In exciting news (to me, at least) … I have gone down one notch on my ratty, old belt. I guess daily torture on the treadmill is paying off. Check out how worn out from my fatness the next notch up is. 😛
Daily
Lowcountry Weekend
We spent the weekend in the South Carolina Lowcountry … specifically Charleston! David was down there all week for a conference, so I drove down and joined him on Friday. This is where David did his internship (2016-2017) and we have quite fallen in love with Charleston. Being back this weekend made me realize just how much I missed the place. We ended up eating and drinking too much. But hey … that’s what weekend trips are for, right?
Some things we did:
– Dinner and drinks with friends at Taco Boy and Revelry Brewing Co.
– Chicken Biscuits at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit
– An aborted attempt to catch the drag show at Dudley’s on Ann
– Amazing cocktails at Victor Social Club
– A visit to Angel Oak Tree
– Record shopping at Monster Music and Movies
– Froze our asses off on a four mile beach walk at Isle of Palms
– Dinner, drinks and dessert with more friends at Fuel Charleston and Kaminsky’s
– Brunch with even more friends at Black Magic Cafe in Folly Beach
Needless to say, I feel like I have gained 20lbs. And … David started not feeling well yesterday and now I am feeling run down as well. It was worth it though, because Charleston is super sweet.
Spotted on QE …
I broke down (mainly because I was bored) and watched the reboot of Queer Eye on Netflix. The show was pretty fun … but what really caught my eye was the The Art and Making of Hannibal: The Television Series book prominently displayed on Joe’s bookshelf in the Below Average Joe episode. It’s a sweet book about one of the best shows ever to be televised. It caught Bryan Fuller’s eye as well. How fun. It’s nice to know Joe has great taste (pun not intended) in television.
12 Years Later …
Remember 12 years ago when I showed off a stripper thong as we were in the pre-production phase of The Full Monty at the local theater? Well, I still have this stripper thong that was bought as a test for the show. I tried it on once to see how/if it would work and it’s been tucked away in its original mailer ever since the show went into rehearsal.
“Why are you bringing this up?” you may ask.
Well … Asheville Community Theatre is going to be doing The Full Monty in June of this year. Auditions are at the end of the month and I am currently planning to put my name in the hat to be one of the guys. I really wanted to be in the show back in 2006 but ended up co-directing instead (except for that final performance). Jonesy is planning on auditioning as well, and it would be really cool to be in the show with him (if we both get cast). So, here’s hoping I impress the director(s) with my signing/dancing abilities and they decide they want a middle-age, chubby fellow as one of the guys that goes all the way.
Busy AF!
Freelance work has got me busy as fuck.
So here is a cat meme … because, apparently, I am a cat.
Speaking of Oscars …
Roger Deakins had better fucking win this year!
Another Movie!
I *finally* got to see The Shape of Water this week. I really liked it. It has great acting in an engaging “adult fairy tale” story with fantastic direction and production design. A minor quibble would be Michael Shannon as the villain. He’s fine in the role, but Shannon has played LOTS of villains and it just seemed like more of the same. Past that, I was totally enthralled by this movie and even got teary-eyed at the end.
My bet is that The Shape of Water will take home Best Picture in a few weeks at the Oscars. I am still rooting for Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri to win (because it’s great and was filmed locally!) … but I don’t think it will win because of the bad buzz surrounding the character of Dixon.
Weekend of Moovies
Not a whole lot went on this weekend … other than lots of movies (not all of which I am going to talk about)!
I finally got to see Strike a Pose, the 2016 “where-are-they-now” documentary about the backup dancers that were featured on Madonna‘s Blonde Ambition Tour (and documentary Truth or Dare). As a young, closeted gay man, Truth or Dare (and the dancers) made a big impression on me. It was great (and sometimes heartbreaking) to see what where life has taken those dancers. I recommend this for fans of Madonna and Truth or Dare.
I was expecting Only the Brave to sledgehammer you with sentimentality. But it didn’t. This movie tells a compelling and tragic story without getting overly manipulative. Yeah. I knew what was going to happen and I still cried at the end.
I saw Black Panther yesterday. It’s a pretty good comic book movie. While not the best Marvel movie, it’s certainly near the top of the list. The best part, for me, were all the kick ass female characters. I could watch a whole movie of just Nakia, Okoye. and Shuri. They rocked!
And, I got to spend $$ on a new power adapted for my Macbook Pro. Something tells me that I shouldn’t be using the old one. Yikes!
Daily Drudgery (aka Exercise)
This Weslo treadmill made its way into the house about a month ago. I have been on it every day since then. Each day I do 3 miles at a 4-1/2 – 5 MPH pace which takes about 40 minutes. Let me tell you … it’s hell. But, on the plus side, I have lost around 8 lbs so far. I weighed in at a little over 175 this morning. I have not weighed under 180 in several years. Needless to say, I am going to have pizza this weekend to celebrate!
Wishy Washy
I am the world’s worst at not saying “no” to people. So, my wishy washy “maybe” replies always get me into situations that I don’t want to be involved in. This is something I am always struggling with. I need to learn to be more assertive in certain situations … and I now need to figure out how to (somewhat) gracefully extricate myself from one that I have gotten myself into. Such fun.
I Won! I Won!
In some better news … I have won one of Daniel Danger‘s limited edition Winchester posters from /Film. How cool is that? I have been hearing that the movie is not all that great, but this poster is super duper badass.
Out Next Week!
Holy crap! The new Criterion Collection edition of The Silence of the Lambs is a thing of beauty. *drools*
Pics were shamelessly stolen from the CriterionFourm.org Facebook Page.
Got Funk?
I’ve got funk … and not the good kind of groovy, dance-able funk. I was in a particularly down mood yesterday with today not being a whole lot better.
You know, it would be nice to be able to tell people off for being so unaware and unappreciative of the time you put into your work. But all that would do is piss them off and start a fight which wouldn’t change anything. Ugh.
Meanwhile …
– 60,000 Mile Service done on the Car ($$$)
– New Non-Stick Pan acquired
– Biltmore Annual Pass renewed
– Super Bowl Festivities were attended (good game!)
– Tax Crap is assembled and ready to go to the Accountant
– Continuing to read Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
– Obsessing about auditioning for a show in Asheville
– More Heating Oil ordered (Winter, please go away!)
– Continuing to exercise daily (more on this later)