tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127469062024-03-21T02:04:15.948-07:00Petit PlaisirsA blog about little pleasures in life.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-32661792874938678812012-12-07T11:28:00.001-08:002012-12-07T11:30:43.730-08:00A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHaZf-4h2OQnfzFkRAmbA3xGU8zpTVBGN_PybbnmdGxnMAtlZBlzXGpBtlkKTTgPrmj01bBqOALijQRhZsBb6z_6nPTtVyag1yPJ74CwK6VDEGyYhaDcg7uHwOY5M88dMuJSu1A/s1600/Midsummer+Night%27s+Dream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHaZf-4h2OQnfzFkRAmbA3xGU8zpTVBGN_PybbnmdGxnMAtlZBlzXGpBtlkKTTgPrmj01bBqOALijQRhZsBb6z_6nPTtVyag1yPJ74CwK6VDEGyYhaDcg7uHwOY5M88dMuJSu1A/s1600/Midsummer+Night's+Dream.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=344&source=l#" target="_blank">A Midsummer Night's Dream</a>, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare" target="_blank">William Shakespeare</a><br />
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One of Shakespeare's most-performed plays, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream" target="_blank">A Midsummer Night's Dream</a> is an amusing farce. It is not one of my favorites, but it is very light and amusing and inoffensive. I found the production of the parts about the fairies to be particularly well done. I also thought Bruce Dow was incredible as Bottom; he was the perfect actor for that role, and he played it wonderfully well. I also really enjoyed Adam Green as Puck. All in all, it was a light, amusing evening at the Shakespeare Theater.<br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/at-shakespeare-theatre-company-whirlwind-of-a-bottom-spins-midsummer-for-laughs/2012/11/28/4e746530-3980-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html" target="_blank">Washington Post Review</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/afterhours/theater-review/theater-review-a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-shakespeare-theatre-company.php" target="_blank">Washingtonian Review</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2012/11/28/a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-the-shakespeare-theatre-company-by-grace-kim2/" target="_blank">DC Metro Review</a><br />
<br />Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-40132012591953407762012-12-07T11:09:00.001-08:002012-12-07T11:30:58.371-08:00The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-2OqoIJAAHtZNLxtC7VdEoBnkvjPh1wnXoz4i_4xxXgYf3NEEZbpFCfgvXSPXmCW8vXBaBmcCXmbO0wsk43d7gVHw6soYPz97aeor8dRyOTnE77TQomvZ8kmAJn-BzV_7U2J4w/s1600/Government+Inspector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-2OqoIJAAHtZNLxtC7VdEoBnkvjPh1wnXoz4i_4xxXgYf3NEEZbpFCfgvXSPXmCW8vXBaBmcCXmbO0wsk43d7gVHw6soYPz97aeor8dRyOTnE77TQomvZ8kmAJn-BzV_7U2J4w/s1600/Government+Inspector.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=346&source=l" target="_blank">The Government Inspector</a>, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol" target="_blank">Nikolai Gogol</a><br />
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Previously, I had read the <a href="http://petitplaisirs.blogspot.com/2005/08/collected-tales-of-nikolai-gogol.html" target="_blank">Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol</a>, and I consider him one of the greatest writers I have ever read. His short story, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diary_of_a_Madman_%28story%29" target="_blank">Diary of a Madman</a>, is the most well-written story I have ever read. However, I feel that much of his writing was inconsequential and useless. I knew that this play was a satire; however, I didn't know whether I would find the play well-written or not. Fortunately, I loved the play. The play was a satire/comedy about life in Russia in the early 1800s, especially how those in positions of any power at all forced the powerless to pay bribes for everything. Corruption by government officials at all levels was rampant. The play showed the extreme lengths to which those same government officials would go to cover up their corruption. I really enjoyed this play.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Government_Inspector" target="_blank">The Government Inspector</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/the-government-inspector-at-shakespeare-theatre-company-the-fur-and-the-rubles-fly/2012/09/25/f4d6de0a-0742-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html" target="_blank">Washington Post Review</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/afterhours/theater/shakespeare-theatre-company-announces-its-201213-season.php" target="_blank">Washingtonian Review</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2012/09/25/the-government-inspector-by-amanda-gunther/" target="_blank">DC Metro Review</a><br />
<br />Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-21600783001861988912012-11-28T11:15:00.002-08:002012-11-28T11:16:16.803-08:00Shakespeare Theatre 2012-13 Season<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/" target="_blank">Shakespeare Theatre 2012-13 Season</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=346&source=l#" target="_blank">The Government Inspector</a> -- Nikolai Gogol<br />
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=344&source=l" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=344&source=l" target="_blank">A Midsummer Night's Dream</a> -- William Shakespeare<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=347&source=l" target="_blank">Hughie</a> -- Eugene O'Neill<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=348&source=l" target="_blank">Wallenstein</a> -- Friedrich Schiller<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=345&source=l" target="_blank">Coriolanus</a> -- William Shakespeare<br />
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=349&source=l" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=349&source=l" target="_blank">The Winter's Tale</a> -- William Shakespeare<br />
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<br />Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-13031411986778620642011-11-16T03:43:00.000-08:002011-11-16T03:49:49.357-08:00The Flashman Papers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhxGJiJuDozXZ_H_kVtiiEeMjOyPYllAdD_HTbR4x2UhdEPryfU1_8OeVZ04_gJ8jSxixqQ6HKibwTm0IyznKZkD_Bjayatucf1U3V5i_iicMU5yeXz-xM0Y142SXI5Dw8d8ToQ/s1600/Flashman2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhxGJiJuDozXZ_H_kVtiiEeMjOyPYllAdD_HTbR4x2UhdEPryfU1_8OeVZ04_gJ8jSxixqQ6HKibwTm0IyznKZkD_Bjayatucf1U3V5i_iicMU5yeXz-xM0Y142SXI5Dw8d8ToQ/s400/Flashman2.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Paget_Flashman">Harry Paget Flashman</a> was a fictional character created by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacDonald_Fraser">George MacDonald Fraser</a> as the protagonist in a series of 12 historical novels, covering the period 1839-1894. The novels are based on the "discovery" of Flashman's memoirs, and the books were published during the period 1969-2005. Flashman is an unapologetic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihero">antihero</a>, who described himself as "a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward—and oh yes, a toady." The history of the novels is accurate, and Flashman provides amusement, so I enjoy these novels. The following is the complete list of the novels, taken from Wikipedia; I have them all, and I am working my way through them.<br />
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Volumes of the Flashman Papers<br />
<br />
The following extracts (in publication order) from the Flashman Papers have been published:<br />
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- Flashman (1969): 1839-1842. Lord Cardigan; the First Anglo-Afghan War (the retreat from Kabul, the last stand at Gandamak and the siege of Jellalabad).<br />
- Royal Flash (1970): 1843, 1847-1848. A pastiche of The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope, set in the fictional German state of Strackenz. Lola Montez; Otto von Bismarck; bare-knuckle boxing; the Schleswig-Holstein Question; the Revolutions of 1848.<br />
- Flash for Freedom! (1971): 1848-1849. The Atlantic slave trade; the Underground Railroad.<br />
- Flashman at the Charge (1973): 1854-1855. The Crimean War; the Charge of the Light Brigade; Russian invasion of Central Asia.<br />
- Flashman in the Great Game (1975): 1856-1858. The Indian Mutiny, the Rani of Jhansi, the Cawnpore Massacre, the siege of Lucknow. Flashman was required to perform heroically in this conflict and was awarded the Victoria Cross and a knighthood. But the publication of Tom Brown's Schooldays with its portrayal of Flashman as a coward and bully spoiled his satisfaction.<br />
