Telly somethin good

Last night I went to an intimate concert (less than 100 people) at the Blue Moon. Telly Leung, Broadway boi and Dalton Academy Warbler on 'Glee', sang and told stories to the audience as if we were old friends. I met him back in June when he coached the Rehoboth Idol contestants.

To my delight, he explained why he was named Telly. His Chinese parents watched a lot of TV to help them learn conversational English. Kojak starring Telly Savalas was 1 of their favorite shows so they named their son Telly after the show's star. When Telly began working on 1 of several Broadway shows he met a production assistant named Telly. The PA explained that he was named after his grandfather... Telly Savalas!

Telly will be back again next Tues to perform at a pep rally for Extreme Makeover Home Edition, which will be filming in this area shortly.

Rather than just being a concert, Telly's performance was more like a conversation with songs. He talked about getting his start on Broadway, going to college to study music and drama, and his parents' eventual acceptance of his career choice which wasn't their 1st choice for him. He weaved songs into the stories for a very enjoyable night.

After the show Telly was available to talk to audience members and pose for photos. When he saw me his eyes opened wide, he threw his arms open in preparation for a hug, and he said "Mark!!" I was surprised that he remembered me by name. After all, the day he coached us Rehoboth Idol contestants was in early June, and with all the people he likely comes into contact with, I didn't expect him to remember my name.

After the hug and 'how are you', he said "You know I've been so busy I never found out who won the Rehoboth Idol contest. Who won?" I smiled timidly and said "I did". That response garnered me another hug from Telly along with a very generous compliment: "That's fantastic! I was really hoping you would win. Your voice is amazing and you really deserved to win. Congratulations!" Of course he might have said that to me even if he didn't think I deserved to win, but it sounded genuine and he really seems to be a nice guy so I thanked him sincerely for the kind words.

Keep up with Telly via his website and on Twitter.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I've decided I don't care for it when Glee does 'original' songs. I prefer when they do covers of songs we know.

Why do people say 'navy blue'? There is only 1 color that has a shade called navy, and that's blue, so its rather redundant to say 'navy blue'. You wouldn't say 'ebony black', would you?

My friend Nick sent me this and I laughed out loud!
Some of you have noticed that my posts are showing up in your readers several days 'late'. No, there's nothing wrong with your readers. When I get behind and can't post for a few days I change the creation date of the posts so they appear to occur every day. So when it actually gets posted and sent to your reader a few days have gone by. Sorry for the confusion.

Our weather has been so hot and dry lately. We haven't had much more than a quick sprinkle in weeks, and the temperatures have been in the 90s for about as long. We had 2 days when it broke 100 degrees - in early June! Spouse has been watering his 2 new rose bushes every evening, but our grass is brown and crispy. You can hear a crunching sound when you walk on it. We're supposed to get scattered thunderstorms sometime over the weekend and for once I hope that actually happens.

My friend Terry sent me this, and I like it a lot. Want to know how to have more JOY in your life? Watch this.

The White House website contains a proclamation from President Obama that June is LGBT Pride month. Have previous presidents (Clinton?) done that? I think its great.

My friend Kathryn sent me this amazing video. Man, talk about high-value real estate!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I kissed a Warbler

So, last night was week #2 of the Rehoboth Idol singing contest. The theme was songs performed on the TV show Glee.

I chose "One Less Bell". I've always liked this song, I already knew the words, and the song has strong emotional content so I felt I could use that to connect with the audience and showcase my vocal abilities. I practiced at home several times and really tried to implement Pamala and Telly's suggestions from the coaching session.

One of last week's contestants (Selina) didn't return this week but 2 additional singers joined, so now there are 5 singers in the contest. Since there are just 5 there will be no eliminations as there are in American Idol. Instead, contestants get points for vocal ability/intonation, appearance/stage presence, and knowing the lyrics.

Again Miss Richfield 1981 brought all 5 of us up onto the stage at the beginning to introduce us to the judges and audience, then we drew numbers to determine the singing order. Here's how it went:

• Tamara was 1st and sang "Rehab"
• Terry was 2nd and sang "Isn't She Lovely?"
• Amber was 3rd and sang "Rollin' in the Deep"
• I was 4th and sang "One Less Bell"
• Tom was 5th and sang "Borderline"

While the judges deliberated in another room, Telly Leung performed the Glee version of "Teenage Dream" which was fantastic! I found him to be super talented and super nice. What a great guy!

When the judges returned Miss Richfield 1981 announced the results for week 2:

• Tamara & Terry tied for 4th place
• Amber came in 3rd place
• Tom came in 2nd place
• I came in 1st place

It was very exciting!!!

After the show I thanked Pamala and Telly for their invaluable assistance. Then I got an opportunity to meet and talk with Telly and his partner Jimmy. They were both so nice! Jimmy works in NYC but tries to accompany Telly when he can at appearances and performances.

I said that I wanted a t-shirt that read 'I met a Warbler', and then I thought what would be funnier would be a t-shirt that read 'I kissed a Warbler'. The 3 of us laughed, then Jimmy asked if I had kissed Telly yet. I said 'no', so Telly said he didn't want the t-shirt to be a lie so he leaned forward so I could kiss his cheek. I felt a little silly afterward, like a star-struck teenager, but it was all in good fun.

So 2 weeks down and 2 weeks to go, and I'm in 1st place. Now I really feel the pressure to practice, know the lyrics, and sing well to keep hold onto my position. After all, $1000. cash and future paid singing opportunities are at stake!

