JeffAndWill.com

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Top 14 Performances

Jeff — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:43:36 +0000

This week’s So You Think You Can Dance was the best of the season so far, and certainly among the top shows I’ve ever seen. Seven couples performed and I loved every dance from this week. The results show was stressful because I couldn’t imagine how any of the couples could end up in the [...]

Geek Out Takes a Break…

Jeff — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:30:52 +0000

Friday April 13, 2007, was the first Friday Geek Out and over the next 117 weeks I’ve written about 101 movies, songs, shows, people, books, events…things that I am very passionate about. Over the weeks, there have been a few Fridays that I’ve skipped for one reason or another. Geek Out is going to go on [...]

Giving the Nation A New Syncopation: “Ragtime” Returns!

Jeff — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:06:59 +0000

Ragtime is coming back to Broadway and I am psyched. This 1998 show deserved a lot more acclaim than it got back in the 1998-99 season. For the Tony Awards it was up against The Lion King. The lack of major Tony love, along with the collapse of its production house and the show’s sprawling, expensive [...]

Embracing a Teaching Moment

Jeff — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:38 +0000

As I was sifting through the 365Gay news headlines today, the blurb for “Those Who Can, Teach” caught my eye: “The Family Research Council’s attack on Kevin Jennings should inspire us to a teachable moment. ” Kevin was recently appointed as head of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the Department of [...]

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck: Return Visit

Jeff — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:22:24 +0000

The tweet hit my phone at 2:01this afternoon: The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (@biggayicecream) parked at 36th and 7th. That’s only 3 1/2 blocks from the office. Two words: field trip! Carolyn and I went out as soon as I finished the conference call I’d started at 2. Sadly, Dawn could not come becuase she was trapped [...]

Tigers Lose in OT, Ordinals Snowed by Blizzard

Jeff — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:24:11 +0000

It was a rough Saturday night on the ice. The Tigers met the Hotshots, which featured a guest appearance by the Lions goalie Chris Brand. It was unclear how we’d fare against this goalie. Peter is difficult to play against so to see Chris in net was not a welcome surprise. However, we rose to the [...]

“August: Osage County” Disappointment

Jeff — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:16:50 +0000

Admittedly we procrastinated seeing August: Osage County. At 3 1/2 hours it really couldn’t be done easily during the week. The show had been on our radar since it won the Pulitzer Prize and then the Tony Award last summer. July was the month we were going to go. On May 26 Phylicia Rashad joined the [...]

The Ride, Week 11

Jeff — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:52:18 +0000

It was a mixed week on the bike. I was off on Monday to recover from the Chelsea Challenge. Tuesday found me still in recovery mode. My legs were just not up to riding, plus I knew there was a good chance I’d be seeing Hair that night and I wasn’t sure what bike parking [...]

The Wiz

Jeff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:33:02 +0000

This afternoon I saw The Wiz on stage for the first time. This production is part of City Center Encores! Summer Stars, a series dedicated to presenting Broadway classics in limited-run productions (last year was Damn Yankees and its inaugural year brought the acclaimed Gypsy with Patti LuPone). This is the first time The Wiz has [...]

Groovin’ With the Bears

Jeff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:46:21 +0000

Last night we broke the mold on our usual Friday night, which consists of Will cooking dinner and then we curl up on the couch to watch stuff on the DVR. We still had dinner, but then we went out to the LGBT Community Center for the Summer Fur Dance. The last time we went dancing [...]

Chelsea Challenge 2009 Photos

Jeff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:25:15 +0000

I promised photos when I wrote up the Chelsea Challenge on Sunday… and finally here they are! Some of these are pictures I took… some are pictures I’m in… some are pictures that are just fun. Enjoy! Here’s the most important picture! The Hartford Whalers with our gold medals.

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Top 16 Performances

Jeff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:50:57 +0000

This weeks So You Think You Can Dance got off to a slow start with the two numbers–hip hop from Karla & Jonathan (which ultimately got Jonathan sent home) and Vitolio & Asuka’s jazz routine (which thankfully got Asuka sent home). Happily things picked up with couple number three and Melissa & Ade’s steaming hot [...]

On Birthdays and Celebrity Deaths

Jeff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:41:29 +0000

I celebrated my 41st birthday on Thursday. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both passed away on Thursday. Late on Thursday and into Friday I was getting questions like “What’s it like to have your birthday forever marred?” and “What’s it like to have your birthday on a day of national tragedy?” I was stunned to get these questions. Fawcett [...]

Suzie Blackwell and a bunch of nekid guys!!!

Will — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:52:31 +0000

Jeff and I briefly considered attending Broadway Bares this past weekend, but he was a little busy with that whole hockey thang. Thankfully, the indomitable Susan Blackwell [TOS] digs deep and goes behind the scenes of Broadway’s hottest benefit, showing us all sexy goodness we missed.

Hair

Jeff — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:43:43 +0000

I finally saw the Hair revival tonight. Sublime! That’s really the only word for it. I’ve seen the show three other times: a production done at the University of Alabama by its theatre department, the 25th anniversary tour when it stopped in Atlanta and a City Center Encores concert staging here in the city. This revival, which won [...]

Chelsea Challenge Gold, Ordinals Win Too

Jeff — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:26 +0000

Chelsea Challenge weekend has come and gone and I’m banged up and sore after the successful run at the gold medal with the Hartford Whalers in the Recreational B Division (which was the middle division in this year’s challenge). Besides five Challenge games I also subbed in with the Ordinals for their match up against the [...]

The Ride, Week 10

Jeff — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:41:13 +0000

It was a pretty full week of riding. Thursday was the only day that I had to take off for weather considerations. It was very rainy and the right choice not to ride because it would’ve been miserable, especially in the morning downpour. But even with Thursday off, I still had a lot of biking. With [...]

Big Gay Ice Cream Love

Jeff — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:15:22 +0000

I’ve been reading about it for a couple weeks now… The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. How fabulous does that sound!?! The truck made it’s debut in Brooklyn last weekend for Brooklyn Pride. Today was its first day in Manhattan (yesterday was supposed to be it’s first day but that was a rain out). Thanks to the [...]

Fame: I’m In

Jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:55:39 +0000

When I saw the first Fame trailer in April, I was dubious. Nothing in the trailer made me think the movie could live up to the 1980 original. Well, the new trailer has changed my mind! Love this look at the story, love the update to the title song (hearing more of it in this [...]

Time to Bring Out The Inner Ninja

Jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:26:21 +0000

It’s Ninja Warrior time again! Whoo-hoo! This Sunday night, starting at 5:30pm ET, G4 will air Ninja Warrior 22 (or Sasuke 22 if you prefer the Japanese terminology).The evening gets going with the Ninjafest 4 special, G4’s look at the twenty-second tournament and the challengers that G4 has entered into it. Then it’s five back-to-back [...]

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Top 18 Performances

Jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:50:50 +0000

The judging got a little harsher this week in the second performance episode of So You Think You Can Dance. The two couples that tackled hip-hop this week (Kupono & Ashley and Jason & Caitlin) found that trying to keep up with Shane Sparks isn’t easy. The judges liked the entertainment value of both numbers, [...]

Friday Geek Out: Chelsea Challenge

Jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:30:45 +0000

Starting tonight I take part in the New York City Gay Hockey Association’s Chelsea Challenge for the eighth time! My first time was June 2002. I’d played maybe a half-dozen games by the time the Challenge rolled around and I was scared playing that year. I was on a team where I didn’t know many [...]

Q-Link: What Is This Thing?

Jeff — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:38:09 +0000

I got the opportunity to try out a Q-Link and decided to do it. The literature on this pendant says that, by tuning your biofield, it can help you get more energy, less stress, greater focus and improved well-being. Who wouldn’t want that? Here’s a quote from the booklet: “Worldly stressors—such as flickering computer monitors, irate [...]

Infernal – Self Control

Will — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:01:24 +0000

Okay, I was messing around on YouTube when I discovered the Danish pop duo Infernal. They’ve become my latest obsession. Lina, the blond, is fierce (hey, that’s the first time I’ve ever used the word ‘fierce’… that’s the second). Her handsome compatriot is Paw (which is apparently pronounced Pow). I love the promo picture above, [...]

Tigers Post Sizeable Loss, Wizards Lose in OT

Jeff — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:44:17 +0000

Yes, both teams lost last night. Yet it was a fun and exciting night of hockey. The Tigers met up with the Scapegoats, number on in the division and currently undefeated. We didn’t turn that around last night. They beat us 8-1. That said, this is one of those games were the score doesn’t accurately reflect [...]

Ali Forney Center Stonewall 40th Anniversary Panel Discussion

Jeff — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:56:34 +0000

I spent a part of this afternoon at a panel discussion put together by the Ali Forney Center to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The riots, which started the night of June 28, 1969 and went on for several more nights, marked the beginning of the gay rights movement. On the first anniversary [...]

The Ride, Week 9

Jeff — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:26:06 +0000

It was not a great week for biking. I rode on Monday, which was one of the few decent weather days this week. Tuesday: Poured rain (including a major thunderstorm at 3am that had such loud thunder it set off the car alarms of cars in the garage of our building!). Wednesday: I had the day off [...]

Red Wings & Penguins Meet Again…This Time Penguins Win!

Jeff — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:12:51 +0000

It’s been another exciting NHL playoff season for me as my two favorite teams advanced and advanced to come together again in the Stanley Cup finals. For the past two weeks, the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins have battled it out. Tonight it game down to Game 7. Yes, I wanted to see Detroit raise [...]

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Top 20 Performances

Jeff — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:22:03 +0000

The top 20 performing on this week’s So You Think You Can Dance were all pretty phenomenal! There was the sense that would be the case coming out of Vegas and the group lived up to expectations… almost. Asuka and Vitolio tackled Broadway this week and I did not like it. First off, the choreography from [...]

Friday Geek Out: Chess

Jeff — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:30:46 +0000

Major geeky excitement next week as PBS’ Great Performances airs Chess: In Concert. Well before Mamma Mia became a worldwide musical smash, ABBA’s Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus wrote an original musical with lyrics from Tim Rice (Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar). For Anderson and Ulvaeus, this was their first outing after ABBA broke up. The result [...]

About Header #17

Jeff — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:58:21 +0000

Header #17 was shot on August 21, 2008 in Provincetown, Mass. We got up early during our vacation to watch the sunrise over the bay. Below is the complete picture used in the header. You can see the entire sunrise sequence here.

2009 Tony Awards Recap

Jeff — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:14:22 +0000

Billy Elliot walked away with the night winning 10 of its 15 nominations. I was hoping it would share more of the Tony wealth with Next to Normal, but at least N2N came out with 3 including Best Actress for Alice Ripley and for Best Score. And three awards does tie it with God of [...]

Tigers Win, Two Points For Me!

Jeff — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:01:05 +0000

After a couple weeks of losing hockey it was good to be in a winning place last night. The Tigers dominated the Rockets and won 6-0. Making it an even better night was that I picked up a goal and an assist, and played some pretty good D along the way too. The goal was very [...]

The Ride, Week 8

Jeff — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:43:05 +0000

You know how in the Terminator movies there’s usually at least one effects shot where you get to see through the Terminator’s eyes as he’s looking for his target? There’s that little targeting bullseye moves from person to person in his field of vision and eventually the words “Target Acquired” come up. This is how I [...]

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Vegas Week & Top 20

Jeff — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:09:16 +0000

Vegas week was rough for me. This is the first season that I’ve picked up So You Think You Can Dance before the Top 20 started performing. While the auditions didn’t cause me stress—I was moved by many dances but I wasn’t stressed out by the outcomes—Vegas week took it’s toll on the dancers and [...]

She-Ra en Francais

Will — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:25:08 +0000

Jes suis la seur de Musclor

Friday Geek Out: 2009 Tony Awards #4 – Predicitions

Jeff — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:30:49 +0000

I’ve made Tony Award predictions for years now, always trying to give my best shot at figuring out what the voters will go for in a given year. Some years I do great and some not so great, but I always come back for another round. It’s part of the geeky time of year that [...]

