O Death

My friend JoLynn's dad died this week.

Here is how she described his death to me today at the wake:
"He had a stroke a few years ago and has been bedridden since. On Tuesday, he called to Linda [his wife] that he wasn't feeling well, and asked her to sit him up. As she did, they held hands and said the Our Father. He died at 'thy kingdom come...'."

The funeral home was packed: He had seven siblings, and came from a large Italian Catholic family.

He was 68.

Funerals always get me thinking about mortality.

My dad is 77. Although he is very active for his age, his prostate cancer has returned (though he is positive his current treatment will again cure him). I know that one day - hopefully not soon - we will lose him. As JoLynn's dad's mass was going on, my mind was wandering toward which funeral mass I would be attending next. I love my dad. I hope it is not his.

My mind was also wandering toward:
- I don't own a proper wedding/funeral suit. My current one is too small in the waist. I need to give it to Brandon - my only friend who is smaller than I am.
- Who would be the pallbearers in my funeral?
- Who would be the pallbearers in my dad's funeral?


Related Musical Interlude I ...

From (one of the best shows ever!) Supernatural episode "Two Minutes To Midnight": O Death by Jen Titus. ("Embedding Disabled by Request")

Funerals remind me of past funerals. I've been to too many. Tonight, I started to compile a list to post here, but it just felt distasteful while typing "Robert B. - 19 years old, Car Accident, returning from Biloxi while attending an Aerosmith concert, 1988".

This time, instead of posting a list, I think I'll keep these memories close.



Related Musical Interlude II ...

Fall 2011 Television

For us TV junkies, the Fall is the best time of the year. New shows to sample. Old shows returning.

Here are my Top Ten Television Shows I'm Looking Forward To - Fall 2011...

10. Grimm (New Show - NBC, Friday nights) - I've always been a fan of fairy tales. This show proposes that those tales were real - are running around New York City. It could be interesting; it could be very lame. I'll watch the first episode and decide.


9. Terra Nova (New Show - FOX, Monday nights) - Time travel. I'm hooked before I even see an episode. I love good time travel yarns - the 2007 TV series Journeyman, the 1989 movie Millennium, (though it seems everyone else hates this movie), the 1995 movie 12 Monkeys, the 1979 movie Time After Time - but will quickly turn against bad ones - 2003's Timeline, no matter how cute Paul Walker is; 2004's The Butterfly Effect or any of its sequels - so I'll watch this show just based on that one point.


8. The Amazing Race (CBS, Sunday nights) - My friend Debbie turned me onto this show about five seasons into its run. I'm not a huge fan of reality shows. Except for Survivor, I really don't watch reality TV - though I did watch The Real World through the first New Orleans season. As far as The Amazing Race, if I like the contestants, I stick around.


7. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX, Thursday nights) - Such subversive fun. The people remind me of my friends and I back in high school - if we ran an empty bar and were all sociopaths. Here's a typical scene from one of my favorite episodes:

6. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday nights) – The first season is still the best. (I think the show is on its fourth season now.) But it’s still the second funniest comedy on TV. The first? See further up my list.


5. The Good Wife (CBS, Sunday nights - moved from Tuesday nights) – Carlos and I sampled this show last season – the show’s first – and loved it. Bonus: Carlos can point out Julianna Margulies’s wig in every shot.


4. Survivor (CBS, Wednesday nights) – As with The Amazing Race, if I like the contestants, I stick around. With Survivor, however, I don’t think I have ever not liked the contestants enough to completely delete the show from my DVR – though certain seasons are definitely better than others.


3. Criminal Minds (CBS, Wednesday nights) - I also watch the reruns on Ion Television and A&E. According to my spreadsheet, I have seen every episode at least three times. I also talk with other fans via two different newsgroups. For those who watch the show, I'd like to tell you that there are two episodes that I refuse to watch again: 100 and Mosley Lane. They're just too disturbing. Sorry: No spoilers here for those who haven't seen the episodes, but if you're a fan of the series, I urge you to see those episodes – but only once. I have tried to indoctrinate Carlos into the show. He can't get past that much of the violence is against women. I can't blame him, but I look past it.


2. Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday nights) – Even when I’m home alone, I laugh out loud. By far, the best comedy on TV. This would be my choice as the best show on TV except for …


1. Supernatural (The CW, Friday nights) – I discovered this show in reruns on TNT during its third season. Until I caught up, I was watching older episodes – first through season five, then back around to season one – along with the newer season six at the same time. I even buy the monthly Supernatural magazine at Barnes and Noble.



Honorable Mention (in no particular order):

Two and a Half Men (CBS, Monday nights) - Just the first episode to see how Ashton Kutcher does. I've never liked this show. Maybe I will now. (Update: I watched the premiere last night. Nope, I still don’t like the show. Though the Darma and Greg cameo, a show also created by Chuck Lorre, was cute.)

