Center-Spot Loves Kathy Griffin!

As a birthday gift, my friend Chris (who I house sit for on occasion) took me to Kathy Griffin last night, and let me tell you - I loved every minute of it. Not only did she have incredibly smart and up to date material, but she incorporated Minneapolis as much as she could; which made me love her even more, lol. To feel that she really was enjoying her stay here and appreciated our city, made me feel proud to live here and be a part of this community.

I can't really approach this with a critical eye, as I really don't have any experience in performing or viewing a live stand up comedy routine. Also, I absolutely loved it, and I was only there to enjoy a birthday treat and laugh my ass off - both of which were accomplished :)

If you absolutely love celebrity gossip, from an insider with a hilariously sarcastic and cut-throat approach, you will love Kathy's humor. From political characters as Palin and Obama, to powerhouses of the media like Oprah Winfrey, and the confused adolescents that are Britney Spears and Lindsay Loahn, Kathy finds the humor in them all.

If you get offended easily, then you probably wouldn't like her humor as she talks about groups too, not excluding religious affiliations. It's all to make bold statements and to combine that shock factor of - I can't believe she just blurted that out - with the cathartic release of - I've thought that before too, but YOU said it!!

She spoke a lot about her recent Emmy win and the backstage shenanigans. YAY!

This entry is already long enough, so I'm going to post the video I found. If you like her show and ever have the chance to see Kathy Griffin in person, DO IT; it's SUCH a different experience than seeing a video. The exhilaration of seeing her in front of you, live on stage, is enough to sensitize your funny bone and be tickled a lot easier.

My birthday had already been amazing, and this was the perfect cherry on top. Thank you James, Heather, Kirby, Mom, Dad, Rosie, Dan, Grandpa, Chris, Sue, Andrea, all of my friends who sent me their good wishes on Facebook and Myspace or via text and phone calls, that random Happy Birthday comment in my last post, and of course Kathy Griffin for making this a birthday to remember!

PLUS her hair was fabulous AS ALWAYS! :P

Videos only appear on the blog web site.

Let's See Yours Now... ... OW! - Teeth Review

Over a few glasses of wine and a pizza, my great friend Heather and I watched a movie we had been anticipating for months; Teeth. Now, if you're ever looking for a new comedy/thriller with a cult classic appeal, then I definitely suggest you see this movie. It will have you clasping your mouth shut with your hand in shock/disgust while causing you to laugh hysterically at the same time.

Dawn O'Keefe (a brilliant play on the artist Georgia O'Keeffe; most famously known for her paintings of flowers inspired by the female genitalia) was born with a case of Vagina Dentata (sharp teeth in her down-there parts); making the movie's catch phrase "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" very befitting. She grew up with a strong belief that one should always wait until their wedding day to have sex, and that masturbation is a horrible sin. She is completely oblivious to her condition until the influence of sex surrounds her, and she starts contemplating on fooling around with a boy she likes at school. The following is an amazingly gruesome, graphic, and extremely uproarious story of sexual discovery and PAIN that will have many a guy a little scared to venture into the unknown depths again. (Much like my temporary fear of the shower after seeing the movie "IT" when I was in junior high.) All I can say, is that this is one of many instances where I am thankful for being gay!

The movie was directed brilliantly, in my opinion. The whole crew, and all of the actors, knew very well that the story they were telling was absurd, and so there are many moments (from certain comical faces, to just plainly absurd characters/scenes) where the actor/director bring you back from the horror and say 'it's all a joke, just relax'.

Jess Weixler with Josh Pais behind her, in Teeth.
HAHAHAHA, one of the best parts! LOVE IT!

Jess Weixler does a great job portraying the innocence, curiosity, and absolute confusion of Dawn. You really feel a little pity for her character, and are only excited for her when she dons her 'red nipples' (a Showgirls reference for all of you fans out there).

Two of my absolute favorite characters in the whole show are Brad (Dawn's brother who introduces a very funny, quasi-incestuous theme to the story), played by the oh so talented John Hensley (Nip/Tuck), and Dr. Godfrey (Dawn's new gynecologist who is only shown briefly, but in one of the best scenes of the entire movie), played by Josh Pais. These two made the movie so much more enjoyable to me. I loved their characters, and found myself laughing the most when they were on camera. Of course, all of the acting was great, but these two really did it for me.

John Hensley in Teeth.
That picture to the right of his head almost made me crap my pants in laughter when I first saw it... You might have to take a close look to see what I mean... SO FUNNY!!

All in all, if you have a strong stomach, and aren't easily offended by the idea of a sex farce, then find Teeth today and watch it! I was very tempted to steal it from my friend Heather, but I guess that just means I'll have to go out and buy myself a copy to have for some cocktail party in the future! Holy buckets, that's genius! I'll serve little cocktail weenies, and maybe red wine or any other red alcohol... it'll be divine! YAY!

PREVIEW TIME!!!

Videos only appear on the blog site. Click here to go there now.

