The Anniversary Trip (part three--Credit Cards Lost & Yummy Dinners Found & Gay Pride)

After rejoicing in the magic that is Xanadu on Broadway we connected with friends Matt and Rick, who moved to NYC last year; as you'll recall, they own Daisy the Dog who we love more than anything. The four of us hung out with Wonder Robbie, while brothers Jeff and John connected with John's real brother, David, and then took off for the weekend. Many thing happened. Much fun.

Not so fun was going to the bar Posh (which wasn't very), because this was where Steve bought drinks. He was handed back a credit card and a receipt, shoved them into his pocket so as not to lose, and only at 3am back at the hotel did we realize he'd been given the wrong card.

We raced back to bar. They thought we were strange handing them someone else's card. They were positive it couldn't have happened. (Um, what, like we're making this up?) So we left and spent the next hour getting Bank of America on the horn, explaining why we didn't know Steve's account number and canceling the card. Good news? No other charges happened that night!
Saturday we hung out, toured Chelsea, had lunch with long-time friend DJ Billy Carroll, then went back to our hotel for a nap. We also spent that night celebrating our anniversary at Sapa, a wonderful French/Asian fusion restaurant with exceptional service and food.

We started with a green papaya, mango and herb salad that was very light and refreshing after our long day. Beside that we enjoyed the lettuce wrapped beef satay, a caramelized piece of meat with a nice sweet/spicy punch at the end. For dinner, Steve ate the fillet of beef and broccoli stir fry, with tender chunks of meat sitting atop a savory dark broth and tender veggies. My pan roasted red snapper was equally tasty, with the meaty fish mingling alongside veggies in a butter sauce.

Our waitress, the amazing Amanda whom you should all know and love, suggested the tempura broccoli as well. I know, crazy, but it truly was better than onion rings. We ate the entire plate and felt stuffed. We couldn't eat dessert.

AMANDA: Too late. I have a surprise coming up from the kitchen. (We look happily surprised.) Okay, I'm terrible with secrets. I'm bringing you some fresh baked cookies.

YUM! Warm and melting with chocolate chips, they made the perfect ending. So we thanked her. It was at this point that I told Amanda it was our anniversary dinner and she'd made the night perfect for us.

AMANDA: You should have told me earlier! (We don't do that because because it feels like you're expecting something for free and I think that's tacky.) I'm getting you some champagne to celebrate.
US: No, that's okay. But thanks...
AMANDA: Too late, it's already done. (She then walked away and got us two glasses.)

From there we went to cocktails at Matt and Rick's place. On the way we stopped in a Rite Aid to get some mixers-- one should always bring something to a party-- and we ran into porn star Josh Weston with his older dentist companion (we heard the companion, we'll just call him "daddy", telling the cashier he was a dentist). They looked like very good friends.

Incidentally, this is the pose Josh maintained while standing in front of us at the counter. Charmed, I'm sure...

Saturday night we did the bar crawl, eventually returning home. We rallied for Sunday because it's lame to go to New York during gay pride and miss the parade. The amazing thing in NYC, which I've only seen in Toronto as well, is that the whole city comes out for the event-- gay or straight. And that was cool. Here are some highlights...
We arrived during the Religious Organizations section, so it was an hour of God-loving gays hiking down the street. This first group was performing and singing "Hallelujah"... To the tune of Wonder Woman. Jesus really is magic!

And Eva Peron, back from the dead to salute her homos.




Then came a drag queen covered in sunglasses.











And then came a float with hustlers on it... led by singer CeCe Peniston.

Um, yeah. No joke. That's her singing her 10+ year old anthem, "Finally" with a hustler in gold singing back up.


Wow. There's so much one could say about this. But since I'm liberal, I'll just say, "Hooker gotta eat" and leave it at that.











Many organizations. Lamba Legal had these funny people with a sign reading, "We put the GAY in LitiGAYtion."

So cute.














And then there were the obligatory Wonder Women.
Steve was too scared to join me in the picture. Makes sense. I mean, hell, I make a prettier woman than these guys. But they were fun.

