Rachel Maddow Takes on FAIR

Last night, Rachel Maddow had on Dan Stein from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, AKA FAIR.  FAIR has taken credit for helping write Arizona's new immigration bill.  I give him credit for going on Maddow's show, but Rachel took him apart.  Note the look on his face when Rachel brings up The Social Contract at about 3/4 of the way through.  There are so few people in the media who actually ask tough questions without backing down that it's shocking and heartening to see journalism in action. 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Equality in Hawaii

In a surprise move, the Hawaii House passed a civil unions bill in the final hours of their session.  It has already passed the Senate and now moves to Republican Governor Linda Lingle for signature.  She has not said whether she will sign it.  The bill would give unmarried gay and heterosexual couples the same rights as married couples under state law. 

Earlier in the session, the House failed to act on the bill in the face of a large opposition rally at which people were bussed in from churches after Sunday services. 

When the bill passed the Senate, Lt. Governor James Ioana promised that, if passed into law, civil unions would be defeated in a ballot measure in November. 

The Real Miss Alaska Enters Politics

Maryline Blackburn, the woman who beat Sarah Palin to capture the 1984 Miss Alaska title, has announced that she will run for the Georgia House.  The two-time Grammy nominated singer lives in Smyrna, Georgia and will run as a Democrat.  She's the first and (so far) only African American Miss Alaska. 

Broadway Thursday!

Enjoy three montages from current Broadway shows.  First up is one I had the privilege of seeing - Sondheim on Sondheim with the luminous Vanessa Williams, the legendary Barbara Cook, and the perfectly servicable Tom Wopat:


Next is one I wish I just missed - La Cage aux Folles, with the Broadway sensation Douglas Hodge and the engaging Kelsey Grammer:



Finally, we have the spectacular Kristin Chenowith and the finally out Sean Hayes in Promises, Promises:

Quote of the Day

"In 2004 the social question that animated the campaign was gay marriage. Before the election season had unfolded, I had talked to George about not making gay marriage a significant issue. We have, I reminded him, a number of close friends who are gay or whose children are gay. But at that moment I could never have imagined what path this issue would take and where it would lead."

Laura Bush in her new book, Spoken From the Heart. 

Corpus Cristi

Florida's not-gay governor Charlie Crist is leaving the Republican party and running for senate as an independent.  Polls indicated that he would loose badly to teabagger favorite Marco Rubio in the GOP primary.  However, a recent poll has an independent Crist managing a narrow victory in the general election.  

Any other moderate Republicans might want to get on the Crist train as it leaves the station.  Clearly, you're not welcome in the party anymore. 

Teabagger: Close the VA! Death to Commies!

Just watch:


From Buzzfeed

My Life in the Bible Belt: Strippers to Guns

From The DiSCust.com by way of Floatingsheap.com comes the USA Guns, Strippers and Pizza Map!

It enlarges nicely.  The red dots indicate more references to pizza in Google Maps placemarks.  The yellow dots are for more references to strip clubs and the green to guns.  In my life's journey through the Bible belt, I spent my young formative years in North Augusta, South Carolina, shown here:

I have conveniently pointed out the yellow stripper dots indicating the greater North Augusta/Aiken/Central Savannah River Area.  This most conservative area of the nation is apparently awash in strippers. 

As an adult, I live in North Texas, shown here:

Again, I have conveniently pointed it out.  It is awash in green for guns. 

Thus in my life, I have progressed from bare boobs to armed boobs.  God Bless America.   

Exodus Co-founder: "Deep in My Heart I Knew it Wasn't True."

From Box Turtle Bulletin comes a series of interviews with Michael Bussee, co-founder of Exodus International.  Exodus is the premiere organization that claims to help people "leave homosexuality."  According to Bussee, it doesn't work:



You can read the rest of his fascinating interviews here.  I realize none of this is news to any self-respecting gay person, but it's important that the truth be repeated:  the so-called "ex-gay" ministries are snake-oil peddlers.  They don't work and they destroy lives. 

