we love you, jhud. #2

this horrible story has gotten even worse. according to yahoo news, jhud's nephew was still reported missing. authorities, however, have found the body of a 7 year old african american boy in the suv used in the manhunt for william balfour, the main suspect in the "double homicide investigation".  the article also states that jhud identified the bodies of her mother and brother. talk about devastating. i can't even begin to imagine what she's going through right now. keep her in your thoughts and prayers. 

we love you, jhud.

please keep jhud and her family in your thoughts and prayers today. her mother and brother were found dead in chicago friday morning.

i'm sure you going out and buying her cd on itunes would help her healing process. 

straight no chaser

while i was at IU, i was a member of straight no chaser, a men's a cappella group. (follow the hyperlink for the backstory.) a video of the original members of the group (recorded at a holiday show about 10 years ago) was posted on youtube, and between november and december 2007, the video got7 million hits. atlantic records caught wind of the video, and the guys got signed to a recording contract!! they're releasing a holiday cd called "holiday spirits" that drops this tuesday, october 10/28. the cd is available on itunes and through their website: www.sncmusic.com. i know this cd will be sick. just do yourself a favor.

sasha fierce.

work, b!

a quick little something.

for those who don't know her, leslie kritzer is an up and coming broadway star. (as evidenced in this video.) she was most recently seen in legally blonde and a catered affair. i tend to keep my nose clean when it comes to the political madness, but this shit is too funny to keep to myself.

watch this now!

i just want to be normal, part 2.

i sent this email to a friend this morning:

hong kong's nightlife doesn't stop. i was standing in line (!) at 615 this morning (!) to get into a club called homebase. i was wasted (!!), hungry (!), and i felt really weird about standing in line (see: above exclamation points) we get in, and it was definitely worth the wait. great atmosphere, great crowd, great music. before i can even get to the bar, this random comes up to me and says, "you're famous, aren't you?" i just looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "what do you think?" he was like, "i thought so!!" i died on the inside. i was thinking, "yes, someone gets it!" it was a crowning moment.

so was the turkey sandwich i had when i got home at 8:30.

:)

customer service, hong kong style.

when i found out i'd be coming to hong kong, i started preparing myself for the differences in chinese and american/western customs. i didn't want to come here shell-shocked and acting brand new. one important universal custom (in my mind) is good customer service. i don't need my ass kissed. i just need the correct food/drink or a standard greeting when i enter the store. anything outside of that is a bonus. 

asians, in general, quite enjoy sharing entrees at dinner. 6 people will order 5 entrees and a salad and go to town. i don't like that shit. i like my own salad. my own chicken. my own vodka. i'll gladly share an app or give you a few bites off of my plate, but keep your fucking fork off of my plate, schuette! :)

so, one of our first times going to dinner as a rehearsal cast was quite an adventure. we went to pizza hut. (pizza hut is really nice around here.) there were 6 of us in our party, but we only got 3 menus. we didn't get it. they were used to having one or two people order for the entire table. we ordered individually. they didn't get it. my side caesar was across the table. someone else's stuffed crust pepperoni pizza was in the middle of the table. it was all wrong. i guess they don't believe in position numbers or asking who got what dish.  on top of that, we couldn't find anyone to get us refills, and please don't use that one napkin too quickly. it's like pulling teeth for extra napkins. however, when it's time for that check, that waiter is glued to the table like stink on shit on white rice on a paper plate in a snow storm!! the entire bill will be in mandarin except for the bottom where it says "10% service charge", and they stand there and watch you count every last cent. it makes me so uncomfortable/angry. 

so do child harnesses.

purging my sins

ugh.

i accidentally restored my ipod to factory settings last night. i feel like an asshole. i mean, i really want in ipod touch, and i fully plan on buying one very soon. however, i didn't want to get rid of all of the music on my current ipod. luckily, i have a LOT of music with me.  however, some jewels (like the first three audra cd's, the magic show, patti labelle and the bluebelles, mi reflejo, sweet honey in the rock, all bootlegs shoshana, bday, dreamgirls movie, dreamgirls in concert, in the heights and solange -both stuck on my now defunct dell, and almost all of my nina simone.) i got from others/itunes on another computer. purging is never a bad thing, it's just uncomfortable at first. afterwards, you adjust, reassess, and ask your friends to import their cd's onto your computer.

gregory littley (cue: google alert) i will have pictures for you this week. scout's honor.

t minus 24 days.

thanks, matt martin. 

 "people" seem to think it's time to start thinking of a halloween costume. i know it's going to be a big deal around these parts. everyone's told me "halloween is a big deal around these parts". i can only gather that halloween is, indeed, a big deal around these parts. ugh. my halloween track record is inconsistent. my freshman year of college, i went to my first singing hoosier halloween party dressed as my dear friend, chris klink. it was hilarious. i wore all black, put a sock in my crotch, and did my best fosse moves. i thought it was a hit. oh yeah, i also got real wasted. (topher's flaming dr. peppers, anyone?) however, on the actual day, i did laundry, wrote a paper, and ordered pizza express, i'm sure. since i've lived in new york, the most memorable halloween is meeting up with kel, jack, and angela at posh. i didn't have a costume, but i wore sunglasses (?!). i don't "do the parade" or anything below 14th street. i usually work on halloween. even if i'm not scheduled, i pick that shit up.

i digress.

in any case, i'm catching heat from some people in my cast about dressing up. i'm not motivated. i'll go out. i'll go to a halloween party, sure. i'll wear an orange polo, no problem. a costume makes me anxious. i feel like a great costume will cause me to sweat, just like everything else.   

only time will tell if i actually cave in. 

the end of an era

after 5 bedbug outbreaks over less than a year, 1890 7th avenue #5c is done. no mas. we're all moving out. it's really sad actually. i'm going to miss that place so much. it was my first squat/sublet when i moved to the city, and it has become my permanent home over the past year. it has also housed about 20+ all-star subletters. unfortunately, i'll be really homeless when i get back to the states. what can you do?

in unrelated news, things in far cathay are going well. i completed my first week of shows, and everything went smoothly. i'm all settled in, but my apartment looks a little sparse. i need to do a little rearranging, but i think it will be fine. i still don't have internet in my room. i don't mind sitting in the lobby to use the free wi-fi, but my favorite spot on the couch is directly downwind of the seafood hotpot restaurant, and you can catch the vapors of some "interesting" smells. today is my second day off, so i'm thinking about doing some exploring and picture taking.  happy monday to all.