"Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears, while we all sup sorrow with the poor. There's a song that will linger forever in our ears, Oh, hard times come again no more."~stephen foster

On Tuesday, Lauren and I went to a Jonathan Ferris reading. His newest book seems depressing and funny and I really want to read it. I have such a long list of books that I need to read. I got him to sign Then We Came to the End for me. Before the reading began, we were fawning over him from our second row seats, and then his wife came and sat directly in front of us. Holding their infant. It crushed our dreams.

I saw the Broadway production of Present Laughter today. Nic had comps. First they put us in the third row (dead center), and then after the first intermission they moved us to the first row (where we stayed for the next two acts). Our seats were perfect. The play was okay. I must repeat (for I've said it before) that I am not a huge Noel Coward fan at all. This was the third play of his I've seen, and for some reason, they never manage to fully engage me, even though the production values have generally been stellar. I apologize to those who love his work (and I know there are many who love his work). I can't really even explain my feelings. But Present Laughter was actually my favorite Coward play out of the three that I've seen. That is because of Victor Garber. I love Victor Garber. I actually tore his ticket and gave him his Playbill when I ushered at Circle Mirror Transformation and was starstruck (but he was very polite and kind). He's such a talented actor, and it was wonderful to see him onstage (and with such a good view; I could see the beads of sweat on his face!). He completely embodied his character. I started to see more depth to Coward's work than I have before because of Garber's wonderfully layered performance. The New York Times gave the play a rave because of Garber, and I can see why. If I enjoyed Coward, I would have given it a rave as well.

Tomorrow Nic, Lauren and I are going to the Brooklyn Museum to see the exhibit Who Shot Rock & Roll. I'm excited. We've been meaning to see it for a long time.

I've been watching my Brothers & Sisters DVDs from the beginning, and it's nice to return to the first season because I loved it so much. The pilot sets up the series perfectly. I love Sarah (my favorite character) in season one. I love the tension between Kitty and Nora.

How amazing was the final Conan?? What a classy guy. I refuse to watch Leno now. I've always preferred Conan, anyway.

Last night was a good TV night. There were some great Hope for Haiti performances. Here are my favorites:

Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris did a surprisingly good version of the oft-covered "Hallelujah":

Bruce sang a simple yet beautiful "We Shall Overcome":

Mary J. Blige's "Hard Times" was also stellar:

Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge, and Rihanna debuted "Stranded":

You can buy the album of all the performances here. Of course proceeds go to the relief efforts.