weeworld

this is a cute little addition to your aim buddy - where you can create your own buddy icon. so cute. try it out.

http://aim.weeworld.com/

mtv video music awards

mtv is gearing up for their annual video music awards tonight at radio city music hall. i work at rockefeller plaza - so i've been getting the bird's eye take on the action all week - as well as hearing the thumps and rehearsals - makes for a great working environment with hip-hop blasting through the windows. the mtv folks have completely taken over the plaza downstairs including the today show's outdoor studio.

the view from my office faces out towards 50th street. when i look down - i see the gateway of the red carpet. notice the guards making sure all is secure. i did notice a horse pulled wagon a few minutes ago dropping someone off and lots of interesting things going on. there's also been a random queen's guardsman walking around - where am i - london - hell no this is new york - what the fuck?

the chaos continues on into tents that stretch across the other side of the plaza to 51st street and then there are holding tents that go up and down the radio city music hall building on 50th street. looks like it'll be a grand event.


here's the sea of people in yellow screaming on top of their lungs for whoever may be walking by - yes - you can hear them all the way up on the 14th floor - lucky us! they are changing 'jay-z' as i am typing - yee haw!

this is the view of the today show's stage - now transformed into something that looks like a nightclub complete with a red carpet runway.

up close and personal of the stage. looks completely different than when al, anne, and matt are up there doing their morning thing.

setting up the event - it must be hard work. thank god it's not raining anymore and it's actually cool outside. the stage looks cool. too bad i'll miss it tonight. i'm sure it'll be on re-runs for the next month.

heart break

my heart broke a little today. you see - i've had this crush. and not one of those stupid school girl crushes you get in the 4th grade in math class to little freddy freckle face over there - i mean a crush stemming from a connection that is rarely felt in life.

i feel that it's only fair to give you some of the back story here. back in late-june - my roommate and i went to london to partake in europride festivities with our friends michael and jeremy who had recently relocated there from bermuda. perhaps i was tossing out the otp (out of town personality) - but the boys were quite friendly. one in particular was this boy i met in clapham at a bar called two brewers. there - back on the dance floor was a very cute guy. cute guy and i played the eye catch ballet for hours.

i'm shy - what can i say - it takes a lot for me to actually go up and say hi to anyone.

after what seemed like 4 weeks in the bar - said boy finally pulled me aside to talk. we hit it off. it was discovered that we were both strangers in a strange land - meaning i was from the us and he was from a far off african country in the south (get my drift.) night of bliss followed by 2 more nights out and about - he was charming - knew how to say all of the correct things at just the right time - and man oh man was he ever dashing. my heart still flutters when i think about it all.

for the first time in a very long while - i felt a connection. i don't know if it was a fluke but it was there. and as most holiday romances are - usually they end as soon as you land in your home destination. not this one - daily conversations via email, im, and text message were to follow. we've developed quite a friendship - which really is the best part about it. realistically we know the distance would be an issue and to actually date would be next to impossible not to mention very very expensive.

today - the bomb was dropped. he has entered a relationship. i'm happy for him on this - i always wish people happiness in life - especially if i'm not the one that can personally provide that. his relationship - however - is with his female flatmate. what???

i always knew he lived outside the lines of labels but this did take me for a loop. we still have our friendship - which we will keep - and he'll always have a special place in my heart - and yes - i'm sure occasionally it'll flutter when i think back on those 3 marvelous days together in london - the boys from out of town.

miss him.

send a heart attack to the one you love

for all of you guys and gals out there who can't get enough bacon - here's a club for you - the bacon of the month club - the name alone scares the hell out of me! to think - you can get meat delievered to your door once a month - not just any meat - the worst kind for you - bacon! come on fat americans - get off your ass and fry up a heart attack. don't get me wrong - i do love a good piece of bacon every now and then - but i do try to go the turkey bacon route these days. wow - bacon. what will they think of next? scrapple?

actual date?

i believe so!

i just wanted to share the good news that i had a guy take me out on a date tonight. completely out of the blue. paid for a very nice dinner and we had a fantastic time talking and getting to know each other better. this was date two - and quite frankly - they never usually get to this stage - so that was a plus.

we ate at this place on smith street in brooklyn - to a place called chance (short for china and france.) fantastic food - great decor - definitely a recommendation.

well - now we'll work on date three and see where we go from there.

oh yeah - it smells like burnt waffles in my apartment - but the smell is coming from outside - crazy - just thought i'd throw that in there.

sleepy time.

