fauxklore

Celebrity Death Watch: Kate Millett wrote the feminist classic Sexual Politcs. Gene "Stick" Michael played baseball and moved into management, primarily with the Source of All Evil in the Universe. Don Williams was a country music singer, as was Troy Gentry. Michael Friedman wrote the score of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Len Wein was a comic book writer and editor, credited as co-creator of Wolverine. Don Ohlmeyer was a sports television executive, responsible for Monday night football. (He was also the mentor of someone I grew up with, who has some very interesting stories about him.) Nancy Dupree was an historian who focused on the history of modern Afghanistan. Jack Kiel created McGruff the Crime Dog.

Jerry Pournelle wrote science fiction and published articles on military strategy. He had actually worked for the company that I am employed by at one time (as well as other companies in the space industry). He was alleged to have been the first author to have written a published book using a word processor on a personal computer. I have absolutely no recollection of having read anything he wrote, but I think I have read anthologies he edited.

Lotfi Zadeh was a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and is best known for his work on fuzzy logic. I am somewhat hesitant to list him because there had been at least two earlier, incorrect reports of his death. But the EECS department is now reporting it, which is a more reliable source than various Azerbaijani sources. Incidentally, it is probably not well known that he was Jewish, at least technically, as his mother was a Russian Jew. (His father was Iranian and, I assume, Muslim, in which case the Muslims would claim him too. Though maybe not, since he apparently went to a Presbyterian mission school when his family returned to Iran from Azerbaijan. None of this actually matters in the least – I just think it’s interesting. And is perhaps an example of fuzzy religious and national identity.)

Birthday: I turned 59 on Labor Day. I really want my life to be in much better order by the time I’m 60.

Speaking of Order: I more or less tore my living room apart looking for what I had done with some theatre tickets. Of course, they turned out to be in the pile that I was positive that they absolutely could not be in. In the process of searching, I did manage to throw out 4 bags full of papers. What is pathetic is how much there is to go.

A Little Night Music: That ticket was for Signature Theatre’s production of A Little Night Music. Signature makes something of a specialty of Sondheim so this was a sure bet. And it was, indeed, a good show. There were lots of familiar performers, e.g. Bobby Smith as Frederik, Sam Ludwig as Henrik, Maria Rizzo as Petra, Will Gartshore as Carl-Magnus, and Holly Twyford as Desiree. I should note that Twyford is known as an actress, not a singer, but was more than up to the role. But the real highlights were Florence Lacey as the acerbic Madame Armfeldt and Tracy Lynn Olvera as Charlotte. Both performers highlighted the humor of some of Sondheim’s wittiest lyrics. Even though this is a show I know well, I still noticed lyrics I hadn’t quite caught before. Overall, this is among the best theatre I’ve seen here.

I do have one complaint, however. The air conditioning was way too aggressive. It wasn’t even hot out. I need to remember to bring a sweater or shawl whenever I go to Signature.

Also re: Shirlington: I had amazingly good parking karma for this trip to Signature, with an available spot right by the stairs / elevator in the closer garage. I believe the reason for this is that it allowed me to do a good deed. There was a miniature Celtic festival going on and a blind woman was trying to find a place to sit to listen to the music. I let her take my elbow and led her to the chairs set up in front of the stage.

Story Swap: Saturday night was our monthly story swap, which is always fun. I have found an Albanian story to tell, which went over reasonably well. Especially the part in which the hero is sent to collect overdue taxes from a church full of snakes.

JGSGW: There was a Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington meeting on Sunday. The topic was ancestry tips and tricks, but, alas, that was pretty much focused on tips for your tree on ancestry and I don’t keep mine there. I was hoping for tips on more effective searches. And, given that the speaker was time constrained, I didn’t bother asking. I did have some conversations before the meeting which were most useful, so it wasn’t a waste.

I had intended to go to a storytelling show later in the day, but I was too tired. At least I did manage to get grocery shopping done on my way home from darkest Maryland.

Celebrity Death Watch: This was a bad time for transgender performers, with the deaths of both The Lady Chablis and Alexis Arquette. Other notable deaths are of children’s book author Anna Dewdney, electronics retailer and embezzler "Crazy Eddue" Antar, and ska musician, Prince Buster, who has now gone "One Step Beyond."

