daily music download

regina spektor :: begin to hope

i think it's only fitting that since i'll be seeing her in concert tonight that today's featured music download would be selections from begin to hope by regina spektor. regina is quickly coming one of the top played in my list of musts on my ipod. she has a unique sound that reminds you of fiona apple, bjork, and tori amos - but mashed up together in a blender and poured into a beer glass. it's great. check it out.

buy it now on amazon.com :: begin to hope

the agenda

1. wake up (done)
2. shower (done)
3. get dressed (done)
4. eat cheerios (done)
5. head to the city (done)
6. workout with julia at thirdpower fitness (done)
7. go to work (done)
8. work (in progress)
9. dinner (i hope)
10. regina spektor concert at the town hall
11. go home
12. sleep

i'm most excited about the concert tonight. as always - i'm going with my concert buddy ames (aka tixgirl.) we've been sitting on these regina spektor tickets for a couple months now and tonight we finally get to go and i can't wait!

wacky video :: kathie lee gifford sings to a monkey

well it's not really kathie lee gifford but she's still pretending to be the jesus-loving freak and it is a real monkey. check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bjeZhhAXf8

h-to-the-o-to-the-double-t video

mario lopez has definitely grown up. the former saved by the bell star (ac slater) and his near perfect body appeared in last night's episode of nip/tuck - what a fantastic show - and had a very nice shower scene with dr. troy. check it out on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYEZ8ta96Ik



to purchase season 3 of nip/tuck: nip/tuck
to purchase saved by the bell seasons 1 & 2: saved by the bell

the agenda revisited :: weekend edition

ok so it's been a while since i've posted. crazy busy at work and i've actually had not much to talk about. it amazes me how little energy one has for the 'everyday' when the 'routine' is kicking your ass. it could be the fact that i'm still trying to void this head cold from my body.

i did manage to have a pretty good date last night - even under the circumstances of the week and the cold. did the dinner thing - then to barracuda - then to maries crisis. he went home and i headed down to the hangar in the evill for a friend's birthday party.

saturday morning was all about errands. laundry and dry cleaning. i headed back to the evill for a late brunch. on avenue c between 8th and 9th streets was the destination - the place was called the sunburnt cow. there's where i met melissa, brent, tommy, and scott. the sunburnt cow is an australian restaurant complete with vegemite sandwiches for their guests (they were all out today though.) i had a bessie - a fantastic bb-q steak sandwich. omg - so so good - that combined with unlimited bloody marys made me a happy boy.

onto the san gennaro festival. an annual italian festival held in little italy every year. they block off the main streets and the people come out in masses to eat sausage and peppers, calamari, fried dough of all shapes and sizes and the occasional fried oreo or candy bar. we got zipolli - fried dough balls with powdered sugar.

subway home - casual evening on the couch - trying not to have a hangover from the unlimited bloody marys.

sunday was brunch at cafe loup with scott, grady, and nick. scott and grady were in town on route from boston to dc. it was good seeing them both and we had a great meal at cafe loup. apple store afterward for some shopping then we split into our own paths - nick to union square - scott and grady - on the road back to dc and me to the west village for a coffee date at soy luck club on greenwich ave.

it was crowded so me and my date headed to grounded around the corner - so nice. i had a drink called just dew me - it was odd ordering such a drink on a first date but it was great nonetheless. honeydew and mint smoothie - yumm!!!

great date - great time hanging out with him - got a little smooch as we parted ways. i came home - and here i am - about to head to bed and start my week all over again. fun times - god i hope so - but something tells me that work is going to really kick my ass - why would this week be any different than it usually is?

wish me luck.

eric himan :: bitter end :: nyc

once again - i'm a slack ass and posted no agenda. what's to post really - i worked all day. but here's what i did:

this evening - i went to see my friend eric himan perform at the bitter end in nyc. he played with his band (dan, rich, and andy) - great show - but in my true dumb-assed fashion - i thought the show was for 8:00 when in reality it was at 7:00 - so my friend justin and i managed to show up about 15 minutes late.