Then we went home to sleep. That's a lot of gay, even for us, and I had a series of meetings coming up in the next couple days.

Oh, and in case your wondering, by the time I actually got on the plane at JFK it was 1am. Plane took off at 3am. I arrived in LA, yesterday, at 6am, which was 24-hours of me being awake. Oy! It's been a rough couple days.

Have a great weekend everyone.

The Anniversary Trip (part two--XANADU & DRAMA)

I didn't think I'd be able to update this, but as my flight back to LA has been delayed by three hours, I figured it was a wise use of time. So here we go.

Picture it: Friday night, we've had our spa, we've napped, and then we decide to stop into a random restaurant for some pre-theater appetizers. This is what we see on the bathroom walls:
Yes, 1990s straight male-photographed pseudo-lesbian erotica. That should give you an idea about the cuisine at this fine Italian eatery.

Yes, we should know at this point that any Times Square theater restaurant is full of cheese and tourists, but it was easy so we stopped in. The food was fine. The wine made it better. But these pics made us laugh so hard we had to take a picture of it.

But then came...It was, quite possibly, one of the most magical nights of our six-year relationship. First off, we met Wonder Robbie from MySpace (on the left) who has been such a lovely supporter and friend.

But then there was the show itself. It is a reimagining of Xanadu the film, and it's as much a send up to the movie and the 1980s as it is a tribute to all the things we pop-culture junkies love from that period. Whether it be those catch phrases we used or the leg-warmers we wore, this musical takes the best of all those worlds and reminds us why it was great being a child of the '80s.

The show also scores by simply being fun. It's not all caught up in trying to be self-important "theatre", it's about getting people into seats and letting them enjoy themselves for an evening. You want to sing along, dance along, and simply be a part of the magic.

And speaking of magic, what about hottie Cheyenne Jackson (with us on the right) standing in for Sonny? Though he never dons the requisite silky dolphin shorts (shame) he complete understands the light-hearted nature of this show and plays it to the hilt.

He's just one of the incredibly gorgeous (and talented) male cast (lots of muscles and spandex, yo!). Also stunning are Jackie Hoffman as Caliope and Mary Testa as Melpomene. I know some die-hard movie fans complained about two evil muses being in the story, but these women deliver such wonderful comedic turns that they make it work; indeed, I was so caught up in their performances that I wondered why there weren't evil women in the movie itself.

A lot of work is thrust upon the chorus, who skillfully deliver the Greek tie-ins without any confusion. They also play multiple roles and do it with such commitment and energy that you don't mind all the doubling-up. At one point they even acknowledge that issue but it perfectly blends with the self-awareness present throughout this show.

It was quite tragic that the "Dancin'" number is not bigger. Much bigger. But it's the only flaw I saw.
Finally, there's the beautiful Kerry Butler as Kira. Here's what happened when we met her.

RICK & STEVE: We loved you so much (gush, gush, gush)
KERRY: Oh, you guys were sitting in the front huh?
US: YESSSSSS!
KERRY: You were really into it!

(sigh....) We love her. She not only embodies the elements that Steve and I constantly laugh at/love when rewatching Olivia Newton John in the film, but she brings her own performance that's both sweet and lovely.
The songs are there, as are some added ELO tunes that everyone will recognize and which nicely advance the story. In truth, I think the songs make more sense in this show than they do in the film.

It was also really wonderful having brothers Jeff & John with us for the anniversary and show. But that's always been part of the Xanadu magic for Steve and I. The movie, the sing-a-longs, and now the musical have introduced us to some of our best and most like-minded friends in the world. People who "get" us. People we like having in our lives.

Xanadu on Broadway creates that same sense and with flying marks. It brings together a ton of people to experience that joy in a whole new way, and for that Steve and I will always be thankful.

Plane delayed again. And now I see thunder storms. I hope I get home. More drama with airlines and missing credit cards tomorrow.

