Bon Voyage! (Seattle)

As you can see I have my traveling outfit on and am ready to depart for Seattle, Washington today. My travel companions are Sam & Michael. The 3 of us are going to visit Jason in the land of coffee & Space Needles. It should be fun. From what I understand, it's a very gay, progressive city and will embrace us and treat us as though we were British Royalty. Sigh. Wouldn't that be nice? Actually, I'd be thrilled to be getting out NYC right now. I feel like it's closing in. Anyone who lives here can tell you what that is like. Now you're all worrying "Ryan Charisma, what about your fear of flying?" Well, to be honest my childruns, I am still terrified, but my loving doctor gave me a petit prescription for Xanax and I intend on using it. So, farewell...until we meet again!

dat's some funny shit!

The Lovely Bones

C'mon everyone, group hug! There better now? Good. I want to tell you all about this book I just finished reading - The Lovely Bones. I really enjoyed it, although the subject matter was disturbing. I must admit that at times, good ole' heartless me was moved to misty eyes, while reading. Who knows maybe my heart is opening? Nah, I didn't think so either. Anyway, this story is about a 14 year old girl who is raped & murdered by a child predator. That's just chapter one. The rest of the story is narrated by this dead girl as she observes from her Heaven, her family, friends & community's lives going on in the wake of her brutal murder (only her elbow was ever found.) She watches her father drive himself crazy knowing who the killer is and being able to do nothing about it. Watching her sibling grow into adulthood. And watching her mother pull away from the family. All in all this is a great book, unfortunately I picked it up thinking it would be a fun thriller for this Halloween season. Well, I was wrong, but I'm glad I was.

Evil Dead: The Musical

Last night, my friend Michael took me to see Evil Dead: The Musical. Oh my God, it was so funny. Hysterical to be exact. The show is very tongue in cheek and doesn't take itself any more serious than it has to. The choreography, I thought, was perfect. It was cute, fun and lovingly poked fun at itself, for what it was. The cast was great. The musical had inventive numbers like: "Housewares Employee", "What the...?" & "You Blew That Bitch Away" and they were so funny. As for blood and gore, oh it's there. It's there for sure. The play actually follows the cult classic film to a 'T'. Now, make no mistake, this is an adult show. The obvious themes of violence & sex, as are in these slasher films, are all there and not hidden. But for a fun night out with friends, especially this Halloween season, I highly recommend this. Oh, and have a few cocktails too. You'll love this. I would see this again. I always say "off Broadway" is where the art is created. I hope this show runs long enough for everyone to check it out. I think Mr. Adam would like this one.

Pet Shop Boys - FUNDAMENTAL TOUR

Michael, Julie, Mr. Adam & I went to go see the "sold out" Pet Shop Boys concert last Saturday night. It was a great show. They played for about two hours including a 20 minute intermission here in NYC at Radio City Music Hall.

The whole day began with the four of us going to Michael's parent's home in Red Bank, New Jersey for an early luncheon/dinner. His mother made a sumptuous homemade Italian dinner for everyone. It was delicious and greatly appreciated. Next we NJ Transited it back into New York City to find a Starbuck's (for me mostly) and to head toward Radio City Music Hall for the Pet Shop Boys. We arrived with 20 minutes to spare and Mr. Adam bought me the a concert t-shirt to add to my collection. I do try to get a unique concert to almost every concert I go to. If the t-shirts are typical, I usually won't get one. But the Pet Shop Boys actually had 3 t-shirts I liked, but somehow, I narrowed it down to 1. Then we took our seats, who knew we had such great seats. I've only been to Radio City once before and didn't really recall the audience lay out. The concert began at 8:30pm, one half hour after the ticket start time. Not bad for a concert.

