Mondo Rick-o

Christmas 2009 and My Blogging Situation

2009-12-07T21:58:00.000-08:00

Work has been insane. Not horrible insane, exciting insane, but also busy insane, and because of that I haven't blogged in a while. But here are some great Christmas photos, our tree for 2010 with a ton of ornaments Steve has created. I know it's a highlight for fans of Disney and the blog, so here you go...

On an unrelated note, people have asked me about the blog, wondering when the next post is coming and if I'll be keeping up the blog more regularly in 2010.
The answer is, no. I just can't do it. Since starting this job, I've been writing and editing every single day including weekends, and that's gotten even busier since we laid off seven people from the company. And every day I've been feeling guilty for not blogging, but the truth is-- I have been. I've been writing for Unzipped.net or editing the things my writers have been producing, and as such there just hasn't been enough time or energy in the solar system to produce my own material. And I'm okay with that. At past jobs (which I've hated) I've been frustrated because I wanted to write things I loved and couldn't, but I like the work that I'm doing at Unzipped. The new issue is pretty amazing, and even though some readers are hating the fact that I'm changing the look and feel of the publication, I'm proud of the work I'm doing; it's a vision I think that's both entertaining and profitable, and if you add that with the video content I'm writing/editing/producing, that's a lot of creativity. I can't produce more at this time. I'm married, I have a life, and I want to spend my free time with Steve-- not blogging.

So I'm taking a break with Mondo Rick-o.

I'm on Facebook, and anyone who wants to follow our adventures can do so there. If you want to email me, hit me up at andreoli1@aol.com.

This isn't the end, it's just a "To Be Continued..." until the next chapter. And as I say, our updates will always be happening on Unzipped-- like more of these ornaments are in my albums. So enjoy. It's the same evolving adventure, just in a new format.

Rick & Steve's Trapeze Show

2009-11-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

Sunday night Steve and I were in a trapeze show together at Cirque School LA. It was Steve's first student showcase-- his first time performing a whole routine for people other than students-- and he did amazingly well. We says he was shaking the whole time, but having been on the ground almost underneath him, I can definitely say that it didn't show.

I was playing a boy scout character, and the props on the left were the things I played with throughout the show when I wasn't clearing pads or boosting girls up onto the trapeze bar. I sort of go through this whole transformation from childish boyscout to punky leather guy at the end. No shots of that at the moment, and no video, but hopefully soon.
Here Steve and I are backstage. We should be getting some more professional photos soon. He looks good as a hunky industrial worker.
Here Steve is in iron cross. Photos are a bit iffy because we couldn't have flash photography going off or else it might mess with a performer.
Here I am in an ankle hang while ripping off my shirt... that wouldn't rip. Oh well. It cam off eventually... That's showbiz.

We're off to see family tomorrow for the holiday but I'm hoping to have some video up soon.

Breaking News on Unzipped.net!

2009-11-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

Steve and I are trapezing this weekend in Steve's first show, and it's going to be amazing. We'll post photos (and maybe some video) next week. But in the meantime, we just broke a major story on Unzipped.net.

Levi Johnston working alongside—and pleasuring—homosexuals!

It's good for a laugh. Check out the story here.

Trapeze Showcase - November 2009

2009-11-18T22:01:00.001-08:00

Steve is super cute.

Here he is resting before beginning a run-through of his performance on the trapeze. This was a rehearsal for this coming Sunday's show and he's pretty amazing. (Contrary to what my ego desires, I'm not posting photos of myself because I don't want to give anything away about what I'm doing this weekend.)

So here are two pics that explain why Steve has been described as "masculine" and "seductive" while up on the bar.

It's a good thing, because Steve struggles with seeing himself as being both masculine and sexy. And thin. He thinks he's fat. It's silly, but after 8 years I've made peace with his insanity (just as he has with mine)

Anyway...

It's true, he is masculine and seductive while in the air. At least in my book.

Hopefully we'll have some video next week.

Weekend Work Dinner

2009-11-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

Amidst prepping for next weekend's trapeze showcase, Steve had to tag along with me to a work dinner. It was for the Free Speech Coalition, and two of the main honorees were getting out of their cars just as we arrived: Larry Flynt and Ron Jeremy.

Yeah, no kidding.

It was a long night, but at least I got this picture with Ron and our magazine's legal guy, Adam. He's the one on the left (in case you didn't know that Ron Jeremy was the dude in the center).

Steve's New Disney Stuff

2009-11-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

As a follow-up to Monday's post about Steve attending the Princess and the Frog cast & crew screening, here are some of Steve's collectibles that you can buy at The Disney Store. And if there's a link you can buy them at DisneyStore.com, but keep in mind they're less expensive in the stores right now.
Here's his two piece Princess and the Frog snowglobe.
Here's the super cute jewelry box that Steve loves. I love it, too, but the best was the day it came into his office and he called me so excited. The words out of his mouth? "Honey! We're going to have a jewelry box on our dresser!" However, I must note that he has not actually brought one home yet. But when we do, just you wait, on top of that Ikea dresser. That's a promise.
I know I've been promising to show you some of his Christmas ornaments, so here is his Tiana Christmas ornament. Since we have two sets of the other Princesses with skirt dresses, we'll... well... um... I don't know what that means other than this ornament will go up on the tree with all the other Disney ornaments.
And these are the bookends. Quite girly, but yet cute. And these were the words out of my mouth the other day: "So, honey, are we putting the Nightmare Before Christmas bookends away and replacing them with these? Because these are pretty cute."

So you know what that means? Yes, we do have the gayest house ever.

"Princess and the Frog" Cast & Crew Screening

2009-11-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

Steve got to attend the cast and crew screening for Disney's latest animated feature, The Princess and the Frog. We're all very excited because it's a return to a traditionally animated format, and since those are Steve's roots we want the film to do well. Plus, he made some awesome sculpted items for the film, which I'll probably show off later this week. But for now, let's focus on the party.
There were performers.
There was confetti helping the performers.

There were also celebrities, which is pretty awesome. I mean, they call these things "cast and crew" screenings but the cast seldom shows up. They come to the premiere. But at last night's party Steve got to snap some pics of the cast.
Here's Debbie with Bruno Campos who plays Prince Naveen.
And here's the big moment of the night. Disney bigwig John Lasseter, Michael-Leon Wooley who voiced Louis the alligator, and Princess Tiana herself, Anika Noni Rose. She was delightful, letting everyone approach, introduce themselves, and take photos. Steve also loved the movie. He'd seen earlier versions, obviously, but said the final release was even better.

I stayed home and filed comic books, read comic books and drank beer. It was a pretty great night for both of us.

Lazy Halloween Post

2009-11-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

I know I posted these pics on The Facebook, but between writing for work, editing for work, blogging for work, rehearsing for our upcoming trapeze showcase, and keeping up on The Facebook it seems like there is even less time than ever to write on the blog. So I'm re-running pictures in the assumption that not all of you are on The Facebook with me.
Steve and I wore flight suits because they're sexy. We put some Battlestar Galactica references on them because we could. No one got them, I don't think, but many people thought we were cute. Which is something...
We ran into Jeff, Steve's brother, at some point in the night.
We also hung out with Rodney Alexander Griffis. Good times.

We also saw the girls from Jersey, and one of them definitely couldn't keep her hands off Steve.

We didn't take many other pictures. Our plan was to take a couple while we were sober and then give up. As you can see, sobriety left early.

The NEW Unzipped Cover Revealed

2009-10-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

So here's the main magazine I'm working on. My first two months there involved a lot of scrambling, closing websites, figuring out how to make things run as our budgets got cut, etc. So the holiday issue is really our first issue that launches the new look and feel for the mag, including new interior design, centerfolds, etc.The nude guy is Chris Rockway, the boys are the Jarics (porn star power couple) and the drag queen is Shannel from RuPaul's Drag Race. And as you can see from the cover, we have some fun stuff going on.

I mean, really... Pornaments and Mazel Tov Cocktails?

Check out the subscription deal here.

Steve and I Heard the New Lady Gaga Album

2009-10-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

Yep, Steve and I heard the album. And you can read about it on the Unzipped.net blog.

Si Se Puede! We're on Telemundo

2009-10-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

As you may recall, Steve and I were on Telemundo a week ago for a special Spanish language news report about the circus school. We saw the broadcast but then Steve found a copy of it online.

It's very exciting. You get to see a bit of me doing muscle work and then some partner work, and there's a great zoom shot from Steve to me. But you get some really great footage of Steve doing a "stingray" and various other moves.

I have absolutely no idea what they're saying. Our cleaning lady saw it and said it looked fun. And our friend Mary who reads this blog will understand. In fact, I'm betting her mom saw it. So Mary, when you watch the video, let us know if they make us look silly.

Crzay Friday Was a Big Success

2009-10-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Crazy Friday was loaded with meetings and all that kind of last-minute work crap that prevents you from leaving the office early. However, as I started stressing about not leaving on time, I had an inspirational thought: Our company was having a party that evening so I should let everyone go early in order to give them time to chill out and get ready (and thus give myself time to get out and to the circus school).

So I did, and they did, and then I did, which got me to the school in time to help set up, do a little rehearsing on a new trapeze, get in costume (look at the cool "dirt" makeup Steve put on me) and perform without too much anxiety.

The fundraiser was for a documentary. It's about an orphanage in Africa that keeps kids safe and in contact with their mothers when the husbands decide the women cheated on them and should go to jail (I'm paraphrasing here, but you get the idea).

As a side note, however, there was a mix up and my music had been deleted before the performance. So Aloysia (my trainer/producer) and the DJ quickly found something that fit my style and I faked it. But it went REALLY well.
Totally not a set up photo. I was sweating and focusing and trying not to rub the makeup off. I can't help it that the muscles are lit so well.
Are you kidding me with this?

It kind of stuns me. I never dreamed I'd be doing circus stuff, much less performing, MUCH MUCH LESS looking good doing it. So this was kind of a triumph. I'm super happy right now.

Steve's Big Book Signing

2009-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Steve was over at Disney yesterday signing copies of the new book, The Art of the Disney Princess. The turnout, as you can see from the picture, was really great.

I'm sad I couldn't be there, but it was more of an event for Disney employees rather than their loved ones. Still, I'm happy he got some pictures taken of his first book signing ever.

Good times.

What Are We Doing This Week?

2009-10-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Steve has a book signing at Disney Consumer Products. He will be signing The Art of the Disney Princess, the book that Steve drew four pages in. Sadly, I can't be there but he will take pictures and we'll post them here.

As a side note, I know we were supposed to have pictures of his Christmas ornaments, but we never seem to find a time when the natural light is bright enough within the house. (That sounded like a great excuse, huh?) The truth is, our days and weekends have been really busy with work so when we do have a great we've been trying to just watch TV and chill out. But I will post them soon or steal the images from Disney.com. Promise.

So the reason why I can't be at Steve's signing tomorrow (besides the fact that it's at a work site and it would be a pain for me to get there)? I'm doing a manscaping photo shoot. Yeah, that's right. Manscaping. It's for the January issue-- you know, new beginnings, healthy living, clean crotch hair, that sort of thing. This job gets funnier every day.

Wednesday I'm on the Frank DeCaro show again (9:15am west coast time, 12:15pm east coast), and Friday there's a fundraiser at the circus school where I'll be performing. Saturday Steve's auditioning for the next student showcase at the school. Needless to say, he's nervous as hell (but I've see his routine and have confidence that he'll be fine).

I don't quite know how we get so over-committed. Please discuss.

Steve's Book Is Out! (and we might be on TV)

2009-10-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Okay people, listen up! You can now buy The Art of the Disney Princess, in which Steve drew four pages.

This is very exciting for a number of reasons: 1) Steve is in a book. 2) He is the ultimate princess artist, so being in a book is very satisfying. 3) His pictures are so cute that you'll wish they were on shirts and vases and pillows and product of all kinds. 4) He will sign our copy if you buy one and send it to us. 5) Christmas gifts for my family just got a heck of a lot easier.

The bigger point is that it's an amazing month because the book, Steve's Princess Christmas ornaments and others are out. And you can buy them both.

Oh, and the trapeze school may be featured on some Telemundo show this Friday, and they want Steve and I to be in the episode. If it happens, I'll post the info as soon as I can because I know all the people who read this blog watch Telemundo for all their Spanish-language entertainment.
Oh, and buy Steve's book.

Kylie Minogue Concert was INSANE

2009-10-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last night Steve and I went to the Kylie Minogue concert at the Hollywood Bowl (or as we like to call it, Gay Pride Hollywood Bowl).

I don't think I've ever had as much fun in my entire life. Seriously. I know it's kind of "apples and oranges" when comparing this to the other concerts we've gone to-- like seeing Fleetwood Mac or Annie Lennox-- but I have never cheered and danced and sung along to the music like Steve and I did last night.

Oh, and we got into the official after party.

This morning, as I dragged my exhausted butt into work, I started downloading photos. There are 241 on the camera. I'm sure not all are amazing, but still... that's a LOT! In fact, it's still downloading as I type. I'm going to check my work email. I'll be back.

Okay, here they are. The first pic up there is from our picnic before we went to the show. This small pic is to show you how close we were to the stage. It's small because it's blurry. That's the problem you face when you debate whether or not to use flash photography.

So to give you some better perspective, I included a photo of the area behind us before the show started. (Don't worry, it filled up.)
Kylie descended onto the stage atop a floating skull. She was, of course, the center of the universe.
She had hunky robotic dancers.
The pic below isn't the best, but we met the dancer later on so I wanted to show him in action.
Did anyone else notice Kylie was in a Kira from Xanadu pant suit?
So in the grand tradition of Steve's and my random life, we met a dancer on Saturday night through mutual friends. When we told him how excited we were to see Kylie he asked if we wanted to go to the after party. Um... yeah. So here we are at Boulevard 3 where it was held.
Random crowd shot.
Random stilt walker.
We met a group of fun straight people and ended up partying with them for a while.
As we were about to leave, Kylie walked in and right past us. Seriously. Petite, beautiful Miss Minogue was about 6 feet from us (surrounded by two giant security guards who could kill).

Unfortunately, by the time I realized what was happening and thought about the fact that I had a camera, she had walked past and up into the VIP area.

So we stayed for another hour trying to see her again but it didn't work out. However, Steve and I did meet one of the hunky dancers. Photo is not great, but at least we met one of the celebs.

36 Hours and Holding...

2009-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Until we see Kylie Minogue at The Hollywood Bowl!

Going with brothers Jeff & John... and every queen in California. Everyone at my office seems to be going. It could be very insane (if we're lucky).

Or... maybe not.

2009-10-01T20:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess that's what I get for posting about the trapeze showcase. Turns out, they need to push it to November. I actually waited a while until things looked definite before saying anything, but then people's show schedules changed so we needed to delay the performance date. I don't know the date yet, but once I do I'll let you know.

As for Steve's Disney ornaments, we have them we just haven't had time to shoot them for the blog. This weekend when we have a bit more natural light, we'll shoot them and put them up on the blog.

More to come...

Trapeze Showcase - October 2009

2009-09-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

We have a trapeze showcase in October. The last one was actually July of last year, if you can believe it, and it's kind of neat to look back and see the progress I've made since then.

I remember being so stressed, so anxious about looking like an idiot, missing my music cues, or just messing up. Everyone turned out to be feeling like that. Eventually one of our group gave all of us a wake up call. He reminded us that we're not in Cirque du Soleil so why should we have been feeling like we needed to have these A-list performances? After that, we ended up having fun, and that helped make the second evening go so much better (because the first night didn't go so well as a result of my being anxious). So now we have fun when we perform.

That's what I'm looking forward to next month. It's nice being so confident and not caring as much, and just having fun.

The big news? Steve might actually get up and do short performance during the night. He's new to the trapeze thing and hates any kind of public speaking (much less a performance involving tights) but the owners of the school are working him. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, and there won't be any Kylie Minogue music this year (though we are seeing her this Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl-- praise God). I'm going to perform to Sonny J's "Can't Stop Movin'." I'm thinking of an old fashioned Electric Company or Sesame Street style costume. But how will I show my arms? I'll figure it out, I'm sure...