the show was his nyc performance for his new cd - everywhere all at once. it was so great to see him playing with a band. we were talking about 'the old days' in frederickburg, va - man he's come a long way - so proud of his success and this cd rocks!

afterwards - we all went to dinner at sammy's on 7th ave. joining us was renowned photographer john arsenault. john did the photography for eric's last cd - dark horse.

it was great to connect with great friends for the evening over big martini glasses of sashimi. we returned home to catch up and gossip. now it's late - time to go to bed for i have an appointment with julia at 7:30am tomorrow. sleepy time - over and out.

the agenda revisited

ok so yeah - i did the sushi - worst sushi ever and sooooooo expensive! ain't eating there again. left rehearsal at the half way with manna, loopee, and new member tom. we went to manna's and helped him move boxes then on to splash for musical mondays. fun! me and new member hit it off. at around 11 we went to monster to meet up with the chorus boys. fun times as always. now i'm home - new day tomorrow - yee haw. sleepy time.

daily music download

madonna :: i'm going to tell you a secret

download, buy, steal - just get this cd. hot hot hot - and i'm not even much of a madonna fan. definitely a treat - it's her first live cd ever released. it comes with a dvd that actually brought tears to my eyes - and i'm not just saying that! it's a must for any madonna fan out there - or even if you aren't.

buy it now on amazon.com :: madonna: i'm going to tell you a secret

project runway :: fashion week

project runway finalists showed their spring 2007 collections at fashion week in bryant park here in nyc. the finalists are michael knight (favored to win), uli herzner, laura bennett, and jeffery sebelia. you can check out all of the finalists' collections courtesy of new york magazine by checking out their website at the following link:

new york magazine - project runway

it's sure to be a bloodbath to the end. notice in the slide show laura about to burst from her announced pregnancy. it really does show the viewer exactly how much time passes from shoot to production.

project runway airs every wednesday at 10:00pm on bravo. check your local listings for exact times and channels.

the agenda

the agenda *

1. wake up (done)
2. shower (done)
3. dress (done)
4. pack for the day (done)
5. eat cheerios (done)
6. head to the city (done)
7. work out with julia (done)
8. head to work (done)
9. work (in progress)
10. dinner - hopefully sushi by the center on 13th street
11. nycgmc rehearsal until 10:30
12. drinks at the monster
13. travel home to brooklyn
14. sleepy time

* as always - the agenda is subject to change - please check your local listings for show times and updates. ok - back to work.

my savior

zicam - if i could marry it i would. it's the only thing that's been able to release the sinus tension. i'm not back to 100% but nearly there.

it really does suck being sick on the weekend - especially since we are on limited time until it's too cold to do anything. it's mid-september - the weather is going to kick our asses any week now. this weekend was a lovely break from the monsoon-like rain we've been having the week prior. this week should be lovely too - but mother nature has been known to change her mind at any time.

say something photo :: sick on a saturday

being sick on a saturday sucks!

i'm sick

it hit me out of nowhere. woke up this morning and felt like a truck hit me. still had to go to work. it's not getting better as the day goes on. work is kicking my ass which does not add to it. weather is rainy and gross. ugh. this sucks.

daily music download

jenny lewis and the watson twins: rabbit fur coat

the download of the day is 'rabbit fur coat' by jenny lewis and the watson twins. absolute delight!

buy it now on amazon.com:
jenny lewis and the watson twins: rabbit fur coat

welcome jak

my sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy this morning. joseph angelo konar (jak for short) - pics will be coming as soon as i get them. lovely addition to the family. can't wait!

say something photo :: fab picture

i am in love with this photograph - so new york - so fab! it features one of my favorite cabaret stars - our lady j.

wacky video :: new numa

the numa numa kid gary brolsma has done it again - check out his latest video on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gg5LOd_Zus

