It's All About Lee

2003-02-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

I have a new Lee journal. I will leave this one up for a bit, but probably won't update it much.

Come see the new one at livejournal. There's not much there yet, but there will be. *g*

2003-02-25T19:05:00.000-05:00

I talked to my dear friend, M., today on the phone. She still hasn't seen any of Lee's work, despite my rather desperate attempts to get her to watch Oz. I told her about the Oz finale and recapped the BK story for her. Despite my sadness over the story, I was all revved up talking about Lee. You should have heard me. I was positively oozing excitement. I love talking about that man! *g*

I told M that one of these days, I am going to gather all my Oz DVDs and tapes and drive up to her house in New Jersey and show her some really good Beecher scenes - the ones that don't have too much violence. M. hates to watch violent t.v. shows and movies, which is why she never tried to watch Oz. I told her about ``Shot in the Heart'' and suggested she look for it in the video store. She might, depending on her mood. She can't watch depressing movies when she feels depressed. I'm the same way.

For the most part, M. and I have very similar tastes in movies, television and music, so I just know she's going to love Lee. I'm really excited about showing her his work. I have to make those plans soon.

~*~*~

I just spoke to Danielle on the phone. She is on her way home from the book signing. It sounds like Lee was in his usual, crazy, smart-ass mode. I can't wait until she writes up her report.

2003-02-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

Lee Tergesen's performance on last night's episode was brilliant. (I use that word a lot here don't I? Can't help it.) I especially loved watching the balcony scene. Despite the anger between Beecher and Keller, there was still tenderness and raw emotion. When Beecher told Keller he was death, Lee really let Beecher's emotions come through. From my POV, Beecher was absolutely torn up as he spoke the words. That's what Lee made me see and feel.

The only thing the really pissed me off was Beecher admitting to Sr. Pete that he was going to rat Keller out. That just seems so out of character to me. Even though he had a very good reason for doing so, the fact that he would manipulate the truth bothered me. I just didn't buy it. Not for a second. And I do recall saying on my list a week or so ago that Keller would never confess to those killings and from what Toby said, I was right. *g* Sorry, I just needed to point that out.

2003-02-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

Good news. Rami is not going curling after all, so I will be going over to her house to watch Oz. Yay! It makes me a little less nervous about watching tonight. By the time I get home, it will be too late to post anything about my reaction to the show. Guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Must keep chanting ``I still believe. I still believe. I still believe.''

2003-02-22T17:57:00.000-05:00

With all the BK fanfic I've been writing lately, Lee has been on my mind constantly. Well, Lee's face with Beecher's personality. LOL. You might be thinking, ``So what's new?'' That I always think about Lee and that's true. I think about him daily, but these last few days, I've had this clear vision of his face sort of hovering in the corner of my subconscious constantly. I am not sure if it's good or bad. Perhaps neither.

Part of me is dreading watching the last episode of Oz tomorrow, but part of me is anticipating it, too. I can't wait to see the BK scene where they talk. I heard about it, of course, but I want to see their facial expressions and hear their tones. I'm a little scared and I will be watching it alone. Rami has curling. :( P. will be here, but he will probably be sleeping, so I will essentially be alone. I need someone to commisserate with. Ah well.

2003-02-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

``I know what I know and I know I'd love to be ogled. Go ahead. Think of me as a piece of meat. Undress me with your eyes. Get hot for my bod. I'm not asking you I'm telling you.'' -- Chett in Show Chett.

Uh, okay, Lee. Happy to oblige. ;)

This quote has been running in my head all day with all this worry about not being able to find my tape. I wonder how much input Lee had in this episode. Was it his idea? Did he suggest some of the dialogue? Did he love doing this? I'm really curious. I'd probably never have the guts to ask him, though. Or would I? *eg*

2003-02-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I mailed off the Chett tapes to Chicago yesterday. Two tapes with a total of 19 Weird Science episodes on them. Should be enough to keep Mav's and LeahAnne's mind off the BK tragedy this coming Sunday night. They may have to stay up all night watching Chett's antics and won't that be fun?

Unfortunately, I did not find my tape with the Show Chett episode before I headed over to fed ex. *sniff* I have looked high and low for this tape and it is nowhere to be found. I had it out about a month ago to watch it, but it is nowhere near my t.v. Nor under it. It's not under my couch. It's not in my video cabinet and it's not on my desk. I didn't lend it to anyone and my boys assure me they have not touched it. *sigh* What am I to do? Whoa is me.

2003-02-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

It might surprise some people that when I created my Tobyfan nickname I had not yet seen an episode of Oz. I actually first came up with the nickname when I was registering for a West Wing message board. Everyone had nicknames and I wanted one. LOL. Toby Ziegler, who is played by Richard Schiff, was (and still is) my favorite character on that show, so I thought it appropriate. I even created an email addy using it for the same reason. And even though I still watch West Wing, my focus on Richard Schiff and *that* Toby lasted about six months.

Then I saw CLaK. You know that story. I figured, Tobyfan fit in well with the Oz fandom, too, so I continued to use that email address and nickname, although not when writing my fanfic. I like to see my name on my writing and the world be damned. *g* Now, when I used my Tobyfan nickname for my blogs and such, it makes me think solely of Beecher and Lee. Just an fyi in case anyone cares. ;)

Time to head over to fed ex and mail some Chett tapes to my list sibs!

2003-02-19T19:51:00.000-05:00

I watched ``The Shot'' today. Or, rather, I fast-forwarded through most it. What a bad movie. Although I certainly wanted to see Lee's two tiny scenes, I also wanted to figure out which actress in the movie was Lee's first wife, Tanya Lewis. She is only credited as ``waitress.'' I think I figured out which one she is, though. Maybe I could send a question to Ask Lee? *snort* In her credits on IMDB.com, she is only listed in this movie and one episode of Weird Science, which I do not have on tape. Ah well. I have only seen one picture of her but I think I picked her out in the movie in an early scene inside a diner. She only had about three lines and she was cranky. LOL. She had long, brown, wavy hair and she was pretty. She's no Leslie, though. ;)

Lee's scenes, although brief, were fun to watch. In the second one, he delivered one of his lines in a way that reminded me of the hole scene in The Tip when he said, ``Ssssscott Ross.'' Perhaps I've been watching too much Lee Tergesen stuff? Nah.

I am feeling my Oz depression starting to lift today. Not sure why, but I am happy about it. I wrote some more of ``Promise You'' and that may have been part of it. Also had a fun phone chat with one of my list sibs, which put a big smile on my face. Plus, you know, I thought of Lee and that always makes me happy.

2003-02-18T12:12:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd get tired of talking about Oz and Beecher and Keller, but the discussion on my list is starting to tire me out. Lots of people are just repeating themselves in a vain attempt to get others to agree with them. I don't get it really. Why is one opinion more valid than another? I'm all for spirited discussion, but it's starting to get snarky and a few of the posters who seem to want to egg everyone on just need to shut up and stop posting for a bit. Many of us are feeling tired and sad and betrayed by Tom Fontana and I don't think any amount of arguing is going to make us change our minds.

So, onto more pleasant topics.

Two days ago, I watched ``Wayne's World II,'' my favorite of the two WW movies. I love the scene where the guys are spying on Cassandra, get caught and try to escape by running to a gay bar where they end up dancing to ``YMCA.'' Lee is wearing a sailor suit in the scene and looks quite adorable. He gives a couple of heart-stopping smiles while he's dancing to the music. I laugh out loud every time I watch that scene. And those nice, snug white pants he wears don't hurt the eyes either. *g*

When I was in Chicago last summer, I was searching out sites in the city where movies had been filmed. I had found a really helpful website before I went and had notes on places to go. My husband and kids thought I was little nutty. But I found the area where the guys drove down the road while singing ``Bohemian Rhapsody.'' It wasn't really recognizable because there had been many changes in the years since it was filmed but I took pictures anyway. I tried to convince P. we needed to go find another WW's film site, but it was far away and he wasn't convinced. Ah well. It was still fun.

2003-02-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

Looking at last night's Oz episode purely from a performance point of view, I think Lee had a very good night with one minor exception. I am just flabbergasted at the ``I can still cry speech.'' It had a false ring to it and maybe it was supposed to. I didn't like it. Lee should have told Tom to go fuck himself and refused to say it. *shudder* I don't get why these actors are so loyal to Tom but that's a rant for another day.

I loved watching the scene on stage between Lee and Chris - not so much for the content as for the chemistry between the actors. They're like two professional dancers who can predict each other's moves without fail. They work together gracefully and beautifully. It's a treat to watch them, even if they're given crap to do. Who else could have even made that foolish dialogue even remotely watchable? No one, I say, except Lee and Chris.

2003-02-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

I read some more details of the Oz finale from a list sib who actually saw it. *sigh* I feel sad and hollow. And, once again, I had trouble sleeping over an episode of Oz - one that I haven't even seen yet! I woke up in the middle of the night in one of those weird half-dream/half-awake states. I kept hearing/seeing all the debate comments from the list sort of floating through my head and I kept thinking of Beecher and Keller and my whole body was full of tension. It was a weird experience. I drifted in and out of this weird state for a few hours. I woke up in the morning feeling tired.

I don't feel angry. I just feel disappointed. I expected one of them to die. I didn't expect them to kiss and make up before they did. I don't know what exactly I expected, but a little something more than more betrayal from both sides. Without having seen the finale, it's hard to say for sure, but it seems to me that Tom was trying to say that no matter how good their intentions, no matter how much they felt for each other, it was completely hopeless from the get go. So, what was the point of telling the story in the first place? Only Tom can say, I guess.

I am not even angry at Tom. He obviously finished the story *he* set out to tell. But I have to say, it makes me not want to watch any of his shows anymore. I don't want to get that heavily invested in characters again only to be heartbroken. I'm sorry, but it's just not worth the effort.

Still, I don't regret watching Oz or falling in love with Beecher and Keller for even a second. It was worth the ride, even if the ending is painful. Plus, I have met so many great people through the fandom whom I cherish. I will keep all my DVDs and homemade tapes of Oz and I'll watch them again - for Lee if nothing else.

2003-02-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I just read spoilers for the season finale of Oz, which I won't reveal here. But I feel surprisingly calm about the whole thing. I am not horrified or even surprised really, even though some of the plot endings are completely ridiculous. Of course, some details are lacking in the stuff I read at TWOP so I will really have to watch it before I can judge the final impact. A couple of the sibs pointed out that the BK story end is not as horrible as it could have been and that's true, considering where TF led them these last couple of weeks. But in the overall arc of the story, I'd say it kind of sucks. Still, I think writers can just dismiss it as a bad dream, which is what I fully intend to do. *g*

I would love to hear Lee's take on how this all turned out.

2003-02-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

A dear list pal and fellow blogger has asked me to make copies of a few Weird Science eps I have on tape. Since I don't have the double VCR thing set up, I'm heading over to Rami's on Monday and we're going to have a ChettFest! Yay! I haven't watched the tapes in awhile. Actually, my kids watch them more than I do. She only requested three eps (luckily, I have them all) but I have to add more, of course. And, OH, is it going to be fun deciding which episodes to put on there.

These are the episodes she wants: Show Chett (Chett works as a stripper), Pirates (Chett sings) and Earth Boys are Easy (Chett is covered in whip cream by and alien who wants to eat him). All very nice selections. She also added Funhouse of Death after I suggested it. It's my SINGLE, FAVORITE Lee performance on Weird Science, which I have mentioned before.

I will have to add Strangers in Paradise, where Chett and Lisa get stuck on an island in the Bermuda Triangle. It has a nice glimpse of sensitive Chett at the end and I do so love that. I Dream of Genie also has a very sweet, touching moment at the end, as well. Rock Hard Chett has his playing a superhero named the Buttkicker and he has a huge BK on his chest. Foreshadowing! Hee!

Should be a fun Monday.

2003-02-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

I had a dream last night about Christopher Meloni (my fourth one). We had a nice, long chat over dinner. And who do you think we talked about? Or, I should say, who do you think *I* talked about? Lee Tergesen.

The dream started out with me and a group of friends hanging out with a musician friend who was in town for a concert at the Kennedy Center. He was supposed to be famous, but I didn’t recognize him at all. I kept hearing a Paul Simon song running in my head during the dream. The one that goes, ``lie la lie. lie la la lie li lie. Lie li lie...’’ I can’t remember the name of it.**

Anyway, we were all hanging out and he didn’t really want to go perform, but he did and then we met up again afterwards. He was hungry so we all decided to go to the mall and get something to eat. Christopher Meloni, who apparently knew MusicianGuy pretty well, stopped by his hotel room and we all asked him to join us.

So we were walking through the mall, trying to agree on what to eat. MusicianGuy and all my friends agreed to eat at a greasy burger joint. I didn’t want to, so I went off to order something at another restaurant and figured I’d eat with them at the public tables. On the way back from getting my order, I saw Christopher sitting at a table alone, eating. So I sat down with him. He was very polite and very nice but he wasn’t as engaging or warm as Lee is in person.