The show was absolutely outstanding. They played songs from their new CD Fundamental as well as many of their classic hits. You could see the rush in the audience (which looked like a mini gay pride) every time they started one of their older, more well know favorites. We all danced and sang, and danced some more. It was a party at Radio City and no one wanted it stopped. I have to admit that they performed a medley of Se Vida E/Domino Dancing that was out of this world toward the end of the evening. Neil's vocals sounded exactly like the recordings as did the music. They had three back-up singers who each on their own had tons of talent and two hot boy dancers. A great time. Nostalgic and new simultaneously. I'm SO glad I went, and with such great company only made it better.

National Coming Out Day - TODAY

Hey everyone gather 'round, I've an announcement to make!

I'm GAY.

And you know what? It's OK.

Now don't go judging me thinking "oh, well does that mean you'll always have to dress nice, have a high working knowledge of pop culture, instinctually know colors & combinations, have an affinity to do hair, excel at Halloween costumes, have all the straight girls wish I were their boyfriend and be the best looking guy at high school reunions?" Yes, it does mean that. But it also means I have to live my life out, loud & proud. Proud of who I am, proud of where I come from, proud of who I love and proud of my mistakes. I own my person and move him through life. Sometimes I say/do dumb things. But I am who I am - I won't pretend to be anything else. Mr. Adam deserves nothing less than all of me. My family & friends deserves nothing less than all of me.

But most of all, I deserve NOTHING less than all of me.

and this one goes out to Mr. Adam

Dina Martina - LIVE

A group of us went to go see Dina Martina last Saturday night to celebrate both Mr. Adam's & Evan's birthdays. What a fun night, I thought my sides would split in half. There were 7-8 of us seated in The Cutting Room of NYC awaiting the show by the infamous Ms. Martina. And she was in rare form that night. Evan, Jeffrey, Mr. Adam & myself had seen Dina perform on Monday night at Showgirls in P-Town and pledged to see her show when she made it to NYC, and finally we were seeing it. And was it ever worth the wait. She's anything but glamorous, but in her mind - she's a star! And when she sings, it's a breath of fresh air. One of my favorite monologues that she performed was her "Soft G" monologue. "It's a personal choice to make." J instead of G. As in "jifts" instead of gifts. So funny and so wrong. Her medley of The Greatest Love of All / You Spin Me 'Round was right on the money. Maybe next time I'll get some of her fabulous prizes and gifts she gives away. Who wouldn't want a pack of New Kids on The Block trading cards?

RUNNING with SCISSORS

Well, my wonderful, little puddles of love; I've finally found someone with a childhood that makes mine look practically "normal." This book (memoir) was not only entertaining, but it's almost unbelievable. The teen years of Augusten Burroughs were so insane. And by insane, I mean that his mother had given him up to her therapist. She also would have annual nervous break-downs. Mr. Burroughs discusses through the eyes of a gay, teen boy, his view of the world and the relationships he has. Mind you, his world consisted of his mother's therapist's family & home. No rules, no school and at the age a 14 - his first boyfriend, who happened to be 33. It's a wonder Mr. Burroughs didn't find himself insane. I really, really enjoyed the book. I wonder though, how on earth, are they going to tie all of this book up in the soon to be released movie? I know some of you probably read this already, but this was my first book by Augusten Burroughs, and I do plan to read some of his others. Just not now. I kept comparing his childhood to mine. And I won't have someone else stealing my thunder. I won't!

Open Season - IMAX 3D

Michael & I decided to take in a movie last Friday evening. I picked this little animated gem. First off, I must say that I really enjoy the IMAX theaters (especially in 3D). The animation in this movie is great. You can see the individual movement on the fur of the animals. And in 3D it's amazing. It's a cute story regarding animals raised in captivity v. animals in the wild. As well as making a statement regarding hunting as a sport in general. Does anyone still hunt really? And why? I don't get it. Anyway, this movie was great and I didn't even mind the sea of children surrounding me. Which usually makes me nervous. Well, not nervous...more impatient. Ok, ok, ok impatient and unforgiving. But regardless, check this out. It's a fun date, especially at the IMAX theater.