A Reality Check and Stuff

Well, the start of this somewhat overdue posting is a reality check for those of you loyal and faithful readers who are also Yankee fans and it is specifically directed to my seat mates in Section 212, rows 4,5,6, seats 15-19, at Yankee Stadium, several of whom claim to be readers of this blog. Hey guys (and 2 gals) the season ain’t over yet, not by a long shot. Stop talking about where you are going to be in the Canyon of Heroes to witness the parade honoring the Yankees as 2009 World Series Champions and focus instead on what the Hell is going on in front of you!!! Now listen the fuck up --

Our so-called “stellar” starting rotation and bullpen has just given up 39 runs in the last 4 games, yes, do the math, 29 runs in the series against The FuckSox and then 10 runs last night in the 9-10 loss to Texas. Joba has sucked in his last two outings, pitching like a pussy and completely unable to throw first pitch strikes. AJ Burnett has been unpredictable, claiming and then denying that he has “issues” with Jorge Posada. Andy Pettitte can only pitch 5 innings. The Savior in the starting rotation has been CC Sabathia. The only two pitchers in the bullpen who are reliable are Mo, of course, and Phil Hughes. Thank God for them.

Yes, our hitting has saved the day, game after game, but never forget that the key to the post-season is pitching. Say it again - pitching. Say it one more time - pitching.

And yes, the Yankees will win our Division and probably the League Championship to advance to The World Series against, I predict, The LA Dodgers. But guys and gals, it ain’t a done deal. Let’s hope the team remains focused on each game without looking into the future as so many of their fans are doing. Hint hint wink wink!!

Damn, I feel better. See you guys and gals tonight.

I have completed my bookings in the Fringe Festival, making the total number of shows I will see to be 14, which is the same number, I think, as I saw last year.

This is my schedule for the remainder of the week --

Wednesday - 7:05 - Yankees vs. Texas (season package).

Thursday - 4:15 - “Devil Boys from Beyond” - Fringe Festival; 7:00 - “Dirty Stuff” - Fringe Festival; 9:15 - “666” - Fringe Festival.

Friday - 3:00 - “Tales from the Tunnel” - Fringe Festival; 7:05 - Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox (season ticket package).

Saturday - 1:05 - Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox (full-price extra ticket); 7:30 - “Sorority Queen in a Mobile Home” - Fringe Festival.

Sunday - 1:05 - Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox (season ticket package)

Since the last posting I saw the following Off-Broadway shows:

“Songs of a New World” - “Songs for a New World is a powerful song cycle (no linear plot, all thematically linked) about the moment after you make a mistake. It's about redemption and renewal. The author transports his audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue to meet a startling array of characters ranging from a young man who has determined that basketball is his ticket out of the ghetto to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage.”(complementary ticket). This was very well performed and was very interesting.

“Another Person’s Poison” - “Success, juxtaposed with the fascinating backdrop of prime time television. When Frankie Masters, a struggling comedian, gets the opportunity to have his own network television show in 1970, his imminent stardom threatens to reveal the hidden conflict and mounting turmoil of his personal life. Taking place prior to the celebrity tabloid when exposés were the norm, it takes a close look at lives intertwined--where each character confronts personal sacrifices that will forever impact them.” (complimentary ticket). Well written and performed.

“Leaves of Glass” - “The ensemble performs Walt Whitman’s epic text – as chamber theater meets dance theater meets congregation meets celebration – without irony or clothing. A nude chorus of multitudes reciting, “I contain multitudes.” Wouldn’t Walt Whitman be tickled? Whitman, who in this poem exclaims, “If I worship one thing more than another, it shall be the spread of my own body, or any part of it.” Each succeeding line, passage, turn of phrase celebrates the bare human form as an intersection of nature and industry.” (complimentary ticket). Well, I have to admit, as required by fair and unbiased reporting, that what caught my eye (no pun intended) was the phrase ...A nude chorus ... so I booked the show. Thank God the running time was only an hour because it was a pretty dreadful show and the performers where, ahem, somewhat less than photogenic.

I just don’t know how to discuss the next topic because it has to fall under the heading of gossip, which I have promised to avoid in this blog. It seems that a certain young friend of mine, who I have described in previous postings with the introductory title of: student/bartender/manager, has made several references in recent conversations to his “interest” in a certain celebrity whose identity he masks with the initials “AC.” He has alluded to the fact that he and “AC” may have become gym buddies and perhaps more. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I read the following “item” in Page Six of today’s New York Post --

“Sightings ... ANDERSON Cooper in a baseball cap and jeans riding his bike on West Ninth Street with "a very muscular man in a tank top."

My student/bartender/manager friend coyly refuses to either confirm or deny whether he is the “muscular man in a tank top.”

I promise you, my loyal and faithful readers, I will continue my investigation and then I will report and then it will be up to you to decide.

Go Yankees and Go Gators!!

Billi Pod
“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

PS: Oh - Happy 23rd Birthday to John Scott Reed!!!