I LOVE NEW YORK CITY

New York City is the best city in America and one of the Top 3 cities in the world (the other 2 being London & Paris - hey - my blog, my opinion). I love New York City. I think if you add up all the days I have been in NYC for both personal and business reasons, it has to be cumlatively approaching 2 years total. I just can't get enough of New York.

I don't even know where to begin with the list of all the things I love....the restaurants, Broadway, the best gay scene in the United States, the people, the energy, Wall Street, the architecture, the museums, walking around, the subway, the fashion, the shopping, the fact that you can get anything you want anytime of day you want it.....New York inspires in a way that no other city can.

I have very fond memories of New York City. From coming here when I was young with my grandmother to see Broadway shows when I was 12 or 13; the first time I came on my own by bus; the great friends that I have made here......the city just has such meaning to me. And there is always something new I find that I appreciate about the city every time I come here. It is ever changing, and yet oddly, stays the same.

My heart broke on 9/11 for this city. What people don't realize, unless you come here, is that despite it's reputation New Yorkers are the nicest people in the United States. I have seen lifelong New Yorkers go out of their way for a tourist with directions or help.

Some day, and I don't know when, but I would love to live in New York City. I'm definitely buying a property here someday. I would also LOVE to work in the city. Hey, at the height of the proverbial Roman Empire, wouldn't you want to live in Rome? Well, at the height of America, I want to live in New York City.

ODE TO FLORIDA

This is my final weekend living in Florida. Very sad, I know. While I cannot say enough good things about Miami Beach, I also really like the state of Florida. After MB, the second jewel in Florida's crown is Key West. Key West is like a little piece of New England was picked up and moved to the southern most point of the United States. KW is a great vacation town, and like any good vacation town it can be whatever you want it to be. Big party weekend. Check. Quiet little romantic get away. Check.

Of course, I cannot say enough good things about Fort Lauderdale. While I lived in Miami Beach, I always said that from a lifestyle perspective, I would have rather lived in FLL rather than Miami Beach. There is no way I could have handled the hour and half commute each way, to get to work in Coral Gables. However, Fort Lauderdale has a character and charm all it's own. Fort Lauderdale has the largest gay community in Florida. FLL has great clubs and bars with something for everyone. FLL also has some really nice restaurants like Chima & Johnny's. Until the Fillmore came to Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale had the best concerts, at venues with inaccurate names like The Culture Room. Big musical tours would always play the Bank Atlantic Center (which will now have to be renamed due to the company's bankrupcy). And the FLL airport is the best airport in all of Florida. I loved flying out of FLL. I spent no more than 15 minutes in a security line or ticket counter.

Tampa is a beautiful city. I did not explore Tampa nearly as much as I should have, but Tampa Bay is huge and beautiful. My 2 favorite memories of Tampa were visiting the Dali Museum in richer sister city St. Petersburg and the drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The Dali Museum has the largest collection of Salvador Dali's work in the world, outside of Spain. A friend who lives in Tampa calls it TRampa.

Orlando, Orlando. (My friend from Tampa calls it Whor-lando). My worst nightmare and a dream city all in one. As big as Orlando is, Disney is rapidly catching up in size. I have been to the Universal Studios theme park, which was fun. I'm disappointed that I will not be in Orlando for the opening of the Harry Potter section of the Universal theme park when it opens. And I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, near Universal, which was equally enjoyable. The highlight of Orlando for me was Gay Days. Gay Days was the first week in June and between the pool parties and theme parties, like the water park party, Orlando has the best circuit party in the United States.

Cape Canavarel is great because it is the home of the United States space program. I have watched 2 shuttles launch into space from Cape Canaveral. It is truly a sight to behold to actually see something launch into outer space.

And there have been a lot of other very nice cities in Florida. The richness of Naples, Pensacola has a great circuit party and is the home of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, Fort Myers is a classic Florida city, Fort Myers Beach was where I had my first Hooters meal ever, the drive down the Keys is the most beautiful drive in the state, and I spent many an afternoon driving across I75 through the Everglades (which is about as close I have gotten to the Everglades - even after living here for 5 years).

My parents introduced me to Florida when I was very young and we have been coming to Florida for Christmas as a family almost every year. The great part about living in Florida for the last 5 years has been the opportunity to visit so often with my parents. Although in all the years I visited Florida, I never imagined I would ever live here, I'm glad I did.

Florida is the third state in the United States that I have lived in. In a twist known only to myself, I arrived in Florida on June 23, 2004 and will leave the state on Tuesday, June 24, 2009 - almost exactly 5 years. Despite leaving to move back to California, I don't think Florida has seen the last of me.....I think this is where I want to retire.

