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Celebrity Shut-ins

The Two Faces of the Bud-ster: Crooner Bud E. Luv's home life can scarcely be imagined. Some local luminaries share their concepts of the ideal night at home The Fabulous Bud E. Luv Needs no introduction "For me, the ideal night in would involve a tall martini and a lovely chick, preferably brunette. And I hope she likes cigars, because a nice cigar is an essential part of an evening spent in. My evening would start with the cigar, a martini and wonderful conversation. Then it would move on into a gourmet meal, prepared by Leon, my trusted valet. After that, more cocktails, of course, followed by a late-night candlelit bath. And if the moon is full, why not take one of the Arabians out for a spin around the ranch? And to finish things off, well, I think you can put two and two together." Musty Chiffon Diva "What's the most ideal night in? Well, at home cuddled up with my boyfriend on the couch, of course. We've been together for 23 years now, and our anniversary is coming up on Aug. 1. We'll flip through the channels on TV, but I'd say our favorite show lately is Politically Incorrect. I also like old movies, anything vintage. What is it? I think it's called the American Movie Channel or even the Discovery Channel I like to watch. I really prefer to go out to the movies, though. But I'm not a club-goer, although at the end of the week after I've been performing I'll go out, maybe on a Saturday night to The Hole in the Wall, the best gay biker bar around. They play the greatest rock & roll music, and it's just the most diverse crowd. Nights in I also rehearse or cook. I'm a gourmet cook, and I just love to throw dinner parties. We invite 15­20 of our closest friends. In Provincetown, Mass., I've sat up to 50 people at our table there, but nothing matches ... it's all just unmatching china." Gavin Newsom San Francisco supervisor "It's nothing glamorous, but rather more relaxing to spend two hours in the bathtub. It's a chance for me to reflect and read without phones or any other disturbances. I've got stacks of things I want to read, and taking a bath gives me the chance to stay at home and do that. I'm obsessed with history books. Really, anything nonfiction is the highlight of my life. I just finished reading Built to Last, a book about visionary companies. I'm not a big TV watcher, and I don't think I've used my oven in, wow, it's got to be four years now. But my dream night would be to walk into my home to have a massage table waiting there for me. And after a two-hour massage, not one- but two-hour, off to the tub, have a bottle of champagne and go to bed. I'm simple, but a massage table would really be the best present to get me come next Christmas!" Summer Tompkins Fashion designer "One of my goals this week was to not go out at all, but as of last weekend I'm now engaged, so we went out anyway to Globe for dinner. But for me the most ideal night spent in would be to go for a run, take a hot bath and then hang out in my robe all night with a great bottle of wine and ... have my boyfriend cook me dinner! I don't have the time to cook, so sometimes we go over to Baker St. Bistro to eat and then maybe rent a video. I don't really watch TV or the news as much as I used to, but maybe it's because we're in the talking mode of the relationship now. Also I like to look at visual books like home design, and architecture books and fashion magazines. Anyway, by 10:30 my eyes are shutting, and I'm ready for bed. I'm the early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of person." Lavay Smith Swing singer (and this issue's cover model) "Well, you can go ahead and lie about this if you want to. I don't like to have a TV, so when I'm in I usually read or listen to jazz music. On my nights in, if the dishes are all done and the house is cleaned, I'll light candles, put on my favorite Bobby Blue Bland album, crack open a bottle of champagne or throw together a cocktail, and then slip into a hot tub. Then, of course, I'll make passionate love to my boyfriend. Some nights I'll invite my friends who teach swing dancing at the High Ball Lounge, and we dance here at my house. I'm pretty much the same Lavay at home as I am onstage. When I'm not in my swing outfit I'm usually dressed as Maryann on Gilligan's Island--but in Ginger's clothing." Chrystene Ells Actress, artist and puppeteer "My ideal evening at home? I suppose that would consist of good music and wine while I paint. I'm basically a homebody, really. I neither watch nor have a TV. In fact, I actually do a lot of work when I am at home. I feel most relaxed when I'm at my most creative, and I think that the home environment really fosters this. When I'm in, which is often, I'll usually take to reading, writing dialogue for my characters, creating their microcosms, writing music and, of course, sculpting and breathing life into the puppets that I craft." Stanley Gatti President of the San Francisco Art Commission, designer My most ideal night in would be to walk through the door to have my friend waiting for me. We would make dinner or choose a good place to eat a quiet dinner that's comfy and casual and secluded. Then we'd make wild, passionate love and stay up until three in the morning talking. And I stress the wild and passionate part, because it won't happen any other way!" Winston Smith Collage artist "Think of the money you save by staying in. I live in North Beach, so just walking out the front door generally sets me back $20­$40. Plus, the company is less boring when you stay in. As for what I do at home: imagine a medieval monk sitting at a slanted table in the candlelight, working at illuminating a manuscript. Except instead of creating something beautiful, I'm destroying someone else's wonderful artwork. It's an act of creative destruction--or maybe destructive creativeness." Bonnie Simmons KPFA DJ, manager for Cake "I'm a bit of a television wacko, but because I'm out so many evenings with my work, I've learned how to set my VCR and tape extensively, so that when I am at home, I can create my own personal prime time. ... [The English detective drama] Cracker is my one overriding television passion, and I even have an all-format VCR so I can watch the new episodes that friends send me from England. A good evening at home for me is having the time to watch an entire Cracker episode. ... And then, of course, there's reading. There's nothing as great as the feeling I get when I know I have a few hours to read without the phone ringing to interrupt me." 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