New Hangover Remedy?

Last week Steve and I attended a party with a bunch of young people; "young" meaning they were born after Star Wars was in the theater (re: early 20s). The gays there had innovative suggestions for avoiding hangovers (as gays often do) and one gay used L-Glutamine.

"Take three after a night of drinking with a full glass of water. If you still feel bad the next morning, three more with a full glass of water."

Glutamine is an amino acid and helps with muscle recovery, among other things. For example, it's also sometimes used for recovery after surgery-- so it CAN help in healing (thank you Wikipdedia). And when you're hung over, you often feel like you need serious healing, so Steve and I thought we'd drop a couple bucks at GNC and try it.

Then on Wednesday we went out and had much fun. We took the L-Glutamine. The next morning, Steve was still somewhat hung-over but I was not. Steve always has worse hangovers than I do, but we DID drink water during the night and we DID use our new magic pills and they DID seem to work for me. So, I wondered aloud, why did it work for those young gays and not him.

"Because they're 21!" Steve snapped then turned on The Food Network to watch some food porn.

True enough. More study is needed.

This is How Old We Are...

Wednesday night has traditionally been a great party night in LA. We usually go out to Club 1980s (or some variation of that) like we did when we were first out of college. We get drunk, sweaty, and dance like crazy to the music of our youth-- it's like going to prom but without a lesbian date or having to sneak booze into the space.

Good times.

Then yesterday morning Steve and I wake up in the middle of the night, our calf muscles aching.

Evidently, it was too much effort for muscles we rarely exercise. And mind you, we hike every week and I hang from trapezes.

I guess we're not in our 20s any longer.

Xanadu in Korean and more Birdhouse Factory

I keep talking about friends/trainers Aloysia and Sagiv who are in Birdhouse Factory at the New Victory Theater in New York. I've shown some pictures of them in action, but now you can watch Sagiv and Aloysia performing some of their tango/balancing routine from on the CBS morning news in New York.

You can also check out the Korean version of Xanadu: The Musical. This link shows you various commercials:

But you can then find some more clips on YouTube. What's kind of crazy about those clips is that it looks as though they take the storyline very seriously and don't play up the camp as you see it in American productions. Very interesting.

What Was Your Weekend Like?

Steve and I had no big plans for the weekend and thought we'd do a ton of fun yet relaxing things. Friday night we had dinner with friends Shamaa and Eric at Church & State downtown, which is pretty great even though the head chef left last week. (Actually, I have to say, it was better than the first time Steve and I went there when they opened, so take that for what it's worth.)

BIG NEWS... On Saturday, we got our wedding photos! We downloaded them to the computer, which took a while and the delay kind of threw us off for the whole day. We hiked later, couldn't go grocery shopping because someone was coming by to pick up our spare bed (thoughI did clean the front yard in the process, which I suppose is good) and everything felt slightly "off." It's like when you've slept funny and a muscle hurts-- it's working, but not the way you feel like it should be working.

We hit a couple straight parties then got to bed early. Sunday we thought we'd skip the hike and spend the day shopping! That would perk us up for sure! We could look for a small sofa bed for the spare room, which would replace the spare bed we got rid of the day before (the room is small, so this would make the spare room into a reading room with optional guest sleeping if needed.

Even if we didn't buy anything, the act of getting out and checking stuff out would be fun! So guess where we went...
Yes, Living Spaces! Now here's the thing about Living Spaces-- we didn't want to go but we assumed that if any place had a sofa bed for a budget-minded gay duo it would be here. But EVERYTHING there is over-sized and made for a suburban home (But you can get that lovely matching throw-rug for an additional $400 to go under the sofa bed with handy built-in cup-holders. CUP HOLDERS? Seriously, people, I know you think that shit makes you fancy but I've been to many a fancy home and rich people DO NOT HAVE CUP HOLDERS BUILT INTO THEIR SOFAS! Lord have mercy!).

Anyway, we walked in, toured the space like Tim Gunn suggests one does with a department store before buying clothes, and found nothing. Not even in their "hip" section where beds were low to the ground and the headboards lit up for convenient reading while you're not having sex with your spouse.

