Okay, I'm still trying to find a way to post my pics here. I tried photobucket on the advice of Serena (thanks, BTW) but my pics didn't turn out too well when I posted them there (probably has something to do with my own picture posting ignorance). Looks like I might actually have to shell out some money to get decent image hosting. Since I spent two hours trying to get these linked, I'm leaving the captions that I typed up, so my work isn't in vain. Captions without pictures. I know, it's dumb, but I need something to show for it. I'll come back to this post and edit the photos in when I figure out how. I must log off now, before my brain explodes and I put my platform heel through this computer monitor.

Before the show.
I spotted the tour buses and got so excited I had to take a picture. I am a dork.

During the show.
This pisses me off---I got some great shots during the encore. You can't see shit though, because my disposable camera sux. But Neil told me he liked it (see earlier post). Maybe he was just saying that to get in my pants. Hopefully.

I love this man.
Neil Finn, chatting with fans by the tour bus (this is before our fateful encounter).

Me and Neil.
Wow, check out the chemistry between us. He's smiling. I'm smiling. My boob is totally touching his arm. We're in looooooooove.

Tim Finn signing autographs.
He's cute.

Me and Tim.
We look good together too, but my heart belongs to Neil.

So that was my night. Sigh.

BTW--the Finn Brothers new album Everyone Is Here will be out August 24, so be sure to buy it or at least check it out online.

Dammit, I can't buy a break. I haven't been able to figure out how to upload my concert photos here, because I'm dumb and this Picasa program is stoopid. If anyone has any tips for me about posting pics to blogger, please enlighten me. In the meantime, I'll keep trying to figure things out on my own, which could be dangerous.

I'm going home to finish off my pint of Haagen-Dazs and take a long nap. I started a new job today (more on that later), and I forgot how taxing it is to work in a position where I actually have to do something. (Usually I just drink coffee and surf the 'net all day, like a normal person).

Cheerio!

 

I'm so excited I could poop! I saw the Finn Brothers last night (Neil and Tim Finn, both formerly of Split Enz  and my beloved Crowded House). I've been a hardcore Crowded House fan(atic) since 1987, when most kids my age were listening to Debbie Gibson (not that I'm a music snob or anything. Well, maybe a little). I never got to see the Crowdies live while they were together, but being a devout fan for--shit, more than half my life now (I'm thirty, for those keeping score), and seeing them perform for the first time last night just made the show that much more amazing. 

Some of the highlights of the concert:

• Before the third song of the evening (I need to get a set list for the show, dammit!) Neil announced that he was "going to take the loooong way round to the piano," and did this awesome, Harold-at-the-end-of-Harold and Maude-type saunter/stroll around to the other side of the stage. (You had to be there.) 
• A rendition of Split Enz's Dirty Creatures that kicked serious ass. I've never been particularly fond of that song, (the video--one of the first ones I ever saw on MTV-- freaked me right the fuck out when I was eight years old), but it was awesome hearing it live. The version on the LP doesn't do it justice at all. It almost made up for them not doing Message To My Girl, which is my favorite Split Enz song by far.
• Although the only Crowded House songs they played were from Woodface, they did all my favorites from that album: It's Only Natural (why was that song never a hit in the U.S.?), There Goes God, (I always loved the story behind that one!), Weather With You and How Will You Go--a dark song that's actually about alcoholism, but Tim dedicated it to "anyone who's struggling to find their place or going through a difficult patch right now--we're there with you." (Awwww! I wanted to hug him for that.)
• At one point, during one of the songs from their new album, Neil and Tim were harmonizing and it was so perfect (those gorgeous trademark Finn vocal harmonies! Anyone familiar with Split Enz or Crowded House knows what I mean) that I just closed my eyes and listened. It was almost a religious experience!

And the best part...after the show I staked out the tour bus for about an hour, along with about a dozen other hardcore fans and groupies, and when they finally came out I got autographs and several pictures of (and with) Neil and Tim! Of course, when I met Neil I tried to think of something original and profound to say, but all I got out was "That was an amazing show!" I was just glad that I didn't make a complete dork out of myself, and kept from lapsing into wide-eyed, trembling, awestruck groupie mode (I was only shaking a little bit). Neil complimented my camera, for some reason (it was a disposable one. Maybe he's near-sighted?) but it was cool anyhow.

So I'll post the photos this weekend after I get them back from the developer...since I don't have one of those new-fangled digital thingamabobs, I have to scan them in the old-fashioned way.

Stay tuned!

    

Marcus sent me the link to this website, and it completely hooked me--I spent two hours last night reading through the whole page. Very, very interesting, in-depth celebrity gossip, reportedly more accurate than most sites. Of course, I was most interested in who is gay, bisexual and "closeted." The site is called The A List, and it's extremely addictive, so proceed at your own risk.

Some of the items that gave me pause: (my comments in italics...)