try not to laugh

i'm not making this shit up - this is a real story as reported by the associated press. the photo i just added for color - not related to the article at all. it's sad but I couldn't help but chuckle at the headline. i am so going to hell i guess. again - try not to laugh.

kids watch as clown is crushed to death

dublin, ireland (ap) -- a hot-air balloon caught fire during a circus stunt, killing a clown acrobat as dozens of children watched, police said tuesday.

the accident happened monday night as the royal russian circus was performing in scariff, county clare, a village in western ireland. about 100 people were in the audience, most of them children. police said the clown was a 26-year-old man from belarus but didn't release his name.

witnesses said the man, dressed in a clown outfit, was hanging from a cage suspended by ropes and a hot-air balloon inside the canvas tent. when the balloon exploded in flames, the cage fell on top of the man.

the man's wife, who was also part of the act, suffered a broken arm, police said.

"we were all sitting down and they were doing their act. they were up fairly high, but they were doing fine. next thing, he was down on the ground," said audience member hazel harrington. she said many people in the audience initially thought the falling cage was part of the act.

about a half-dozen circuses, employing mostly eastern european performers, tour ireland each summer.

© 2006 the associated press.

i am an addict

hello my name is jonathan and i'm an addict. i'm addicted to this television show called starting over. it's a 'reality' show that's on at noon on nbc. it's my guilty pleasure for my lunch hour as i sit at my desk eating my usual lunch from energy kitchen.

basically - it's reality tv for menopausal women. women flow in and out of this house with the hopes of 'fixing' an issue. it can be anything from coping with loss, weight, or just simply finding themselves. i must confess - it has made me well up inside a few times. pathetic i know. maybe i'm going through menopause.

each woman is paired with another (kind of like 'the program' - though these are called accountability partners) for checks and balances - as she progresses in the house. they are coached by a life coaches rhonda britten and iyanla vanzant (my favorite) and psychologist dr. stan katz.

they work with these - well let's face it - pretty pathetic women - and coach them through their fears and anger and hidden drama. it's real reality tv and i think there's something about seeing the pain in others and knowing that that ain't you (i believe it's called 'schadenfreude' - thanks 'avenue q'.) i can't get enough of it. it's almost painful to watch but yet i can't pull away - it's like watching a train accident in slow motion.

i get sad when one of the women graduate because our 'friendship' will end - they are a part of my life - whatever happens to them - do the go away cured and satisfied or do they fall into pits of withdrawl and die? i want to know. it reminds me of when i graduated - and you never look back. lost souls - here and there. this is pathetic - lol - i can't stop watching!

musical mondays :: the last hoorah

so tonight is my final night to partake in musical mondays at splash in chelsea before heading back to rehearsals with the nycgmc. musical mondays is probably the gayest night of the week in nyc. gaggles of faggots (yes i said it - i am one after all so before you get all 'pc' with me - bugger off) gather around tables - on what normally is the dance floor - drink massive amounts of beer and assorted spirits (two for the price of one until 9:00pm) - and watch clips from various musicals and musical events on giant screens until about midnight. the later the night goes - the drunker the boys get - and then the real fun begins.

as the night progresses - the boys turn into their own broadway singing divas of the night. certain numbers are always the hit of the evening. what gay boy can resist singing along with barbra streisand as she asks not to 'rain on my parade' - while idina menzel is 'defying gravity' (one of my particular favorites - it usually includes one of more boys hopping on another shoulders or a nearby bar stool to 'pretend' they are flying like elphaba does in the close of act one of 'wicked') - and of course - the everlasting ballad as sung by tony winner jennifer holiday - 'and i'm telling you i'm not going' - these boys (and girls) live for it all.

to top it off - as most broadway and off-broadway shows are dark on mondays - musical mondays is also one of the best places to get a front row seat to some very fantastic live performances from the top shows and the struggling crap-o shows needing an audience (the cheap chance to give out free tickets to fill seats.) and - on some nights - you can even find broadway's finest sitting in the crowd - watching themselves on the screen with amazement (talk about narcissistic.)

it's my favorite night of the week. it makes me happy. and the crowd has great energy to boot. so if you are ever in need of a monday retreat - i recommend musical mondays. cheesy fun to bring out the inner broadway diva in you!

say something photo :: rainbow

if you can't read the sign - it says 'the beer store'.

the agenda revisited :: mta drama & cabs in general

in all i must say - it turned out to be a pretty good sunday. the only issues involved the getting there and getting back part of the journey out to williamsburg. in typical mta fashion - the L train was out of service which made williamsburg virtually impossible to travel to by train.