Steve's Latest Disney Stuff

2009-09-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

We shot over to The Disney Store yesterday because we thought they would have their new Christmas ornament display set up, and as you know Steve's the primary ornament designer. He doesn't get free samples of his work so we need to make sure we pick them up, and since every year his ornaments sell out we couldn't risk missing any of them.

Unfortunately, while the display was supposed to be set up yesterday the instructions never said what time. Thus, no Christmas ornaments. We assume they were building the display that night.

But it wasn't a total bust because, as you can see from this horrible photo, we picked up a bunch of Steve's snowglobes and frames. Here are some better images taken by professionals and put on The Disney Store website.

(For some reason their website doesn't have the larger Snow White globe. But they do have the "Be Our Guest Belle" snowglobe from Beauty and the Beast)
This is the mini Tinker Bell snowglobe. I can't get over the detail on something this small.
Same goes for the mini Cinderella globe.
I also love when he can do the less popular Princesses, like in this mini Jasmine globe.
There were also some really cool frames. We limited ourselves-- this is going to be an expensive month because so much of his product is coming out-- but we did pick up this Ariel frame that comes with a snowglobe on it.
Finally, there was the Sleeping Beauty frame with snowglobe. He did create all of the snowglobe frames you'll see on the site, but these were the only ones we picked up this week.
Of course, Steve is going to the store today to (hopefully) get the ornaments, so God only knows what stuff we'll have in the house tonight... Is it tacky to put up your tree before Halloween?

Palm Springs Fashion... Is INSANE

2009-09-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Palm Springs is the kind of town where gays visit from all over the country. A lot of them dress in clothing that they see in adult catalogs, porn movies, or hustler websites, so you sometimes see the greatest parings. Fishnet shirts with leather pairings, football jock shorts with lace shirts, or zippered sleeveless tops with acid-washed jeans.

On one hand, I love it. I think everyone should have the right to go out wearing whatever the heck they want because it makes them feel sexy. EVERYONE should have the right to feel sexy. So on that level I have huge respect for guys who commit to their look and don't apologize for it.

And yet... sometimes... you just can't help making observations.

Over the weekend Steve and I worked out at the Gold's Gym in Palm Springs. The biggest fashion trend?

Men in the shortest shorts we'd ever seen in our lives-- so short, in fact, that you knew everyone's religion. Or knew when they were winking at you. (Think on it... Right? I know. Ewwww.)

There was one guy in particular, who was actually handsome, and was probably known for his unstoppable butt and legs 10 years ago. But dammit if he hadn't spent those ten years over-working them so that they were the biggest parts of his body, looking all the bigger because his shorts were so small that they kept riding up his muffin.

Every time he did hamstring curls, lunges, or squats (which is all he did) he would stand up and spend the next two minutes pulling them from the muff. He'd then lumber to the next station, seemingly wounded from all the work on his legs.

We wanted to tell him to stop, that he was cute enough and his legs would be killer if he just let them be toned at their natural size. But of course we didn't.

Instead, Steve gave him a name. Legs McMuffin.

And there, my friends, is yet another reason why I love Steve.

The Wedding Anniversary Trip

2009-09-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Daisy Duke is in our hotel room.

It's true. Steve and I are staying at The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. We'd stayed at The Ace in Portland, Oregon, over my birthday a couple years ago and wanted to check out the Palm Springs version, so here we are. It's simply designed, with clean lines and no frills and art like this-- a picture of Daisy Duke from a magazine clipped out and hung from the slats on the wall. It's absolutely perfect.

When we arrived a bottle of champagne was waiting for us because it was our anniversary. Such a nice, simple touch, and so much fun. The restaurant and bar at The Ace are both super cool-- a redesigned Denny's with great comfort food. The pool is a crazy place to be if you're in town visiting because everyone seems to come here like it was a Vegas resort. There was a second pool that we could have lounged by as well, and it's much quieter but there's no bar or waiter service there. Then there's the spa where we spent our Sunday.

Here we are at night, exploring the hotel and the many cool public spaces where you can hang out.

But now it's Monday morning. We need to grab breakfast and head back to town. More about the fun weekend in the next week.

Crafty Friday!

2009-09-18T09:03:00.001-07:00

This weekend Steve and I are leaving town on our quickie wedding anniversary trip, but not before doing a quick craft project for the magazine's holiday issue. What craft could we possibly want to do in a magazine with clever articles and male nudity?

Pornaments.

Yes, that's right, Christmas Pornaments. They're a great way to recycle your old VHS boxes, calendars and magazines you no longer want around the house. So I've researched four fun ideas, our friends Saydi and Eric are coming over for dinner and margaritas, and the group of us are going to make pornaments tonight.

You know you're jealous.

One Year This Weekend

2009-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

September 20th last year, Steve and I had our (legal) gay wedding. We've been together 8 years, but since homos can't marry in California anymore this year seems even more significant.
So this weekend, even amidst Steve and I being insanely busy at work, we're headed to Palm Springs for a quick holiday. I'm freaking out because we're coming up on a deadline at the magazine but this is both a necessary break and important. Things like this really do need to be celebrated.

I'll try to post photos over the weekend. Later.

Steve's a Star at D23

2009-09-13T18:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend was theD23 convention at the Anaheim Convention Center. D23 is the Disney organized convention where each area of the company shows what's happening in the next year. There were also dealers selling current and vintage Disney products, and licensees showing off products they're creating for the new year.

Needless to say, The Disney Store was there with a booth and a panel. The panel itself talked about the history of the company, new store designs, and the mission of the company. The only products they really showed were from the "role play" department. That's the costume department, but since it's not all Halloween focused they call it "role play." And the upside to this was an adorable fashion show featuring a bunch of cute kids.
I especially loved angry Tinkerbell on the far right-- where she's trying to steal the High School Musical girl's pom pom. Man, she was NOT going to do what they wanted her to do, and it made for a hilarious part of the show. Basic rule of thumb: NEVER tell Tinkerbell what to do.

Steve's stuff was on display at The Disney Store exhibit.
Here's the Snow White products. Steve created all snowglobes, frames, jewelry boxes-- any sculpted item.
Steve also created stuff from Princess and the Frog. Everyone is super happy with his work because it looks like it stepped directly out of a moment from the movie. Above is the jewelry box with Tiana at her dresser getting ready to kiss the frog.
And these are his bookends, one side with the fabulous Charlotte getting ready to go to a party, and the other side with Tiana wishing upon the wishing star. Between the two is his Tiana Christmas ornament.

Speaking of Christmas ornaments, I kind of wanted a tree display at the booth with all the ornaments on them. Unfortunately, there wasn't one so you guys will just have to wait until he starts bringing them home. (And I've seen them people, they're pretty frickin' cool.)

But here's the big news. Did you know Steve was going to be in a book?

The Art of the Disney Princess is a collection of work by artists from all over the company. Steve submitted to it a while ago, using some designs he'd created for product but that never got used.

The concept was to create a design that hearkened back to classic Golden Books, images that any parent who grew up in our age group would immediately recognize and snatch up for their kids. The work is also really sophisticated and yet incredibly simple, which is part of why it's so wonderful to me. Yes, I'm biased, but for a long time we've had these pictures on our refrigerator and I'm thrilled that others in the company not only saw their value but put four of them in the book for the public to enjoy.
Here he is with the Cinderella and Snow White page.
And here with a Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty page.
And there, my friends, is one of the credits. The book comes out in October (though you can pre-order it now) and I couldn't be prouder.

The Bears Love Kevin Gillespie from Top Chef

2009-09-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

I avoided most of America's Next Top Midget last night (you know, the season of small models), mostly because I'm so burned out on all of the screaming and non-modelly contests the girls have to perform. Steve still watches so I caught the end, but not before seeing the latest episode of Top Chef.

Have you all been watching Kevin Gillespie? Not to make stereotypes, but between his look and his voice we were sure this guy was a gay bear. Then in week two he talked about his wife. WHAT? I know bears and if I had to make a money bet I'd say this dude was gayer than me.

Steve and I are somewhat suspicious about his supposed straightness. There was a moment in the wedding episode when lesbian Ashley Merriman made a reference to being one of three confirmed gays. (Or something like that; her words implied there were closeted or suspected gay people in the cast.) Then in tonight's episode, Kevin walked into the back room after judging and someone (I think the gay guy, Ash Fulk, but I could be wrong) said, "There she is."

For those of you without an edugaytion, gay people call one another "girl" and "she" and stuff like that. Plus, Steve and I think he's a brilliant chef whose food we'd love, so we want him for our team. All the cool people are gay, after all.

This motivated me to do an informal survey of gay bear friends. They think he's gay too. And if not, they hope he's gay because they think he's super hunky. And, well, he can cook. Which bears are kind of into.

So Kevin, if you're willing to embrace your other calling, there are dudes waiting.

I Was On CNN Last Week

2009-09-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, this job just keeps getting stranger and stranger.

As you may recall, a couple weeks ago Levi Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin's grandchild, said he would pose nude if the money was right. So we made him an offer. We never heard anything back from his camp but we had lots of media outlets calling us about it.

Then last week the Vanity Fair article with video came out about Levi's involvement with the Palins and the nude topic came up again, so I got a call from a producer on CNN's The Situation Room asking me to talk about Levi as a gay icon.

Jeanne Moos and I had a great conversation (she's really hysterical) about the whole thing, including Levi's current offer to pose for Playgirl-- which, if you didn't know, isn't publishing any longer. (Jeanne didn't know that. I filled her in.) If the deal goes through he's probably going to pose in his undies. We won't go for that, FYI. If you want the cover, you gotta pose nude to get in our mag.

So here's the video in case you're interested. My voice is on toward the end for about 10 seconds. But it was crazy the amount of people who saw it, and how it brought our original offer letter back into the media spotlight. We even heard from a friend in Mumbai that we were on Yahoo India's home page (the link has since been removed but I did see it for a second). Enjoy.

You know you're with porn stars

2009-09-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

I'm with The Jarics driving to a photo shoot. We are in West Hollywood. They just got invited to an opening party. I got ignored. Funny.

The Fires This Time Around

2009-08-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

The local fires are all in the news and since Steve and I live in slight fire territory we've been keeping an eye out. Please don't panic-- unless you hear a fire is by Dodger Stadium we're in pretty good shape.

But yesterday after trapeze class we were driving home and saw this crazy sight.
The winds we normally face during fire season are (thankfully) not blowing so the smoke plume is rising straight into the air like a bomb went off.
That's the Griffith Observatory, right at the top of the hillside. The fire is actually some distance from there, but it's still a little insane to see.

This morning the sunrise was orange and the air smelled heavy with smoke. We don't have ash on our cars, though the intense heat of the day makes it feel like we're on the edge of bursting into flames. But we're the lucky ones because we are so far from the danger.

Send out some good thoughts for the familiar who live closer to the blaze; they're the ones needing all the help they can get right now.

Don't Gasp During Trapeze Tricks

2009-08-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

I was on the silks in class working on a fairly new move for me. You split the fabric, hang upside down, and crochet a piece around each leg. Then you cross the fabric behind your back, bring the fabric straps to the front of your body and bend your knees. You then reach up, grab the fabric above your knees and pull yourself up and through that hole. Now sitting right side up, you cross the fabric in front of your chest and bring your knees over your head.

Confusing to describe, I know. But the point is that after you wrap yourself up in this big old knot, you straighten your legs and drop about 4 feet down and stop when the backs of your knees rehook on the fabric.

So I did the wrap, did the drop... and immediately felt a rush of hair hit my junk. And by junk I mean penis and testies and legs. So I gasped because I'm positive in that 1/4 second I dropped, that I've somehow ripped my tights off and my business is hanging out and exposed to the entire gym.

Immediately the trainer rushes over, thinking in my drop that I've hurt myself. But then he sees me staring up at my crotch, wide-eyed.

Turns out that the fabric did catch the top of my tights and they poofed out, but they didn't yank off. And the only person who can see my junk is me, because I'm looking up at how the top of my tights is poofed out and my jewels are there staring back at me.

Needless to say, I was lectured by a stressed coach about not freaking out over silly things. As he said, "Rick, it's not like we all haven't seen that kind of thing before anyway. So don't scream like that."

So don't gasp unless there's a real injury. Got it? Good.

Last Night's Party & My New Phone

2009-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

"Wassup TigerHEAT?! How you all doin' toNIGHT?!"

That is the crap I yelled from the stage last night at Tigerheat, the 18 and over dance club in Hollywood, that is a super popular Thursday night event where I felt extremely old. It was the Freshmen of the Year party and I was announcing the winner (Zack Randall, pictured here), and for some reason when I get up on a stage in front of a crowd I become that big announcer guy who kind of sounds like a frat guy but gets the audience cheering and laughing anyway.

I don't actually remember much, except that I swore a lot about how f-ing hot the audience was, how f-ing awesome the magazine was, and how f-ing sexy our Freshmen of the Year is. I swear like that when I get nervous. I also made some joke about our runners up having gay porn sounding names, like Kirk Cummings. Yeah. Do the math.

Anyway, I'm told I was entertaining. And I made it fast because I know what it's like to be on the dance floor and have your good time interrupted by some queen with a microphone. So it was fast and hot.

Yay me! If you want to see photos of porn stars who attended, check out Unzipped.net.

However, coming home last night without Steve (at 1am, which is WAY past my bedtime and left me feeling exhausted the entire day) and sleeping alone was quite sad. The house is lonely without him. Everything in our normally cheery house just feels slow, sluggish, and missing part of its life. I literally patted the wall this morning and said, "He'll be back Sunday."

IN OTHER NEWS...
I bought an i-Phone tonight. I've needed a new phone for over a year but between the wedding, paying off Steve's car, trips and various other excuses I've always put it off. But now it keeps shutting off mid-conversation, saying "Insert SIM" when the SIM card is in there, I have to use the speaker phone because I don't have a headset anymore and I can't hear anything out of the phone itself, and it just annoys me on every level.

Like today, I couldn't have a whole conversation with Steve today because we'd get 30-second spurts before it would shut off. And besides, this job requires it (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

So I ordered it a minute ago and it should come next week. I'm very excited.

Now it's time to make dinner, call Anna Marie who left a note that I could call her if I got lonely, and make dinner. I'm actually really excited about chatting and then going to bed early. It could be a restful night after all.

I'm on TV, on the Radio, and Missing Steve

2009-08-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I got a call from my publisher. He was watching The Insider on CBS and suddenly heard one of our magazines being mentioned. And there, on the screen, is my name and my quote offering Levi Johnston to pose nude in our magazine.

Watch the clip on Unzipped.net.

As for being on the radio, some of you know that I'm friends with Doria Biddle (producer) and Frank DeCaro (host) of The Frank DeCaro show on Sirius Out Q. Well, now that I'm in this fancy position I have more opportunities to go on the air and talk about the fun stuff we're doing at the magazines and websites.

Tomorrow, Thursday August 20th, I'll be on at approx. 10:15am WC/ 1:15pm EC (probably a bit later) with Freshman Magazine's 2009 Freshmen of the Year, Zack Randall. We'll be talking about the Freshmen of the Year party we're hosting tomorrow night at Tiger Heat in Hollywood and all the things (and people) Zack is doing right now. Doria and I both believe we will just be sitting there smiling at one another in silence since no one (including Frank) really cares about an editor, they care about the young porn star. So Frank and Zack can chat it up while Doria and I look longingly into each others eyes.

Want to listen? You can get a free trial of Sirius Radio on your computer.

On a sad note...
This was originally supposed to be a fun post, but Steve's grandmother passed away today. He's flying out to Michigan tomorrow morning with his brother to attend the funeral. As such, he's missing all the stuff going on here in LA this weekend, and I'm attending events and trying to be chipper without him and his support.

Keep him, his mother and family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend. Thanks.

Crazy Busy Saturday part 2

2009-08-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

Yes, that is a zombie. A zombie Trekkie to be exact.

After Ryan's birthday, and then a farewell party for a former coworker, Steve and I went to Industry at Club 11 in Los Angeles. This is the big night when people in the porn industry (hence the name) come out to go go dance and mingle. I was there for my job to interview porn stars for the website.