9/11 remembered

it's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since that terrible morning in september 2001. at the time - i was living in washington, dc at the time and watched as the plane hit the pentagon. i just remember thinking 'what the hell is happening in the world today?' i think the entire world asked the same thing.

it's strange to think that we now speak of times as being pre or post 9/11. that single day did change our lives - the world's lives. it became a new era in our history. i vowed that i would never let the events on that day effect me - yet - as i sit here at my desk and i hear the names being said over the television - the names of all of the people who lost their lives on that morning - it makes me so very emotional.

can the world mend itself?

the agenda revisited

ok so you all well know that pretty much the agenda of yesterday was to drink - and drink we did. the party was a success - lots of cute people gathering at anthony's place for drinks and conversation. at 9pm the school bus picked us up and took us to mainestreet in ogunquit, me.

while on the bus - i got a kiss from some guy named kyle who later pulled out his privates to prove he could do a 'helicopter' to the bus as his audience - don't drink and drive kids - you may end up on a bus naked performing stupid dick tricks.

in all - a great evening. paying for it today - woah - hangover. soon - we'll be heading back to nyc - i have to admit i'm not looking forward to the journey but will be glad to get home.

new hampshire update

3:30 - drunk - party isn't until 5:00 - watching guys gone wild - um - yeah - soft porn on a saturday.

the agenda revisited

my god the b train sucks! it took nearly an hour to get home from work - remind you - i've got an appointment with my friends to head to new hampshire - this was to happen at 6pm - it's now 6:30 and i'm sitting on the bridge waiting for a train in front of us to 'close it's doors' - technical problems i guess. finally get home - garrett is there with nick - they have the zipcar - it's a volvo - i pack a bag and it's off to get darris.

obstacle no. 2 - getting to darris' house. who knew that you could only escape carroll gardens? being a new yorker - it's very rare that i'm in a situation where i need to know how to drive to a place on my own. i usually rely on the knowledge (or lack there of) of new york's finest taxi drivers to get me to my destination. here we were - on a seemingly innocent jaunt down the street - only to discover all of the bridges getting to carroll gardens - go in the other direction - which means - we did concentric circles to try to find passage. one hour later - we are at darris' front door and we set out for our journey.

4 fags - in a volvo - heading north. friday. traffic in nyc is always something to predict. it's either bad or gridlock bad. it was just bad for a friday. one more hour on the road - we are still just barely out of the nyc area. this is hour 3 and we are still closer to home than to our destination.

somewhere in westchester - we stopped for gas and - ugh - dare i even admit - mcdonald's. i mean really - what do you eat on a road trip? why - shitty fast food of course. so i went overboard and then some - being that i reserve eating that slop maybe 2 times a year - 2 cheeseburgers and 2 4-piece mcnuggets, fries and coke. yeah that's right - a fat girl's dream. ate that shit like a champ too.

i took over at the wheel so that nick could eat his flurry - see - i wasn't that bad. this proved to be in our favor because i hate driving - so i try to get to the destination as quickly as possible - aka - i drive like a bat out of hell and wanted to gain back some of the 3+ hours already spent on the road.

how did we entertain ourselves - i know this is what you are asking yourself? well let me tell you - no traditional road trip songs sung here - no 'wheels on the bus' - no '99 bottles of beer' - no - for us - we sang along to our goddess - madonna - provided by our ipods via broadcast by this little thing called an itrip - fun times. when the signal went bad - we switched over to xm radio and listened to random 'pop vomit' as nick called it.

pop vomit -noun 1. any type of song that has been put through the 'pop machine' which makes all pop music sound the same: this new christina song sounds just like this britney song - must be pop vomit.

hours and hours later and many many toll booths and one sharp jab on the breaks and several hours of pop vomit, showtunes, talking like the martians on 'mars attacks' - we arrive in portsmouth, nh.

we try to head to the bar - it was closed. mind you it's nearly 12:30 at this point and most of new england goes to bed somewhere around 10:30 - so they roll up the streets by 1am just to make sure all is safe and secure. so - back to anthony's for drinks and finally at around 3:30 - we drift to sleep on our air mattresses.