There was an upside: Steve used the restroom and I took a complimentary cup of coffee, because if we had to drive our asses all the way out to Van Nuys to find nothing then we wanted SOMETHING in return.

That threw our day off once more. Ikea-- nothing, California Pizza Kitchen for lunch-- mediocre, Macy's for Fiestaware-- NOTHING??? Steve did find some cute clothes, including an outfit for my company's Christmas party, but that was it.

We did, however, end the night with Steve making a yummy chicken stir fry in peanut sauce, drinking a glass (or 2) of wine, and watching episodes of Whatever, Martha on Fine Living Network. This show stars Alexis (Martha Stewart's daughter), her best friend Jennifer as they watch and make bitchy, dry, and yet insightful comments on clips from Martha's old show. Absolute genius. They'd be our friends.

The lesson? Steve and I have no big plans for Thanksgiving, and if it starts going "off" again we're calling up friends for drinks, pizza, and a Whatever, Martha marathon at our place. Seriously.

The Reviews Are In For...Birdhouse Factory

Some of our aerial trainers are in a New York show called Birdhouse Factory, and the reviews from the New York Times are in.
Without ruining anything, I can say they loved the show and even mention trainers Aloysia, Sagiv, and Elisabeth directly; including Aloysia and Sagiv's tango scene, which is pictured above from our Halloween show. So that's pretty cool.

If you're in NY, check them out.

Steve and I are currently watching the America's Top Model finale. It's completely forgettable. Does anyone remember when this show was exciting? And WHY, I ask, do we keep watching?

CD Releases, Galactica "spoilers" and More Randomness

Between my regular job and desperately trying to sell something on the side, I've got tons of writing going on right now. That means it's tough to blog. True sadness, I know. But here are some random things you might find interesting...

The latest issue of Metrosource is out, and in the west coast edition you can read my restaurant reviews. I cover Frida Mexican Cuisine in the new fancy mall, Americana at Brand, as well as the Viceroy in Palm Springs. My reviews surround Steve's and my pre-wedding family dinner at Frida and our honeymoon in Palm Springs. I have no idea how they edited it, so it might be sparse on the fun details, but it should make you hungry.

If you like dance music-- you know, the stuff you rock to until the wee hours of the morning-- friend and DJ Billy Carroll has a new CD out based on his Dirty Beats club promotion. Dirty Beats started in New York and now he travels around the world spinning. Billy's work is great, moving from remixes of classic tunes into hot and dirty house beats. Visit the Masterbeat site (which isn't very user-friendly; look for it in the "best sellers" chart on the right), or pre-order it on i-Tunes and Amazon.com.

SPOILER ALERT...
There's news about the bedroom secrets of someone on the Battlestar Galactica. Does it have to do with a nude Apollo? No, but the link does reveal the secret along with some info on the upcoming webisodes that will hopefully tide us over until next season.

When is Caprica coming out? Not sure. Haven't checked. But our friend Eric Stoltz is in it, which is kind of fun.

Finally, "Tactless Wonder" writer and friend, Mary, is in town for a visit. We will not discuss her favorite topic: knitting. But we will eat a lovely dinner of almond-crusted chicken breast, penne pasta in homemade marinara sauce, roasted veggies, some kind of ice cream desserty thing (unless I decide to bake cookies while we talk), and wine... Lots of wine.

I wonder how well my "Fags on Bags" boxing class will go tomorrow morning.

Weekend Protests

Pink (pictured left), Lucy Lawless, Ricki Lake, Perez Hilton, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and numerous city officials were just some of the famous peeps we ran into during Saturday's Repeal Prop 8 rally in downtown LA.

There was a huge turnout considering the fires had many freeways and train lines closed. This event was happening in tandem with rallies in over 100 cities and 9 countries.


We ran into many people we knew, including the gaymous (gay famous) Aman About Town, who wisely brought his own shade to the event. The poster is by Shepard Fairey, a local artist who also created the now-famous Obama "Hope" image.