The Anniversary Trip (part one--DRAMA)

Steve's and my 6th anniversary trip got off to a rocky start. He was getting over a cold. I was getting over some deadlines. Then just as we were an hour away from heading to the airport, I got an automated call from Delta Airlines saying out flight is delayed by an hour.

Okay, that sucks, but it's not the end of the world.

But just to be safe, I went to the Delta website to confirm the info. I was stunned to find the airline had moved Steve's seat.

No, I don't know why. When Steve called them, they couldn't explain why. Nor could they change it.

I hate customer service people. They do that fake smiley thing with their voice and say, "Yeeeaaaahhhh, that's really strange. Sorry." But they don't correct the problem. They "can't." They had no problem switching Steve's seat, but for some reason now it's absolutely impossible for them to do anything about it whatsoever. But they are sorry.

At this point, Rick punch the kitchen counter which resulted in a very sore right hand for the next three days.

We got to the airport early and showed the counter person our itineraries where our seats were selected as being next to one another. When she saw that they'd been changed she said it made absolutely no sense in the world. She was just about to say we had to go to the gate to change it when I threw down the gauntlet...

"This is our 6th anniversary," I said. "We booked first class tickets so we could enjoy ourselves together and now we can't because of this." Yes, I probably sounded like I was going to cry. I was actually preparing to ask if we were broken up-- even though reservations were booked at the same time-- because we were two men with different last names and did this mean Delta put straight relationships before same-sex ones.

But I didn't. I knew that wouldn't get me anywhere. The anniversary story did work, and Ms. Kealaku'upua O. in reservations called the gate, checked the viability, and switched the seats for us. We love her and offer her many blessings. I'm going to write a letter to Delta telling them so as well.

Flight then got delayed again. We got into New York at 2am (or thereabouts).

Then there were no taxis at JFK. I'm not kidding. The guy at the taxi booth was gone so none of the taxis knew to shoot down there. 50+ people waiting, and no taxis.

Eventually someone figured out how to signal someone and a fleet arrived. We made it to the hotel and got into bed at 3am.

Unfortunately, I'd originally scheduled us spa days at the Nickel Spa in Chelsea for 11am-- when we were getting in at midnight that would have been doable. Now at this new time, we were exhausted but we made it (if we didn't go, they would have charged us anyway).

Friday, we hit Xanadu on Broadway. More on that tomorrow. But it was genius, I tell you!

But Friday night? After Xanadu? Steve's bank debit card was lost. He didn't bring any other cards. More on that tomorrow as well...

A Brief New York Update

OH MY GOD THE SHOW IS AMAZING!

More about the trip-- including the drama-- tomorrow morning before my meetings.

Lynda Carter, Cher Barbie, Batman movie & other oddities

Every time we leave on a trip (especially to New York) I have the best intentions of uploading photos and blogging. Then one drink leads to another leads to Ray's Pizza at midnight leads to hitting more bars we've never visited leads to Grey's Papaya Hot Dogs at an ungodly hour leads to crashing out and never doing anything remotely responsible. So just in case, here's some stuff to tide you over...

My interview with Lynda Carter for IN Magazine. This isn't the first time I've chatted on the phone with the former Amazing Amazon, but this time we primarily focused on music so there won't be any sensational political info. But it's fun. Her concert is this weekend in LA if you're free.

Speaking of 1970s icons, I just got a bit of gossip. Barbie is releasing a new Cher doll. Here's the official write up:
1970s Cher Doll - Black Label
Designed by Bob Mackie, this iconic Cher doll features the ModelMuse™ doll body and Cher’s likeness. The costume design was inspired by the multi-platinum selling album entitled "Half Breed." Cher doll’s iconic costume features a head-dress, cuffs and platform shoes. Fashions are not for use with other Barbie® dolls. ARP: $34.95 each Age: 14 + For the Adult Collector - Available: August 2007

1980s Cher Doll - Black Label
Designed by Bob Mackie, this iconic Cher doll features the ModelMuse™ doll body and Cher’s likeness based on distinctive fashion looks in videos and stage tours from the 1980s. The Cher doll is featured in a black faux leather motorcycle jacket, embellished glitter bodysuit, leather-like boots and a microphone. Fashions are not for use with other Barbie® dolls. ARP: $34.95 each Age: 14 + For the Adult Collector - Available: August 2007