I started talking about Lee, who I’d just seen a few weeks before. Meloni had been at that gathering, too, so he did remember. I mentioned a conversation that had happened at the earlier gathering, but Christopher didn’t remember it. So I jogged his memory. As I told the story, we were interrupted twice by fans. He always said, ``Excuse me,’’ before talking to the fans or signing stuff and then turned his attention back to me. It could have been my own paranoia, but I sensed he wasn’t all that interested in our conversation.

Anyway, after that, we started talking about Oz and I said that many BK fans were quite upset at Tom Fontana over the storyline. He nodded and listened, but didn’t offer any information about what was going to happen. He seemed slightly more interested in this topic of conversation. He had that Stabler concentration expression on his face as he listened. I woke up around that time.

I thought it was kind of funny that here I had Christopher Meloni all to myself and I was talking about Lee. *g*

**I looked it up. It's called The Boxer and it's by Simon AND Garfunkel

2003-02-11T19:54:00.000-05:00

The Many Faces of Beecher

aka Anne's Favorites

Beecher in Love

Don't Fuck With Me Beecher

Crazy Beecher

Angsty Beecher - my personal favorite

Grieving Beecher

Martyr Beecher

Sarcastic, Drunken Beecher

Livid, Enraged Beecher

2003-02-10T13:19:00.000-05:00

I recorded Lee's episode of Duckman last night and finally got to watch it today. I've seen clips and screencaps before but it's not the same as watching the whole episode to understand what the heck is going on. He and his fellow actors from ``Weird Science'' were kidnapped by an evil character who wanted to bring down Duckman. So he was Chett, sort of. *g* There were some jokes about Weird Science and it's simple plots, but it was kind of cute. Anyway, I'm glad to finally have it in my collection. Now there's only four t.v. guest spots of his that I don't have.

~*~*~

Beecher only had about 4 minutes of screen time last night and I wasn't too happy about that. I think this is the briefest appearance this season. Still, Lee made an impact with the little time that he had. He always does.

Something is definitely off on Oz. Nothing is as it seems and everyone is acting weird. Beecher was supposedly chattering to everyone who would listen that Keller ratted him out. Huh? Highly unlikely he'd do that. And he wouldn't look at Keller while they argued, if you could even call it that. Beecher mainly said mean things to Chris in a very calm but not even menancing voice. Very weird. Where were the Beecher hysterics? Anger? Accusations? Something is definitely fishy in Oz land. Tom is playing with us and I don't think that's very nice.

2003-02-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

Lee was too funny on ``Breaking the Law'' last night. It's one of the few times on t.v. where he's been completely himself. Even his interview on that morning show didn't completely capture his funny, charming personality. Maybe it was too early in the morning. *g* But last night, we got the full, unadulterated Lee. And that was fun to watch.

I loved that he was wearing a shirt with Christopher Meloni's face on it and he never once even referred to it. He's too damn cute. The shirt had lots of writing on it, so I'm wondering if Chris signed it for him. I would LOVE to know what it says. I also really enjoyed his ad lib comments, of course. The man makes me laugh out loud!

My favorite quote: ``We pay extra for that where I come from.'' *g*

2003-02-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

There's this picture of Lee that Danielle took last Tuesday that I just love. It's actually a long picture of him with the bear in his pants, but I asked her to crop it for me so there was a close up of just his face. I LOVE the expression on his face here. Is he beautiful or what? It's hard for me to believe that I didn't notice his beauty when I first started watching Oz. Of course, I noticed his talent immediately, but it took me a little longer to really see how attractive he is. I must have been completely blind. *g*

2003-02-05T13:04:00.000-05:00

Since Sunday, my Oz list has more or less exploded with messages. I go off line for an hour and when I go back on line, I have like 30 new messages -- most about Beecher and Keller. I like it that way. I love the discussions about these two characters. I love it when people analyze what motivates them and make guesses about what's going to happen next. That is my favorite kind of post and there have been lots of them.

Most people's initial gut reaction was shock and horror over Keller's betrayal of Beecher. I was pretty upset myself, as I mentioned here. There was lots of blame thrown around at both of them. Some posters have even gone so far as to ``give up'' on Beecher and Keller as couple. I can understand that sentiment. Still, I think I've calmed down considerably since I first saw that preview with Keller calling the police on Beecher.

I think if this happened a year ago, I might have wanted to give up, too. But here's the thing, since I've met Lee, I look at Oz differently than I used to. Before, it was a fandom to get wrapped up in and think about constantly. Now, it's become more of a vehicle for Lee's talent. Don't get me wrong, I still love Oz and I do get involved in the stories, but I can take a step back now when it gets to be too much. And I only just realized that in the last week.

If Beecher does something to piss me off, I just remind myself that Lee is not Toby. He's not even remotely like Toby. Oz is just another program where Lee can showcase his talent. Having spent time in his company makes it easier for me to do that. That probably doesn't make any sense, but there it is. When Lee played a killer on CI, I didn't like the character, but I loved watching him perform the role. So, it's pretty much all about Lee and not about Toby. *g*

~*~*~

I showed my sister the the picture of Lee and I that Susan took. She says, ``He's kinda old.'' Excuse me?! This sister, btw, is 36, just 10 months younger than Lee. She also has this weird fixation on younger men. Her ex-husband is six years younger than her and was just 19 when they married. Every guy she's ever dated is younger than her by many years. Her last two boyfriends were in their 20s. If she meets someone older than her, she immediately dismisses him as being too old. I don't get it. Then she wonders why she keeps meeting immature losers who have low-paying jobs. Okay, end rant. LOL. Lee Tergesen too old. Pfftt. She's crazy. I think he looks fantastic. Big surprise there, I know.

She did eventually concede that he's cute. Well, duh.

2003-02-04T19:39:00.000-05:00

My New Favorite Lee Tergesen Quote
(as paraphrased by Chris Meloni)

From The Advocate:

``Look, just because you're uncomfortable with the sexuality going on here doesn't mean you have rain on our fucking parade.''

God, I love that man. He is *so* my hero. Of course, he was before, but you know what I mean. ;) He is just cooler than cool. He's pretty much the coolest. Meloni, too. They are so fucking adorable together.

2003-02-03T18:10:00.000-05:00

I'm moving rapidly out of post-Lee Tergesen syndrome and straight into withdrawal. I miss him!

Just found out today that Lee is going to be at the book signing for the Augustus Hill book on the 18th. Of course, I won't be able to go. It's too soon after this last trip. I was thinking he'd be in Florida filming the movie for awhile, but I was wrong. So, I'm going to miss another signing. Damn. Damn. Damn. Ah well. I'll get over it. I am sure there will be other chances to see him again this year. I'm thinking somewhere in the vicinity of July 8 would be nice. *g*

Several times today, something Lee said or did last Tuesday popped into my head and I got the biggest grin on my face. I mean, really big. Oddly enough, no one looked at me strangely as I walked through the grocery store with a huge smile. I guess they thought I just liked shopping.

2003-02-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

I am so completely over my anger toward Toby and all is right in the world. LOL. 4giveness was not as bad as I expected from what the seminar attendees told us. Toby was great during that visit. He even brought his baby socks. How sweet was that? He didn't talk about the teacher until Chris specifically brought her up. Yeah, he could have lied, but Chris would have known it. Toby can't lie to him. And when Chris asked Toby to bring the kids to visit, he said, yes, but said not right away. He certainly didn't shut him down like I was led to believe.

Toby didn't start to pull away from Chris until he asked him to do something illegal. Chris played him and played him good. So I'm mad at Chris again and that's okay. ;) Luckily, I took the few days since Tuesday to distance myself from this whole storyline and have decided that I am just going to enjoy it for the drama it brings. Nothing more. I am keeping my emotional distance. It takes too much out of me to get emotionally invested. Still, I'm glad I'm over the Toby anger. I don't like that. It doesn't feel right.

How great was Lee tonight? Wow. That scene in the warden's office? Very cool. And the scene with Chris, too. Very impressively done. I love AnguishedToby but I also love CoolLawyerToby cause he's fucking hot.

2003-02-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

I was visiting a former neighbor today, who has known about my Lee Tergesen obsession. She was surprised to hear it was still going on. She knows my strong interest in an actor usually wanes after several months. She saw me through my Terrence Mann and Richard Schiff obsessions and the beginning of Lee. Anyway, we were talking about Lee and she was still unaware of his work, so I was pointing out some things he's done, but she hasn't seen any of his movies. So I asked if she watched ER and she said yes, so I described Lee's episode and she remembered him in it! It made me happy for some strange reason. She said he was good on that episode. (Of course he was!) Anyway, that just made my day. :)

I also talked to my friend, M., today and told her about my trip to NYC. She was envious that I'd gotten to see a play. We used to go to plays together all the time when we both lived in the city. She lives in southern NJ and doesn't get up to the city as much as she'd like. I talked about Lee some more. I already knew she'd missed his ER episode (even though she watches the show all the time) so I asked her if she watched CI. No luck. Someday I am just going to drive up to her house with a bunch of Lee Tergesen tapes and get her just as hooked as I am. She and I often have very similar tastes in actors, music, t.v. shows, etc., so I know she's going to love him. She won't watch Oz though. She hates to watch graphic violence. Ah well.

2003-01-31T19:28:00.000-05:00

There's so many things I could be doing. Paying bills. Cleaning up the house. Doing laundry etc. But all I want to do is read about, write about, and think about Lee. *sigh* It's really quite pathetic. But I don't care because it makes me H-A-P-P-Y! I was going to post a nice pic Danielle sent me, but I have to resize it. Here's a link to it.

~*~

I was thinking yesterday about all those years I was devoted to Kevin Kline and I never even met him. I took no less than seven trips from D.C. to NYC to see him in plays over a 15-year period and I never once even tried to meet him. Never thought it was possible, I suppose. And now, here I've had the opportunity to meet Lee on many ocassions and had actual conversations with him. He's gone out of his way to make me feel special and I can't even begin to express the affection I have for him. I can't imagine any actor could ever take his place in my heart.

2003-01-31T08:37:00.000-05:00

There was this moment on Tuesday night that has been popping up in my head and making me smile, so I thought I'd share it. It's probably going to sound silly, but here goes.

It was toward the end of the evening. Lee was at the opposite end of the table with Mav and Leahanne and I still sitting in my usual spot. The waiter came to pick up the dishes and there was still quite a bit of calamari left on Lee's plate. The waiter asked me if he could take the plate. I was pretty sure Lee was finished with it, but I wanted to make sure so I called out his name. He didn't hear me the first time, so I called his name again. He looked up and said, ``Yeah?'' and I asked if he was done with the calamari. He said he was and the waiter took it.

I guess what struck me was the casualness of the moment. Here was I was sitting in a restaurant calling out to Lee like he was any other friend I might have dinner with. It just made me realize how lucky I am.

2003-01-30T12:57:00.000-05:00

I just mailed my usual post-Lee-visit letter to Lee thanking him for being such a doll and entertaining all of us. Usually, I write the letter, wait a few days, re-read, edit and then send it. But I wanted to get this one out today since he is going to be leaving for the movie shoot on Feb. 7. He still may not get the letter, but I did my best.

Last night, P. asked for a rundown of what happened on the trip. So I explained about the seminar. Then told him about the play. Then explained how the sibs and I went to eat, drink and laugh with Lee. ``That's it? And you stayed up all night for that? Doesn't sound worth it to me.'' Well, he would be wrong because I am still smiling.

2003-01-30T07:52:00.000-05:00

How's this for coincidence? Or would it be irony? Or maybe just the planets aligning. *g* When we saw Lee on Tuesday night, it was exactly two years since the day I saw Cuts Like a Knife for the first time and fell completely and totally into my Lee Tergesen obsession. (So that makes 24 months of obsessing, NOT 18 months as some of my sibs told Lee. I was outed! LOL!) A week later, I joined TS, so happy anniversary to me. :)

2003-01-29T19:07:00.000-05:00

I already posted my New York story on my Oz list, but here is a shorter, edited version for those not on TS.

Rami and I met Mav and Leahanne at the Museum of Television and Radio around 4:30pm, then we headed over to Au Bon Pain, or ABP as Rami calls it, and sat down the talk and catch up.

Went back to the museum and joined the line and hung out some more. Finally got into the theater and we were seated near the front, which we actually didn’t want because we knew we had to sneak out early to go see Lee in the play. Still, the ushers insisted they had to fill up the front first, so there we were.

Tom was introduced and he announced that Lee was not going to be at the seminar. A collective ``Awww’’ came from the crowd. ``Oh, he’s really not that interesting,’’ Tom joked. Then he told everyone about the play Lee was doing -- Exonerated at a small theater on Bleecker Street.