There were also a small group who showed up to tell us we were going to hell, so Steve and I thought we would do our part to piss off the religious right.

What makes me laugh in this series of pictures is not Steve and I, but the cute girl holding the "Love Thy Neighbor" sign. She was facing off with this angry dude, then heard cheering, then turned and upon realizing why people were cheering (Steve and me) she joined in. Her expression is wonderful.
Good times.

Random Blog Entry

Not a lot of major stuff to write about today, so I figured I'd toss out some random things that have been going on.
If you're in New York from November 14-December 14, check out Birdhouse Factory at The New Victory Theater. The show stars my trainers Aloysia (pictured above) and Sagiv. Steve and I have seen bits of it, including the tango/balancing act they've performed at Halloween and the student showcase. You can also watch the video at the New Victory website. It's pretty freakin' amazing and worth the trip. If you get a chance to meet them after, tell them you know Little Rick in LA.

Speaking of training, the lovely Jonathan Higbee from Gay List Daily wrote about Cirque School LA. I would like to nominate myself for being one of the "ripped students" he mentions in the story.

The drinking/kissing photo is from last week's Madonna concert. Rotating past Steve are co-workers AJ (in the hat), Jessica (in white), and Mekaiel's wife (I think her name is Adrienne).

Here are Steve and I, wondering when the concert is going to start. Answer? 3 hours late. But Madonna did wear her high-waist panties. I think that's okay-- still processing.
And the random pic of the week goes to brother-in-law John, who was in Dallas and took a picture of this church marquee.
If you can't read it, it says, "What to say to those who are gay."

Is it me, or does that rhyme sound like something a group of gays should be chanting during a pride celebration? Hmmm...

And do we give them points for attempting iambic pentameter? I wish I had my bible on me to look up the Roman's verse and argue it. Perhaps tomorrow.

Something Silly From Halloween

Okay, so it's been a bit of a downer on the Mondo Rick-o blog, so after much struggle I figured out how to cut some of our Halloween video and load it onto the blog.

The basic idea is Jessica and I are a performing couple, but I'm more interested in flirting with the crowd. She grows progressively more angry to the end. Enjoy.

Side note: I have no idea why the audio didn't load. I'll try and fix it.

Wedding Gifts Can Save Your Sanity

After the last hellish week, we got a couple nice surprises.

The first happened following the Prop 8 passage. Steve said, "We should go shopping for Fiestaware this weekend. Macy's is having a sale. We can use a wedding gift card, get a piece we're missing, and maybe that will cheer us up."

I kid you not, two minutes later there was a knock on the door. It was UPS. Turns out, we'd had brunch with long-time friend DJ Billy Carroll and his partner while they were in LA. When we told him we'd registered for Fiestaware, he returned to New York and found us a very rare lilac casserole dish with lid. The lilac line was only sold through Bloomingdales for a limited time, and he said that the casserole dish was particularly difficult to find. I haven't taken a pic yet, but it's quite pretty.

THEN on Saturday our blender broke. I'll tell that story later, but we ended up going to Bed Bath & Beyonce with all the gift cards we'd received from the wedding, and purchased a super swank blender for $8. Let me tell you, it's the best blender I've ever used in my life.

THEN LAST NIGHT, we got another package from Macy's. Matthew from my trapeze group bought us a cannister and two beautiful bowls. Again, no photos, but I'll try to take some soon.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Haters can take away your right to marry, but they CAN'T take your wedding registry.

The "Slippery Slope" Argument

I've had ignorant people leave comments on the blog saying that if we want marriage equality then we obviously want siblings to marry or (even worse) to marry our pets.

Here's the thing:

I've never met one gay who wanted to marry his or her underage sister. But I've seen plenty of Mormons do it.

Think on that, bitches.

If You'd Voted "No" You Wouldn't Be Stuck in Traffic Right Now!