2000s Cher Doll – Black Label
Designed by Bob Mackie, this iconic Cher doll features the ModelMuse™ doll body and Cher’s likeness based on Cher’s Farewell Tour “Ring Master” costume from the early 2000s. The Cher doll is featured with a glitter printed ensemble, tailcoat and top hat with feather. ARP: $34.95 each Age: 14 + For the Adult Collector - Available: August 2007

Speaking of fashion, did you see the article in Entertainment Weekly about the new Bat suit? Friend Larry, who makes AMAZING custom action figures that you can see on his blog, sent me this link to the page showing the new suit.

Finally, if you're sad you're not seeing Xanadu on Broadway with us, perhaps this fun little music video our friend Will sent, will make you a bit happier. Talk soon.

Making Shirts for Tomorrow's NY Trip!

Leaving tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon for our sixth anniversary trip. As you know, we're seeing Xanadu on Broadway so we thought it would only be fitting for us to make some new products...I wish we could take all the credit, but I first saw the idea donned by funny man Dennis Hensley at the Xanadu Sing-Along a couple years back. Nevertheless, we thought it was high time everyone got in on the fun.

AAAANNNNNDDDDD if you want to butch it up a bit, we put the image on a trucker hat. Various colors, etc. If anyone wants it on a woman's shirt, let me know.

What do y'all think of shirts that say "Xanadoll", "Xanadame", or "Xanadudette"? Is that pushing things?

We also put the image on a bumper sticker, which gave us the idea to make this bumper sticker...
So to all you Battlestar Galactica fans, if you don't want to invest in the shirt we have this cool, inexpensive bumper sticker. Better yet, buy a shirt and since you're paying for postage already, toss in a bumper sticker as well.

All this and more at the Rick N Steve store. Tell your friends (mamma got a mortgage to pay).

More tomorrow...

Food Network Star episode 3 & DRAMA!

Before we begin... THREE DAYS UNTIL NEW YORK!

Okay, about The Next Food Network Star. Another episode hit on Sunday and this time two people were kicked off. In all truth, you won't be surprised. I do like this season better than others, but it hasn't been much of a surprise thus far. Even before they get to the end you can tell who will be booted.

Word of advice. Don't watch the "coming up after the break" bits. Cutie Adrian says something, which I'm sure the editors thought, "This will throw the audience off!" But if you pay attention to the episode you'll easily guess what he was talking about and know who's booted.

On a side note, did you know you can score the winning recipes on the Food Network website? Yep, the winning chocolate dish from last night? It's on there. If you're interested, check them out.

Oh, but about Colombe and her "I opened a jar of cheese sauce and look, I'm a chef!" Everyone gave her flack for it-- us included-- but how different is that from Sandra Lee? I mean, really?!

Semi-Homemade is insane. I once looked up her mulled wine recipe, thinking it would be easier than the others. It said, "Open the package and pour it into the wine" or something like that. Seriously?

Lady, if I had the frickin' mulling spices in a package I wouldn't need to go to the damn Food Network website for a recipe!

I imagine Sandra Lee (with her crazy straight eyes) is that cooped up housewife you see in the perfect house on your street, who's just waiting for her successful husband to get the hell out the house along with those kids she loves dearly (after she' s popped a pain killer and dirty martini), so she can open up a second bottle of Stoli for COCKTAIL TIME (insert jazz hands) while she makes a god damn tablescape (Is that even a word?). Oy she annoys me!

But have you all heard the gossip about Josh Adam Garcia, or JAG as he liked to call himself. (Very patriotic.) Turns out, a lot of that noble back story he told Food Network and the audience is crap. The Military Times interviewed him, did some digging, and they found out the truth. Hit that link and read all about it.

