cooperlowenthal's Xanga

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 21:40:49 GMT

It's official: Cooper's got a brand new home. From now on you can find me at http://cooperlowenthal.blogspot.com/. Stop on by!

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 14:48:08 GMT

This morning I played for service at the cathedral in Hartford, as I often do. A little blue-haired old lady came over to chat with me after the service, saying how much she enjoys my playing, which was nice of her. Then she noted how cold it was in the cathedral, theorizing that a Manhattan would warm her right up. "You like Manhattans, don't you," she asked sweetly. Before I could agree she answered, "Of course you do, with a cherry! I think we should go across the street for a couple of drinks." "Sounds perfect to me," was all I could say. Too bad the bars downtown aren't open in the morning.

In other news: My xanga subscription comes due in a few days, and I'm thinking of moving to either typepad or blogger. While I've met a lot of great people on xanga, I think I might have fewer problems and better service elsewhere. What do y'all think? Will you still come and visit me in my new digs?

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 07:59:57 GMT

You taste like filet mignon. You are the epitome
of fine taste and everyone knows it. You are
expensive, well aged, and in demand!

How do you taste?
brought to you by Quizilla

Friday, December 09, 2005

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 14:59:29 GMT

Ahh, winter is unmistakably here. And Connecticut is handling it with typical panic. The University where I teach closed today, so all my classes are cancelled. While I certainly enjoyed having the day off, I think it's silly that they should shut down over a few inches of light snow, especially on the last Friday of the semester. On the other hand, I've had a great day so far: breakfast with JayBird, Target, clearing Rich and Holly's driveway, hanging out with Seth and then abs day at the gym (which was deserted except for a few neurotic gays). And I'm definitely in a punchy mood, which could be because of the unexpected day off, or else the diet pills I take. Tonight is one more rehearsal for another round of Nutcracker performances this weekend, and then I'll meet the boys out for drinks tonight.

Here are a couple of pictures I took from my apartment:

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 09:24:48 GMT

Today is my beautiful boyfriend, Dimitrios' birthday. He's turning 23 again, can you believe it?!?

I can't yet reveal his birthday/xmas gifts on the off chance he will see this before I see him this afternoon, but I'm fairly certain he will be a very satisfied birthday boy.

Today I got up early to go to the supermarket and gym before meeting up with the boif. Let me tell you, the grocery store is filled with crazy people at 7:30 a.m., literally running up and down the aisles with a crazed look in their eyes. Dimitrios told me that that look is just coffee - The best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup! I'm not so sure, though; these people look like they're crazy all day long.

Ok, I'm off to have another cup myself before I hit the gym. Have a great day!

P.S. Have you posted your picture on my map yet?

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 17:05:04 GMT

Note to Self: Nothing says Christmas like a Giant Spinning Dreidl.

Yes, the nearby WestFarms Mall features this multi-culti holiday mishigas each year. It's right next to the giant Santa nightmare filled with screaming children and their exasperated parents who should have used a condom. Anyway, the dreidl is possibly the only good reason to go the mall in the month of December. I don't know about you, but it makes me want to Buy! Buy! Buy!

I ran into JBone at the mall this morning, so we did our shopping together and then had lunch, which was an unexpected pleasure on my only day off this week. My ass is still sore (not in a good way) from the gym yesterday, but Chuck and I are still doing chest tonight.

That's it for the moment. Have a great evening!

P.S. I tried to post a fun video of the dreidl, but I couldn't figure out how. Any advice?

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:13:47 GMT

Last night Chuck and I did a brand new leg workout at the gym. Being a typical fag, I haven't done legs in a really really long time, but for some reason we decided last night was a good time to start. Ha, I say. Ha! As we surveyed the medieval torture devices masquerading as leg machines, it occurred to me that they look sort of like gynecological exam chairs. Chucky agreed, "So this is what if feels like to be a woman!" After that I did my first lunge in probably fifteen years (normally I find getting on my knees more pleasant). Well, today I can barely walk. I curse the day I decided to live in a third floor flat. And I'm shopping around for a Lark®.