As we waited for the camera crew to show up (and by "crew" I mean Sean, the one guy who shoots everything for the site), a zombie parade went past. People dressed in various costumes like firemen, Mario Bros., Marilyn Monroe, etc. One person heard it had something to do with a school raising money because they couldn't buy books and supplies, but we never saw anyone collecting money or actually handing out info on it, so we think that was a lie.

A zombie lie, no less.

But here, have a look at the strangeness. You have zombies in the front, go go dancing porn stars in the background.
Porn star butt in the front, zombies in the back.
Here I am interviewing the always adorable Cameron Marshall who was dancing on a box.
And here I am interviewing the very funny Wolf Hudson.
The videos from tonight will be posted in the coming weeks.
But here's a cute pic of friends Matt and Shamaa who tagged along to this last part of the evening.

Oh, and I was kind of on the CBS entertainment show "The Insider" last night. We're trying to get the video now. Once we get it, I'll post it here.

Busiest Day EVER

2009-08-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

There are times when I wonder why Steve stays with me. This happen when my packed schedule suddenly becomes his packed schedule, and it leaves the two of us exhausted from endless running around.

Saturday was one of those days. It started with a trapeze class (okay, Steve wanted to hit that so we share blame there). But then we had a 1 year old birthday party with our friend Amy (above, tearing up the birthday cake) for our friends Kurt and Robert's baby boy Ryan. Steve wanted to go to this as well, but afterward we had a farewell party for a former coworker of mine, then I had to interview more porn stars at Industry night in West Hollywood, and then we'd need dinner.

Busy much? I'm so exhausted right now (and I got 8+ hours of sleep) that I could barely type all that.

Robert and Kurt recently got baby Ryan and he's a dream of a child, but the party was filled with kids and family and noise and if you've ever been to one of these kinds of things you know just how exhausting being around that many children can be.

I think Steve's already starting to fall asleep in this pic of him with Robert, our friend Andy, and Amy. However, it was a great time with lots of fun. Here are the highlights.
Ryan tries figuring out how to blow out his first candle, rather than grabbing it with his hand (which I think was the preferred method).
He's very excited with gifts.
My favorite pic of the bunch.

I also had a lot of time playing with baby Hudson-- who was fascinated by all the cartoon noises I could make-- but we didn't think to snap pics of this. We had to dash, after all.

And for the record, Amy was initially attending the porn party with us, but after Ryan's party she was too exhausted to do anything, either. But Steve and I made it. More on that tomorrow.

Want to See Levi's Johnson?

2009-08-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my job is crazy. I know. But here's what happened today, Friday.

Unzipped Media Offers to Unzip Levi Johnston

Top-selling nude men’s magazine offers the father of
Sarah Palin’s grandson an opportunity to pose nude.

August 14, 2009 (LOS ANGELES) -- Unzipped Media, publishers of the world’s top-selling erotic men’s magazines Men, Freshmen, and Unzipped, as well as the highly trafficked website Unzipped.net, is extending an official invitation to Levi Johnston, father of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's grandson, for a cover story and a full nude photo layout in the pages of Unzipped magazine.

“We’re thrilled by the opportunity of having Levi Johnston pose for Unzipped magazine,” says Rick Andreoli, Executive Editor for Unzipped Media. “The gay community's outpouring of support and adoration for Levi Johnston has been loud and clear since he burst onto the political scene last fall. Now having learned of his desire to bare all for his fans and admirers, we’ve sent an official offer letter to his manager, Tank Jones, and eagerly await their response.”

The revelation of Johnston having a strong gay following is no surprise to those who have seen his rugged everyman physique or been following popular culture. Gay blogger Andy Towle referred to him as a gay icon, while the popular website Gawker featured an entire article on Johnston’s gay fan base. However, when Johnston revealed on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live that he would pose nude if the money were right, the executives at Unzipped jumped.

“As the top-selling nude men’s magazine, Levi will receive a level of quality in his shoot that can’t be found anywhere else,” Andreoli says. “Likewise, as evidenced by our May 2009 cover story featuring a nude Beau Breedlove discussing his affair with Portland, Oregon mayor Sam Adams, we also offer models a unique opportunity to share their side of the story. This could clearly be a win-win for all involved.”

About Unzipped Media

Founded in 1984 and based in Los Angeles, Unzipped Media is an established institution in adult entertainment. Formerly known as Specialty Publications, Unzipped Media consists of the most recognized multi-platform brands in the gay adult industry, including Men, Freshmen, and Unzipped. These titles boast the highest quality content in gay erotic media. Offering a wide reach via subscription-based circulation and newsstand sales, the Unzipped Media brands can also be found on the shelves of retailers including Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, and Borders bookstores.

For more information about Unzipped Media, please visit www.unzippedmedia.com.

# # #

More Randy Blue Porn Interviews

2009-08-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah. Another one. This is with Reese Rideout, who is shirtless and pretty and pretty hysterical. This time there's no pubes so you can watch it at work, but with the volume down or headphones because there's some swearing involved.

BTW, ladies, he's supposed to be gay-for-pay. Which means he self-identifies as straight. I think. I can't really keep track of these guys and their lives.

Family, I don't know if you'll care to watch it. There's nothing offensive and I try to be funny, but we do talk about gay sex, there is some swearing and some blurred images. So it's up to you.

My First Porn Appearance

2009-08-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal: my new job has a certain element of adult content in it. Not all of the magazines and websites, but some of them.

Part of the job also involves creating original video content for Unzipped.net. Right now Unzipped.net is in a blog format but in the coming weeks we're launching a new version that will contain both the blog as well as news and feature articles and other cool stuff.

So last week I attended a Randy Blue event. Randy Blue (whom Steve and I knew before he was "Randy Blue") is a porn director/producer, and I had to interview Randy and various performers. This is the first edited version of me with Xander Scott.

If you're in the family-- you don't need to watch this. Trust me on that...

If you're watching at work, wear headphones. If people can see your computer screen, there's a pube moment. Look, I'm just warning you. But it's kind of funny and you can fill in the thought bubbles running through my head as you watch.

Steve's Post-Birthday Cocktails, Baby Fun, & Vodka

2009-08-04T21:51:00.001-07:00

This past weekend also saw a fun day of us having drinks with friends to celebrate Steve's birthday.

We started at The Abbey in West Hollywood because we knew we'd have a lot of Steve's straight friends from work joining us. Here we are with Jon, Larry, Mike, Steve and Chris. I'd say how we know each of them, but it's a long story and right now I'm too tired. But they're all lovely people-- trust me.

Below is a pic of more people in the mix. Steve and I, Jon behind us, Chris from the Stephanie Miller show, Dave (big time music publicist) peeking out in the back, the always funny BD in front, and adorable Gizicki in back who is now dating someone. Sorry boys, you missed you chance.
At one point, however, I was pulled from the party because I found out friends Kurt and Robert were in the park with their new baby, Ryan. He is the most adorable little pudgy thing and I love him to pieces (I love him... We ALL love him!). He was a bit cranky today-- hungry, ya see-- but he was kind enough to pose with me.
And with funny lady Amy Witry. Try as we might, he refused to look at the camera.

He did get into this photo, though his sad face only increased. Here is Daddy Robert, Amy, Daddy Kurt, and friend Andy
Here is Amy and famous music publicist Dave, doing their sexy eyes for the camera.
And here I am with Nicole and Letti and a bottle of vodka.

Prior to Proposition 8 being passed, I quickly married the two lovely ladies in a civil ceremony. Life moved on and we never got to see one another until tonight, when Amy told them we would be out.

So as a thank you gift, the girls bought me this lovely bottle of Grey Goose vodka as a thank you gift.

Um, just to let everyone know, that is the BEST GIFT EVER if you have a preacher who likes a little vodka. It's both thoughtful, AND useful. And it was the biggest bottle I've ever had in my entire life.

Good times.

Symphony and Circus Saturday

2009-08-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Steve and I took off for San Diego for my mom and sister's birthdays. Our friend and aerial coach, Aloysia, was performing in the San Diego Symphony's Summer Pops series. This is where you sit next to the water, out under the stars, and watch the symphony play. But there's this special night called Cirque de la Symphonie and Aloysia (pictured here) twirls around on her hoop above the orchestra.

It was an amazing show, especially because we've never seen Aloysia do a full aerial performance. Plus, the other performers were equally skilled in their own art forms (silks, contortion, partner balancing, clowning, etc.) and we got to meet them all afterword.
Here Steve is with my niece, Haylee. He's holding a Disney book my mom bought him for his birthday.
Here we both are with Haylee, who is proudly showing off her missing 5 teeth.

We came back to LA on Sunday morning and spent the afternoon celebrating Steve's birthday with friends. More of those pics tomorrow.

Back from Vallarta

2009-07-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Steve's 35th birthday was a huge success (at least I think so).

Our stay at Casa Cupala was wonderful, our suite beautiful, and the views sensational. I have most of the photos posted on Facebook, but here are the highlights.

The staff at Casa Cupala was amazing. They greeted us, gave a lovely intro to the city, told us which club to hit on which night, and also set up some really nice surprises. For example, there was a fun cocktail party on Friday night where they bought Steve a lovely tres leches birthday cake. Then on Saturday, when I took him for a birthday dinner at Cafe des Artistes, they told the staff about his birthday and they had a sweet little dessert plate (pictured here).

Plus, the waiters did this crazy thing where they did this whistle and clap thing that sounded like fireworks. I wish I could imitate it. Unfortunately, I can't.

But I can post some highlights from the trip!

(P.S. Contrary to Steve's expression, which is just a reflection of being sung to in the middle of a restaurant, he loved the evening.)
Our living room.
The bedroom.
The pool on our balcony (no joke).
Our balcony at sunset.
Steve and I entering the "Romantic Zone" (yep, that's what they call this part of the beach/town) on our way to the Gay Beach (yep, that's what they call the gay beach) for fruity blended cocktails and some sun. I love that when you're in LA you'd never think of ordering a blended fruity cocktail but in a place like Puerto Vallarta (or Hawaii or Las Vegas) your plane will land and you'll say things like, "Get me a daquerie and two pina coladas -- instantly!"

Strange. Must be the tropical air. Or something.
And here we are with friends (L-R) Matt and Rick. We've been friends for a long time and travel really well together, so that made for easy days and fun nights.

We got back to LA Sunday night and Mexicana Airlines lost Steve's luggage. But then at 2am it showed up on our doorstep so I won't go off. Besides, it was time to start the week and get back into work, and while I was exhausted on Monday, we at least had some great memories to get us through the day.

Off to Puerto Vallarta

2009-07-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

It's Steve's 35th birthday on Saturday, so we're leaving in a couple minutes to Puerto Vallarta, traveling with friends Matt and Rick. We haven't traveled with them since the Mondo Homo book tour, and that was in 2005. It's going to be super fun.

Hope to post some on the trip. Later.

It's Time to Explain the Bruises

2009-07-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

Every time I start working with new people, there comes that day when I have to explain why my arms and (if they can see them) the backs of my legs are bruised. It's always after a really difficult trapeze class. That class was last night. Here is today's story.

Last night I did a series of back straddles then fell into the trapeze ropes in "iron cross," which means my whole body weight slams my arms into the ropes. Whatever. It's not painful. Much.

So this morning I'm in the office kitchen getting my morning coffee. I reach up to get a new bag for brewing, when someone says, "Oh my God, your arms!"

I knew about the bruises because I'd seen them at the gym this morning. No photos, but there are huge black and blue welts on the bottom of my bicep, and some red scrapes on my forearms from another move. It does look a little severe. But instead of immediately explaining, I say to this person, "Beefy, huh? I work out a lot."

This gets random laughs from some of the office people who, because this is a gay company, assume I'm into dirty kink sex. Not that I'm not, but they don't know. Assumers, they are.

"No, those bruises," the person says, concerned. "What happened?"

And that's when I give my standard answer... in one breath.

"Nothing, why? I just fell, on the stairs, then hit a door, but it was my fault, it was an accident because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid and I deserved it, OKAY?"

I think I'm already setting a great impression.

Baby Fun, Beach Fun & More

2009-07-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

First week of work was so insane that I'm behind on posting. Here we go...

This is Diana, Henning, and their brand-new baby Noelle. The four of us have been friends for a long time, but we waited a couple weeks before visiting them and seeing the new family member. (Having three sisters, I know what a pain it can be to have tons of visitors when you're just trying to handle having a new baby in the house.)

The day was mellow and fun, and it also included us heading over to friends' Kurt & Robert's house-- they just adopted. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera so we don't have cute photos of us with their baby Ryan. We'll rectify that in the coming weeks.

However, we do have this photo of me holding Noelle... someone's been bitten by the baby bug. (Because really, babies are the perfect accessory when you're trying to make your bicep look huge without making it deliberately look huge.)

Then on Sunday we hit our friend Mikel's beach birthday party. Here we all are, sucking it in so that we look thin, young and gorgeous.
This was Steve's and my pre-tan session before heading to Puerto Vallarta in 4 days. I'll try to post more throughout this week. Ideally I'll have my head above water at the new job in 2 weeks and be able to post more frequently.

I'm meeting porn stars this week. I mean, seriously, you all want to see those photos, don't you?

Puerto Vallarta - One Week Away

2009-07-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like starting a new job and then immediately taking a vacation.

A couple months ago Steve and I were discussing his 35th birthday and he did not want to be stuck in LA when it happened. At the same time, he didn't want to be at Comic-Con in San Diego, which happens to be the same weekend. While he loves Comic-Con and we do get to see some friends there, our time with any one group is very limited, and shoving your way through crowdsor waiting in line for a panel you may or may not get into (on your birthday) wasn't that appealing.

So we're heading to Puerto Vallarta, where we can sleep in our suite at Casa Cupula (pictured left), lounge on the beach, drink fruity beverages, go out clubbing and spend time with friends Matt and Rick. We hang with those boys a lot but the four of us haven't traveled together since the Mondo Homo book tour in 2005.

I want to zipline through the jungle. The other Rick wants to parasail. We all want to shop for cheap stuff we can't afford in the US-- like Diesel jeans and other cute clothes. My worry is flying in next Thursday and blowing it out so big on the first night that Friday and Saturday are a bust. Steve's the youngest in our group, and none of us can drink like we did way back.

Of course, I also have to find Steve a birthday gift. I have an idea, but it might take some sneaking... (And no, I'm not giving hints here. He does read the blog, after all.)

One Hour In...

2009-07-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

One hour into my new job and I had to let someone go.

Oy...

Another Tragic Ending...

2009-07-14T06:07:00.000-07:00

Our Tab Energy drinks are now all gone.
We got turned on by this tasty sensation back when Tab Energy first came out, but bad sales of the product forced the Coca-Cola company to cancel it. In a mad scramble, we raced out to purchase all we could find... but that was like one four pack with an expired coupon on the side.

However, salvation appeared when funny lady Amy Witry revealed that her friend had found numerous packs at an Albertsons and bought them all up. We relished her victory but didn't actually get to partake until our wedding, when Amy showed up with two wrapped four packs as a gift (along with a gift card to Macy's-- so no judging please).
(Here Steve is, pouring our last glass.)

We enjoyed that gift very much. Then Amy showed up with one last surprise on my birthday with her very last two cans. Steve and I slowly rationed them-- even though they had expired in like 2008. Truly, this woman is a giver.

But July 4th weekend Steve and I could resist no longer, and so in honor of our country's independence we popped open the last can, its fizz barely fizzing, and sipped our last Tab Energy cocktail.

So long lady. It was fun while it lasted.
(I'm making Tab and Stoli cocktails in Amy's hotel room before Troy and Craig's wedding.)
(Steve's excited smile when we opened our wedding present from Amy in Sept. 2008.)
(Blog entry from March 2006 when we first got into the drink and did a tribute to Edith Massey.)

My Last Day on the 15th Floor

2009-07-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Today's my last day at this job, and I'm filled with mixed emotions.

I took the job because of the writer's strike-- I'd spent a year after American Heiress writing my book and a script and just when it was time to submit there was no work to be had. And no money in the savings account. I'd been writing press material for Paramount and my boss there knew my soon-to-be boss here (who also, it turned out, worked with Steve's best friend at Disney Interactive Group) and so I was hired.