ames and i met at virgin as planned at around 3:00 - after i managed to spend yet another small fortune on cds and movies - damn them and their never ending $10 sales! some of the artists i pulled into my ever expanding catalogue of now and then music were nina simone, culture club, franz ferdinand, south park the movie, mamma mia! (the original broadway cast), and jenny lewis and the watson twins. we hoof it over to the train to attempt the L - but no - absolutely no trains running. being that neither of us had ever really had to travel to williamsburg from this direction before - we were clueless on the other options that were available to us - and we all know that no one knows how to use the buses here - well at least we don't - so we were off to find an mta person to help us. long story short - we decided that with the number of trains this guy was suggesting we'd fuck the train and the bus and head there in a cab - mind you - it's pouring rain - and what's the hardest thing to get in the rain - a nyc cab!

ames - being the diva that she is - was able to find us one almost immediately - go ames - and then we were off. here's where i segue into the incompetence of nyc's cab drivers. now - it's my job as an internet professional working in digital media to know how to build great websites - it's my best friend's job to know how to make people beautiful by being proficient in hair care and styling as he is a hair dresser - by this logic - wouldn't it be assumed that the job of a cab driver in nyc is to know how to get from point 'a' to 'z?'

one of the biggest luxuries of living in a city like new york is to not have to actually know how to drive anywhere. very few people have a car here - and if they do - it's used to get out of the city - not drive around it at your leisure. most of the time spent in your car in this area is to simply move it from one street to the next to allow for street cleaning. so for me - a common new yorker non-driver - it would be safe to assume that my knowledge of driving routes is pretty limited. that's why i rely on the mta and cab drivers to - well one - be operating efficiently - and two - know how to get to the intersection i'm instructing them on. pet peeve: when you get into a cab and they ask 'how do i get there?' - i'm usually like - hell if i know - isn't that your job? burns me up really - but seriously - i believe it's one of the 'rights' of a passenger as posted in the back of the cab that a passenger is to be subjected to an experience where the driver knows how to get to where you are going safely, quickly, and by any point in the city and the boroughs of new york.

i once had a cab driver who had to take me from work (rockefeller plaza, manhattan) to home (park slope, brooklyn.) i told him the intersection in brooklyn where i wanted to be dropped. of course he took me to the corresponding grid corner in manhattan - not brooklyn (mistake number one - and i should have ran for the hills at this point) - then - he was like - 'well how do i get there?' - i said that i didn't care just to get me there quickly - i'll go the route he recommends - that didn't work so since we were already on the west side - i told him to take the tunnel off the west side highway. big mistake. not only was it a nightmare trying to head west down 14th street (don't ask - that's the way he went) - but when we got to the tunnel - it was like he had never been in one before - freaked out - and started going 25 miles per hour. well you know what that did - piss everyone the fuck off - everyone behind us began to lean on their horns. now - i don't know if you've ever been in a tunnel - going at a snail's pace - with about 45 cars behind you leaning on their horns - but that sound is not pretty - not only that - it freaked him out causing him to go even slower.

the story continues - not only does he blow through the toll - disregarding the cop trying to flag him for being a dick - he misses the exit that i pointed out for him to take. so we are now off to an adventure in a place i know not where. long story short (too late i know) we ended up 'close' to my place. he admitted that he just moved to nyc on monday - this was a wednesday. so - in two days time - this person was allowed to get a cab and drive it around the city not knowing where the hell he was - which was obvious - and then after all of that - asks me this - 'do you know how i can get back to the brooklyn bridge?' - my reply - 'no - but - good luck.'

ok so i totally digressed in that one - but anyway - let's recap - mta sucks and taxis suck - moving on. the festival was awesome. it was good to see old friends and great performances. some of my personal favorites were becca's brew, falu, and red hots burlesque. the bands continued on into late in the evening but i had to get home to catch up on some much needed rest. so i said good-bye and ames and i headed off to the hills.

mta still sucks. L train - still down. so we bus it. ames is able to get out at a stop that took her to the subway and ultimately back to manhattan - i stayed on the bus. i saw parts of brooklyn i never thought i'd ever see and never hope to have to see again. nearly 2 hours later - one bus - 2 trains - and a 20 block walk - i get home. christ.

home - finally - ate - watched flightplan (don't waste your time) - and heading to bed. yee haw.

the agenda *

1. piss away the morning (done)
2. eat the daily cheerios - for the cholesterol (done)
3. shower (in a minute)
4. drop off laundry
5. take the train to union square
6. meet ames at virgin - inside not outside
7. hop back on the train - and head to williamsburg
8. find food
9. eat again
10. find the galapagos art space
11. attend the 3rd annual cnbcn music festival
12. head home
13. eat again
14. sleepy time

