The moon is gorgeous tonight. How is it where you are?
{michael}

Guess who's coming to Chicago JUST to see me?

Two Photogs
Originally uploaded by Michael_Lehet

That Ropey Old Bird from Ohio, that's who. She's just spent a month traveling and taking fabulous photos and decided that on her return trip she just had to stop in Chicago and see me, can you just believe it? I'm so lucky!

Actually, she is on her way home from traveling but somehow her return trip got all mucked up and she had a choice of laying over in some po'dunk town called New Orleans or good old freezing cold Chicago....and lucky for me she picked Chicago!

So I'm off to the airport to pick up the lovely Andrea!

Will Oprah be the next Senator from Illinois?

I got this in an email from a friend and I had to share it with you:

I heard that Blagojevich offered the Senate seat to Oprah and she immediately accepted.

Then, when she thought about if for a second she realized she misheard him. When he was saying "Oprah would like like the Senate seat" she thought he was saying "Oprah, would you like something to eat." When she realized it wasn't an all you could eat, she declined the seat.

So Oprah will not be the next Junior Senator from the State of Illinois.

btw, I wonder who the hell we're going to get to run for Governor? We're two for two here, those aren't very good odds.

Who would you vote for?

A Funny Email - You know you are living in 2009 when...

My cuz who lives in Sweeden sent me this email - it's SO TRUE!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2009 when...
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 5!

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7 . Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.

12 You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list

AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself.

Don't worry I was laughing at myself too!!!!

I'm on the Feast of Fools again!

Those crazy boys Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion, hosts of the wildly popular Feast of Fools invited me over last night last night to chat. If you're not familiar with Feast of Fools then you've got some catching up to do - they are the #1 downloaded GLBT Podcast on iTunes and they have won the 'Best LGBT Podcast' Award for the past 3 years (not an easy feat).

We chatted about all sorts of things - from the Oscar nominations, to Broadway in Chicago and more importantly "What was going on with Aretha Franklin's hat at the inauguration?"

You can check out the show HERE and you can sign up for a daily dose via iTunes.

Seriously though, what was up with Aretha's hat? It even freaked me out!

TODAY is the last day to vote for my Grammy Contest Entry. Help get me in the Top 20, I can't do it without your help. Check out my video and vote over HERE you can vote as many times as you like today, just hit the refresh button. I'll let you know if I make it into the Top 20!

If you're in Chicago and looking for something to do this weekend, check out my weekly Hit List that I publish on Thursdays to give you a chance to plan your weekend - it's true "You've got a busy weekend" ahead.

Today was the best and worst day rolled into one!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...oh wait, those aren't my words, but they sure say exactly what I want to say about today.

It was the best of times because President Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Almost 2oo of my co-workers gathered in our "auditorium" to watch the inauguration on the "big screen" (i.e. a projector hooked up to my DTV box and antenna) and clapped and shouted when he said "So help me god." During his speech people clapped along and were transfixed, I can't recall an inauguration like it? Was it this grand when old Bushie was put into office 8 years ago? Who cares - out with the old, in with the new!

After a day of jubilation and excitment a dark clouded descended on me when I opened my email.

As I was scanning my new emails I saw the word CANCELLED, at first I thought it was just another magazine subscription that was threatening me for not renewing, but alas it wasn't! It was from a local theater, as I read the entire subject line a tear gathered in the corner of my eye....they were cancelling Chitty Chitty Bang Bang due to low local sales.

How could they!?!

I'm going to bed now!


First the good news is that President Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.

After a day of jubilation and excitement I received an email that gave me a terrible shock

The Inauguration of Barack Obama is today!

The United States is buzzing, literally. Everywhere you go it's Obama, Obama, Obama. The TV's are constantly running clips about the inauguration, the radios are running interviews with people that are there.

It is truly an historic day in the US, I never thought that I would see it happen - a black man elected and installed as the President of the United States of America.

For the first time in as many years, uhm can you say Bill Clinton, people are actually interested in the Inauguration. The 1992 election was the first time I cast a vote in a Federal Election and my parents were terrified when I told them I voted for Clinton. I recall watching the Inauguration that year but since then I've had no interest in it and the 20th of January every fourth year was just another January 20th.

But this year is different, people are actually interested in the inauguration. Today is the day that America has been waiting for since we elected President Obama on that November day last year. So many people have 'Obama-fever' it's crazy.

Last week I was talking with a co-worker about the Inauguration and she told me that she was "taking the day off so I can watch it at home." Heck I would have liked to have taken the day off as well, but I'm saving my vacation days for a trip to Amsterdam in April to celebrate my birthday.......so I went to the Events Manager at work with a plan in mind.

So today, we're going to be showing the Inauguration in our "Conference Center" and letting people take time off from work to watch. We've set up tables and chairs so that people can bring their lunch and watch our first black President take his oath of office on Abraham Lincoln's bible.

What are you doing for the inauguration?

It's cold in Chicago

All the sports I can handle

I need to get some work done on the computer and the best way for me to concentrate is with the tv turned on for some background noise, but it needs to be something that I'm not going to be interested in so that I don't pay attention to it.