SC Lt. Gov: Lazy People Cause of Immigration Problem

You know folks, I grew up in South Carolina and live in Texas, so when the clearly unconstitutional anti-immigration bill in Arizona was signed into law, a little part of me was relieved that at least it happened somewhere else.  Maybe Arizona can be the wingnuttiest for a while.  Then along came the Palmetto State's totally not gay Lieutenant Governor Andre' Bauer (avec un accent aigu!) to bring the crazy back home.  In a Republican gubernatorial debate Friday in Spartanburg, Andre' solved the complex problem of immigration by revealing the real culprit:  lazy people on welfare.

"The real problem is the work force," Bauer said, speaking of a state with 12.2 percent unemployment, the sixth-highest jobless rate in the country. "The problem is we have a give-away system that is so strong that people would rather sit home and do nothing than do these jobs. Laziness is not a disability. There are a lot of people that are flat-out lazy and they are using up the goods and services in this state."

There you go, ladies and gentlemen.  12.2% unemployment, but if you're out of work it's your own fault for being flat-out lazy!  Yessir, that $326.00 maximum South Carolina unemployment check is encouraging people to sit back in their barcoloungers and let them ferriners come in and take our jobs away.  I'm so glad Andre's on top of it. 

This is the same mental giant who compared people on welfare to stray animals, saying that if you feed stray animals (i.e., people on welfare), they "will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior." 

That's Andre' in the picture, not being lazy. 

Hey, there's nothing gay about a 40-something never-married man pumping iron so just stop thinking that. 

Quote of the Day

"I feel like the race at this point is Raven's to lose. I feel like after starting off show she finally has found a groove where she's tough when she needs to be, but softer when she needs to be, like good toilet paper."

Juice With Junior writing about tonight's RuPaul's Drag Race finale. 

Monday's Man: Luke MacFarlane

Almost a year ago I did a post on adorable Brothers and Sisters actor Luke MacFarlane.  The openly gay actor plays Scotty, husband to brother Kevin, played by Matthew Rhys.  Since then, they've made out, ripped each other clothes off, and generally acted like a prime time hetero couple. This is why I love this show. 

It's about time a TV show treated the gay couple just like every one else. 

The strange thing is, there's hardly been a ripple from the religious right about this.  Maybe they don't watch TV on Sunday nights.  Let's not tell them OK?

Arizona Governor Signs Draconian Anti-Immigrant Bill

Arizona Governor Brewer has signed an immigration bill that requires authorities to question and demand proof of status from anyone they suspect of being undocumented. 

"The legislation, sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-led Legislature, makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It also requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants; allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws; and makes it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them."

This is Constitutionally questionable at best and a bald political pandering at worst.  In addition to basic questions of fairness, the State of Arizona just bought themselves a shitload of litigation.   Who pays for litigation?  Taxpayers, that's who. 

Bear Love

Check out this video from gay Spanish duo Barb@zul.   Hot.  Probably shouldn't watch it at work. 



Try not to make too much noise, Junior.

Corpus Christi Finds Home in Dallas

You've probably read about the production of Corpus Christi at Tarlton State University that was cancelled due to threats of violence.  A theater company in Fort Worth  offered to host the production then backed out due to threats.  It was announced today that the play will be produced at The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, sponsored by the Cathedral and Art for Peace and Justice.  The dates are June 4 - 6.  Get your tickets here. 

The Cathedral of Hope is a largely gay congregation of the United Church of Christ and a Dallas institution.   It's the sort of place that does not bow down to threats and intimidation.  It is also not afraid of challenging theological questions.  I think it's a perfect fit. 

It's Earth Day

And Mother Nature is showing us who's boss.  Earth Day turns 40 this year and this timeline will remind you of the incredible progress that has been made.  Since 1970, we've seen the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, all signed into law by a Republican president.  Imagine such a thing today? 

Do something green today and every day. 