In next week's episode it looks like he really milks that military back story, and that will hurt him in the end-- especially if he's a finalist. If he's one of the last two people the public votes on, I don't see how someone who lied about himself can become a star that an audience will want to watch on Food Network.

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how he and Food Network address this.

Xanadu on Broadway, New Toys, and Father's Day Weekend Fun!

Four days until we fly from LA to New York to see Xanadu on Broadway!
Last week Steve almost died! Seriously. He called me in a panic because James Carpinello, who plays Sonny in the Broadway musical, was hurt.

"I've waited 27 years to see this on Broadway and now it's not happening!" he screamed at me over the phone, no doubt angry that I was on a deadline and freaking out about other things.

I quickly told him to call the Helen Hayes Theater where it's playing and find out what's happening-- being a writer, I think about going right to the source, ya see. Fortunately, Steve is quick with the internet and learned that cutie Cheyenne Jackson is going to take the role while Carpinello heals; read the article here.

Whew! We planned our whole anniversary trip around seeing this play, and had it been canceled it would have sucked worse than when the Pan Pacific Auditorium was burned to the ground.

Did I mention I have a fantastic boyfriend?

Back when my birthday hit, everyone asked Steve what I wanted. My tricky man had a plan, and told them all to buy me Mac store gift cards. Why? I needed a new computer, and I got a new MacBook Pro yesterday!!!

Here I'm holding it with crazy gay eyes.

And here I'm opening it looking VERY excited.



And then Steve caught me transferring all my work from my old iBook onto the new sleek, silver Mac.



Very excited. I haven't decided yet if I'm bringing the new Mac or the old one to New York. I think I'll look so much more professional with the new one when I take my meetings, don't you?

And What About Father's Day?

Steve, brother Jeff, and brother-in-law John went over to Kurt's house yesterday to celebrate Father's Day. It was a fun time with super yummy food.

Kurt went to the farmer's market after church and picked up a ton of fresh produce, then shot to the Mexican market for some fresh tortillas, chips, and other yummy stuff. Meanwhile, Steve and I shot to Kurt's house and met everyone there, Steve made his world-famous guacamole (and it is, ya know) and then we ate.

Food coma quickly followed.

Oh, but then we had some dulce de leche cheesecake that was unreal! Good times.

Here's a pic of Kurt, Jeff, and Steve. More to follow when the boys and Kurt send me their pics.

Rick & Steve on LOGO

Just to be clear, this is a different Rick & Steve. Yes, it's animated and my Steve is an animator. Yes, I am a script writer, but I did not write this. And yes, we are one of the happiest gay couples in the world. But this is not us.

This is Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In All The World, Q. Allan Brocka's animated series on LOGO.
Ironically, the Rick & Steve animated shorts premiered at Outfest the summer Steve and I first started dated, and we've met the creator a bunch of times (does one call him Q., like from Star Trek: TNG, or Allan? Very confusing.) Anyway, he's lovely, and even though they decided to make Rick ethnic in this new version-- alluding to my Halfrican American roots, no doubt--the trailer looks fun.

If anyone gets LOGO (Um, we don't and we're in LA on a satellite feed.) let us know how it is.

Model Our T-shirts!

Friend David Roberts, who always sent me press info for Fashion House and American Heiress wanted to show everyone that our T-shirts DO fit everyone.
Don't he look cute? And yet butch at the same time? God, I think this makes him totally date-able, don't you? (Yes, you have seen David and his dogs in recent issues of Instinct Magazine.) BTW, I love the backgrounds he chose.

Please note that the discolored area around the logo goes away after one washing (wash colored shirts inside out, in cold water).
Anyway, it gave us the idea to keep this going. If you've bought a shirt and want to show it off send me a pic. I'll post it on this blog, on the Cult of MySpace, and on Live Journal.

Thanks David!!!
(find out shirts here)

Food Network Star is Racist???

SPOILERS! If you haven't watched Sunday's episode, skip this.

Unless you re-read comments people leave on my old posts (And really, who has the time?), you wouldn't know that someone made a curious statement about The Next Food Network Star entry I wrote in April.

