Happy Birthday Mark!!!

Mark over at "Our Simple Lives" is having a birthday today! Go over and wish him a happy one!

Poetry Corner

New York City Boy

From a more innocent time, my dears...

Today's Posting is Brought to You by the Color Yellow...

Thoughts on the Latest Doctor Who, and Easter Mayhem

So, I watched the season premiere of Doctor Who on Saturday night, and I have to say that I'm a little concerned with where the show seems to be going this season.

First and foremost, Doctor Who is a "family" show.

Mind you, it can be quite scary. In fact in England, most fans will say that they grew up watching Doctor Who from behind the sofa!

But this episode felt more like an "X-Files" episode rather than a Doctor Who.

It was a two-parter, so I am hoping that the conclusion will be a little lighter.

For anyone interested in starting to watch Doctor Who, I would not recommend this episode as the place to start.

In other news, an Easter miracle occurred, because for the first time in I don't know how many years, we did not have to spend any portion of it with F-Chan's family! Hooray!!!

Which of course, didn't preclude F-Chan from having to play chauffeur for Tiamat (his mother) in order deliver her over to his brother A's house for dinner!

Heaven forbid that A come and collect his mother himself! Oh no! That would be too much! (More on F-Chan's family in future posts with a handy-dandy guide to boot!)

Anyway, after that was done, we proceeded over to my sister's for Easter dinner.

It was a bit chaotic as she has three kids, (two of whom are twins-age 3!) plus there were her husband's side of the family there and they have kids, so it made for a rambunctious but fun day!

There's lots more details, but this has to be a quick posting, so I promise you more "dish" in the weeks to come! TTFN!

Happy Easter!

It's Tonight!!!!!

The season premier of Doctor Who starts at 9PM (EST) on BBC America tonight!!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!

Red Letter Day

More PSB my dears! Enjoy!!

TV Meme

1. Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice: The Munsters.

2. Name a show you can’t miss: Doctor Who.

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show: Nathan Lane.

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show: Sarah Jessica Parker.

5. Name a show you can, and do, quote from: RuPaul's Drag Race.

6. Name a show you like that no one else that you know enjoys: Outsourced.

7. Name a TV show which you’ve been known to sing the theme song: I know several theme songs, but, I'm not known to sing any of them in public! 

8. Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch: Doctor Who. It is simply one of the best written, most enjoyable show out there!

9. Name a TV series you own: Doctor Who.

10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium, but has surprised you with his/her acting choices in television: Patrick Stewart. It was quite a stretch to go from Shakespeare to the Enterprise (Star Trek: The Next Generation), but, he pulled it off!

11. What is your favourite episode of your favourite series? Too many to choose from.

12. Name a show you keep meaning to watch, but you just haven’t gotten around to yet: "Body of Proof" with Dana Delany.

13. Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad? "Family Guy". It was entertaining initially, but when they started doing more and more episodes with gore and sensless violence, they lost me as a viewer...

14. Name a show that’s made you cry multiple times: I can't think of any show that has done that offhand.

15. What do you eat when you watch TV? Snacks usually.

16. How often do you watch TV? Usually after dinner and any evening chores that need doing.

17. What’s the last TV show you watched? Modern Family.

18. What’s your favourite/preferred genre of TV? Sci-Fi/Drama.

19. What was the first TV show you were obsessed with? Star Trek.

20. What TV show do you wish you never watched? Family Guy.

21. What’s the weirdest show you enjoyed? Bob's Burgers.

22. What TV show scared you the most? Dark Shadows.

23. What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched? It's a tie between Frasier and Will and Grace.

24) What show was cancelled too early into it's run? Space: 1999

Good-bye Sarah Jane...

Longtime Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen has passed away at age 63 after a long struggle with Cancer.

She was first on the show back in the 1970's and made an appearance on an episode of the new series that was so popular that they created a spin-off series with her character called "The Sarah Jane Adventures".

