Dance, GOP Monkey, Dance!

This whole Trent Lott thing is cracking me up. Now his own party is undermining him. The funniest part is how Lott was only seven years old when Thurmond ran for president, making the offending comments even more obviously grandiose and hyperbolic. I personally believe it was just a poorly thought out statement, but, since I already disliked Lott, I find the whole thing very amusing. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Oh, and here's another speech impaired Republican: "I have a lot of confidence in [Lott] as the leader and as a senator. And I think we should not lynch him, we should give him an opportunity,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said on CNN's “Late Edition.” Oh my. I'm sure the use of the word "lynch" in that comment won't come back to bite him in the ass. Stop, guys, you're killing me!


Non Sequitur

While walking in Times Square last night I got to see the headline in ten foot lighted letters: Al Gore isn't running in 2004. Hey, that's ok. I'm an Al fan from way back in his Tennessee senator, environmental book-writing, ignoring Tipper days, but he's really too smart to be the President. I'd like to see him do something more important. And possibly more comedy. He was pretty funny on SNL with Stuart Smalley.

Heard through the grapevine that a certain Latina pop diva from the Bronx who is engaged to a white-bread Boston boy of ambiguous sexuality (guessed who I'm talking about yet?) is actually a lesbian. More than idle rumour, two separate sources, one a gossip columnist and one a drag queen hairdresser, are cited in the story, which was passed to me by two separate people in a bar. I ask you, can it get any more concrete than that? Personally, I'm withholding judgement until I find out if she's received any mysterious toasters.

I have no idea what the original story for Flower Drum Song was like, but the new libretto doesn't seemed forced in the Broadway revival, starring a transcendent Lea Salonga. Playbill used the term "shoehorned," but to the inexperienced viewer, the story and music fit together snugly. The dance numbers were to die for, and the simple solos on the spartan stage were inspiring. Great seats at The Virginia Theater didn't hurt, either. The costume designer should be in line for a Tony. What with the traditional Chinese opera robes, 1950s dresses and handbags, and showstopping showgirl costumes, I felt like I do when I see a wall full of Barbies: "I want those clothes!" One leaves the show humming "One Hundred Million Miracles" and "I Enjoy Being a Girl," two of the shows most well-known and catchy numbers. I think Mssrs. R & H would have approved of this production. I sure did.