Embassy of Costa Rica: My alumni association had a dinner and talk at the embassy of Costa Rica on Thursday night. I was tired and grumpy, so not very enthusiastic about it. It did, however, turn out to be a nice evening. The ambassador, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, talked about how he went from science to politics, as well as discussing the direction Costa Rica is taking, both in terms of economics and environment. I had no idea, for example, that their biggest export is medical devices. While the drink selection was unimpressive (and not specific to Costa Rica), the food was very good, especially a tasty cold salmon dish. I left feeling livelier than I had on the way there.

On Republican Turf: I went to a (work-related) breakfast at the Capitol Hill Club on Friday morning. This is, essentially, the national Republican frat house. What I found interesting is a sign of how times have changed. I am beyond the age of need for such things, but the ladies’ room offered free tampons and pads. I cannot imagine that would have been the case just a few years ago.

High School Reunion: My 40th high school reunion was Saturday night. It turned out to be cheaper (and, of course, infinitely lower in stress) to fly up to JFK. I’ve just started flying Jet Blue this year and, so far, I’ve been really impressed with their service. Their boarding process is mildly annoying, but their seats are reasonably sized and they serve okay snacks on short flights. I rented a car from Payless, which shares space with Avis. They were fairly inefficient, but it wasn’t too long a wait before I was able to drive off in a Kia Soul, which would not have been my first choice of a vehicle. On the plus side, I’ve now ruled out yet another potential replacement for my beloved Saturn.

I briefly checked out the Resorts World Casino in Queens, but they didn’t have anything much that I wanted to play. Then I drove out to Long Island. I was staying at the Homewood Suites in Carle Place and, when I arrived, I went to hang up my dress for the evening. Except, oops, I had, um, forgotten to pack it! I distinctly remember taking it out of the closet and draping it over the back of the sofa, ready to pack. Apparently, I must have gotten distracted along the way. (This is why I make checklists to pack for actual vacations.) I had planned on an afternoon nap, but had to make an emergency shopping trip instead. Fortunately, there is a Dress Barn just a couple of blocks from the hotel. I picked out 4 dresses to try on. The first one would have been acceptable. The second one just didn’t work at all. When I tried on the third one – bingo! It was exactly what I wanted, with an interesting neckline and a lovely lace inset in the back. I didn’t even bother to try on the fourth dress. The price was reasonable and nobody would have known about the fiasco had I not told the story. I just think it’s funny that I can remember part of the lyrics to our class song, but can’t manage to remember something like this.

As for the reunion itself, it was lovely. There were, alas, several people I’d have loved to see who weren’t there, but it was great to see those who were. I do admit to sometimes finding myself wondering if I ever knew certain people, but our class was over 400 people and one tended to know only those who shared the same classes and activities. I’d say that, for the most part, people seem happy and successful, though we are at an age where a lot of people are coping with aging or dying parents. Kids grown up, going to college, getting married. A lot of people have found themselves with the resources to do things they always wanted to do but didn’t think they’d be able to – myself included.

Later in the evening, they put on music for dancing. The only problem with that is that the music was very loud – too loud for carrying on a conversation without shouting. We are, after all, middle-aged. Though surprisingly few people look it. I think all the balding men and the wrinkled women just decided to stay home.

Baseball: Because I don’t have enough stress in my life, the Red Sox are being exciting. They’re in first, but there are various birds (Blue Jays and Orioles) within swooping distance.

I got enough household stuff done to feel somewhat justified in going out to a movie. Young at Heart was playing conveniently nearby (at the Cinema Arts Theatre in Fairfax) and proved to be a fine choice.

This is a documentary about the Young at Heart chorus of Northampton, Massachusetts, a group of senior citizens who have performed all over the world. What makes them interesting is that, instead of performing the old standards you might expect from a group of people in their 70's and 80's, they sing a mix of rock, punk, and r&b songs. The movie traces their preparation for a concert, as they struggle to learn new songs and cope with the deaths of two members. Their director, Bob Cilman, is sometimes frustrated but you can tell how much he loves working with the group - and how much they love both singing and one another.

One common problem with documentaries does rear its head, as director Stephen Walker's interaction with the people he is filming sometimes feels intrusive. I'm also not sure why he so often films members in cars and has so much footage of traffic. But those flaws don't keep this from being a warm and inspiring movie, full of laughs and tears.