- Flashman's Lady (1977): 1843-1845. The first "hat trick" in cricket; "White Rajah" James Brooke and the pirates of Borneo; Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar. Parts are written as if drawn from the diary of his wife Elspeth, and edited by her slightly puritanical and much offended sister, Grizel Morrison de Rothschild.<br />
- Flashman and the Redskins (1982): 1849-1850, 1875-1876. The Wild West: the Forty-Niners, the Apaches, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.<br />
- Flashman and the Dragon (1985): 1860. China: the Taiping Rebellion and the Peking Expedition.<br />
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light (1990): 1845-46. The First Anglo-Sikh War; the Koh-i-Noor diamond.<br />
- Flashman and the Angel of the Lord (1994): 1858-1859. United States: John Brown and the Harper's Ferry Raid.<br />
- Flashman and the Tiger (1999) incorporating:<br />
-- The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of Berlin; assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Josef.<br />
-- The Subtleties of Baccarat: 1890-1891. Edward VII; the Royal Baccarat Scandal.<br />
- Flashman and the Tiger 1879, 1894. The Zulu War; Oscar Wilde; Colonel Sebastian "Tiger Jack" Moran; Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.<br />
- Flashman on the March (2005): 1868. Escape from Mexico at the end of the French occupation; British invasion of Abyssinia to rescue hostages.<br />
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Flashman also plays a small part in Fraser's novel Mr American (1980). His father, Harry Buckley Flashman, appears in Black Ajax (1997). At one point, it is also mentioned that a member of the Flashman family was present at the Battle of Culloden, 1746. Fraser has confirmed that Flashman died in 1915 but the circumstances of his death have never been related.<br />
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In early 2006 Fraser said that he planned to write another installment of the Flashman Papers. Fraser said he had chosen three possible subjects to write about, though what these are he was not willing to say. At the Oxford Literary festival in 2006, Fraser estimated that it took him roughly three to five months to research and write a Flashman novel.<br />
<br />
Fraser died of cancer on 2 January 2008.<br />
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Flashman Papers in chronological order:<br />
<br />
Flashman: 1839-1842. the First Anglo-Afghan War.<br />
Flashman's Lady: 1843-1845. Borneo, Madagascar.<br />
Flashman and the Mountain of Light: 1845-46. The First Anglo-Sikh War.<br />
Royal Flash: 1847-1848. the Revolutions of 1848.<br />
Flash for Freedom!: 1848-1849. The Atlantic slave trade; the Underground Railroad.<br />
Flashman and the Redskins Part I: 1849-1850, The Wild West: the Forty-Niners,<br />
Flashman at the Charge: 1854-1855. The Crimean War; the Charge of the Light Brigade.<br />
Flashman in the Great Game: 1856-1858. The Indian Mutiny.<br />
Flashman and the Angel of the Lord: 1858-1859. the Harper's Ferry Raid.<br />
Flashman and the Dragon: 1860. the Peking Expedition.<br />
Flashman on the March: 1868. British invasion of Abyssinia to rescue hostages.<br />
Flashman and the Redskins Part II: 1875-1876. the Battle of the Little Bighorn.<br />
Flashman and the Tiger<br />
The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of Berlin; Emperor Franz Josef.<br />
The Subtleties of Baccarat: 1890-1891. Edward VII; the Royal Baccarat Scandal.<br />
Flashman and the Tiger 1879, 1894. The Zulu War.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-86744893459999397822011-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:002011-11-12T12:01:17.264-08:00La's Orchestra Saves The World, Alexander McCall Smith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmYitvLPgndh_S3mdgo6n-ozy-yDpyYrkyj6AMxwAuev9oiDJQNSykMWJ3oVzy18Iz6S8ysBnYZ9ePxSd_26CFQc1g-Ftz2MI96CGmnKU-0167sujxKueXD8cr9fAJOgI86bJqg/s1600/las_orchestra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmYitvLPgndh_S3mdgo6n-ozy-yDpyYrkyj6AMxwAuev9oiDJQNSykMWJ3oVzy18Iz6S8ysBnYZ9ePxSd_26CFQc1g-Ftz2MI96CGmnKU-0167sujxKueXD8cr9fAJOgI86bJqg/s320/las_orchestra.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><a href=http://www.amazon.com/Orchestra-Saves-World-Alexander-Mccall/dp/0307398110>La's Orchestra Saves The World</a><br />
Having read all of Alexander McCall Smith's books, I was expecting another light hearted book with a happy ending. However, this book is very different from other McCall Smith books. This book is a melancholy biographical novel about a sad life of a wonderful woman. One keeps hoping that after the sadness, her life will become happier, but instead, more sadness ensues until the end, leaving one feeling quite sad. While I am sure that many lives are unhappy, I am not attracted to books about those lives. I prefer not to read books that leave me feeling sad, and I don't recommend this book.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-83465080477651453932011-11-10T07:10:00.000-08:002011-11-10T07:10:04.732-08:00The Sound of Language, Amulya Malladi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uJG4HqTKQdyNOBSwJuBBZq3gdBJbcS9YGus5iyGs8xz2gC0FwtdR4eGVxuSNUmxVH6t5abOKtGQ1mByL2DonvdbHsai-5Ma1lIe-K6FfSRCM_6AO4kznQTgZK_rIaGr960Yp2w/s1600/Sound+of+Language.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uJG4HqTKQdyNOBSwJuBBZq3gdBJbcS9YGus5iyGs8xz2gC0FwtdR4eGVxuSNUmxVH6t5abOKtGQ1mByL2DonvdbHsai-5Ma1lIe-K6FfSRCM_6AO4kznQTgZK_rIaGr960Yp2w/s1600/Sound+of+Language.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Language-Novel-Amulya-Malladi/dp/0345483162">The Sound of Language</a>, by Amulya Malladi<br />
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Amulya Malladi grew up in India, then went to the United States to study and while there, married a man from Denmark. They went to live in Denmark in 2002, where Malladi came to learn about Afghan immigrants to Denmark, fleeing the Taliban. This book is about one such Afghan immigrant to Denmark and the difficulties she faced in going to live in a society that was completely alien to the society she came from in Afghanistan, including a new language that sounded like the buzzing of bees. The book describes many differences that Raihana faced, and the difficulty she had in coping with those differences. The book also describes those Afghans who wanted to cling to their past social norms and their tension both with Danish society and with other Afghans who wanted adopt some of the social norms of their new country. The book also describes the tensions in the Danish society in coming to accept the new immigrants from Afghanistan. In addition, the book describes the inner turmoil of a young woman faced with the loss of her husband, her move to this new country, and her own continued growth, regardless of her place of residence. I suspect that many immigrants from all over the world face similar difficulties, no matter where they come from or which country they immigrate to, including the United States. I liked this book. Malladi informs through the means of a story. Her story, like real life, includes more sorrow than joy, in the end, coming to a compromise living situation, as so many immigrants do, letting go of some of her old society, but not fully integrating into her new society, living out her life in a state of limbo, neither here nor there. Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-12100692666471339482011-11-07T17:27:00.000-08:002011-11-08T04:00:27.756-08:00The Last Boy, by Jane Leavy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJ5yCATvuXIMvOF1imVWjrI7gxKWprf3d2H0sCMG7BCDSa2RNTZ0bqIettHgQWAKayt450l4o7qmmHUZpAhbqB29UnqI1WIktiH_36HpGDT7sHwfzoXehQOmlqIc0SXFtqmt9-g/s1600/Mantle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJ5yCATvuXIMvOF1imVWjrI7gxKWprf3d2H0sCMG7BCDSa2RNTZ0bqIettHgQWAKayt450l4o7qmmHUZpAhbqB29UnqI1WIktiH_36HpGDT7sHwfzoXehQOmlqIc0SXFtqmt9-g/s1600/Mantle2.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Boy-Mickey-Americas-Childhood/dp/0060883529">The Last Boy</a><br />
Mickey Mantle And The End Of America's Childhood<br />
By Jane Leavy<br />
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In 1996, the year after Mickey Mantle died, his wife Merlyn and three of their four sons published a memoir of Mickey, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hero-All-His-Life-Merlyn/dp/0060183632">A Hero All His Life</a>. In that book, they recognized Mickey's faults -- his massively irresponsible life toward his family, his profession, his teammates and friends, and himself; his addictions to alcohol and womanizing; and his boorish behavior. They also discussed why they loved him -- despite his faults, he was a genuinely nice, caring, loving man. In the first chapter of that book, Mantle admitted his many faults and apologized for letting his wife and sons down. In a press conference, Mantle told kids in America, "Don't be like me."<br />