The spanish channel is great for that. If I need to get some work done then I just flip that channel on, watch it for about 2 minutes, suddenly realize that I have no idea what they're saying but the boys are cute and I can effectively ignore it but "enjoy it" at the same time.

So I'm flipping through my free DTV channels and landed on the beginning of some football game - perfect, now I'll get my weekly dose of sports AND get some work done.

I don't know what game this is, but Jordan Sparks just sang the National Anthem and all I can say is "WOW" I've heard of Jordan Sparks (I'm not a big Idol fan) but had never really heard her, she has an amazing voice, she totally deserved to win Idol..she did win, right?

Well I've got to get some work done, and I can check one thing off my list: a blog post.

Have a great week? It's historic for us, well at least me!

Why do nervous people insist on using the self checkout line?
{michael}

Are you looking for fun things to do in Chicago this weekend? Check out my "Hot Happenings" List http://ping.fm/Ef7DU

It's so cold

It's so cold you only need to use one number on the digital thermometer

It's so cold that when you walk outside and take a breath, it hurts.

It's so cold that frost accumulates on your moustache, regardless of whether you actually have one or not.

It's so cold that the idea of grabbing the cat and wrapping it around your neck like in the cartoons, doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

It's so cold that your outtie is now an innie, and I'm not talking about your belly button.

It's so cold that you hope you find your testicals by the time summer rolls around.

It's so cold that even after you've been in the office for 15 minutes, your glasses are still fogged up.

Synchronized Trampolines?!?

I had no idea that something like this existed. I think that I've missed my calling!

I could have been a contender!

Chicago seeks repeal of DOMA through citywide protest

On Saturday, January 10, despite a winter storm barreling down on the city and dumping up to a foot of snow in areas, several hundred LGBT community members and supporters joined forces to send a message to President-elect Barack Obama.

Join the Impact - a grassroots organization formed after the November election, has been instrumental in generating interest amongst the LGBT community for the need to raise our voices and show the country that we are not second class citizens.

I have never been an "activist" or considered myself someone that has had to stand up and make my voice heard, but the situation over the last year has made me - and a lot of my friends - change our minds and decide its time for us all to stand up.

I've been going to all of the rallys, at first to cover them, but lately so to cover them but to also participate. To make my voice heard as well, to do what I can do to help spread the news about what we need to do as a group to make sure that our rights are not taken away from us. Every new rally I go, I see more new faces and yesterday I was so surprised when I heard my name being shouted out across a group of people.

It was my friend Kahtan, a friend who is not a natural born citizen but has taken the time and the effort to become a US Citizen. Because of a combination of things, my updating my Facebook Status, and his viewing of "Milk", he felt compelled to grab his winter clothes and head out into a winter day in the middle of January - in the middle of Chicago to raise his voice.

It was amazing to walk down the city streets with so many of my queer brothers, sisters and supporters and show that we are not second class citizens....that we deserve the same rights that they take for granted.

How many of you take your rights for granted - regardless of where you live, do you truly take full advantage to all of the rights that you have? Probably not, because you don't know they're there or you don't think about it, or more importantly, you probably take them for granted, because they've always been there. But it hasn't been been that long since the rights that we take for granted today were not available to us as queer citizens.

It wasn't that long ago that we couldn't be "out" at work, for fear of losing our jobs. We couldn't go to bars, because it was illegal for gays to congregate, we couldn't hold hands in public with those we loved - all things that we do now - and take for granted.

I was talking to another friend of mine, who told me how he feels the need to be an activist now after he saw "Milk" he told me that he couldn't imagine having to be "in the closet" at work and to be honest I couldn't imagine it either. I've been out at work for so long that I couldn't imagine having to go back into the closet....but that's a "right" that I take for granted. He told me that after seeing "Milk" he had seriously taken for granted the rights that we just accept as always being there.

The passage of Prop 8, and the release of "Milk" I think, has created a new round of activists, I love going to the rallys and the protests and seeing so many diverse people. Young, old, middle-aged, women, men, straight people, transpeople and everyone in between, so many different people that have one thing in common - they're gay or have a friend/family member that is gay.

It's time to realize that the rights that we have were not always there for us. It's time for us to stand up for our rights as citizens and individuals and let the country, and the world, know that we are not "second class citizens" and we deserve the same rights that they currently have and more than like take for granted.

Think about that the next time your boyfriend drops you off at work and you give him a quick kiss goodbye.

I just entered a contest and I would LOVE it if you would vote for me: http://ping.fm/Vy5jX You can vote everyday!

Would you vote for me?

I don't ever enter contests because I never win....but,I just entered a contest over at CBS that they're holding for the Grammy's.....it's a lip dub contest - to the Katy Perry song 'I Kissed a Girl'...how could I NOT enter!

I hope you've already seen my version of this hot song that I did earlier this year with my friend Leigh Ann and that you got a lot of giggles out of it.

If you would be so kind you can go over to the CBS GRAMMY'S - I KISSED A GIRL CONTEST PAGE and vote for me.

Vote early, vote often and I promise if I win, the next time I see you I will buy you a cocktail!

A new lip dub - Colors of the Wind

I made this last year when I was visiting my parents and have just released this classic gem. I hope that you enjoy it...

What's your favorite part?