Occasionally, I’ll throw down a playlist with a discernible theme or mood. Although this isn’t one of them, it does have a summery vibe. When it comes to music and general listening, I favor the eclectic with offbeat surprises, especially from resources like NPR’s All Songs 24/7 and KCRW’s Eclectic24 streams. This month’s playlist captures the well-rounded flavor of those stations.
Hair and makeup on an actor playing an iconic real life person with whom we are very familiar is a risky prospect. It can be brilliant and seamless or it can be so embarrassing and distracting that it takes us right out of the movie. Fortunately, it looks like the filmmakers behind Bohemian Rhapsody really nailed the “wow, he looks just like him” challenge. Rami Malek’s hair, makeup and the prosthetic for the signature overbite conspire to make his likeness to Freddie Mercury pretty damn good.
I’m not a vegan, but I’ve adopted a classification I call “vegan-adjacent.” After quitting meat in 2010, I’ve also made adjustments that bring me closer to a vegan without going full-tilt. Since then, I’ve drastically dialed down the dairy, only consuming it when I’m out at a restaurant or a party, and I still occasionally eat fish. Other than that, I’m much closer to vegan than carnivore.
When I moved back to Cleveland at the end of 2016, I was delighted to see far more vegetarian and vegan offerings than I’ve ever noticed before. But Cleveland is very much a meat eater’s town. Every other menu or advertisement for a restaurant is all about the beef, the bacon and the extra cheese.
If you add all that to the fact that I’ve detected little to no discernible gay presence in Downtown Cleveland (not even one gay bar), imagine my sheer delight when a friend forwarded me a brand new Cleveland-based vegan cooking video series by a guy named Dave Huffman, a.k.a. Bitchy Vegan Homo.
I haven’t updated the monthly playlist since last August. Shame on me.
To quote Rob Base (who was quoting Lyn Collins): It takes two to make a thing go right.
My three black tie favorites from this year's Oscars.
The final season of "House of Cards" streams this fall on Netflix.
Last night, I had a dream about David Byrne – a dream that was, shall we say, “romantic.” (Who doesn’t have a crush on David Byrne anyway?) Though I forget most of my dreams, the timing of this one was odd because it was followed up by his monthly David Byrne Radio newsletter this morning, announcing his February music playlist on Mixcloud.
A glamorous lady heist cut from the Ocean's 11 cloth? Just the kind of diversion I need. I hope it's good.
