Watching the Inauguration

I wonder if the President could sleep at all last night. What do you eat for breakfast on inauguration day? It’s a long time before the official luncheon. They don’t even let him go right to lunch, he has to do work first, signing proclamations and making nominations.

As I watch the inauguration coverage, I always wonder if others are feeling the same way that I am.

I couldn’t help the tears welling up in my eyes as I watched the President’s family take the inaugural stage. On a day like today you can’t help but feel swelling pride at being an American. When you hear the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sing the Battle Hymn of the Republican, if that doesn’t touch your emotions, then you may need a little thawing …

As a crowd of hundreds of thousands waved flags and chanted OBAMA, OBAMA you couldn’t feel the excitement and dare I say the hope. I enjoy the ritual and ceremony, these things that make us feel united and make you feel the commonality of being an American.

As the President was walking in, he looked almost sad. Must be a bittersweet time. Sitting on the inaugural stage, the President looks thoughtful, contemplative, satisfied, meditative, prayerful … at peace? Joe Biden looked like he might cry.

Love that Myrlie Evers led the invocation. She did a great job with her speech, as did Chuck Schumer. I didn’t catch in the coverage how Dr King’s family was represented, and if any of the activities involved the MLK memorial? I should look that up.

A big shout out to all the production folks and crews who provided all the inauguration coverage, from the camera operators to the sound people to the people who labored to build the stages and more – when they do their jobs well, you don’t notice them, and they are usually out there for days at a time, in cold and dark, to bring you flawless live coverage of one of the biggest moments in our country’s history. Job well done.

And a shout out to the speechwriters, who help our leaders craft the poetic prose that inspires.

I appreciate the relatively recent addition of the inaugural poem (JFK). ‘Hope, a new constellation, waiting for us to map it.’

So is the nice-looking gay Hispanic poet single?

On an aesthetic note, the First Lady and the First Daughters looked fantastic. Those must be faux lashes on FLOTUS, she wears them well. Love the purple. Dr. Jill Biden is glowing in a beautiful blue satin coat with a large bow.

Some people I don’t recognize appear to be wearing fur, which seems like it could be controversial, tho it is pretty darn cold out and maybe it’s faux fur.

Beyonce’s emerald earrings and ring were worth the telecast alone, and she sounded DIVINE. She should always be accompanied by the Marine Corps band. Kelly Clarkson, while I may not be digging your new blonde ‘do and betrayal of your brunette roots, you brought it gurl. Job well done. And James Taylor sounded good too – not often you get to see those performers sharing a stage.

Sasha O could not sit still during the ceremony, gotta love it. I bet Grandma wanted to give her a little pinch. I’m waiting for the transcripts from the lip readers who will tell us what everyone was saying to each other up on stage.

Jay Z had to rescue wife Beyonce from some lady who looked like Margaret Thatcher who looked like she wanted to chat her up. Wonder how it feels for him that more people must know who she is than him .. .he kind of looked like her Secret Service agent.

Still a bit surreal to see Al Franken up on the inaugural stage, to me he will always kind of be the guy on SNL with the satellite on is head. And is Al Sharpton shrinking even more?

It is of course MLK Jr. day as well as inauguration day, and the themes of Dr King weighed in the air on a day of celebration, sometimes solemnly so. But I thought prez might address MLK more overtly. Too easy?

This year is the 50^th anniversary of MLK’s historic ‘I Have a Dream Speech.’ If you ever find yourself in Memphis please visit the National Civil Rights museum, which is built on the remains of what was the Lorraine motel, where Dr. King was infamously assassinated.  It is an incredibly moving and important legacy to race in America, to how far we have come (and what we should never forget) and how far we can still go.

http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org

But I think my favorite moment of the inauguration ceremony was the President taking a few moments before leaving the inaugural stage to gaze at the crowd, it looked like he was soaking it all in, trying to burn it into his memory. It will stay in mine.  

Betty White, American Treasure

Today is the birthday of Betty White, legendary comedienne, actress, performer of stage, screen and television. Probably best known for her ditzy Minnesota farmgirl character Rose Nylund on the Golden Girls and her bitchy character Sue Ann on the Mary Tyler Moore show, she has been bringing joy to audiences for more than 70 years.

The woman is still going strong, working in her 90s forpetesake. In the last decade, she’s worked on commercials (candy bars, laundry detergent), television shows (too many to name but she arguably steals the show in Hot for Cleveland) and movies (The Proposal)  … and she keeps going. They should make her the new Energizer Bunny.

Speaking of bunnies, she has long spoken out on the subject of animals, and has generously funded and been the face of numerous campaigns, fundraisers, shows etc. to bring attention to animals in need.

God bless her stamina and the example she has shown. I think the world should try a little harder to show their love of Betty, and why not cash in on it a little at the same time? 

For example, department stores could have “Betty White” sales instead of “white sales.”

Fashion stores could have promotions like, in honor of Betty’s Birthday, all white slacks are on sale for 50% off.

Flower shops could promote their rose arrangements in honor of Rose Nylund.

There are many possibilities. For my part, I won't attempt to make a traditional St Olaf Geflurkenflurken (I know my limits), but I will honor Ms. White by making a donation in her name to the Morris Animal Foundation (her goal is only $10k, surely America we can make this happen) and later tonight I’ll curl up and watch a few episodes of the Golden Girls, maybe with a slice of cheesecake, and think of the joy she’s brought to our lives.

http://www.causes.com/causes/769196-morris-animal-foundation/actions/1722764

Don't bother asking Y

Finally made it back to the gym after shall we say a brief (ahem) hiatus. I waited until late afternoon on Jan 6 thinking most of the resolutioneers would have cleared out by then. Of course never having been at the gym at 4 pm on a Sunday I have no real basis of comparison.