LOS GALACTICOS

They're back! With Real Madrid signing Kaka from AC Milan 2 days ago and then today's news that they signed Mancheseter United star (and my all time favorite player), Christiano Rolando, Los Galacticos are back - EN FUEGO! And what a big mistake it is. First of all, in the middle of European recession, RM offered a then record breaking $92 million for Brazilian superstar Kaka and now the new record of $131 million for the Ronaldo transfer.

The real problem with Real Madrid is that the Los Galacticos strategy didn't work the first time and it's not going to work this time. In a nutshell, Real Madrid overpays for the biggest stars in football (European football - aka soccer, not American football) and brings them to the club to play for them. The theory is that with all of the world's best players playing on 1 team, you can buy your way to winning titles. It should work, but with all things sports, sports theory and sports reality always diverge, with sports reality being the much harsher of the 2. The U.S. equivalent is the New York Yankees. (Another team that overpays for star baseball players and doesn't win the World Series. And got their asses kicked yet again by my beloved Boston Red Soxes at Fenway park last night. 6-5. Eat it New Yorkers!), but I digress....

For Real Madrid, they overpay to get stars, do not end up winning either national or continental titles, the merchandise will not sell like it used to in a recession, TV networks will not be push up their license fees, and it's hard to market a star or a team when everyone on the team is a star. For the players, it can be a career killer. David Beckham effectively ended his European career with his Real Madrid transfer (and Beckham had to come to America to play soccer and be Tom Cruise's friend! Quelle horreur! Now that's a hard fall). Michael Owen was a star player in England for both his team and the national team. He transferred to Real Madrid and his career was dead within a year.

Also, there are already established stars currently playing for Real Madrid. Then you have to re-earn your spot on the team and your standing all over again, in a foreign country, with a very different press and audience.....good luck! Plus the spotlight is on you immediately when you begin to play. One bad move, one bad game and you're massacred in the press. What does that do to your ego? It hurts your career and begins an almost self fulfilling downward spiral. Granted a very rich downward spiral for David Beckham and all the other Galacticos, but still, as a sports player, wouldn't you want to be remembered for your long career? No one remembers you for how much money you made. The results speak for themselves, the Galacticos were never able to win a national or international title.

Also with the all the players, when everyone's a star on the team, egos can get out of control and team spirit goes right out the window. The ego problem is a big one for a sports teams. With most clubs, there are 2 to 3 outstanding players, your stars. The star players on their team do very well for the club and on the pitch (field), but they need their supporting defenders and passers to make them look good. Yes, the team star is great, but they are great because the other players on their current teams make them great. No one player is a star on a football team on their own.

Now with everyone wanting to be a star, you have no one supporting you as a player to make you look good. At Real Madrid, the thinking on the pitch has to be - why pass the ball when I can try to score and be a bigger star than you? Usually, the smartest move is to pass, and to set up a better shot for someone else, and not try it on your own. Ronaldo is good only because he has a short hand with Wayne Rooney and his defenders and teammates of the last 5 years. Ronaldo will not score half as many goals next year as he did this year for Manchester United. And he's one of the leagues top scores with usually 30+ goals per season. I guarantee you next year for Real Madrid, he will just make it into the low teens.

Here's the Wikipedia article on Los Galacticos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galáctico .

What I like least about Los Galacticos is that money cannot buy you a win, so instead they should try to make the best team, not get all the best sports celebrities. It's like porn, if everyone's in the film is a porn star how do you establish rank if everyone's a star?

As incredible as this blog posting may seem, you read correctly, I did just post my very first sports blog posting with straight porn references. (I know!) But really I did it so I could post shirtless photos of Ronaldo & Beckham.

UPDATE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/sports/soccer/12iht-RONALDO.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

EUROPRIDE 2009

I have just returned from 5 days in beautiful Zurich Switzerland for EuroPride 2009. Zurich is a great city, the Swiss German's are so nice, and I had a fabulous time with my German friends. I consider myself very lucky to have met and become friends with them.

The very first time I went to Europe was because of Warner Bros. My boss Lisa and I, along with colleagues from the London field offices, were attending ProMax Europe in Amsterdam. I remember being so excited to finally go to Europe, and Amsterdam, the gay capital of Europe! Another life milestone reached that I never thought would happen. I worked 90% of the time and play only 10% of the time. The other interesting historical context is that we were flying from LA to Amsterdam on September 30, 2001 - just 2 1/2 weeks after 9/11.

While attending ProMax, I keep walking by this really cute blonde European who keeps eye fucking me all day. (And I was eyefucking him right back). Fortunately at night there was the business mixer in an Amsterdam club. We bumped into each other, talked, and made plans to go out later that night. We had a great evening out clubbing together. It was my first European date in Amsterdam. His name was Alex. He was Swedish, but living in Munich attending the University of Munich while working part time for an advertising and graphic design company. We leave Amsterdam to go to the convention (and my very first trip to London), but Alex and I exchange emails and agree to keep in touch.

