ALL HALLOW 09 -

it's been a rough year.

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so, we went a little dark.

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yum.

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and the boulevard was crazy alive.

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i think the inner ex-catholic in tim did backflips when hunky jesus walked by.

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me?  i had to hump a muppet.

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gaga indeed

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bibbity, bobbity, boo-ya!

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seriously, look at the green fairy.

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the swine flu was . . . disturbing.

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but the mad hatter?  spot on.

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and best costume of the night?

MAX AS AN ADULT TRYING TO GO BACK TO THE WILD THINGS!

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i endorse and adore : Jo Strettell and Serena Radaelli

a man is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with.

so imagine the gift to my manhood

that these two ladies have been.

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serena is the tamer of manes, the wind-tousled italian maestro who brings

light and movement to our talents' hair, but also to their spirit and ego.

i swear that the performances improve every time she quietly enters frame between takes,

as she strokes their heads and murmurs to them, you can see them ease,

see them relax into their sphere.

she calmly walks back, nods to me,

and i know all is well.

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and she has taught me bold and powerful lessons about my genre,

and myself.

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jo applies make-up as if balancing emotion on the face itself, painting mood and emotion,

gauging the story i want to tell and inventing stronger, more modern versions of it's

characters each time.

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she also shepherds us all, maternal, gentle, bawdy, and suddenly racy,

making us laugh, blush, and feel grounded

all at once.

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without these two, i would be a poorer man.

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plus, we love their raucous, brilliant, shiny children:

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and they love my man:

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great gifts

for which i am humbly proud to partake.

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MR BLACK, encore.

it's the new weekly hangout.

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(tim's antique ivory polar bear cuff links.  grrr.)

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(luke and sarah gavigan)

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(kristen patrick and friend.)

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(bic avoids the papparazzi.)

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(while i RELISH it.)

chicago comes around again -

found ourselves reconnecting with our past selves a bit this month,

first when colleen dirsmith (my producer for YEARS)

dropped into town . . .

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and later when we reconnected with the ever gorgeous,

ever brilliant,

ever loving erin o'connor.

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truly examples of plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

and how important it is in life to keep the tethers to our past lives

healthy and vibrant.

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lives change,

but often, and most importantly,

the reasons we love and are drawn to each other,

don't.

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exactly a year ago, today -

this was what was going on in our life:

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memories from an old memory card.

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