She was the first Companion that I ever saw on the show, and I know that Doctor Who fandom (the "Whovians") must be mourning her loss deeply.

May she rest in peace....

Today's Posting is Brought to You by the Color White

And my houseboys!

Here we have two of the houseboys performing their salute to Fleet Week!

Sigh. I just love a man in uniform (or out of it for that matter...)

Doctor Who Clip #2!

Doctor Who Season Premier Clip #1!

This Saturday, on BBC America at 9PM (EST) the magic begins again!!!

Absolutely Fabulous!

More PSB, my dears! Enjoy!!

Today's Posting is Brought to You by the Color Blue...

Something to Think About This Weekend...

Pop Star!

This is another song of Ken Hirai's from a few years ago. It was a really big hit for him, and the cute thing about it is that every person in the video is played by him! It's not the best video quality, but it is still a great pop song! Enjoy!!

The Disney Meme!

Which Disney "Princess" film is your favorite?Beauty and the Beast.

Which non-"Disney Princess" Disney Film is your favorite?It's a tie between Dumbo and The Jungle Book.

Which Disney film makes you cry the most?
Dumbo.

Which Disney film makes you the happiest?
The Jungle Book.

Which Disney film has the best music?
They all have faaabulous music! How can you choose?

Which Disney film has the best love story?
Lady and the Tramp.

Who is your favorite Disney Princess?
Belle.

Who is your favorite Disney Prince?
The Beast.

Who is your favorite Disney animal sidekick?Mushu from Mulan!

Who is your favorite Disney main character animal?Baloo from The Jungle Book.

Who is your favorite villain?
Another tie between Maleficent and Shere Khan.

What is your favorite Disney song?"Baby Mine" from Dumbo.

Elegy

A little something for your Tuesday morning. Ken Hirai is actually a gay popstar in Japan. Enjoy!

Today's Posting is Brought to You by the Color Red

I Beg to Differ...

Paninaro '95

It's Pet Shop Boys, my dears! Enjoy!!

Movie Meme

Name a film that you have seen more than 10 times.
Auntie Mame.

Name a film that you’ve seen multiple times in the cinema.
Star Wars.

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a film.
Ryan Reynolds (Helloooo! Green Lantern!!)

Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a film.
Any of the Baldwin brothers...

Name a film that you can and do quote from.
Auntie Mame. There is a line for practically any situation in life that I can use from that film!

Name a film musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
 The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Name a film that you would recommend everyone see.
Once again, Auntie Mame, or The Women (the 1939 original please!).

Ever walked out of a film?
There was some gay film at a festival that we went to see. We didn't last 10 minutes, and it was so bad that I don't even remember the name of it!

Name a film that made you cry in the cinema.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Towards the end, when Aragorn is crowned as king and Frodo and his hobbit friends start to kneel in homage to him, Aragorn says to them; "My friends, you kneel to no one." And then he kneels to them! I got all choked up!

Popcorn?
Not usually. There's too much junk in movie theater popcorn.

How often do you go to the cinema (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?
Hardly ever anymore.

What’s the last film you saw in the cinema?
Believe it or not, I think it was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Johnny Depp!

What’s your favourite/preferred genre of film?
Probably Chinese Martial Arts. But not the cheesy ones from the 60's and 70's. I like the modern ones like "Hero" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

What’s the first film you remember seeing in the cinema?
Mary Poppins! It was 1964 and our Nursery School teacher took the class to see it!

What film do you wish you had never seen?
"The People Under the Stairs". A god-awful horror film that, to this day, I don't know how my friend convinced me to go see it!

What is the scariest film you’ve seen?
Phantasm.

If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be?
The Monkey King.

Total number of films you own on DVD and video.
A hundred or so.

Last film you bought.
Despicable Me

Last film you watched.
The Forbidden Kingdom.

