“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” —Oscar Wilde

Hot Head v. Cool Head : Who Really Prevails? (Notes On The Kavanaugh Hearing And The Frail Male Ego)

Hot Head v. Cool Head : Who Really Prevails? (Notes On The Kavanaugh Hearing And The Frail Male Ego) I'm among those who did not tune in to the Kavanaugh hearing today, because I've had enough. Of everything. And all these old white men.  But I see from all of your posts and tweets that the "honorable" (that's laughable) judge had himself a little mantrum today, is that right? This reporting has been countered by a great deal of "...and they say women are too emotional" memes and wisecracks. It is on this point th…

Lawrence "Street Fight Grampa" O'Donnell

Lawrence "Street Fight Grampa" O'Donnell Sometimes Lawrence O'Donnell could stand to slow the liberal roll, don't you think?  Yeah, you read that right, this is me. No, I haven't been kidnapped. I'm not blogging at gunpoint, although now that I say that, in Trump's America, why can't that be true. Well it's not, not right now. We can work out a code phrase or something later. This is real.  The whole point of being liberal is you've got to be able to say …

I Believe Christine Blasey-Ford

I Believe Christine Blasey-Ford In high school, I had a good friend invite me to come babysit with her. Unbeknownst to me, she had also invited two older boys. I knew these guys (small town) but we weren't on a first name basis. Before long, my friend went into another room with one of them, leaving me alone with the other guy. Sitting far apart, he and I made uncomfortable small talk within earshot of what was clearly wildly enjoyable sex. My free-spirited friend w…

You Guys, Neil Simon Died

You Guys, Neil Simon Died My college drama club did the female Odd Couple . My role was, as always, backstage, as I have zero talent and don't like when people look at me. I was drama club co-chair and stage-managed most shows. I love dressing a show! Even though my 5-member crew had no "on stage" roles, we did get applause...may I boast...? I hate to boast, but I loved this soooo much...here's what we did.🎥 The Challenge In our theatre we had no curt…

#AskForTheButter

#AskForTheButter Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was a solid show. It was on during a dark period in my life when every TV show that I loved was getting canceled. I made a list at the time, it's probably in the old blog archives. Studio 60 was Aaron Sorkin's first project post- West Wing , so it had a lot of the Aaron Sorkin players, and the overall look of the show (cameras, lights, titles) was very West Wing . Studio 60 was funny and smart. So of course it …

I was making a list of intruments my husband plays

I was making a list of intruments my husband plays but first I had a silverman. I think this went well.😀     8-string bass     5-string bass     Headless bass with David Letterman sticker and no frets     Baby grand piano     Juno 60 keyboard     DX7 keyboard     (I'm blanking on the other keyboards)     The Arturia thing     The Beatstep     KAOSS pads     Acoustic guitar     Electric guitar     Drums     V-drums     Djembe     Buffalo Drum     Doumbek     Uda     Rock tambourine     Other tambourine     Thu…

Seth Myers

Seth Myers “Amazing. So after Trump’s public praise of Vladimir Putin, his attorney general’s meetings with Russians, his campaign chairman’s money laundering, his deputy campaign chairman’s tax fraud, his personal fixer’s secret shell company, his national security adviser’s lies to the FBI, his son’s attempt to get dirt from a foreign adversary and  his son-in-law’s secret back channels with that adversary, the person who could end up taking down  the pres…

I just said a sentence that ended with...

I just said a sentence that ended with... "...from Christ the Redeemer  to the nuns,  including the elf.  Thank you, baby."

Good Boy Kitty

Good Boy Kitty This morning I was out on the porch having my coffee. Next door, Lili was also out on her porch having her coffee, and I saw her big gray cat saunter over and sit next to her. Lili patted his head and stroked him between his good boy ears, and good boy kitty rubbed his good boy head against her. Such a lovely, soothing and sweet sight to see on an otherwise fraught summer morning in the city; what a good boy kitty. I don't know that gray ca…

Louie

Louie I've always been enchanted by the idea of a Frog Prince. Louie is the second creation in a new family of dolls that I'm calling Royal Street, built on a baby onesie just like Geoffrey (whose tummy and belly button ring you can see in the background here). Louie is made from neckties mostly, head and hands from a soft white baby blanket I found at the thrift store and used like a bolt of fabric. Geoffry's also made of the same fabric…

Kuinka

Kuinka You guys, this band called Kuinka (formerly Rabbit Wilde) will be at Brighton Music Hall (formerly Harpers Ferry) on Saturday night. I, Michelle DiPoala (formerly Lexi Kahn), might go.

Geoffrey Boy

Geoffrey  Boy Don't you love the way big birds strut around? I'm making some little birds too, of course, the kind that look like if they come alive, they'd hop about like chirpy little city birds. But when you look at a guy like Geoffrey here...well, when you're this proud a bird, one simply does not hop . Geoffrey Boy's got a strut . He is the first creation in a new family of dolls that I'm calling Royal Street.