Then Tom told everyone we’d be watching episode 5 before the discussion. I won’t do spoilers for that since I didn’t get to stay for the whole thing. We totally missed the Beecher-Keller scenes, which I am now glad for after hearing from others what happened. I got a HUGE kick out of watching the Oz guys’ reactions to the audience when we laughed and oohed and aahed etc. Brad Winters was having quite a fun time chuckling at us.

We snuck out of the theater at about 7:20, figuring we had plenty of time to get down to Bleecker Street. Unfortunately, it was so cold (16 degrees F when the sun was still out) that all the cabs were taken and it took us literally 15 minutes to find one. We arrived at the theater literally at 8pm and luckily the show started a little late. We had just enough time to say hello to Danielle, Nic, Dori and her sister before the lights went down.

The play was about a group of people who’d been wrongfully sent to death row. All of the stories were true and dialogue had been taken from transcriptions and statements. Lee, who was absolutely magnificent, played Kerry Cook, a man who had eerie parallels to Beecher. There was one part where he talked about being raped in prison and having other inmates carve a tattoo into his ass. And then the narrator made a reference to Job. It was wild.

There was one scene where Lee talked about Cook’s brother and how he turned to drinking and eventually got killed in a bar fight. It was very moving and Lee had me near tears. There was another really sweet scene with Cook’s wife, whom he married after he was exonerated. Lee played the adoring husband quite convincingly. I was really impressed with his range. He had to go through so many emotions and he did them all so amazingly well.

Also in the play, were Tim Daly from ``Wings,’’ Judy Collins and Joe Morton. They were all really wonderful. Since he was new to the cast, Lee’s bio was on an insert. It said, ``I’m in Oz on HBO so I’m no stranger to prison. I’m honored to be included in ``The Exonerated.’’ ‘’

After the show, we went outside to wait for Lee. On his way out, he got waylaid by several fans but was finally able to come over and greet us all with a warm hug. He suggested we head up the street to get a drink and talk so we walked about three blocks and hell if I can remember the name of the place we went.

We went inside and found a groups of tables that were up against a booth. Lee sat down in the booth seat, but toward one end. I suggested he might to sit in the middle so we could all see him and talk to him. I sat on his left and Rami sat on his right. I still don’t know how I managed that. Guess I was standing in the right place at the right time. I felt pretty honored (not to mention lucky) to be sitting next to him. All my sibs were soon teasing me about it, too. I think Lee even came to my defense at one point but I don‘t remember exactly what he said. I felt like a 16-year-old girl who gets to sit next to the boy she has a crush on and everybody in the whole school knows it. Loved every minute of it, too. LOL.

Everyone ordered drinks. I asked if they had spring water and the waiter said no, but they had mineral water, so I said that’s fine. Then Lee pipes up, ``Yeah, we’ll share a bottle.’’ So, I got to share a bottle of water with Lee, which made me really happy. Hmm, come to think of it, I should have brought the empty bottle home. ;)

Then we were all sort of talking about stuff and I asked Lee for a special favor. I took out two pictures and asked him to sign them for fans. Then I told him I had to give him a kiss from one of those fans and after I kissed him on the cheek, he said, ``You know, she kisses with tongue,’’ and waggled his eyebrows at me. I almost fell off my seat. I was totally speechless, so I just laughed and turned about 12 shades of red.

After that, Lee asked for a menu and he and Rami decided to share some hummus and a black bean tortilla.

At some point, Christy joined us. ``Nice harem,’’ she remarked when she looked at all of us surrounding him. Lee spend a good deal of time teasing her about not coming the play. But Christy gave as good as she got. ;)

We asked Lee to tell us what happened with Beecher and Keller in episode 5 since the only reason we missed it was to come see him in the play. First he asked us to remind him what happened in episode 4 and then he started to remember on his own. ``Oh yeah, that’s right, I get him off death row. I looked good in that suit, didn’t I?’’ Then he talked about Keller’s scene with Sr. Pete and made this really funny face and said ``jealous’’ in a mocking tone, referring to Chris. He said he watched the scene three times before calling Leslie out to watch it. Then he said, ``Happy,‘’ imitating Chris, and then ``jealous’’ again in that funny, mocking tone. He is such a ham.

As for episode 5, he confirmed that what we saw in the previews about Chris was true. I told him I was pretty mad at Keller. He laughed. He also mentioned the scene with the brown sweater, which we all agreed looked great on him and we told him so.

At some point, I told him how amazing he was in L&O:CI. He said, ``It was the suit,’’ noting that it cost $5,000. He’s too much. I assured him it was not the suit. It was all him. I told him I was showing that last scene he did to everyone who came over to my house. Dori remarked that I should be showing people the ``Queen’s Logic’’ episode. Lee said I should show people whatever episode I wanted to show them. LOL. He’s such a doll.

While we all sat and talked, several sibs were taking pictures of Lee and I think he was getting a little embarrassed or wanted us to think so. ``That’s enough,’’ he kept saying with an ``aww shucks’’ look on his face. I took out my camera and he started to play with it, trying to figure out how it worked. It’s still new to me, so I wasn’t sure myself. It’s a digital camera than can take video and still photos. He was trying to figure out how to switch it from one to the other. He was aiming in the direction of Dori, her sister, and Christy and all of them were begging me to take it away from him. But how could I? They knew I couldn’t and someone teased me about that, too. I think he took one or two still pics but I haven’t checked yet.

Later, when the smokers all got up to go to the bar, I got the camera out and started videotaping Lee. It was the first time I’d used the camera all night. At first he mugged it up, but after a couple of minutes, he said, ``Ok, that’s enough.’’ He’s so adorable when he’s being humble and embarrassed. He was a really good sport about the pictures, though.

When it came time to pay the bill, we all chipped a little in to cover Lee’s portion. When he tried to take money out of his wallet, we told him we were covering it. He said ``I belong to any of you,’’ or something to that effect. I was at the far end of the table at this point and I can’t remember everything, dammit! ;) Danielle said, ``You‘re a cheap date.’’

At this point, everyone asked him to sign their theater programs and he kindly obliged. He wrote a book on Mav’s.

Around midnight, we all got ready to head out and bundled up for the cold. Lee treated us by posing for several silly and fun pictures outside, including some really funny ones with a teddy bearwearing a prison uniform, which was left on his seat anonymously when he got up. He even had Nic and Rami hold him up- each getting an arm and a leg - for a shot. Susan took those lovely pics. :-)

Then Lee set up one shot himself. He had everyone gather in a tight circle and look down at the ground. He slithered on his back under us and framed the picture. Then he got up and squeezed back into the circle and held the camera under us in position and clicked the shutter. He made us take another one sticking out our tongues. The man is just endlessly amusing.

That’s it for now. I may add stuff as I remember it.

2003-01-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm off to New York to see Lee and the sibs. I'm barely able to contain my excitement. I'll post a full report sometime tomorrow!

2003-01-27T15:18:00.000-05:00

I have had time to think since my rant and I have calmed down a bit. I called Rami earlier to make plans for tomorrow and started ranting again about BK and as I was talking, I realized something. I'm not really mad at Chris or Tom or even my list sibs. I'm mad at myself for allowing myself to be sucked into the Chris Keller redemption facade because I *do* know what he's capable of. I feel gut-punched and it's all my own fault. That's why I'm angry. But I'll get over it because I am sooo looking forward to next week's episode.

I wrote an email to Tom telling him what an uproar he's caused among the BK fans. Luckily, I wrote it after I'd calmed down a little. LOL. I'm curious if he'll answer.

2003-01-27T09:03:00.000-05:00

Almost forgot --

One more day til Lee! :-)

2003-01-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

I am royally, royally pissed and I don't even know where to begin. (Just to warn you, there are Oz Spoilers here.)

I could start with Tom Fontana for doing what he did to Beecher and Keller, but I'm not really mad at him. I could also start with Chris Keller, but he's a fictional character, so, really, how can I be angry with him? But I think the people I'm most pissed off at are my Oz list siblings.

It all started last night with the fourth episode of season 6. Beecher came to see Keller to talk some more about the case. Beecher found a way to discredit the witness who put Chris on death row. Chris was happy. They talked, they hugged, they kissed. All good stuff. Then Chris asks Toby what it's like being out on parole. Toby starts talking about being outdoors, hanging with the kids etc. Then he says something stupid. He tells Chris about Holly's teacher and how great she is and how she makes him laugh. Chris decides that Toby's in love with Holly's teacher, which he tells Sr. Pete. I didn't see that, but I could see how Chris could.

A few days later, Toby returns with the news that Chris' conviction has been overturned and he's off death row. Chris says, ``I owe you my life.'' What does Chris do to repay Toby for coming back to the hellhole where he was incarcerated for six years? He betrays him. I never would have thought it was possible. But I can't really fault Fontana here because he makes it all so damn plausible.

In the preview for next week, Toby comes to visit Chris once again (like he'd bother with Chris if he was in love with someone else) and Chris asks him to do something illegal. Toby points out that he'd be violating his parole. Chris says, ``please.'' Toby agrees. Chris gets on the phone and calls the police to turn Toby in for doing the crime Chris asked him to do. I was horrified, but I was also slightly excited because I knew it would be a really good storyline.

I went to bed last night right after the show because I had to get up really early today. When I got on line this morning, I was surprised - make that shocked - to read that most of my list siblings blame Toby for what's to come - even the ones who usually take Toby's side. Excuse me?! EXCUSE ME?! I don't fucking think so. And that's why I'm so pissed.

After everything Toby has done for Chris this season, there is absolutely no excuse for Chris' behavior. NONE. It's inexcusable. It's unforgiveable. I don't care if Toby had showed him pictures of fucking someone else, Toby does NOT deserve that. No way. No how. And I am angry that many people on my list apparently think he does. If Toby was in love with someone else, he wouldn't keep coming back to see Chris. He's too selfish to do something just because he thinks he owes Chris. And, yeah, maybe he wasn't too smart to start talking about the teacher like she was God's gift, but I still think Chris is the one in the wrong here and it's not because I usually take Toby's side. Toby has a family who needs him; especially now that his father is dead.

Chris setting him up and betraying him is worse than the time he broke Toby's legs. Much, much worse. He had no one forcing him to do this. He did it all on his own. Toby is NEVER going to forgive him this time. And I don't blame him. I don't even want Toby to forgive him. I really hate what he's going to do and I take back all those times I said I didn't want Chris Keller to die. I don't give a shit if he dies now.

Yes, I realize it's just a t.v. show, but I'm pissed.

(btw, weren't Lee and Chris great last night? Their performances were just wonderful. *sigh*)

2003-01-26T10:18:00.000-05:00

Only two more days until Lee and I am as calm as can be despite the fact that I am still not ready to go. My 11-year-old son taught me how to use my camera, finally. LOL. I still don't know how to view pictures on the digital view screen yet. Guess I am going to have to actually read the instruction booklet.

I am also having trouble with my printer. I need to print out two pictures for Lee to sign but my printer is not cooperating. First, I noticed the black ink was low. But even after I put a new cartridge in, there are faint horizontal lines across the pictures. P. cleaned the heads twice and it is still happening. Aargh! I may have to bring the pictures on disk to Kinko's or someplace and have them print them up. I am not happy about that.

~*~*~

New Oz ep tonight. I sincerely hope there is more Beecher on this one than there has been so far. Maybe tonight will have Toby in the brown sweater visiting Chris. I posted that picture a few entries ago.

Last night I went to HBO.com and watched the promo videos there. Most of them I'd already seen thanks to Dina, but there was one on relationships that was new for me. There was a moment when Chris Meloni talked about working with Rita Moreno and Lee Tergesen that made me smile. I think it's the first time I've even heard Chris say Lee's name outloud. It surprised me because I wasn't expecting it. He was wearing his wifebeater standing in Em City looking like Keller, so naturally I expected him to say Beecher. So when he said Lee Tergesen, it just jarred me. But I liked it, too. Kinda weird, I know. I can't really explain it. It just hit me unexpectantly.

2003-01-24T19:15:00.000-05:00

The closer I get to Tuesday, the calmer I get. How weird is that? I can't really explain it. I am not really any more ready to go than I was a week ago. It just feels more real; more set. It's really going to happen. (Unless, God forbid, there's some last minute major catastrophe.) Knowing this makes me feel much calmer. Probably doesn't make any sense. A week to 10 days is really just enough advance notice for me.

Four more days until Lee and I leave you with this lovely photo of Lee from the Windy City interview, which I mentioned a few posts ago. Doesn't he have the most adorable smile?

2003-01-23T13:29:00.000-05:00

Last night on the phone, I asked P. which car did he want me to take to New York on Tuesday? He acts all surprised and says he didn't think the issue was settled. *sigh* I had a feeling this was going to happen. Rest assured, I am still going.

