The Past Couple of Weeks
Apr. 19th, 2024 12:55 pmI have actually done a bunch of things since late March. Looking back, I actually wrote about more of it than I thought I had (e.g. board games and some storytelling related things, including Grimm Keepers). So here’s an attempt to get up to date on everything except the Israeli Dance camp I went to in association with the eclipse, which deserves its own entry.
Storytelling: I went to an on-line story swap held by a group in Ottawa. I really enjoyed it, especially a ballad performed by one of the members. I told my original fairy tale, “The Three Sisters,” which went over well. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I plan to go again, schedule permitting.
Book Clubs: Crones and Tomes had an interesting discussion of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This was a rare case where I’d seen the movie before reading the book, though I found them pretty much the same. I liked the main character, Kiya, and hated the people who didn’t try to do anything to help her. I did have to suspend a lot of disbelief. Overall, I thought the book was worth reading, but I didn’t love it.
READ was supposed to discuss Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman last night, but the leader had issues with zoom, so we postponed a week. I loved most of this book, so I’m interested in hearing what other people thought of it.
FIOS Upgrade: Verizon sent out a notice that they were switching our FIOS service to an updated version. I got the upgrade installed a week ago. It took maybe an hour and a half and so far things seem more stable. (It’s hard to tell if it’s faster.) And the price is lower than it had been, with a five year price freeze.
Taxes: The other major adulting activity was doing my taxes. It is always a pain in the neck to find all of the paperwork I need. Due to having to do some searching, it took about twice the amount of time that TurboTax estimated, but it’s done, which is the important thing. Along with my annual resolution to do a better job of keeping track of everything.
Little Shop of Horrors: Since I was feeling a bit caught up on stuff at home, I bought a last minute ticket to go to the Saturday matinee of Little Shop of Horrors at Ford’s Theatre. This is a show I like more than I should, but, really, how can you go wrong with doo-wop music and a carnivorous plant? It wasn’t the best production of this show I’ve ever seen, partly because of sound and lighting issues. The performances were generally good, but (and I know this is unfair), I thought Derrick D. Truby, Jr. looked way too old as Seymour, who’s supposed to be maybe 20 years old but looks about 40. Still, it’s a fun show and was worth a couple of hours.
Nick Baskerville at Artomatic: After the show, I walked over to Foggy Bottom to see a bit more of what I hadn’t gotten to at Artomatic the previous time I was there. The only thing I took a picture of was this exhibit, called Wear Scene.

Eventually it was time for Nick Baskerville’s storytelling show about African-American Firefighters.

Nick told an interesting mix of stories, including true stories and a tall tale about a legendary woman. He was relaxed and entertaining and I enjoyed his performance. If you want to see this, he’s got one performance, on April 27th. And it’s free!
Adulting - Still to Go: The insurance company I’ve used for my auto and homeowner’s insurance for years is pulling out of the Virginia marketplace, so I need to start shopping around for a replacement.
I also need to make a bunch of travel arrangements. But, first, I’m going away for (part of) the weekend. And I have to finish getting ready for Pesach. Plus, of course, the rest of catching up here.
Storytelling: I went to an on-line story swap held by a group in Ottawa. I really enjoyed it, especially a ballad performed by one of the members. I told my original fairy tale, “The Three Sisters,” which went over well. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I plan to go again, schedule permitting.
Book Clubs: Crones and Tomes had an interesting discussion of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This was a rare case where I’d seen the movie before reading the book, though I found them pretty much the same. I liked the main character, Kiya, and hated the people who didn’t try to do anything to help her. I did have to suspend a lot of disbelief. Overall, I thought the book was worth reading, but I didn’t love it.
READ was supposed to discuss Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman last night, but the leader had issues with zoom, so we postponed a week. I loved most of this book, so I’m interested in hearing what other people thought of it.
FIOS Upgrade: Verizon sent out a notice that they were switching our FIOS service to an updated version. I got the upgrade installed a week ago. It took maybe an hour and a half and so far things seem more stable. (It’s hard to tell if it’s faster.) And the price is lower than it had been, with a five year price freeze.
Taxes: The other major adulting activity was doing my taxes. It is always a pain in the neck to find all of the paperwork I need. Due to having to do some searching, it took about twice the amount of time that TurboTax estimated, but it’s done, which is the important thing. Along with my annual resolution to do a better job of keeping track of everything.
Little Shop of Horrors: Since I was feeling a bit caught up on stuff at home, I bought a last minute ticket to go to the Saturday matinee of Little Shop of Horrors at Ford’s Theatre. This is a show I like more than I should, but, really, how can you go wrong with doo-wop music and a carnivorous plant? It wasn’t the best production of this show I’ve ever seen, partly because of sound and lighting issues. The performances were generally good, but (and I know this is unfair), I thought Derrick D. Truby, Jr. looked way too old as Seymour, who’s supposed to be maybe 20 years old but looks about 40. Still, it’s a fun show and was worth a couple of hours.
Nick Baskerville at Artomatic: After the show, I walked over to Foggy Bottom to see a bit more of what I hadn’t gotten to at Artomatic the previous time I was there. The only thing I took a picture of was this exhibit, called Wear Scene.

Eventually it was time for Nick Baskerville’s storytelling show about African-American Firefighters.

Nick told an interesting mix of stories, including true stories and a tall tale about a legendary woman. He was relaxed and entertaining and I enjoyed his performance. If you want to see this, he’s got one performance, on April 27th. And it’s free!
Adulting - Still to Go: The insurance company I’ve used for my auto and homeowner’s insurance for years is pulling out of the Virginia marketplace, so I need to start shopping around for a replacement.
I also need to make a bunch of travel arrangements. But, first, I’m going away for (part of) the weekend. And I have to finish getting ready for Pesach. Plus, of course, the rest of catching up here.