It Took Me 246 Years to Get Here, but I Made It.

This is the oldest St. Pat's parade in the US started in 1762.

Looking down 5th Ave. (and looking down at the drummers! Joke, guys.)

The boys in the band. And reveler.

There are events, milestones, meccas,"rosebuds" in life that a pipe band piper drams, er, dreams of achieving in his lifetime. Sort of a "100 Things a Bagpiper Must Do Before He Dies." Probably the big one is playing (not to mention winning) at the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland. Another is marching down the high street at Cowal (preferably with local youth holding trophy in front of the band) and another for any Irish-afflicted piper has to be playing in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City.

My namesake pub. One of them.

I am not saying I can die now by any means (I have yet to have a play produced Off-Broadway), but marching up 5th Avenue today in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York was quite a feeling. We waited in the cold, windy and shady wings of 47th Street just off 5th and then an hour and 10 minutes after our start time we turned the corner and marched into the sun and the crowds on 5th Avenue. We marched past Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral and all the high falutin shops on upper 5th, by Bergdorfs, the Plaza Hotel, the Apple Store, my old place of work - the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, the Pierre, the Frick Mansion and past the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was a blowing, gasping, exhilarating bus tour of bagpiping through Manhattan.

Bridget and Alice from the Monaghan Society. God love 'em.

We ended up at an Irish Pub on 2nd Avenue (A Shamrock Gulch of Irish pubs) and played for the face-painted, green-tied, FDNY off-dutied masses. It was excellent.

County Monaghan banner. I am pointing at...

Sean Connolly. Good name, that!

I had another event to go to as is always cool to say in New York (and even if it is not true which in this case it was) so I bid my adieu to the lads and got on the cross town bus in my kilt with my pipes and headed back to the West.

As I marched I thought about my dad, my mum, my grandparents, my siblings, Maureen, Margaret, et al and for that moment I knew why I was there and it was all okay.

Ignore the Man behind the Curtain.

Pretty funny. I put this up to distract. To make you laugh, shock some and divert all from the fact that I don't want to write today. I am tired. I am damn tired. Up late last night. Up early this morning sweeping and organizing my taxes and playing Irish music. The combo can be lethal. Met Ron and Sean for breakfast and then Ron and I went to see Paul Taylor at City Center. Awe-some.

I planned on eating tofu and arugula to offset all the empty B & J containers in my bin, but I ended up with a loaded gun of roast pork chow fun. I am wiped. And in-salted.

Tomorrow is the big day of the St. Pat's parade and then the GLAAD Awards and then up really early the next day for the BAFTA TV meeting in the Flatiron. See? I didn't want to bother you all with my crap. There I go airing my problems in my blog. This is not what this blog is for. It is for letting on how great and stimulating my life is not some whiny posting place for how tired I am. Ignore all this and watch SNL. I am going to bed with the New York Times.

Paddy's First Day

14,760 Steps

Danny: Husband, Father, Bass Drummer, model citizen and proud reader of my blog.

Today I played my first two gigs with my new pipe band. Not new to them as it was founded in 1929, but new to me. Great bunch of guys (and gals). It was sort of the first opportunity for me to get to know them and them me. We had two gigs today. The first was in Stamford, Connecticut and then second in historic Peekskill, New York. The "historic" part has me wanting to Wiki the place which I will by the end of this entry.

Stamford was sort of like an East Coast version of Walnut Creek I am thinking. A clean place with no real soul. Unfair of me to say probably since I just parked in her garage and marched down a few of her streets and then left, but that is my initial assessment.

Stamford. Nice place to not really need to go to again.

Peekskill was much better. I liked the buildings, the proximity to the Hudson and the general vibe of the place. We hung out in a bar for a bit and had free peppers and sausage on rolls. Much like the early Irish settlers used to eat no doubt when the tourists weren't lookin'. This town has some character and it seemed like there were more people along the route. The local kids were also involved which I think is key to any parade having any meaning at all to me.

The local colleens of Troop 1410 kindly posed for me in front of the Paramount Theatre.

A kid dressed up as St. Patrick. That is priceless stuff.

And sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow.