Riverdale High is So Gay

In the latest sign that the culture wars are over and we won, Archie Comics are about to introduce a gay character, Kevin Keller.  Look for him in Veronica 202 on September 1, 2010.  It's been a few decades since I've looked at an Archie Comic, but apparently Riverdale High has become much more diverse.

In the introductory storyline, Kevin is the good-looking new boy in town and Veronica has a crush.  Jughead urges Kevin to put off telling her because "she's sensitive."  Actually, Jughead just likes seeing Veronica make a fool of herself.  According to cartoonist Don Parent,  "the story works because it's wasn't something radical concocted just to introduce a gay character."

"The story is very much in the true context of our Archie stories.  It's Veronica being Veronica. The fact that there's a gay character in the story isn't a big deal to the characters."

Parent said he wants Archie Comics to reflect what high schools are like today,  where being gay "isn't a big deal anymore."

I never read superhero comics as a kid, but was addicted to Archie.  I would have given anything to see a character like me in the Riverdale mix.  Good job.

Leslie Jordan's Trip Down the Pink Carpet

Emmy winner Leslie Jordan's one-man show has opened in New York and the New York Times was there.  I saw this show in a previous incarnation in Fort Worth a few years ago and laughed until I cried.  Then I cried for real.  It's hysterically funny but has insights that cut to the bone.  Here's a bit from the Times review: 

"He describes his voice as Miss Prissy with a dash of Blanche Devereaux, and his gait as Bette Midler in concert meets Ruth Gordon in “Harold and Maude.” 'I am a high school cheerleader stuck in a 55-year-old man’s body,' he confesses. 'If you were to cut me open, Hannah Montana would jump out.'”

I read the book too.  Highly recommended.

Creamer

Obviously I need to go back to New York so I can get served by the shirtless ice cream guy.  His name is Billy Gunnz and he's got some nice ones.

Teabonics!

Texas blogger Manifesto Joe has a great round up of Teabagger signs.  One of my favorites:

Apparently he's over-taxed by too many consonants. 

Go visit Joe and click on his links.  Great stuff. 

Olfaction Satisfaction

Dan Savage has discovered the ultimate gift for the lesbian in your life.  This video is probably not safe for work. 

Teabaggers Call Out Graham for Being Gay

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has never been popular with the Teabaggers because he has occasionally made efforts to work with Democrats to actually (gasp) pass legislation.  For example, he voted for the Wise Latina's nomination to move out of committee which I suppose was some sort of Teabagger treason.  Now his rumored homosexuality has been openly discussed at a Teabagger rally in Greenville.   "Barney Frank is more honest and brave than you. Because at least we know about Barney Frank and nobody's gonna hold it over his head."  I'm with him on this point and completely agree.  But he didn't shut up when he was ahead. 

The blowhard went on to question why Graham is trying to "sell out his country" and said "I need to know if your being gay is why."  Because gay = traitor?  Gayness alone makes someone want to sell out his country?  Is this Teabagger logic?  This reminds me of the game show contestant who said Ellen doesn't like her country.  I don't know who this "uncredited speaker" is, but I am one gay American and South Carolinian who would like to compare my 12 years of honorable service in the United States Army to whatever this fucker has done for his country. 

Elderly Gay Couple's Lives Ruined by California County

This story makes me both angry and scared.  An elderly gay couple in Sonoma County, California found their lives destroyed by county officials who would not recognize the validity of their relationship.  From the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

"Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.


One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.


Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.


What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.


Three months after he was hospitalized, Harold died in the nursing home. Because of the county’s actions, Clay missed the final months he should have had with his partner of 20 years. Compounding this tragedy, Clay has literally nothing left of the home he had shared with Harold or the life he was living up until the day that Harold fell, because he has been unable to recover any of his property. The only memento Clay has is a photo album that Harold painstakingly put together for Clay during the last three months of his life."

They had all the legal documents yet this happened.  Marriage equality is the only answer.  Clay is now suing.