yay. safe and sound in new england. party is tonight - who knows what adventures are ahead.

brad pitt :: the newest gay activist?

brad pitt - international superstar heartthrob - admits to 'esquire' that he and angelina won't marry until restrictions on who can marry are dropped - go brad! love the gays - we love you! the story will be in the sept. 19th issue of 'esquire'.

read the story

the agenda

1. wake up (done)
2. eat daily cheerios (done)
3. travel to the city (done)
4. workout with julia (done)
5. go to work (done)
6. work (in progress)
7. head home
8. pack for the weekend
9. head to portsmouth, new hampshire with nick, darris and garrett
10. party party party

today we are headed north to portsmouth, nh. anthony (aka miss kitty chanel) is having a house-warming party tomorrow. expect a ton of pictures. it'll be a great weekend filled with friends and i'm sure - tons of drinks. i'm not sure how often if at all i'll be updating this while away - so expect stories when i return (if not sooner.)

wacky video :: smackfest

these two bitches smack the shit out of each other - it makes me laugh but also sad for the world - what a bitch won't do for $500.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQtSbwSeSM

project runway :: bye-bye vincent

i'd like to take this opportunity and thank the good lord above (if he or she indeed exists) for finally allowing vincent (pictured on the left courtesy of bravo) to be kicked off of project runway. my question is - how the hell did he survive this long? he was a mess - a freak - and a horrible designer.

overall this season is the one to watch. i'm so excited to sit in front of my tv and watch (and re-watch) the episodes over and over. i have a feeling that it'll be down to michael, jeffrey (even though i can't stand his ass), and uli.

off the bat my favorite was kayne - but - he's been disappointing me lately. most of his clothes have been looking like a disaster, a drag queen, a ho-down, or a disaster of a drag queen at a ho-down. last night - however - i thought his couture gown was fantastic.

jeffrey's gown won the challenge. yes colorful - yes interesting - but i still think it looked like something you'd sooner buy at hot topic than at a high end shop on 5th ave.

i really think kayne's time on the runway is coming to an end. we'll have to see how it shakes out next week.

the agenda revisited

ok - it's crazy late - quick recap: tattoo went well - got more done than i was expecting. basically sat for about 2.5 hours. mark met up with me and we went to whole foods for groceries and then taxi to park slope. my new macbook was there at the house - glorious! mark made stuffed peppers and he, nick and i watched project runway. so glad that vincent was kicked off - long overdue in my opinion. i think kayne may be the next to go - his work is lacking the last few challenges.

anyway - love my new computer - can't wait to finish uploading everything i need.

sleepy time.

say something photo :: lance bass

poor lance bass - former singer now gayest member of the pop boy band n*sync - or as we call them - in*stink - lol. what a horrible picture complete with puffy retard eyes, toothy grin, and a radio shack mock turtle neck. come on man - gays don't wear that kinda shit - you are making us look bad!

i'm wondering if the gays are going to help rescue this lost soul. time will tell.

vanity fair :: baby cruise

so she does exist! vanity fair magazine has the exclusive. suri cruise - the mystery child of actors tom cruise and katie holmes is now out there for the world to see in a 22-page family portfolio by famed photographer annie leibovitz.

ok - so i know that ms leibovitz is a very credible photographer - and the kid to the left does indeed look like it could have been spawned from the gay cruise and his bad-acting wife - but i don't get it. i feel like photoshop may be to blame.

rumors about celebrities are a dime a dozen - especially about dear old tom - but - let's think about it just for a sec - i mean i'm no cruise expert and never care to be - but this is how i pieced it together (let me know if i left anything out):

