Catch-up: November Edition
Dec. 12th, 2013 04:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreI have been intending to do a catch-up post since before I went on vacation. But work has been crazy and vacation preparations are always crazy and vacation recovery has been slow due to work being even crazier. Oh, enough with the excuses.
Celebrity Death Watch: Doris Lessing won a Nobel prize in literature. I am sorry to say the only book I ever read of hers was about cats. Wanda Coleman was a poet. John Galbraith Graham was better known as Auraucario and wrote (British) cryptic crosswords. Dick Dodd was a drummer and was the lead singer of the Standells on "Dirty Water," which is, of course, played at Fenway Park when truth and justice triumph, i.e. the Red Sox win.
Nelson Mandela was, of course, the most significant celebrity we lost recently. What made him remarkable was his focus on reconciliation, his refusal to dwell on revenge. He was certainly far from a perfect person, with some questionable political alliances and some extremely challenging personal relationships (e.g. his first two marriages). But that emphasis on moving forward inspired a nation towards healing and progress.
Crossing: I saw this musical at Signature Theatre before I left. The concept involved several people in a train station. The catch is that they were from different periods of history. It was an interesting piece, but I wished that Matt Connor’s songs better reflected the different time periods of the characters, instead of all melting into a certain sameness. The exception was "Follow the Drinking Gourd," a gospel number performed brilliantly by newcomer Ines Nassara and long-term local diva Nova Payton. I definitely related to the concept of travel as a means of changing one’s life, but I wanted more depth. And when I rule the world, all musicals will be required to have at least one or two big dance numbers.
Tellabration: We put on a few storytelling shows this year for Tellabration. I performed in one at a bookstore near Dupont Circle. We had a decent sized audience, many of whom were local hangers-on and not one’s typical storytelling audience. It’s a little weird to be confronted with questions in the middle of one’s performance. But it went okay and was fun enough.
Other Stuff I Did in November: As a result of going to the condo association annual meeting, I actually finally met my next door neighbor. I’ve only lived in this place for 6 years. To be fair, she was working in Belize most of that time.
I went out to lunch with flyertalk friends at Zaytinya. One of them mentioned having a DC bucket list, i.e. things to do while he is in this area. I think the only D.C. thing I really should do and haven’t is Congressional Cemetery. And maybe some more of the reasonably nearby minor league ballparks.
I hosted a story swap at my place. That meant a cleaning frenzy. It is remarkable how quickly I can undo all the straightening up that takes days.
And now I am less than a week behind here.
Celebrity Death Watch: Doris Lessing won a Nobel prize in literature. I am sorry to say the only book I ever read of hers was about cats. Wanda Coleman was a poet. John Galbraith Graham was better known as Auraucario and wrote (British) cryptic crosswords. Dick Dodd was a drummer and was the lead singer of the Standells on "Dirty Water," which is, of course, played at Fenway Park when truth and justice triumph, i.e. the Red Sox win.
Nelson Mandela was, of course, the most significant celebrity we lost recently. What made him remarkable was his focus on reconciliation, his refusal to dwell on revenge. He was certainly far from a perfect person, with some questionable political alliances and some extremely challenging personal relationships (e.g. his first two marriages). But that emphasis on moving forward inspired a nation towards healing and progress.
Crossing: I saw this musical at Signature Theatre before I left. The concept involved several people in a train station. The catch is that they were from different periods of history. It was an interesting piece, but I wished that Matt Connor’s songs better reflected the different time periods of the characters, instead of all melting into a certain sameness. The exception was "Follow the Drinking Gourd," a gospel number performed brilliantly by newcomer Ines Nassara and long-term local diva Nova Payton. I definitely related to the concept of travel as a means of changing one’s life, but I wanted more depth. And when I rule the world, all musicals will be required to have at least one or two big dance numbers.
Tellabration: We put on a few storytelling shows this year for Tellabration. I performed in one at a bookstore near Dupont Circle. We had a decent sized audience, many of whom were local hangers-on and not one’s typical storytelling audience. It’s a little weird to be confronted with questions in the middle of one’s performance. But it went okay and was fun enough.
Other Stuff I Did in November: As a result of going to the condo association annual meeting, I actually finally met my next door neighbor. I’ve only lived in this place for 6 years. To be fair, she was working in Belize most of that time.
I went out to lunch with flyertalk friends at Zaytinya. One of them mentioned having a DC bucket list, i.e. things to do while he is in this area. I think the only D.C. thing I really should do and haven’t is Congressional Cemetery. And maybe some more of the reasonably nearby minor league ballparks.
I hosted a story swap at my place. That meant a cleaning frenzy. It is remarkable how quickly I can undo all the straightening up that takes days.
And now I am less than a week behind here.
