First Posted 14 August 2007

Yes...It’s A Survey...Get Over It! (reposted from the Cafe)

Current mood:contemplative

1 What's your favorite movie???

When I first saw "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" (although at the time, it was simply "Star Wars"), I was blown away. There was nothing, simply nothing, like it. Starting from the very beginning, the 20th Century Fox movie logo and music, I had never heard the entire thing before, and I knew that something was different about this movie, right from the start. It had everything, action, adventure, a love story, 'droids, space battles, DARTH VADER! I was one of thosegeeks that saw it over a hundred times in the theatre and still, STILL watch it several times a year. It was a seminal moment in movie history, something that's hard to explain to people who weren't there at the time, that nothing like this existed until that movie came out, that it changed everything about the movie experience. It was something that you didn't expect, had no reason to expect to see, and it blew my mind.

2 What's your favorite color???

Green, it's lush, inviting, and the colour of money (and the Cafe!).

3 What's your favorite ice cream flavor???

Vanilla Bean, if I am in a minimalist mood. It's classic, tasty and just right.

Butter Pecan if I am feeling a bit tasty but, only from Kohr Brothers on the boardwalk. They make it right there and it's to die for.

Ben & Jerry's Two Twisted when I am feeling decadent. It's chocolate with brownies and vanilla with cookie dough. Yummy!

4 Where do you want to go on vacation??

Anywhere, anywhere, but Atlantic City! I am so over this island right now, I want to sink it like Atlantis. Hopefully, I can get my sainted Mother to accept my request and come visit her either at her home in the Philadelphia suburbs or up in the Pocono mountains.

5 What's your favorite animal???

House cats. They have it made. Actually, I do like the big cats, they fascinate me to no end when I go to the zoo. I love their raw power, their wild lethalness. Their roar that makes me quake in my boots! I think they are so beautiful and so deadly, often a very desirable combination in any species.

6 What's your favorite T.V. show???

Depends. For comedy, I can't get enough of Absolutely Fabulous. It's decadent, dry, ribald, over-the-top, physical humour, witty, evil and insane. It's my life, actually.

I still like STAR TREK in all it's forms on the Spike Channel.

7 What's your fav. drink???

Ketel One vodka dirty martini, up, with three olives.

8 What's your favorite flower???

Daisies. I want them growing all over my grave when I am dead. No, not because I want to literally be "pushing up daisies", I just love them and I want people to see something so simple and beautiful when they come visit my little eternal corner of this earth.

9 What's your favorite pet???

Housecat. They are like living furniture. Walking meatloaf. Easy to care for and easy to love. When they want love, that is. Although, I would love, Love, LOVE an English bulldog if they would only contact me and tell me one is available so I could love it, give it a great home, and spoil the living hell out of it!

10 What's your favorite book???

I have several for different reasons:

"The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" J. R. R. Tolkien I read these when I was around twelve or thirteen and they were life altering. I have read the entire series every year since and I still find things in there that surprise me.

"Dune" by Frank Herbert One of the most interesting, provocative series of books I have ever read. It's science fiction, concerning the far, far future of humanity but, it's so inventive, so detailed, lush and historical, much like the LOTR series. The characters are so realistic, so intertwined. I love this series.

"Interview With The Vampire" by Anne Rice My mother gave me this book and told me to read it. It is still one of my all time most favourite books I have ever read. I cry every time I read it. Those who have read it know why. The character of Claudia still haunts me. And when Louis is made a vampire, I don't care what sexuality you are, it's the hottest written porn I have ever read. I dare you to read it and not need a cigarette afterwards! Never has a death scene (and that's what it truly is) been so damn erotic!

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak Ask my mother about this book and how the librarian at Bellmawr Park Elementary School would have to ask her to get me to return it all the time. This is my all-time most favourite book, ever. They are making a movie out if it. I think that's heresy.

I want to say again that I thank my mother for my love of reading. I shall never forget sitting outside of Thrift Drug at the Audubon shopping centre (an outdoor mall that had Korvettes as it's anchor store), waiting for my mom to do whatever she was doing in there. Probably getting medicine for me, if I was with her. She came out and handed me a little plastic rectangle with a tassle on the end and a little bookworm image inside the laminate. I asked her what it was. She said, "It's a bookmarker. I want you to find a use for it."

I have.

Thank you, Mom, it was one of the best gifts anyone could ever give! That little piece of plastic from a now-defunct drug store opened so many worlds for me. It's treasure is beyond any measuring. Thank you, again

First Posted 10 August 2007

Summer Storm

Current mood:contemplative

THUNDERCLAP!