Two to the Zoo! You should see too!

Here we are, my good friend Heather and I, in front of the Minnesota Zoo. As you can see, the sky is blue, the sun is obviously shining (including into our eyes... good idea Heather!), and boy are we excited to see some animals! (Actually, this was taken on the way out of the zoo... but we were still excited anyway.


Heather was SO excited in fact, that she posed like Ariel (the little mermaid) in front of the Dolphin Fountain near the entrance! (This actually was taken before we went inside).

Our first stop was the monkey cage!



One of the monkeys had just had a baby... it was so cute! It was the most hyper of all the monkeys, but didn't do much climbing. It stayed down by the 'adult' monkeys, who mostly sat in the shade, grooming each other, while the younger adolescent monkeys splashed in the pool and chased each other around the trees.

Next up were the Meerkats! SO Lion King!




We temporarily got stuck INSIDE the Meerkat exhibit! HELP! AHHHH!!!!!!!!

We then started heading down the trails... first up, their temporary exhibit, The Grizzly Coast!


One of the women taught her children that this was a seal... ... she was corrected by another woman in her party, but even after that the woman said "Aren't seals and otters the same thing?"... these are the people parenting the kids of our tomorrow...



BEARS!!! They were so friendly, and sharing a large pond in the hot sun... They seemed rather happy, especially the one that played with its feet while swimming... the zoo has TALENTED animals!



When we were standing next to the Wild Hogs, a very serious girl asked "How can they be wild if they are in the zoo?" Such the philosopher she was... we just wanted to have fun and see the animals, so we left the super serious girl behind.


Heather is "Takin" the world by storm! Watch out! :)


These are real Takin animals... I had never heard of them... and didn't actually read up on them... we were busy laughing at all the silly children around us, and their SILLY parents... "You don't want to jump down there and be their lunch do you? I think Takin eat Stevens for lunch!" ... again... a fine example of the people parenting the kids of our tomorrow...



I LOVE ME SOME FAT PRAIRIE DOGS!!! AWWWWW!!!!



We were trying to teach you about the Moose's antlers, silly people!

UH OH!! THE TIGER LAIR!!!!!








Oh we had fun at the Tiger Lair! That's for sure!

Next up was the Minnesota Trail - Now, we heard a woman say something that would actually be considered a fun thing to tell children... however... she was there with other adults... and NO children... this is what she said... "All of these animals are in Minnesota! That's why it's called the Minnesota Trail!"... OY.


DUCK BUTT!







After the Minnesota Trail, we went down the Tropical Trail!!! I was most excited for this one... but it kind of turned out to be somewhat of a dud... Maybe it was all the screaming babies, and the really dark tunnels that were NOT good for pictures...


We did find a fun Turtle Statue!... notice the baby... she wasn't there when we started posing for the picture, but her mom thought it would be a nice piece of the background, so she moved her into the shot.


That honeycomb must have been made of poop... I tells ya!






A LOT of the fish showed me their butt the very second I took the picture... oh well.


With our highly inappropriate humor... we thought this coral sign was rather funny...


Like I said... DARK tunnels with not good lighting for pictures...


And I don't even remember what this thing was... but it was kind of cute, so I took a picture!

After that we watched the monkeys more... and then left. Seriously, the zoo is great, but I doubt you'll ever find a day to go when there aren't billions of screaming children running around... that was the only down part, but we laughed at most of them... I don't know what my parents did right, but I can say that I never threw a tantrum like these kids did... I would maybe pout, but I wouldn't scream at the top of my lungs at my mom because she didn't buy me ice cream. Plus, a lot of the children were LARGE for their size/age, but with parents teaching them that Otters are Seals, what can you expect? :P

Sit And Sing!

I house sat again this weekend... in general, I was pretty busy... but the most important thing on my docket was sit and sing!

Sit and sing is the rehearsal during tech week for a musical where you simply sit and sing with the orchestra. It's the first time that the orchestra and the actors are able to combine their singing/playing and make sure everyone's on the same page.

Since our show opens up this week on 4/18, we had our rehearsal Sunday 4/13.

It lasted for about 3 hours... but it went very well, and the orchestra sounds amazing. It's always one of those moments that helps all of us who have been rehearsing the scenes and songs over and over and over again get motivated again and look at the show with new light. Soon we'll add our costumes and make up and before we know it it'll be show time!

Just a little something about the process that I thought I would share.

The Just So Stories

Sunday, 4/6, I went to a play that my cousins were in, called The Just So Stories performed by Anoka Children's Theatre. I had never heard of the play before, although the writer, Rudyard Kipling, sounded very familiar. Shortly after it started, I recognized how I knew the name - the show was a bunch of short tales on the origins of some animals or their traits (as in 'How the Armadillo Came To Be,' or 'Where the Camel Got His Hump,' etc.) - and I had seen these very stories in a video in elementary school.

