Choice 1	Choice 2	Choice 3
Katy Perry will melt my popsicle	Ke$ha likes my beard	Miley Cyrus isn’t telling me to go to hell, she’s not a brat like that

To review the rules… You must choose one who you would spend the rest of your life with, one you would have a freaky-monkey one-night stand with, and one who you would put to death*. You tell me who you choose and why.

*standard disclaimer: we are anti-death penalty, we play this game as a thought exercise, not an endorsement of murder. Also, we are sex-positive and believe that two people can have crazy one-time sex without shame or emotional baggage. Let’s just go ahead and pretend that Miley Cyrus is 22 years old so no one has to have the (legally incorrect in most states) “but she’s not legal” comment. Finally, for the purposes of this game, we all live in marriage equality jurisdictions.

My picks from last time:
Marry: Charlie. Smart, kind and sexy.
Fuck: Josh. Behind all that cocky ego is an insecure little boy who probably tries really, really hard to impress you between the sheets. Also, I like his brand of snark.
Kill: Sam. And not just because I think it’s funny that this is the second week in a row I have someone with an embarrassing threesome sex tape leak (NSFW), but because I find him terribly boring.

Choice 1	Choice 2	Choice 3
Rufus Wainwright	Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars	Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters

To review the rules… You must choose one who you would spend the rest of your life with, one you would have a freaky-monkey one-night stand with, and one who you would put to death*. You tell me who you choose and why.

*standard disclaimer: we are anti-death penalty, we play this game as a thought exercise, not an endorsement of murder. Also, we are sex-positive and believe that two people can have crazy one-time sex without shame or emotional baggage. Finally, for the purposes of this game, we all live in marriage equality jurisdictions.

And my picks from last week:
Marry: Josh Hopkins – he seems like a nice guy
Fuck: Mark Salling – he seems like a cocky guy
Kill: Joel McHale – I get the sex appeal, but I can only handle so much sarcasm in my life

Anyway, the definite highlight of the week was the Scissor Sisters concert. The last time I saw them in concert they were still mostly unknown and it was a much more intimate concert space. Five years later, at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan rather than a Park City nightclub during Sundance, they’re still making music that just fills me with joy and makes me want to dance (new album apparently coming out in July).

Prior to the concert, I did some shopping. Nothing special, I just needed to pick up a black t-shirt for Follies and ended up browsing through a couple stores. I found a really nice white v-neck that is super comfortable and looks good. I wore it jogging this morning and got a couple flirty glances. I may have to go back to pick up a few more.

The weather in Manhattan has been utterly lovely. I’ve spent hours in the park reading (yes, Soulless was as good as Rob said it would be) or walking dogs or jogging or simply soaking up the sun. Once Follies tech week is over, I’ll have to plan frequent outdoor study breaks if it stays like this through finals.

Congrats to Jennifer and Jacob, who finally got hitched this morning. Wish I could have been there.

When I wasn’t trying to flirt with doggie-daddies at the park, I spent much of today listening to the soundtrack for Love Never Dies (the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera) and reading Soulless by Gail Carringer. It feels utterly indulgent to be reading for pleasure when I have, literally, hundreds of pages of case law waiting for my attention, but after all Rob’s praise of Carriger, I couldn’t resist when I saw it in the bookstore window after taking the dogs home. I’m about 80 pages in and I’m enjoying it so far.

As for Love Never Dies, it’s not entirely terrible. Completely unnecessary, poorly plotted, lacking in dramatic tension, and forgetting that the original Phantom was at least part Gothic suspense, the score is nevertheless lovely. Sadly, the most memorable song (“Till I Hear You Sing” — below) comes early in the first act and the build-up to the climactic aria and title tune ends in disappointment. I barely recognize these characters, either. Raoul is unlikeable and unrecognizable, Christine is vapid and one-dimensional, Madame Giry is greedy and indignant, Meg is jealous and jaded. The Phantom is the most audience-accessible character now and his obsession seems less terrifying and more like the faithfulness of a good man. Still, as much as I love to mock Andrew Lloyd Webber (and I do love it), I’ll always have a soft spot for Phantom and this sequel isn’t completely hateful (unlike Starlight Express).

Anyway, I think I’m dropping the “see a show” from my list of goals this week, because I’d rather spend the time reading a book (which is also less expensive).