I sat, bolt upright in my bed, primal instinct taking over, wide awake, looking out my window, sensing danger.

A brilliant flash of lightening right outside my window, right in front of me!

THUNDERCLAP!

Immediate, deafening. I cannot describe the sound. It's as if the harpies in hell let out a scream.

I leap from my bed and run out into the hallway, thinking that that was far too close. Flash again, and the thunderous sound shatters through the still summer air shaking the building. Zeus himself, king of the gods of Olympus, is on the roof of my penthouse,throwing his bolts of lightening down around us. My flatmate, Jerry, comes out his room and we make our way to the livingroom to see the coming storm. Another flash, right out on the beach, another deafening thunderbolt screams through my ears. There's no need to count between the flash and the sound, the storm is right over us, we are the storm. There is no time increment small enough between the speed of light and sound at this moment. They are one and the same.

But there's no rain. No clouds. No darkened skies. Another flash, and another, and another and three window shaking thunderous roars blast around us. I admit to feeling fear. This was scary. Intense. Like I said, primal. The instinct of our human ancestors, deep in pre-history, who ran and hid, shaking at the wondrous and deadly forces of nature around them are right at the surface. I am shaking at the wondrous and deadly force of nature, all around me. It's scaring the piss out of me. Then the rain comes. Drips, drabs, slowly dotting the pavement below. Then the wind, first breezy and then gusting, and then, a locomotive, increasing with the rain's intensity. The heavens open up over us and the rain is coming down, in all the cliches: buckets, sheets, cats and dogs. It's a torrent of water falling from the sky, nearly blotting out the shapes of the buildings around us. Then, the gods begin to send more from their lofty throne of clouds. Hail begins to ping, crash, slam, ping, dent, ping all around us. It's as if it's a cosmic game of marbles, gone terribly wrong. The beach bums are running, everywhere, anywhere, to find shelter from this new and painful stinging bounty from the sky. I watch through the bathroom window as the hail stones tear a beach umbrella apart.

FLASH!

THUNDERCLAP!

Zeus will not be denied his power and reminds me of his terrible might as another lightening bolt slams the ground not fifteen feet away from where I stand and thecacophony of sound once again shakes my soul. The smell of electricity and ozone permeates the air and I back away from the windowsill. It's metal. I am taking no chances.

Then more flashes, more thunder but now, there is a delay between them. The storm is losing it's power. Zeus has taken flight and is moving eastward, throwing his powerful bolts at other helpless mortals, the winds die down. The streets are now swirling rivers, swollen with the deluge of water that fell from the sky in a matter of minutes, the hailstones are melting. Apollo once again commands his chariot of the sun breaking through the clouds. Intense and bright.

And then it was over.

I retreat back to my bed. Shaking at the wondrous and deadly forces of nature, knowing how small and insignificant we are when Mother Earth unleashes her gods upon us.

First Posted 23 September 2004

Why I live here

I did get out of the house, originally to get a newspaper or ten since our pictures were in it but, I ended up stopping by my florist, The Art Of Flowers, and saying hullo to my good friend Becky. She does all the arrangements for our benefits and helps out at the Red Ribbon Bingo as the raffle ticket seller (Among other volunteering, she was awarded a Congressional citation for her work). She gave me a beautiful single stem yellow rose, the colour of friendship. How nice. I wandered down to my hair stylist at the House Of Hair but Margarita (who donated my latest hair style as part of the cause) was under the weather, so I left the rose for her to cheer her up when she comes in to the salon to-day. I moseyed on down to the boardwalk, it was rather warm in the sun and I now have a bit of a farmer's tan going on because of my midday constitutional, I wandered by my old restaurant (who donated dinner for two and an ad in our program book) and ignored everyone there, I just didn't feel they needed to see me, and took the walk through Caesars/Bally's Wild West/Bally's/Claridge/Sands (all owned by the same company and put an ad in our program book) because the sun was getting on my vampire nerves and the casinos are oh so air conditioned. Exiting the Sands (funny how no one noticed my hair among the blue and pink rinse set in the casinos) I made my way to the offices at the club to pick up my paycheck. Ellen Eccles (her husband was honored, posthumously for his help in our cause), the secretary in the offices, and I laughed about the mistakes in the Atlantic City Press (who put an ad in our program book and covered the event every year) and I picked up my check and cashed it at the Brass Rail, where I chatted with Ed, the asst. manager of the club (who donated his time the night of the pageant). I took the casino throughway back to the boardwalk but once again the sun beat down far to hard on my delicate skin so I ducked into the passageway that goes underneath Convention Hall (Miss America, let me hear you holla!) and took a Jitney bus (the Jitneymen's Association put an ad in our program book this year) home. I chatted on the computer all night with Shannon (who got the bug and will probably become our biggest supporter), a bartender at the club and we gossiped about everything. She's so cute. It is heartwarming to know that I live in a city like this. There are few places that you can live where the sense of community is this strong. Some people have often asked me what it is that keeps me in this city. This is why I live here.

