Singing with Fagner at Brazil Grill, a spy, a caveman, a newt, Crooklyn and Bulworth
___________________________________________________________________________________________
MY YESTERDAY, DESPITE STARTING WITH NEWT GINGRICH, TURNED OUT AMAZING. I got together with a friend and another new friend who does top secret work for our government. Fortunately he is very intelligent and means well as do many people in government. Too bad I cannot say the same for Bush and his redistribute-wealth-while-we-can crowd.
We explored some of the great places in midtown Manhattan including Heartland and St. Andrews on 44th. We had Michelle. Michelle made me happy.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
I then said goodbye to my friends and decided to visit my friends at Brazil Grill to end this wonderful Brazil Day correctly. All of the usual suspects were there as well as lot of non-Brazilians dressed in Brazil yellow, green and blue. I too was in those colors - yellow shorts, my blue Smithsonian shirt and my green Red Sox hat with the red B and the RED SHAMROCK. Even on Brazil Day, I cannot help but offend New York Yankee fans. It's just the way it is. Two for the price of one.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
I got to know Mauricio and Leslie, the poor woman, and many others. Leslie had the worst dumbest of dumb boyfriends. He did not like me or my Red Sox hat, and did not like the fact that she found me, like any breathing male, much more interesting than him. He was an idiot and a Yankee fan. A guy whose parents deprived him of a good genetic pool but unlike many others he did nothing to rectify this. Moron.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
My friend Mauricio and I were watching this great concert DVD of Fagner, a very big star in Brazil. Some women told me that he has the perfect voice and that he is often referred to as the Frank Sinatra of Brazil. He and his band were great. And everyone was having fun, especially Leslie as she was away from her Stone Age boyfriend.
After the video ended, someone turned on one of those great Brazilian novellas (sometimes these are called telenovellas) and more stuff kept transpiring.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Caiaparinhas cachaca comedy
A while later, Mauricio grabbed me and very excitedly yelled, Michael. Look! He was pointing to the sidewalk on 8th avenue. And who was there but Fagner himself! How bizarre as we had just watched his concert from Brazil and there he was in the flesh in Hell's Kitchen. Mauricio told me to go talk to him as other were. He was being very respectfully mobbed, well, partially mobbed. Brazilians treat each other with respect and the big stars are often down to earth and regular people. So it was with Fagner. He & I very quickly became great pals. We drank and sang for the rest of the night. His English is good and because my Portuguese is bad, we took to a lot of singing. He was amazed at how many Brazilian songs I knew and we also just had good chemistry. I think he is 5 years older than I am and that we are old hippies.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
We ended up closing down BG. I think I got home before 4. Fagner was staying in Room 1144. I was supposesd to visit him today but today was too busy.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
I lead a truly amazing and bizarre life - from Newt Gingrich to a great American spy to the great Brazilian singer, Fagner, all in one day and all in midtown, and all but Newt in Hells Kitchen.
This was an unusual Sunday even by NYC standards.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
I haven't sung in awhile. I like doing it and might have to do this some more.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Tomorrow morning I get to watch and discuss Crooklyn and Bulworth from the point of view of copyright and clearances. Those last words would seem to dull down some great stuff. Hopefully it won't.
___________________________________________________________________________________________