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Jane Leavy's book details Mantle's personal failings, and it also describes some of his greatest triumphs as a baseball player. Despite Mantle's horrendous lifestyle, he was a truly gifted and great baseball player. Like Babe Ruth before him, he was great despite his degenerate lifestyle. One can only imagine how much better he might have been if he had lived the responsible life that his counterpart across town, Willie Mays, lived. Would he have been as great as Mays? Very likely he would have equaled Mays offensively, although not defensively. Adding to Mantle's difficulties as a baseball player was the fact that in his first year as a Yankee, in the World Series of 1951, he severely injured his knee while fielding a ball hit by another rookie -- Willie Mays. Medical science at that time was not able to repair the knee as it could easily do today, and he played his entire career on that injured knee.<br />
<br />
It is interesting to note that Mantle's lifestyle was not widely known at the time that he played, just as the personal failings of the president at that time, JFK, were not known. Personal lives of public figures were off-limits to the press at that time. In today's press climate, details of private failings are widely reported and widely known, as in the case of Tiger Woods. Such wide reporting, while very intrusive, robbing individuals of their privacy, also has the advantage of helping athletes and other public figures to let go of character flaws and live and perform at a level closer to their full potential.<br />
<br />
It is also interesting to note that athletes of Mantle's time did not employ weight training or other exercise programs. Their achievements were accomplished through natural talent alone, making them all the more remarkable. It is truly amazing that Mantle could accomplish all that he did with a degenerate lifestyle, no exercise, and a severely injured knee. Even with all of his accomplishments, he did not realize his full potential as a baseball player.<br />
<br />
Jane Leavy is a good writer, and I find it enjoyable to read her prose. However, reading about Mantle's degenerate lifestyle produces a sadness that greatly diminishes the pleasure in reading the book. She writes well, describing perhaps too well Mantle's failings. I finished the book about a truly great baseball player feeling very sad, when I should have felt intense joy.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-92148034420389488932011-11-07T02:31:00.000-08:002011-11-07T02:31:04.517-08:00The Boys From Syracuse -- Shakespeare Theatre<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuoOBsXs9SAEq9-D2uCvhjuC-dYuBAskxt_FY-rjrETZT1MzxUq72EbbGgPOAPGRNGN6kK2fTaG5ip7g_CulIollynjPlPORPp0OQsrGsUiXAduxuStdyIcbx4_rKIhlCGPYS3w/s1600/syracuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuoOBsXs9SAEq9-D2uCvhjuC-dYuBAskxt_FY-rjrETZT1MzxUq72EbbGgPOAPGRNGN6kK2fTaG5ip7g_CulIollynjPlPORPp0OQsrGsUiXAduxuStdyIcbx4_rKIhlCGPYS3w/s1600/syracuse.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=321&source=l">The Boys From Syracuse</a><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_from_Syracuse">The Boys From Syracuse</a> is a musical based on Shakespeare's play, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Comedy_of_Errors">A Comedy of Errors</a>. The musical was written by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart and first produced on Broadway in 1938. As described in <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/boys-from-syracuse-at-shakespeare-theatre-company/2011/11/06/gIQAr7QItM_story.html">The Washington Post review</a> of this production, this "show was Shakespeare Theatre Company’s inaugural attempt at replicating, with an Elizabethan wink, New York’s highly successful and widely imitated Encores! concert series, which regularly blows the dust off vintage (and sometimes not-so-vintage) musicals." Shakespeare Theatre produced five weekend performances of the show. I loved the show, as I love musical theater. The play and the music leave one feeling happy and remind one of a golden age of musical theater in America, led by Richard Rogers, who teamed with Hart and later with Oscar Hammerstein, to write some of the greatest shows in Broadway history.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-62621548816384839402011-11-01T05:15:00.000-07:002011-11-01T05:18:09.260-07:00Jennifer Stone Artwork<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FL_DLO26Lq9o-jq2xZgTrrAqXPcF7A1SEkjYKMThBu246X9qCovZ_UZmgunNBxumZXvFwkPx7y7IP_R7XnKDtgiwdnkMcRgNWNRdfGFCNxvwTgvosjDUwZ6uUDhMcy_Xbl3szA/s1600/Jennifer+Stone+Artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FL_DLO26Lq9o-jq2xZgTrrAqXPcF7A1SEkjYKMThBu246X9qCovZ_UZmgunNBxumZXvFwkPx7y7IP_R7XnKDtgiwdnkMcRgNWNRdfGFCNxvwTgvosjDUwZ6uUDhMcy_Xbl3szA/s400/Jennifer+Stone+Artwork.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jenniferstoneartwork.com/">Jennifer Stone Artwork</a></div><br />
At the Augustana College <a href="http://www.augie.edu/cws/gallery.html">Center for Western Studies</a><br />
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Interesting acrylics and watercolors.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-3924730978969499542011-10-20T03:55:00.000-07:002011-11-10T11:23:14.586-08:00The Heir Apparent -- Shakespeare Theatre<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=308&source=l#"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnL25zW1XErjeIZG-ZvaGozieZ3FLhRGSg2-hE2ebsmeiNLRQP4aI8_JPKANvrDYJeyDaVX7gvdbtDyEnV8JKteZQKEj3bm7mBVXXWt7qtpEJpaZ089nnZoMKKXc9A0jot132cXg/s1600/Heir+Apparent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnL25zW1XErjeIZG-ZvaGozieZ3FLhRGSg2-hE2ebsmeiNLRQP4aI8_JPKANvrDYJeyDaVX7gvdbtDyEnV8JKteZQKEj3bm7mBVXXWt7qtpEJpaZ089nnZoMKKXc9A0jot132cXg/s1600/Heir+Apparent.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=308&source=l#">The Heir Apparent</a><br />
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Both newspaper reviews and audience reviews are posted on the official site. My own review: I enjoyed the play. This play was first staged in 1708 in Paris, and the original was translated and updated for this production. The play is a farce; it was intended to be slapstick humor. The play was not to be taken seriously; it was intended to amuse, and in my opinion, it succeeded. This play made me smile and even laugh at times. I loved the lighthearted nature of the play, and I left the theater feeling happy.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-52204042952205293662011-10-20T03:36:00.000-07:002011-11-01T05:20:39.456-07:00Shakespeare Theatre 2011-2012 SeasonThe <a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/current_season.aspx">Shakespeare Theatre</a> celebrates its 25th Anniversary. <br />
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The 2011-2012 Anniversary Season<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=308&source=l">The Heir Apparent</a>: Regnard's comic masterpiece adapted by David Ives and directed by Michael Kahn—the creative team behind last year's hit, The Liar.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=309&source=l">Much Ado About Nothing</a>: the always-charming romantic comedy, directed by Ethan McSweeny, will run during the holiday season.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=310&source=l">The Two Gentlemen of Verona</a>: Shakespeare’s classic tale of friendship, love and adventure, will be directed by PJ Paparelli.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=311&source=l">Strange Interlude</a>: Michael Kahn directs Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, revolutionary drama, which has become a modern classic.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=312&source=l">The Servant of Two Masters</a>: Goldoni’s magical comedy will be restaged by Christopher Bayes after a sold-out run at Yale Repertory Theatre.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=313&source=l">The Merry Wives of Windsor</a>: Stephen Rayne will direct this bawdy and riotous Shakespeare play to close the season.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-59255313889512579802011-10-20T03:24:00.001-07:002012-12-05T11:47:06.846-08:00Lady Gaga at the Clinton "Decade of Difference" ConcertLady Gaga stole the show at the Clinton "Decade of Difference" concert. What a performance.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtU1aHh2EvQ" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRh2GUjqtT8" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-77741384611482004112010-02-19T11:38:00.001-08:002010-02-19T11:49:21.758-08:00Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYH8Jf_vqIxixqlcN2muV3lQNKblWA4SRI7pa1OgTe9lnONhYTKynk3nZfIpKiKrSRBkeVoymn4cJuTtHhZF5EpiUtBI4z2NjrB9Hr2-2il-GR6f3l8PXU5dn7sRwVrcAZKTW_HQ/s1600-h/Sister+Pelagia+and+the+Red+Cockerel.