While we were waiting to go on there was this shop called "Celtic Tile." John in the band turned to me and said in one of those Irishy accents, "Ah Celtic Tile. We have three colours of tile for ye: Potato, Whiskey and Blind Rage." That was the line of the day for me right there. I am still laughing.

I wiki'd Peekskill. Here is what I have to give you on the place:

Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River.

The Binney and Smith Company, now makers of Crayola products, started as the Peekskill Chemical Company at Annsville in 1864.

The well-publicized Peekskill Riots, which occurred in the summer of 1949, involving controversial entertainer Paul Robeson and area World War II veterans, actually occurred in nearby Van Cortlandtville

[Ed. Imagine your riots not even happening in your town proper. That has to suck.]

Peekskill was the landing point of a fragment of the Peekskill Meteorite, just before midnight on October 9, 1992. This is only the fourth meteorite in history for which an exact orbit is known. The rock had a mass of 12.4 kg (27.3 lb) and punched through the trunk of Peekskill resident Michelle Knapp's red 1980 Chevrolet Malibu sedan as it struck.

Valentine Deli on Second Street has been cited for numerous health violations beginning in 2005.

Last January 16 year old girl La Toya Fisher stabbed her 17 year old boyfriend to death as reported in the Journal News on January 8 2008.

Actors Mel Gibson, Paul Reubens and Stanley Tucci were born in Peekskill.

Nuff said.

Demi Glaze

13465 Steps I am not trying to be cruel. I thought this was from Madame Trussaud's

Until I saw it move.

Listen, I don't have to explain to any of you why I am home alone and up late on a Friday night reading the Demi Moore interview in the on-line version of Harper's Bizaar. Or how I got there or why I am still there. Aren't you glad I am not taking that seal clubbing class at the Open University as I had planned before I got stuck in to finding out how Demi balances it all? I listen to her and I think "Whoa, aren't Maya Angelou, Oprah and Susan Sarandon EVERYONE'S inspirations when you get right down to it?" Oh, Demi, you speak for the people. You ARE the people. You are not the DEMImonde I thought you were, you are a DEMI-ocracy! You live in Idaho, you understand America!

I do love this probing question that Scout just handled like a trooper:

Amanda: How has your mom changed since she started Kabbalah?

Scout: I can't really remember a time before Kabbalah. She has always moved from religion to religion according to the stages in her life. Kabbalah is the one she has stuck with the most. I respect that she and Ashton are doing it. It's not so completely based on religion; it's more about how you deal with life.

********************

A quick reality check into my own fabulous life...

I had planned to write about the barricades along Central Park West on my way to work this morning or the one's through the park on my way back. I asked the policeman what they were for and he said the President was coming to town. So these barricades were to keep him away from us I hope? Couldn't we have used them 8 years ago? He was here to speak to rich people about how great the economy is. What would Susan Sarandon say about that?!

Please protect me from that man.

****************Whew, we're back to excerpts!

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF EVERY SINGLE WANNA BE ACTING BABE OF FAMOUS PARENTS:

Amanda: Do you think having high-profile parents benefits you in the pursuit of your own acting career?
Rumer: People think it's easier for me because I have well-known parents, but I have to prove myself. I want people to give me a job only because I worked for it.

( Ed.: I think she should change her name to Rumor Cage like Nick did to make it on his own.)

Amanda: Tell me something people don't know about Demi.

Ashton: Demi starts her day with a Venti half-caff, whole-milk, no-foam latte from Starbucks. Every single day. We could be in Antarctica and she would find that drink.

(Ed.:That is pretty great. And it is true, I didn't know that about her. I swear.)

And this one requires more than one reading just to begin to understand the power of what Ashton is saying:

Amanda: Did you ever fear that Demi's iconic stature would overshadow you?
Ashton: You can't cast a shadow over yourself. Demi and I are one.

It Feels Like Christmas

Back in the day, my pal Maureen and I used to look upon St. Patrick's Day like it was Christmas. We would be so excited in the days leading up to it and just be giddy with anticipation. On the day we would leave work early, or not go to work at all and together play pipes at all the Irish pubs in San Francisco for beer and cash. (Like Homer in "The Simpsons": "Ahhhhhh, beer and cash.") The day would "end" playing at The Dubliner on 24th Street. My sister Eileen would Irish step dance in the streets, with the crowds packed deep, all our friends would be there and we would get, well, pissed. It was fantastic.