"Anonymous" said this (I didn't edit spelling mistakes): I think this season of the Food network star is RACIST. IT's so biast they sent home the blacks and hispanic's first. And the women who remain and blonde and lacked leadership skills and their prepared dishes were not up to standard. They kept saying that the black and hispanis persons personalisties werent a fit. How convenient. PLUS it's a god damn cooking show, their personalities were not so atrocious.

Wow. Angry Anonymous Person.

AA is talking about how Nikki (left) got kicked off this week, while Patrick Rolfe and Vivien Cunha (top) were booted last week. For a second I thought about that, wondering if it could be true. After all, AA makes a good point in that some of the blond white women who stayed-- yoga girl, Colombe, in particular-- weren't great leaders or on-camera speakers. And let's face it: Nikki was sassy and had some great boots! Surely they could have given her another chance.

Maybe so, but then I realized AA's statement was way off base.

In season one of Food Network Star, one of the two finalists was Deborah Fewell (right), an African American woman who later went on to host the Food Network special, Surf n' Turf.

Last season, one of the two finalists was Reggie Southerland, another African American.

For those of you not paying attention, the judges cut people from the show until the final episode, at which point viewers decide who wins their own show. So if nothing else, the Food Network judges-- who have been the same judges for every season-- have consistently shown their colorblindness. To say they're suddenly racist this season lacks an examination of the evidence.

Look, Patrick didn't stand out in week 1, unless it was to arch his eyebrow as if to say the speaker was terribly mistaken. Vivien was smoking hot, but her accent was as thick as peanut butter and they didn't like her food. In their time on camera, neither person looked as though they would stay long.

Yes, I do wish Nikki had remained. I think there was potential and maybe the judges made a mistake this time. But was it racist? I think not.

LA Gay Pride 2007

Steve returned from China safe and sound. We spent Friday and Saturday trying to regulate his sleep so that we could hang out at Gay Pride on Sunday. It succeeded! Here we are with the parade Grand Marshall, former basketball player John Amaechi who came out and caused quite a stir.
Note that Steve and I are on our tip toes in this picture.

We followed the parade, hit some bars and the festival, but at about 5pm Steve was done. This was good because we went home, ate pasta, watched TV and went to bed. This morning is the best I have EVER felt after a gay pride weekend.

But maybe that's because I made so many new friends...
Good times.

Steve Returns Tonight & Gay Pride LA!

Steve is currently on the 15-hour plane flight headed back to LA. As of this moment, he is scheduled to land 30-minutes early.

Much to do before he shows up.

•Buy flowers for the dining room-- to let him know I care (awwwwww)
•Grocery shopping (it's amazing how quickly I went to bachelor mode with little food in the house)
•Laundry (just so we don't have to do extra tomorrow)
•Tidy up (not much to do there, but some)
•Get my hair cut (because it's big and makes me feel like I have moon face)
•Oh, and I have another deadline for a travel article that I have slowly come to hate.

Tonight begins the shirtless holiday that is Gay Pride weekend in LA. Last night I took BD to the Instinct Magazine Pride Kick-Off party. It was fun. Booze was free. Designer Andrew Christian had a fashion show, I hung out with party promoter Tom Whitman and his crew, new Frontiers Magazine editor Jeremy Kinser, former Frontiers editor and former Instinct associate editor Alex Cho, Instinct editor Mike Wood, Tony Tripoli from Fashion House, and lots of gays I haven't seen in ages. It was a good time. Oh, and the booze was free.

I lifted weights and took a Pilates class this morning so I'm feeling fine. Thanks for asking.

Anyway, if Steve is too exhausted to handle a bunch of screaming queens then we might just skip the weekend--we'll be in New York in a couple weeks anyway.

Okay, I doubt that will happen. But it could. I told Steve we didn't have to go. But Joan Jett is performing. So is Terri Nunn of Berlin, Ant the comic (he'll come to the opening of an envelope but he is funny to look at), Martha Davis of the Motels, Martha Wash (no joke). And Tiffany. Yes, Tiffany. I think that says it all.