Glee (Fox, Tuesday nights) - I have to like the show. It's in my Gay Agenda contract. But I've never really been crazy about it. Please don't turn me in. (Here are my past posts about Glee.)

The Vampire Diaries (The CW, Thursday nights) - I have seen exactly one episode, but Ian Somerhalder is one of my Top 20. Plus, he is from Mandeville - right across Lake Pontchartrain from me.

Bully Beatdown (MTV and MTV2, various nights) – Another reality show from Mark Burnett, the creator of Survivor. In each episode, show host Jason “Mayhem” Miller challenges bullies to fight against a professional mixed martial artist for a chance to win $10,000. The money they get depends on their performance against their opponent, with any money they don’t win going to the bully’s victims. It's great fun to see the bullies get their ass kicked.

1 Girl 5 Gays (Logo, various nights) – A Canadian talk show that premiered on MTV Canada in 2009 and on Logo in 2010. The female host sits down with a revolving cast of five gays to discuss love and sex. (Here is my past post about 1 Girl 5 Gays - from April 2011.) I used to love the show, but now that the novelty has worn off, I seek it out less and less.

Here are a few sample questions from the show:
Would you let someone go down on you if you hadn’t showered?
Is long hair sexy?
Describe your shortest-lasting sexual encounter.
Who would you do – John Stamos or Johnny Knoxville?

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What show are you most looking forward to this season?

Post Scrips

Here are updates to some of my past posts.

In my post Top 10 Artists: Badfinger, I mentioned my friend Kyle. This past Thursday, he called me. Besides a few brief conversations about four years ago, I hadn't really spoken to him in at least 10 years.

He called to tell me that his step-dad, the one who along with his mom raised him from an early teenager, had died on Monday (June 6th). After further questioning, Kyle told me that he had actually killed himself, one day after his 62nd birthday, apparently distraught about money issues.

I attended the visitation Thursday afternoon.

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In my post List: Top 5 Classic Rock Bands, I discussed Rush in detail. I have seen them live once before, in 1988 in Shreveport. Last night, Amy, Carlos, Debbie, Lloyd, Morgan, Steve, and I saw them live for their Time Machine tour, one of the highlights being that they played their 1980 album Moving Pictures in it's entirety.

Thursday night, the night before the concert, Carlos, Debbie and I watched Rush: R30, 30th Anniversary Concert - all the while blind taste testing Canadian beer, in honor of Rush's home country.

Carlos and I both picked Labat Blue as our least favorite. (Debbie came too late for the taste testing.) He picked Molson Canadian as his favorite; I picked Moosehead as mine. Truthfully, all three really tasted the same.

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In my post Judgment Day, I mentioned in passing my current Favorite TV Show Ever (This Week) Supernatural.

I first discovered the show while the TNT network was running season four. I have now seen all of seasons four, five and one - with the TNT network starting over the showings after season five. The show is currently in its 6th season on the CW network. I am watching the new episodes too. I have a big gap in the middle of the series, having never seen any of season three and only at the beginning of season two via TNT.

As I did with my other Favorite TV Shows Ever (This Week) Criminal Minds and Ninja Warrior, I have printed out a complete episode list and am crossing them off after viewing.

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Postscript to the above postscript:

When Morgan came over Friday night to pick Carlos and I up, I was watching an episode of Supernatural. His reaction was, "Oh, isn't that the show with that guy that used to be on Gilmore Girls." True, but not the connection that I expected from one of my straight friends. I guess Gilmore Girls is just that good of a show. (More on that TV show another day.)

Judgment Day

According to sources, this Saturday - May 21 - is Judgment Day.

Here are four perspectives.


My Friend Steve

In discussing the upcoming New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, he guides his readers:
Maybe you’re afraid you’ll be Raptured this weekend and don’t want to make any big plans. That’s understandable, but I am here to help. If you fear you may be a divine bubble-team, a potential at-large participant on Selection Saturday, you still have time to ensure this is not so. Here’s a handy list of activities. Make sure you do a few of these over the next day or so and you can rest easy that your name will be wiped from the Rapture list, freeing you for dinner next Wednesday. You can thank me at MiLa.

1. Assert that the earth is more than 4000 years old
2. Believe in evolution
3. Treat someone gay as, like, just another human being
4. Dance (see Footloose for more information)
5. Refuse to handle snakes
6. Commit a crime against nature (this is an advanced strategy)


My Friend Jason




My Current Favorite TV Show Ever - This Week (Supernatural)

The series's Season 4 Episode 20 episode entitled The Rapture (click the link to see the episode) is described as:
Castiel appears to Dean in a dream and says he has something important to tell him but they need to meet somewhere private. Dean and Sam go searching for Castiel but instead find Jimmy, Castiel’s human vessel, who has only a spotty recollection of being an angel. Jimmy wants to return to his family and normal life, but Dean and Sam are concerned about his safety.



This movie (or Arnold Schwarzenegger's current situation)



New Post This...Sunday (May 22)