Five films that mean a lot to you.
1) Auntie Mame (the aunt that every gay little boy wanted!)
2) The Forbidden Kingdom (a love letter to martial arts cinema!)
3) Gojira (Godzilla) (the original, not the American version with Raymond Burr! If you haven't seen it, you should!)
4) Miracle on 34th Street (again, the original, not any of those horrible remakes!)
5) The Day the Earth Stood Still ( a classic of 1950's science fiction cinema!)

J-Pop Thursday!

Happy Tartan Day!!

Today is National Tartan Day!

Party with your kilt on (or off...)!!

The Art of Echigoya Shinnosuke

I stumbled upon this Japanese artist quite by accident while wandering the internet. I can't find too much about him, but, I like his style of drawing. Enjoy!!

Of course, there are some racier drawings as well, but, since this is a "family" blog, I will merely supply the link to these and other fascinating works of Gay Asian artists...

Off to the Gym!

Our Busy Day

What a busy day it was yesterday, my dears!

We started out by running some quick errands in the early morning (i.e., going to the bank for funds and to the vet for supplements for Teddy-chan).

We then went to the semi-annual doll, toy and teddy bear show that they are now holding at a local hotel ballroom in Holyoke. F-Chan (my spouse) found a few Barbies that he liked at a good price (he collects Barbies, by the way). And while I didn't find any affordable Steiff Tigers (one of my primary collections), I did find a cute Steiff polar bear and puppy from their less expensive "plush line" to include in my niece and nephew's Easter baskets!

But the shopping is just the half of it when you go to these things! The "people watching" sometimes is almost better!

And what a cast of characters we saw this time!

If I could have taken photos I would have! It looked like half of those in attendance had just rolled out of bed and driven straight over! Never mind bathing or changing clothes or running a comb through your hair! Those dolls are priced to move and they won't last long so get here NOW!

 F-Chan and I were the most normal looking people there.

After that, it was a quick jaunt to the Holyoke Mall (conveniently located across from the hotel) where we stocked up on hair pomade and Clif bars necessities.

At this point it was Noonish, and after a hard morning of shopping we were famished!

We decided to try a chain restaurant called Carrabba's Italian Grill, as we had received some gift cards there for F-Chan's birthday a year or so ago. I had not heard very favorable reviews from some acquaintances, but, since it wasn't our dime, we figured that we might as well try them.

Thank goodness it wasn't on our dime! It was mediocre at best.

First of all, they open at Noon on the weekends, but, they don't offer a lunch menu! (Huh?)

So, we decided that this would be our big meal of the day, and we would have a light supper.

We split an appetizer of the Grilled Bruschette, which was tasty enough, but, it didn't seem that the toppings were all that "fresh" as the menu would have you believe. The topping was more of a ragut of olive oil and vegetables.  We've been to other restaurants that had much "fresher" toppings.

F-Chan order Chicken Marsala while I ordered Spiedino Di Mare (which was just a fancy way of saying shrimp and scallops baked with butter and breadcrumbs). Each dish was also served with a choice of vegetable, garlic mashed potatoes or pasta. Pick one! (Which, for what they were charging for these dishes, I felt was a bit stingy on their part.)

In fact, when our meals arrived, the plates that they were served on had these huge spaces where a third item should have been! It was pathetic! My meal had four shrimp and four scallops, and we aren't talking "jumbo" here either! They were accompanied by a loose scoop of the previously metioned potatoes and a third of the plate was empty!

F-Chan didn't fare much better. He was served a single breast of Chicken Marsala with the same potatoes and blank dish space. And while the chicken was moist, it was pretty bland.

The service was okay, but, nothing to write home about. Needless to say, we won't be back.

At that point we went home, where I did some chores, and F-Chan went to check on "Tiamat", his darling mother!

We had a light supper and watched a Pawn Stars marathon on our cable's "On Demand" feature.

And that was our day!

Today is more chores and getting ready for work again tomorrow.

And what did you all do this weekend?!

Busy! Busy! Busy!

I may not be around much this weekend, kids.

We have a busy itinerary in store, so we'll see if I have time to do a Sunday post.

So, behave! ;)

When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best...