I never hated this job, but it wasn't what I'd hoped to do with my writing career. Still, the money was phenomenal for a copy writer and it let Steve and I live in financial peace. We even got to pay for a wedding in there-- a wedding that my co-workers were so excited about they all chipped in and got us a really nice gift card. I won't say how much (tacky) but I will say it was pretty amazing.

The people were the highlight of my time at this predominantly straight company. I could be me, and the more I pushed the envelope with my jokes the more people enjoyed having me around. On a social level, I definitely felt appreciated.

There did come a time, even with the job's bagel Mondays and free lunch Fridays, when my appreciation lagged. Part of it had to do with my boss being fired, then my next boss being fired, and then seeing certain powers here do some shady things to both customers and employees. It was at that point that I started becoming too engaged in office politics and became the ear to everyone's complaints.

Then I had my own minor run-in with a fellow employee-- a guy who's really too young and immature to be in his position, and thus I shouldn't have been so tweaked out by him tattling on me to the big boss. But I let his behavior stab me in the gut. I started seething with bitterness, sort of taking out all my frustrations on this one incident. And as I say, it was very minor. But it was then that I realized the problem wasn't with the company, it was with me.

This place was going to be what it was going to be, and since I wasn't in love with writing website copy then the only way to fix the problem was to remove myself. And once I put that focus out there I started getting calls. Then last week I took the new gig as Executive Editor of Unzipped Media.

I'll get into what that all entails next week. My focus today was on this past year and the things I've learned by being in a huge organized office environment-- especially now that I'll have people reporting to me. It's about being engaged and passionate but not so emotionally involved that it drags me down, staying out of the office politics and not getting caught up in the junior high drama (if there is any-- I'm just making assumptions here).

My goal here is to be creative, to enjoy what I do again, and to let that goodness lift up my life with Steve.

As a side note, as I wrote this entry, some employees came up to me and talked about having farewell drinks today. The aforementioned guy I had a tiff with then said to me, "You know, I've got some vodka in the fridge if you want." It was a peace offering of sorts. Maybe I'm not the only one who learned some stuff in this past year.

Here's to seeing how the future pans out...

Another Disney Day with Guncle Rick

2009-07-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

Why is it that I get hungry the second I enter Disneyland?

This is the question I pondered as I walked down Main Street with my mom, sister, and the kids-- Haylee, Savannah and Jacob. Being Steve's husband I get a "spouse" Silver Pass for Disney, which lets me get myself and three people into the park for free. And since I haven't been to San Diego in a while to see the family it was a nice way to save money and have some time with them before I start on this new job.

My willpower to resist sweets and fried foods lags in places like this, but Steve and I are headed to Puerto Vallarta for his 35th birthday in two weeks and I wanted to look beach worthy-- so that helped with my resistance. I did, however, share many Pringles with the girls because it's their favorite snack (and one of mine, I'll admit).

Oh, incidentally, I have super powers. I know this because all the rides the girls were too scared to ride the last time they were in Disneyland, they would happily get on if they could sit next to Uncle Richard. Savannah, almost 4, would jump off each ride and yell, "That was so AWESOME! I love you!" Very sweet.

Then Haylee, at one point, heard her mother telling me I looked young and said, "He looks really young. Like he's 19." Not sure if she's hoping to score some of Steve's Princess and the Frog snowglobes when Christmas hits, but either way she earned big points for that comment.
Here they are seated next to Alice and the queen. We arrived early at the park and got onto all the Fantasyland rides pretty quickly. I think our longest wait in the morning was like 15 minutes. Then after we left Toon Town the park was much more crowded and waits extended to 20-30 minutes. Keep in mind, the kids might have been growing braver but they weren't about to hit Space Mountain or any of the big kid rides.
But Dumbo? Yeah, we rocked the flying elephant.

Now on to my last Wednesday at this job...

WORD OF THE WEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!! (July 06, 2009)

2009-07-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

The word of the week is: Michael Jacksoned-your-Farrah

Definition: Verb. The act of one-upping someone else so that your news or event is bigger than theirs.

In a scene:
Rick has put in his resignation at work because he's gotten a pretty cool new editorial job for a company that owns websites, magazines, and a TV/film company. But the only people who know this are the two HR employees-- he's relishing his little secret.

Then, at a company farewell party for a woman who has worked at the company over three years, a cake is brought in. The woman gives her farewell speech (very sweet), the cake is opened and on top it says, "Farewell Natalya & Rick!" Everyone stares at Rick.

RICK: Oh hey! Yeah, well, um, I'm quitting and next Friday is my last day. (to Natalya) Sorry, girl, I didn't mean to Michael Jackson-your-Farrah.

Best Quote of the Weekend (Thus Far)

2009-07-04T09:04:00.001-07:00

Steve and I hiked Runyon Canyon yesterday, and just as we arrived we took our shirts off because A). We were already sweating, and B). We're going a trip in three weeks and want to look somewhat tan (more on that later), and C). That's what gays do at Runyon Canyon.

We're talking very seriously about this new job (EVEN more on that later), when we hear a sassy girl say:

"Wooo! Those bodies are on FIRE! Let me throw some water on THAT!"

We laughed, puffed up our chests and began our hike with a lovely glowing energy.

Happy 4th people! Sorry on the lack of blogging... nore news to come soon.

The Niece Visit Days 3 & 4: I Think We're Drunks

2009-06-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't care who dies anymore-- I need to finish up on my niece's trip before the story gets too old.

Last Sunday we took Brianne to brunch where she met our posse of friends. We wanted her to experience one of our normal weekends out, but without all the usual insanity, so we took her to The Abbey in West Hollywood. To you out-of-towners that's funny because They Abbey can get insane, but we went early so as to avoid her seeing any unnecessary drunkenness and nudity.
On the way we explained what Stonewall was and why we have gay pride months-- because Steve and I are all about educating people. Then we got to the Abbey and a different education started.

During the meal we were all talking about the previous gay pride and how drunk we got, how hung over we got, how sloppy we were on other nights, etc. Then I mentioned letting her try her first margarita the night before, and all the other drinking that had been going on since she'd arrived.

Steve and I looked at one another, slightly horrified, and said, "Oh my God, we look like a bunch of alcoholics!"

"Cheers!" everyone else at the table shouted (except for our one friend who's in AA) and we continued with our conversation. This was not the impression we'd hoped to make. Fortunately, Brianne hates alcohol and I don't think we corrupted her.

Monday was the big day for Brianne's visit. As you recall, she is going to school to be an animator. She also has some interest in voice acting. So we called some friends and took her around town. The first stop was to the Disney Studios where she got to meet our friend Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft who works on Phineas and Ferb. This is super cool because A) the show is awesome and Steve and I watch regularly; B) Aliki is a story artisit and writer on the show; and C) Aliki is also a voice actor.

Aliki took us around, explaining the different areas animators work on a show like this-- from character designers to background and props artists. She then showed Brianne how they get a script, beat it out, and actually put the whole thing together. Finally, she played her demo reel for Brianne and gave some advice on taking classes and getting her own demo put together. It was pretty amazing.

During the visit she also got to meet the wonderful Dan Povenmire, who is one of the show's creators and also does the voice of evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. All in all, that visit blew her mind and gave her a better idea of what she should be thinking about once she's in her animation program.

After that visit we met up with Steve, had lunch, and then took her on a tour of The Disney Store offices. The idea was that she could see how people who went to school for art and animation have translated their education into other related skills.

While there she got to see some of snowglobes Steve created, like this Snow White snowglobe.

And this really cool Princess snowglobe.
Steve also showed us the really amazing Princess and the Frog bookends, snowglobe and Christmas ornament that he designed. Can't wait to show those off in the blog (as well as all the Christmas ornaments we'll be stocking up on this year).

Brianne left the next day and we were exhausted; how you parents manage that kind of thing all the time is beyond me. But it was fun and gets us prepped for next year when my nephew graduates high school. Hopefully we'll be recovered by then.

Maybe if we cut out the drinking...

Bernadette Bowman's Day with Michael Jackson

2009-06-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

I've read and heard a lot of personal accounts regarding Michael Jackson, but here's one that I absolutely loved from one of our dear friends, Bernadette Bowman.

Bernadette and I met through a "Writing a 1-Person Show" workshop at UCLA and have remained friends since. Ironically, she grew up in San Diego not far from me, and I met her sister one random night at Corvette Diner years before I met Bernadette. Bernadette got me into The Groundlings and is truly one of the funniest women I know, but also with a golden glowing heart. We're blessed to know her.

One of Bernadette's early jobs was working as a tour guide at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Here is her story about meeting Michael Jackson.

My Afternoon with Mr. Jackson

It was late February or early March of '85 and I was summoned into the Guide Dispatch office at Universal from my position at the Tour Information Booth in the early afternoon.

"We need you to do a 'special' this afternoon."

(A "special" was a version of the VIP tours we used to do in the Rice-a-Roni trolley but it took place on one car of a Super Tram which seated more than the usual 10 people)

"Okay, sure...who is it?"

"It's Michael Jackson."

I felt my stomach drop. THE Michael Jackson? With my luck, it would have been the annoying British talk radio Michael Jackson....but, not this time. This time it was the real deal, The recent Grammy winner.... the kid my parents wouldn't allow me to go and see in 1972.....the cute little boy my best friend, Mirta, had named her dog after in the fourth grade.

"Um....okay. Sure...what time?" (trying so hard to be cool)

A half hour later I was welcoming Michael J. and his guests onto the abbreviated Super Tram by the employee gate. And what a group it was for a card carrying Product of the Seventies!!!

Let's see....there was Michael (and his people). There was Sean Lennon (the closest I'd ever come to meeting an actual Beatle!!) and his nanny (no Yoko.....oh, no!). Joining Sean and his keeper were (gulp) Barry Gibb's three sons and the lovely Linda, Barry's wife. In all honesty, I was more excited about being in the presence of anyone remotely close to being a Bee Gee.

The group loaded the tram car and Michael and the boys and I were off to the great adventure of the Universal Studios Guided Back Lot Tour.

I really loved being a tour guide. These kind of memories were only accessible in a situation such as this.

Michael could not have been sweeter. He and the boys referred to each other as "Hey, Rubberhead!" Michael did his best to make me "break character" and laugh during my official guide "spiels" and when we reached the corny Collapsing Bridge, I couldn't help but laugh as Michael began making faces at me and his smile was so contagious that only a similar childlike laugh would do at a moment such as this.

I do recall one peculiar thing he did throughout our adventure that afternoon. He had a small jar of vitamin B-12 cream that he kept applying to his nose (this was after nose job #3 or 4, I think..... one of his better ones) every ten minutes or so. Strange...but not really.

When we disembarked the tram to head into the live shows at the Entertainment Center, there were mobs of guests waiting, following, and shouting at Michael...."Congrats on the Grammys, Michael!" "Tell LaToya we love her!" (?!) "Yo, Michael, we love you man!" Michael would then raise his hand to acknowledge the admiration and with a tiny voice say, "I love you, too..."

I escorted Michael's group around the park into the evening as we pretty much did whatever he asked to do. He was lovely, polite, and accommodating when it came to posing for photos with cast members of the live shows....and I'll always remember having to endure the same kind of afternoon with one, Gary Coleman, a year later....who pretty much made it very clear that he was NOT available to be approached or spoken to. WOW....talk about putting things in perspective. (and that little runt borrowed my belt when his pants kept falling down and never returned it.....ugh).

When we reached the place where his group was to be picked up after all of the fun, the tacky woman from our makeshift "Tour Publicity" department demanded that I run and fetch her purse for her, which she had left backstage at one of the live shows....and being the $7 an hour dancing monkey that I was, I did as told. I ran to get the hand bag and back in my 3 inch pumps to say good bye to Michael, the Beatles and Bee Gees Babies like Angie Dickenson in "Police Woman."

But they were gone. They left. I never got to say good bye or to tell him just how great it was to meet him and how Mirta had named her dog after him when we were kids.

I'm not sure I really ever got over not being able to thank Michael Jackson for the joy he brought so many of us....but hopefully, wherever he is (with his B-12 cream and the best version of that nose) he knows now.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Rubberhead.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well, what am I going to say that everyone else on every single news station hasn't already said?

But I do have a question. Seriously, Michael, you couldn't wait a day? You just HAD to die on the same day as Farrah and steal the spotlight?

That girl just can't get a break! You know Ryan O'Neil is going bat shit crazy right now. He's probably gonna be hooking up with Crystal any second now. Remember that when you get to the gates.

R.I.P Farrah Fawcett

2009-06-25T10:47:00.001-07:00

I was going to write about Day 3 of the niece visit, but I just can't.

Farrah Fawcett Dies of Cancer at 62!

She's now one of God's angels.

The Niece Visit Day 2 - Circus & Barbecue

2009-06-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday started off easy enough with a circus class. Brianne was nervous about going-- most people are because they think you have to be big and muscly in order to do it. You don't.

I explained this to Brianne, and having seen from experience that I bring her to new and exciting things, she chose to trust me. Good move, because it was a fun, crazy day. Besides, Brianne used to do martial arts so I knew her body would spring back and get into a lot of the moves with ease.

Here she is climbing up the silks, which she loved. Brianne is into anime and cosplay (dressing up like anime characters for conventions) and being in the silks can often look like your some crazy cartoon character doing amazing tricks. She agreed that if her cosplay friends were in town, they would benefit from doing a photo shoot on circus equipment.

Here's Brianne on the trapeze doing her first "mermaid" pose.
The rest of the day was spent preparing for an evening barbecue with various people Steve knows through Disney and school. This was so Brianne could meet professionals in the business who used their art/animation backgrounds to get into various artistic areas. She got to show off her portfolio, get feedback/advice, AND eat yummy carne asada (she only gets Tex Mex in Austin, ya see).

Unfortunately, we didn't take any pics. Lame, I know, but it was a busy party. The last pic we took was this pic of her drinking her first virgin margarita with me and our friend Eric (the photographer from our wedding). And by "virgin margarita," I mean "kind of" virginy. And by "kind of," I mean "not" because the only virgin thing in that drink was that we'd made it low-carb. Low carb but with tequila. As in alcohol.

Brianne took one sip, hated it, and handed it back to me. She's a good kid like that.
However, our friend Frank did shoot some video at the party, of me lighting candles for Eric's baby, Otto, to blow out. Unfortunately, if you're not my friend on Facebook you can't see the video. But it's super cute.
What happened Sunday? I think Brianne discovered we were alcoholics. More on that later.

The Niece Visit Day 1 - Disneyland

2009-06-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Friday morning Steve and I shot down to Anaheim where we met my niece, Brianne (center), and her friend Nikki (right) at Disneyland. Being Disney Guncles, we have a Silver Pass which lets the card holder get into both parks free, along with three guests. Already scoring major points with that one.

Before we get into photos of the day, you have to understand that any journey through Disneyland is a game of "Spot Steve's artwork on different products." Sometimes we score a lot of points, but usually it's some small piece of art he did years ago placed on something random like a sippy cup or license plate from. But this trip we lucked out.

The two major places were spotting Steve's Tinkerbell on a mushroom in the World of Disney Store. It was on display in the window.

Then inside the park, in one particular shop, we spotted two of his Tink designs on T-shirts.

Beyond spotting Steve's art, we spent the day going on rides and hanging out.

Here the ladies are on The Jungle Cruise.
Here Steve and I are on the Matterhorn. I have a big nose in this picture.
Here we are before going on It's a Small World to see the new version that incorporates Disney characters into the ride. We love Mary Blair, and she designed the ride, so we went in worried about what the changes would entail. Some things weren't horrible-- like Alice and the White Rabbit, which were based on Blair's designs for Alice in Wonderland-- some other things were kind of lame. Like America. But we didn't want to set the ride on fire, so I guess over all it was pretty good.
Here we are, soaking wet after Splash Mountain.

All in all, much fun, and we were exhausted by the time we got Brianne back to our house. Of course, Saturday was another big day. But more on that later.

Such a Week!

2009-06-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

"I just heard. I'm so bummed. Are you okay?"