He says, ``We need to talk about this, but now right now.'' I say, ``That's fine, but it's all settled. Everything's arranged.'' He says, ``This is not a good idea. You get all stressed when you go on these trips.'' This is completely true, as you know, but I have been diligent about not letting him see that. I say, ``I've been fine. No stress. Everything's been arranged. My sister is taking the kids.'' He tries to argue some more, but now *he's* getting stressed. He reiterates the need to talk about this later when he gets home. I say, ``Fine.'' He gets home at 9 pm and does not ever bring the topic up during the entire evening.

So, as far as I'm concerned, it's a done deal. I'm going on Tuesday and that is that.

Five days until Lee!

2003-01-22T08:26:00.000-05:00

*sigh*

Is that not a lovely image? Look how beautiful Toby looks with his eyes closed, kissing his man.

*sigh*

I really need to thank TF, LT and CM for this mesmerizing image. Feel free to hang around for a bit and just stare. I know I'm going to. I most especially have to thank Liz for making the screencap.

Six more days until I get to see that adorable face up close and personal. *g*

2003-01-21T19:43:00.000-05:00

Seven more days til Lee.

As Susan would say, ``That is all.''

2003-01-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

Last night, we had company over, so I couldn't watch Oz when it was broadcast. I snuck downstairs and recorded it though. We had 11 people over last night - mostly P.'s relatives, but also a friend of mine. So, we entertained. It was fun, but Oz was in the back of my mind. Some of the guests lefts and a few were staying over so I waited until they went up to bed. It was a few minutes after 11 pm.

It was such a surprise and a treat to see Beecher and Keller in the opening moments of the show. I figured I'd have to wait until the end. And there they were, kissing and hugging and stuff. *bg* And we got two pretty long kisses in one episode. TF is surely teasing us with this. There must be some really bad shit coming. I also loved Keller showing his vulnerability and Beecher reassuring him. I got a little verklempt. These two men work so beautifully together, don't they? *sigh*

Despite that lovely scene, there was NOT ENOUGH BEECHER! I feel like my message is just not getting through her. I guess I have to email Tom myself. Not that it will change anything since everything's been filmed already.

And I am still not over that CI performance! I keep watching it and thinking about it. I think Lee needs to get nominated for an Emmy in that guest-star category. Yes, I do.

2003-01-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

Weird change of intents -- I am actually trying *not* to think about Lee these days. Why, you ask? Because every time I do, I think about the trip and I get that whole gut-churning nervous thing going again. Argh! I hate that. It's the same kind of feeling you get when you're approaching a deadline and your work's not done or when you have a test and you haven't studied enough for it. I know you know what I mean.

Problem is - trying not to think of Lee is pretty much not working for me. I can't imagine why. Maybe it's these pictures of Lee all over my desk. Or maybe it's all those LT videos near my t.v. I dunno. It's a mystery. Or maybe it's because I'm excited about the trip and I want to think about it minus the anxiety. I really had way too much notice for this one. I need about a week for something like this. A month is way too long for to me to get myself worked up over this shit.

My logical brain knows that everything is going to be fine. And, hey, even if something prevents me from going, there is most likely going to be a next time, right? I can handle it. It's the not knowing. I need to know. I need a crystal ball to tell me everything that is going to happen on Jan. 28 and then I can rest easy. I hate not knowing. Guess that explains why I'm such a spoiler slut when it comes to Oz.

2003-01-17T08:48:00.000-05:00

I got a nice suprise in my email this morning. Someone on my Oz lists posted a link to an article about Lee from the Windy City Times. This kind of thing really makes my day because it's ALL about Lee. General Oz articles are nice, but interviews that focus solely on Lee are much, much better.

There is an interview with Lee that has some great quotes. Here's my favorite:

``I feel and I am committed to people being able to express themselves however that may be. Except when it comes to hurting other people. I have always felt an admiration for the entire transgender community. Because of the balls that it takes in this society to say, “This is who I am,” and to be so bold. I don’t understand why anybody would be discriminated against for any reason. I don’t care what you wear, it’s who you are that’s important.''

You really have to love a guy who says that. Am I right? You know I am.

I was also fond of the interviewer's assessment of Lee's performance as Beecher: ``Lee Tergesen has masterfully taken the challenging role of Tobias Beecher and polished him into a sparkling jewel of discovery.'' Jewel. I like that. And this: ``The result is a portrayal by Tergesen that is nothing short of brilliant in its brutal honesty, depth of vision, explosions of raw emotion, and technical precision.'' Haven't I said he's brilliant? You know I have.

I'm done. Go read if you haven't already. Or you could read it again.

2003-01-16T14:05:00.000-05:00

I finally got to see all the Oz promos I'd missed thanks to Dina. My favorite was the Buzz, where Lee interviewed Tom Fontana and then called him a ``sick bastard.'' That made me laugh! I love Lee's sense of humor. And than, at the end, when Lee closed the program with ``You have been buzzed,'' how adorable was he? I have news for you, Lee, I always feel buzzed when I watch you. *eg*

2003-01-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

I'm going through this weird anticipatory anxiety again about the trip to see Lee on the 28th. Why oh why does my brain betray me like this every freaking time?

There is really nothing for me to be worried about. I asked my sister to pick up my kids from school and watch them until P. comes home. All I have to do is get myself there. That's all. Everything is arranged and still I worry that something is going to go wrong, like my sister will have to work late. Or P. will have to go out of town. Or one of the kids will get sick. Or one of the schools won't release the kids to my sister. All these worst-case scenarios play out in my head and drive me fucking crazy. This happens every damn time I go to see him (or take any trip without the kids on a weekday). I'm going to be tense from now until I'm actually on the highway on the 28th. Even then, I will be a little worried about my kids until after my sister calls me to tell me she has picked them up.

As a result of this foolish anxiety, my mood is down at the very time when I should be excited about going to New York to see Lee and all my sibs again. Sometimes I really, really hate the way my mind works. If I could kick myself, I would.

2003-01-14T13:21:00.000-05:00

I watched the last scene of L&O:CI for the fifth time this morning. *g* My God, Lee is just too much fun to watch. I was thinking if this episode was done when he still had long hair, they probably never would have hired him. What a loss that would have been. But I think the short hair and his adorably innocent-looking face were pretty important to the character the way it was written. I don't know if it was the lighting or make-up or what, but he looked even younger on CI than he does on ``Oz'' and the Oz episodes were filmed last summer.

There were moments when I hated Keith Ramsey and moments when I felt sorry for him, but I was always fascinated by him. What I didn't get is why someone with such contempt for a woman in a menial job would go out of his way to be nice to that woman. Not sure if that was a plot hole or if I just missed something.

I almost never watch a t.v. show or movie anymore without looking for a part that Lee could play. A few days ago, I watched ``A Beautiful Mind'' and thought Lee would have done a great job as John Nash. There's no doubt Russell Crowe did a great job. But I think Lee could have been just as good, if not better.

It looks like I'll be going to the MTR seminar on the 28th. Yay! I asked my sister to watch the kids for me and she agreed. I also told P. about it and his response was a resigned sigh. *eg* Rami's coming with me, but I'm keeping all limes and other throwing material out of her reach. ;)

2003-01-13T09:52:00.000-05:00

How amazing was Lee on L&O:CI last night? :-O Oh my God. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the man is a genius. He has a gift and boy oh boy does he know how to use it.

As soon as he made his first appearance, Rami had to remark, ``I bet Lee's the killer.'' Ssshhhh. Didn't matter. I was riveted to the screen. His performance was so subtle, so fucking flawless that I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open by the time the show ended. He played the part of the ``innocent, but supportive co-worker'' brilliantly. Even as his guilt was shown and the cops had him cornered in the interrogation room, he continued the guileless act so well. The play of emotions over his face as he slowly realized he was caught was just masterful. MASTERFUL! The blow up at the end was perfect because it was so unexpected of the character.

Lee, my dear, you rock.

As for ``Oz,'' I am not going to go on about how disappointed I was at both the quantity and quality of Beecher's screen time. I *know* next week is going to be better.

Thus concludes the all-Lee Tergesen weekend. It was a joy from beginning to end. Thank you, NBC, CBS and HBO. Oh, and Lee Tergesen, too.

2003-01-12T10:38:00.000-05:00

Day Three of my all-Lee Tergesen weekend started with me bringing out my Oz S1 DVDs since I'd already run through the S2 discs. I re-watched ``The Routine'' with commentary. I love hearing Lee laugh. He has such a great laugh. I also loved hearing them comment on individual scenes, like Lee hurting his hand in Beecher's first scene and when he said it was hard to watch himself. I really enjoy hearing things that are going through his head as he watches.

The episode 2 commentary was not as much fun because Lee and Tom never remarked on what was happening in the individual scenes. Instead, Tom (mainly) gave background information, which was interesting but would have been better in a face-to-face interview with him.

Tonight, Rami and I get to watch a new episode of Oz, which will hopefull have more Beecher than last week's. After that, we'll watch L&O: CI with Lee guest starring. Thank God I have two t.v.s since they are both on at the same time.

2003-01-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

Oh, I forgot one thing. Entertainment Weekly had a small blurb about ``Queen's Supreme'' and they wrote, ``Lee Tergesen, so vivid as the persecuted Tobias Beecher on Oz, plays one angry man.'' Vivid. I like that. I'd go far as to say technicolor, baby!

2003-01-11T10:23:00.000-05:00

Well, day one of my all-Lee Tergesen weekend went extremely well. Friday afternoon, I watched about half of my the S2 eps on my new DVD - Beecher scenes mainly. Thank you. Then, at 10 pm, Lee gave an amazing performance on ``Queen's Supreme'' as a juror who took the courtroom hostage just so he could have a smoke. The show was not that well written, but Lee kicked ass. He was, in turn, angry, violent, confrontational, vulnerable and even sad. And he pulled them all off flawlessly. That's my baby. :) I expected no less. Oh, and who else recognized his voice before you could even see his face? *raises hand* I know we all did. He has such a great voice.

Mav, I know you were watching for the vein. Angry Lee character = veiny thing. *g* And I know Leahanne and Rikki were probably getting all hot every time he lit another cigarette. Personally, that sort of thing doesn't do a damn thing for me. The many rear views of Lee's ass, though, that worked for me. Yes, it did. Even if those jeans were not tight enough for my liking. Note to wardrobe: tighter jeans for Mr. Tergsen. Thank you.

Day 2 of the all-Lee Tergesen weekend brought more S2 episodes. Beecher in love, Slushy Beecher, Sarcastic-in-your-face Beecher, Trapped-in-broken-limbs-and-enraged Beecher.... Soooo much fun to watch. His facial expressions alone make Oz worth watching, imho.

Well, gotta get back. Beecher is calling me............

2003-01-10T15:38:00.000-05:00

Got my signed Oz DVD in the mail today. Thanks, Danielle! I was pretty happy to see all those lovely signatures on there and, of course, I looked for Lee's first, which was on the inside next to Chris' (how sweet. hehe). First I went to the special features and checked out the MTR seminar. After several minutes, I realized there was no Lee so I stopped watching. I figured I'll come back to it later.

Then I clicked on the featurette. Short but fun. Some lovely behind-the-scenes stuff from ``Family Bizness,'' mostly from the wrestling scene. I'm surprised this hasn't been chatted about more on the list. It showed BK practicing their wrestling moves with Kathy Bates watching and directing. Lucky woman. What a treat for us.

After that, I watched the first three episodes in a row. Well, I watched the Beecher parts. I'm such a Beecher whore. Crazy Beecher is soooooo much fun to watch. And how much do I love the scenes where Beecher taunts Vern? Very, very, very much. ``Getting a little slow there, sweetpea. Getting a little soft.'' LOL! I love him!

2003-01-09T19:32:00.000-05:00

All these DVD signing reports - on line and over the phone - are making me positively giddy and I didn't even fucking go! God. I feel almost as if I did go and it's getting me all revved up for the seminar on the 28th. Still haven't told P. about that. Waiting for the right time and the right mood. I've given myself a deadline of Jan. 13th to tell him, since that's when the tickets go on sale to the public. In the meantime, I am on my absolute best behavior. *eg*

I wrote Lee a short note and mailed it today. Yeah, I'm a freak. Just wanted him to know I was thinking of him. When do I not, though?

In the meantime, I am looking forward to episode 2, which is just three days away. It seems like the week is going by really slowly. I am not sure why.

2003-01-08T13:39:00.000-05:00

So, finally the reports are starting to trickle in. I start to read Linny's and I'm so happy she could go cause I met her on line last year and we chat every once in awhile.

Then I get to this part in her email where she says she ``skipped Lee'' and went right to Chris Meloni? WTF? Excuse me? Skipped Lee? This is the girl who was sooo excited to see Lee last year that she was struck mute when she came face to face with him. And this year she skips him to get to Meloni? Uh uh. That is just not right. No sir. I don't think so.

