Halloween madness

Our halloween costumes didn't make the huge, hilarious splash that I thought they'd make. It took much prodding before people figured out who Mendi and I were. I realize that our costumes were a bit subtle. But look at the baby dolls. Why would we be carrying these particular looking dolls?? Think. Think. (At least Kyle and Mike's costumes were lamer than ours.)

It was fun seeing my volleyball buddies Kyle Jackson and Mike Frizzell (see goofy guys tossing red ball in the background in the first picture) at a party in Mt. Pleasant. Kyle and Mike were among my first friends when I moved to DC in 2001. We met playing volleyball on the sand courts behind the Lincoln Memorial on a steamy July 4. After that, a bunch of us diehard volleyball players met every Tuesday after work for pick-up games, playing until we could barely see the ball anymore. Then we'd head over to the Froggy Bottom for beer and pizza and trash talk. Kyle and Mike were my favorite spikers! It was fun crushing them on the court every week.

After the party at Mike's house, we went to Bardeo to wish Parker a happy birthday. Happy birthday, Parker! You don't look a day over 32!

Later in the evening, Chip Taylor and Mark Rickling showed up unannounced. I always run into them in the darndest places. I have been to Bardeo only once before and I think that was at least five years ago. Dominique was also with us and I have an excellent picture of her with an enormous plastic pumpkin we found on Irving Street but I can't get the image to load up for some reason. Damn blogger.

Best poems EVER about Ed Asner

My friends at Barrelhouse got a mention in the Washington Post's review of magazines today. They were lauded for publishing the best four (and possibly only) poems about Ed Asner ever written. These poems follow an homage to Patrick Swayze in the previous issue. I am hoping they will dedicate the next issue to Renee Zellwegger.

Barrelhouse claims to be a "literary magazine that bridges the gap between serious art and pop culture." It is also extremely funny so if you haven't already read this irreverant magazine, please order a copy of the recently released third issue, which is chock full of new fiction, interviews with fascinating people, the aforementioned poems about Ed Asner, and really cool art. www.barrelhouse.mag.com

. . .

For the Love of Lou

Barrelhouse -- a literary magazine born a couple of years ago over beers at the Big Hunt, a Dupont Circle bar -- has published the best four poems about Ed Asner that I've ever read.

They're also the only four poems about Ed Asner that I've ever read. But they're so good that I don't expect to come across four better poems about Ed Asner anytime soon.

Perhaps you don't think of the pudgy "Lou Grant" star as a muse for America's bards, but he certainly inspired Greg Ames to wax lyrical. Here is the stirring first stanza of the first poem, "Bathing Ed Asner":

I snatched the rubber duck
from his hairy, wet fist
and in a cruel voice
instructed him to quit
fooling and to sit down
damnit in the tub.

Lovely, isn't it? And it only gets better, building in a rapturous crescendo to the final stanza, which goes like this:

"Well, then lift up your arms,"
I whispered in his ear,
"and let's swab out those pits."

The Asner quartet is not the first set of celebrity-related poems that Barrelhouse has published. In its second issue -- the latest one is the third -- Barrelhouse published several poems about Patrick Swayze:

Tousled forelock stirs / Sultry breeze, bare /chest glistens . . .

Of course, Barrelhouse also publishes poems about love and death and other old-fashioned stuff. But maybe that's a mistake. Maybe the editors should take this thing all the way and become a magazine devoted entirely to poems about celebrities. Isn't that what America needs?

From Washington Post, "Everything You Wanted to Know About Bucks but Were Afraid to Ask," By Peter Carlson, October 24, 2006, page C10.

Dirk Westphal's surfboards

I bought a surfboard from this guy earlier this year. It's beautiful.
Read a review of his recent show at Mixed Greens Gallery in Chelsea: http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.co

Wacky bachelorette party weekend in Scottsdale

Bachelorette party weekend revelers at Cowboy Ciao. Two pregnant ladies

and only one person without a husband, fiance, or boyfriend.

A couple weekends ago, I went to Scottsdale for Allison Cohen's bachelorette party weekend. You ask, why would we go to Scottsdale? I wondered the same thing until I got there. We stayed in Allison's friend Emily's parents huge, beautiful home vacation home with an infinity pool and various other luxuries. Emily arranged for a mobile spa to come to the house for a day. They set up massage tables, facial stations, and hand and foot treatment areas, and we ten girls rotated around in our white robes, drinking champagne.

Some funny moments:

1. We took Southwest Airlines and ended up with a young, drunk guy between me and Carolyn. She was giving him the look of death the whole time so he left her alone. I was much friendlier and we actually had a funny conversation. Except it kept taking strange turns. For example, at one point, he turned to me and asked, "Do you want to make out with me in the bathroom?"

2. When we were at Six, a snazzy New York style club, a group of guys came over to talk to us because they thought we "looked smart." Of course, compared to the other women there, it was a huge compliment. But you know, as Mindy said when I told her this story, sometimes, dammit, you want to be objectified as a sex object! Turns out they were orthopedic surgery residents in town for a conference.

3. When I was going through my wallet the next day looking for something, I found two business cards from people I barely remember. This is what happens when you have bottle service.

My first celebrity sighting

I was walking along 14th street near P when I noticed a woman coming toward me who seemed to be trying to make eye contact. I smiled and then she exclaimed, "You're that model in Where magazine!" She didn't ask for me autograph or anything.

Loganista

My first non-legal article published in the DC edition of Where magazine (October 2006) is called "Low Down On Logan." The piece highlights fun activities in the Logan Circle neighborhood. This picture appears with the article and was taken at Candida's World of Books by my good friend Anne Pellicciotto, an award winning photographer. (www.annseye.com)

You can pick up a free copy of the magazine at National airport, the train station, or any hotel. Or go to www.wheremagazine.com. Look at my picture on the table of contents page. The article itself appears on page 10.