Celebrity encounter

Today I took my lunch hour to attend the coaching session for Rehoboth Idol contestants. Contestants sing the song they will sing later on that night and judge Pamala Stanley offers advice about the vocals and stage presence. Its great to get that kind of assistance BEFORE the night of the actual competition.

When I arrived I saw Pamala, 2 other contestants, and some of the bar employees. Then I noticed a nice looking Asian man in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt who seemed familiar to me.
He wasn't an employee and he didn't appear to be a contestant; I really didn't know what he was doing at our coaching session. I decided not to allow myself to be further distracted from my purpose by thinking about him and instead reminded myself not to put my hands in my pockets when I sang.

When the contestant finished singing and Pamala had given her advice, the familiar-looking Asian man began offering the singer advice too. Then it hit me... he was this week's guest judge, Telly Leung from Glee! Telly plays Wes, 1 of the Dalton Academy Warblers.
From left to right above: Blaine (Darren Cris), an unknown Warbler, Kurt (Chris Colfer), Wes (Telly Leung).

When it was my turn to sing and receive coaching, Telly shook my hand and introduced himself to me. He was very warm, nice, and down-to-earth, and his advice to put my weight on the balls of my feet instead of on my heels was a great tip. It forces you to lean forward and really helps a singer connect with the audience. Although I felt confident in my song for that night, Pamala and Telly's coaching made me feel even better.

I left the coaching session feeling really well-prepared for that night's competition, and I'd met a real live Broadway and TV star!

Idol report

So last night was the 1st night of the Rehoboth Idol singing contest.

The host/emcee was the hilariously funny Miss Richfield 1981. I'd heard of her but hadn't seen her before last night. She had me cracking up with her delicate balance of wit and cluelessness.

After explaining the nature of the contest and introducing the judges, all 4 contestants were called up to the stage at the same time to be introduced to the audience. It was decided that we'd sing in alphabetical order so I went 1st since the other contestants' names were Tamara, Tom, and Selina.

Once they left the stage Miss Richfield 1981 asked me a few questions about how long I'd been singing, etc. then commented on my outfit. I had on very light (off-white) pants and a dark blue shirt with off-white polka dots the size of quarters. I've had the shirt for years but its 1 of those things that never goes out of style, AND you'll never see anyone else wearing. Miss Richfield 1981 said she almost wore a polka dot dress herself but every time she does she gets mistaken for Lucy. She introduced me to the audience again and my track began to play.

As I mentioned yesterday, I chose "Laughter in the Rain" because my voice is similar to Neil Sedaka, I like the song a lot, I know the lyrics thoroughly and am very comfortable performing it. It went very well! Although I was a little nervous I don't think it showed.

The judges were singer/entertainer Pamala Stanley, Blue Moon co-owner Meg Gardner, and karaoke/drag mistress Mona Lotts. They said I portrayed a smooth confidence that complimented my smooth vocals. They were a lot nicer than Simon Cowell!

It was a really fun night and I am looking forward to next week's performance of a song used in the TV show "Glee"!

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

My friend Jamie (who is the king of Craigslist) sent me a link to this funny car ad which was originally posted on Craigslist, but was removed due to language. Fortunately someone else found it as funny as I did and hosted it on another site. It had me laughing out loud!

My friend and frequent laugh contributor Jared strikes again with this one:

Hmmm, I wonder what they serve there???

This week my blog reached the milestone of 100 'followers'. A very grateful 'Thank you' to you followers and to those of you who visit but are not followers! Sometimes it still amazes me that people are interested enough in my life and writing to 'follow' my blog, but I'm happy they are.

My friend Koset shared this video of a 330 square foot Hong Kong apt that lives like a house. I find this kind of creativity and ingenuity to be fascinating!

Spouse continues to do well on Weight Watchers. He's lost 31 lbs in 5 weeks!

Here's a little sneak peak for you Glee fans at the next season of Glee.

Our longtime friends Mike & Clark and Ron & James will be visiting us this weekend! We don't have much on our weekend 'agenda' other than talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and relaxing but that doesn't sound too bad, does it? We always have fun with these guys. Plus I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.

Here's wishing everyone a terrific weekend!

Crush du Jour: Jonny Craig

Full of glee

Last night was the premier of season 2 of "Glee" and I must say that I enjoyed it.

No, its not very 'realistic' but it IS a lot of fun. If you want 'reality' there are plenty of other shows for you.

Here are some things I like about "Glee":

• Its FUN!
• I was in a show choir in high school so this brings back many happy memories
• Great variety of music performed
• Great voices and enjoyable choreography
• Hilarious writing for characters like Sue Sylvester and Kurt Hummel
• Each episode's story is self-contained. If you miss one, or missed the entire season 1, you will still know what's going on (unlike "Lost")
• Its different from everything else on TV
• Although the show borders on campy (which is a good thing), the plot lines are just believable enough
• Puck is HOT!

But hands down, my favorite part of last night's episode was the 'sneak preview' of Sue Sylvester and some of the students covering Madonna's music video "Vogue". WATCH IT HERE. Did you notice the lyric substitutions "Sue Sylvester, dance on air" and "Will Schuster, I hate you"??? Brilliant, just brilliant!!

Next week's episode contains all Madonna songs along with an unhealthy dose of Madonna worship. Should be FABULOUS!

Crush du Jour: Brando Eaton