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYH8Jf_vqIxixqlcN2muV3lQNKblWA4SRI7pa1OgTe9lnONhYTKynk3nZfIpKiKrSRBkeVoymn4cJuTtHhZF5EpiUtBI4z2NjrB9Hr2-2il-GR6f3l8PXU5dn7sRwVrcAZKTW_HQ/s200/Sister+Pelagia+and+the+Red+Cockerel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440041414123516546" /></a> <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Sister-Pelagia-Red-Cockerel-Mortalis/dp/0812975154><span style="font-style:italic;">Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel</span></a> by <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Akunin>Boris Akunin</a><br /><br />I did not care for this book. I really enjoyed all four of the Fandorin books by Akunin, as well as the other two Sister Pelagia books that have been translated. I was really looking forward to getting this new translation; however, I soon found that it was not like the previous books. I found this book boring. I kept putting it aside. I had to struggle to finish it. It was not a fun, happy read for me. In addition, I also found the unnecessary and gratuitous violence and murders of innocent children and others to be uninviting. When I finally got to the end of the book and learned the storyline and plot, I found it so hokey that I could hardly believe that a writer like Akunin would write such a storyline. I have less excitement now about the next Akunin book that is translated. I don't recommend this book.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-37845038625427065432010-01-23T03:26:00.000-08:002010-01-23T05:26:53.158-08:00Stones into Schools, Greg Mortenson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDejIz7__ivfEe24PGJW0WdfbnYdq2I5Jl-8ucNW7gUfr-0_0xcMy9lDKnBcpF8zANkwk6VWq3vqMDBshsfx_rci2YeCvuLcz9yh6XyLiZkzdHKkpbj1zgO9ZKWVEoz-8afo_SA/s1600-h/Stones+Into+Schools.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDejIz7__ivfEe24PGJW0WdfbnYdq2I5Jl-8ucNW7gUfr-0_0xcMy9lDKnBcpF8zANkwk6VWq3vqMDBshsfx_rci2YeCvuLcz9yh6XyLiZkzdHKkpbj1zgO9ZKWVEoz-8afo_SA/s200/Stones+Into+Schools.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429895479168500946" /></a><br /><a href=http://www.amazon.com/Stones-into-Schools-Promoting-Afghanistan/dp/0670021156>Stones into Schools</a> by <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Mortenson>Greg Mortenson</a><br /><br />The first book written about Greg Mortenson, <a href=http://www.threecupsoftea.com/>Three Cups of Tea</a>, described how Mortenson became involved in building schools in rural Pakistan. The book became a world-wide inspirational best seller. This book follows up by describing how Mortenson and his "Dirty Dozen" employees work. The book describes how some of the schools -- now 131 -- actually came about. Mortenson describes how he and his men work with local community leaders to gain their acceptance and support, which he believes is vital to success. I found this book as inspirational as the first book -- it provides tangible methods to achieve success. Compared with the total number of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the number of schools built by Mortenson is tiny, but they are vital to the villages and the children they serve. <br /><br />As an unintended consequence, a much larger purpose has been served by Mortenson -- he has inspired the American military to take a completely different approach -- talking with elders in communities rather than simply bombing and killing innocent civilians. Military leaders have sought the advice of Mortenson, and Three Cups of Tea is now required reading by officers in the military serving in Afghanistan. At last our military is "promoting peace with books, not bombs", as Mortenson teaches, as shown by this quote:<br /><br />"What Greg understands better than most—and what he practices more than anyone else I know—is the simple truth that all of us are better off when all of us have the opportunity to learn, especially our children. By helping them learn and grow, he’s shaping the very future of a region and giving hope to an entire generation." —Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff<br /><br /><a href=http://www.stonesintoschools.com/>Stones into Schools</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/books/10book.html>New York Times Review of <span style="font-style:italic;">Stones into Schools</span></a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01152010/watch2.html>Bill Moyers Interview with Greg Mortenson</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKq5BECYwbE>Bloomberg Night Talk Interview with Greg Mortenson</a> (and numerous other YouTube videos of Greg Mortenson<br /><br /><a href=https://www.ikat.org/>Central Asia Institute</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.gregmortenson.com/>Greg Mortenson</a><br /><br /><a href=http://gregmortenson.blogspot.com/>Greg Mortenson's Blog</a><br /><br /><a href=http://petitplaisirs.blogspot.com/2007/07/three-cups-of-tea-greg-mortenson-and.html>Three Cups of Tea</a>Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-12698800764387168302010-01-14T07:13:00.001-08:002010-01-15T05:52:01.615-08:00Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzbV3JBQYNdTDjM_x0ouxK-1LTE2EaDTVCsjnzYJCMXgf42EWcthsFiIkoVfMS9Ahxf98dMPaWYUtL3bIKSXUjTsAvOJjGmAgSWmvzZduZJLTkxWJqHojVBiUZ4-kTgpYt3LORQ/s1600-h/Lolita.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzbV3JBQYNdTDjM_x0ouxK-1LTE2EaDTVCsjnzYJCMXgf42EWcthsFiIkoVfMS9Ahxf98dMPaWYUtL3bIKSXUjTsAvOJjGmAgSWmvzZduZJLTkxWJqHojVBiUZ4-kTgpYt3LORQ/s200/Lolita.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426614110727183746" /></a> <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Lolita-Vladimir-Nabokov/dp/0679723161>Lolita</a>, by <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov>Vladimir Nabokov</a><br /><br />What goes on in the mind of a pedophile? How can this obsession be described? Nabokov imagined the thoughts, the feelings, of a man completely consumed by his addiction to a <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphet>"nymphet"</a> -- a 12 year old girl. To me, all fiction books can be judged by two criteria -- the quality of the story and the quality of the writing. This story was interesting in that it described the mind of a man with a particular insanity. The quality of the writing was outstanding for people who take delight in the use of words almost never used, mixed with the use of French. For me, I found the story to drag, and I found the book very easy to put aside; the story was too boring and the words too strange for me to enjoy. For years, I had postponed reading the book because I was too uneasy about the subject matter of the book. In retrospect, I found that I was simply bored too often by the book. By comparison, <a href=http://petitplaisirs.blogspot.com/2005/08/collected-tales-of-nikolai-gogol.html>Gogol's</a> short story, "The Diary of a Madman" is one of the most moving stories I have ever read. Gogol's writing is so mesmerizing that I sometimes found myself forgetting the story and simply marveling at the way he wrote. <br /><br />Others, too, have noted the difficulties posed by the word play in the book, and find an annotated version of the book to be helpful. <br />"...the reader of Lolita attempts to arrive at some sense of its overall 'meaning,' while at the same time having to struggle...with the difficulties posed by the recondite materials and rich, elaborate verbal textures. The main purpose of this edition is to solve such local problems and to show how they contribute to the total design of the novel." --From the Preface by Alfred Appel, Jr.<br /><br /><a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679727299/$%7B0%7D>The Annotated Lolita</a><br /><br />Or, as stated in the Wikipedia article: "The novel's flamboyant style is characterized by word play, double entendres, multilingual puns, anagrams, and coinages such as 'nymphet', a word that has since had a life of its own and can be found in most dictionaries, and the lesser used 'faunlet'."<br /><br /><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita>Lolita</a>Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-72077784970306726432010-01-05T00:33:00.000-08:002010-01-05T07:00:29.402-08:00Salute to Vienna 2010<a href=http://www.salutetovienna.com/site.cgi?/a/cikk/id/home/bg/home>Salute To Vienna</a>, at <a href=http://www.strathmore.org/eventstickets/calendar/view.asp?id=4895>Strathmore Music Center</a>, January 2, 2010.<br /><br />An evening of <a href=http://www.answers.com/topic/the-best-of-salute-to-vienna-10th-anniversary-collection>Strauss music</a>. What an elegant, happy way to welcome in the new year and the new decade.