Doctors

I took a mental health day yesterday in order to look after my physical health.

I had my annual physical, preceeded by my semi-annual clambake with my cardiologist.

That's me over there, 4th from the left, just behind the cardiologist.

Only kidding.

The net-net of all that was a) it's time to schedule a cardio-stress-test, which will be the 1st one since my quad-bypass 3 years ago and b) my internist decided to up one med (allopurinol for my gout) and drop another one (lyrica for my neuropathy).

All in all it was a good day.

The best part was going to see "The Simpsons Movie" in the afternoon. I'd tried to go on Sunday but because the weather was so rotten everybody in Mercer County had the same idea so that when I got to the lobby I looked at the lines and blurted out "THIS IS SO NOT WORTH IT!" to which some woman replied, "WHAT'S NOT WORTH IT?" not realizing that I was merely making a rhetorical statement.

The movie was pretty good but I have to agree with most of the critics who said it was, basically, just a long version of the show. But it was definitely worth it to hear Marge scream out, "Will somebody just throw the goddamned bomb?"

Sometimes laughter is the best medicine.

TGI Friggs Day

Friday was named after some Germanic goddess of beauty ("Frigg" or "Friya"). Personally, I prefer the Russian or Portuguese way of referring to it (the "fifth day" in Russian, "sixth" in Portuguese. Apparently that depends on when (and if) you observe the Sabbath.

What's special about this Friday is:

a) there were no traffic catastrophes on the NJTurnpike on the inbound commute this morning (however, the day is young).

b) The Simpons Movie opened at midnight last night.

I won't be able to see it until Sunday (Sontag), though. Tomorrow I'm dragging my sorry ass out of bed to travel into Manhattan (which I'm really getting tired of doing) to see...

"Xanadu" the musical.

Based on one of the worst movies I ever saw, one which nearly ruined (well, it probably DID ruin) Olivia Newton-John's career when it bombed at the B.O. back in 1981. It also had the distinction of being Gene Kelly's last film.

However, according to everyone, it has become the hottest gay ticket on B'way this season, and many of my gay friends are PEA-GREEN with Envy!

Then, tomorrow night, I'm in Philly to attend a fundraiser for the upcoming Philadelphia Roundup in October.

Actually the event in Philly promises to be even gayer than the audience for Xanadu. It's a drag show entitled "Caftanistan". Since I'll be at the Roundup I thought it might be nice to attend one of the fundraisers for it.

So, tomorrow morning I drag myself out of bed, do my chores, take a train to Manhattan, see "Xanadu" (fortunately it's short - 90 minutes), catch a train BACK to Princeton, do some more chores then drive to Philly in time to catch the show at the Shakespeare Festival.

So maybe I'll see "The Simpsons Movie" on Sunday.

Or maybe I'll just spend the entire day in bed.... finishing the Harry Potter novel.

I am seriously behind in my entertainment.

The Morning After

Yesterday I posted a picture of myself in bootcamp.

Today I'm posting an "avatar" of myself which I created on the Simpson's Movie website. It's not too bad a representation, actually. I got the silver hair, but I'm missing glasses.

Oh, and I wouldn't be caught dead in a "Duff Beer" t-shirt, either.

The weather was pretty crappy here in the east yesterday, so I didn't partake of any outdoor activities. Mostly I spent the day packing (and re-packing) the Element for our upcoming vacation on Cape Cod.

After dusk, as various east coast cities started ramping up for their 4th of July celebrations I started channel surfing to see which city would win my heart and mind this year. I have to admit I've always been partial to Boston's annual celebration, with the Pops playing on the Esplanade next to the Charles River. I really like it because it traditionally concludes with a rafter-rattling rendition of the "1812 Overture" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, complete with live cannon fire and kick-ass fireworks over the river.

Macy's always puts on a big, expensive show in New York, but the whole thing is too friggin' "stagey" for my taste. The 4th of July should ALWAYS smack of small-town amateurism, and not be as corporately slick as the New York show always is.

Philly gave it a shot, but it went to the opposite extreme and their parade looked like it was thrown together by a bunch of drunken Mummers (are there any other kind?) on Tuesday night.

But the show that really made me want to barf was Washington's. As some other blogger/wag said, ever so much more pithily than I, does anything say "Happy July 4th more than Tony Danza in tap shoes?"

Well, it looked amateurish alright. And he was probably sober. Lord knows he probably needed the work (last time I heard about him he was playing Billy Flynn in Chicago on B'way).

But he was a trouper and didn't seem to be overly embarrassed to be hosting the festivities from the Mall behind the Capitol building.

Then I flipped back to the station carrying the concert from Boston, just in time for the big "Quaker Puffed Wheat" finale.

Ahhhh. This is the way the 4th should be celebrated. In bed with a tub of Ben & Jerry's Chunky-Monkey ice cream while watching a bunch of slightly inebriated Bostonians huzzah our Nation's Birth on tv to the tune of some 19th Century Russkie composer's musical tribute to the monumental failure of Napoleon Bonaparte to capture Moscow.

Now THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!