Cut to February 2003. I move to London to temporarily cover a pregnancy leave. On the first bank holiday weekends, I decide to fly to Munich to meet Alex and spend the long weekend in Munich. It would be my first trip to Germany. I get to Munich (navigating the subway all in German from the airport to the Glockenspiel), thinking this will be another romantic week with Alex. He had been a bit cagey in the emails, but I thought it was his English. While out drinking at a bar in Munich with his friends, he tells me he has a boyfriend, and is in a committed relationship. So there goes my romantic weekend. Well, I was in Munich, might as well make lemons out of lemonade, so I said that was cool and I was free to pick up other guys. Done.

Out at this really cool Munich club called the Candy Club, I met Mario. Mario is young, just out of university and working for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW). Mario and I really hit it off, but he won't go home with me. Mario said he wanted to be friends and if we went home we would have sex, and then never talk again, and he would rather be friends. I said we could have sex and still be friends (eg. - Alex). But I wasn't going to beg, so I said we would keep in touch via email. The rest of the weekend in Munich was great.

Cut to September 2003. I decide to go back to Munich for the 2nd time to attend Octoberfest. Another amazing party in Munich. I see Mario, we hang out and get drunk, nothing happens and we agree to keep in touch via email.

Cut to September 2008. I am going back to Munich for the third time to attend Octoberfest 2008. Mario and I had kept in touch via email for the last 5 years. Every 3 or 4 months we would exchange emails and catch each other up on our lives. Mario has been in a committed relationship for almost 2 years. I would be sleeping in his apartment as his guest and friend. While Mario and I kept in touch, we really didn't know each other at all. We knew we liked each other, but we had never spent 5 days straight together. Mario was more nervous about it than I was, but we got along great the entire time. We really grew from acquaintences into good friends that trip. Mario introduced to me to his friend Georg, Fabian, Till, Jochen, and the list goes on. We go out to bars at night, BBQ's during the day, and the grand finale, Octoberfest itself.

Cut to February 2009. The Germans invite me to go skiing with them in Austria. I fly into Vienna for the very first time and we have a great 2 day ski vacation with my new German posse. We talk, we share, we drink, we ski, we bond. All in all, a great bunch of guys. (See my previous post, THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO REPAINT THAT ROOF). At the end of the ski trip, I told them the next time I would be in Europe was June for EuroPride. They agreed to come since Ivo was living in Europe. Mario had never been to Zurich and Georg is always up for a fun party.

Cut to May 2009 - Memorial Day Weekend. Mario and his boyfriend David (who's on a medical fellowship at Harvard) fly down and spent the long weekend in Miami and have a great time.

Cut to June 2009. EuroPride. Mario, Georg, Ivo, their extended group of friends, my friends from a previous ski trip to Zurich, Geneva, Luasanne, and all had a great time. I consider myself very lucky to have such a great group of friends.

FINALLY! A TONIGHT SHOW FOR MY GENERATION

Last night, a little bit of TV history was made when Conan O'Brien made his debut as the 5th host of television staple, The Tonight Show. (Side trivia - can you name the other 4? Jeopardy waiting music.......Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Jack Parr, and Steve Allen).

Conan had a hilarious debut. He is very funny, and a great Tonight Show host for the Obama generation. He's funny without being caustic, witty, self depreciating, and great with an audience. In short the perfect TV host for my generation. Personally, I don't think Jay Leno is funny. I get that he is funny, but not my kind of funny. And Johnny Carson was the host for my grandparents generation. Every generation has their Tonight Show host, and I definitely relate to Conan.

As I was watching The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien's very first musical guest, another thought crossed my mind. The musical guest was Pearl Jam. In the "Feeling Completely Old" category (I'm in that category alot these days) next year is the 20th anniversary of Pearl Jam.

In the Fall of 1991, an actor at UMass who was a friend of mine came to rehearsal about 10 or 15 minutes late. When we asked why he was late, his explanation was that he was listening to this amazing album called Ten and he kept playing it over and over again and that it was one of the greatest album's he's ever heard. I, for one, though that was a bad excuse, but interesting that he felt that way about Pearl Jam and Ten. Of course, I had never heard of them. I was a tour guide at the University of Massachusetts and one of the highlights of the tour was the "sell" to the potential college students about all the cool bands that have played at UMass. I remember seeing all the 8 1/2" X 11" multicolored posters for Pearl Jam playing in the Student Union Ballroom (and not the larger FAC Concert Hall) all over campus. Tickets were sold out to Pearl Jam. One day, I listened to some of the songs from my friend Tom Berry (who had every cool album out every week) and was blown away by the album even though I was definitely not into grunge. The actor was Rob Corddry, now a recognized and very funny film actor in his own right. Rob was right, Pearl Jam was great. And now here they are 20 years later, outlasting all of their contemporaries. Scarily enough, Eddie Vedder is turning into the new Bob Dylan.