See, if it was me in her shoes, I would have completely skipped Meloni to have more time with Lee. You know I would have. You *know* it. ``Excuse me? Chris who? Uh, I'm here to see Lee. Okay? Yeah.'' *eg*

I know Meloni has the whole magnetic personality thing going on. I've been in his presence. I get it. Really, I do. But skip Lee? Uh uh. I don't even think so. I don't even understand how some BK fans favor Chris over Lee. But that's just me. Lee is number one with me and he always will be. I can tell you this much - I wouldn't drive four hours to New York just to see Christopher Meloni. No siree. Without Lee, it wouldn't be worth the trip for me.

Dori reported that toward the end of the signing, Lee came to the top of the stairs at Tower and announced in a loud voice: "May I have your attention! Yes, Christopher Meloni *is* here! Just so there will be no surprises!" Hee! Now that's the man *I* adore.

2003-01-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

It's almost 10 am here and still no one has sent in a report about the DVD signing. *Sigh* I spoke to Danielle briefly last night and got a quick run down but she was low on her cell minutes so I have to wait until she gets home tonight to get more. I'm anxious to hear any and all news. I'm excited for everyone who got to go.

While we wait, let's take a moment to truly appreciate the wonder of Lee's back. The first one is from the first episode of this current season. Done by Liz. Unfortunately, it's kind of grainy due to the way they filmed it - in black and white flashback - plus Lee was constantly moving.

This second one is from Season 4, when Lee played ``Orpheus'' during Hill's monologues. It's a much clearer shot of that lovely back. This one was done by Dina.

Lovely. N'est-ce pas?

2003-01-07T16:45:00.000-05:00

That VCR I mentioned buying the kiddies for Christmas? It has slow motion on it. Oh yes, indeed. Can any of you guess what I watched in slow motion this afternoon? I bet you can. I just have to say that Lee Tergesen has got *the* sexiest back I've ever seen. It's like a freaking sculpture, okay? Yes, he has many other wonderful parts that are worth mentioning but did you see his back?! Holy shit. Can we get a screencap, please? And that, my friends, is all I have to say about that.

2003-01-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

All this Oz talk reminds me of something I've been wanting to do for a looooong time. I have a few tapes that I don't need anymore but didn't want to announce it to the whole list out of fear of getting inundated. Anyway, if you guys know of anyone who wants these tapes, I'm happy to mail them off for the cost of postage.

Oz Season 1 - low quality tape (C) with the first 8 episodes. It works if you don't have the money for the DVD.

Oz Emmy Tape Season 1 - High quality with two S1 episodes

Oz Emmy Tape Season 2 - High quality with two S2 episodes

HBO's ``Shot in the Heart'' - I recorded this off HBO (quality is about B+) but now that I have the DVD, I don't need it.

Email me - Tobyfan@email.com

First come, first serve.

2003-01-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

More Lee, you say? I'm always happy to oblige. I'm pretty much *all* about Lee these days.

I was surprised that they didn't show Beecher's reaction to his father's death. Maybe they will do it next week or maybe they'll skip right past it. TF does shit like that and it pisses me off. I really want to see some Beecher angst and suffering. Lee is so fucking good at it. I want to see his gorgeous face crumple up in shock and pain. Then I want to see him get so angry that that veiny thing pops out of his forehead. Oh come on, you know you want to see it too. Mav is practically drooling at the thought. ;)

As much as I love spoilers (and I read them all), sometimes they don't stick. Like, last night, I when I was watching the whole casting of Macbeth scene, I kept saying, ``Where's Beecher? Where's Beecher?'' and getting highly irritated. Then when we saw him in Unit J, I remembered reading something about it. It just didn't stick. So that was a surprise. I wonder about myself sometimes.

Why Unit J? Why not protective custody? Sometimes I wonder what the heck is going on inside TF's head.

Goal for next week -- more Beecher. :)

2003-01-05T23:44:00.000-05:00

Well, it's over. The first episode. Not much in the way of surprises since I read all the spoilers I could. I do have one main thing to say -- NOT ENOUGH BEECHER! Of course, I always say that, but really! He was on it for like five or six minutes. I felt like I was watching a damn Lee Tergesen movie! LOL!

Still, I liked the scene with his Dad when they talked about Harry. Nice Beecher angst there and you know how I love Beecher angst. God, I fucking live for it. Does that make me a bad person? *eg*

How yummy was that shower flashback? Pretty fucking nice. I recall someone saying at O'Lunny's that since Lee lost weight, he doesn't have much of an ass anymore. Was that you, Danielle? Well, as you saw tonight, that is not the case. Thank you for that view, Tom Fontana and whoever the hell directed this episode.

2003-01-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

I'm counting the hours til ``Oz'' and full-frontal Lee. *eg* Thank you, Tom and thank you, Lee.

2003-01-04T15:52:00.000-05:00

Googling Lee -

(I only picked out the fun ones)

lee is open
lee is outrageous
lee is free
lee is hot
lee is nude
lee is charming
lee is cool
lee is pissed at the kid on escalator
lee is a spy
lee is the bomb
lee is all mine
lee is devoted to imprinting women's perspectives on ford products
lee is one of people's 50 most beautiful

2003-01-04T15:43:00.000-05:00

Things I Admire About Lee Tergesen

1. His Amazing Talent - Yeah, you've heard it before but I'm saying it again. It's what drew me to him in the first place. Now, I'm aware actors are supposed to play all kinds of roles. But how does a man play a role that's completely opposite of himself so convincingly that he has legions of fans thinking he *is* just like Toby. Come on. He's amazing. Just admit it.

2. The Way He Treats His Fans - Sure, there have been stories of not so gracious meetings, but everytime I've met him, he's gone out of his way to be courteous and charming. And he never tries to rush you. He's hanging out and it's all cool.

3. He's Good at Remembering Names - and not just mine. He repeats your name when you meet him and he remembers it every time he talks to you. That pretty fucking impressive considering how many people he's probably met.

4. He's a Big Ol' Softie and He's Not Afraid to Let Everyone See It - How touching was it when he told the story of his Mom? And how cool is it that he's so affectionate with Chris Meloni in public? I love that.

5. He Stopped Drinking - which he casually mentioned to a reporter for ``Crunch'' Magazine like it was no big deal. No matter the reason, it's pretty cool.

6. He's Really Funny and Really Cool - Do I really need to elaborate on that? I think not.

2003-01-03T16:49:00.000-05:00

My six-year-old decided he needed to watch some ``Weird Science'' today, so he ended up watching ``Chett-a-Nator,'' ``Funhouse of Death'' (my favorite) and now he's into ``Cyborg Sam I Am,'' which I also love. He's sitting in front of the t.v. chuckling at Chett's antics. Who wouldn't?

~*~*~*~*~

Everyone on my list is abuzz over the picture below. Even those who usually criticize Toby for his lack of commitment to Chris are changing their tunes. I just have to quote Riley because I was so excited when I saw her post --

``He *comes* back, to Oz, to the hell on earth where he was raped and
branded and degraded in the most brutal, dehumanizing ways. His wife
killed herself because of that place. His oldest son was murdered
because of that place. His daughter was traumautized because of that
place. His brother was attacked, his father was murdered because of
that place. And he fucking *comes* back.

For Chris.

I wuv him *soooooo* much.''

Yay! I am really loving that. Of course, I have had blind faith in Toby all along but that's just me. It's all Lee. I love what he does with this role. I'm so looking forward to seeing him again after the season begins so I can tell him what a wonderful job he's been doing this season. Yes, I realize I haven't even seen one episode yet, but I *know* he's going to be wonderful. I told you - blind faith.

2003-01-02T22:51:00.000-05:00

Can you stand it? Is this not one of the most beautiful pictures you've ever seen? Do these men not look gorgeous? Look how they're touching each other. Look at the sweet agony on Toby's face. Don't you just want to hug him? He misses his baby! This picture (thank you Dan!) has just increased my excitement for the first episode tenfold and I was already pretty fucking excited to begin with!

2003-01-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

I really like being Lee's fan. I'm proud and happy to be his fan. You knew this? Yeah, well, let me expand.

I don't know about you, but when I get all newly excited about an actor, I usually go through a period where I daydream about what it would be like to be his friend; hang out with him, call him on the phone, that sort of thing. I remember when I read that chat with Kristen Rohde, where she said that she and Lee were best friends. I had this moment of pure jealousy. I was more jealous of Kristen than I was of Leslie! How weird is that?! You don't have to tell me.

But now, I'm totally into the whole ``fan'' thing. I like feeling giddy when I watch him in a new episode of ``Oz'' (even an old one) or doing a guest appearance on a t.v. show. I even love getting excited about a magazine interview he's done. And I can't begin to tell you how much I love the anticipation I feel when I go see him in person. It's like looking forward to good sex. No, really. It is. Come on. You know exactly what I mean, don't you?

Don't get me wrong. I love the fact that Lee knows who I am and that he recognizes me when he sees me. That does give me quite a little thrill. I remember the first time Dori told me he mentioned my name and knew I had sent him that card. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Seriously, I did. And joy doesn't even begin to describe how happy I was.

But, there is something to be said for the giddy feeling. That's what I'm really trying to say. I just wonder if I knew him better, would that giddy feeling go away? I don't know. It doesn't seem to have had that effect on Dori. :)

2003-01-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

My New Year's resolution is to see Lee Tergesen in person at least twice this year and to get to talk to him for a few minutes. That's not too greedy, right?

2002-12-31T18:39:00.000-05:00

So I got back the photos I took of my ``Jack London'' frame, as I like to call it. Okay, so it's not a great shot, but I took several and it's the only one without glare. And no, I haven't yet figured out how to use the digital camera yet, so this will have to do for now.

As you can see, the infamous quarters are there on the left side. What a wonderful night it was. This frame is hanging on my wall to the right of my computer.

2002-12-31T10:28:00.000-05:00

My last entry for this year. And it's a weird one.

Last night, I had a dream with Lee in it. No. 14. It was very short and I know what prompted it. Last night, Paul and I watched ``Romper Stomper’’ with Russell Crowe. It’s a film about skinheads in Australia that I had tried to find a few years ago when I was on my Russell Crowe kick. Never found it. Then recently I saw it in the store and decided to rent it.

When I first woke up from the dream, I thought it had been about Russell because the man in the dream had really short, skinhead hair. Then, as I started remembering, I realized it was Lee. I was thinking about Lee before I fell asleep last night.

In the dream, Lee, my sister and I were sitting around talking in a bedroom. On a bed. Just talking. He was being a little flirtatious like he can be and my sister (I’m not sure which one of my sisters she was) was really responding to him hot and heavy. Both of my sisters are flirts so maybe the dream sister was a combo of them both. Ha!

Anyway, I was feeling a tad miffed that she was hogging all his attention. She was in the middle of us and he was on the far end. He was being totally sweet, but his flirting was all innocent. I also had this strong feeling of protectiveness toward him.

At one point, he got off the bed to get something to drink. My sister stood up to take her panties off. She was wearing a white, sleeveless nightgown. I got really mad at her. I told her, ``He won’t do anything. He’s faithful to his wife.’’ Gotta wonder why he was in bed with us if that was the case. LOL!

But I was still really mad at my sister and feeling sorry for myself because I wanted his attention just for me. My sister was flippant about my remark and said something about changing his mind, but I knew that he wouldn’t. I woke up before he came back.

I have no idea what the hell it means.

Well, okay, if I *must* guess. It probably means I want Lee all to myself when I see him and I don't want to share him with anybody. *eg*

2002-12-30T18:14:00.000-05:00

A Lee Tergesen viewing dilemma! Oh My!

I recently discovered that Lee's guest appearance on L&O:CI is going to be broadcast the same night in January as the second episode of ``Oz!" Oh what is a Lee-loving fan to do? Actually, I already figured it out. We got the kidlings their own t.v. and VCR for the playroom so I'll just record ``Oz'' on that one and watch it at 10 pm. Meanwhile, I'll watch and record CI on the family room t.v. Problem solved! Phew! I bet you're all relieved to hear it. *g* Yes, I am a Lee Tergesen FREAK and damn proud of it.

The end of January marks the second anniversary of my Lee obsess...er, uh, focus (I meant focus, really). Okay, that joke is getting old. Forgive me. Seriously, though, I am amazed at Lee's staying power (and my own. lol!). Other actors come and go but Lee stays at the head of the line. I'm not sure why. It must be the talent. Of course, He does have all that charm. And, we can't forget the stunning eyes, adorable nose, broad shoulders (Danielle!), collarbone, etc. I think it must be a combo of them all. :)

I have finally come to a decision about Lee's public appearances in January, so you can all rest easy. ;) As much as it pains me to say it, I will not go to the DVD signing. Instead, I will go to either (1) the play if it happens, or (2) the seminar if there is no play. I just want to be able to spend a few minutes with him so I must make this decision rationally. Not easy for me to do. Thinking about seeing Lee gets my mind all muddled. I know you all understand.