This is the text I got on Tuesday night. I then saw I had 8 messages on my phone. Fear gripped my chest: I thought sure I'd gotten fired.

I hadn't.

Turns out, my boss got laid off on Tuesday night. This sucks. He and his partner are friends to Steve and I. We kind of knew it would eventually happen but it still sucks. And it gave me a minor heart attack. Going to work Wednesday also sucked because we had to hear the whole "spin" surrounding the layoffs. We've been getting a lot of spin at work lately. The most recent one involved why there was an armed security guard on our floor.

But I can't talk about that. People here are tense.

On the upside, today is my Friday. This is because the niece is in town (well, technically she's in San Diego right now because we put her on a train down south to visit her friends and family). Steve and I are taking her and her friend to Disneyland tomorrow, then she gets to tour Disney studios and meet animators -- which is very exciting for her because she's going to school for animation.

But trust me, even without the family in town, Steve and I need a break. There were layoffs at his work on Tuesday as well.

Wait a minute... The first time we had layoffs was the same day Steve's company had major layoffs. And then the day I became the only person in my department, was the same day Steve became the only person in his department. And now his friend gets laid off on Tuesday and so does mine?

What the hell is going on here?

Gay Pride Sunday 2009

2009-06-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Gay Pride Saturday.

The sun came out... and then it went away. And then it came out again, and for the most part stayed shining through the afternoon. It broke through the clouds around the time we were at our friend BD's house for a pre-Pride brunch. It was after we'd eaten a wonderful spread while cartoons from the Noggin channel played in the background (because some gay dads were there with their little boy for his first gay pride parade).

Needless to say, after the night before I was a bit exhausted, and almost fell asleep on the comfortable sofa.

You see, Steve and I said we'd wait until noon before drinking because we wanted to last throughout the day, but juice and bagels and fittata weren't boosting us up. Fortunately, someone made me a bloody mary, and those veggies just perked me right up. I suddenly jumped off the couch with vim and vigor!

And then Kelly Roland's new single, "When Love Takes Over" came on, and THAT is when the sun came out for good. Neither Steve nor I think that's a coincidence.

Clearly God loves that song as much as we do.

So all of us took a "to go" cup and headed to Santa Monica Boulevard where we ran into Amy, who had also survived the previous night's adventures.

Kurt and Robrert sent a text: they would be late.

No surprise there, either.

The group of us walked the Boulevard for a while, even keeping our shirts on to take a sweet group photo.
Then we hit our first bar and the shirts came off.

Amy immediately starting adopting our friends as her new BFFs (she knows most of our people and they love her, but Amy knows you can never have too many gays in your life). Here she is with Dave who helped her sneak her mimosa out of a bar.As a random note, Dave is quite connected and had exclusive photos of Lady Gaga from a David Lachapelle photo shoot which will most likely be seen later this year. All I've got to say is she looks stunning with sparklers-- and you heard it here first.

We ran into random people at Trunks, which is a bar we really only go to one day a year-- Gay Pride. But we have such a great time there. The drinks are strong, cheap, and all our friends can get in to party.

In this photo is Mike, Kurt and Robert (from last night, who Amy had adopted as her two gay dads), Steve, Andy, and Larry from my office (he's also Mike's partner). Amy and I, of course, are showing it off up front.

Here we are with Robert who survived the night.
Below is my old roommate, Mark Markline.
More friends from work: Jessica, Katie, Ashleigh and me. Hi, cutest photo that we should totally put up on the office wall.
Here are Tyson, me and Steve (who wanted to wink at the camera), and Luis who I also work with. He and Tyson are a couple. Luis works in HR. I'm shirtless and drunk. Nice.
Here we are with our Jonathan for our yearly photo. We usually try for a sober pic and then a drunk one. Guess we missed the first part this year.

And finally we ran into Sagiv, who is one of my aerial trainers.

After that we were pretty exhausted so we went home, ate a pizza, kicked some kids off our roof because they thought it would be fun to climb on the roofs of the local houses (WHAT?), and then went to bed.

Let me tell you, that pizza saved our lives, but I'm still exhausted. So it's off to bed.

Tomorrow my niece is flying in from Austin, Texas, for her high school graduation gift from the guncles. Going to be a fun week!

More to come...

Saturday of Gray Pride 2009

2009-06-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

We hit trapeze Saturday morning because we needed to get a good workout in (with some bruises -- whatever, don't judge us) before the big pride weekend.

And as we left the house... it was raining. I'm not kidding. Not overcast. Like rain dropping down out of the sky, you'd be pissed if you'd washed your car because it was now ruined kind of rain.

Whatever. Class was good, and Steve did many things for the first time, including a back straddle. This is that move where your legs and bum hold you up on the bar. Yes, kind of my signature move. Steve's stepping it up. I better learn something new with that hotness up there (or we could do something in tandem-- who can say?)

Anyway, after trapeze we shot home, showered and changed and hit a Gray Pride party.

The party hosted by Steve's brother, Jeffrey. Here he is with brother-in-law John.

Here's Steve with our friend Jack.
Just some boys, busting out the tank tops and shorts even though it's cloudy and miserable.
After that, we shot home, changed, and then went to Casita del Campo for dinner and then downstairs at the Cavern Club Theater for Chico's Angels! We were joined by dear friends Kurt and Robert, and the fabulous Amy Witry!

I swear to God I haven't laughed so hard in a long, long time. The show was hysterical, but the company really made the evening even better.

Kurt (with the magnet on his head and being butt humped by Amy) and Robert (holding up a drunk me) had dinner with us first. Then Amy showed up and she said, "I'm hereeee!" (in a sort of Jo Anne Worley fashion) sat next to me, swung her purse out and spilled an entire drink on Robert. Nice entrance. But we still had a fantastic time with everyone.
Here I am with Chita Parol (the girls have to infiltrate The Love Boat in this episode to protect Charo. It was incredible.)
Here Steve and I are with Frieda Laye.
Here Robert and Kurt are with Kay Sedia, who has to impersonate Charo. Ay Mija!
Here Amy is with Spuds MacKenzie. Random.

Um, let me explain this picture. Kurt kept buying drinks, Amy kept taking photos, and she told me to take my shirt off. So I did.

What's most shocking, actually... is that I woke up without a hangover this morning. AND???

THE SUN IS OUT! I think Jesus heard our phone message and did something about the weather. More tomorrow!

Happy Gray Pride

2009-06-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

Steve and I have given up on the weather. Clearly it's not going to be the sunny sensational Sunday we'd hoped for on Gay Pride. (How many "s"s were in that sentence?)

So with all the ugly, cloudy skies we're now calling the weekend "Gray Pride."

I will say, however, that 72 and partially cloudy is better than what we had expected earlier in the week, so I guess that's something to be happy about.

But my one big question: if the weather is cloudy and crappy, will we be graced by our yearly friend?

I think we'll all be a little sad if there's no reunion special, won't we?

Either way, I'll have my camera on hand for all the insanity and post it here throughout the weekend or Monday... whichever comes first.

In the News?

2009-06-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

Discovered through a mysterious source. Truth? Fiction? Who can say?

EAGLE ROCK, CALIFORNIA

Electric car owner Michael "Otto" Penzato chose a rather ironic paint scheme for his electric 1992 BMW 525. Taking a page from the last presidential election, the hood features an oil well gushing in the arctic wilderness and a baby seal lying dead at the base of it. The car was converted to electric by Greg "Gadget" Abbot, host of many popular Discovery Channel Series, including, "Big."

The car is a full electric conversion. Challenges have included finding a way to drive the power steering pump without the belt drive system that came standard with the gasoline engine. But authorities are convinced that Penzato (pictured left) will be able to surmount this and other challenges. Once it is completely roadworthy he says he may change the slogan on the hood from "Drill, Baby, Drill!" to "Drive, Baby, Drive!"

Locals salute Penzato for his efforts to reduce his carbon footprint while still maintaining a good sense of humor!

Things I Love that You Should Buy

2009-06-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

Did you know I have a greeting card? It's true. It came out a couple years ago from NobelWorks and I'm pretty sure it's out of print. I have a copy around here somewhere that I should scan and put online, but I'm tired tonight so I'll do it another time.

Anyway, my good friend Ron Kanfi, who is the big cheese at NobelWorks, has a new book out called Saint Misbehavin': Modern-Day Saints You've Never Heard Of.
Here's the write up from the book:
Have you ever been praying to your favorite patron saints and gotten the funny feeling that they ain’t listening? Well, you’ll be thrilled to know that there are some lesser-known saints to whom you might want to redirect your devotion! These not-so pious patrons for the 21st century are here to represent all your deepest transgressions in one hilarious volume. Accompanied by character profiles and biological facts that will have you rolling on the floor laughing, Saint Misbehavin’: Modern- Day Saints You’ve Never Heard Of is the answer to all your prayers.

It's fun, funny, a great gift, or just something to have on your coffee table. Good times.

But wait, there's more!

As some of you may know, I work for an internet company. If you're into social networking, like getting on the Facebook, Twitting yourself, or taking a photo and saying things like, "That's a MySpacer!!!!" then you probably won't like this shirt. But if those things annoy you, or you have a sense of humor, then here's a shirt for you:
Pick it up at Despair, Inc.

Are You There God? It's Us, Rick & Steve

2009-06-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Steve looks fantastic. You know it, I know it, but he doesn't. He's having his, "Oh my God I'm turning 35 in a month!" moment. It happens. As someone slightly vain I can tell you, it happens.
This is one reason why we've been hitting trapeze class more the past couple weeks. After all, this coming weekend is LA Gay Pride, which means much revelry in the streets. That includes alcohol, friends and being shirtless because, in the gay community, Gay Pride is also known as a shirtless holiday (look at me, educating the masses).
But have you all seen the weather reports? I've mentioned the recent June Gloom that hasn't gone away, but Sunday is supposed to be partially cloudy and in the 60s. THE 60S?? In LA, that's practically jeans and parka weather!

Well, no good comes from just whining so I decided to do something about it in a very polite way...

Dear God!...

What? No, no I'm not calling to get my foreskin back. I've come to grips with that reality.

I'm here to talk about the weather. What is up with all this? And what's up with these reports that Friday is "hurricane preparation" Saturday we should expect "flight delays" and Sunday there will be "mosquito activity"?

Now I know you don't mind that we got married because you're cool like that, but Steve and I work too hard to hide our fabulousness behind tight T-shirts and jeans that cup our bubble butts. We want shorts and tank tops that will be removed by 11am. So keep everyone guessing with this crazy weather stuff, but do us a favor and bust out some rays this weekend so that we can enjoy our lives to the fullest. Thanks. We appreciate it. xoxo Rick & Steve

Jesus Shines Through June Gloom

2009-06-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

The weather has been strangely cloudy and wet for LA at this time of year. Sure, we usually get overcast mornings with our June gloom, but then it clears out by noon and the rest of the day is sunny. However last week we had rain-- BIG POURING RAIN.

So then Steve and I were driving to a movie Saturday night, and we saw these beams of bright, shining light piercing through pockets of dark clouds. It was pretty amazing initially, but by the time we realized we had a camera and took this picture they'd started to fade from view.

Still, as I saw them I said, "Isn't the sky beautiful?"

To which Steve responded in his best Nathan Lane voice, "It's like Jesus is waving down at the city with jazz hands, beams of light flying out from his fingers as he says, 'You're FABULOUS Los Angeles!'"

I will never look at sunbeams the same way again.

Cook Yourself Thin... in a naughty way

2009-06-05T06:12:00.001-07:00

Steve and I love to eat, but we also love to cook recipes in a healthy way-- taking all of our favorite meals and swapping out certain fatty/carb-laden ingredients in order to make a more healthful yet delicious dish. Trapeze classes aside, this is truly how we've been able to stay so lean. After all, in our first year together we both gained 15-20 pounds each, and that was when we decided to get on the South Beach Diet and get ourselves back on track.

But fad diets don't work for us, which is why we dove into reconfiguring our own menus so that we could be satisfied and healthy at the same time.

Our greatest love thus far has been Ellie Krieger who used to have a show called Healthy Appetite on Food Network. Her show not only offered delicious recipes but explained things on a deeper level than you usually get from these programs. For example, she'd tell you about the vitamins in certain vegetables, why certain foods were better than others, and really educated the viewer so that when we were cooking for ourselves we'd already know certain tricks as well as WHY those tricks were better. This wasn't just taking something for fact because a TV personality would suggest it, this was a woman who did research and could back up her claims in a TV-friendly manner.

As a side note, I also interviewed Ellie once for an article about eating healthy through the holidays and she's a really wonderful person.

Unfortunately, I think Food Network has canceled her show, giving us one less reason to watch the network. It's also gotten us tuned in to a new Lifetime series called Cook Yourself Thin, where there sometimes-manic ladies try to rush an overweight woman through three recipes, then check back with her some time later (which could potentially be the best part of the show) to see if she dropped a dress size.

The show is less about nutritional value and more about offering up a quick recipe, and we never quite get the feeling that they know why something is healthier than anything else. They just say things like, "This will make you feel full..." rather than explain why. Like on the website, for example, they only show the calories for a recipe and not the fat, carbs or any other nutritional information. OR, on a recent episode, a woman was excited by the new enchilada recipe and said she'd eat it with her girlfriends and a nice margarita.

"Wait!" Steve and I screamed. "Why don't they tell her that one margarita has more calories than the enchilada?" You see, it's that kind of short-sightedness that makes the show somewhat sad for us. Steve and I were actually thinking they should make the episode into an hour and do a makeover as well -- I mean, if you're going to be frivolous about the facts you're presenting then let's get these ladies new hair, makeup and wardrobe.

Nevertheless, we watch it and sometimes find recipes we will take into our lives. A could weeks ago we found a frickin' delicious baked potato skins recipe-- the image is at the top of the blog. We made it for friends as part of a barbecue and it was a huge hit.

However, during the shopping trip, this is one of the sweet potatoes we discovered.
Please discuss.

Keggers Are Like Waterboarding

2009-06-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

Steve and I attended a kegger this past weekend, or as we like to call it: a gegger (gay kegger). It's filled with lots of old friends from the summer of 1996-- you know, those early years when you could go out to a place like Club 1980s on a Wednesday night, drink 20 or so swill margaritas because they were only $1, dance until 2am, and then wake up the next morning at 6am ready for the gym.

We all get together periodically anyway, but when friend Danielle is in town from New York we now have an annual gegger. Yes, with beer pong, flip cup and a bunch of other games that Steve and I don't play because we're too scared. Instead, we stand by the grill or dive into one of the buckets of KFC and enjoy meeting people. I made deviled eggs for the event, because as we learned last year, everyone loves a good deviled egg. And since we all live in LA and by a code of vanity, no one actually eats them anymore. So they're a treat and I love providing a food everyone gobbles up.
The party also featured the usual beer bong, as well as tasty jello shots. Here's Rodney, the official black friend of The Stephanie Miller Show, drinking down a hose. BD is the guy feeding it to him.
I don't drink beer too often, but you kind of get into the mood when everyone else is doing it. So when people starting doing kegstands (handstands on the keg and drinking from the tap) -- and seeing how long they could continue drinking-- I joined in. I mean, I do circus tricks, right? How hard could this be?

(And if my shirt rode up a little and showed a tight tummy, it would make for a great photo. Please note the pointed toes as well.)
But here's the thing: Rodney is funny. When I asked what a kegstand was, he said, "It's like waterboarding for frat guys."

So I press up above the keg, Rodney sticks the hose in my mouth, and he starts yelling, "Tell us what you know, bitch! Tell us!" Needless to say, I didn't sustain the position for very long without laughing.
But I did go in again, and helped both BD and Danielle join me.
Our night ended early, and we were fine to hike the next morning.

You know, I've got to say, I'm sorry that it took me this long to experience my first gegger. Maybe it was the people, maybe the event itself (probably a bit of both), but I know that we'll be game to hit the next one when it comes around.