The cardio room was not full, which it often is on weekday evenings. It was comforting in a strange way that the room still smelled terrible and that the man who picks his nose was still there.

Am going to try a kickboxing class next. The last time I took kickboxing was many moons ago when I lived in South Florida and was a member of Gold's Gym. The instructor was a cappuccino skinned hunk of manhood who went by the name of Silk. A name that would seem silly for anyone else but he owned the moniker. And his classes were always full. Oversold even. You had to get there early to ensure a spot in the class and once in, there was jockeying for position to be in the front row. Not by me, mind you, I jockeyed to be in the very back of the room. But on the part of the scantily clad attractive women who vied for the attentions of Monsieur Silk. They all wore full make-up and were extra fake-tanned for the occasions.

Whatever the motivations for attending, Silk was a great instructor. Chose great music, charismatic, friendly and easy on the eyes. Taught me the difference that a good instructor can make, and I haven't found his equal yet. But I'll keep looking . And wherever he is, I hope Silk is still helping people master their uppercuts.

Incidentally, although I'd never guess that the outdoor pool at the Y would be open in January, I could have sworn I saw a cold, lonely lifeguard huddled by himself in the lifeguard stand..tho then again I do need my eyes checked...

Vagina Dentata

One of my new year's resolutions (well pretty much my only one) is to watch more movies. Resolutions shouldn't be difficult, should they?

The other night on IFC I caught an odd film from a few years ago called Teeth. Link below. Honestly I watched because it came on after Portlandia, and I'm not sure I'm glad I watched.

It was oddly compelling and haunting, I hope someone out there has seen it, because it's one of those movies that must be discussed. Talk therapy required.

The primary plot point involves a young girl who discovers she has a shall we say unusual gynecological condition that both serves her and proves dangerous. Can't shake it from my head does that mean it's a good movie?

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0780622/

Late to the Downton Party

I should like to have my own blend of tea named after me.
I should like to have long silk dresses dripping with beading.
I should like to have a houseful of servants.
In short, I'd like to live at Downton Abbey.

The social nuances, the strict code of conduct, the gossip and the intrigue. The crushed velvet!

The dialogue is snappy, crackling, tight and eminently quotable.

I can see why the show has caused such a fever. I deferred my invitation to the DA party for 2 seasons, afraid to accept another television show into my life. But when I heard that Shirley MacLaine was joining the cast I could no longer mount a resistance.

One episode in and I'm hooked, line and sinker. What a credit to the show's creators that they can so immediately draw viewers in to care about and be invested in the characters, from the lowliest scullery maid to the highest lady and lord.

Like the pull of the town that keeps pulling the residents back to Downton in their hearts and minds, so viewers have been genteelly sucked in to English country life in 1917.

I don't ever use Netflix but I'm going to have to. Such is the power of Downton Abbey. And let's not even get started on the hats.

Addendum to 2012 Accomplishments List

I count as one of my accomplishments of the past year that I saw the comedian Patton Oswalt perform a live set. He makes me laugh. Which I suppose is the point. As a bonus, the show was at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse, a place that still shows $1 movies on Mondays and where a nice person brings you a pitcher of beer and pizza and other snackies while you watch a movie or a show. All business establishments should involve pitchers of beer and at least freshly popped popcorn. Back in the day (aka when I was in college) you could also smoke while you enjoyed your pitcher of beer, but I digress.

What I appreciate the most about Oswalt's humor, aside from his snide wit and cutting but not unkind observations is that I can relate to his cultural touchstones. He grew up in the Mid Atlantic region of the US (Virginia) and we are roughly the same age. I can laugh knowingly when he pokes gentle fun at the low budget commercials for Carvel Ice Cream starring the gravelly throated Tom Carvel ... which reminds me one of these days we are going to have to discuss Fudgie the Whale, Cookie Puss and Cookie O'Puss. And what is comedy if not the ability to relate to one another? I just made that up but it sounds good.

In the stand-up routine that I experienced in person, the bit that stood out the most for me was his description of going to a tony LA department store to try on designer pants and how the chic and slender sales clerks treated him like a man who didn't know he was dying for his lack of awareness of his own body and how it appeared in the John Varvatos pants ... you had to be there. Which again is I suppose the point of live comedy.

I won't try and find the clip on You Tube or link to any clips out of fear for suggesting something that's a violation of copyright in any way - hey, I respect an artist's right to own his/her own content, to the extent that they can. But do check out his website, http://www.pattonoswalt.com.

And follow him on Twitter for pete's sake, you'll thank me later - @pattonoswalt. Following his live tweets during the recent political debates was a much better use of my time than actually watching the debates themselves.

If you still have a few minutes, read this post about voting, it's what a funny and thoughtful blog should sound like and even tho we're past the elections, the message resonates: http://www.pattonoswalt.com/index.cfm?page=spew&id=158

I didn't start this post to be a love letter to Patton Oswalt, but what the hell. Laughter is life and life is love and love is laughter. I made that up too but if you want to needlepoint it on something, let me know where I can buy it on Etsy.

Did I mention Oswalt is going to be on Portlandia next week? Swoon. @ifcportlandia
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Portlandia-Adds-Juliette-Lewis-Matt-Lucas-Patton-Oswalt-Others-Guest-Star-Season-3-49752.html

PS - oooh I thought of another accomplishment from 2012 - Ken Kercheval responded to one of my tweets. It's a marvelous time to be alive. New season of Dallas starts Jan 28 ... boom.

Test Blog

Technology is a wonderful thing, if you embrace it and know how to use it. I finally got a new phone and with it decided to move into the 21st century with an app that will let me blog on the fly. It's a wonderful time to be alive. Enjoy the gratuitous pic of one of my dogs.