2002-12-28T20:14:00.000-05:00

Lots of Lee coming in January, even if I don't go to see him in NYC. First, there's lots of new Oz. I'm very excited to see the first episode. I know a lot of what's going to happen already but I'm still looking forward to seeing it play out. Sadly, though, I know those last eight episodes will just fly by too quickly, just as they always do. I remember the first season I watched Oz - S4.1. I got hooked right from the start and was shocked when HBO announced ``just two more episodes'' at week six. I was like, ``what?!'' It's got to be the shortest season on t.v. and that sucks.

I will be sad when it ends, but I respect Tom's wishes. I certainly wouldn't want the show to continue if his heart wasn't in it anymore. Then it would just get bad and I would hate that even more.

The second thing for January is Lee on an episode of a new show called Queens Supreme, about the supreme court. Apparently, Lee plays a juror who takes the courtroom hostage. Uh oh. Someone of the list joked he's going to get typecast since his ER character did the same thing. At least he has a central role and I like to see that. I want for him to have lots of screen time and for everyone out there watching TV to see just how talented this man is. Go Lee!

2002-12-27T19:56:00.000-05:00

Forgot to mention this:

Christmas Eve, P.'s cousins from Virginia came over for dinner. They brought two of their grown daughters, a son-in-law, his parents and a grandson.

Son-in-law's mom noticed all my LT and CM magnets on the fridge (thanks to Mav!) and recognized the actors as she had seen Oz once or twice and also recognized CM from SVU. This led to my telling of my recent trip to NYC to see Lee et al in Jack London. I showed them the frame of my program, pictures etc. This prompts P.'s cousin's wife to ask me, ``And what are the quarters for?'' Hee! Don't think I didn't have a good time telling her about them! She loved it.

2002-12-27T17:44:00.000-05:00

Is Lee Trying to Kill Me?

Lee is scheduling way too many public appearances! You're wondering why I'm complaining probably. It's because they are so close together and there's no way I can go to them all! Damn it.

First there's the Oz DVD signing, January 7, just a month after the Jack London play. Now there's this:

There's No Place Like Oz

Tuesday, January 28, 2003
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Museum of Television and Radio
25 West 52 Street
New York, NY 10019

Now entering its sixth season, the HBO original series Oz continues its harrowing look at life and death in a maximum security prison. Oz's rich plotting, scrupulous character development, and shocking, brutally realistic violence makes for a compelling viewing experience, as does the bold exploration of heady metaphysical themes within the context of the evil that men do. The cast and creative crew of Oz will discuss the production of this fearless program.

In Person:
Tom Fontana, Creator/Executive Producer
Sunil Nayar, Writer
J. K. Simmons, "Vern Schillinger"
Lee Tergeson, "Tobias Beecher"
Brad Winters, Writer
Dean Winters, "Ryan O'Reily"

And then there's the possibility of Lee doing another play around the same time. What, oh what, is a fan to do?

2002-12-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

No Lee Tergesen-related Christmas gifts for me. :(

Perhaps that because I buy everything Lee as soon as it's available! LOL! As if I could wait until Christmas for anything Lee! LOL! The very idea! I don't even like having to wait until January 7 to get the Oz Season 2 DVD, but I have no choice on that. I am pretty sure now that I won't be going to the signing. Boo-hoo! That's okay. I see bright things ahead for me, Lee and the year 2003. Hee! Think positive, they say, so I am.

Rami said she might go to the signing. If she does, I'm going to ask her to get my copy signed as well. It would be nice to have the signed copy like I do for season one. I keep the S1 DVD box inside of a plastic wrapper to keep those signatures protected. My sister teased me that I need to get a second set so I don't have to ``touch'' the signed one. I'm not *that* bad.

The description of the S2 set says that Lee and Tom do the commenting thing again. I hope that's right because I really enjoyed it for the S1 set. Of course, I just love hearing Lee's voice. He uses it so well. I'm sure he could recite the alphabet and make it sound interesting. :)

Merry Christmas, Lee, wherever you are! And Merry Christmas to all the Lee lovers!

2002-12-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

Uh oh. No Lee posts in two day. I keep expecting an admonishment from Susan, but I suspect she's too busy with the holidays.

Anyway, it's not like I haven't been thinking of Lee. I have, of course. Quite a bit. Last night I watched Shaft and Shot in the Heart - just his parts. In the last scene in Shot where Frank (Lee) meets with Mikal (Giovanni Ribisi) in 1990, I got caught up in the emotion of the scene. When Frank (Lee) finds out that Mikal's dad is not his own, he asks if they're still brothers. Then Mikal says they will always be brothers and Frank starts to cry. Then I started to cry. I wonder how Lee worked up the emotion for those quiet tears. The whole scene was beautifully done. I love this man! You know I do. And his work really gets to me no matter how many times I watch the same movies and shows over and over.

I have also been thinking about the DVD signing, which has officially been announced for January 7th. I want to go, but P. is still of the opinion that I don't need to go again this soon. Then there is also the possibility that there may another public appearance in the near future, especially with this being the last season of Oz. The DVD signing is only going to bring a few minutes with Lee and I would hate to use up my trip credits with P. (LOL) on just a couple of minutes when a longer visit could pan out later. But then there is the whole - don't count your chickens before they've hatched thing. Have I lost you yet? ;)

Plus, if I go to the DVD signing, there's a slew of TS siblings I will get to see again and I would hate to miss that opportunity as well. My mind has been going in circles and I am torn, torn, torn over this dilemma. Well, at least I have a couple of weeks to think about this.

2002-12-21T11:35:00.000-05:00

I had absolutely the most wonderful dream ever about Lee last night. Actually, I had two dreams about Lee last night, but the first one was the best one I've ever had and you guys KNOW how good some of the other ones have been.

The only thing is I can't tell you what happened in the dream. It was just...too...much. Hee! I would be embarassed to write the details down here for the world to see. Not that many people read this blog, but still. Yes, I have had sexual dreams about Lee before and have shared them, but this one was a tad different. It was...more. It was amazing and it seemed so real when I was in it. I love it when good dreams are like that.

The second dream was cool, though. Lee was hanging out with me at my house. We were talking and laughing together. In my mind, I knew we were going to get together with Dori later, but she did not actually appear in the dream. I also asked Lee to sign a photo for Fiola, which I already said I would do the next time I see Lee. So I went to get the photo and started to tell Lee about Fiola, where she was from, etc. It seemed so real when we had this conversation in the dream. When I handed him the photo, I told him that his signing the picture was going to mean so much to her because she lives so far away and will probably never get a chance to meet him. I told him, ``When she gets this, she is going to cry.'' Is that true, Fiola? hehe If so, I know they will be tears of joy.

2002-12-20T17:22:00.000-05:00

Hmph!

Hmph!

So, I go to Tower Records.com to see if they have any news about the DVD signing for Season 2 of Oz. They don't. But you can pre-order the DVD. So I went to that page and scrolled down to see if there was any info or links relating to the signing. As I scroll, I scan. They list the directors of the episodes and some of the stars of the show. GUESS WHO IS NOT LISTED? Lee! Lee! Lee! Can you fucking believe this shit?

Fucking LL Cool J is listed, but Lee is not. LEE IS NOT! What the fuck is going on? Now I know I'm a little biased, but Lee is the center of that show. I mean, come on. Really. How could you NOT list him among the actors?!!!! They list Bill Faggerbakke, who was on for, what, half of two seasons?! They list Charles Dutton, who was on only one or two episodes. They do not list Chris Meloni either, but that does not upset me as much since he was always listed as a guest star. BUT LEE?!?!?! Come on!

So then I do a search just for Lee Tergesen in DVDs. You know what comes up? Oz: The First Season. That's it. No Wayne's World, no Point Break, no Shot in the Heart.

Tower is seriously on my shit list.

2002-12-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago, we were all in the car and I was talking about Oz and Lee as usual and my oldest son asked me if I was going to the DVD signing (which still hasn't been scheduled as far as I know) and P. chuckled and said, ``Don't give her any ideas.'' I said, ``Too late.'' P. said ``I think the last trip to see Lee would last you last you a good six months. In fact, the one before that was supposed to last a good six months.''

Now, it's not that I can't go six months without seeing Lee. I mean, I'm not addicted to the guy or anything. ;) It's the idea that he's going to be making a public appearance just four hours away and it pains me to think I might miss it. How can I turn down such an opportunity? I don't really think I can. If he were to go six months without making a public appearance, I could handle it. (Heck, I waited over a year to meet him the first time.) And I wouldn't feel like I was missing out. You know what I mean? If you're reading this blog, I know you do. *g*

So, I'm torn. Keep husband happy or see Lee? *snort* Is there really a question here?

Seriously, though, I'm just biding my time, waiting for time to pass and P. will see that the two trips are not really that close together. Really, he will. You'll see.

2002-12-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

Well, the kumpe came out pretty good all in all. The thing is, they're kind of bland. They basically taste like water-bloated potatoes, which is what they are. LOL! To give them some flavor, I added some of the meat drippings from my pork roast and that tasted pretty good. They are VERY filling. I was full for hours after I ate just one.

Lee did say he like to fry them up the day after they're made, so I may try that with leftovers today. The recipe suggests frying them in bacon grease. Gak. Talk about fatty. I think I'll just try olive oil.

2002-12-18T17:09:00.000-05:00

I am making kumpe today. Yup, that's right. Again. This time it's for the family. My six-year-old has been asking me for it since I made it for Lee. So I figured, what the hell. I played with the recipe a little. I left out the barley flour, which had a weird smell to it and just used wheat flour. I also added a little extra flour on the outside just before putting the balls into the water and they are cooking nicely as I write. The first batch fell apart. This one looks much better. I'm not sure yet how it will taste, but we shall see.

2002-12-18T11:04:00.000-05:00

I put my frame together for the evening at Jack London's. It's 16x20. I have the signed program in the middle, the tickets to the left of the program, the ticket receipt above the tickets, photographs on the top and bottom and the quarters Lee gave me to the right, under the picture of Lee and I. Nerd that I am, I took a photo of this framed collage and will post it when it's developed. :)

2002-12-16T14:35:00.000-05:00

~*~*~
Two tickets to see Jack London: $80
Hotel in Queens: $150
Tolls and gas for roundtrip to New York: $72
Dinner for two in the village: $50
Seeing Lee Tergesen at the after-party and having him remember my name: Priceless
~*~*~

That's right. The giddy feeling has not gone away yet. Lee Tergesen is better than drugs!

2002-12-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning thinking about Lee and thought I may have dreamed about him, but couldn't remember the details.

Dori has posted a few pictures from the night of premiere and I must say Lee looks pretty stunning in them. Those eyes. My God. If you think they look good in a picture, you ought to see them in person.

:-O

It's hard to take your eyes off his face when you're in the room with him. Seriously, I'm not kidding. Even if you had no interest in this guy and had never seen him before, but suddenly found yourself in his company, you couldn't help notice his eyes.

I brought copies of my O'Lunny's pictures over to show my sister, who has never seen an episode of Oz and she said, ``Oh, he's cute.'' Uh, yeah. No fucking kidding.

2002-12-13T19:14:00.000-05:00

Post Lee Tergesen Syndrome -- comes from prolonged exposure to the gorgeous and charming actor

Symptoms

1. The desire to talk incessently about Lee Tergesen to the extreme irritation of co-workers, friends and family members.

2. The urgent need to hunt all over the web for new pictures and news about Lee.

3. A lack of concentration on work, housework, and anything not related to Lee.

4. The inability to remember things people say to you if it's not about Lee.

5. Endless and idiotic grinning caused by memories of spending time with Lee.

6. The desire to listen to Tenacious D's ``Lee'' song 15 times in a row.

7. The need to relive every moment you spent with him in your mind.

Anybody have any of these symptoms? You all know I do. I have it bad and I don't want it to go away. I suggest sitting down with an episode of Oz, sitting back and enjoying Lee.

2002-12-13T08:51:00.000-05:00

Amazingly, I am still feeling giddy about seeing Lee. I think this is the longest post-Lee glow so far. Part of it, I think, is knowing that there is going to be another visit in the near future. I just have to hope hubby will be understanding. It works out so much better when he is.

I don't really have anything new to say about Lee, but I just have this overwhelmingly urge to talk about him. I already checked all my email and the list messages. The list is not very active in the morning, which is when I'm up while the kids are getting ready for school. So I made my posts and it's been quiet ever since. Even the LT board has been quiet lately. I keep checking the board and LT site to see if Dori has posted any pics from her and Christy's Oz-packed evening. I'm dying of curiosity to see new pictures of Lee; especially the ``GQ'' ones, as she referred to them. Lee is such a ham and I absolutely love that about him.

I already wrote and mailed a letter to Lee. I always write one after meeting him. I feel like I should, but I also want to because there's always something I forgot to say. My letters are often pretty serious and reverent, which they shouldn't be, but I don't know how to stop doing that. Whenever I try to be humorous and then I read it back, it just sounds silly, so I revert back to serious. Maybe that's what the serious comment on my t-shirt meant. Who knows? I just adore him above all other actors and I don't want there to EVER be any doubt. But then, I think, he's never seen my really silly side, but that may be just as well. He'd probably be afraid. Right, Rami?