Celeb Sightings -- Cirque School in OK Magazine

2009-06-02T04:35:00.000-07:00

It's not uncommon to have celebs show up to Cirque School, but because I'm quite protective of the school and the people visiting it I don't normally bring those up in my normal "celeb sightings" entries. That said, OK Magazine just ran a story about Neil Patrick Harris training here.
It's true. He connected with trainers Sagiv and Aloysia when they were on an episode of How I Met Your Mother this season (a show which Steve and I love and I should be writing on). We met Neil a couple weeks back and he's super nice. He also made us laugh bunches of times. So even though we already loved him, we now consider him a top cat.

If any stalkers are reading this, beware: Steve studied Taekwondo and I've been boxing in my Fags on Bags class for nearly 8 years. We'll play his bodyguards if necessary (and to score popularity points). I'm just sayin'...

My First Day Coaching

2009-05-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

When I blogged on Friday, I was expecting to do my first solo trapeze coaching session on Saturday. There were four people signed up: Steve, plus friends Lacey, Jaime, and Moet. This would have been perfect because it was small, populated by people who'd had a few classes and would know the language, and kind of be a trial run for future classes.

Then on Saturday morning, as I set out the crash pads and mats, my class of four became a class of nine. Yes, NINE!
Here's the thing... normally a class has one instructor per five people. Once you hit six, you add a second instructor. But the whole reason I was asked to coach solo was because every other coach was out of town-- all performing in shows. Plus, when it's five minutes before class starts there's no way to find someone to just show up. So suddenly, I had to fake it.
I'm pretty good at improv, and it helped that all but three people in the class had some experience, so if said, "Go climb the silks," they could do it without a problem. The one negative, however, is that when your friends are there you take advantage of them. That meant that Steve, Jaime and Lacey (above) got neglected. I worked with them three times during class (where I outfitted them in shirts I'd brought so they wouldn't hurt their armpits during a couple new moves) but not nearly as much as I would have liked.

I actually asked them all to hang out after class and gave them a bit more one-on-one time once the others had left so that it was worth their money. Because let's face it-- these aren't cheap classes, so I wanted people to feel like they got their money's worth.

But at the end of it all, everyone seemed to have a good time, and a bunch of people bought a series of classes. In fact, four are coming back Monday night (I'm co-teaching that night), so I guess people enjoyed themselves.

An upside for me, was that one of the new people in class was a yoga "flier" -- that is, someone who does partner balancing and massage with pressure and positioning body weight (or something like that). So after class when I was doing the extra training with Steve and the girls, Jennifer (the new girl) offered to fly me.

This was a crazy fun experience, having her balance my 175 pounds on her feet, spin me in circles, turn me upside down, and put me into a handstand on her hands.

It's strange, because when you're upside down it's tough to tell what's right and left, plus I'm used to being in control because I'm generally the strongest person in the room; I'd be the one holding someone else in the air. So having this one small woman holding me up was sensational, and after I felt totally high. I'm really hoping she sticks around for training, but also to become a part of our community.
The weekend also had a geggger (gay kegger party), Cirque School in the news and more. I'll add more tomorrow.

Fleetwood Mac Fun & Trapeze News

2009-05-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

Last night's Fleetwood Mac concert at LA's Staples Center was amazing.

It was Steve's and my first time visiting LA Live since it opened (We've been to Staples before but not the new complex.) and it was quite a sight. Yes, touristy and crazy big, with the Nokia Center and countless restaurants blazing lights and blaring out noise, but it also features some great restaurants. Once it's complete it will be a huge boon to downtown LA. Of course, Steve and I were discussing the best off-times to come down to try out a restaurant so that we don't have to pay huge parking fees or deal with annoying drunks.

Anyway, the show. INSANE! Stevie was adorable and pitch-perfect, going for crystal clear notes that we don't always hear from her in concert. And I thought Lindsey's head was going to explode a couple times. I've always been impressed by his guitar playing but last night it was like he was on fire, the veins popping out of his neck as he riffed through countless songs. So impressive.

I'd always liked Fleetwood Mac but Steve's the person who got me into seeing their concerts, and last night as we drove home I was quite thankful for the experience.

IN CIRCUS NEWS...

I'm coaching my first solo class tomorrow!

Fortunately, it's a small beginning class that will have at least three friends (Steve included) so I've got that comfort zone going on. Friend Lacey-- pictured here hanging from me on the silks-- will be there (but I won't be hanging upside down and holding people tomorrow).

Whatever. I'm super excited.

I woke up around 5:30 this morning and my mind immediately started going over the warmups and stations that everyone will be on tomorrow. The group workouts are set up in a circuit training format, normally with two trapeze stations and two stretch stations, but numbers will make that a little bit difficult tomorrow. I hope to have some photos for Monday.

In Music News

2009-05-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kylie Minogue!
Steve and I can't wait to see you in October. I know you're just as excited. If you need a couple hunky trapeze performers/balancing partners, let us know and we'll have something ready by the time you get here.

Also happening today...
Tonight, Steve and I are seeing Fleetwood Mac at the Staples Center. We have great center seats. Not as great as when we sprung for expensive Stevie Nicks tickets at the Greek and Steve got to touch her, but close enough-- there's a recession, yo. (And by "we" springing for those earlier tickets, I mean Steve did. But whatever.)

Finally, if you want to see the news segment featuring mine and Steve's backs and wedding rings, here you go:

Repeal Prop 8 March, Celebs & Us On the News

2009-05-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

Steve and I hit the protests in West Hollywood last night, which in this blog sounds like a party or must-see event, but the mood was a bit more somber than that. Still, lots of people turned out and the march took over the streets of West Hollywood and Hollywood as planned.
Writer Alonso Duralde and producer Doria Biddle (of the Frank DeCaro show on Sirius) posed here with Steve before the rally. A surprise twist was running into author Marc Acito who is in town from Portland, OR working on a new project. We happened to run into one another but plan to hook up before he leaves town again.Steve and I then posed with Jessica and Emily, two friends from trapeze class who came down in support of all their gay friends.

Also in attendance were Drew Barrymore (who spoke), Kathy Griffin and her gay-loving mom, Tabitha from Shear Genius and Tabitha's Salon Takeover, the Reichen, Lance Bass (who was not with Kathy Griffin or the Reichen when we saw him), Kelly Osbourne, and (we're told but we never saw her) Eliza Dushku. There were probably others out there but we missed them.

But guess who got caught on TV?

When we returned home, Steve randomly switched channels and here's what we saw on Fox 11 News as they talked about couples who had gotten married prior to the cut off.
Yep, those are our backs.
And that's my finger and ring on Steve's back (I can spot those little sausages glimmering with a bit of Cartier anywhere)! So did funny lady Amy Witry who called when she saw my hands and wanted to congratulate us on being "back famous."

Joking aside, it was a rough night but we're not done yet. The fight goes on.

Memorial Day Weekend -- on Hiatus

2009-05-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

Steve and I had a great Memorial Day Weekend. We took care of the house, hiked, hung out with some friends who were in town (Mary from Seattle with her new fabulous short hair, and Catherine who I met while studying abroad in England years ago), and relaxed a lot.

But that's all there is to say right now. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the California Supreme Court comes back with their decision about Proposition 8. Tomorrow we'll find out if if other same-sex couples can marry, if same-sex couples can't marry but Steve and I are still wed, or if we're no longer married at all.

So right now neither of us wants to chat about our fabulous lives. We're just waiting for answers.

Go Twit Yourself

2009-05-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants me to Twitter. Everyone at work, readers, and other random folk. Not my close friends -- very few of them even read this blog, so I doubt they'd follow my Twittling. But for those other people, they tend to be a bit stunned when they discover I don't Twit myself all day long.

"But you're so funny," this coworker said. "You could do all these great one-liners all the time."

Really?

Here's the thing: I write for a living, and a lot of what I write isn't entertaining so it exhausts me more than when I'm working on a script, article or book project. After all, I'm trying to make something pretty plain into something that you, the consumer, MUST want more than anything else. So when I do think of something to say on my blog or Facebook page, it's usually in relation to how much I hate my current writing project. And when I actually think of something that I think someone might find interesting that isn't hate related, I usually botch it in my race to type it out and get onto my next work project.

For example, this is what I wrote on Facebook yesterday: "RICHARD ANDREOLI: Nope, didn't feel the earthquake. I think I'm working to hard..."

(For those of you who don't get the mistake, I used the wrong "to" -- as in, I'm heading toward something, not doing something "too" much.)

I also feel pretty guilty when I don't read all my prerequisite blogs every day, so I can only imagine the guilt if I didn't follow everyone's Twitting. The cramps alone would make me want to Twit myself.

Chris Pine in the 'Hood, Circus Stuff, and Our Modeling Career

2009-05-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

"I'm so glad I ran into you guys," said a former editor of mine. Steve and I were out at the Instinct magazine party in West Hollywood and ran into him. "I need some hot guys for the cover of our upcoming Gay Pride issue." I smiled, my ego swelling . Then he adds, without any malice or bitchiness because he honestly thinks I may be of help, "So if you have anyone in mind, let me know, okay?"

Nice.
In other news, the new Captain Kirk, Chris Pine, was in the neighborhood. My friend Perez Hilton (and by friend, I mean this guy I know who actually remembers my name) wrote that Chris Pine, was in our neighborhood.That now makes three of the Trek crew hanging out in the Silver Lake / Echo Park area.

Finally, my friends' show, Birdhouse Factory will be playing at the MATRIX: MIDLAND Festival 2009. The date is
Friday, June 5 at the Midland Center for the Arts. That's in Michigan, yo!

Here's the press release: "Roll right up and see how a woeful widget factory becomes a frolicsome fun house! The incomparable Cirque Mechanics fly, climb and contort their way through rotating gears, trampoline walls and aerial hoops. These twelve agile and inventive performers including veterans of the Cirque du Soleil, Moscow Circus, and other world-renowned companies - take an unlikely setting for a circus - a factory - and transform the "workers" into acrobats and the "mechanics" into circus props!"

Check out the commercial here:

Workin' for a Livin'

2009-05-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

After leaving my 9-5 job yesterday I shot over to Burbank and the Warner Bros. lot. A friend is producing a reality show spec piece (basically shot a min episode of a potential show that they can take to studios and sell). This is one of those cases where some folks got together, tired of working on other people's projects, and called in every favor to produce a pretty amazing little mini episode and sizzle reel. I have to say (without revealing anything) that it's one of the best things I've seen in a long time.

Anyway, one of the favors was the sound mixing, which they got to do at a friend's office on the Warner lot.

The last studio I worked at was Warner. I love Warner because it's a working lot with city street sets that are used in commercials and shows all the time-- you feel like you're really in Hollywood. At the time I was working on Queen of the Damned and on the lot they were taping Friends, Gilmore Girls and West Wing , so it was never a shock to see people like Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt having lunch or walking around.

I'd also just started dating Steve, so everything about that time of my life was very exciting.

So last night was fun, cramped in a room with producers, helping them tweak the sound levels so that it heightens the story. And even though I got home late and was exhausted when the alarm went off this morning, I felt jazzed. Excited. Energized.

Then this morning I come into the office and go into the restroom to wash my hands. Someone is in the stall-- obviously using it for the proper purpose-- and he's on the phone talking to someone! Seriously?

PLOP, PLOP, "Yeah, I got the text. I'll be merging the files in a minute and..." blah, blah, blah.

Why don't you just say, "I'll merge the files as soon as I'm done crapping!"

Look, I basically like my job and I love all but one of the people I work with, and I still have writing projects in various states of development so I'm not normally depressed... but GOD that bugged the hell out of me.

I assume studio people also have this thing of talking on the phone while in the toilet, but at least you've got a shot of running into a celeb or hearing some kind of juicy gossip while it happens. At my job, it's all techy crap. Literally.

The Weekend... continued

2009-05-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Being the geeks that we are, Steve and I really wanted to see Star Trek this weekend (because there's nothing more fun than seeing a film like that with fans who are excited to see it).

We loved the movie, even the great coincidence of Kirk being stranded on a planet with Spock. Whatever. Of all the successful things they did with this reboot that could be forgiven.

By the way, in celeb sighting news, two Trek crew people live by us. John Cho who plays Hikaru Sulu works out at Steve's gym: Bodybuilders in Silver Lake. And Zachary Quinto, who really made the movie as Spock, lives in the 'hood as well. We've run into him while he was walking his dog on Sunset, and at our favorite Thai restaurant, Rambutan Thai.

On a side note, isn't it interesting that while the movie primarily focuses on Kirk's journey to becoming captain, the emotional arch of the film belongs to the emotionless Spock? Well done, writers.

As soon as the movie finished we shot home, grabbed some amazing guacamole Steve made (he's famous for it) and then flew across town to a barbecue hosted by our friend Rodney Alexander Griffis-- also known as Rodney, the official black friend of the Stephanie Miller Show. Stephanie's producer, Chris, took this lovely picture of me hugging Rodney who made absolutely delicious burgers.

Sunday we did our usual hike (no celebs this Sunday that we saw) but afterwards we hit local bar MJs for an afternoon beer bust. Steve and I do love the day drinking, ya see.

How drunk did we get? Well, Steve didn't. Me? I was tipsy enough to get everyone's names wrong, including Guncle Joe, who introduced his nephew (a hopeful Disney animator) to Steve a couple weeks back. I kept calling him Jim. Introduced him to all our friends as Jim.

He was gracious enough to let it go. I, however, felt like enough of an idiot that I needed to apologize on the blog. Sorry Jim. Joe. Whatever.

Finally, the night ended with a screening of the Rock of Love Bus reunion episode. Our friend worked on the show so we've been tuning in the whole season. Inside dirt? When the crazy black Canadian hooker goes after that drunk chick and hits her during the episode, she broke her nose. Classy.

Our Busy "Not Busy" Weekend

2009-05-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

Steve and I were quite excited about having no plans this weekend because we could chill out, spend time together, and not stress... Yeah, that didn't work out. We had a fun weekend, but it wasn't as calm as we'd imagined.

Friday night started off easy enough. We had dinner at Reservoir, a new restaurant in Silver Lake not far from our house. The outdoor patio was full so we sat inside.

Everything at Reservoir feels simple but perfectly executed: soft, yellow lighting that calmly illuminates the space, giant windows along one wall so you see Silver Lake's beautiful hillsides, small tables where diners lean in to talk about the week's events, and a warm feeling throughout. The food is seasonal and lovely-- Steve has the skirt steak with faron and veggies while I had salmon with roasted potatoes. Yummy. Next time we hope to sit on the patio because in the warm summer nights it's going to be perfection.

Then Saturday hit and things got a bit crazy. It started with a trapeze class where Steve and I worked out with our friend Lacey (pictured here). Steve and I started taking classes together over a year ago, but he hurt his shoulder and didn't come back. However, now that some of his work friends suggested coming, he's been back into it.

The thing about Saturday's class was there were only three of us so the workout was really harsh. My muscles were aching, and I'm getting some more nasty bruises on me. It's time to hit the health store soon and buy a bunch of homeo-something-or-others for muscle fatigue and bruising.

On the plus side, when there are new people in class you tend to take more pictures, so here are a couple.

Steve likes this last one because he looks hot. I agree.

Okay, I'd write about everything else that happened (Including Star Trek screenings and calling Joe "Jim" while at a bar) but I need to start my work day. More tomorrow...

This is how tired I am...

2009-05-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'm juggling a bunch of projects now-- both at work and in my personal writing life-- so a typical day like yesterday had me go to the gym at 6:30am, shoot to work, shoot to the circus school, shoot home where Steve (thankfully) made dinner and I scarfed it down in 15 minutes, then shoot out to a meeting with an artist friend whom I'm working with on a project.

By the time I get home, I'm beat. But I still have to pack lunch for the next day, pack my gym bag, spend maybe 5 minutes with Steve, etc.

Then this morning, after my Fags on Bags boxing class, I discovered something in the locker room: I forgot to pack a shirt. So the only thing I could wear to the office was a sweaty T. That meant I had to shoot to Ross Dress for Less (Why pay department store prices?), grab a shirt, run to the office and begin my day. Ironically, two people have complimented my shirt thus far.

Anyway, today was even busier because at 10am the presale tickets for Kylie Minogue at the Hollywood Bowl went on sale! So Steve was on one computer at his office, I'm at mine. He's using the fan club password, I'm using our Amex, and damned if we didn't get 4 box seats each, in the front. He's close to the stage, I'm further back but center. We have enough friends who will want to buy the extras so we're not stressed about the purchase.

