Contractor Contracted
Richard Trieste has been selected as the contractor. He'll start this Monday!! The price is ok and he's favored by my architect. By the way, here's the plans:
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Fiddler On The Roof
A great musical, oddly (like Lear) restrained. Alfred Molina stars as the long-suffering Tevye; Molina has been in starring and secondary roles in movies for the past twenty years, including a bad sit-com; it's great to see him in such a big role. So why does he play it so
King Lear
can't talk now....pretty good, restrained production. Christopher Plummer's Lear was fine, but the whole thing seemed ill-fitting. Jonathon Miller's direction left a bit to be desired -- he doesn't care for the whole "primal" angle to Lear; the costumes were Elizabethan! Not my cup of tea.
Lost in translation
Another trip across the pond, another bad cocktail experience. Even when you think you know how to navigate cross-culturally, it's always the little differences which can trip you up. The background to all this is the definition of a cocktail as the mixture of a base alcoholic beverage mixed with
Contractors Galore
I've just completed interviews with two more contractors. That makes four that we're going to get bids from. So far, indications are that the bids are about 30% higher than I'd like. Especially as there's several grand more to purhcase in the way of new furniture, sundries, and the like.
Zeffir-ific
Tosca, New York Metropolitan Opera Another (twenty-year old) Zeffirelli/Puccini production at the Met. Apparently, the cognescenti scoff at the luxurious productions -- but at these prices, the more the merrier. If you're going to see classic Italian opera, why not stuff the stage with spectacle? As if the melodrama
Fish Tale
Big Fish Tim Burton's followup to his over-wrought and unfun Planet of the Apesis a delightful romantic fantasy complete with a Wonderful-Life finale. That said, the film's episodic nature and desperate sincerity doesn't leave much of an aftertaste to enjoy. While the whole may be less than the sum of
Ciao, Cio-Cio
Madama Butterfly, Metropolitan Opera Another glorious production from the Met. Veronica Villarroel's Cio-Cio, the young woman as delicate as a butterfly, sang rapturously of her love for the American naval officer Pinkerton. In return, the Met audience gave her a rapturous ovation, complete with thrown bouquets and cherry-blosson confetti. Pinkerton
Diane Keaton...
Somethings Gotta Give Apparently, this is a 'high-concept' film, Hollywood making a movie about romance between post-teenagers. Who cares as long as we get to see Diane Keaton again. The plot is Sleepless-In-Seattle meets The-Man-Who-Came-To-Dinner and though it takes a tad too long to tie up loose ends, the script
Stowe, Vermont
Skiing and New Year's Eve in Stowe. We stayed in The Green Mountain Inn in the center of the village. Very New Englandy -- and not too many Dean bumper stickers. Good news: It turns out skiing is like riding a bike. Started on the little bunny slope and found