* agenda subect to change

the groin :: the ass :: 'str8-acting'

so while chit-chatting away in my normal sunday morning fashion to the randoms on my favorite gay chat site - gay.com - the subtle references to groin and ass came about in the conversation. why is it that as gay men - we are always referencing certain body parts in this delicate ballet of online banter? well let's face it - not all online conversations are delicate - most are like - what'cha into - wanna fuck - and my favorite - 'str8-acting for same - you in?' which leads me to the point of this post - 'str8-acting' - really now - i didn't realize straights and gays 'acted' one way or another. aren't we all supposed to just be ourselves and let the others sort us out?

in my lifetime - i've met many gay men who aren't the stereotypical gay that we are taught that we all are (reference: blaine edwards and antoine merryweather.) i fancy myself as being one of those men (the 'not so stereotypical') - though sometimes - i do ride that stereotype line - but that's what makes life fun right? on the other side of that coin - i have met many a heterosexual man - married with kids - who speak and strands pearls - matching pumps and purses - leap from their mouths they are so 'nelly.' so what is 'str8-acting?'

'str8-acting' i think is the gay male's insecurity being worn on their sleeves. it's the not-so passive way of breaking the sad stereotypes that plague us. by saying we are 'str8-acting' we pull ourselves closer to the norm or what society wishes we all were - how dull. be yourself. you can only be true to the truest you - and when you wear that on your sleeve - you'll be a better person for it.

gay men lose themselves in these crazy label games. forcing a mold on themselves. fortunately - though slowly - i do feel like the younger breed of gays are changing the rules a bit. kids are coming out at such earlier ages - 12 14 16 - and are able to express themselves closer to when actual puberty and hormones are in full swing. this allows them to establish identity in real-time and not have to reestablish it later in life. most gay men who are 30+ had to find themselves all over again. its a sad truth.

it makes me wonder how far into the future we'll have to go before 'str8-acting' is no longer necessary and we can all just be ourselves.

the agenda revisited

ok so the night went as i pretty much expected - still hate thai food - marie's crisis really is only good for a once in a very blue moon - and jonathan can honestly say he totally does not connect with the gay scenes of nyc.

tonight i managed to go to 3 different places and have 3 pretty eh experiences. after dinner - manna and i went to duplex - it was nice - we sat outside - had a cute waiter named kevin who smiled and pretty much made my night - too bad he was 25 - not that that's too young but anyway - kevin was nice in that 'i'm a waiter and i'm here to serve you' kinda way. joining us were darris and brannon. after one last drink we headed to marie's crisis. typical night with drunken showtunes - although this evening the normal piano player wasn't there - i forget his name but we love him - and in place was a guy that was just gross. a couple of drinks later and nick (the roommate) joined us - keep in mind this is his personal hell - well it would be if it were drunken showtunes in a room filled with lesbians. we left there - manna departed for good - we headed to mr. blacks. now - the last time i was at this place it was an art gallery of some kind - we arrive - $10 to get in - wall to wall fags in a hot steamy basement. bad music. gogo boys. sweaty people - some hot - most not. my old friend russell was behind the bar and bought my rounds of drinks - so that was cool. so there i was - strolling around and around and around this rather small bar - not picking up on any vibes from anyone. this is in a location where the village and chelsea meet - so it was a random assortment of fags for the picking. long story short - nothing - well except for this cute architect that all of us were going after - needless to say - we left him there at the end of the night.

i don't know - am i supposed to be hunted or am i supposed to hunt? i don't play this game well at all. when you break me down - i'm very shy and rather insecure. here i am - finally in an 'organic' situation instead of the typical online fiasco of chat rooms and smut sites - and i can't make a decent connection with a single being in the room. maybe i have an extra arm growing out of my forehead that no one told me about. i don't get it. is all hope lost? i doubt it - and i have hope - maybe - just maybe - it'll happen.

sleepy time.

the agenda

so i have managed to completely piss my day away. about the only thing i accomplished was getting up. i mean i did manage to make pasta primavera with clams for lunch and pick up my dry cleaning - but on the scale of things - not monumental. just sitting back having some quality time with my roommate - my cat - and my good friend billie holiday (and all of the other people being held captive in my ipod.)