Strange, isn't it? As exhausted as I was getting here this morning, knowing I had to buy a shirt and all that, I'm pretty pumped right now.

R.I.P Dom DeLuise

2009-05-05T09:22:00.001-07:00

Dom DeLuise died, and between he and Bea Arthur's passing it's like two great comedy legends have left us. I was a huge fan of Dom's, mostly from seeing him in countless repeats of Cannonball Run when HBO first launched, but he also just seemed to have that skewed sensibility I always loved. When he was on TV, I tuned it.
I met Dom once through my friend Bernadette Bowman, who was a friend of the family. He was so gracious, funny, and full of energy. You'd think I'd been a friend of the family for years the way he welcomed me. I also met his sons Peter, Michael and David at various times, and worked with Michael once when Michael did a reading of a pilot I'd written. All three boys are funny, charming, and warm people; with only a passing knowledge, I still think of them as being reflections of their parents.

So Dom is gone and I'm a bit sad. But here, at least, is something to smile about:

Celeb Sightings & Disney Events

2009-04-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

It's been one heck of a busy week for Rick and Steve. Monday night started with us attending the Milt Kahl tribute at The Motion Pictures Academy. Milt Kahl was one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" who helped shape the classics and the face of animation, so the event was a packed.

We heard a lot of people got turned away, but Steve and I somehow made our way into the VIP reception where we enjoyed some light food, a glass of wine, and displays of original Kahl drawings, model sheets and animation cels. Some of it was insane, like the work he did on the Prince in Sleeping Beauty, because Steve has really bad copies of those pages for reference, but to see the actual artwork right there -- with coffee stains and colored pencil lines-- was just really special.
We saw clips of his work, and heard from guests like Andreas Deja and Charles Solomon who hosted, as well as Brad Bird, John Musker, Ron Clements, Floyd Norman, John Pomereoy, Kathryn Beaumont, Alice Davis and Sybil Barnes (Kahl’s daughter). The night went really late (we left at 11pm and as they were showing some last clips of his work), but seeing his animation as well as rare interview footage was worth the trip.

The other night we also hit The Arclight in Hollywood to see Every Little Step, which is the documentary on the history and revival of A Chorus Line. We really loved the film and left wanting more (I totally think a channel could have done a 6 hour piece that got not only into the current performers but also the scandals surrounding the original production).

However, that doesn't directly relate to the celebs. What does, was the premiere for Next Day Air that was happening at the Arclight on the same night. The turnout was pretty good from the looks of things, and we did spot a couple famous faces along the way.

In the crowd, Steve said he spotted Chris Tucker. I did not, but Steve has a knack for those things so I believe him.

We parked next to Eva Pigford who was very tall, very thin, and very beautiful. She shared a smile with Steve -- I think she knows her gays when she sees them.
Finally, Chi McBride who most recently played Emerson on Pushing Daisies was also in attendance. I wanted to tell him how much I loved his work and the show, but the timing didn't seem appropriate.

That's the word thus far this week. Gearing up for a beginners trapeze class this weekend where I'm bringing some new people (friends of Steve's from work) so convert them to the wonders of exercising in the air. More to come...

Preschool Show Fun

2009-04-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

The second annual Cirque fundraiser at the Rose Scharlin preschool was a great success. The day began at 9am where Rex (Cirque School owner), Tall Rick, Francesco, Jessica and myself met on site to set up the outdoor rig. This was the second time I've helped do that-- not that I'm a pro now, but I do feel like I'm learning something.

Mom came up on Friday night, saw a little rehearsal, then joined us for the show. Steve had to basically entertain her the whole day, and while Mom is low-maintenance I know the stress of it probably exhausted Steve as much as getting ready for the show exhausted me.

Here are some photos from the day...
Rex sits at the top of the rig while I'm at the base in the distance and Tall Rick has his back to the camera.

Francesco warmed up the crowd with some clowning.
Tall Rick did an elegant performance on tissu. Here he is just before the flippy fall and pinwheel down.
Beth and Thayr, the two professionals in the group, ended the first set with a comedy juggling show.
I started the second set. Here I am about to do iron cross above the bar.
Here I am doing iron cross on the bar as the trapeze spins in a circle.
And, of course, my signature move -- the back plaunge.
Jessica followed me. Here she is doing the candle stick.
Finally, Thayr ended the show with some rolla bolla action. Much fun, and hopefully more performances to come.

Oh, Those Darn Kids!

2009-04-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Funny girl, Amy Witry, is visiting family in Iowa. She has a super cute niece and nephew -- they both met Steve and I the last time they were visiting so they could meet a real-life Disney artist. I brought nothing to the table... or so I thought until the kids were leaving and Amy's niece announced, "He's CUTE!"

Needless to say, I love them both dearly.

Anyway, Amy had just blogged about her crazy nephew, his questions about Zac Efron being gay, and much more hilarity. Check it out.

SPEAKING OF KIDS...

Also, if you're interested in watching me do crazy trapeze stuff in front of kids, you're welcome to attend the fundraiser this weekend at:

Rose Scharlin Cooperative Nursery School
2414 Lake View Ave. Los Angeles, Ca. 90039

The show is roughly from 1pm-3pm, with a break in the middle. I'm in the whole show, but I won't be on the trapeze until around 2:15pm. I say "around" because none of these events ever happen on time. Sometimes they're even early. So come to the whole thing (besides, the other performers are really amazing).

It does cost, something like $12 or $15, but the money goes to this cool school in Silver Lake.

Up in the Air for Saturday

2009-04-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

I got this random email from the chef at Sila Bistro in Silver Lake. He's seen posters in the neighborhood for a circus show at a local preschool and wondered if that was us.

Yes, yes it is. It's kind of exciting. This is the first time I've ever been on a poster for a show since I was in high school drama. I mean, I've worked on movies and kept a poster from each, but it's not the same thing.

They use "dazzling" and "gravity-defying" in the same sentence to describe the performers. And they haven't even seen us yet. Kind of crazy.

Went to circus class last night and took Steve and his friend Jaime from work. It's not that I'm trying to convert him to circus arts, but it is a good workout and he can spend time with his ladies and me, so it's fun. He did very well, though we were all working so hard no one actually had the time to take a photo. There was a woman doing professional photos for the site and she snapped a cut pic of us doing abs together, but I don't have a copy yet. There are some group photos posted on Facebook, so I'm hoping I'll get tagged with those soon enough.
In the meantime, here are some pics of me and my fellow performers at rehearsal. That's Tall Rick on tissu, about to flip up into a back straddle.
Francesco, our lovable clown, practicing the opening act.
The beautiful and bendy Jessica...

And here I am, in the actual costume I should be wearing that day. On the left I'm doing the back plaunge (don't ask me how to spell it, it's French).

For the record, I'm called Little Rick in class. Not "small" Rick. That would be insulting. Little implies youth and thinness, both of which I like thank you very much.

I'm supposed to be swimming, which is my excuse for having bent knees.

And below I'm doing flag, which seems to be my signature move. Ya see, Tall Rick and Jessica may have lots of flexibility (and I have some) but I'm definitely strong so I tend to do more of these power moves. I'm okay with that, you need to have one thing that helps you stand out, right?
Hopefully we'll get some pics at the show. More to come...

A Close Shave

2009-04-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is me thinking...
I was wondering what I should do for next week's preschool circus show. I'd been assigned my character-- the Venice Beach muscle man, natch-- but how to add to that? I felt like I looked too modern, and we're doing a sort of pseudo 1920s beach thing. (Okay, maybe not exactly that time period, but somewhere in the general neighborhood. Either way, I look too contemporary.) What I need, I realized, was a makeover of some kind.

With that thought in my head, I decide to shave off the goatee. I've had it for a long while and the only time I trim it completely off is when I accidentally nick an area bare. But I grow it back after a week or so (it takes me a while to grow facial hair, and I barely have any on my cheeks-- the reason I have a goatee is because that's pretty much the only thing I can produce).

So on Saturday I did a facial (While you're in there grooming, you might as well...) and then shaved my face smooth. Steve's cool with it, I guess. He hasn't started ignoring me while cruising guys with facial hair, so I think I'm pretty safe.
Ahh, the face of an angel, no?

Sister Aunt Mary - R.I.P.

2009-04-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

"Sister Aunt Mary" was the name we used for our Aunt Mary, my father's sister. Dad came from an old school Catholic family where the first-born son was a priest (Uncle Francis -- until he eventually married a woman and left religious life) and the first-born daughter became a nun (Aunt Mary).

Sister Mary Perpetua died April 3rd, while I was in the middle of jury duty, and I didn't want to pen off some quick note about it on the blog. I wanted to give her life some thought so I could write something proper. I've read the obituary the Order of Grey Nuns wrote for her and it's fine, but it's just about her life.

I, however, knew her as a fascinating woman with great humor, a misbehaving history where she and my father would ditch school as kids, and a deep love of God that I'll always remember and cherish. She walked through a room like an unstoppable tank (as most nuns of a certain era did), taught me sign language, and showed me that there's nothing wrong with ordering a blue-plate special and cocktail at 5pm when you're in New York City.

Her Humor

Steve met Sister Aunt Mary right before my book came out in 2004. We visited her at Our Lady of Fatima Convent in Jackson Heights, NY, then went to dinner with her and Sister James Maureen. James Maureen was one of her best friends and kind of looked like the mother in Triplets of Belleville. She also drove everywhere -- albeit by making illegal u-turns in the middle of busy New York streets, knowing full well that God was on our side so we'd be safe. (Ahh, the faith of religious people.) Unfortunately, we didn't bring our camera.

Sister told us about two semi-recent trips to the doctor. One was for her eye, which needed an operation so she could see. When the doctor explained that she could potentially lose her eye, she said this:

"Oh good. Do you think you could give me a blue one instead? I've always thought I'd be more attractive with blue eyes." He looked at her, stunned. She played innocent. "Don't you think I'd be more attractive with one blue eye?"

A short while later she'd have a second operation to remove a potentially cancerous bump from her face. But that might leave a scar.

"Then everyone can just called One-Eyed Scar-Faced Mary." Sister James Maureen was horrified that she'd tell us this.

"What?" Sister Aunt Mary asked, again ever-so-innocently. "If you had a piano teacher named One-Eyed Scar-Faced Mary you'd listen to what she told you, wouldn't you?" Steve and I nodded. We would.

Her Grand Performance

The second story involved Sister Aunt Mary traveling into the city to finally purchase a used piano for the church, which she would use to teach children. There's a store next to Carnegie Hall. She marveled at the gorgeous new Steinway Pianos, and the salesman let her sit at a couple and practice, even though she'd made it clear the church couldn't afford one of the new ones.

"You know, I always dreamed of playing at Carnegie Hall," she told him off-handedly. "I guess this is as close as I'll ever come." She then stood up to complete their purchase.

"You never know, Sister," the man replied, and went off to write up the receipt.

According to Sister, he was gone for a long time, and she wondered if he'd forgotten them for some wealthier customer. Instead, when he returned, he asked her to follow him into the back of the store -- she thought he was going to show her a piano more in line with their budget-- then through an alley, and into the stage door at Carnegie Hall. There she met the stage manager, who without pausing led her to the center of the stage where a beautiful piano was waiting.

"He said to everyone in the room, the janitors, backstage people and staff, 'Excuse me, everyone. Please stop what you're doing. Sister is going to perform.' I didn't know what to do, I was shocked. But all of them took a seat in the auditorium, so I sat down and played my favorite song. And when it was over they applauded."

I wish I'd written in my journal what her favorite song was, but I didn't. However, whenever I think of this story, it makes me cry with happiness.

My mom, brother and sisters are all stunned that sister met Steve, much less that she let the both of us in the convent. She knew about our relationship because she was my favorite aunt, and I hated traveling to New York and not calling her. So I told her the truth. Mom says age mellows you, so maybe that's why she never condemned us to hell. I won't pretend to know the answer.

But maybe one day she'll tell me her reasons, when I see her again on the other side.

Jury Duty Done ... Now a New Circus Show

2009-04-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

THUMP! Pop! Pop!

Those are the noises I heard upon falling from the trapeze last Saturday and hitting the crash pad. The thump was my body, while the popping was my left arm and right hip popping out of their sockets.

We were rehearsing for an upcoming fundraiser at a preschool, and I was pushing myself really hard. I felt exhausted, wasn't paying attention, and changed my grip on the bar without thinking. Suddenly, I realized a fall was about to happen, and I was smart enough to let go of the bar because if I'd held on my entire body would have slipped and yanked on that one supporting arm, probably causing a serious injury.

After hitting the crash pad, my limbs immediately popped back into place and all is fine (I'm told I fell like a pro). But now my shoulder and hip muscles hurt like I slept wrong for a week. So I'm icing muscles, applying Tiger Balm, an popping Advils.
In the top picture is Tall Rick, Francesco and Jessica. The four of us are doing a beach themed show and tonight was my first day back. I moved slowly, muscles were a bit tender, but all in all I did well.
My focus now is creating my character and finding ways to make proper breathing and careful transitions (as in, being mindful of where I am and what I'm doing) a part of the performance.
So this weekend and next week will be a series of rehearsals for next Saturday. I'll make sure not to fall in front of the kids.

By the way, did I mention my Mom is coming to the show? Fun.

WORD OF THE WEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!! (April 9, 2009)

2009-04-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

The word of the week is: Juriatric

Definition: Adjective. When you've served on a jury for so long that you feel like you've lost years of your life and are closer to death.

In a scene:
Rick and his fellow jurors enter their 15th day of service, and find out they have close to 65 questions to handle during deliberation.

RICK (to another juror): Girl, I feel juriatric.

Le Chateau, Part Deux

2009-04-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so where were we?

As I mentioned, on Saturday evening Steve, myself and our friend Shamaa paid a return visit to the Chateau Marmont to make up for our last embarrassing visit.

"Don't slam the passenger door too hard," Shamaa said. We were taking her Mercedes this time for fear that the valets would recognize me driving Steve's Mini Cooper. After all, I have one fashionable jacket and I was wearing it again-- probably with the same shirt since we couldn't remember our wardrobe choices from last time. "Some guy hit me and it popped out the passenger mirror," Shamaa continued. "I pushed it back in but I don't know how well it's going to stay."

Mirror worries aside, we made it in time for our reservation, sat on the outdoor patio, and watched as the sun set, golden light illuminating the sides of Le Chateau until it became too dark and the space's beautiful garden lights took over. Tucked into quiet corners were various visitors.

So who did we see (because none of you all tune in for my flowery writing, I'm sure)? We saw comedian Richard Lewis with two lady friends, but they didn't stay too long because there was like a tornado whipping through the courtyard at times. The wind didn't bother us, but there was one woman at another table who wanted to go someplace less windy... and be outside. Idiot.

We then saw Rachel Zoe who has become quite thin. It's not to say she wasn't trying to bulk up, she had a full meal of wine and cigarettes while hiding behind ET sunglasses. Super cute.

Finally (and probably the most exciting for three foodies) was seeing Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef. She's super tall, which I know we should have assumed but it still surprised us, and she was bundled in the kind of winter jacket one wears to Russia. In the winter. But she rocked it so who cares? We wanted to go over and say hi but, you know, it's Le Chateau and people don't do that sort of thing at places like this.

And speaking of food (kind of), let me tell you that it's less about the food at Le Chateau and more about the atmosphere. Not even celeb watching, so much (though we were), but the magical feeling you have sitting in a place that's filled with such grand Hollywood history. It felt special, as though the three of us were a part of something very important. It also seemed exciting, perhaps because all three of us are entering new points in our lives/careers. So while the meal was just fine, it was the shared moment that made the evening absolutely lovely.

That was our conversation as we stood by the valet station and saw Shamaa's Mercedes pull up... the passenger mirror hanging out from its casing.

"Oh my God, we're so ghetto!" she whispered, horrified. "Get in the car! Quick! NOW!"

We scuttled in, slammed the doors, and laughed as the mirror banged against the car during the short drive home.

