Another Game of Catch(up)

I know it feels like I have abandoned you, Blogspot. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think about you all the time. I just never seem to get around to doing anything with you. That ends today, now. Let’s catch up with one another.

Since last we chatted, the last show of the Broadway series at Playhouse Square came and went from Cleveland. Missie and I planned on seeing it, but we got to Bricco early, ate, cocktailed and heard really bad reviews from patrons and staff who had seen the show and decided to continue eating and drinking. So much so that I drove Missie’s car back to Akron. Fun was had.

My friend Mike came back from Atlanta for a visit and stayed with me a few days. It was so much fun. I miss having him nearby.

Lisa invited me to attend son Bobby’s graduation – the only non-family member invited. Bobby is such a strong-willed, independent young man. He is out and proud and fiercely devoted to his boyfriend, Nick. He makes me think that there is hope for the next generation. I gifted him the same wisdom given to me for high school graduation: Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.

Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield, turned out to be a pretty good reboot of the franchise. I ranked it one notch below the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie, but above the two sequels.

My “special project” at work got the brakes applied to it so I could start an entirely new project, designing a distance learning program for an area I know nothing about. So, I spent three weeks in July learning the ins and outs of Cash and Denial posting. Yay? Of course, before I could properly start that project, it got shelved as well in favor of another project – the one originally started two years ago by a team of about 10 people. Corporate politics, go figure.

My “middle” nephew Andrew got married on Saturday, July 21^st. There was, of course, unnecessary family drama, supplied by oldest nephew Josh, his baby mama, and a drink thrown in the Wedding Planner/Bride’s Aunt’s face. Unreal. My brother, Tom, said that he is disowning the little drama queen. We shall see.

I saw The Dark Knight Rises a couple of times, once alone and once with my buddy Brian. I thoroughly enjoyed both showings. Christopher Nolan did a superb job of blending elements from the first two films and offer up a satisfying ending to his trilogy. (I had more fun watching and obsessing over Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie, truth be told.)

The gay marriage/equal rights thing is reaching a fever pitch. It has become almost intolerable on Facebook and Tumblr. I’m actually considering shutting down my Facebook account because I can barely stand to see what some people post – such vile and vitriol.  I stayed out of the Chik-fil-a controversy, largely because I never liked their food (or their politics) anyway.  One of my favorite Facebook posts about the whole equality thing was this:

“I just read in Parade magazine that 10% of the people in the U.S. prefer using their left hands. At one time, left-handedness was considered “wrong” and a deliberate choice. Attempts were made to “fix” children with the condition, often cruelly. Why does all of this sound familiar? Of course now, Southpaws are fully integrated into society. Their “condition” is considered a harmless genetic quirk. That part doesn’t sound familiar at all.”

Missie and I got free passes to a series of classic movies at Playhouse Square. A couple of weeks back we attended a West Side Story sing-along. Although fun, I had forgotten how difficult some of the songs in that score are to sing. I had also forgotten how awful some of the acting was in the movie and how tight the pants were! Yowsa.  We did our usual pre-show lubricating at Bricco, where we learned that one of our favorite bartenders, Matt, is leaving to move to New Jersey to live with his new BF. And we met the new bartender, who seems nice, if a bit inattentive. We’ll whip him into shape!

And, as the new Broadway series dawns, we attended a subscriber reception that included a presentation from the stars of the stage play War Horse. I have to tell you, before the presentation, I was so-so about seeing the play. Now I am incredibly psyched and have been talking it up to everyone I know! The emotional resonance of the puppetry horse is amazing! This is skilled theater at its finest!

And so, little Blogspot, we are more or less caught up. I promise to try to update you more often. I apologize to any readers of this mishmash (like I have any!) for its overtly conversational tone. I usually try to give my writing a more polished, professional cadence, but this time around, I just didn’t have it in me. This was more like having a good chinwag with a friend you haven’t seen for a while; well, haven’t chatted with for almost exactly two months, anyway.