but alas - the day is still kind of young - it's nearly 6pm - nick (the roommate) has gone to work - coldplay is now pouring out of the bose-powered ipod - and i have dinner plans with my friend chris in the city at around 8:00. i just hope the pasta i had earlier did not spoil my appetite. we are going to a thai place that manna (as i call him - and well - so do most people - i mean there are about 5 million chris' in new york city alone - need to call out some difference with them) has been trying to drag me to forever and a day. truth be told - i'm not a fan of thai food - it reminds me of a love long since lost with a cute dancer boy who shared my birthday - he was my first nyc crush - six great dates later - poof - gone - but that's nyc for ya - that and i don't really like the taste of thai food in general (and i'll eat just about anything.)

after we eat - we're planning on heading to a local west village watering hole - marie's crisis. then who knows where the night will take us. shit - after a night of thai food and drunken showtunes - is there anything left that'll be more exciting?

i think so - but shhh - don't tell anyone i said that out loud.

rainy days and mondays :: and cats

why is it that the first weekend in ages i have nothing to do comes around and it's raining? i guess that's just what happens. when i woke to the sounds of the rain beating against my air conditioner - i instantly thought it was the cats getting into crap under my bed.

between myself and my roommate we have 3 - 3 too many most days - but in all they are ok - as a matter of fact - bernie (the girl) - is sitting next to me kneading the bed. she's clearly the ring leader of the group - and the runt - she's the one that is always getting into things - creating chaos - and then denying she was involved by being 'cute' - purring so loudly she sounds like a boat - and doing that 'love me' nudge that cats do when they are trying to get attention. then we have grayson (he's mine) - grayson is a very large tuxedo cat - he's very beautiful - my friend brent found him in a trash can in harlem when he was 2 weeks old - he was the tiniest thing - i took him in - he never left (the cat not brent) - he's the lazy one - constantly asleep in the bathroom sink - on the table - couch - bed - etc. finally we have woodward - woodward is always mentioned last because we forget woodward is around most of the time - he's the hermit - and the lovable oaf of the group - he stays to himself in nick's (my roommate's) room - and comes out to eat - poop - and to wrestle with grayson.

see this is what rainy days on a saturday do to me - cause me to sit back and write about the 3 cats that live within our brooklyn apartment.

rant :: grrr

ok so i've been trying to figure this whole 'blog' thing out today - with the help of my sidekick scott - we were able to secure the domain http://www.achimericalplan.com/ - yay for us. now it's a matter of tricking this bitch out for the masses to enjoy. god i wish i would have paid better attention when i was a web page programmer - i don't remember shit for html anymore.

one word...

...wow! martha always seems to take my breath away. tonight was no exception. i have to say - if i weren't a gay man and i could give birth to babies - she'd be the person i'd want to have babies with! i met up with martha after the show - she signed my cd - in true jonathan fashion - i was a dork - thanked her for her music and called it a day. it's always those awkward situations when faced with celebrities that i feel like i'm 5 years old and facing my teacher with an assignment to be graded. my good friend ames captured the event on digital film. (pictured here)

as far as the rest of the night - joanna newsome - um - bjork with a harp - but not in a good bjork way. neko case - i could be a fan - if it weren't for her drunk former schoolmate beside me giving me a blow-by-blow - ok ok - so it was her birthday - and yeah - we all drink a little on our birthdays - but damn lady - i paid to hear neko sing - not the random nobody that used to know her.

beer - kielbasa - and ice cream sandwiches capped out the night. the rain came - but only for martha - which is kinda cool as ames pointed out - 'she's the stormy one' - but the clouds gave way to a pretty amazing night.

martha wainwright: when the day is short: video by ames


martha wainwright: bloody mother fucking asshole: video by ames

neko case at mccarren park

i'm heading to mccarren park pool in brooklyn for a concert tonight - martha wainwright (pictured here and who is infinitely more talented than her brother - yes that's right - rufus - the one and only - who i also love), joanna newsome, and neko case. taking along my friends ames and elizabeth. can't wait - loves me some martha - anyway - more on the outcome later - for now - gotta jet.

an introduction by me...

ok so i'm going to try it out - it seems like the thing to do - this whole 'blogging' thing - i mean what the hell - millions upon millions upon millions of people are doing it - why not me?

just a few things to get us started:

1. accurate spelling won't happen - and - most likely we'll be playing games with tons of bad grammar too
2. i'm not a writer and i have never ever ever claimed to being one
   
3. i use a lot of '-'s so deal
4. it's all nonsense - free flowing - no theme attached - so don't expect anything like that
5. things like punctuation and capitalization - those should be options - kinda like stopping for pedestrians or pissing with the seat up

some things you may find here: rants - raves - this - and occasionally - that. from there - we can go anywhere.