New Kid on the Block

2009-04-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of Steve standing with young Robby from Austin, Texas and his Guncle Joe. Guncle Joe, it seems, has been a fan of our Mondo blog for quite some time. His nephew, young Rob, is an animation student, a huge Disney fan, and wants to become a Disney animator one day if all the planets become aligned.

So this past weekend young Rob made a trip out to LA to visit his guncle and see Disneyland for the first time. Guncle Joe contacted us to see if we'd chat with Rob about what it takes to be an animator-- since Steve knows a thing or two about that.

We met at Fix in Echo Park and had a lovely little afternoon visit. Rob was so adorable, excitedly telling us about his first trip to Disneyland, his artistic inspirations, and the classes he's taking in Austin. Steve told him about his school and work experiences, asked to see some of Rob's art, then showed Rob his professional portfolio.

It was just such a fun little respite from a weekend loaded with work (for me).

But as Steve said, when he was Rob's age, meeting professionals was the inspiration and kick in the ass he needed to get through school.

And seriously, look at Rob's smile. Could he be any cuter with his excitement?

However, our Saturday adventures were not over. Oh no. Because as you may recall, we tried to visit the Chateau Marmont a month and a half ago, but got turned away because we didn't have reservations (flakey Rick). So after meeting Young Rob and Guncle Joe, we shot home, took a power nap, changed and picked up friend Shamaa for our reunion tour.

More on that tomorrow...

The Jury that Drinks Together...

2009-04-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today we were waiting to go into the courtroom and I start talking about The Edison, a super cool bar in downtown LA, not far from the courthouse. Some people have been, others had not but were intrigued -- especially about their Soup Kitchen Fridays.

So I say, "God I could us a drink..." referring to the trial.

Everyone agreed.

And so tomorrow, Friday, we're all walking over after court to enjoy a beverage.

I'm just doing my part to keep the wheels of civic justice well lubricated.

Random Sunday Funday

2009-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Between jury duty and work, Steve and I haven't had much of a social life, so we decided to hit the town on Sunday afternoon. And since day-drinking is a personal love, we ended up at The Abbey, which is kind of typical but what the hell -- you can be in the sun, the drinks are strong, and you never know who you'll run into.

One random thing, though... They now have these wall-size portraits up inside. They're cool, but they're the portraits from S-Bar, which is the bar located next to Katsuya in Hollywood.

Both Katsuya and They Abbey are owned by SBE Group, but it's just kind of strange seeing a design element Philippe Starck put together for Katsuya being re-purposed here.

Anyway, the day became rather fun as we ran into numerous people we knew.
Here I am with long-time friend Allen.
Then I ran into Jessica and Heather from work.
Funny lady (and Allen's roommate) Amy Witry was out so we could discuss jury duty gigs. We also ran into John Romeo (on the right-- and yes, that's his last name) who was with his friend James.

Friends Greg, Matt Breen (from The Advocate), and couple Randy & James were also out.Straight couple, Robert and Jamie (who works with Steve at The Disney Stores) also showed up. We protected Robert, who was quite game for all the gay insanity popping up around him.
Finally, our gay celeb sighting (besides a ton of reality-show gays who were out) is friend (and voice actor on Rick & Steve - The Happiest Gay Couple on Earth) Wilson Cruz. Such a cute pic of he and Steve.

Amazingly, no one was hung over Monday morning.

My Latest Jury Discoveries...

2009-03-27T12:45:00.001-07:00

Jim J. Bullock was having lunch next to me yesterday. I didn't see if he was on a jury as well (or suing someone) but wouldn't you just DIE to have him in your ury panel making funny voices and cracking jokes?

One of the lawyers drinks his water like this: He picks up the bottle, lifts it toward his mouth, sticks his pointy tongue out so that it docks with the water bottle opening, then guides it into his mouth for a sip. It's like he's French-kissing the damn thing.

Some people in the courtroom don't want to be seen yawning, so instead they clamp their mouths shut. This causes the chin and bottom lip to vibrate like Beaker from The Muppets does when he's scared.

Whenever I'm having a hard time paying attention, I watch the translater as she listens to the people she's supposed to be translating. The confusion and look of, "What the F--- are you thinking?" before she translates is priceless.

Whevever the translator isn't translating, I watch the transcriptionist somehow successfully log everything on that tiny short-hand keyboard. I did transcription for a while and it's insane. I simply marvel at her skills, especially when she reads it back.

When none of that helps, I imagine running into the transcriptionist after the case and asking her the following:
*After listening to all these trials, do you curse your fast-typing skills?

*Do you ever listen to these people and want to ask them, "What the F--- are you thinking?"

*Did you know that Jim J. Bullock was in the building?

But the biggest discovery? This trial is now taking so long that they estimate we won't be done with TESTIMONY until April 6th or 7th. And depending on how long it takes the jury to come ot a decision, it could take even longer.

"I object!"

The Things I've Noticed During Jury Duty

2009-03-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

1. They let anyone report for jury duty -- business people, working-class folk, conspiracy theorists and miscellaneous crazies.

2. In this regard, jury duty is very much like Disneyland.

3. The interview process is supposed to weed through the riff raff. In our case, they succeeded, which provides me with a small amount of comfort.

4. During that interview, the lawyers vainly attempt to get you to like them, and thus their client as well. Disturbingly, when the boring lawyer speaks and you start dreading what the trial might be like, you find yourself fighting the urge to stand up and yell, "GUILTY!"

5. The jury could really use those 5-Hour Energy Shots -- one in the morning and one four hours later.

6. No one cares about economic hardship, racism, or any other bullshit excuse you use to get out of serving.

During my interview I answered the following questions:

NAME? Richard Andreoli
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Echo Park
MARRIED, SINGLE, IN A DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP, LIVING WITH A SIGNIFICANT OTHER, OR HAVE SOMEONE IN YOUR LIFE WHO COULD BE CONSIDERED YOUR PARTNER, BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND. AND DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN?
Married. No children.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? Screenwriter, author.
WHAT DOES YOUR SPOUSE DO? He (emphasis on "HE" because I might as well get political if I'm downtown) is a toy and collectibles designer for Disney and goes to (insert foreign country) all the time and does business with (insert nationality) people all the time.

(This is where I silently pray they'll ask if he likes it or hates it, and I can tell the story of when they factory owners brought him hookers in the hopes that my disgust would have me removed. But, ya see, they don't care.)

No one cared about any of that. In fact, the (slightly) more successful lawyer was skilled at using "husband" when asking about Steve. Then he asked about my screenwriting career. I started to hate him.

OTHER THINGS I OBSERVED:
7. The fun of living 10 minutes from the courthouse is quickly eclipsed by the panic of trying to also complete your regular job in the morning, during the 90 minute lunch break, and in the evenings.

8. The judge could use a 5-Hour Energy Shot as much as the jury.

9. The case isn't finished but I definitely know one thing the defendent is guilty of... WEARING PLEATS.

WHAT??? I KNOW! "Guilty! Guilty!"

Blgo Voting Time

2009-03-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

On my blogroll I have "Where There's Wil, There's Always a Way." He writes about music, family, and the local scene in Portland, Maine. And the blog is up for Best Blog in Portland, Maine -- again.

If you read it and like it, vote for him. If you're not sure, check it out and vote for him.

Cheers!
Rick

Steve's Big Weekend at The Disney Store

2009-03-23T06:17:00.001-07:00

Steve made his first in-store appearance at The Disney Store in West Covina today (WHAT? Where's that? Head east on the 10 like you're going to Palm Springs... just don't expect as much driving, liquor or excitement.)
Here is Steve outside the store. Notice is tense shoulders and uncomfortable stance. Someone was extremely nervous. After all, Steve hates public speak, much less being the center of attention. And he gets even more nervous when children are involved... and making him the center of attention.
So here's the sign explaining the basic deal. There are these new princess dolls called Disney Princess Darlings. You buy one, you get a sketch drawn for you on the spot by a real-live Disney artist (or if you didn't want to wait in line-- or got there too late-- you could choose one of the digital copies of Princess pictures the artist had already drawn).

Steve did not design the dolls, but when you're looking for someone who draws the princesses you turn to him. He was joined by Dan, another artist/designer for the stores (pictured here).

So basically the guests (because I think that's what they're called) had four choices: Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella from Dan, or Ariel and Belle from Steve. Curious as to which Princess was the fan favorite?

Yes, Ariel -- here are a couple pictures Steve taped to the side of the animation desk. They're from the style guide he created a couple years back for Disney Consumer Products.
The crowds were very big -- with some people even filming Steve as he drew. For his part, Steve just stayed focused on drawing, turning out a pic every 5 minutes. He kind of ignored the crowd to focus on work, both because he had to in order to work that fast, and also because it took care of the anxiety.
But my favorite girl was this one. She wasn't bothered by his nervousness, she just stood close and talked to him as he drew. She was so excited to see her favorite Princesses (Ariel) come to life. She even got in line a second time to have him draw Belle, this time with her mom watching by her side. It was super cute.

And just in case you're curious we spent yesterday icing his shoulder and arm, then applying Tiger Balm. No joke. Passions have their pains, you see.

Jury Sentence 10-15 Days, & Steve’s In-Store Appearance

2009-03-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

So I got stuck on Jury Duty for 10-15 days. I can’t talk about the details, obviously, but I’ll talk about the process tomorrow.

However, I can talk about Steve’s big weekend at The Disney Store. He’s going to be making an in-store appearance at one of the stores in West Covina (not the one pictures here-- I just needed a picture). I’m a little hazy on the details (because Steve is living in pseudo-denial about the whole thing) but here’s what I’ve got:

1. He’ll be there early and I think Cast Members and their families are the first to be allowed in.

2. He’ll be filmed for some Disney website.

3. Families who purchase some new Princess product will be allowed to get an original Princess sketch drawn by a real-life Disney artist (Steve).

4. I think there is one other Disney employee there drawing.

5. Steve’s basically stuck in West Covina from 8:30am until 5pm, then has to drive back.

Now here’s what you need to know (if you don’t already) about Steve:

1. He hates being in the spotlight (unless I’m there to help).

2. He likes children but gets anxious when talking to them.

3. He also becomes anxious when he’s asked to draw on demand – “Draw, monkey! Draw!”

4. He’s a perfectionist, so any drawing that you and I would think was perfectly lovely, he’ll hate and want to redo 10 times.

5. When being asked to draw in front of people, someone invariably asks him to draw a character he’s never drawn before, like Spongebob or Woody from Toy Story. This combines with all the elements above to make for a really bad situation.

I'll go down-- probably with Steve and just bring my laptop to do some work so that I'm not totally behind. And I know some friends are coming with their kids, so we'll have some cute photo ops.

And when we get home I'll immediately pour him a cocktail, because I know after a day of drawing and dealing with kids, he'll most likely need one.

I'm thoughtful like that.

Jury Duty...

2009-03-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles has a system where you call in to find out if you have to serve on a jury. I called last night and was told to report for service, so I've been sitting in this jury room since 7:30 this morning.

You fill out forms, hear them give instructions a hundred times because people are idiots at following directions, and then wait to be called. The one thing that did hit me, was a judge came in and made the point that this is a serious gig. You literally could decide whether a person lives or dies, loses his fortune, or simply gets out of a speeding ticket. It's kind of heavy when you think about it.

An upside to this, I was on Facebook yesterday and saw my friend Chris (Producer of the Stephanie Miler show) post a photo that said he was on jury duty this week. So I immediately contacted him. He just stopped by and we're having lunch today.

You know, the court gives us approximately 90 minutes for lunch, which is kind of nice-- I could even drive home and eat there if I wanted. I could even drive home and have a cocktail (I DO love day drinking). But I suppose that wouldn't really be good for my civic duty... and everyone would be able to smell the booze on me. I hate appearing tacky in court.

If this day drags on, I could be posting with much frequency...

Random Birthday Happenings

2009-03-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

This was a fantastic birthday weekend. I checked out a possible new space for the circus school with Cirque School LA's owners, Aloysia (pictured here with me) and Rex. If everything lines up, we could have a new home this week. Classes would then start soon after.

We also got to test out the space-- laying down mats, setting up the rig, and hanging a few trapezes. This, of course, meant that we also got to do some practicing... all weekend long.

No photos, but it was a higher location, which means we can start trying even bigger tricks. Really excited to see how that goes.

Friday night Steve made me a beautiful birthday dinner since he knew I'd be working on the school site all weekend and we wouldn't be able to hang out. He made a simple caprese salad with fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil, tomatoes and a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. That was followed by a juicy filet mignon, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, some asparagus, and a nice bottle of wine.

Saturday was a long day of trapezing, and by the time I came home I was exhausted. I fell asleep while watching America's Next Top Model (can you blame me?) and went to bed. Sunday was another day of trapeze fun, and I got home late last night.

That schedule also meant not checking on my emails over my birthday weekend. Here's the breakdown:

212 - on my AOL account.
540 - on my website (which were almost all junk mail about getting bigger boobs, designer watches, good drugs, and a bigger tool)
85 - Facebook "Happy Birthday" wishes

Prepping for an upcoming preschool trapeze show in April. Super excited. I'll be doing a comedy bit, working in tandom with my friend Jessica. We're going to be some kind of Superman/Wonder Woman type show, but we're keeping it clean and silly. It's for the kids, after all.

BTW, Steve is making an in-store appearance this coming weekend. More info to follow...

Today Is My Friday - Plus Some Comedy for You!

2009-03-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

I'm taking tomorrow off from work. Since this company launched the new site, which involved a ton of extra work time, I haven't had a break. And because this weekend is my birthday (I know, right? Beware the Ides of March, yo!) I decided to take Friday off.

Of course, what then arose was a circus project. So I'm actually going to spend the weekend with circus folk, working out on the trapeze, and trying to look fabulous.

It's funny, because I've never been a big one to care about age. Then the other day it hit me that I'm turning 37, and when you work with a bunch of young tech types it can make you feel old. You can't drink or party as much, Steve is younger and still beautiful, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But then I realized that I've enjoyed getting older. I feel like I don't sweat the small shit as much, I'm less concerned about money, and I've dropped the dramatic people from my life. I also have Steve, and a solid relationship really makes working through any life crisis so much easier.

Besides, when I was younger I couldn't do circus tricks-- hell, I couldn't afford the classes. Now I can... and I look pretty good as a result, I think (and so does Steve). So even if my birthday is spent with aerial people, I feel like it's going to be a great day, and the beginning of a great year.

But wait, what about that "Funny" I promised you?

I have jury duty next week, and our good friend Amy Witry does a great stand-up routine about how she loves jury duty. Here's a clip of her performing at the famous Caroline's in New York. Play it with your headphones, but it's definitely worth the 5 minutes.

More Lynda Carter and Some Early Releases

2009-03-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

Steve and I were shopping for groceries Sunday when he spotted the new Pinocchio DVD sitting on the shelf. (Um, of course he did...) Anyway, it wasn't due out until today, Tuesday, and even though we didn't have the time to watch it we quickly scooped it up. Kind of random, and it was the only one on the shelf-- so clearly someone screwed up-- but we lucked out.

Last week we also got a copy of Kelly Clarkson's new CD. There's the song playing right now, "My Life Would Suck Without You (Since You've Been Gone)," which is a fun little toe tapper. That's actually not the real name of the song, but every time she sings "My life would suck..." Steve and I shout out, "Since you've been gone!" since it basically sounds like the same song.

The new album also has a song that sounds like Beyonce's song, "Halo." SO follow the train of thought here... Kelly has a song that sounds like Beyonce's song, that was really intended to be a Leona Lewis song, so it's sort of three-times removed. It's still good, but every now and then we'll be singing a long, miss the lyrics and start singing bits of Halo.

We don't blame Kelly. After that last stinker of an album you stick with what works and makes you money.

There are also a couple great ones that will undoubtedly be remixed into gay dance anthems just in time for summer. So that's something to look forward to, I suppose.

Do you all read Pink is the New Blog? You should, and not just because Trent did a lovely mention of Steve and I and our night out at Lynda Carter on Friday. Steve and I now feel quite gaymous. He also has a clip of Lynda performing.

And speaking of clips, here's one more of Lynda Carter from Friday night's show where she sings Diana Ross.