<br /><br />And a contest at the concert! <a href=http://www.salutetovienna.com/site.cgi?/a/contest2>Who is that girl?</a> Can you name the woman in the painting and the artist who painted her portrait? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40LMdw0EzRFX8reTj1djtsRp475Os4XlNDJDGKE98QWx02jbFbWmadJk4hKiX8ZKEogCrn1QnHOcHgwf-Ra-qI8NIDrydOkNAdXUgQ8Bo5YIVarVDHC9r_fye56sqibx_vZQGMg/s1600-h/Klimt+Kiss.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 197px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40LMdw0EzRFX8reTj1djtsRp475Os4XlNDJDGKE98QWx02jbFbWmadJk4hKiX8ZKEogCrn1QnHOcHgwf-Ra-qI8NIDrydOkNAdXUgQ8Bo5YIVarVDHC9r_fye56sqibx_vZQGMg/s200/Klimt+Kiss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423267409605521618" /></a>I was able to name the artist, but missed the name of the woman. The artist was <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt>Gustav Klimt</a>, who some art historians call one of the <a href=http://petitplaisirs.blogspot.com/2009/11/art-history-at-sea-queen-mary-2.html>20 most influential artists of the past 500 years</a>. His most famous painting is <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kiss_%28Klimt_painting%29>The Kiss</a>.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuZ-1b9tvQv1p7z8VWpH1gOSV6ryi95JyPd8eWHRJv2UVeX4C_cHFblk08hgBq7EZH4e3d0oFzjVl4bfo1joCF2lLO_Y24xyLD_YTsI21eHZNm3BzTI-3uFhmZ1Ras5Q0dwhIMw/s1600-h/Klimt+Judith.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 98px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuZ-1b9tvQv1p7z8VWpH1gOSV6ryi95JyPd8eWHRJv2UVeX4C_cHFblk08hgBq7EZH4e3d0oFzjVl4bfo1joCF2lLO_Y24xyLD_YTsI21eHZNm3BzTI-3uFhmZ1Ras5Q0dwhIMw/s200/Klimt+Judith.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423268137703207426" /></a>So who is the woman? I guessed that the woman in the painting was Klimt's wife, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustav_Klimt_039.jpg>Judith</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uyhBf-cOQVJMae7LOwPEq8n7XNp3tYVH3bI2JbXH-KNKnjAWPu3PSut0OhLuP8bhk3zLBWR7JLHXhkHy0IQ2gkjeXrS5BTIct8y6e5a9Q0AQWQmj0MQnH25kVi16hOAK7HTB1g/s1600-h/Klimt+Emilie+Floge.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 83px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uyhBf-cOQVJMae7LOwPEq8n7XNp3tYVH3bI2JbXH-KNKnjAWPu3PSut0OhLuP8bhk3zLBWR7JLHXhkHy0IQ2gkjeXrS5BTIct8y6e5a9Q0AQWQmj0MQnH25kVi16hOAK7HTB1g/s200/Klimt+Emilie+Floge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423268814076367042" /></a>However, I was mistaken; instead, it was <a href=http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klimt/emilie_floge.jpg.html>Emilie Flöge</a>, painted at the request of her husband.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-68501835625726585782010-01-04T18:17:00.000-08:002010-01-05T06:38:50.049-08:00As You Like It, Shakespeare Theatre<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjfYstv9qlHvmfMZZOKzmjtXsSEXQOHu6KRe6XlW_Dz3R-db_k9lS6VSCZvFivA4_yN1ICBeGZmBt7BrleUrf1Fr7mEuJ8aFh3rQFg8Vy0CyUJssrmB-Y5FkSlpxIHVPiPUiC4g/s1600-h/As+You+Like+It+2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 159px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjfYstv9qlHvmfMZZOKzmjtXsSEXQOHu6KRe6XlW_Dz3R-db_k9lS6VSCZvFivA4_yN1ICBeGZmBt7BrleUrf1Fr7mEuJ8aFh3rQFg8Vy0CyUJssrmB-Y5FkSlpxIHVPiPUiC4g/s200/As+You+Like+It+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423075434431141842" /></a> Francesca Faridany as Rosalind and John Behlmann as Orlando in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of William Shakespeare’s <span style="font-style:italic;">"As You Like It"</span>. Directed by Maria Aitken. Photo by Scott Suchman. <br /><br /><br /><br /><a href=http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=181&source=l>As You Like It</a>, Shakespeare TheatreEasy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-45154958104309948592009-11-28T10:53:00.000-08:002009-11-28T11:09:02.490-08:00The Alchemist, Shakespeare Theatre<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNLCdu-Y9JMpKy9_XCG3UjRnXTJsH0Wcc6UW-ZZCe4lsbhFqlnbcHPGC2F0QVPzYnxhoQgGVl5-XIYqp9PVITGujXR1WhCEG60j630AzHrcO75vvOyrmP5OgugkVKOx7AWPhGJg/s1600/The+Alchemist.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNLCdu-Y9JMpKy9_XCG3UjRnXTJsH0Wcc6UW-ZZCe4lsbhFqlnbcHPGC2F0QVPzYnxhoQgGVl5-XIYqp9PVITGujXR1WhCEG60j630AzHrcO75vvOyrmP5OgugkVKOx7AWPhGJg/s200/The+Alchemist.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409229901303519362" /></a><br /><a href=http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=180&source=l>The Alchemist</a> by <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson>Ben Jonson</a><br /><br />The Alchemist is a happy farce about con artists, who were rife in London at the time that the play was first performed in 1610. The play left the audience feeling happy.<br /><br />Of course, here in Washington, we see political con artists every day, so we are accustomed to their misdeeds, although the con artists of today are more malevolent than the ones depicted in the play.<br /><br /><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_%28play%29>History and summary</a> of the play, and <a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/shakespearetheatrecompany/sets/72157622620167384/>a photo set</a> of this production.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-9492841901552218852009-11-26T14:05:00.000-08:002009-11-26T14:12:44.754-08:00Thanksgiving 2009, Chez Francois<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixI0vywAo6PrfUAiV4aZb5baJG7IKN7zzlBdpfBDOEp_JuQcTdD__tBA3s490gEw2Zi9c4fht0Ky8llRaYJNmXDnHOG42uQFzciXt0phkquAr2yTQfdjpI54GhuCSegOy2Te8OCA/s1600/Chez+Francois.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixI0vywAo6PrfUAiV4aZb5baJG7IKN7zzlBdpfBDOEp_JuQcTdD__tBA3s490gEw2Zi9c4fht0Ky8llRaYJNmXDnHOG42uQFzciXt0phkquAr2yTQfdjpI54GhuCSegOy2Te8OCA/s200/Chez+Francois.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408537351901962082" /></a> <a href=http://www.laubergechezfrancois.com/>L'Auberge Chez Francois</a>, "a French Alsatian Country Inn", and the "best French restaurant in the Washington area".<br /><br />A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Happy Thanksgiving!Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-41916768034396456762009-11-22T09:15:00.000-08:002009-11-22T09:31:34.517-08:00Paris Tales, A Literary Tour of the City<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsGgApKiE-pXwF51IuzXAG6nCKCbTwBN7FEImoBu58MW0KpIqM_tqQ4Q8g_yNCF4yKqnKX-tatlU0uCTIaCsZhnlMnLve89ou-1SoGn8mBuF8hh-Fg_oTRoAt-dsOpxY6d7cinw/s1600/Paris+Tales.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsGgApKiE-pXwF51IuzXAG6nCKCbTwBN7FEImoBu58MW0KpIqM_tqQ4Q8g_yNCF4yKqnKX-tatlU0uCTIaCsZhnlMnLve89ou-1SoGn8mBuF8hh-Fg_oTRoAt-dsOpxY6d7cinw/s200/Paris+Tales.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406981569746268930" /></a><br /><a href=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Tales-Literary-Tour-City/dp/0192805746/><span style="font-style:italic;">Paris Tales</span></a>, translated by Helen Constantine<br /><br />Product Description (From Amazon)<br />Paris Tales is a highly evocative collection of stories by French and Francophone writers who have been inspired by specific locations in this most visited of capital cities. The twenty-two stories - by well-known writers including Nerval, Maupassant, Colette, and Echenoz - provide a captivating glimpse into Parisian life from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. The stories take us on an atmospheric tour of the arrondissements and quartiers of Paris, charting the changing nature of the city and its inhabitants, and viewing it through the eyes of characters such as the provincial lawyer's wife seeking excitement, a runaway schoolboy sleeping rough, and a lottery-winning policeman. From the artists' haunts of Montmartre to the glamorous cafés of Saint-Germain, from the shouts of demonstrators on Boul Mich' to the tranquillity of Parc Monceau, Paris Tales offers a fascinating literary panorama of Paris. Illustrated with maps and striking photographs, the book will appeal to all those who wish to uncover the true heart of this seductive city.<br /><br /><br />About the Author (From Amazon)<br />Helen Constantine was Head of Languages for many years at a comprehensive school in Oxfordshire and now works as a full-time translator. She is married to the poet, David Constantine. In January 2004 they took over the editorship of Modern Poetry in Translation. <br /><br />When I purchased this book, I was hoping to learn a bit about the writing styles of some very famous writers and also to find interesting descriptions of various parts of the city. The book met my expectations in both regards. I'm sure the stories were not the best of the authors, and I'm sure that I could find better descriptions of various parts of the city. I found some of the stories uninspired and even dull, while others were much more interesting. It is not a great book, but it was interesting.