I am slowing crossing off items from my to do list. Would it be wrong to include in my to do list items such as:
* Drink second cup of tea
* Sit and admire coffee table
* Page through Boston Proper catalog
If they were on the list, I would have a lot more things accomplished.

Today I clean. Massively clean. Vacuum, scrub, dust, pick up all odds and ends, etc… I have friends coming over tonight and tomorrow so this place had better be spic and span!
Yesterday Lisa and I went back to Ikea and bought a coffee table, 2 duvets, napkins, gingersnap cookies, closet knobs, surge protector, and a tall plant. Lisa talked me into the coffee table, it was cheap and very much what we wanted to buy. So we bought it with the thought that we could return it if was horrible or give it to the Salvation Army if after a year we grow tired of it. As it turns out, it looks quite nice; we’re keeping it.
I think my body is refusing to wake up because she knows my brain is going to put her to work. Sometimes I wish I had that Joan Crawford need to clean. “I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at the dirt!”
Yesterday I looked up Die Blechtrommel on Imdb.com. Oddly enough, the boy who portrayed Oskar, has a few Web pages devoted to him. Looking through the one gallery, I noticed that Frankie Muniz from Malcolm in the Middle bears an uncanny resemblance to David “Oskar” Bennent. Here, look. From the interviews posted on the David Bennent Web site, he seems to have turned out okay despite having starred in such a perverse movie. I’ve wondered how child actors cope when they are in films that have such an adult tone– Björn Andrésen in Death in Venice, the little boy in Fellini Satyricon, etc… I couldn’t imagine performing their scenes as a child. Or even, wanting to.

It was a wonderful production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Each year they get better and better. In my earlier entry, I said Jesus was overweight. As it turns out, he was just broad and husky. I had visions of Meat Loaf circa 1976 up on the cross, his big belly obscuring the loincloth. That was not the case. This Jesus was just big-boned. Also, instead of getting the band out from their seats to help hoist him up, some clever person spring loaded the cross. Jesus carried the cross up to the altar that had been converted to a makeshift stage. One of the crew grabbed that cross and took it backstage. The Roman soldiers laid Jesus down and nailed him to a much larger, reinforced-cross. One of the soldiers then pulled a lever and the cross sprung into place. Ingenious idea and I was very impressed. I thought Audra told me that Pontius Pilate was the rock star but in fact it was Judas. And what a rock star! He wore black leather pants and dark sunglasses! All the girls swooned and I had to keep picking my jaw up off the ground. Judas made the production– he had a great voice and he moved very well. The fellow who portrayed Jesus on the other hand seemed to be channeling the voice of Ted Neeley but instead achieved Oskar Matzerath from the Tin Drum. Although, as Audra said, he didn’t do badly for an 18-year-old. It was really a lovely production and there were times I actually got chills. If anyone in the Philadelphia area is interested in seeing this play, email me and I will give you the details.

I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. It was so nice and warm under the covers.
Tonight is Audra’s play. She plays a leper in Jesus Christ Superstar! She is also in the chorus. I am looking forward to going, mainly because she told me that the guy playing Jesus is somewhat overweight and they struggle to get him up on the cross. The band actually puts down their instruments and helps hoist him up. She also said that Pontius Pilate is a real rockstar type and all the girls swoon over him. It should be interesting.
The church where the play is being performed is right near Ikea and so Lisa and I will probably stop there and do some shopping. Of late, Ikea has really disappointed me. Their stuff looked great when I had no intention of buying it but now that I am actually furnishing a house and plunking down money, Ikea furniture looks shoddy.

Here are two Web sites that I found that I really liked:
Rides through Chernobyl
Root Beer Commerical – Zoo Drunk

Last night I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and bought a scale. It seemed like a good way to keep my weight in check with bathing suit season right around the corner. I am actually only 3 lbs off my perfect weight so I am pretty happy. There were a few scales to choose from and I came awfully close to buying the Tanita 4 Memory Family Body Fat Scale. What stopped me was the text on the box, it read:

Simply enter your personal data using the ‘set,’ ‘up’ and ‘down’ buttons, and then stand barefoot on the scale. Electrodes in the foot sensor pads send a low-level electrical current through the body which measures the percentage of body fat. How? The current passes quickly through muscle and is slowed by fat.

What B.S.! Do I look that gullible? I bought the Thinner® Advance Body Fat Analyzer Scale instead.
Reading the info on the Tanita scale made me think of when I was younger and would watch Saturday morning cartoons. There were always commercials for incredible toys. I remember begging my mother for the toy, “Please, Mommy, please, I can’t live without it!!!!” Eventually I ended up with the toy either for a holiday or from my grandparents and inevitably the toy was never as good as the commericial made it seem. It didn’t fly, it didn’t spin, it wouldn’t chew, etc… Now that I am a woman, I still find myself in the same situation only with other products. Apply the lipstick and press your lips together and the color will deepen, apply the mascara and your lashes will immediately curl, dab the cream onto your blemish and watch it disappear! The claims are ridiculous and I should know better. Going forward, I am going to try to separate the hype from the product. And so I said no to the Tanita scale– c’mon, electrodes? current? body fat? I don’t think so.