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That’s what the air is tonight. Crisp. Autumnal. The sky is clear and star-filled. And living in NYC, that last is saying something.

I think of all the seasons, Autumn is my favorite. Well, I don’t think that, I know that. Maybe it has something to do with the on-set of the end, or rather, the big rest. It’s a time of amazing energy and change. The same could be said for the Spring, which is my second favorite season. Winter being my third. Summer, dead last; so far behind the pack, to borrow a line, it thinks it’s in the lead.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming (how did the time pass so damned quickly) holiday season. I know, I know, believe me, I rail against the ridiculous, disturbing American need to start selling the holidays months before they’re here. But today, on one of my walks, in the air’s crackling briskness, I looked into the building’s little garden area: someone had decorated it with mini-pumpkins and suddenly, I was whooshed ahead to Halloween, and Thanksgiving. And it made me feel good.

Probably because this year, unlike any since I left my parents’ home 27 years ago, I’ll be celebrating in a home. In my home. With my husband and cats and, if Jamie and I ever get our act together and figure out a date, with friends over for the holidays. Oh it all sounds so traditional and mundane; so straight. It really isn’t. What it is, is glorious. There are many times when I, like we all do, get caught up in my own little dramas, petty annoyances, drudging ruts. It’s human nature; it’s what we do. For some perverse reason, it’s so very easy to complain.

But the truth of it is, I’m damned lucky. And happy. And I think most of us are. Not in some Edenic way, only the insane and the sainted live there, but all of us who have some modicum of comfort and freedom and friendship and love in our lives should take a moment each day and say thanks to whatever power we happen to belive in. An island without life is just a barren rock, and that’s no way to live.

As the performance artist, Penny Arcade, says, “You should love somebody. It’s the most political act there is. It’s the only one that truly changes the world.”

Hey, wasn’t this post about Autumn?

Nite,
k.

Tags: Ephemera, Family, Jamie, Life, NYC, Politics, Theatre by Kirk
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As in, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

What seems like a lifetime ago, I was the box office manager and website designer for the Off-Broadway production of Hedwig.

I was also a huge fan. I still am. The whole experience was life-changing in so many ways. Afterall, it was responsible for, among many other things, my one and only IMDB.com entry. Oh yeah, and without Hedwig, I’d have never met my husband.

One day, I’ll write about that. But not tonight. Tonight I’m just going to announce, because it’s still how many people wander onto this site, that I’m throwing the orginal Hedwig site back onto the web.

It’s still written in its original primitive html. It’s still a mishmash of styles. It’s still Hedwig.com. And it’s still in the process of restoration.

Some stuff won’t work. Some links will take you to places that no longer exist.

If you’re a Hedwig fan, enjoy the ride. If you’re not, what the heck’s wrong with you?

On to the site…

As for me, on to bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow to trek to NJ for my Godson, Zane’s 2nd birthday party!

Nite,
k.

Tags: Jamie, NYC, Theatre by Kirk
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wins. Puppet wins. Nooooooooo… Puppet wins the Tony!

And Kiki/Justin looked so incredibly beautiful for that brief moment of camera time.

So sad… Puppet wins…

Oh well, I’m sure this will be some great fodder for Kiki to riff on.

But, puppet wins… So sad.

Nite,
k.

Tags: Theatre by Kirk
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So tomorrow is the kickoff of the Big Apple BBQ.

This is a big deal for Jamie and I. How far the mighty vegetarians have fallen. Well, as they say, everything in moderation… Except for occasions like tomorrow.

Fourteen champion BBQ purveyors from across this great land of ours with their pits running at full smoke! And since it’s going to be hot and humid tomorrow, I mean that in all its permutations. All right in tony Madison Square Park. Hundreds, if not thousands, of folks walkin’ ’round with plates piled high with brisket, pulled pork, short ribs and sausage.

Oooh, sausage. Jamie and I usually disagree on who serves the best brisket, but we are always in full agreement that the best sausage, probably in the world, comes from The Southside Market in Elgin, (hard “g” as in goat, not as in the liquor) TX. Great Gravy Marie is their hot sausage good. You can order it online for delivery, but we never have. It’s a treat we get to experience once a year at the BABBQ. Someday we’ll make the pilgrimage to Elgin and try it out in their restaurant; a worthy expedition, and probably the only thing that would get me to TX.

I did note from the BABBQ site, that our other fav, Smokey O’s from St. Louis, MO, will not be there this year. We liked their brisket a lot, we loved the woman who ran the place, and we especially loved the reaction you got when you told someone that you’d had BBQ’d snoot, which is a Smokey O’s specialty. “What”, you ask, “is BBQ’d snoot? It couldn’t be…, could it?”

Yes, Virginia, yes. It could. BBQ’d snoot is the meat from around the pig’s snoot (odd that I keep typing snot), flattened, deep fried and served with BBQ sauce. Think pork rinds from a different part of the pig. Last year’s were less cruchy than the year prior. I think I preferred it that way, while Jamie preferred more crunch. But alas, unless a trip to St. Louis is in our future, and since I doubt we’ll be doing any baseball stadium trips this year, we’ll have to go snootless this time ’round.

This is a two day event and usually we attend both days. This year, however, since the Tony Awards are on Sunday night, we’ll be skipping the second day. This is a painful sacrifice but a necessary one. It’s about an hour from where we live to the BBQ. And since we’ve given up TV (more on that some other day), we’re watching the Tony’s in midtown. We’ll undoubtedly want a rest between events and well, that’s just too much travelling for entertainment. So we’ll eat our fill on Saturday. Rest up on all Sunday during the day and then head to Luxia/Mont Blanc for our Tony viewing pleasure.

Now, truth be told, we don’t usually watch the Tony’s. But this year, our favorite duo Kiki and Herb are nominated for their Broadway show in the Special Theatrical Event category. Oddly enough, the only other nominee in the category is Jay Johnson, the ventriloquist, for his show The Two and Only!. It is odd for so many reasons, but the one that strikes me as oddest, at the moment, is that Kiki and Herb’s show had to close to make room for Jay Johnson’s. Kiki and Herb could’ve extended their run but the theatre was closely booked. So Kiki got kicked out of the theatre to make room for puppet boy. An interesting contest indeed. And, to be fair, I do hear that The Two and Only was quite a good show and Jay Johnson is not a boy. Not that he’s a girl, he’s just a bit long in the tooth to be called a boy.

Anyway (or as David Milch writes it in any script he pens, “anyways”), I’m just hoping that the Special Theatrical Event is on the actual broadcast and not in the non-broadcast “we need to give out these creative awards but who cares” section. As a former theatre techie, I find the dismissal of the creative awards maddening, but I also realize that most of America couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the Tony’s anyway, so keep it short for America. Anyways…

Ok, so there’s the weekend. Big meat in a tony park and Tony’s midtown of the Big Apple. Fun filled and jam packed.

But first, we’re getting up a 6am tomorrow to do the laundry. Will the glamour never end?

Nite,
k.

Tags: Food, Jamie, NYC, Theatre by Kirk
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