Alger, Horatio. Pederast. (This is an established historical fact, not mere gossip.) I had to look up the definition of "pederast". It means, as I suspected, something very unpleasant).

Baio, Scott. Closeted bisexual. Rumors of his having forced himself on women. Former regular at the Playboy Mansion. Former unrestrained relationship with Erin Moran; also linked with Pamela Anderson, Nicole Eggert, Heather Locklear, and Denise Richards. Jodie Foster claims to have made out heavily with him, as well. Jodie? Did she mistake him for a really masculine chick? Maybe it was the feathered hair.

Bass, Lance. Self-described "power bottom." For those not hip to gay lingo, "bottom" is code for, um, "catcher." Also, my own little bit of gossip--my chiropractor friend worked on Lance Bass when the N'Sync tour came through Indy. Okay, I didn't say it was particularly interesting gossip...

Bernard, Crystal. "Hypocritical Christian who engages in lesbian affairs and then quickly retreats to religion and her boyfriend and pretends to be Miss Moral." Linked with Morgan Fairchild. In the book You'll Never Make Love In This Town Again, which I'll sheepishly admit to owning, a girl who worked for Heidi Fleiss said that Crystal was always hitting on her and trying to get her to engage in 3-ways with her and her current boyfriend.

Brandy. Diva-in-training. "Controlled by her ignorant, crazy stagemother Sonia. Problem with diet pills. O.D. on at least one occasion. Difficult to work with is an understatement. Hygenically challenged--girl, wash your cooch! Multiple hidden tattoos. Secret Husband couldn't take any more of this little bitch and left her ass after a year. You also have to "hire" her brother Ray J and father to work on a project with her...everyone hates her." Linked with Tyrese. None of this comes as a great shock to me.

Brown, Bobby. All-around asshole. Married to and merkin for Whitney Houston. Linked with Madonna. Wife-beater and generally abusive towards women. Slut, alcoholic and drug addict. Most likely riddled with every sexually-transmitted disease so far discovered. Unpleasant personality. Some of the worst humanity has to offer. Again, I think by now this is all common knowledge.

Dre, Dr. Bisexual. Hmmm, he always did seem awful friendly with Snoop Dog...

Guttenberg, Steve. "Very personable, very nice to his fans." "Major pothead. Is stoned out of his mind almost all of the time." I used to have a major crush on him when I was a kid, and while my feelings for him didn't follow me into adulthood--he'd probably be cool to hang out and smoke with. ("Dude! What the hell was up with Can't Stop the Music?")

Harry, Debbie. "She is the nicest, most down to earth person in the business." Yay!!! Debbie rox!

Hatch, Orrin. Deeply closeted gay male with a penchant for leather & rent-boys. I'm more surprised that he can find men who will have sex with him...

Hoffs, Susanna (of the Bangles). "Quite enthusiastic about girls." Bisexual. "Enthusiastic," is she? Y'know, I always preferred the Go-Go's to the Bangles, but now that you mention it...

Igelsias, Enrique. Gay, or perhaps Bisexual. Grabby and gropey. Linked with Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Anna Kournikova, and Justin Timberlake (woof!).

Lil Kim. Might not be the biggest diva on Earth, but she tries harder. Closeted Lesbian. Running tightly drawn neck and tightly drawn neck with Cher for most plastic surgery. Sold herself before she made it big: "She had to give Diddy a turn a few times in order for some career help." Linked with Christina Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, P. Diddy, and Queen Latifah. I'd stay the hell away from anyone who swapped fluids with P. Diddy.

Lohan, Lindsay. "A sweet girl whose current and recent success have her trying to grow up a little too fast." Okay, I'll admit--I'm a fan. Mean Girls was great.

Nabors, Jim. Gay as an Ungaro Spring Frock. Reportedly had long-time relationship with Rock Hudson. "Pyyyyle!!"

Perry, Anne. A murderer while a teenager. See the movie Heavenly Creatures. Very disturbing.

Priestly, Jason. "Rumored to have gotten a major part bent over a producer's desk." Drug user. Drunk. Gay. Bad tipper. Vain. Dude, Brandon Walsh??? He's a huge Barenaked Ladies fan, which is okay in my book.

Richards, Denise. The light's on in the attic, and it's a hell of a view, but nobody's home. Breast implants. Clean freak/germphobic. Former Heidi Fleiss worker. Linked with Scott Baio, Patrick Muldoon, Charlie Sheen, and John Stamos. Dude, how the hell did Scott Baio get so much tail?

Rogers, Kenny. Openly admits to enjoying using 1-900 numbers & being talked dirty to. (Points for honesty, anyhow.) Did he sing to the phone sex girls, too?

Scott, Seann William. Gay, and quite the little minx in high school. Linked with the Rock and Justin Timberlake. He was Stifler in the American Pie series.

Thicke, Alan. Pothead. I'd be a pothead too if I were forced to work with Kirk Cameron. Oh, wait--I already am.

