I had the pleasure of watching "La Cage aux Folles" a few weeks ago. Most of you are probably more familiar with the movie adaptation "The Birdcage." While the story lines are quite similar, the two shows are very different. The movie downplays the whole "show" aspect of their lives, while the musical has little excerpts from the nightly performance. Here is where you see Broadway at its most stereotypical. Comedy, singing, dancing, men dressed as women, women dressed as men, men kissing men, women kissing women, a drama queen, and a love story. Even though I found the show very entertaining, I can easily imagine those who dislike the previously mentioned might be turned off by the musical. This is not one of those musicals that people who dislike musicals should go watch unless you can find the humor in the gay and transvestite banter. One highlight was getting to see Daniel Davis, more popularly known for his role as the butler on the TV series "The Nanny" with Fran Drescher. He plays a very good masculine gay man, as opposed to his partner who plays an flamboyantly gay man. If you get a chance and are in the mood, go watch it.

At this instant, I am boiling two bottles of beer, along with a bunch of vegetables. My apartment smells like beer. Beer vapor has probably worked its way into my pores by now. Does this sound appetizing to you? I am very skeptical, I will let you guys know how it turns out. My roommates are now the guinea pigs beacause I made too much.

On an even more entertaining note, I came home to the sounds of my apartmentmate and his girlfriend tucked away in their room. A New York first for me. I have been in apartments where the next door neighbor is going at it, but never actually in the same apartment. It was not disgusting or disturbing, it was actually more amusing than anything. I figure someone in this bachelor pad should be getting some.

A few weeks ago my family and I went up to a Canadian ski resort called Mt. Tremblant. It was the first time I took some real vacation time from work; not that three days is a significant amount of time considering the oodles and oodles of vacation hours I have. (Please note the use of the double "oodles" to mark the sarcasm in the voice that you cannot hear across the computer screen.) The mountain was nice, skiing was fun. It was not the most challenging of places and it is a little small for the number of days that we stayed, but all in all a good trip. I would definitely recommend people go at least once. What was really spectacular was the ski village they have set up at the base of the mountain: stores, shops, boutiques, restaraunts, movie theater, spa, etc. Quite the little shopping get-away if you do not ski / snowboard / snowshoe / cross country ski and have extra cash to burn.

I will assume that just about everyone disagrees with the quote from the previous entry. At first glance, I had a hard time finding the flaw in the logic. The argument is actually quite convincing. Ugly people want to be beautiful. To many, love is making sacrifices to make others happy. Therefore, to make the world happier and prove how loving you are, go tell every ugly person they are the most gorgeous person in the world.

Once this argument is extended, though, the world quickly falls into a state of mediocraty, at best, and/or a bold-faced lie, at worst. When everyone is deemed beautiful, then the meaning of beauty is lost. According to the passage, this is the ultimate sacrifice, to defile a truth to prove one's love of another. Eventually, there is no longer any reason to strive for genuine appeal because everyone will think what has been done is wonderful no matter how grotesque or twisted it would have been regarded beforehand.

The assumption is the ugly woman chooses to be lied to over being told the truth; the woman who knows she is not the most appealing to the eye but insists on being told she has the looks of a goddess prefers the lie instead of reality. A person who values honesty would be enraged at being intentionally mislead. A person who tells the ugly woman she is beautiful can never be trusted. A person who strives for the truth is the one who is respected and believed. When this person tells a woman she is beautiful, it may not be as simple or obvious as physical beauty, but everyone must believe him and everyone must trust that there is something to be found if you only look hard enough.