UPDATE:  There appears to be much more to this story.  Sonoma County now says this was a case of domestic abuse and Harold asked to be put in a nursing home to escape Clay.  Read about it here. 

NY Times is the New HX?

The Sunday New York Times had a splashy article on the Skin Tight Party at the Stonewall Inn which features guys dressed as superheros.  I'm not surprised that the gays have discovered yet another excuse to wear tight clothes to bars, but I was a bit pleasantly surprised to see the newspaper of record dive so deeply into the gay bar scene.  Check out the whole article, complete with a gallery of sexy men in spandex here.  I was looking for shots of Lazy Circles readers Doug, Ray and Junior in their comic book costumes, but I guess they avoided the camera.  Wait a minute, who are these three masked men? 

Monday's Men: Ryan Phillippe

Men's Health Magazine, otherwise known as porn for the closet, is featuring a newly bulked-up Ryan Phillippe on the cover. 

He's in the movie version of the SNL skit McSomething-like-MacGyver 10 years after the joke was over.  It looks incredibly lame.  I wonder if Ryan takes his shirt off?  I may have to see it. 

Here he is from Just Jared, taking a little jog down the beach.  Those were the days, huh Reese? 

H/T Squarehippies.

Norwegian PM Governs by iPad

A gigantic plume of volanic ash from Iceland has halted much of northern Europe's air traffic and one of the stranded travelers is Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. He was in the US for the Nuclear summit with President Obama.  Never fear people of Norway because your leader has an iPad!  He may be stuck in New York, but his press secretary said that he is running the government with his new Apple tablet.  Here's a picture from the government of Norway's Flickr account to prove it.  Now that's publicity even Steve Jobs can't buy.

One more thing:  Damn!  The Prime Minister of Norway is hot!

President Issues Memorandum on Hospital Visitation

President Obama has issued a Memorandum on "Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies."  It is targeted directly at gays and lesbians who are barred from seeing loved ones in hospitals. 

"Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives -- unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."

The President requests executive agencies to initiate appropriate rulemaking to 1) "Ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors,"

2) "Ensure that those hospitals comply with existing federal rules regarding acceptance of powers of attorney and advance directives," and

3) Make recommendations for other appripriate regulations.

This Memorandum does not create any new substantive rights, but it is a giant step in the right direction. 

Here is Anderson Cooper talking to Janice Langbern who was barred from seeing her partner of 17 years, Lisa Pond, when she was dying in a Miami hospital in 2007. 



As the husband of a disabled man in Texas, I am very grateful.

Teabaggers Descend on Washington!

The totally grass-roots, not sponsored by Fox News and Dick Armey Tea Party Movement is rallying in Washington as we speak!  It's tax day people!  Obama cut our taxes and we won't take it anymore!  Or something.  Whatever, we're really, really pissed!  And we're really, really white and old and male!  But it's not about race at all! It's about socialism!  Communism!  Nazism!  Name an Ism!  Spending is out of control!  This is absolutely not like the out of control spending from 2000 to 2008 when Congress passed massive spending programs with no idea how to pay for them and wrecked the economy.  That was different!  It just was!

The best part is, the teabaggers aren't alone.  They've been infiltrated.  An Oregon man named Jason Levin has devised Crash the Tea Party,  a plan to "take down the party from the inside."  Essentially, crashers will go to the rallies and marches and try to out-crazy the crazies.  They want to blend in and push the movement further and further from the mainstream. 

'"Our goal is that whenever a tea partier says 'Barack Obama was not born in America,' we're going be right right there next to them saying, 'yeah, in fact he wasn't born on Earth! He's an alien!' Levin explained. He said that by making the tea parties sound like a gathering of crazy people -- his group's goal -- the movement will lose its power."

Brilliant.  The picture above is from a gallery of fake teabaggers at yesterday's Boston Tea Party.  More pictures here.  Of course, you can't beat the real teabagger's signs like this one from Joe.My.God:

Or this one from Wonkette:

What is it with all the sexual imagery? 