And then I got older. Thank GOD!

I do not for a second regret all the fun we had, but it was time to leave the beer soaked, fag-ended nursery and move on.

Today I am in New York and Monday is the biggest St. Patty's Day of them all anywhere right here in Manhattan. I have never seen it, been to it, tasted it, anything. And this year I will be in it! I am marching up 5th Avenue playing with the Monaghan Pipe Band of New York City. I get a thrill just thinking about it. Tonight I put on my new pipe band bagpipe cover complete with band insignia, tied on the band tassels, made sure I had all my uniform parts and called my Irish cousin in Queens to tell her the news.

I have no idea what to expect, but I am going to do it and just have a ball.

Oh, I hope I can sleep tonight.

The Theatahhhh

Saw "Gypsy" tonight starring Patti Lupone at the St. James Theatre. Here is the part to end all parts for women in musical theatre. The Lady Macbeth of musical theatre. And I know I didn't originate that comparison, but it is a true one. Patti Lupone is the diva of her generation to knock it out of the park. I was walking into a moment.

I had the good fortune when I was (really) young to see her and Mandi Patinkin in "Evita" in its pre-Broadway run at the Curran in San Francisco. She was unforgettable. I later saw the LA production with Loni Ackerman and there was just no comparison. I have also heard her on the London cast album of "Les Miserables" and she is really brilliant. I only wish I saw her in "Sweeney Todd" where I heard she was incredible again. (It frightens me I know this stuff the way other guys know baseball players. "Roll, roll, roll in zee GRAVE.") Basically she and Bernadette Peters should mud wrestle for who is the biggest Broadway star of their generation. (Now that would sell tickets to an interesting audience!) I would give Patti the Merman mantel regardless.

So why was this performance just so wah-wah? What in hell was she up in the first Act? It was so average and uncommanding? Was this a direction choice? I felt she walked through the part in a production that bordered on regional theatre. This is flippin' Broadway.

Well, for some reason she pulled it out in a much better second act and really got the cracked up, washed up, frustration and pain of "Rose's Turn" at the end. Thank God. This is Patti territory, but what was going on in "Have an Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone?" Not a lot.

I will cringe when I read all this in the morning, but I am sticking to it.

Laura Benanti as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee was the gift of the night. She I will think about like I do the gelato from Capo Giro in Philadelphia. She is that good. Wow, what a performance, and whatta a body! I have to say she has it all and knew how to play this part from timid set aside sister to French speaking circuit stripper extraordinaire. Fantastic.

A Spitzer Take - Beating Around the Wrong Bush

Dear Governor Spitzer:

I just moved here. I am just getting used to it here and you go and do this?! You hire a prostitute across states lines and funnel cash and cheat on your wife and lie to your family? Who do you think you are, a cardinal? I know this is not really the question, but how do you have the time? Maybe like every New Yorker, I am learning, you order in.

But getting back to really stupid, arrogant shit we have all done, well, we haven't all done this in your position. Though, many, many, many have done this before you, Gov. Spitzer. Many. I don't sit in judgement. I am just gobsmacked. You have a degree from Harvard. You have seen this like 100 times before! And the fact that you tried prostitution rings yourself! Now you have REALLY tried them, haven't you? Your forlorn wife standing by your side on the dais while you do the initial mea cupla dance. So cliche. Like 100 times cliche. There should almost be a wooden cut out of a man and a woman in blue and grey completmentary suits with two holes for the next politician and his wife's heads for, er, insertion.

Why do wives agree to stand there anyway? Haven't they been humiliated enough? Wives, you don't have to do this.

I am not angry, just disappointed. I mean I get it, but when you are in public office you are not above to law, you are beholden to it like the rest of us and you are supposed to uphold it. Unless of course...

That all being said, and you should resign by the way, but I do love how people are calling for your impeachment over breaking the law and nary a peep really to impeach a bigger fish who has actually had people sent to their deaths for his lies and arrogance and tanked the US financially for years to come and broken many a law and spat on the Geneva Convention. ETC!!!

He just never slept with a prostitute.