I was watching a clip from the Ellen Degeneres Show in which she is interviewing Gabourey Sadibe, the actress who portrays "Precious" in the movie. Ellen kept saying "it's so sad"... "the topic is so depressing..." and all I kept thinking to myself was: "Stop saying that! This movie is not depressing!" "Precious" is not a depressing movie because the character is not a tragic figure. She is a survivor. …
Salon
It appealed to me: Lake Shore Salon Series, a series of concerts performed at private residences. I'm in! I don't really know what to expect. Will I know people? I know from the address that the home will be impressive. It's in Evanston, IL where I lived all through college and a bit afterwards. I exit my taxi. …
Singing in Five Inch Heels
Just got home from a lovely two hours watching the lovely Jazz chanteuse Erin McDougald sing with special guest Kimberly Gordon at the Allerton Hotel lounge. She was adorable with her silky smooth vocals and sequined clad legs ending in patent leather five inch heels. Now don't get me wrong. That is hardly the biggest impression I have from the evening. It was a lovely, chill evening of jazz from a Chicago Jazz Diva BUT I must admit as I hobbled home in my black leather cowboy boots (with …
Cabaret full of Dreams
So the word "cabaret" keeps popping into my life these days. The great Ann Hampton Callaway told me to "do some Cabaret - that's how I started." That was last year. And now I have been asked to emcee and perform with the Chicago Cabaret Project on their Voltaire Cabaret nights on Tuesdays in December at Hydrate - a gay club in town that has a lovely back room with a nice cabaret stage. …
Some Great Movies.
I have been back at it folks - going to the movies. I had a moment there (about a month or two) where I didn't see shit, but I'm over that now. The thing is you gotta go every week to keep up with the indie and foreign flicks cause some of them stay at the theater less than a week. Oy! One day I will OD on buttered popcorn. I've put together a short list of some movies that stick in my mind. Some of these films are long gone from Chicago theaters. You will have to rent them or wait for the …