Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

bk and I went to see Sweeney Todd at the Lexington Opera House on Saturday night. I was transfixed it was so good. When the curtain went up, bk leaned over to me and said, gleefully, I can already tell I'm going to love this!

The production was a little unusual because the cast wore more or less modern clothes and they never showed any of the murders -- they mimed them while the stage lights turned red and then the victim would put on a jacket with blood spilled down the front. Since none of the actors ever left the stage, it was helpful to remember who was dead.

The reason the cast was always on stage is that they also played all of the instruments. On a couple of occasions the person who was singing was actually playing, but most of the time, the folks not directly involved in a scene would step to the edge of the stage and take up their instrument. There was a violin, a bass, a couple of cellos, a guitar, a piano, a tuba and a trumpet and, I think, a triangle at one point. The only furniture on stage was a coffin that they used alternately for a table or a bed or a platform.

The cast was talented and the whole production was really well done. Loved every minute of it.

The funny thing is that the production was sponsored by the Kentucky Blood Center, and the audience members each got a little straight razor letter opener as a souvenir.

The New Phone Books are Here! The New Phone Books are Here!

Well, actually, I did get a new phone book, but I also got a new phone, which has a better story.

I filled out a thing on line because I got a good discount through work (shocker!), and (after already giving my name, home address, date of birth [wtf?], and SSN) when I got to the driver's license field I blinked and -- suddenly -- I balked.

Second off, let me just say, people and organizations ask for very personal information all of the time and IT IS ALMOST NEVER WARRANTED. This is a pet peeve. Anyhoo, I got there and said to myself, no, line-in-the-sand, no.

So the guy calls me and says, hey, uh, prettygoodlife, I got your order, but I saw the zero in your DL and, uh, I really need that. I gave him back the exact same speech, first denying that I even had a DL, and then making up another story, and he said, well, it's policy, and I said, well, I'm talking to you on a cell phone right now, I don't need you. Sorry, can't have my DL.

...time passes...

Then he calls back to try to convince me of the difficulty in which he finds himself, it being company policy and all, and he said to me one of the sweetest things ever. He said, "Help me to help you. If you had a driver's license number, what would it be?" I, of course, assured him it would be "12345" and he thanked me and ...

... I think I'm getting a new phone.

OK, and if you don't like that, try the Flaming Lips and a sweet story of robot love. I think.

Blog Recommendations

A couple of ... I dunno ... rants ago, I realized that I'm in the market for new blogs to read. I was amazed at how hard that order would be to fill, but if you find yourself in a similar spot, my progress may be interesting.

Opinion I am a sucker for opinion pieces as long as the opinion is well argued and doesn't appear to have any particular axe to grind. After all, the opinions that don't match mine test mine, so if I'm feeling particularly deluded I can even find affirmation in an opinion piece that sits squarely on the other side of the fence. That said, the opinion doesn't have to bear on anything earthshattering. Here is one really interesting thing I was pointed to:

• Roger Ebert's Blog - Did you know that Roger Ebert lost his ability to speak? I didn't. He had surgery or something and there was a complication. This post about how his voice has returned via his writing is quite moving. Honestly, I always admired his knowledge of movies, but I never liked his show. And this guy can write. I recommend his blog in general, but I also recommend his post about The Pot in particular.

Travel I'm huge for buying travel magazines (think Budget Traveler or Outside's yearly travel issue) but I read those mostly to pass time. My travel jones doesn't really kick in until I read about a place on line. (Sigh.) These sites help.

• IGoUGo is designed for actual people who have actual jobs and can't take eight weeks in a row for a $45,000 cruise down the Nile. This site is easy to navigate and has lots of first-hand advice.
• GoWorldTravel - I dunno, I just like this site. Well organized information, and interesting and thoughtful articles.

Fashion I love to see things that people wear. In print, I'm so distracted and aggravated by the rumors and peccadillos of American celebrities, so I usually buy the UK versions of both OK! and Hello! magazines. Love that I can laugh at what they wear but not know a thing about them. Online, I read GoFugYourself (which continues to be hilarious), but I just came across this gem:

• The Sartorialist - This site is awesome because there's little comment and it largely comprises looks found on the street somewhere. In other words, someone wore these clothes out of the house because they wanted to wear them, not because they thought they might have their picture taken. Beautiful -- it's like art, whether you like the clothes or not.

So, that's how the hunt for new blogs goes. Recommendations are welcome.

What a Great Start!

Isn't this awesome? It's like the gate agent who tells you why your flight hasn't left yet.

I think it's a wonderful beginning. I also think it's being beseiged so we'll have to forgive a somewhat slow start.

Change.gov

Election Results! Redux!

I really couldn't stand not responding to that post on Linda Holmes's site, so I did and was promptly schooled (due to my own error) that anyone can make a mistake for one day. Read the comments. I'm one of the last few comments and I made one inarticulate comment (which I tried to withdraw), but it gave opposing counsel one last minute to argue their case.

p.s. I (totally) un-subscribed from her site a day before that exchange! It's not because she doesn't agree with me! Damn it, Jim! I'm a business analyst, not an unsubscriber!

p.p.s. This all makes me wonder -- who writes blogs? How much do you know about your favorite blogger? It's weird!

Election Results & War Tactics

Hee hee, I wrote the following post, but wanted to lighten it up by sharing a really cool war video. Enjoy! Then read my heartfelt sentiments about the election!



OK, so I think that the family votes in ... hmmm ... one ... two ... three ... four different states (and there is a strong potential that the parents voted from a fifth -- or even Mexico -- if they used their absentee ballots), and I'm almost as sure that we voted for at least two different candidates.

Not that it matters much, but I voted for Obama. I'm not a huge fan (Biden was my first choice, he dropped out, Hillary was my next choice), and I don't think the McCain/Obama economic policies are all that different, but I really admire Obama's seeming ability to pull people together. I remember reading about a rally where he mentioned McCain's name and there were boos, but he responded, "Don't boo. Vote." That's the kind of temperament I want in a world leader. I think Obama can pull people together in a way that McCain is probably not capable of -- and mostly because McCain's loyalty to Bush really hurt his credibility with people.

But that's all neither here nor there. I've heard from folks on both sides, I can understand and appreciate the view of those who voted for McCain.

I bring all of this up because I saw just one of the ugliest bits of behavior on the internet that I've seen in a while, from one of the writers on the internet that I most admire. Linda Holmes is a writer (blogger is kind of disrespectful because that lumps her in with the likes of me), and in the past couple of weeks she's posted a few pro-Obama things. My reaction was essentially to ignore it, it's her blog, she can make her own editorial decisions. I thought it seemed like she picked a fight with a guy who said he disagreed with her position on the election, but -- again -- it's her blog, she can fight with people.

Then the day after the election she posted something that struck me as ... odd. I'll link to it, but I think it's fair to paraphrase it as relief and happiness that the election had gone the way it had, but also an indication that she thought we should all take a day to be obnoxious about this. She called a Gloat Day (gloat is her word, not mine). Check it out, maybe I'm wrong.

I read it and thought to myself (initially), it's her blog, she can post what she wants. But as the day went on, it stuck with me. I thought to myself that -- of all the reasons I voted for Obama -- this was the absolute most important one to me: this country needs to unite to solve some very serious problems. I was -- I am -- appalled that an educated thinker whose opinions I generally respect thinks even the smallest service could stem from this kind of petty exercise.

On Barack Obama's list of ways to celebrate this election this way is at the bottom.

You can read Linda's and her readers' Gloat Day here. It's just as petty and ugly as you might imagine. And it all makes me very sad -- because (to spin Mr. Obama's own words) maybe it shows that we can't.