I know I'd be a hit, if life would simply quit, upstaging me a bit

A line from the song "La Cantatrice," which appears on Modern Jazz Quartet's The Comedy, as sung by Diahann Carroll.

Frangelico and Butterworth

I'm thinking of getting these two together this weekend. They're both rather shy and would prefer meeting in the safety of a larger group. So if you're interested, please join us by all means. We'll be meeting at the brother's monastery just off 23rd. Juice and cookies will be served.

Why Is It Always Necessary for Architects to Wear Flamboyant Oversized Spectacles?

Can you name these three architects? First one to answer correctly will receive two free tickets to see Nickelback in Milwaukee.

lyrics-to-go 2

My moms died from secondhand smoke; I wish yo' ass would die
from them secondhand rhymes you wrote
Or should I call them second rhymes - written seconds 'fore you enter the booth
Words thrown together with very little truth

Lyrics-to-go

This will be the first of many postings featuring rap lyrics. This is one verse of Armand van Helden's "Full Moon" ft/ Common, and it goes out to my lovely wife, Vicky, who loves this song. It's an ode to the nightclub and it does get a little raunchy, so please don't let it reflect badly on my dearest Vicky. She's still every bit the gentlewoman. And, uh, it's much better WITH music, so if you're interested, do holler and I'll send you an MP3 (If I can figure out how to do that).


Follow me like one time
Everybody love me like they do the sunshine
Niggas just got off work
Time to unwind


Strobelight smokin thick
Got my mind made up
All night i'ma stay up and fuck a lot
But nah, I ain't a playa
Girl I'll house you
You in my hut
Thinkin of a rhyme trying to hold my nut
Armand on the cut Com Sense MC
Baby put that ass in the air where I can see
Feel free feel good
You ain't in the club trying to find a real love
I spill dubs on Heiny's and tequila shots
Where studs and chicks pee in the same spot
It's hot as hell
Freakshow on the dance floor Is that you I smell?
I'ma give that ass room
Better yet, let's fuck in the bathroom
If we have room it's a full moon.

Frankenstein's Nightime Habits

Can someone explain this ad to me? It's an ad announcing muni's new 1-5 a.m. hours and it features Frankenstein as a potential nightime rider. The connection was lost on me when I first read it and it still is to a degree.

Now, I've never read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but my impression of the man, or creature, is that he mainly hangs out with his maker at the castle/lab. There IS that one night where he, in an agitated state, leaves and is chased by the torch-bearing villagers. But in the photo you see here, he looks perfectly composed and sober, and he's reading The Wall Street Journal for crissakes! This is not the look of a disturbed and impassioned monster, ready to leave the confines of his home and confront an angry mob.

Perhaps there are other instances I'm not aware of in which Frankenstein does venture out and get his freak on. I know there's a perception of monsters, ghouls and werewolves as being "creatures of the night"--hanging out at the graveyard, howling at the moon and generally "bringing the motherf###ing ruckus," to borrow a line from Wu-Tang. But I was never one to lump Frankenstein in with the rest of these Monster Mash-attendees. Frankenstein didn't WANT to hurt anyone. He actually was quite gentle and kind. It was by virtue of man's-inhumanity-to-creature, that he was made evil.

Am or right or am I right here?

Patrick Nagel After the Fall

Patrick Nagel's paintings of tall, athletic women with blanched skin became very popular in the '80s. He's one of those rare artists who, during his lifetime, is able to not only penetrate the clubby world of New York art dealers but also crossover into mass culture. You were very likely to find a Nagel right alongside a Lamborghini Countach or Heather Thomas poster in many a teenager's bedroom circa 1983-84.

But what happened to Nagel when he grew out of fashion? He was actually able to eke out a modest income for himself illustrating the storefront windows of hair salons and dry cleaning establishments. In fact, he's still at it right here in San Francisco as you can see from my two photos.

Meshach Taylor Fan Club Forming

Two words: Designing Women. We’re all familiar with the groundbreaking show which chronicles the lives and loves of four sophisticated Southern women. We can recite their names in our sleep: Suzanne, Julia, Mary Jo, and Charlene—each with a distinct personality: Suzanne Sugarbaker, the self-centered ex-beauty queen; Julia Sugarbaker, Suzanne's sharp-tounged older sister nicknamed “the terminator”; Mary Jo, a divorced, single mother; and, of course, the naïve and trusting Charlene. How do they all get along? We don’t know, but we’re sure to laugh as we watch them try!

The “fifth Beetle” (I’m more inclined to think of him as John or Paul), if you will, is Anthony Bouvier, played by Meshach Taylor. The courier for the firm, Anthony is always ready with a disarming comment, keeping the girls on their toes, and, more importantly, keeping them honest.

Meshach not only has won an Emmy for his performance in the PBS-produced Huckleberry Finn, he’s also been in virtually every great ‘80s TV show—Hill Street Blues, The Golden Girls, ALF, Punky Brewster, and Ultra Warrior. All superlatives have been exhausted in describing his breakout performance in Mannequin as Hollywood Montrose.

I like to call Meshach a “Sasquatch” of the industry because he really is a giant in Hollywood. Just like the one sighting of Bigfoot in the Patterson-Gimlin film, we’ll only witness a figure like Meshach once in our lifetime.

In the inaugural meeting of The Meshach Taylor Fan Club, I plan on having everyone share their favorite Meshach Moments (MMs), engage in some DW Meschach-centric trivia, and share DW recipes. I’m going to confine the recipes to Meshach’s favorites for the first meeting. In subsequent meetings, we can branch out and share other castmember’s recipes (might I suggest Delta Burke’s bundt cake?). What I want everyone to keep in mind is that this is more a celebration of MESHACH than Designing Women.

If you're interested in attending the first meeting, please, do holler.