this woman’s work

I will never get to see Alan Cumming and Cyndi Lauper in Three-Penny Opera. But I got to see them on the Tonys and if you missed it, you can see the clip below the cut. Cyndi Lauper is heart-breaking and Alan is, well, Alan is still the love of my imaginary life.

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I’ve had a very nice past 24 hours. Last night we not only got the good news about Petrie, but I also hooked up with one of my L friends (I have three). She has been passing down her daughters’ clothes to me and somehow she always gets me a new batch just when I think Madison will have to go naked if I don’t go shopping. And L. has stellar taste (although more pink than I might choose myself) so I am happy for her hand-me-downs. (New-to-us purple Robeez in last night’s batch!)

I met L. 6+ years ago on the phone. A mutual friend told L. to call me for some reason and we ended up talking on the phone for hours. It was the same kind of fireworks (minus the sex appeal) that I had the first time Brett and I talked. We just clicked like crazy. When we finally met in person it was almost awkward because we had already had these great phone conversations but really we were strangers. I expected her to be blonde for some reason. Blonde with long straight hair and she is a decided brunette with short, curly hair. Go figure. She probably thought I sounded thin. In any case, she looked just as surprised to see me for the first time as I was to see her.

In some ways we are absolutely nothing alike. Mostly these are superficial ways and I’m trying to think of a short-hand way of making sense of our differences to you. Hmmm. OK, I’ve got it.

Her crush: Josh Hartnett.

My crush: Alan Cumming.

Her décor: Mary Engelbreit, color coordinated silk flower arrangements and resin figurines (that are rotated seasonally).

My décor: Richard McGuire New Yorker cover, trash-picked furniture and old books.

She makes pancakes: with Bisquick.

I make pancakes: with whole wheat flour.

Her cleaning routine: Two hours daily with very strong chemicals and Fridays set aside for big jobs. Her house sparkles!

My cleaning routine: I know the kitchen needs mopping but we’re replacing the floor in a month or so anyway so I’m sure it can wait. I have dust bunnies that are bigger than Madison.

Her political position: leans conservative.

My political position: staunchly liberal.

As you can see, we come from different worlds. She is also extremely wealthy and I — well, I am not. Because of these things, people are often surprised that we’re friends but I count her as one of my very best friends. She is ridiculously smart although people somehow miss this about her. A conversation with her is an intellectual aerobic work-out, which is what I told her last night. She laughed; she doesn’t think she’s that smart but she is, dammit, smart as hell. Her synapses go off like a string of firecrackers and she changes subjects so quickly that I’m breathless. We get together and we’re reworking the entire world before we’ve even taken off our coats. Also, she is brutally honest with herself and I admire that. She’s one of the bravest people I know although she would be surprised to hear me say that, too.

Talking to her is always inspiring but also comforting and it made me very happy last night, which permeated today, too.

Now playing on iTunes: “Cancion De Cuna [Cuba]” from the album On A Starry Night by Eliot Fisk

I’m serious. Why mess with perfection? The trailer’s out and the music is annoying, Johnny Depp looks silly and I am very disgruntled about the whole thing. What, is Tim Burton going to try to improve on The Wizard of Oz next? He’s made his own classics already, so why can’t he keep his sticky little fingers off of this one?

Here’s the trailer: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

(And if they were going to have to remake it, which they shouldn’t but if they had to because otherwise some bad guys were going to shoot some puppies or something, then they should have let Alan Cumming have the role. Watch that trailer but picture Alan playing the part. Much, much better.)

Lots of work on my desk right now. My bestest oldest friend hired me to do some writing on his web site. He’s a hot shot in NYC so it’s actually good resume building work and pays well, which goes to show you that it’s all about connections. I am sorta nervous about it even though it’s an easy assignment because I love my dearest most Martest of all Marts (not just because he indulges my crush for Alan Cumming).

So let’s talk about Mart, shall we? We shall. Here we go.
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But I guess Johnny Depp would work well, too.

Currently sailing the seas as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’s Captain Jack Sparrow, the thespian may be foregoing the rum for some everlasting gobstoppers–he’s the frontrunner to play Willy Wonka in director Tim Burton’s update of Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, sources confirmed Wednesday.

I actually didn’t like Pirates but I think Johnny was at least interesting to watch. I don’t really understand why they need to do a remake of an already perfect movie but when I heard they were and my beloved Alan was up for it, I resigned myself to the inevitable.

However, I am boycotting The Cat in the Hat because I think Dr. Seuss himself would have hated it.

See this man? I love him. I love him ever since I saw him do his thing on the Rosie O’Donnel show. I have rented the Spice Girls movie just to see him trot around in it.
[image removed by author]

Now that little headshot of Alan Cumming is not one you’ll see any old place. It’s an exclusive to this lowly little blog. How did I get it, you ask? I got it in an email, which you will see below.
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From small hands:

[my name is] Dawn
[height] 5′4″
[in the morning i am] exhausted
[all i need is] my family around me
[love is] the point
[if i could see one person right now] that I normally don’t see, it would be my friend Mart
[i'm afraid of] Noah (god forbid) getting hurt
[i dream about] safety
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From his official website:

Alan has also completed the second in his series of specials for the Oxygen network, entitled Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming. “It’s not really a talk show because there are no sofas and we are moslty walking about outside, but there is a lot of talking,” he says. “I think of it as a conversation rather than an interview.”

The first Eavesdropping saw Alan chat to Gwenyth Paltrow about her strict macrobiotic diet, but by the end of the show she was eating a turkey sandwich and french fries! In the second show, which will air in early 2003, Alan talks about the pressures of looking good in Hollywood with Halle Berry, and they end up eating hot chicken wings and tuna melts.