Zellweger, Renee. Cokehead, and none too bright. (But nice nonetheless). Anorexic/bulimic. Supposedly worked as a stripper in Austin (Texas) for a time. Linked with Jim Carrey, George Clooney, and Jack White (of the White Stripes). Guess her dance background helped her land the lead in Chicago.

Zombie, Rob. A very nice man. I still ain't forgiving him for House of 1,000 Corpses...

Note: on The A List site, they use F.O.D. (Friend of Dorothy) as a code for gay male. (probably to avoid lawsuits? I don't know). I've "translated" it to gay for the above postings, just to make things less confusing.

I went out to Nye's Polonaise Bar in Minneapolis last night. It's a Polish/German 50's style polka lounge. The crowd was an odd mix of old Polish people and young ironic hipster types. And they had a real polka band--two old men and one fat old woman with very few teeth, sitting on a stool rocking the accordian. It was awesome! The best part--Loni Anderson was partying there! She is (apparently) a Twin Cities native, a fact that was the subject of a huge debate among the group of friends I was there with. I just assumed Ms. Anderson was from the south somewhere (probably Texas)--I guess it's that heavy makeup, cosmetic surgery, bleached hair, massive fingernails thing. (No offense to southerners--I actually like the south, but y'know--it's the stereotype). My friend Anna, however, kept insisting that she was a Minnesotan. I looked Loni's info up on imdb and, holy shit--Anna was right. Who knew?

The woman looks exactly the same as she did on WKRP, by the way (I'm sure her plastic surgeon had a hand in that). I have to say though, I hope I look that good when I'm pushing 60. She was with a large posse consisting of several young women (daughters? nieces?) a few young men, a short black gay guy with bleached hair and what appeared to be a transvestite (or an extrememely masculine woman) in a black wig. Loni even hit the floor a few times with some of the cute younger guys in her entourage to do some polka dancing. It was pretty surreal. I got a good look at the action, because the section of the club where the band was playing was small, and a few times I actually brushed elbows with her. Some of the older bar patrons kept trying to cut in and dance with her--there were some terse words exchanged. (That was sort of creepy--these drunk middle-aged men about to come to blows because they just had to dance with Loni! fucking! Anderson!) It was quite a sight.

So now I have another celebrity to add to my list of sightings. Oddly enough, none of the encounters I've had with famous people have been in California or New York or any place you'd expect to see the rich n' famous. In no particular order, here's my list:

Troy Aikman and Michael Ervin: In 1998 I nearly ran into them while I was walking out of of Chammps (ugh) restaurant in Indianapolis (they were in town for the Indy 500). I only got a good look at Troy--he was extremely tall.

Craig T. Nelson (the dad from Poltergeist! Also, Coach): Summer of 1992--saw him in New Orleans. He was shooting a made for TV movie. I didn't get close to him, but got a few good pictures that I still have somewhere.

Liz Phair: August 2003...Okay, this one wasn't really a "chance" encounter--Marcus and I loitered outside the Vogue after her concert in Indy and had her sign our ticket stubs. I told her I liked her necklace.

Graham Greene: (my favorite!) May of 2001. I saw him in the "smoker's lounge" of the Denver airport, which was really just a bar. I sat next to him at the bar (the only available seat), completely unaware of who he was until I got a good look at his face. He was the coolest guy ever--we chatted for about 20 minutes about cats and beads, then he said he had to catch his flight and gave me his pack of cigarettes (he didn't want his wife to know he had been smoking). Before he left he signed a cocktail napkin for my mom.

The entire cast of Mystery Science Theatre in Minneapolis, at their convention in 1996. Okay, I'm the only dork impressed with that.

Robin Leach at an art opening in Las Vegas, 2003 (got close, but never talked to him).

And now Loni Anderson! Woo hoo! Random celeb sightings rock.

I had a good July 4th weekend---Michael from Indy came up to visit me. I'm grateful that he came to see me and that he drove all that way, but he kinda pissed me off (as per usual). Same old, same old. Still, always good to see someone from home.

Saw two movies The Terminal, which I liked. It was the typical Spielberg feel-good mushy stuff, but it was well done and Tom Hanks was in good form. Could have done without Catherine Zeta-Jones, though. She was a waste of space.

I saw Spiderman 2, which rocked. (Best part: Hal Sparks's elevator cameo. Love him!) I also have a huge thing for Tobey Maguire, and I don't care who knows it. I can't look at him without wanting to violate him in ten different ways. Cute, cute and cute.

Michael and I discovered a cute little diner on Grand Ave. that I hadn't even thought to go in before (it just looks like a tiny little snack shop from the outside). It's called The Uptowner, and it rocks. It's my new favorite place. I had the best breakfast burrito of my life there. Eggs, salsa, green peppers and hashbrowns rolled into a giant tortilla and covered with cheese. Mmmmmmm, cheeeeeeese......