2002-12-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking about Lee today. Hee!

Seriously, though, I was thinking about why I adore him so much - besides the obvious talent and good looks. The thing that makes me want to come back to see him again and again is that he loves being adored! And I love adoring him! LOL! I have met a handful of celebrities in my life, including two others that I purposely sought out. None of the ones I've met have the enthusiasm for fans that Lee does. He seems to bask in the glow of attention - maybe not all the time, but certainly everytime I've seen him. As a fan, I can really appreciate that.

Another thing I love about Lee is that his attention to fans seems very genuine and very sincere. I never feel like he's putting on a facade or pretending to be friendly when he just wants to be left alone. I have met celebrities who are like that. I have nothing against them. They certainly have the right to feel that way. I just don't get excited about meeting them a second time or a third time or a fourth time. ;) I felt just as excited the fourth time I met Lee as I did the first time. Just as nervous. Just as giddy. The man is a gift to fans everywhere.

2002-12-11T14:57:00.000-05:00

I am still experiencing post-Lee glow. I can't seem to bring myself to do anything not related to Lee. All I want to do is read the posts about Jack London, respond to them, look at the pictures over and over again, and make some more posts about Jack London and Lee. Needless to say, not much else has gotten done.

Today Danielle sent me the photo of Lee and I that's on my regular blog. It arrived FedEx. Thanks, Danielle, you're a doll! I think I may have to frame it with a copy of the signed program. I will have to make an all-Lee room downstairs ;) because I have way too many pictures up here near my computer already!

Now I just have to convince Paul I *need* to go back to New York in January for the DVD signing! hee!

2002-12-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm posting a new pic of Lee that was taken last Saturday night. This is actually cropped from shot of Lee sitting on Richard Belzer's lap. It's my favorite picture (of the ones I took) because it's a nice shot of his gorgeous profile and too-fucking-adorable nose.

2002-12-09T19:22:00.000-05:00

Time to tell you about the Lee dream I had Saturday night.

It seemed to be a continuance of the evening at O'Lunny's, but it was at a school building instead. The party was winding down and Lee was hanging out with me. He asked me to go somewhere else after for a drink, but Paul was not being very cooperative. (The nerve! lol.) So Lee and I are walking around and he has his arm around me and he keeps trying to cajole me. ``Oh come on, Anne. Pleassssssssse? You know you want to come. Let's just go. Paul won't mind.'' I was sorely tempted, but Paul just kept giving me this look as if to say, ``I think I've done my part. Let's go.'' Plus, he was chasing my boys around, which gave Lee plenty of opportunity to work his wiles.

I kept saying, ``I really can't go, Lee. I want to, but I can't.'' And he kept working on me. ``It's okay. Paul won't mind. Let's just go.'' And on and on like that. Of course, I loved it that he wouldn't give up and it was killing me to say no. I woke up somewhere in the middle of his cajoling. He was being so cute, so much like he was at O'Lunny's.

2002-12-08T18:08:00.000-05:00

Lee Tergesen is a God. I'm ready to pack my bags and run away with him. ;)

I'm posting my summary of the evening in New York with Lee and the Oz gang. This will be a repeat for those on my Oz list, but there are a couple of non-list people who read this. I did add one or two details that I forgot to put in my TS summary.

My Evening at Jack London, aka Lee Tergesen is a God

I will summarize my evening with four points and then go into more (much, much more) detail:

1. Lee Tergesen keeps raising my expectations and then meeting them. I’m to the point where I would do pretty much anything for this man, short of something illegal or immoral (and I might make an exception for one of those *eg*).

2. I spoke to everyone in the cast after the show and they were all incredibly charming. And there were three people there I didn’t expect to see: Dean Winters, Richard Belzer and Blake Robbins (C.O. Dave Brass). Lee was amazingly relaxed at the after-party; even more so than at Kanvas.

3. I had a great time hanging out with my twisted sibs!

4. After an amazing night with Lee and the sibs, I went home and had an excellent dream about Lee. What more could a woman ask for?

My husband, Paul, and I arrived at the theatre around 7:45 pm and saw Nic outside. We greeted her and went inside to say hello to Danielle. It was cold, so we stayed inside until the 7:00 pm show let out and caught up with Dori, her hubby, and Christy. Paul and I went with them next door to have a drink, where we met up with Mav and Leahanne. It was great to see (and meet some sibs for the first time) everyone! Plus I got really cool goodies from Mav and Dori. Thanks, guys!

Dori said she’d told Lee I was bringing the Kumpe. She said he laughed and said I was crazy in a good way. *g* I carried it all over and that stuff isn’t light! It looks rather disgusting, I thought, but what the hell. If Lee asks for something I can provide, I’m there. :) Dori also gave us all some extremely exciting news, but I wont' spill the beans because I didn't get clearance. Needless to say, I'm estatically happy for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the drink, Mav, Leahanne, Paul and I headed back to the theatre. Nic and Danielle were sweet enough to save seats for us, so we were in the second row on the right side of the room, which is where Lee spent most of his time on stage. Thanks to Danielle for scoping out the show Friday night and providing this valuable info!

Just before the play started, Richard Belzer came in and sat in one of the reserved seats. I was surprised and pleased. I’ve been a fan of his since his stand-up days.

Any way, the play got started with Tom narrating the story of Jack London as an older man looking back on his youth. Then Lee burst in as the young Jack who was hanging out in Buffalo and explains how he got arrested for just walking down the street. During Tom’s narration, Lee kept interrupting to explain a term or add a different POV. It was quite amusing. Tom kept getting more and more frustrated at his younger, arrogant self.

Then the other cast members came out and played several different roles, including Jack London, as the story was told. Kirk Acevedo acted out Jack London’s time in jail and muMs played a man he befriended in jail. The two had really good chemistry and worked off each other well. Scott Winters played the judge who sentenced the men to jail for vagrancy. Several times he had to say the line ``30 days’’ over and over to announce each new sentence and he did it with aplomb. He was really funny. It was wild to see him play a character other than Cyril. He did a great job. Everyone did, really.

Lee was amazing. He seemed so completely at home on the stage. I sometimes watched him when others were speaking (big surprise, I’m sure) and it was fun to see him react to the others as if he was hearing all of it for the first time. I also got long glimpses of that gorgeous profile of his. I noticed he was licking his lips a lot when he wasn’t speaking. *sigh* Ya gotta love that tongue of his. ;)

I noticed that whenever he got excited or angry about something, those veins in his head would pop up just like on Oz. It was the first time I’d ever seen it up close. They were like living things! LOL! They’d pop up and recede really fast depending on the level of his character’s excitement. His performance was everything I expected and more. And it’s not just because I adore the man. It’s because he’s so fucking talented!

I just want to say that I am ready to build a pedestal for this man, put him up on it and worship him all day. Oh wait. I already do that. *bg*

At one point, Lee screwed up one of his lines, which set everyone laughing and smirking. I think everyone screwed up a line at one point, but they recovered themselves quite well and we all got to laugh with them, which was a real treat.

After the play was over, we all headed over to O’Lunny’s bar, which was two doors down from the theatre. We headed upstairs to the room that was reserved for the party and before long, it was really crowded. I ran to get in line for the bathroom (there was only one stall unstairs). At one point, Richard Belzer walked by and tried to open the door. I said, ``There's a line, Richard.'' He said, ``Oh, sorry. I just needed to blow my nose.'' I think he had a cold. He went up to bar and got a napkin. After that, I told him I'd seen him on the Chevy Chase roast and he did a great job. He said, ``We had fun.''

Lee arrived maybe 10 minutes after we got there and was immediately surrounded by admirers. I noticed he was smoking, which surprised me. He didn’t smoke at all during the Kanvas party. Perhaps, he is just one of those people who smokes when he parties. I don’t know. He did seem to be very relaxed that night. I didn’t actually see him drink, but he mentioned needing to go get a drink several times.

I saw that Nic had made her way over to where Lee was standing near the top of the stairs. Danielle and I soon followed. She made a comment about me being after her. I pointed out that she had seen him the night before and it was my turn. ;)

He looked over toward us and gave me a smile and held out his arms for a hug. I think he said my name, but I was in a daze. So I gave him a big hug and a kiss. He leaned toward my year and said, ``I heard you have something for me.’’ So I showed him the Gladware container with the Kumpe and he said he had to open it and see it. On the outside, I had this little gift tag that ``Goodies for Lee.’’

When he opened the container, he said ``They look...not unlike they’re supposed to.’’ Whatever that meant! Anyway, he was pleased and that was enough for me. He said he couldn’t wait to try it and was going to fry it up tomorrow. I had it wrapped up in a freezer pack that was still cold, so he put it under the coats until it was time to go. He joked that no one had better steal his potato dumplings. Leahanne took a couple of photos of me giving him the Kumpe. Thanks, Leahanne!

Then I showed him a picture of a women who’d met Lee in Austin, Tx., last year. Her name is Jamie. The picture, which Doris has (or is going to put?) on lt.net, has Lee licking this woman’s ear with Eamonn Walker on the other side. It’s a great picture. He laughed when I showed it to him and said he remembered her. He signed it for me.

At that point, I think, the rest of the gang made their way over and I introduced Lee to Leahanne, Mav and Maura (who I ran into while in line for the bathroom). Lee charmed them all and took some pictures with them. My husband nudged me and pointed out that I had forgotten to introduce him. Oops! So I did and Lee even charmed him. Or so I say.

At that point, Lee wandered off in search of a drink, but got waylaid along the way and ended up sitting on someone’s lap (Dean? or Maybe Tom?) but I’m having a block right now. Leahanne took a picture of that, I think. Then Lee was off again charming everyone he ran into. After awhile, the crowd started to thin out and we were all wandering around the fairly small room. I noticed that Danielle had cornered Lee again and I walked over. She had promised to take a picture of me with Lee because I have such bad luck with my camera and Lee. I took several photos but have no idea how they will turn out. Luckily, I don’t need to worry since others took back up shots for me. At that point, I asked Lee to sign my program because I had forgotten to keep it out earlier. He wrote: Anne, thanks for the Kumpe. -- Lee Tergesen.

At some point in the evening (and I am beginning to lose track of the order of things now), I found Mav and Leahanne chatting with Blake Robbins (Dave Brass), whom we had seen at the theatre in between shows. We also saw Kristen Rhodes, but she didn’t come to the party. So I said hello to Dave and offered to take picture of the three of them. I hope it comes out. I also told him that Officer Brass was very mean last season and he smiled at that. Then I said, ``but you did a great job.’’ He said, ``Yeah? Thanks.’’ I think he was pleased to be getting some attention. He signed my program, too, which was nice.

Mav had brought along a copy of Jack London’s autobiography and was asking everyone to sign it. She standing near Dean Winters, who was at the bar, and he remarked, ``Oh sure, don’t ask me to sign it. That’s okay,’’ in a tone of mock hurt and so she asked him to sign it, which he happily did, taking up the whole back cover. I was nearby so I asked him to sign my program (which was before I asked Blake to do it, as I recall) and he said sure. I told him I’d met him at the DVD signing and mentioned that I’d had my two sons with me. He said, ``Oh yeah, I remember.’’ Now, I think he was pulling my leg since there like several hundred people there, but it was sweet of him anyway. It was at that point he told me that there was going to be another signing in January. I asked when and he said he thought it was the around the 30th but he wasn’t sure.

Then I wandered back to the circle of sibs again, who were gathered around Lee and he said my name and put his arm around me. *sigh* I just cannot believe I can keep being so lucky with this adorable man. So we stood there talking in the group and he just kept his arm around me for a little while and I, of course, had to put my arm around him. He’s so solid and sinewy. Mmmmm. Well, he is! Oh, I almost forgot. He was wearing a long-sleeved long-john style t-shirt that said ``Open All Night’’ on it. Indeed. (Or maybe it said ``Open 24 Hours,’’ but my brain is muddled. Can you blame me?) He also had on jeans that fit him very nicely. Oh yeah.

At some point while I was chatting with Lee, I said that Rami wanted me to say hello and was sorry she couldn’t come. (We missed you, sweetie!) Apparently remembering the lime throwing incident from Kanvas, he said, ``Why? Is she in jail?’’ Smart ass. That got a few laughs. Then I told him that she was at a Christmas party for work and he huffed, ``Some people have their priorities,’’ or something like that.

I don’t remember when, but sometime during the evening, Lee asked Paul and I when we got into the city and how our trip was. He also asked where we were staying, which surprised me because usually I just drive home after seeing him. He probably just assumed we were staying over. I just thought it was sweet that he included Paul in this conversation that was overwhelmed with females all evening. :)

During yet another chat with Lee, we were talking about his appearance on the local New York t.v. show and I asked him why he wasn’t on more talk shows. He replied, ``Thanks for pointing out my shortcomings.’’ Now, I know he was just pulling my leg, but I was horrified at the thought that I may have inadvertently hurt his feelings. The reason I asked was because I thought maybe he didn’t like to do them; some people don’t. Then I quickly tripped all over myself trying to make up for it by pointing out that it was the television shows who didn’t have him on that had the shortcomings, not him. Then he told us (as he had told Danielle the night before) that they liked him so much that they asked to him to host a whole show later in the month. He wasn’t sure of the date, but thought it would be sometime between Dec. 17-19.