1. tom marries nicole kidman
2. they adopt kids
3. rumors fly that he's gay and she's a lesbian (duh)
4. they become scientologists
5. nicole and tom split she wins an academy award and we love her
6. tom goes nuts for bad actress katie holmes
7. rumors fly that it's a publicity stunt (still think it is)
8. tom goes crazy on oprah's couch
9. katie becomes 'pregnant'
10. katie has the kid
11. no pictures or friends are allowed to see this child
12. tom loses his job because he's a crazy gay scientologist
13. bam - pictures of the baby are ready for the world (humm - another publicity stunt?)

result? tom cruise is gay - baby suri is a photoshop job - katie holmes is a bad actress.

the agenda

1. wake up (done)
2. take shower (done)
3. get dressed (done)
   
4. eat cheerios (done)
5. subway to the city (done)
6. workout with julia (done)
7. head to work (done)
8. work (in progress)
9. tattoo appointment with juao at rising dragon
10. dinner
    
11. project runway
12. play with new macbook (oh i can't wait)
13. sleepy time

i'm so excited about the delivery of my new baby macbook so all of this may be null and void after the tattoo appointment. yes - more tattoos - its addicting i tell ya! i'll be going today to get some work done on my other arm. i've waited all summer for this moment - and it just happens to be on the same day as my delivery - ugh - guess that's what happens when mac takes several weeks to deliver something that's on back order. but i'm a happy miser!

and no...

...mark isn't my partner, boyfriend, or love interest - he's my best friend - lol - so quit asking!

home again home again

i'm now back from my labor day vacation to rehoboth beach. in all it was a great vacation with a little bit of a rocky start.


mark and i left out of nyc around 7pm on friday - after we were finished with work - had dinner - and packed enough coffee, water, and snacks for the road ahead. the weather was expected to be a bit nasty due to the fact that there was a hurricane coming up the cost. so as expected - it rained most of the way there (pictured above inside the holland tunnel) but got really bad once we got to rehoboth beach proper. the winds had picked up and the rain was coming down in buckets. we arrive at the billingsleys and head to a party at the next door neighbors - the lingos - and just hung out until the power went out. the drunk guests at the party had to get down from dancing on the coffee table (yes - straight men and women dancing on a coffee table - it was a scene out of 'animal house') and we went back to the house to dry off and hang out. candles lit - fireplace going - we sat and talked for a bit and as we were about to call it a night - the power came back on.


the storm raged on - mark and i tucked ourselves in and got settled in the guest apartment over the garage and fell asleep. we woke up the next morning to a war zone - or what looked like one. overturned trees (pictured above from the neighbor's yard) - branches - pine cones - you name it - all over the place. day one on vacation we cleaned the yard - fixed the wisteria which had fallen from the porch - and made piles of rubbage for the chippers to come and take away. after we went on a walk to see how the town looked.


the town pretty much popped back into shape in no time. the beach however - was gone. there was water all the way up to the dunes and that forced the town's officials to close the beach. we walked around a little longer and then went shopping. pretty uneventful - crabs and chicken for dinner and then we went out to bar hop.

i ran into a few friends i have not seen in quite some time at cloud9 - a restaurant that turns into a bar after hours - and we danced the night away to trendy music. we had a pretty fun evening - and somehow i managed to stay sober even after drinking an entire bottle of sake with dinner - lol.

we did manage to get 2 days at the beach when it finally came back. the waves were out of control - but a blast to try to tackle. because of the storm - there were all kinds of rocks and shells on the beach that normally wouldn't be there - so i spent a lot of my time gathering and collecting.

its always a pleasure to share time with the billingsleys. i made a pasta feast on sunday night complete with meatballs, sausage, and homemade sauce. we had meatball subs as leftovers before we headed back to nyc. i ended up spending way too much money at the outlets but it's all good - winter is coming and waterproof timberland snow/hiking boots is totally what i'll need to get through the winter ahead.


check out all of the pictures from the trip by clicking on the feed to my photos on the right.