The headline is what a lesbian shouted at a car load of frustrated drivers as the "No on 8" mob left the rally, swarmed up San Vicente, and flooded onto Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. Another wave of protesters shot down Santa Monica Blvd., and still a third group stayed behind, riling up the locals before creating a third march for later in the night.

Right now it's 11:45pm, and the news is reporting the marchers are still going strong.

It's insane, wonderful and inspiring.
We walked over a mile, chanting, shouting, and cheering one another on.

Seeing so many people gather, take off in multiple peaceful protests that left the police and public confused, made me see the power we hold in our hands. Fox News is reporting around 2500 people, but from where I was standing it seemed MUCH more than that.

It also made me want to offer a word of caution. Dear out-of-state Mormon Church. You chose to invade California's business and shove the gay community to second-class status (much in the same way you've been viewed by mainstream society for many years.) Well, grab your secret underwear, your three levels of heaven, and your multiple wives. We're ready for you this time, and payback is going to be a bitch.
We're not going down without a fight because we are NOT second-class citizens. This law will place discriminatory language in the state constitution and we will not stand for it.
Tonight was only the beginning...

Bittersweet Morning

Just as trapeze class ended last night, fellow performers Jessica and Emily saw on their phones that Obama had won. It was unreal. I soon left the studio and a cool Santa Ana breeze flew through the streets, wrapping itself around my body like an excited dancer in her most monumental performance. I resisted thinking of this as the "winds of change" but I couldn't help feeling elated as people flooded into the streets cheering, honked their horns enthusiastically, and the nation-wide celebration began.

At home, Steve and I sat on the couch holding hands. We cried during Obama's speech, because for the first time in many, many years of governmental darkness, backstabbing, lying, cheating and betrayal, we finally felt like there was hope for peace and unity. The job to come is hard, no doubt, and I worry that with so many Democrats being elected that there will be great temptation to become the evil we recently voted out of office. But still, I have hope.

Then this morning I heard that Prop 8 will most likely pass, a bill supported by out-of-state churches that had no problem lying to get their way; the Mormon Church, which until the 1970s wouldn't allow African Americans to become members of their congregation, had rallied much of the LA black, Latino and Asian communities to vote against equality. I'd make a joke about that being a "down low" blow, but I'm too upset.

Actually, I'm angry. Pissed. I want to take those self-righteous sons of bitches and beat the living shit out of them. And then I want them all to have at least one gay child and finally see the ramifications of their hate-filled actions.

They're coming after us next, I know it, because that's how evil works.

Halloween Trapeze Performance - A Great Night

"Oh my God..." I thought. That's me on that giant monitor.

That's what I realized as I stepped out onto the main stage at West Hollywood's Halloween Carnival. I introduced the Aerial Tricksters of Cirque School LA, and I'd come up with a cute, fast intro (check me out stretching as I go over it in my head-- very intense). But I wasn't quite prepared to see a giant vision of myself in the distance.

The city had set up these enormous monitors over Santa Monica Boulevard and they were broadcasting everything on the main stage so that people could view the night at home on the local access channel, or from the middle of the city.

Well, I've never been modest, so on with the show...

The night was packed with people, and usually these folks have short attention spans but our friends noted how people stayed to watch the show. Nothing like this had been done before in West Hollywood on the main stage and it was a huge success.

I, of course, can't remember anything because it happened so quickly. I introduced our "beach party" performance (cute costumes, no?) and we went through our acts, including mine with the beautiful and bendy Jessica. I don't think I've ever looked gayer or crazier in my life than in this photo below.
My friend Ed has some video up on Facebook. I'll try and get a copy with sound, or maybe take some screen grabs.

Random side note: Steve and I went for drinks at the bar where brother-in-law John works, and started talking to this guy. He didn't go to Halloween, but he said, "Did you see the trapeze guys? I heard they were really good." Ego-boosting moment fulfilled.

Here are the students in our final shot. I'm laying on my back boosting Emily who's doing a hand-stand on my knees.

I am kind of sad that it's all over now, and I had some interesting epiphanies through the process. More on that later.

If you were able to make it, let me know. If you took pics, PLEASE send some my way.