Welcome Back to the "Fascist State"

Dear Madonna,

Two sold-out nights of your MDNA tour at the ACC - congrats!  I'm really, really sorry I'm going to miss your show, but the lunch invitation at the Hazelton Hotel is still open.  I'll be there tomorrow at noon.

Oh - and I heard a couple of stories about the bed you ordered to be delivered to the hotel. My first source said it cost $10,000 dollars - then I saw a tweet that talked about a $100,000 dollar bed. Whatever. I know *exactly* how hard it is to get a good bed; my new one still isn't right .

Last night at the Dovercourt House I played the acoustic version of "Love Spent". I didn't get to dance to it myself (I was busy cleaning up) but I think it was a hit.

Ciao!

White Hearts to You!!

Dear Madonna,

Happy Belated Birthday!  I got your Birthday Project call for videos, and we even taped a birthday jam for Rita and Janet, but the sound quality was pretty poor.

Coincidentally (?) my brother, Andy forwarded me this gem:

Awesome!!!

With Glowing Hearts

Dear Madonna,

I know my country and city aren't perfect.  Our Prime Minister is making dreadful decisions regarding the environment, and our mayor is a huge  embarassment - but I am so, so proud that gay rights are recognized and widely supported.

Yesterday was the Pride Parade - the culmination of a 10-day celebration of LBGT rights here in Toronto - one of the biggest in the world.  Michelle had a really intersesting take on it.  She said: "I don't like crowds, and I don't like parades, but attending my first Pride Parade was like discovering the true meaning of Christmas. There's such a sense of freedom to do and *be* whoever you are."

Yay Toronto!  Yay Canada!

Beauty Unrest

Dear Madonna,

I bought a new mattress recently – somewhat impulsively, although I've been thinking of ditching my old futon (with its associated baggage) for awhile.  I just walked into Sleep Country Canada one day, expressing a desire for the kind of bed I sleep on when I stay in hotels, and was directed to a BeautyRest pillow-top style, conveniently on sale!

Now I find myself playing the role of the Princess and the Pea. There’s something not quite right with the new mattress, but I can’t figure out what.

The question comes down to what kind of support I really need, and how do I know?

Take Back Your Mink, Take Back Your "Poils"...

..what makes you think I'm one of those "goils"?

Dear Madonna,

Cava-Karen is coming!!!  Did I tell you?  She'll be here in less than three weeks, and is staying for a nice long visit: two months - with trips planned to New York and Las Vegas while she's here.

We met in Kuwait, rehearsing to be Hot Box Dancers in an amateur production of Guys and Dolls.  My favourite part of the musical, as we performed it each night at the Ahmadi Little Theatre, was when we ripped off our gold dresses - in a country where many of the women are completely veiled!

(I'm third from the left in this pic; Cava-Karen is 8th from the left)

P.S. I'm 'taking back' my own "poils" - in a symbolic act of closure. Thanks, Dana!

House of Cards

Dear Madonna,

I do love the show, House, starring Hugh Laurie, now in its last season. In fact I have a huge crush on the British actor, having watched him interviewed on Inside the Actor's Studio. He's intelligent, funny, talented, - and hot. He also looks a bit like Jeff.

The actor who plays his much-abused friend, Wilson, reminds me so much of my late brother Mike.  Just his looks, but I've enjoyed watching him and feeling in some weird way like I'm connecting to Mike. Wilson is a cancer doc, and the plot for his end-game is his own personal battle with the Big C.

So, there's this superficial attachment I have with these make-believe characters, but they deal with real life stuff. And real death stuff.

And it all comes tumbling down.

Wedding Season

Dear Madonna,

Ain't love grand?  And when two people find each other it is, indeed, a reason to celebrate - and may-be be a little silly.

Celebrations took place this past week in the form of a stag for our OTP-buddy Clem who's getting married in a couple of weeks.  He was an amazingly good sport - going along with costuming (bathroom and plastic lei), party games (dancing blind-folded and having to "Name the Follower"), and a photo op that broke the bed in the hotel suite we had rented for the evening. Oops!

On a larger scale, Jesse & Alicia's "Pre-Wedding Bash" offered two separate rooms for dancing, buffet dinner for 100 people or more, cash bar, and a clever home-made photo booth to bring out the extrovert in all of us.

News of another wedding taking place this summer certainly took me by surprise.
Timing is everything.