Category Archives: General

I always forget how, at certain times of the day and particular portions of the year, the snow reflects the blue in the sky more than its own inherent white hue. It usually happens as the afternoon turns to evening, and in the shadow of direct sunlight. There’s a magical transformation then, something that both softens and cools the way it glows.

The light lasts longer now, staying a couple more minutes each day. We’ve broken the back of winter, but I’m sure it will throw some tail-whip lashes in before the snow goes completely. For now, I’m enjoying the way it’s been melting, and how the light so majestically moves over the afternoon. What spring wishes ride on the wind as it rises over the snow? Which ones follow the sun only to get caught on the hook of a crescent moon?

Hip hip hooray!!! The season of hope is at hand at last! We wait all year for this to arrive, and we’ve got a few weeks of cold weather to get things in shape for warmer weather. (Hopefully that means my stomach too.) As for the arrival of the season, let’s celebrate with a quick look back at this day in years past.

2016 was as wintry as ever, despite some red witch hazel.

In 2015, I was cuffed on the first day of spring.

Shirtless furry guys warmed the first day of spring in 2014.

In 2013, the music for the day was ‘Appalachian Spring’.

As always, it’s a mixed bag.

Sick of the winter yet? Well, this is your week, as we officially begin the spring season today. The weather usually doesn’t follow until a few weeks later, but I’ll hold out hope. Considering we just got two feet of snow in one fell swoop, I’m not banking on an easy ride just yet. On with this recap of the last week of winter 2017. Bye Felicia.

It began with a basketball memory. (Yes, I have one.)

Harry Judd is furry, fit and fine.

Biggest snow job of the year.

Tempest in a teacup.

Semi.

Uplifting.

Sexy shirtless gingers for St. Patrick’s Day.

The day I turned into Woman Woman.

Fry it on me.

My upcoming reunion with, and at, ‘Sunset Boulevard’.

Like a muse to me…

Simon Dunn got naked… and sizzled.

Hunks of the Day included Sam Asghari, Luke Evans, Anatoly Goncharov, Kevin Sessums, Asger Skovgaard and in honor of my upcoming ‘Sunset Boulevard’ return, Michael Xavier.

As is often the case, it was the costume that called to me first: red, white and blue, with fabulous accents of sparkling gold. Stars played a big part in the pattern, including red ones on a golden crown and bullet-proof cuffs. Red boots and a gold lasso rounded out the wonder of the whole thing. This was Wonder Woman, as portrayed by Lynda Carter in the 70’s television series, and she was my idol.

In the first of many diva homages, I set about to become this wonderful creature. I wanted her power, her charisma, and her intelligence. I also wanted to emulate her way of getting out of every difficult situation using truth and smarts, in addition to physical prowess. At the time, I didn’t see that – all I saw, and all I wanted, was the costume. That was also the only thing I could really approximate, so I set about to see if I could come up with something to recreate her magic.

It began with the star-spangled satin extra-short shorts. With a background of blue, and stars of white, I contemplated the Underoos they made for girls, but was disappointed that the pattern was only on the front – the back was plain white. Luckily for me, a pair of Batman Underoos that I already owned were blue on the front and back, AND they had a waistband of yellow that could double as her golden belt. The lack of stars was the only problem, but it was easily solved by using a sheet of golden star stickers, the kind that some teachers put on their students’ tests if they were done well. The eagle-emblazoned halter/bustier was more difficult to conjure, and I had to settle on drawing an abstract bird on a red t-shirt and calling it close enough. For the bulletproof cuffs and that headband, I drew red stars on yellow construction paper, cutting out the shapes that would result in those power-generating talismans.

If it sounds utterly ridiculous, I’m sure it looked just as silly. But back then, and through to this very day, it wasn’t about perfectly recreating a look. It was about the journey to get there, and the obstacles that required strategy and cleverness to conquer. I couldn’t go online and buy a costume already assembled – I needed to conjure the wonder of this woman through imaginative facsimile. When I finally did, and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a superhero. I felt the power coursing through me, and it came from the inside out. The neighbors may have laughed, and my family may have looked the other way, but I felt empowered and proud. From construction paper and stickers and underwear, I made myself into Wonder Woman. All I needed was a cause and a purpose.

All this reminiscing was brought on by the new ‘Wonder Woman’ movie trailer that premiered a couple of days ago. It’s a marvelous tease, filled with gorgeous island scenes and dramatic war passages. My friend Skip says it’s all about that musical motif, the one that shows up so chillingly in electric guitar form at the end of the clip. I agree. Well, that and a shirtless Chris Pine. Definitely a step-up from Lyle Waggoner.

