WE HEART HYDE PARK THEATRE!!

[Ken Webster-- aka Mr. Smooth]

For going on two years now, the wonderful Hyde Park Theatre, helmed by the astounding Ken Webster, has been the gracious home to the Dick Monologues. Earlier this year new owners took over the building and, as a result, HPT has seen their rent DOUBLE which, for anyone is a drag. But for a tiny, non-profit group, well it's a downright hardship. HPT is one of those places that makes Austin Austin. We do not want to lose it. I sure hope you'll join the cast of the Dick Monologues and come out and support HPT at a fundraiser this Saturday night, November 22nd. It is going to be most excellent fun. It's a sliding scale admission charge, so even if you're on a tight budget it's doable. The price includes drinks and food. And even if you can't be there, you can still kick in a few bucks.

Here are the details:

Hyde Park Theatr just received three B. Iden Payne Awards, including Outstanding Comedy for DOG SEES GOD and Outstanding Director for DOG SEES GOD.

That's the good news.

Our rent has doubled at HPT.

That's the bad news.
But there's more good news! This Saturday, November 22 at 9:00 PM we'll be having a fundraiser at HPT. We'll have live music by Hans Frank and Glambilly, lots of delicious beverages, and lots of savory food from New World Deli and Go Go Gourmet. Tickets are a sliding scale between $10-$50.

Come on out and meet HPT company members and enjoy some great music, food, and drink. We'd love for you to come out this Saturday to help us continue to provide our award-winning programming, but if you can't make it this Saturday night you can still contribute by sending a check to HPT at 511 W. 43rd Street, Austin, TX 78751 or by using PayPal on our website at www.hydeparktheatre.org. To find out more about the fundraiser, or to make reservations, call 479-PLAY.


Calling All Good Deed Doers

Not long ago, via the Office of Good Deeds, this blog, and Twitter, we were able to help find emergency blood donors for a very sick newborn. Since we did such a good job helping out, we've been asked to help another critically ill Austinite. Please see below. If you can't help personally but can help spread the word, please do. Contact info is included. Thanks, spike

> This plea comes from a friend of mine. She's trying to get the word
> out for Josh Talbot, a UT student who is critically ill and in
> desperate need for bone marrow donors. There will be a bone marrow
> registry drive at the Flawn Academic Center 12/1-12/5. Even though
> they might not find a match for Josh, there are dozens of other Joshes
> out there awaiting their matches. Additionally, there is a desperate
> shortage of minority donors on the Bone Marrow registry.
>
> There will also be a platelet drive here in Austin 11/29. These
> donations will go directly to Josh. I will be participating in both
> and hope you will think about it too.
>
> Recently published articles:
>
> http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6105657.html
>
> http://www.dailytexanonline.com/state_local/volunteers_seek_possible_bone_marr
> ow_donors
>
> please let me know if I can provide any information.
>
> Sara
>
> Robertson.sara@gmail.com

My Little S&M Pony

Doesn't that My Little Pony just ROCK? Over at my blogging gig we're trying to come up with the first (and best) new official game to go with the release of the new Google Voice App. It's SO fun. You tell your iPhone, via Google, what you're looking for. And then you get all sorts of answers, some dead-on, some utterly ridiculous. Like, I said, "Pornography" and the search return gave me "My Little Pony." I could do this all day.

Check out the post here and please put your ideas for a game in the comments section.

Gay Married: Everybody's Doin' It! (come to the rally)

[Spike & Warren sittin' in a tree-- us right after we got gay married this summer.]

Shoulda posted this info sooner. But it's NOT TOO LATE to join the rally tomorrow at City Hall at 12:30 to advocate for gay marriage. I spoke at one of these rallies back in 2006 with Owen Egerton. I got to follow two very serious lesbians who gave a lot of very important information. Then I got up and listed all the reasons to legalize gay marriage, chief among them-- Brad and Angelina have refused to marry until gays can marry. And until they do, I don't care how rich and cute their kids are, they're still little bastards and it's NOT FAIR!!

Okay, okay, so legally speaking my own son is a bastard-- his dad and I never got around to getting married, saving us the trouble of divorcing, and pretty much cementing our excellent friendship. And the delightful Austin comedian Tom Hester used to say he didn't want gays in the military-- because he's gay and he didn't want to go into the military. Similarly, hey, having been through a couple of night-of-the-living-dead marriages, and having no interest in future marriages, I want to sometimes say-- gay marriage? No, no! Let's just ban ALL marriage, then things will be much better.

All lame attempts at joking aside here (yes, I'm still on the painkillers) it does suck donkey cock that gays can't marry and, as such, can't have the same legal rights as straight couples. I'm going to write a column about different types of legal partnerships for the Austinist next week. And there, I'll tell the tale of how Warren and I got "gay married" this past summer. By which I mean, we became Domestic Partners, which I think is an option more often used as a default by gay couples who want at least some rights. In our case, we got some rights. I got insurance. Warren got a chance to be treated like my husband at the hospital-- he was privy to all post-surgery info from the doc when I was too out of it to comprehend. And for us, for now, being gay married suits us fine.

But we always have the option to get straight married, too, should that become necessary for some other reasons. And, for now, our gay friends don't have that right. So please, take some time tomorrow to head on down to City Hall. Should be awesome. Last time they had a big group wedding ceremony that just made me weep-- so many couples, exchanging vows that at least helped them to seal the deal symbolically, if not legally.

