Minneapolis

Just returned last night from Minneapolis, where I attended the National Association of Professional Organizers Conference. I went with my friend and business partner, Leslie. As she and I are starting a new "organizing" business, we thought it would be useful to attend their annual conference. It was quite fun, actually.

There were about 900 in attendance, of which about 20 were males, at least 19 of them gay. After getting a good look at the the other attendees I rechristened it the National Association of Bossy Women. We went to seminars, and luncheons, and "power breakfasts" and were very, very organized. Sadly, there was not a lot of info on our area of interest: doing consulting on going green and using eco-friendly, sustainable products. I guess we'll be pioneers.

Minneapolis is a very average city. All the usual stores, people look pretty average, average amount of traffic. They have high hopes for their downtown redevelopment but right now you need to get the hell out before dark. Interestingly, I guess because of the winters, one can walk all over downtown without ever going outside. They have these warrens of glass skywalks that cut through the buildings above street level and all the fat, bossy white women were using them even though it was 70 degrees outside.

There were no memorable dining experiences. Stayed at the Marriott, ate at the Marriott. Next year's convention is in Reno, another average city.

Taos for Orrie's Birthday

Our Marrakech Suite

Taos Street

A while back ago we spent a few days in Taos to celebrate Orrie's 70th birthday. He'd never been to Taos or Santa Fe! Of course we stayed at El Monte Sagrado, the spa resort we act like we own there. After flying into Albuquerque and breezing through Santa Fe, we took our leisurely amble along the high road, through Chimayo and the gorgeous mountains with a dusting of snow. Then we pulled into the parking lot at Sagrado to find a HUGE construction project going on. Oh dear, something rotten in Denmark. Seems the place has been purchased by a...a... corporation and they are expanding to double the size of the place.

According to an unnamed employee (Linda) there is definite discord. The hotel corporation (Kessler) has turned off all the eco-friendly part of the resort, like the natural water purification and such and are concentrating on making it more of a conference center. A sad day. I guess we'll have to shift our focus back to Santa Fe, which we also love.

Had a great dinner with Karla and Kelly at Byzantium. It's a small place off the south side of the Taos Square. Only 7 tables, the menu changes according to the seasons and the whims of the chef. Karla says that some days they just leave a note on the door saying if you want to eat, just call them at home and they'll come in and open the place.

My New Passport!

After no small amount of sweating, my passport arrived today. I of course waited too long to send it off for renewal, then I began to hear horror stories of how backlogged the passport people are. Since the guvmint now requires everyone to have a passport to go even to Mexico or Canada there has been a flurry of applications. It was good for another year but I was running out of space for stamping!

First, I sent it off with a check made out for the wrong amount so to punish me for my stupidity they kept it in a drawer for a month then sent it all back. By that time I decided to go through an expediting service, which cost triple, but since we're heading off to Gay Paree in May I didn't want to fuck around.

So it's here, all shiny and new and colorful, with some sort of electronic bug in it so George Bush can keep track of me in case I visit the Axis of Evil.

Rome vs I, Claudius

Now that HBO's Rome has ended (Caesar long dead, Antony and Cleopatra have killed themselves in Alexandria) we are sorely lacking in the classical costume drama department. So we've decided to return to a beloved old favorite, I, Claudius. It's adapted from a great book by Robert Graves and conveniently takes up historically more or less where Rome left off, during the reign of Augustus (known as Octavian through most of Rome). Love them both.

1. Acting: Well, both have wonderful casts but I must say that I, Claudius beats Rome. Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, John Hurt as Caligula!

2. Script: I, Claudius is actually better writing. It's consistently compelling, while Rome tended to be uneven at times. Both have the best lines going to the villainesses: Atia in Rome and Livia in I, Claudius get to say just the most outrageous things. And who can forget the scene in which a campaigning Caligula is asked by his security chief to name a code phrase for the following day. John Hurt cocks his head in thought and replies, "give us a kiss."

3. Budget: Oops. No contest here. Watching Rome you could see every nickel spent on production, from the locations to the costumes. It was very rich. On the other hand, I, Claudius was one of the very early Masterpiece Theatre productions and they apparently had no budget. It was shot on video, with sets that look like painted cardboard. At times you can see Derek Jacobi's old-age latex peeling off the side of his face.

4. Nudity: Rome...lots!! I, Claudius...very little and that's just tits.

Therefore, the award goes to...Rome!