From Chunk to Hunk

Will — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:35:58 +0000

I find these shots by talented Russian photographer Andrei very inspiring. For more pictures of Vladimir, check out Andrei’s page at DeviantART.

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Jeff — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:01:09 +0000

“Someone has to change the world. Why not you?”—Guidance Counselor Dr. Blassingame to high school student & star quarterback Bobby Framingham. Out of the Pocket has been on my reading list for a couple months now. I met Bill Konigsberg on Facebook earlier this year. We connected in March because he’d caught some of this blog [...]

Total Eclipse of the Heart – The Literal Version

Will — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:20:31 +0000

Yes, everyone has been posting this, but it’s just too dang funny. Besides, “Total Eclipse” is one of our songs (don’t ask). Watch and enjoy the literalness of it all.

Tony Awards in Concert

Jeff — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:47:27 +0000

In this week leading up to the Tony Awards CBS affiliates have the option to air a special concert that was shot earlier in the month highlighting the musicals nominated (except for Pal Joey, which I guess was left out because it finished its limited run a few months ago). The concert, which also showcases [...]

Prince Harry & Fuzzy Ducks

Jeff — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:34:07 +0000

Yesterday was a beautiful day and we decided to eat lunch outside to enjoy it. That meant we were at one of our favorite spots to eat, Southwest NY because it has great outdoor seating that over looks the river. We’re chatting away, waiting for our food to arrive when I notice this gaggle of suits [...]

So Much Loss All Over Again

Jeff — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:17:09 +0000

Last night was a repeat of May 16, which means it wasn’t pretty. The Tigers started the loosing streak of the evening with a 7-1 defeat handed to us from the Sled Dogs. This was a weird game for us. We had to take care of an injury (broken leg) of one of our players mid-way [...]

The Ride, Week 7

Jeff — Sun, 31 May 2009 10:52:46 +0000

Week seven was pretty uneventful. It was a four day work week and I rode three of four of those days. Friday’s weather pulled a fast one on me, so I did the commute by subway (the first time in 12 days I’d been on the subway). It was pouring down rain all morning long, then [...]

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Auditions #2 & 3

Jeff — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:43:28 +0000

So You Think You Can Dance rolled on through auditions this week, showing us stops in Miami and Memphis on Wednesday followed up with Los Angeles and Seattle on Thursday. There was a lot of great dancing, especially the L.A. part of the show. It was shocking to see, meanwhile, how bad the first day [...]

How It Ended: New and Collected Stories by Jay McInerney

Jeff — Sat, 30 May 2009 02:19:02 +0000

It was a pleasure to spend the past few weeks with short stories from Jay McInerney. How It Ended: New and Collected Stories is a diverse collection and showed me a side of McInerney’s writing I haven’t seen before. The McInerney I’ve been exposed to has always taken place in New York City among a [...]

David Williams is voted “Hottest Jock in the World”… Well, duh

Will — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:55:08 +0000

I’ve written before of my, shall we say, admiration of Aussie footie player David Williams. Well, it seems the readers at OutSports.com totally agree with me. David was just voted King of the Hardwood (I know, the double entendres and puns are endless…) You can check out an online interview with King Hottie himself here.

Friday Geek Out: 2009 Tony Awards #3 – Next to Normal

Jeff — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:30:38 +0000

I’ve devoted a fair amount of space to Next to Normal over the past couple of months because it is one superb show. The Tony voters agreed with the audiences and the critics giving the show 11 nominations, making it the second most nominated show of the year. Among it’s nominations are Best Musical, Best [...]

Prop 8: Big Day in California

Jeff — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:08:11 +0000

The fate of about 18,000 same-sex marriages will be decided around 1pm ET today. That’s when the California Supreme Court will decide if Proposition 8, a voter passed constitutional ban on same-sex marriages will stand or if it will be reversed. In the case, ban opponents argued that the majority cannot vote away civil rights of [...]

Commercial Goodness Courtesy of AT&T

Jeff — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:52:12 +0000

I love this commercial. It’s so sweet and it makes me think of Before Sunrise.