That where seems a far way off, and a long time away.

Everything out of my window is white with snow, or gray with dirt and salt.

Green feels like a memory, one that I wish would return to present reality.

And so I conjure the past with a picture.

They appear on the cover of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ album – a string of beads to go with the hippie vibe she was recreating with the patchouli-scented midriff-baring denim invitation to ‘take you there.’ I searched high and low for a piece of jewelry that came close to the vision she so delicately teased. I could replicate the rings and the open pair of jeans, but the tassels of beads were not to be found anywhere.

Taking matters into my own hands, I decided I’d have to make my own version, and set about collecting the beads and chains and tiny pliers to make it all happen. A self-taught crash-course in jewelry-making resulted in a piece of which I could be proud, and it remains a favorite to this day.

It’s a bit too delicate for real use outside of photos, so I may return to the work and fortify the flimsier chain sections with something stronger. I like a statement piece, and an open-ended necklace always has a lot to say.

A relaxing herbal tea formed the moment of quiet in a day full of quiet moments.

It tasted of spring, and dried flowers, and herbs awakening to a new season.

It was warm and delicate, rustic yet elegant.

An antidote to the snow that fell so relentlessly.

The garden distilled into a wire capsule, spreading its aromas and tastes into the steaming water.

As pretty to drink with the eyes as it was to drink with the mouth.

An afternoon glimpse of tranquility.

Your daily dose of cute can be found right here, with this clip of a bunny herding sheep.

Not one of the greatest clips, but you get the idea.

We knew it was far from over, but maybe we didn’t know it was this far from over. Winter is set to return with a vengeance, and those few days of 60 degree weather are but wisps of memory now. Who knows how many inches of the white stuff are in store for us, but I’m sick of it all. Let’s go back, if only a few days.

Well, maybe I don’t want that either. I forgot how it began…

A frittata is very forgiving.

Don’t break the seal.

For the love of lentils.

AC Squared.

Magic in the brewing…

The rainbow.

Her story.

Returning to the boulevard of broken dreams.

Finding Dorian Gray in the Albany Barn.

Lenten supper.

Social media synergy.

Hunks of the Day included Sean William Donovan, Alex Sewall, Patrick Boyd, Jonathan Soroff, James Longman, Vaseline Doknic & Clay Honeycutt.

For pictorial whimsy, I favor Instagram.

For political madness and outrage, I tell it on Twitter.

For friends real and imagined, I fess up on FaceBook.

Through it all, my heart is revealed on my website. This website.

To be honest, I’m starting to feel like that’s three too many outlets.

Our middle-of-the-day happy moment is provided by this shot from yesterday’s rainbow. It appeared outside my office window, and dropped one end right in front of the Hudson River. I’ve never been this close to the end of the rainbow before, but it bodes well for this final leg of my last tour. It reminds me of the heady days of the Royal Rainbow World Tour… Yes, everything’s as if we never said goodbye…

Rebounding from sickness and back issues and the general ickiness of winter, I’m feeling the first flush of spring fever, and the excitement that comprises the Final Leg of The Delusional Grandeur Tour. Recent stops in Tucson, Arizona and my beloved Boston have been completed, and upcoming jaunts include New York and Chicago. It will conclude in Ogunquit, Maine just before summer begins. Those are happy words and memory-inducers: summer and Ogunquit and Maine.

First, though, the trying days of Lent. The dirty, salty roads. The messy snow of which we haven’t seen the last. The riotous flailing of March winds as the month transforms from lion to lamb. We’ll get there, but we’re not out of the woods yet. It’s still very much winter, and that’s no joke.

My friend JoAnn will be visiting next weekend. That’s another happy thought. There’s a lot to catch up on – a winter’s worth of happenings since we last met around the holidays. Friends, food, and warmth. It’s how we make it through.

The stars of the touring AC2 show, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, posed for Mr. Cohen’s social media outlets, and we giggled gleefully and marveled at the guns and pecs on display. Andy Cohen was a two-time Hunk of the Day, and Anderson Cooper had his Hunk crowning as well. Taken together, it’s more hunkdom than an average midday post can handle, but let’s do our best to collect ourselves. This is what the internet is really for. In these trying political times, let’s revisit why we’re all here, and this picture exemplifies that for me. Carry on, AC & AC.