I'm back from Alembic where I ran into my friends Rowan and Sebastian.

Rowan's birthday is coming up this month and I've been invited:

At the stroke of midnight, as the Friday of SF Pride crests into a fever dream, our darling Rowan completes her third decade of mortal existence. This isn’t a birthday; it’s a coronation.

THE EVENT

We have seized The Alembic from 7 PM to Midnight, transforming it into a sanctum of excess with food and libations flowing like the River Styx. To ensure the vibes are sufficiently legendary, the illustrious Haus of Cream will descend upon us for a private, scintillating drag spectacle designed to bring the house down in Rowan’s honor.

THE THEME

On this auspicious night, we shall peel back the veil. The theme is Dark Fantasy - interpret it with maximum drama or don't bother showing up. We want you dressed like the protagonist of a story that’s probably banned in several states.

Be it a smoke-stained velvet 1920s occultist, a creature of the enchanted dark forest draped in diaphanous silks, or a bejeweled courtesan of a renaissance backstabbing drama, there is only one rule - Dress like the Main Character. If you aren't the most interesting person in the room, you're doing it wrong.

Dress like the Main Character. If you aren't the most interesting person in the room, you're doing it wrong.

I think that's a dress code whose challenge you are well equipped to meet.

Did anyone else watch the Tonys last night? I wasn't surprised, but pretty disappointing to see Ragtime take Best Revival over Jellicle Ball. (Ditto Schmigadoon winning over Two Strangers...it's fine, but could we not have awarded the only ACTUALLY ORIGINAL musical in this category??)

Joshua Henry was all over TikTok/Instagram for his singing of New Music. I didn’t see either Ragtime or Jellico Ball, so I don’t know which is better. But a Henry does have an amazing baritone.

Hec, that party sounds like it will be amazing.

The family (13 of us) gathered poolside yesterday. I stayed in the shade while the northerners and kids played in the pool. There was a variety of food stuffs, but best was SIL's coconut tequila with cranberry mango juice with a side of pretzel chips and hot honey hummus.

My watch this morning said I slept almost 9 hours, "but not well enough to bring your stress levels down overnight". You would think lounging by the pool for multiple hours wouldn't be stressful, and yet.

Rowan and Sebastian

They are living up to my vision of what a couple thusly named should be. Nice. And, as Steph says, you are certainly well-suited (heh) to surpass dress code expectations.

Joshua Henry is phenomenal and I was glad to see him win, but I have real issues with awarding Ragtime as a show (both Black leads get horribly murdered but at least a nice white lady feels bad about it) when set against the unapologetic joyous celebration of Black and trans culture that Jellicle Ball gives.

Anyone have Iceland recommendations or (just as important) dis-recommendations? Going in August for a few days. We aren’t renting a car, so are considering some bus tour day trip options. Also open to restaurant recs

The tasting menu at Dill in Reykjavik was extremely good

Going for the solar eclipse?