The Great Sakte Break-In of 2009

Jeff — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:59:36 +0000

With no games this week, it was the perfect opportunity to use the ice time to break-in the new skates. The last time I broke in skates was June 2006, just ahead of going to Montreal for the Outgames. The new RB 9K skates finally showed up last week after taking a few diversions on [...]

The Ride, Week 6

Jeff — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:52:58 +0000

I rolled past a major milestone this week: commuting via bike for all five work days! I’m very happy that finally happened. The weather was perfect, I didn’t have to go anywhere after work that required a subway and I didn’t travel out of town. The one thing killing me this week was allergies. The grass [...]

So You Think You Can Dance 5 – Auditions #1

Jeff — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:02:57 +0000

So You Think You Can Dance started up Season 5 this week with audition episodes. I don’t usually do audition episodes but thankfully there was some pretty good dancing was on display Thursday night. The premiere episode focused on auditions in Brooklyn and Denver and the show had pretty amazing bookends with these two dances that [...]

Friday Geek Out: 2009 Tony Awards #2 – Hair

Jeff — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:30:13 +0000

The revival of Hair has been a long time coming to Broadway. In the decade we’ve lived in New York, this show has tried to come back a number of times: In 2001, City Center Encores! did the show and there was considerable talk about it going to Broadway (I saw this show and it [...]

DWTS Season 8, Week 11: The Finals

Jeff — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:49:13 +0000

Eleven weeks later, here we are. The finals. I’ll say up front that my ordering for the winners are like this: third goes to Melissa, second goes to Shawn and Gilles gets a sparkly glitter ball to take home. That show got started with a great idea: a paso doble off. All three did a paso [...]

Action = Marriage Equality: A Rally in NYC

Jeff — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:02:49 +0000

Back in November, after California voted down Prop 8, Will and I attended our first protest. We marched through the streets of the Upper West Side and supported our friends and family in California who had their rights stripped from them by a bunch of mean spirited voters. Now the marriage fight is in our backyard. [...]

Star Trek

Jeff — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:58:09 +0000

Wow! J.J. Abrams brought the Star Trek franchise back from the dead in a huge way. Let’s face it, the past few years have not been kind to Trek. Enterprise was kinda dull and a show I could not embrace. And, while I enjoyed the last big screen outing, 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, most people [...]

So Much Loss

Jeff — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:30:12 +0000

The loss piled up all over the place last night. The good news (if you could call it that) was that none of them were large losses. The Tigers started things off with a loss against the Scapegoats. This is the top team in the division and we did pretty good here, narrowly going down 3-2. [...]

The Ride, Week 5

Jeff — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:59:36 +0000

I participated in my first National Bike to Work Day on Friday, which happens to fall right in the middle of Bike Month in New York City. Of course, participation was easy… I only had to ride like I normally do. But, it was good to be part of the bike day and there were [...]

Friday Geek Out: 2009 Tony Awards #1 – Billy Elliot

Jeff — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:30:41 +0000

It’s Tony Awards season and that always puts me into a geeky mood since theatre is one of my very favorite things. This season has been a particularly good one too with some stunning productions on stage. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen, or at least wanted to see, many of the [...]

Yes, even I watched American Idol last night

Will — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:53:38 +0000

For the first time ever, I watched a complete episode of American Idol. I still believe, with all my heart, that it is the worst thing on television, but I simply cannot resist the megawatt star-power of Adam Lambert. This boy has got IT. His performances rock every single time (check them out, they’re all [...]

If you happen to be in New York this Sunday…

Will — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:15:14 +0000

DWTS Season 8, Week 10: Semifinals Ballroom Delight

Jeff — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:49:23 +0000

And then there were four… It was a great show this week with another round of two dances for everyone. I did think the ballroom portion was absolutely incredible. The Latin was good, but it was the ballroom that really dominated for me. I liked how they padded the show out this week. It didn’t [...]