Here are details about tomorrow's event, tomorrow being SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15th:

A proposition narrowly passed recently in California banning the civil right of marriage to same-sex couples. This Saturday there will be protests nationwide against this proposition. Although we're in Texas, we can send a strong message that this is not just a California issue, it's an American issue.

See this link for more info, and a map.

And here's another link

PLEASE COME OR AT LEAST DRIVE BY AND HONK IF YOU LOVE EQUALITY.

Please Join Me Saturday at Threadgill's

This Saturday at Threadgill's South there are TWO, count 'em, TWO great shows happening. In the daytime, my friend Margaret Moser wraps up her series of under 18 bands, which she's had going on for several weeks now. My own darling son's band, You & Me, takes the stage around 6. Cover for that show is $5. A lot of bands play before his and it's an excellent family outing opportunity.

Then, on Saturday night, my friend Will Taylor, fearless leader of Will Taylor and Strings Attached, will do an evening tribute to the songs of Stevie Wonder. If you've never seen the amazing shows Will puts on-- assembling Austin's finest-- I'm telling you, you're a fool to miss it. Among other performers, Suzanna Choffel will sing and oh lord, does she have a set of pipes. (She's pictured above. (Many thanks to Ed Verosky for permission to use the great photo.)

Here's the official info on that show:

The Strings Attached Stevie Wonder Tribute Concert
Saturday November 15, 2008
9pm SHOW Threadgills Downtown
301 W Riverside Dr

Featuring Vocals by Suzanna Choffel and Jayme Ivison
Full Band with Glenn Rexach, Steve Zirkel, Dave Madden, Will Taylor, Shawn Sanders and Bryan Austin.
Tickets at StringsAttached.org

See you there. I'll be the one clutching my abdomen.

It's Not the Vicodin-- It's the HOPE!

Dear Diary,
Today two great things happened as a direct result of Obama winning. First-- I was in the bathroom, yes, AGAIN, trying so hard to deal with this ongoing constipation, when I heard a VERY loud knock at the door. I could pretty much tell by the loudness of it that it was someone wanting one of the few Obama signs I have left stuck into the lawn. There were 21 last week and this morning there were only 5. People keep coming by asking for them and I gladly say yes.

Well, I was right. Today it was the same guy who came by last week-- he's old and black and drives a work truck and wears a trucker hat. In fact, he reminds me of the black version of my dad. Last week I gave him two signs. This week, first I said HELLO through the door, because the dogs were barking like crazy. I really hate saying hello through the door because I worry it makes me seem like I'm racist when, in fact, I'm just worried about the dogs biting strangers. I got Satch calmed down and stepped outside and said, "You want another sign?" And he said, "Yes" and I said, "Take two."

Then he stuck around for a bit and started talking about how old he is and how he just cannot believe this election and how very much he wished his mom and dad and brother and sister were alive to see Obama in office. Just typing this story up now has the same effect as him sharing his thoughts-- I get all choked up and start crying. I also start crying every time somebody sends me pictures of election day and reactions from around the world-- AROUND THE WORLD. Everyone is SO HAPPY. I didn't hug the guy because I didn't want to scare him and also because my abdomen is still killing me. But we had a great talk and I was glad I got up off the porcelain throne to answer the door.

The other thing I did today...

Last week Warren forwarded me a link to a website where you could apply for a job in the new administration. Really! We decided this might be a ploy to get us locked into some MoveOn mailing list from which we might never extract ourselves. But we also said what the heck (in unison, as in a musical) and leapt into the air (also as in a musical) and then put in our prelim apps. Well I just got another email asking me to put in a more formal application-- me and probably, like, 500,000 other people. And so I did. I really did. I applied for a job with Obama. When I got to the part where I could say what I really most would like to do, I said I most would like to start a national version of the Office of Good Deeds. Wouldn't that just rock?

On a more realistic level-- Ross came by last night and was saying how an elementary school near his house (like me, he lives in the hood) is in danger of being shut down if they don't get their test scores up. He said he was the only white guy in the room. And as he listened to the parents brainstorming, leaking into the conversation was all this talk, this language that emulated Obama's message. The room, he said, was so hopeful. So I told him to keep me apprised of the situation. I have a ton of teaching experience and I know a bunch of writers in town and I used to (and might still) sit on the board of this literacy program to help kids write better. So who knows, maybe we can get a little local hope going here and help save a school in the hood. Maybe Obama will come and visit us. That would certainly motivate the kids.

Meanwhile, here's the note I got back confirming my application:

Dear Spike Gillespie,

Thank you for completing your application to serve to in the Obama-Biden Administration. As you can imagine, we are receiving thousands of applications during the transition process. We will initially be focused on the most senior positions in the Administration. If you do not hear from us for several weeks or months, please do not think we have lost your information. If at any time you wish to update your application, please log in again and modify the information accordingly. Thank you again for your interest.

Sincerely,

The Obama-Biden Transition Project

Please note that replies to this email will not be answered.

Pretty cool, eh?
Talk to you tomorrow!
love,
spike

Dick Monologues FREE TICKETS if you can tell me...

Okay, two free tickets to the Dick Monologues (Wed, Nov 12th, 7 pm Hyde Park Theatre), to the first person who emails spike@spikeg.com and correctly tells me the last knitting project I completed. I will throw in a round of drinks if you can guess the brand of yarn I used.

For those of you who aren't into contests or are very bad guessers, you can still buy tickets for Wednesday's show. Just email me at spike@spikeg.com to make reservations.

Thanks,
spike