I propose we all start a letter writing campaign to the Caroline Rhea show, the Daily Show, the Late Show etc telling them that they have to have Lee on next month during Oz. Who’s with me?!

A little while later, I noticed people were getting ready to leave and I hadn’t gotten all my autographs, so I cornered muMs with his coat on and he was very sweet. I complimented him on his performance and asked him to sign the program. He said he’d be happy too. Then I saw Dean getting ready to leave and I had to take a picture of him with Nic. Then I cornered Scott and complimented him as well and told him he was very funny in the play. He gave me a big smile and said ``Thanks,’’ then signed my program.

Thinking that Tom was the last one on my list, I cornered him as he was leaving and introduced myself, telling him that I sent him an email last week thanking him for putting Lee on the stage. ``Oh yeah,’’ he said, laughing, ``The naked one.’’ He was referring to his response to my email when he wrote, ``Lee on the stage is a wonder to behold even if he’s not naked.’’ Then he said he thought that response was pretty funny. I agreed that it was and said it made me laugh when I read it.

After Tom left, the party was pretty winded down and then I remembered that I hadn’t asked Kirk to sign my program. I found him talking with a friend in the corner and introduced myself, complimented him on his performance and told him I’d met him at the DVD signing. While he signed my program, I mentioned that I’d also seen his guest spot on Third Watch and told him he did a great job. ``But I was pretty mad that you killed Bobby,’’ I said and he laughed.

When I came back to the group, Lee was putting his coat on to go and gave everyone a hug and a kiss. Then he grabbed his Kumpe to head out. I said good-bye to all the sibs and we walked outside, where we found Nic and Lee chatting. I said good-bye to Nic and gave Lee another hug and a kiss (what the hell?!) goodbye and said ``It was really good to see you again, Lee.’’ ``You, too,’’ he said. And then we were gone and I went back to my hotel to dream about that entirely too adorable man. :)

I'll detail the dream tommorrow.

2002-12-06T09:21:00.000-05:00

ONE MORE DAY!!

There is this pattern I’ve noticed with Lee. The first two times I spoke to him fell on the 19th of the month - March 19 for the DVD signing and May 19 for the GLAAD brunch. And the meetings were exactly two months apart.

The last time I met Lee and tomorrow’s play both fell on the 7th of the month - October 7th for Kanvas and December 7th for Jack London. And again, the meetings were exactly two months apart.

This probably has no meaning whatsoever, but I just thought it was interesting. I may have to change my lucky numbers. ;)

2002-12-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

Two more days til Lee! I can hardly believe it!

Today I got to see a video clip of Lee on a t.v. talk show. What a treat! I've never seen Lee on a talk show, so it was a novelty. I have to remember to mention it when I see him in two days. He looked wonderful! He wore a light blue shirt and that color always works for him. His hair is still nicely short. I still can't get over how much I love the short hair on him. It looks so sexy and so adorable at the same time!

When the interview started, he said hello to his wife, Leslie, who was waiting in the wings. How sweet! They are so fucking adorable together! During the interview, he seemed a little...I can't think of the right word. Not exactly shy, but almost. He was very calm and patient with the interviewer, who kept interrupting him. Evil woman! He was charming and sweet and polite and adorable. Yes, I realize I'm overusing that word. It just fits him so well.

I chatted with Danielle on the phone today. She is quite excited about going to see Lee again. She is going Friday and Saturday, but is worried about talking with him both nights for fear he will think she's some kind of night. I told her, go for it. Lee seems to bask in attention from his fans and, Lord knows, he doesn't get nearly enough of it from the media! Danielle said she hopes Chris Meloni comes Saturday night in support of the gang. I have no hopes one way or the the other in that vein. Lee is more than enough to keep my attention for the night!

Lee Lee Lee. It's all about Lee!

2002-12-04T16:34:00.000-05:00

Three More Days Til Lee!!! How will I stand the anticipation?

You know, as excited as I am about seeing Lee on stage (and you know I am), I am just as thrilled about meeting Mav and Leahanne and getting to see Danielle, Dori and Nic again. It's so much fun to share my obsessions with others! Whee!

I am still working on that Kumpe recipe. I have been unable to find barley flour and salt port thus far, but I haven't given up. There's a few places I've yet to try. I wasn't going to make it until Friday anyways. Wish me luck!

I am often tempted to make a list of things I want to ask Lee or tell him when I see him so I don't forget anything. But the one time I actually did that was the time I didn't get to meet him, so maybe it's bad luck? Counting your chickens and all that. At Kanvas, I pretty much remembered everything, but I had like three hours to tell him! LOL! Anyway, I can always write him a letter later, which he'll never answer. Still, at least I know he gets them.

2002-12-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

And now for a thoroughly disgusting entry. Don't say I didn't warn you.

You would think that having spoken to Lee three times this year, I would no longer get nervous at the prospect of seeing him again. Not so. I have a damn blemish forming under the skin of my chin as I write. Mind you, I only get these when I'm nervous about something. And what am I nervous about? Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I'm going to see Lee on stage this Saturday?! Yup, that's it.

Every single time I have gone (or attempted) to see Lee, I have gotten a blemish on my skin. Thank you! Perhaps it's connected to that whole reverting-to-a-teenager thing that happens when I see Lee. Although, strangely enough, I didn't really have them much when I was a teenager; it was pretty much a nervous thing then, too.

So I am spending my days washing my face over and over and covering the area with salicylic acid. Please go away, I beg it. I really don't want to have a blemish on my face when I see Lee on Saturday, so naturally I will have one.

Most of my nervousness revolves around getting there on time and hoping everything comes off without a glitch. I don't generally get nervous when I talk to Lee. It's just the whole anticipation thing. It makes me crazy!

Okay, I'm done.

FOUR MORE DAYS TIL LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2002-12-01T19:55:00.000-05:00

I had another dream about Lee last night. This would make number ten. :)

This dream felt like a movie that Lee and I were starring in. It took place in some bygone era; perhaps during slavery days or post-Civil War. Women wore those big hoop dresses. In the dream, I was African American (so, maybe a slave or servant) and Lee was the son in a wealthy family for whom I worked (or slaved). We were in love (hee!) and trying to keep it a secret because of the times. I do remember this one moment where Lee came into the room where I was and his hair was longish and really curly and he looked positively adorable. He gave me the most loving smile I've ever seen on his face. Talk about ready to swoon!

We were talking about running away together. LOL! That's all I remember, but that was enough, wouldn't you say? ;)

SIX MORE DAYS TIL LEE!

2002-11-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

Well, it turns I did know about that award. Dori posted it on the LT board. *hangs head in shame* Ya really gotta wonder. I think I'm losing my mind, which will come as no surprise to Rami. Still, I don't usually forget things about Lee. *sigh*

Still, I stand by my statement that he needs to keep Dori better informed! :)

Almost forgot -- 7 more days til Lee!

2002-11-30T11:03:00.000-05:00

Finally! Finally, someone recognizes the talent of this amazing man.

I was searching the web this morning, focusing on a couple of Lee's recent movies and I came across this piece of news and nearly fell off my seat. Lee won a best actor award for Bark at a film festival in France. What I want to know is why I haven't heard about it before. I checked Dori's website and found no mention of it.

What I'm thinking is that Lee is either not giving Dori enough information - information that we need, by the way - or he's too humble to provide such information. Either way, he needs to get over it and cough up the goods. It's a good thing we didn't rely on him to tell us about the play or none of us would be going. Honestly! Hasn't that man ever heard of self-promotion?! He's got a website at his disposal and a very dedicated webmaster ready to share.

Lee, if you're listening, you really need to start sharing! Oh, and congratulations on that best actor award. No one deserves it more.

2002-11-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

Eight more days til Lee. You knew I was going to say that, didn't you?

Despite the fact that I have not been writing much in this blog about Lee, I have been thinking about him a lot. How could I not?

~*~*~*~

I stole this quiz from dargie and Rikki. I actually ran into this quiz last week and took it and got the same results. Well, duh! He's my baby, what can I say?

Isn't he adorable?

Who's your OZ bitch?
brought to you by Quizilla

2002-11-28T13:20:00.000-05:00

Just nine days until Lee. That's what I'm thankful for today. Yeah, baby!

2002-11-27T15:15:00.000-05:00

10 days til Lee. :)

I got an email back from Tom Fontana today. I just have to share.

Here was my email to Tom:
Dear Tom -
I was so excited to read about this play. I've been
wanting to see Lee Tergesen on stage for quite some
time. Thanks for making that come true for me!

I was suprised you didn't have anything about the
play on your website. I guess you've been pretty busy.

I'll be attending the 9 pm Saturday night show along
with lots of fellow fans from my Oz yahoo list. I
look forward to seeing you again. (I met you at the DVD
signing in March.)
Anne

~*~

Tom's response back to me:

Anne -

Lee on stage is a thing of beauty. Even if he isn't
naked.

Tom Fontana

~*~*~

The man certainly has a sense of humor!

2002-11-26T19:01:00.000-05:00

11 more days until I go to New York to see Lee in the play. I can't seem to think about anything else. Thank God the novel writing thing will be over by then. As it is, I'm going to have a hard time working this week with Lee on the brain and Thanksgiving coming up fast.

Everyone on my list is frantically dissecting the last HBO promo for Oz, which has a scene of Keller taunting Beecher with some sharp objects. None of us want to believe that it's real, of course. Several have come up with the theory that it's a dream sequence. Others have speculated it's part of a prison program that allows inmates to act out Shakespearean scenes. There was some Shakespearean dialogue overlaying the promo and several posters pointed out scenes from King Lear which resembled the scene BK played out.

I think the second one sounds the most plausible because there is an elaborate red drape in the background of the scene and Beecher is seating in a very elegant chair that looks like a stage prop. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the scene playout, whatever the case may be. I love watching these two actors work together. They have such chemistry, even when they're not kissing.

January seems so far away, but once it gets here, the last eight episodes will fly by. It will be sad to say goodbye to Oz. I don't regret that it's over because I do agree that it's time for it to end, but it still makes me sad to think that Lee will never play Tobias Beecher again.

2002-11-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

As I lay in bed last night, I was thinking about my entry yesterday and realized that I should not have used the term ``panic attack.'' I want to apologize to anyone who has real panic attacks as part of their everyday lives. I know they are debilitating and painful. I have had them myself before, but luckily not in many years.

That said, I do want to say that I was seriously freaking out yesterday at the idea that I might not be able to go. My stomach was in knots; adrenaline was rushing through my system once again, but not a good way, and I was fighting the urge to scream. It wasn't so much that I would miss a chance to see Lee again. I mean, I've certainly more than met my quota for seeing him so many times in one year. But I really didn't want to miss the chance to see him performing on stage, live, right in front of me.

There is something about watching an actor live that just cannot be experienced through a television set or movie screen and I think you all know what I mean.

2002-11-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

I had a major, major panick attack today.

After spending quite a bit of time trying to find a hotel in Manhattan for December 7th, Paul announced that we weren't going to the play. The only rooms he could find in Manhattan were over $400 and he refused to pay it. ``You'll have to try and sell the tickets,'' he informed me. I don't think so, I thought, but kept quiet. I would find a solution if it killed me. I suggested we drive home that night and offered to do all the driving. ``No,'' he said, ``Too stressful.'' I suggested my going alone. He didn't like that idea either.

So, I spent most of the afternoon searching for hotels in Brooklyn, New Jersey and even Queens. Despite the dearth of rooms, Paul was fussy about where he would stay. Only first class hotels and none near airports. Jeez, I was seriously freaking out. I finally found one way out in Queens not too far from LaGuardia.

``You're going to make me go, aren't you?'' he said when I showed him they had a room. I pointed out that I certainly couldn't make him, but that I really, really wanted to go. Understanding guy that he is, he finally acceded and I made the reservation. He still wants me to keep looking in Manhattan, just in case there are cancellations between now and the 7th.

I need a drink.

2002-11-23T18:34:00.000-05:00

It looks like several of my list sibs are going to the play as well. The more, the merrier, I say. Some I've met before, like Danielle and Nic (and maybe Dori and Susan), so it will good to see them again. Mav and Leahanne, whom I've emailed with but never met, will also be coming and I am soooooooo looking forward to meeting them. We're all going to the Saturday night show! I wonder how many seats the theater has? I think it's going to be another memorable night.

God is good. I have no other explanation for having such an over-the-top, wonderful, Lee Tergesen year! I'm thinking of making those kumpe balls Lee mentioned.