Tigers Take a Bite Out of Great Whites

Jeff — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:23:45 +0000

The Tigers kept the new season going with another win last night, taking on the brand new Great Whites. You never know what you’re going to get when you face a brand new team and, while the team shows a lot of promise in only their second game, we owned the game from the beginning [...]

Studio Museum in Harlem

Jeff — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:18:54 +0000

I spent a couple hours this afternoon at the Studio Museum in Harlem. This was an excellent outing. The centerpiece of the current exhibits is Kalup Linzy: If it Don’t Fit. Linzy’s website describe the artist’s work: “Linzy is doing to daytime soaps what John Waters did to his Baltimore childhood. Part Richard Pryor, part RuPaul, [...]

The Ride, Week 4

Jeff — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:52:17 +0000

I knew going into this week that biking was going to be difficult. The weather has been really crappy plus I was in Chicago for two days. Even with all that, I still rode for the commute on two of the three available days. Monday was the weather day. It was rain, rain and more [...]

Friday Geek Out: Alanis Morissette “Uninvited”

Jeff — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:30:25 +0000

I like Alanis Morissette, even back into her You Can’t Do That On Television days. But this song his her crowning achievement. “Uninvited” was the first song she released after the mammoth success of the Jagged Little Pill album and it was written by her for the soundtrack to the 1989 film City of Angels. [...]

The Summer Movie Season Has Officially Begun

Will — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:28:20 +0000

Neutral Zone: Rejected

Jeff — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:32:12 +0000

After seeing all those inspiring Lammy nominees last night, I did the anti-award thing and got some (not totally unexpected) rejection today. I got my official “you weren’t selected” letter from the The Twenty-Sixth Annual Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel. From what the letter says, Neutral Zone was one of more [...]

Lambda Literary Award Nominees Read Their Stuff

Jeff — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:12:32 +0000

The 2009 Lambda Literary Awards (The Lammys for short) are at the end of this month. To celebrate, a number of authors read tonight at The Center in a showcase of some of the best LGBT literature around. I’m glad I braved the rain to hear some excellent work in a variety of genres. Here’s [...]

2009 Tony Award Nominees: Random Thoughts.

Jeff — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:43:12 +0000

The 2009 Tony Award nominations came out this morning and it was a mixed bag for me. The great news: The excellent Billy Elliot nabbed 15 nominations, which ties it for The Producers for the most nominations received by a single show. Also, the amazing and moving Next to Normal racked up 11 (making it the [...]

DWTS Season 8, Week 9: Quarterfinals Double Dance

Jeff — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:29:08 +0000

Dancing with the Stars rolled into the quarterfinals this week with all the teams doing two dances–a ballroom and a Latin. And for some reason ABC jumped the show back to two hours this week so we got a lot of filler too. Here is the rundown on this weeks competition: Shawn & Mark: (Ballroom: Quickstep) [...]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Jeff — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:40:49 +0000

The X-Men franchise set an impossibly high bar for itself with the stunning first two movies: X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003). Those films were big superhero, effects filled movies that had very compelling plot lines. The franchise slipped with the more effects and less story effort that was X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Now with [...]

Tigers, Wizards Open Season with wins

Jeff — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:09:25 +0000

It was a great start to the 2009 spring hockey season last night. The Wizards and Tigers both opened with wins that were very hard fought. The Wizards started the night beating the Tsunami 3-1. We’ve got a solid rivalry with the Tsunami, going back and forth and basically taking turns winning games. Last night [...]

Next To Normal

Jeff — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:57:15 +0000

We’re always on the look out for an original musical (as in something not based on a book, play, movie, novel…etc.) and we’d had our eye on Next to Normal. We jumped to go see it though when Brian saw it not once, but twice, during his recent visit here. So, for this year’s anniversary [...]

The Ride, Week 3

Jeff — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:00:34 +0000

This week was the least amount I’ve been able to ride the bike since I got it. That did not make me happy. When I wrote last weekend, I knew I wasn’t going to ride on Wednesday because I had to be in Brooklyn right after work. But Thursday ended up out of the question too [...]

