6pm. I learned that the hard way yesterday as Buffalo - or at least the downtown area I was in, happens to roll the streets up by about 6pm or earlier (a gentleman with whom I spoke at the train station who has lived in Buffalo for over 20 years confirmed this for me). Though I have to say Elmwood Avenue seems to be a happening drag and should I ever get back to Buffalo, I hope to pay it more of a visit than being driven by it.

In the meantime, I have survived a night on the train sans sleeper car and am waiting ever so patiently to get into Chicago to really start this thing. AND to have internet. You do not realize how much you miss it, until you don't have it for a couple of days. (Not a hot spot to be found in the part of Buffalo I was in yesterday! there wasn't even a Starbucks. I was actually ready to shout out for the first time ever "My Kingdom for a Starbucks!") But I'll tell you, time off the computer means time to talk to people and I have to thank David Bennet - a staunch liberal former Kansan, Chantelle - the native Californian who I hope gets a luxurious spa day when she gets back there after traveling to North Bay, Canada to see her boyfriend; and still has three days to go before getting home; and she's traveling with her very active 7 year old son, and Kyle - a musical theatre major who was waiting to pick up friends last night and with whom I was drop kicked into small world land as he went to high school and remains close friends with a former co-worker of mine. They all entertained me while waiting for the train.

...we are so close to Chicago...Close enough to nearly have had internet...can't wait!

and now I do! here we are..blogging away. The lovely Sommer Austin is my hostess and has made her neighborhood and apartment open to me...as well as her Mac, WiFi, tea, etc. She is also going to be interviewed this afternoon for the show woo hoo! In the meantime, I hope all is well with you all and in the words of Bartles and James, thank you for your support.

Speaking of the research...

2008-03-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

There are many reason for which I married my husband, but one of them has turned out to be the fact that he overall is more organized than I am. He has been putting together a book for me of all the places I am visiting, including maps, lodging, chambers of commerce, taxi service, local newspapers, etc etc etc. It is going to be darn handy while on the road and will hopefully keep me from having that awkward overtired rock star moment of shouting "Hello Cleveland!" from the stage when I am in Yazoo City, MS. He also is going to see about a) adding a map to my blog adding virtual pushpins to keep track of the excursion and/or b) will keep a journal of his own with said map.
In other news, today, while talking to my cousin Susan, she suggested that I write articles about the experience to various magazines and newspapers. I do plan on doing this as well and will see what happens along the way. As I told her about the topic of the show, she told me about how a couple of weeks ago, a woman at her office asked her the origin of her last name. Susan replied that is was her former husband's name and she didn't know. The woman was apparently rather surprised by this and asked "Well, didn't you ask your husband?", to which Susan replied, "No, and I really didn't care." While growing up in the northwest, she wasn't asked about her backround, and hadn't had anyone ask her about it, really, until this woman. I think it's part of who you are, she said, but not all of who you are. "And sometimes people judge you," on your reply, she added. I agreed with her, but also couldn't help but think about how there's always a conversation when I talk about "the question". And I can only hope it continues as I hit the rails.

In the meantime, let's congratulate my "cousin" Tami and her husband Kent on their new little girl Aya who is all of ten days old today! Woo Hoo! And yes, please let's congratulate the Red Sox for not only winning yesterday's exhibition game in LA (stupid thing to have THREE exhibition games AFTER the season has begun) but doing it in from of a record stadium crowd of 115,000.

That is the news for today.

Peace --Alex

Gotta love the fun facts...

2008-03-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

As I do research about the places I am visiting, I have loved learning that Winnemucca not only means "one moccassin" (thank you for that Gemmie), but the town also has four brothels and a Basque Festival (which sadly I will not be in town for). Winslow, AZ not only has THE corner from the Eagles' song "Take It Easy", but also is home to the last of the Harvey Houses - The LaPosada Hotel. You bet I started hearing Judy Garland singing as soon as I saw "Harvey House" listed. They do have a Winslow Harvey Girl luncheon and I will be in town during Railroad Days! In Ottumwa, IA, the last of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was held. There will something fun to learn and observe in every place I visit, hence I will have to use my limited time in these places wisely; but I cannot wait to get this thing started and to start talking to folks across America.