Here's a funny European ad I stumbled upon this morning. And no, these pictures have absolutely nothing to do with the video.

More later.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 08:59:20 GMT

News Alert: Katie Couric is funny today. After a story about all the different kinds of specialty yoga programs (i.e. Yoga for Abs, Ten Minute Yoga, etc.), Katie quips: "How about Yoga for Drinkers"?

My girl Katie is back, at 8:30 in the morning, no less.

Gotta run to work now; amusing Nutcracker stories later.

Meanwhile, post your mug on my map:

UPDATE:

So, over the weekend I played 3 performances of the Nutcracker, at least one of them to a sold out house. My part (the SugarPlum Fairy Dance, among other things) is pretty easy and went fine. I mentioned the other day that the conductor missed the first orchestra rehearsal. Well, it turns out he just thought it was supposed to be on another day. I was hoping for something more dramatic than that, but that's all I got. Anyway, he's a nice guy (if not a great conductor), and he and I always chat during breaks. He kept mentioning to me his crush on one of the cellists (a prissy twinky looking guy in his 20's), which I thought was a little weird. If that wasn't enough, during the last show, the woman who plays the harp (who sits next to me) told me that she hooked up with the timpani player after the Saturday night performance; they're both married but separated, so it was all hush-hush, in a very adolescent sort of way. And lastly, after the last performance I had to get the stage manager to help me move my instrument out of the pit so I could take it with me, and he sort of asked me to go out for a drink with him, which I declined. Who knew ballet had so much sexual energy? Anyway, I have one more week of Nutcrackers, so I'll probably have more stories later in the week.

That's all for now.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 10:12:45 GMT

Hey kids, sign my map and I'll give you a treat!

You know you want to.

Hehe, thanks. Now here's your treat:

It's another busy work weekend for Cooper, three Nutcracker performances, Cathedral tomorrow morning, and getting organized for the last week of school. I'm ready for another vacation already!

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 10:02:06 GMT

Some unrelated bits today:

Last night I had a surreal rehearsal with the Waterbury Symphony for the Nutcracker performances I'm doing this week and next. (I play the celesta part, which is very short, but it's the tune most people remember, the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. It's a cheezy gig, but easy and kinda fun.) Anyway, last night was so strange because...<gasp> the conductor didn't show up! Apparently there was some kind of mix-up, although the specifics are quite sketchy. Because it's a professional orchestra, the rehearsal had to go on, and the concertmaster asked me to conduct (some of the orchestra know that I'm a also conductor), but I declined. I didn't want to step on anybody's toes, and I've never really studied the whole ballet, only the 5 or so minutes that I play. Well, she ended up conducting herself, and I wished that I had done it; she had no idea what she was doing. The harpist kept making jokes about her, but I didn't want to criticize (although it was pretty funny). Anyway, the whole orchestra was pretty good humored about the whole thing, but it was definitely one of the strangest rehearsals ever.
Why is anyone surprised about the "new" Vatican policies about ordaining gay priests? It seems to me that the Catholic Church has been pretty clear on how they feel about the gays for a really, really long time now.
There was an interesting post on BoiFromTroy yesterday about flying foreign airlines. Apparently advocating a free market is "unpatriotic", because it doesn't shout BuyAmerican!!, a silly, bone-headed slogan akin to Support our Troops!! or These Colors Don't Run!!. The article quoted is really inarticulate, but the kernel of truth is that making purchases based on quality, price and value is both patriotic and good for the economy. If Americans want well-made products at a good price, we should compete freely with goods produced all over the world. Otherwise, we're encouraging a kind of economic laziness that hardly seems patriotic to me. What happened to the days when the conservatives were the capitalists in this country?
I put a really cool Frappr map on here so you can post your picture and greeting for Cooper. Here's a fun button for you to click: