The majority of my cousins on mom’s side of the family exhibited some sort of artistic talent at one point or another. A few examples: Natalie in Puerto Rico is a dancer; Alex in Miami, a painter; and Joe in New York, a drummer and actor. (I don’t intentionally mean to leave people out, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind.) As for myself, I sang, I acted, and I drummed in two different kinds of marching bands. (Oh, and there was that one-day gig in a kazoo band, but that was for a television gag, so it doesn’t count.)

Then there’s Chris, pictured above and also in New York, who this week wraps up a stint with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. He’s even featured prominently in the local paper up there.

Not only that, but according to the article, New York City’s PBS station will air a one-hour special on the festival hosted by Kristen Chenoweth, followed by a presentation of Twelfth Night. Chris is snare drumming in that production.

So this leaves me very proud of him. And very jealous. But mostly proud.

I have celebrity brushes in the oddest places sometimes. Many years ago, I ran into Macauly Culkin and Dr. Ruth in the same day in New York. When I worked as a game technician, I met several local sports stars. More recently, I spotted Madeline Albright in Georgetown — I think she was shopping. Even at the fruit stand, I’ve seen a local broadcaster or two swing by for a purchase.

Currently, I’m sitting at the terminal waiting to board my flight home to D.C. and minding my own business. There’s a non-functional power outlet next to me, so people have been coming by to plug in their laptops and phones to no avail. (Let this be a lesson to the lot of you: power up your gear before you travel. They make travel adapters for a reason.)

One person came up to me and asked if I was on WiFi. I looked up to answer in the affirmative, and Richard Kind — a regular on “Spin City” and the most recent version of “Hollywood Squares” — was the guy standing in front of me to ask about WiFi access.

That kinda makes my day.

John Inman, better known as Mr. Humphries on the BBC comedy “Are You Being Served?“, passed away at age 71. Ron Lynch, his partner of over 30 years, is devastated according to the BBC News report. Wendy Richard, who played Miss Brahms, said Inman was, “one of the funniest and most inventive actors [she has] ever worked with.”

I came to appreciate “Are You Being Served?” only a few years ago, and Mr. Humphries quickly became one of my favorite Britcom characters.

Below is a video clip of one of my favorite scenes. A customer walks into Grace Brothers to buy a dressing gown, and Mr. Humphries demonstrates a few different styles; he gets carried away while demonstrating a kimono.

(news link via Towleroad)