The show was very cute, and my cousins did a great job! There were five stories, and of those my two cousins each had their own stories for their own animals - my cousin Carrie played a Rhino in the first story, where they told how the Rhino's skin became so loose. One of the main thing that any actor needs to learn is to always make a strong decision, and don't second doubt yourself, and Carrie definitely knows this, and it showed in her performance. She had a lot of confidence in her character and her actions, and her comic timing is good and smart...

My cousin Callie played the Camel in the final story of the show, where we found out how the camel got its hump. One of the hardest things to do for an actor, is to create a character with non-verbals. The Camel has next to no lines, but is obviously an important part to the story, and completely relies on its actions. Callie did a great job of showing what kind of animal the Camel was through simple things like how she walked and her posture, and how she reacted to the other animals around her.

Both of them did a wonderful job, and I'm very glad I got to see them in such a great program. According to my aunt, the girls were really sad for the show to end, and didn't want to wait until the fall to start their next show. Either way, I can't wait to see them perform again and grow with their talents :)

Memory Loss/Noodles

I should get a planner... that way, when I update my blog over a week late, I'll remember what I did...

I have such a bad memory in that regards...

So with the question, what did I do Friday or Saturday of LAST weekend, comes absolutely nothing to mind... did I write? no... did I watch tv? probably... did I have rehearsal?... I think?

Actually... now that I think about it, we did have rehearsal on friday and nobody was there... and then on Saturday I hung out with my friend Timmy...

Strange how things come back like that...

Yeah - it was a nice day on Saturday... a warmer day than it has been... and my friend Timmy and I went to Uptown and walked around/window shopped...

We joked that we were dating, and so I bought her Noodles... how romantic am I, right?

Afterwards, we decided to try to see High School Musical by Ashland Productions, as our friend Tom was in it... alas, we drove all the way to the theatre in maplewood to find out that it had closed 3/30 - just the week before. *sigh*

At least it was a nice, warm spring day...

DoML - Chapter 9

I spent a lot of time today finishing Chapter 9 in my book, and it's one of my favorite chapters so far!

It's fun how ideas in the plot line will just pop into your head when you sit down and force yourself to write. It seems I can't just wait for inspiration to come, but I have to kind of squeeze it out, like toothpaste!

I've incorporated a new character in my book, who first appears in Chapter 9, named Pierre Peintre. He's an artist, like those that you find scattered around Paris with their artwork displayed behind them as they paint a new masterpiece, and he plays an integral part in the storyline of the two poodles, Didier and Colette.

The chapter had started out as just a way to break the monotony of Maddi's boring and miserly lifestyle. I had already created the poodle characters in the first chapter of the book, and they had made a cameo in the third chapter as well, but now they get their own side plot-line, which will somewhat tie together with Maddi's story in the end.

I had had difficulties making Chapter 9 interesting, but then, as I was squeezing out the ideas, Pierre came to mind. What was supposed to be just a fun and silly chapter (the comic relief of the book, if you will) actually became a serious chapter that included both sides of the lucky/unlucky dichotomy and incorporates that kind of a bittersweet feeling that is popular throughout a majority of the book. I think the new layer creates interest though, and will compel readers to continue on.

Here's an excerpt!

"As they were crossing the bridge, Colette ran ahead of Didier a little ways, stopped, got into a pouncing position, and motioned with her head for him to follow just before dashing away. Didier took this invitation to a race with pleasure and ran after her.

He had dated many a pooch who had just wanted to lie around and look pretty in their new puppy couture; the spoiled brats that they were, but Colette was different. She liked to flirt and have fun with him. What could he have done in the past to deserve such a perfect mate?

They flew down Avenue Rapp. Didier was closing in on Colette. He pulled up beside his gal's left, and was almost nose to nose with her, when she took a quick right down Avenue Franco-Russe.

Didier was quick to recover from the unexpected turn, but Colette had already put two houses’ length in between them. A block ahead the road bent to the right, and one block further it came to an end at the Rue De L’Universite. Colette took a left at the intersection, with Didier trailing close behind.

The Eiffel Tower greeted them just a couple blocks ahead."

- excerpt from The Downfall of Maddi Lavare, Chapter 9 by Robbie McNamee

Hair Cut!!

My ears have been lowered!

I almost went with the dragon cut, shown to the left... but at last second I decided against it...

No, in all reality, my salon wouldn't even consider that as an option - or maybe they will?

I go to a wonderful place called Level Salon where I get my hair cut by a great guy named Jeffrey McMoore.

I've been going there for about the past 6 months, and it's wonderful. It's downtown Minneapolis, on Washington Ave S directly across from the Guthrie Theatre. It has free parking (free parking downtown!?!? You're insane! Oh, but I'm not!) Plus, they offer you beverages while you wait! Not to mention it has pictures of the wonderful Audrey Hepburn, Gene Kelley, and Cyd Charisse on the wall! It's a cute place... I like it!

There wasn't really anything else that I did today, so I thought I'd give Level a nice little plug in my blog.

Yay for haircuts!