Friday Geek Out: Streets of Fire

Jeff — Fri, 01 May 2009 08:30:57 +0000

There were some distinctly odd things that came out of the 80s and Streets of Fire was one of them. The 1984 “Rock & Roll Fable” was directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross, who worked on this film right after their blockbuster success with Eddie Murphy’s 48 Hrs. In the press [...]

DWTS Season 8, Week 8: Go Team!

Jeff — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:27:20 +0000

What a great show this week! Ty came out roaring. Melissa was a no-show. The team dances rocked the house! Here’s this week’s blow-by-blow: Gilles & Cheryl: (Lindy Hop) It was great to see Gilles slow it down a bit and work on his precision. There was a bit of a mis-step in the middle but [...]

All Hail Krofft!

Jeff — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:03:38 +0000

The TV Land Awards had a great tribute to Sid & Marty Krofft. Will Ferell, star of the upcoming big screen version of Land of the Lost, introduces things and shows some clips and then it all goes musical with performances of many of the Krofft theme songs. My favorite: Cyndi Lauper doing Electra Woman [...]

Every Little Step: The Journey of A Chorus Line

Jeff — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:53:44 +0000

Regular readers know that I have a special place in my heart for A Chorus Line (I detailed most of that in a June 2007 post about seeing the Broadway revival). Now, a movie about A Chorus Line is out in limited release (opening in New York and Los Angeles last week). Every Little Step uses [...]

The Ride, Week 2

Jeff — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:04:37 +0000

Week two of the new riding regime was even better than week one. My riding got stronger, with my traveling time cut down by about five minutes (I expect that to dip more, hopefully by at least five more minutes). I also picked up a bungee cord so I’m able to strap some of the [...]

Friday Geek Out: Live “Lightning Crashes”

Jeff — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:30:01 +0000

Live’s 1994 album Throwing Copper yielded quite a few excellent songs, but none of them were as amazing as “Lightning Crashes.” The song was written to honor Barbara Lewis, a 19-year-old friend of the band, who was killed by a drunk driver. She had many of her organs donated and the lyrics detail how someone’s [...]

Love N’ Dancing

Will — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:27:54 +0000

Okay, Jeff is usually the one who gets all worked up about these silly dance movies, but just look at this trailer, it packs EVERY dance movie cliche into a scant two minutes! I MUST see this! It was directed by Robert Iscove, the man responsible for From Justin To Kelly. Seriously, I MUST see this!

Caprica

Jeff — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:24:42 +0000

Caprica, the new prequel to Battlestar Galatica that is set to be a Sci-Fi Channel (or by then it’ll be SyFy Channel) series next year, arrived on DVD this week. Netflix was kind enough to have it in my mailbox on day one. Set 58 years before the fall of the colonies, which we see in [...]

Irish Winter by John Simpson

Jeff — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:05:15 +0000

Irish Winter by John Simpson was outside the realm of what I normally read. Set in Cork, Ireland in 1919, Irish Winter focuses on two young men who fight for the IRA against the British who invaded their country. Ian Mulroney and Devlin Walsh are mere acquaintances until Ian witnesses the murder of an IRA [...]

DWTS Season 8, Week 7: Group Flashback

Jeff — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:09:38 +0000

There was a different dance for nearly everyone this week, plus it was group dance flashback to the mod 60s. Here’s a look at this week’s ballroom antics: Melissa & Tony: (Argentine Tango) For me, the dance that opened the night was the dance of the night. The quick, precision leg and foot work was incredible. [...]

“Next to Normal”… The Next Obsession?

Jeff — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:11:41 +0000

We’ve been seeing commercials for Next to Normal recently and haven’t understood them. But when Brian and MyGuytm were in town last week they saw it not once, but twice. They were completely blown away. The New York Times was too, writing this when the show opened this past Wednesday: “This brave, breathtaking musical, which [...]

9 to 5: The Musical

Jeff — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:20:12 +0000

We’ve been looking forward to 9 to 5: The Musical for a few months now and we finally got to see it this afternoon. The verdict: It’s a lot of fun… just like it’s motion picture counterpart. Dolly Parton crafted several new songs from the production and also dipped into her own music library (an expanded [...]