taking off

for the 5 of you who actually read this - i just wanted to inform you that this being labor day weekend - i'm heading down south to rehoboth beach for the weekend. i won't be taking the laptop - shock i know - so there'll not be any updates until i return. hopefully i'll have tons of great tales for you all - but in typical jonathan fashion - i just anticipate a quiet time with the billingsley's.

have a good labor day and safe travels to all who may be going somewhere fabu!

back to normal

well the aftermath of the vma's is upon us. as i arrived to work today - and peered out of my office window - things looked back to 'normal.' the tents that lined the streets behind the radio city building are gone. just random pieces of evidence remain that there was even anything going on here last night. even the rigging that supported the lights that were mounted to the sides of the building are gone.

new york city never ceases to amaze me. it always seems to be alive with this odd energy you never find anywhere else. they can throw up a stage in times square one afternoon and by the next morning - woosh - it's like nothing was ever there. totally the case today. the union workers had to have been working overtime to get the state of the plaza back to it's usual self. i think this constant change is good for the city - it's kind of like a kaleidoscope - never the same image twice.

anyway - that was just a random thought. carry on.

the agenda revisited :: vma's :: russian vodka :: side show

ok so normally i'd like to place an agenda before my readers get to the revisited - simply put - i didn't - so sue me - but i feel it's only fair to recap my night - briefly - as it is nearing 2am.

so the crowds outside of work today were out of this world. the vma's really pulled in a lot of spectators. some of them were old enough to be my kids. i guess mtv has been able to get younger every year as i grow older - but goddammit - i was a member of the first mtv generation - so i outrank all those bitches. damn i just dated myself. regardless - i was there the day it launched and it was a moment in time that really defined a generation. i'm so out of touch with that world now. half of the people being honored i have never even heard of - most with one names spelled like a vanity plate on a souped-up yugo - those of you my age know what that is - for the children reading - look it up.

i met ames away from the crowd and headed west - our mission - dinner - followed by a show - 'side show.' dinner was at island burger - fantastic burgers if you are ever out on 9th avenue and wanting a side of beef and chips - but keep in mind that it's cash only - no credit cards allowed - well worth it - and pretty reasonable.

the show started at 8pm so we had a few minutes to spare so we popped into uncle vanyas across the street from the theatre for a drink. 2 choices - beer or vodka - i mean hell - what do you expect from an authentic russian eatery. it was like we had stepped completely out of nyc and landed somewhere outside of moscow. ames orders a cranberry vodka and sprite - you would have thought she killed the bartender's comrade. 'you don't mix vodka with sodas - you drink straight - like it supposed to be' says the bartender. he made the drink anyway - for fear of being pulled in by the kgb - i just ordered horseradish flavored vodka. don't ask - it was the first thing that came to mind and i feared to order anything else. i must say - it wasn't bad.

after our drinks - we paid the tab and headed across the street for 'side show.' 'side show' was originally produced for broadway in 1997. it's the story of a pair of conjoined twins who are pulled out of a side show act by a vaudeville producer named terry connor (played by my ex in this particular production.) classic story of love and betrayal and finding one's true self while looking beyond the 'freak' within.

the show was surprisingly good - a few technical flaws with the sound and ill fitting costumes - but on the whole - for a low budget - off off off off broadway show - not too bad at all. well it was about a million degrees in the theatre. evidently they can't run the a/c when the lights are on - it is after all a converted courthouse.

after the show we went back to uncle vanyas for another round of vodka (this time ames ordered her sprite on the side and i opted for garlic/dill - bad decision - should have stuck with horseradish) and waited for the ex to meet us. he did - he looked good - happy - and it was good to see him. we told him we enjoyed the show - hung out for a minute or two - and then he left to attend opening night party festivities.

ames and i finished our drinks - and then headed for home.

it was good to see that the ex is following his dream - i look forward to seeing him get better and better at his craft. it was good to discover horseradish vodka - even though i doubt i'll be rushing to get any of my own anytime soon - although i think it would make a hell of a bloody mary. it was good as always to hang out with ames. now it's late - time for bed.