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-80338964448586972552009-11-04T18:02:00.000-08:002009-11-06T23:41:53.303-08:00Art History at Sea, Queen Mary 2<span style="font-weight:bold;">Botticelli to Warhol, The 20 Most Influential Artists of the Past 500 Years</span>.<br /><br />Aboard the Queen Mary 2, I attended this art history lecture in which the lecturers discussed their choices of the 20 most influential artists of the past 500 years. <br /><br />1. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandro_Botticelli>Sandro Botticelli</a> – 1445–1550. Mystical painter. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus_%28Botticelli%29><span style="font-style:italic;">The Birth of Venus</span></a>.<br /><br />2. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Greco>El Greco</a> – 1541–1614. <br /><br />3. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder>Pieter Bruegel</a> – 1525–1569. Painted landscapes and influenced Rembrandt, Vermeer, and others.<br /><br />4. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David>Jacques Louis David</a> – 1748–1825. First great French painter, which led to many other French painters.<br /><br />5. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._W._Turner>JMW Turner</a> – 1775–1851. British landscapes. <a href=http://petitplaisirs.blogspot.com/2008/01/exhibitions-of-jmw-turner-and-edward.html>Surreal</a>, led to Impressionism. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Temeraire_%281798%29><span style="font-style:italic;">HMS Temeraire</span></a>.<br /><br />6. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_Manet>Edouard Manet</a> – 1832–1883. Impressionism. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_d%C3%A9jeuner_sur_l%27herbe><span style="font-style:italic;">Luncheon on the Grass</span></a>.<br /><br />7. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh>Van Gogh</a> – 1853–1890. Post Impressionism. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night><span style="font-style:italic;">Starry Night</span></a>.<br /><br />8. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt>Gustav Klimt</a> – 1862–1918. Austrian. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kiss_%28Klimt_painting%29><span style="font-style:italic;">The Kiss</span></a>.<br /><br />9. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_C%C3%A9zanne>Paul Cezanne</a> – 1839–1906. <br /><br />10. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso>Pablo Picasso</a> – 1881–1973. Cubism. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Demoiselles_d%27Avignon><span style="font-style:italic;">Les Demoiselles d’Avignon</span></a>, 1907. Expressed everything as a combination of cone, sphere, and cylinder.<br /><br />11. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse>Henri Matisse</a> – 1869–1954. Fauvism.<br /><br />12. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp>Marcel Duchamp</a> – 1887–1968. Avante Garde. First to show motion in paintings. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nude_Descending_a_Staircase,_No._2><span style="font-style:italic;">Nude Descending a Staircase</span></a>. (I have a copy of this painting, which I have always thought is the greatest painting I have ever seen. To me, this painting should be titled, "Madonna Descending a Staircase".)<br /><br />13. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_de_Chirico>Giorgio de Chirico</a> – 1888–1978. Futurism.<br /><br />14. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncu%C5%9Fi>Constantin Brancusi</a> – 1876–1957. Sculpture.<br /><br />15. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian>Piet Mondrian</a> – 1872–1944. <br /><br />16. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper>Edward Hopper</a> – 1882–1967. <a href=http://petitplaisirs.blogspot.com/2008/01/exhibitions-of-jmw-turner-and-edward.html>Precisionist</a>. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks><span style="font-style:italic;">Nighthawks</span></a>.<br /><br />17. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock>Jackson Pollock</a> – 1912–1956. Note that after World War II, New York became the center of the art world.<br /><br />18. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rothko>Mark Rothko</a> – 1903–1970. <br /><br />19. ??<br /><br />20. <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol>Andy Warhol</a> – 1928–1987.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-18191878006982090362009-11-03T14:58:00.001-08:002009-11-06T23:43:12.629-08:00Bruce Springsteen, Washington DC, November 2, 2009<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="video" width="640" height="520" data="http://www.myfoxdc.com/video/videoplayer.swf"><param value="http://www.myfoxdc.com/video/videoplayer.swf" name="movie"/><param value="&skin=MP1ExternalAll-MFL.swf&embed=true&adSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fad%2Edoubleclick%2Enet%2Fadx%2Ftsg%2Ewttg%2Fentertainment%2Fdetail%3Bdcmt%3Dtext%2Fxml%3Bpos%3D%3Btile%3D2%3Bfname%3Dbruce%2Dspringsteen%2Dcrowd%2Dsurfing%2Ddc%2Dhungry%2Dheart%2D110209%3Bsz%3D320x240%3Bord%3D828699750109464400%3Frand%3D0%2E8247630475385509&flv=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emyfoxdc%2Ecom%2Ffeeds%2FoutboundFeed%3FobfType%3DVIDEO%5FPLAYER%5FSMIL%5FFEED%26componentId%3D130924446&img=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia2%2Emyfoxdc%2Ecom%2F%2Fphoto%2F2009%2F11%2F02%2FSpringsteenHungryHeartraw%2E2jpg%5F20091102220757%5F640%5F480%2EJPG&story=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emyfoxdc%2Ecom%2Fdpp%2Fentertainment%2Fbruce%2Dspringsteen%2Dcrowd%2Dsurfing%2Ddc%2Dhungry%2Dheart%2D110209" name="FlashVars"/><param value="all" name="allowNetworking"/><param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"/></object><br /><br /><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen>Bruce Springsteen</a> at the Verizon Center in Washington DC, September 9, 2009. An incredible performance.<br /><br />Prior to the “Face2Face” concert with Elton John and Billy Joel in July, I had never attended a rock concert. After seeing “Jersey Boys” recently, when I noticed that a Bruce Springsteen concert was scheduled at the Washington, DC, Verizon Center on November 2, I went to <a href=http://www.stubhub.com/>Stubhub</a> and purchased excellent tickets.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pre-Performance</span> <br /><br />The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., and when I arrived at 7:00, almost no one was there. At 7:30, the crew was still checking lights and sound, and still almost no one was there; not more than 10 percent of the seats were filled. I wondered whether Bruce would be performing to a half empty arena. I also overheard several other people wondering about all the empty seats. At 8:00, 12-15 crew, arrived on stage and climbed “rope” ladders to a large overhead frame housing the lights for the performance. They were dressed in black and once they arrived at the completely black light structure, they became invisible. I felt sure that the lights were operated electronically, so I wondered why these crew were needed. Still the arena was half empty.<br /><br />While waiting for the concert to begin, two young men sat behind me chatting about dating. Their principal topic of discussion was that women expect men to pay for everything, so dating is expensive, many times even for dates that do not lead to second dates. On that topic, I found <a href=http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/chivalry-versus-equality.html>this woman's perspective</a> interesting.<br /> <br />Also while waiting for the concert to begin, two young women sat in the row in front of me, a slender brunette and a massively obese redhead, so obese that she had to wedge herself into the seat, even though I sat with room left over. After the two of them talked for a few minutes, the redhead stood up and turned around to talk with me. She asked if I had attended a Bruce Springsteen concert before, and then told me that fans often had tears in their eyes at the end of the concert, although she said DC is a more restrained crowd.<br /> <br />Later, a married couple sat in front of me, with a tall, thin, pretty woman along with them. She was very striking, with brown hair. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties. The seats were bleacher seats, so the row in front of me was substantially lower than the row in which I was seated. After a time, I noticed something about the pretty woman – the hair in the part in her hair was silver gray. She didn't look old enough for gray hair; I was glad she colored her hair, as I am always glad when women color their hair.