Quote of the Day: Kathleen Parker

Conservative Washington Post columnist and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Kathleen Parker has long been an opponent of marriage equality.  For example, in 2004 she said that same sex marriage was a "particularly decisive blow in the disenfranchisement of fathers in American culture.  How? By reinforcing the idea that one parent is disposable." In the same column (be aware that this is a Townhall.com link), she want on to say:

"The unique gifts that mothers and fathers bring to their children cannot be replaced by substitutes. I suspect that heterosexuals and even some homosexuals who have been lucky enough to have two loving parents can affirm this truth."

Not exactly a friend and ally.  However, people can and do evolve and in a discussion of her Pulitzer win yesterday, she said the following:

"I have not favored same-sex marriage, but the reasons are complex. I care only about what kind of society we provide children; adults are on their own. But I have softened my views, partly as a result of studying this issue and having many long, open talks with my gay friends and family. For me, it has never been about rights for adults, but about the meaning and purpose of marriage as it benefits society and children. Given that perspective, however, I don't see how we can say that one child's family is more important or better than another's. I think David Brooks may be right that same-sex marriage is a conservative position. I think this is possibly breaking news."

Slowly but surely, we're winning the fight for equality.

His Jakeness Does GQ

I may have to actually buy the latest issue of GQ now that they've put Jake on the cover.  The publicity blitz for The Prince of Persia is in full swing.  Inside the magazine, there's a super-cute photo shoot of Jake being goofy around New York. 

Check them all out here. 

Dixie Carter's Cause of Death Revealed

The actress died of endometrial cancer on Saturday in Houston.  She had been a patient at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.  Endometrial cancer is cancer of the wall lining of the uterus and is highly curable if caught in time.  Sadly, hers was not. 

She was a great Southern lady who never forgot her Tennessee roots.  In fact, she and Hal Holbrook maintained a home in her home town of McLemoresville and spent a great deal of time there.  She compared it to the back-stabbing of Hollywood and said:  

“Of course in the South we talk about people too,” she said. “But if you end your comments with ‘Bless her heart,’ you’re off the hook.”

Bless her heart. 

Monday's Man: Alexander Skarsgard

True Blood will be starting again soon and the promotion machine has gotten cranked up.  Gorgeous Alexander Skarsgard has graced the cover of Details Magazine, along with co-stars Ryan Kwanten and Stephen Moyer.  Look for it on newsstands.  It makes perfect bath time reading. 

Alexander will be back in our living rooms again soon.  I'd say that's reason to celebrate. 

 

Dixie Carter Dead at 70

Designing Woman Dixie Carter died today.  The cause of death has not been disclosed.  The Tennessee native is survived by her husband Hal Holbrook to whom she had been married since 1984.  Though she is widely known for her television work, her theater credits are extensive and include Thoroughly Modern Millie and Pal Joey on Broadway as well as numerous off-Broadway and regional theater credits.  She is pictured above in a 2005 production of Lady Windermere's Fan.  Her numerous awards include Emmy and Drama Desk nominations.  The Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center opened in 2005 in Huntingdon, Tennessee.

This is the night the lights went out in Georgia. 

"But With Cocktails"

Here it is boys.  You know you want it:

Creepy and Kooky

The new Addams Family musical opened last night on Broadway.  It stars the wonderful Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, so it must be terrific, right? According to Ben Brantley of the New York Times, not so much.  Here's an excerpt of his deliciously bitchy review:

 "That silent scream rises like a baleful ectoplasm from a production that generally offers little to shiver about, at least not in any pleasurable way."


Ouch!  Read the rest here.

Depressed Mail

Here is a fuzzy Blackberry shot of what awaited me in the mail yesterday after a hard day at work.  It's obviously some sort of horrid mistake.  Somewhere in America, there's a guy named Sam who's waiting for his AARP card.  Not me. 

Hmmm.  I wonder if I can find the name of Michael Feinstein's "dentist." 