I’m going to assume most of you raised your hands. (fuckers)

So, my roommates finished their finals yesterday and left for the holiday already. Since I now have the place all to myself, you know what that means… YouTube karaoke! From one of my favorite musicals ever…

I can’t resist occasionally mimicking the incomparable Ellen Greene at a few moments in this song. Particularly in her accent/pronunciation. Unfortunately, I’m also fast at times and had to randomly improvise add my own interpretive color to the song.

I used to have every single part of this song down pat. I’m clearly long out of practice (and not a big-voiced, belty black chick). This is not my best singing, but it was too much of a pain to re-shoot.

Anyway, for those who were asking… my Property exam yesterday was brutal. Without a doubt the toughest test I’ve ever taken (including the LSAT). I knew the material well enough, time management was a problem. My last exam of the semester is in Contracts and it’s on Monday afternoon. I have to admit, this was my least favorite subject this semester, and so I’ve got the most work to do in being prepared for Monday. Luckily, if past exams are any indication, the professor is more concerned with making logical arguments than mechanical memorization and application of a bunch of dusty rules (*cough*property*cough*), so there’s less drilling and memorization to do.

Anyway, reports of expected snow in Manhattan are getting more and more dramatic as the day wears on. I planned to go running in Central Park tomorrow, but I may have to settle for the treadmill if I do actually wake up to 85 feet of snow. Either way, I’m thinking a walk in the park with my camera will be required.

In the meanwhile, there are three more tracks that are must-haves for any holiday playlist:
I’ve Got a Boner for Christmas – Nerf Herder
Christmas in the Stars – Star Wars
Sleigh Ride – Star Wars

You’re welcome.

And a quick story… on my last holiday playlist post, I included an MP3 of Michael Arden singing the Joni Mitchell classic “River,” earning me the scorn of someone who wondered why I’d even bother with a cover when the Joni version exists… Anyway, I had to run to Starbucks last night to get some late-night study coffee and who should I see waiting on a drink? Yup. Michael Arden. (If I’m just crazy and it wasn’t actually him, it was his long-lost twin brother) And can you guess what was playing on my iPod at that very moment? Yup. “River” as sung by Michael Arden. So, of course, I got painfully shy, stared at him awkwardly, got my coffee and practically ran back to school. Since I so rarely get to venture off campus, this was my first random New York celebrity sighting (unless you count the Puntabugang).

Well, I should get some sleep so I can do a morning jog before the exam.

Happy Saturnalia!

With some advice from friends and a lot of my hunting, I’ve put together a 2009 holiday season playlist of 205 (at last count) holiday songs, most of which are not your typical “heard at the mall” carols. Here are 12 I especially like (because there’s a requirement that you do things in 12s for the holiday season).

• Light One Candle – Michelle Citrin
• Winter Song – Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
• Sing – Kristin Chenoweth
• River – Michael Arden
• Blue and Cold – Versus The World
• The Grinch – Caravan of Thieves
• No Smiles on Christmas – Bleed The Dream
• Snake Oil Tanker (Xmas) – Alkaline Trio
• I Celebrate the Day – Reliant K
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Hem
• Last Christmas – Glee Cast
• Auld Lang Syne – Various Artists
• Bonus track (unlucky #13) O Holy Night – Brand New

I included the bonus track because my all-time favorite holiday song is “O Holy Night” despite the inescapable religiosity. I have covers of the song by Celine Dion, Josh Grobin, South Park‘s Eric Cartman, Tracy Chapman, Il Divo and more. Because it’s such a familiar tune, I love that Brand New actually makes the song sound a) new and b) dark and c) maybe a little irreligious without actually changing the lyrics.

Anyway, if my attention to the internet is sporadic or limited to after midnight for the next two weeks, it’s only because I’m trying to find the right balance for finals studying. I never actually had to study for finals in college or high school, at least not in any kind of organized and dedicated way, so this process is a learning experience for me.

So, after Josh suggested layering the original Fountains of Wayne and the Katy Perry cover of “Hackensack,” I decided to do that. With the incongruous footage of Central Park. It’s probably going to get yanked for copyright violation, but in the meantime, enjoy.

(And if you fancy a low quality MP3 of the duet)

Building my playlist for the drive this weekend. You might notice a theme.

My playlist actually has about 106 songs in it (7.7 hours for a 12 hour drive), but the list here reflects several of my favorites that I believe to be already freely offered on the internet by the artists themselves (trying to avoid the angry lawyers of the music industry).

What music absolutely has to be in my moving to New York road trip mix tape?