First Posted 22 September 2004

Week-End Folllies

Friday, Miss America Parade night The parade was not as packed as usual due to the threat of rain, but it was still well attended. I was resplendant in a lime green turtleneck mesh dress with a train and my fabulous fuschia hair set it off just so. I also had a rainbow thong, from Macy's no less, underneath it all and I looked so hoochie. The "girls" and I made our entrance from the side lines and got the usual screams and shouts from the onlookers. At one point, we kind of stole the thunder from Miss New Jersey, since she happened to be going by when we made another appearance. Poor thing, she didn't have a chance of winning this year, anyway. The winds from hurricane Ivan were getting to be a bit much so I decided to wander back to the club to get ready for the "rilly big shew". It took a bit for the crowd to get there but when they did, it was insane. We had over seven hundred people there at the final count. Our opening number was "Cell Block Tango" from the movie/play Chicago. We made our entrance from out in the crowd, at different points and sauntered up to the stage before the vocals began. It was a big hit. Instead of the usual prison attire, we had cute little dresses made each in a colour of the gay flag. The rest of the show was just too fun, and I got many, many, many compliments on our performances. I revised my "Positively New Jersey" number, only this time, the New Jersey applique I had on my outfit was in the rainbow flag colours (made with glitter, of course). Thank you, Governor McGreevy. I was so glad that everything went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time. The rains started an hour after we got off stage. Thank you, angels. I think I finally snuck out of there around 3:30am. My voice began to sound like Bea Arthur. Saturday, Miss America crowning night I ended up being late for work. My flatmate woke me up to get my laundry moving along, even though he had off the rest of the night and I was not going to get sleep until Monday. I was a bit pissed. I got my stuff together and started to pack for Sunday's pageant. The Miss America pageant was on and I got a caught up in watching it (of course) so packing became a slow process and by the time I got to work, I was forty minutes late. No one noticed because no one was there, customer wise. When it got down to the top two, I wanted Miss Louisiana to win, just for the leopard print dress she was sporting but, she didn't. Boo! The televisions were on all throughout the club and I got to see the crowning. It was painfully slow the rest of the night, I think the torrential rain showers had something to do with it, and my manager was kind enough to let me go around 8:30a so I could rest in one of the rooms we had set aside for our dressing area. Sunday, Miss'd America Pageant I got four hours of sleep and got my ass out to the deck for rehearsal. The rains had stopped and once again the weather was spectacular. With all the angels in heaven who we do this show in honor of, we have been truly blessed with the weather for the last thirteen years. It took forever for all of the contestants and the other past Miss'd Americas to show up, I could have slept more. Bitches! Rehearsals went well, the props arrived, the jitney bus for our swimsuit number and the clapboard for the in between set breaks, they were too cute. We had our 5:00p dinner break and got ready for the shindig. The opening went well, it's always good when the audience laughs when you expect them to. For those of you who couldn't make it, the event on 5/11 that our Michael Mary Tyler Moore was filming a documentary about was Brittany Spears injuring her leg and having to cancel her tour. It was a tragedy, I know. We still suffer. I did my tear jerker number, "I Can See Clearly Now"-Holly Cole Trio, and lost it so bad, I cried for a half hour after I got off stage. I really can't do that number when it is such an emotional event and I haven't had sleep and have been under stress. Oh well, they are good tears if you shed them for friends. I put on my new Erte' dress and we crowned Andrea LaMour as Miss'd America 2005. I got changed and got rip-roaring drunk. By now, my voice had reached Brenda Vaccaro territory. As an aside, one of my best friends and his girlfriend showed up, way later, and I was not a happy camper with him. Nice to know that on the most important day of the year for me, I can count on him to come and support. Jerk. That goes for anyone else in this town that couldn't behoove themselves to show up, Lance! All in all, the event was a total success and I am so happy that we pulled it off again. Thank you to the past Miss'd Americas, the contestants, the staff of Club Tru/Studio Six, the S.J.A.A. and our judges. And all the people who came and supported our little madcap pageant. And especially Sandy Beach. You are truly an angel on earth. Monday, Coma Monday I slept all day and all night and had no voice what-so-ever.