The Ride, Week 1

Jeff — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:08:11 +0000

This was the first week of the bike commute and I enjoyed myself very much. Here’s a quick recap of how things went. Monday: It was a little cold out for the ride too work, but I survived nicely. Riding into the wind, however, was a bit rough of a way to start the week. It [...]

Friday Geek Out: Eddie and the Cruisers

Jeff — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:30:48 +0000

Eddie and the Cruisers is a film and soundtrack album which turn 27 this year. I discovered the movie while working at Star Video while I was in college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. There always had to be something playing in the store and this was a go-to movie for me and a couple of my [...]

Jay McInerney at Barnes & Noble

Jeff — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:05:34 +0000

It’s appropriate that Jay McInerney made a stop at the Barnes & Nobel in Tribeca to read from his new book, How It Ended: New and Collected Stories. Many of his stories and novels, including his breakthrough Bright Lights, Big City, are set in and around this part of lower Manhattan. I was excited when Will [...]

DWTS Season 8, Week 6: Crossing Half

Jeff — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:25:07 +0000

Time flies when you’re having fun! This week marks the half way point in the Dancing with the Stars season and the dead weight will be completely gone soon (we’ve got to get rid of Steve-O and Lawrence to get down to the serious contenders). This week’s jives and rumbas were great with no horrific [...]

Blithe Spirit

Jeff — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:08:10 +0000

We knew the show would be great with these names above the title: Angela Landsbury, Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole and Jayne Atkinson. We were not disappointed. This revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit lived up to every expectation we had. This “improbable farce” has only been on Broadway twice before: its 1941-43 debut and a short-lived [...]

Bloggers Meet!

Jeff — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:36:49 +0000

Will and I got to meet Brian from Assume Crash Positions yesterday. Brian and his fiance, MyGuytm, have been in the planning stages of a NYC trip for a few weeks now and we were excited to be on their itinerary after a couple years of following each other’s blogs. It was great to meet [...]

Ready to Bike

Jeff — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:22:04 +0000

I’ve been on the bike three times since I bought it last week. I rode last Sunday to get the feel for being on a bike again. As expected, last week wasn’t a bike week since I was in Chicago Tuesday through Thursday. I went for another ride on Friday and turned that into a [...]

Friday Geek Out: “Cradle and All” from Audra McDonald

Jeff — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:30:29 +0000

I’ve written about Audra McDonald for a Geek Out previously, but today’s is song specific. “Cradle and All” is written by Ricky Ian Gordon and Jessica Molaskey and appeared on McDonald’s Build a Bridge CD. This song is gorgeous. I encourage you to listen to the message in the lyrics and appreciate Audra’s voice blending [...]

Chicago Wolves vs. Lake Erie Monsters

Jeff — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:53:13 +0000

I finally got some hockey in during a Chicago trip! The Blackhawks are always on road trips when I’m in town. As I lamented this fact with Kyle who works in the Promotions.com Chicago office he mentioned the Chicago Wolves and it turned out they were at home for this trip. So Kyle and I went [...]

Power Play by J.M. Snyder

Jeff — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:04:55 +0000

Power Play by J.M. Snyder was wonderful. The book opens with star college hockey player Ryan Talonovich getting severely injured during a practice. He’s in a wheelchair and out of commission. He’s not paralyzed, but he needs a lot of physical therapy to just walk again. Nineteen, stuck in a wheelchair and living at home again, [...]

I Heart Mike Gronstal

Will — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:02:52 +0000

Iowa senate majority leader Mike Gronstal told H8ter minority leader Paul Mckinley to F-off yesterday when an amendment to the state constitution was introduced (and epically failed) . Okay, so Gronstal was a little more elegant and didn’t use the F word like I would have. We heart Iowa! Check out the awesome clip below.

DWTS Season 8, Week 5: Waltzes & Pasos

Jeff — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:09:32 +0000

This was going to be a blissful week or a tragic week as my two favorite dances shared tonight’s Dancing with the Stars. I love the Viennese Waltz for its fluid romance and the Paso Doble for its strong passion. Tonight the waltzes led the way with the majority of them being lovely. A good [...]