3 Ring Binder

Last night I went with a friend to see the National Theatre's movie presentation of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the tortured Dane. I was so proud of myself for agreeing to go out on a weeknight and see a movie of a Shakespearean play that I didn't think my night could get any better. It did.  There was a bar at the theatre!  It's not that I would in any way need a bar to sit through four hours of Shakespeare. No! It's just that it was such an unexpected delight. It's almost like I hadn't been to the movies since they invented the reclining seats. But, I digress.  Not only did the theatre have a bar, but there was "real" food.  (By "real" food in this context I mean anything not made by Mars, Incorporated or deep fried.)  As it was the Ides (of November, so not really), I ordered the Caesar chicken salad wrap. After many, many minutes and missing the beginning of the Cumberbatch mini-interview, I got my food an...

The Dowager Countess of Grantham delivers.

Thursday morning, son not a homeowner;  Thursday afternoon -  a homeowner! Thursday morning, daughter a wearer of braces;  Thursday afternoon - NOT a wearer of braces! Saturday morning, other daughter a 17 year-old;  later Saturday morning, an 18 year-old!

With some trepidation, I did something Wednesday night that I’d never done before and I’ll tell you – I can hardly wait to do it again. Stephen and I—not to mention about 225 other people whose median age was well over 68— sat in a dark little theatre for over four hours simply captivated by the Metropolitan Opera’s encore presentation of Lucia di Lammermoor , Donizetti’s tragic opera, Live in HD ! My early introduction to opera was something on PBS my father suggested I watch, “It’ll be good for you.”  He probably escaped to another room leaving me to sit through thirty grueling minutes of gray, non-descript scenery with strange over-actors practicing extreme vocal sounds in an attempt to tell an incomprehensible story. “It’s like a musical for cultured people.” Yeah, right . Armed with that keen experience, I have successfully avoided opera, except for the random piece heard here and there, until Wednesday night.  Ever since getting all teary-eyed hearing Andrea Bocelli...

If you liked the way she said describe , you should hear her say ardor . I like a kid that can make me laugh as well as have very strong feelings about the main character's lack of character.