Diplomat Smokes in Airplane Lavatory, Not a Bomber

A diplomat from Quatar was dumb enough to try to smoke a cigarette in the lavatory of a United flight from Washington to Denver yesterday.  Air Marshals met him when he came out of the bathroom and sat with him for the remainder of the flight.  NORAD was alerted and jets were scrambled.  This turned out not to be another shoe bomber but just one very stupid nicotine freak.  He was described as a diplomat with full immunity who has been in this country for years.  If so, he must speak excellent English.  What the fuck did he think the flight attendant meant when she said not to tamper with the smoke detector in the lavatory?  I suppose he thinks his immunity extends to smoking whenever the hell he wants to. 

The Quatari embassy issued an ALL CAPS statement which you can read here. 

Dan Savage on Gay Outcasts

Dan Savage posted a letter from a lesbian high school kid who wrote him about the bullying she gets at school.  She has been made to feel like an outcast in her little southern town.  Savage gave her brilliant advice.  Here's an excerpt:

"And while you're talking to yourself in the mornings, TALI, tell yourself this, too: "Fuck my school, fuck my classmates, and fuck this town." The shits conspiring to make you miserable, TALI, are unlikely to have lives anywhere near as interesting as the one on which you're about to embark. Your classmates are making you miserable now because they know, deep down in their little black hearts, that their lives are going to be duller than day-old douche water compared to yours. Their lives aren't going to be dull because they're straight, TALI, but because the value they place on conformity—that's the reason they feel they have a right to abuse you now—is a prison they've constructed around themselves.


Right now they're making you feel like an outcast, TALI, and the malice stings. But what exactly are they casting you out of? Your high school? Their asshole cliques? That shit town? You haven't been cast out, TALI; you've been liberated. Freed. Sprung."

Damn, I wish somebody had told me that when I was 16. 

Read the rest here. 

Monday's Man, Special Two Man Edition: Michael Feinstein and Cheyenne Jackson

I have a confession to make.  During my grueling New Media strategy sessions with my Lazy Circles New York Bureau Chief Doug, I managed to sneak away from Doug's whip cracking, nose to the grindstone work ethic to grab the hubby and see a Broadway show.  Or four.  Saturday night, we saw All About Me with Michael Feinstein and Dane Edna.  It closed Sunday night and I suppose it could be classified as a flop, but we loved it.  It was a laugh riot and Michael Feinstein is a soaring talent.  I had never seen him in person before, but his voice and energy are amazing.  He's also just adorable.  He's a bit short (which I love) and lean and tight.  He doesn't look a day over 30 which might be a tribute to healthy living or the world's greatest plastic surgeon, I'm not sure.  Maybe both.  In any case, he's as cute and talented as they come.

After the show, Wes and I went to dinner.  We were seated and toasting champagne when the maitre'd swiftly seated four gentlemen in the adjacent table.  I looked up and practically did a spit take.  I said to Wes in a low voice:  "Oh my God it's Cheyenne Jackson!" Wes said, "Oh my God it's Michael Feinstein!"  It was Cheyenne Jackson and Michael Feinstein together at the next table!  They were accompanied by two handsome men, one of whom I believe was Mr. Feinstein's husband.  The other may have been Cheyenne Jackson's boyfriend. 

I have to tell you that Cheyenne Jackson is even more gorgeous in person than he is on screen.  The camera can't capture his perfection.  Seriously.  He must be seen to be believed.

I can report that Cheyenne ate several pieces of bread and a big bowl of pasta all washed down with wine.  He eats like that and looks like a god.  If I ate like that I'd look like Ethel Merman. 

Michael Feinstein had the vegetable plate and water.  See what I mean?  Healthy living and he looks like he's 30.   

It was all I could do not to throw myself at their feet.  I held my cool, though, trying to be very New York and not seem to notice.  All the while my heart was thumping out of my chest.  How exciting to see a star on stage and then have him sit right next to you!  What a great New York story!