<br /><br />A large man and his wife sat next to me, and he drank one beer after another from the time he got there until the end of the concert. He was constantly getting up to go get more beer.<br /><br />Overall, it seemed to me that most of the crowd was age 40-60, although some younger people were there, too. Bruce was dressed in jeans, as he always seems to be, and most of the crowd also seemed to be dressed in jeans. I felt a bit out of place dressed in a suit and tie; I had gone directly to the concert from my office, and did not change clothes. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Concert</span><br /><br />At 8:15, Bruce and the E Street Band appeared and the performance began, and suddenly every seat was filled, about 15,000, along with several thousand additional fans on the floor of the arena. The sudden appearance of the crowd was amazing. By comparison, about 55,000 fans attended the Elton John/Billy Joel “Face2Face” concert at Nationals’ Park, and close to 100,000 fans attended the Paul McCartney concert at FedEx Field this summer.<br /><br />From the moment that Bruce stepped onto the stage, he exhorted the crowd to make noise, and the crowd happily complied. Throughout the entire performance, he continued to exhort the crowd to make noise. Throughout the performance, the crowd sang along on all of the songs, seemingly knowing all the words to all the songs, and Bruce held out the microphone to exhort the crowd to sing along. Indeed, throughout the performance, the crowd was a sea of people jumping and waving their hands to the beat of the music. It was an incredible sight. The crowd was MUCH more involved with the music than at the Elton John/Billy Joel concert, where they almost ignored the music.<br /><br />The music was incredibly loud, with the bass actually throbbing the building. I was not familiar with the songs, and they all sounded very much alike to me, with the same beat. I could not understand any of the words to the songs, and I couldn't understand his words when he talked (or yelled) into the microphone. <br /> <br />Bruce was exceedingly active throughout the concert. He was everywhere on the stage, and he constantly stepped down from the stage to a platform that extended out into the crowd on the floor of the arena. He encouraged fans to touch him and to touch his guitar as he played. By comparison, the piano players, Elton John and Billy Joel, were at their pianos, and did not interact physically with the crowd. <br /> <br />The <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Street_Band>E Street Band</a> was truly incredible. They have been playing together for more than 35 years, and they were incredible. The most noticeable band member was the drummer, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weinberg>Max Weinberg</a>. He was truly amazing. He never stopped, playing the drums on all the songs, and in between songs as well. In addition, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Clemons>Clarence Clemons</a>, the sax player, was great, as well. He is a large man, and as he played, the camera showed close-up videos of his hands on the sax. His large fingernails were painted gold, the color of the saxophone. In this band, the piano player played a dominant role, as did the lead guitar player. The other most notable band member was the only woman, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patti_Scialfa>Patti Scialfa</a>, Bruce’s wife. She played the violin and guitar, and with her blonde hair, she was very striking on stage. The band expanded for some songs, adding a trumpet player, and several accordions. In one song, a young woman played the accordion, and she played very close to Bruce and he interacted with her a lot in a very playful way. Later he said she was the daughter of the drummer, Ali Weinberg. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjalbVbNWZr-MdJp6B98KFleFgWdoUuR3zmnOq9w9PVtA_GoX_hzbxPas5ELm0k7NWUDRDosU3MKp7PxPDaGAXn8W83LIRYJw2EKMlvOLU1Kx3mZoutuoTxCPPbYk6b8QUPLIRdA/s1600-h/Bruce+and+Steve1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjalbVbNWZr-MdJp6B98KFleFgWdoUuR3zmnOq9w9PVtA_GoX_hzbxPas5ELm0k7NWUDRDosU3MKp7PxPDaGAXn8W83LIRYJw2EKMlvOLU1Kx3mZoutuoTxCPPbYk6b8QUPLIRdA/s200/Bruce+and+Steve1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400611271011081330" /></a>(Photo from Washington Post)<br /><br />Clearly the band members were great friends, who have been together for a long time. Bruce seemed very close to all of them, and particularly close to the guitar players, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_Lofgren>Nils Lofgren</a> and <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Van_Zandt>Steve Van Zandt</a>, who sang with him on many of the songs. The band members looked older, as in fact they are.<br /> <br />The video above, taken from <a href=http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/entertainment/bruce-springsteen-crowd-surfing-dc-hungry-heart-110209>Fox News</a>, shows Bruce’s interaction with the crowd. Note how Bruce held the microphone out for the crowd, and exhorted them to make noise. Note also the gold painted fingernails of Clarence Clemons. Finally, note Patti Scialfa in the background playing the guitar.<br /><br />As he was playing one of the songs, Bruce stood on the platform extension into the crowd, and he noticed a boy about 11 years old singing. He helped the boy onto the stage and gave him the microphone, and <a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnZ_MbrvWhU>the boy sang</a> the song as the band played. Many people in the audience wore shirts and carried songs saying “We Love Bruce”. A group of women held a very large sign, “Lesbians heart Bruce”. He said I love you, too.<br /><br />On the website <a href=http://www.nj.com/springsteen/index.ssf/2009/11/bruce_springsteen_plays_stand.html>nj.com</a>, Stan Goldstein listed the songs played in the concert. As advertised, Bruce sang the entire set of songs from the album <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_to_Run>“Born to Run”</a>, as well as some other songs. At one point, he took requests from the crowd, who gave him requests on large cardboard signs. He collected many of the signs, and then picked out four songs.<br /><br />1. Outlaw Pete <br />2. Prove It All Night<br />3. Hungry Heart (crowd surf)<br />4. Working On a Dream<br />5. Thunder Road<br />6. Tenth Ave Freeze-Out<br />7. Night<br />8. Backstreets<br />9. Born To Run<br />10. She's The One<br />11. Meeting Across The River<br />12. Jungleland<br />13. Waitin' On A Sunny Day<br />14. Stand On It (tour premiere, request)<br />15. Seven Nights To Rock (request)<br />16. Growin' Up (request)<br />17. Pink Cadillac (request)<br />18. Lonesome Day<br />19. The Rising<br />20. Badlands<br /><br />Encores:<br />21. Hard Times<br />22. No Surrender<br />23. American Land<br />24. Dancing In The Dark<br />25. Rosalita <br />26. Higher & Higher<br /><br />The Washington Post <a href=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2009/11/bruce_springsteen_live_last_ni.html>review</a> of the concert, along with great <a href=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/11/03/GA2009110300962.html>photos</a> of the concert. I was also interested in many of the reader comments on the Washington Post review page.<br /><br />The show ended at 11:00 p.m.; it lasted almost three hours, nonstop. By comparison, the Face2Face concert lasted three hours, with Billy Joel singing one hour, Elton John singing one hour, and the two singing together for an hour.<br /><br />The Wikipedia article notes that Bruce was noted for great performances, and this performance was no exception. It was incredible. In his long career, he has sold approximately <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists>125 million albums</a>. By comparison, Elton John has sold about 200 million albums and Billy Joel about 100 million. Bruce’s “Born in the USA” sold 15 million albums, one of the greatest selling albums of all time.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-85370883609878240732009-10-28T17:14:00.000-07:002009-11-06T23:43:38.995-08:00Jersey Boys, National Theater<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45LfIxljB-5Md2lreevN00driexktAzlRXloFK9WqHn9m0ke7nXCSchOPhvnijYrRRifMsE4W9QhIQ0NH0_3SMqerM6mpXQYsiR1GcYfKoI_EmWI4aaZ2YD0f7_1MAgUeGbTobg/s1600-h/jersey_boys7.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 183px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45LfIxljB-5Md2lreevN00driexktAzlRXloFK9WqHn9m0ke7nXCSchOPhvnijYrRRifMsE4W9QhIQ0NH0_3SMqerM6mpXQYsiR1GcYfKoI_EmWI4aaZ2YD0f7_1MAgUeGbTobg/s200/jersey_boys7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397809704980483682" /></a> <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Boys><span style="font-style:italic;">Jersey Boys</span></a> at the <a href=http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/tour/washington.htm>National Theater</a><br /><br />As stated in Wikipedia, <span style="font-style:italic;">Jersey Boys</span> is a documentary-style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The group sold more than 175 million albums. The musical opened on Broadway on November 6, 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQ4NL89Mhg_Q84iZpKK-GZfdadieaKkRMwkg_NDweZORkSBBxuV0C3PfT8azMgtIkAp2ubHv6BujA8A85TxvTEQ_BvawxDUHnHEXS_3eN2imoew6rW49qTeqFbRzzOPsLTmGXAQ/s1600-h/Jersey+Boys.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 119px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQ4NL89Mhg_Q84iZpKK-GZfdadieaKkRMwkg_NDweZORkSBBxuV0C3PfT8azMgtIkAp2ubHv6BujA8A85TxvTEQ_BvawxDUHnHEXS_3eN2imoew6rW49qTeqFbRzzOPsLTmGXAQ/s200/Jersey+Boys.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397812396816523314" /></a> (Washington Post photo by Joan Marcus. From left, Steve Gouveia, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Josh Franklin and Matt Bailey in the touring production.)<br /><br />As mentioned in the <a href=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/05/AR2009100503825.html>Washington Post review</a>, this show is great entertainment. It was a great show. The audience loved it, and so did I. Most of all, the audience (and I) loved the singing of the old songs; the singers were truly excellent, singing the songs as they were sung by the original singers. The story of the group was also interesting, but the songs were what the audience wanted to hear. <br /><br />A complete list of the songs in the performance is given in the Wikipedia article. The audience was particularly excited to hear the top hits of the group, beginning with their first huge hit, "Sherry", then "Walk Like a Man" and later, "My Eyes Adored You" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". Many in the audience were moved to tears on hearing the songs sung so well.<br /><br />The theater was filled to capacity, and when I entered the theater, I noticed that the audience was different from a "normal" Washington, DC, audience. Washington is a white-collar town, and when Washingtonians go out to the theater, men wear white shirts and ties, almost exclusively, and women wear dressy clothes. In this audience, very few men wore ties; I guessed not more than a dozen ties in the entire audience, and a similar number of white shirts. Instead, men wore open-neck colored shirts and sport jackets. I had the very strong feeling that most of the people in the audience were from out of town. Then during the performance, I began to understand the audience.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6tiBCflOMtiE6FKK0PUV7PZ60hvvra-IIviPodEtM7W1ckzZB8ZpHVyUUD30E5HmzvUYhc8F0sZWOJXX73ImA7N1YAodoAOZPdHw8rzGOWJBhKouFRG75YVGEiGtEfFVkyvVLw/s1600-h/jersey8.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6tiBCflOMtiE6FKK0PUV7PZ60hvvra-IIviPodEtM7W1ckzZB8ZpHVyUUD30E5HmzvUYhc8F0sZWOJXX73ImA7N1YAodoAOZPdHw8rzGOWJBhKouFRG75YVGEiGtEfFVkyvVLw/s200/jersey8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397821331506475282" /></a> At one point in the show, one of the cast members said, "We weren't a social movement like the Beatles." He explained that their fans were blue-collar workers: "They were the factory workers, the truck drivers, the pretty girls with circles under their eyes behind the counters at the diner." The audience reflected that fan base -- blue-collar workers, now retired. It was wonderful, just as the show was wonderful. I left the theater feeling uplifted and happy, the way I love to feel, and the way all audience members want to feel after seeing a show. It was entertaining; it was joyful; it was wonderful.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-76436488936185722722009-10-28T03:43:00.000-07:002009-11-11T05:03:53.771-08:00The Little Book, Selden Edwards<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2Oq63E5TXYJGJuEXjPbHPK-BTpacpzbw0wRevs0oFyGPXNBiFYhr_X_r53JOvkwNxlM3sRVJAM-WKKRJjJ5ZGt4ZFeuaoo0EeJFDWI7KeesRKzAkPgA_Vy8ocTV2SJV41FiYuA/s1600-h/The+Little+Book.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2Oq63E5TXYJGJuEXjPbHPK-BTpacpzbw0wRevs0oFyGPXNBiFYhr_X_r53JOvkwNxlM3sRVJAM-WKKRJjJ5ZGt4ZFeuaoo0EeJFDWI7KeesRKzAkPgA_Vy8ocTV2SJV41FiYuA/s200/The+Little+Book.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397599817599690162" /></a><br /><a href=http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Selden-Edwards/dp/0525950613><span style="font-style:italic;">The Little Book</span></a> by <a href=http://www.seldenedwards.com/>Selden Edwards</a><br /><br />This book is a time-travel fantasy. Many fantasies of time travel have been written, and this is another one. In this book, the author travels back in time to Vienna in the year 1897, and describes the famous people, such as Freud and Mahler, who are beginning their famous work, as well as the political climate of that time, in which the mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger, is using anti-semitism to gain political popularity. The book seems to follow Mark Twain's <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Connecticut_Yankee_in_King_Arthur%27s_Court><span style="font-style:italic;">A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court</span></a>, and indeed the author includes Mark Twain in his tale as a visitor to Vienna in 1897. <br /><br />All books require a good story and good writing. In my view, this book has a bit of both, but only at the "C" level. Parts of the fantasy are interesting, amusing and completely unexpected, while I found other parts of the fantasy too corny, too contrived, too fake for my tastes. I found it interesting to read about Vienna in 1897, and I enjoyed reading the author's description of Freud and Mahler's work, but I thought the author's description of the origins of anti-semitism to be mistaken. <br /><br />While I was amused by much of the tale, I found the author's need for the protagonist to lead and teach EVERYTHING to be too much. The tale would have been more fun for me if the protagonist had been more human. The story also did not hold together in some ways. For example, it was interesting to me that both the protagonist and his father were illegitimate. The father was the illegitimate child of a Jewish teacher and friend of the mother, and the protagonist was the illegitimate child of his mother and an unknown military man in England just before D-Day in World War II. Yet, the author constantly referred to the protagonist as having inherited traits of his "father". <br /><br />The story has several twists that I found interesting or amusing. The illegitimacy of the two principal male characters was interesting. Why did the author include that in the book; it was unnecessary to the story, although it was interesting. In addition, the love affair between the protagonist and his grandmother in 1897 Vienna was also interesting. The author required 33 years to write this book, so he had plenty of time to get all the details straight, and yet he did not do that.<br /><br />All in all, the book was good subway reading, but certainly not great literature. <br /><br />I found some of the reviews at <a href=http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Selden-Edwards/dp/0525950613>Amazon</a>, <a href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Little-Book/Selden-Edwards/e/9780525950615>Barnes and Noble</a>, and <a href=http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=hardcover:sale:9780525950615:18.16#>Powells</a> interesting.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12746906.post-85207506323817450752009-10-11T04:28:00.000-07:002009-11-06T23:44:34.785-08:00Special Assignments, Boris Akunin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMoz-0bfjcGtpa45mmU2N-x-KWtUOOnkUdcWIwroUMnchrGyz94N_oiKwmq2yR19JjAxQjac-V2OzyZZng5yhCM0UigBcEEFzO9hwx_FQEOcUgLHraqotvNpQz8ptunO9FhQUDg/s1600-h/Special+Assignments.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 129px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMoz-0bfjcGtpa45mmU2N-x-KWtUOOnkUdcWIwroUMnchrGyz94N_oiKwmq2yR19JjAxQjac-V2OzyZZng5yhCM0UigBcEEFzO9hwx_FQEOcUgLHraqotvNpQz8ptunO9FhQUDg/s200/Special+Assignments.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391304297231197714" /></a> <a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812978609/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1>Special Assignments, Boris Akunin</a><br /><br /><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Akunin>Boris Akunin</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.boris-akunin.com/index.html>Boris Akunin official website</a>.Easy Travelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16616697747812743229noreply@blogger.com0