I just came back from Wittenberg, a play by David Davalos being premiered at the Arden Theater.
This is the marketing synopsis of the play:
Set during late October of 1517, this smart, sprightly and audacious battle of wits features university colleagues Dr. Faustus (a man of appetites), Martin Luther (a man of faith), and their student Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark (a youth struggling not only with his beliefs but also with his tennis game). Playwright David Davalos brings us the story behind the stories in a highly entertaining and accessible exploration of reason versus faith, starring Scott Greer as Faustus and Greg Wood as Luther.
It looked interesting enough for me to go, but I didn’t have particularly high expectations for it. I’ve had bad experiences with first-run productions, and despite the play being billed as a comedy, I was afraid it might be a little high-falutin’ and staid.
Boy was I wrong. It’s an extremely clever and smartly funny piece of work. If anything, it can come off as a little too clever and precious at times, wink-winking every five seconds or so. Nevertheless, I had a really great time and never felt even slightly drowsy over the two hour period.
I was also impressed because I had naturally assumed the playwright had a pretty good understanding of Hamlet and Dr. Faustus, but I was skeptical how deep a knowledge he had of Martin Luther and his theology. I’d have to say, however, that his portrayal of Luther’s apologetics was very fair. I’d encourage all of my friends, both sinners and saints, to go see it and, one might hope, discuss it with one another.
So I showed up half an hour late to the NE Philly Bloggers meetup last night. At Chickie and Pete’s. Looked around for you guys for about ten minutes then headed straight back home. I barely slept the night before, and the whole experience left me crabby.
Chickie and Pete’s is an awful place to meet. Long lines. Overcrowded. Noisy. Bad themed restaurant vibe. Suburban vulgarity and desperation. Lots of people seemingly pretty intent on getting on drunk.
No indication of who or where you were. There were loads of small crowds of people, and none with laptops or other geek accessories.
Didn’t realize how out of the way the place was for me. Not familiar with the northeast, and I feel pretty content right now to keep it that way.
Instead, I got home, ordered pizza from Rustica, and conked out.
I definitely like meeting at the Ten Stone better, but not really by all that much. Food’s not exorbitant, but still feels pricey. No wifi that I recall. And they don’t seem to really value that we bring a group of customers every month. Any suggestions for a better locale?
[I just read Owen's experience with Independents Hall. Would be perfect and might be good marketing for them.]
My recent surge has been quelled by the sudden onset of a head cold, which came — and hopefully will go — like a flash flood. I literally left school fine, with a few shivers, and by the time I got home from my 20 minute commute, I was barely able to speak. I scrambled to the cupboards but the only thing I found were zinc lozenges and vitamin C pills. I took one of each and struggled to sleep for the next umpteenth hours, trying the rotisserie method of constantly rotating and draining the mucus from one nostril to the other.
What I didn’t do was get pills, and when I went to school the next day I was a wreck. I literally tried to sit in a corner with a tissue box and sip ginseng tea all day. The tiny Sudafed pills the health office gave me did diddly-squat. My students, God bless them, were merciful to me, though.
That afternoon I bought boxes of Nyquil, Dayquil, and Tylenol Cold (Severe Head Congestion). The Tylenol Cold took too long to work and seemed to move my headache around in weird places. Nyquil — now that’s where it’s at. But whatever improvements in my condition were evident the next day at work were offset by the disorientation caused by the medication.
Anyhoo, this is all to say that you should go see Jamie Lozoff’s premiere photo gallery showing at Red Hook Coffee and Tea on 765 S 4th St. (b/w Fitzwater & Catherine Streets). But not as a sweaty, staggering mess.
My sister-in-law visited us last past weekend and left her Nintendo DS for me to play with. I’m hooked on Brain Age, a program that evaluates how “old” your brain is and then trains you with short puzzles and exercises to develop basic cognitive skills. It’s addictive. I was alarmed to find that I have a brain of a 50 year old, and now I feel guilty if I don’t do my “Daily Training.”
This weekend, much to Dana’s chagrin, I insisted on watching the first episode of Shear Genius. It’s clear that Bravo’s Project Runway clones have finally jumped the shark with this one. There were some troubling signs with Top Design. I realized when they dismissed Goil that it was clear TD was less about innovation and creativity and more about tasteful shopping.
It’s about time that I get a haircut. I can tell when my sideburns refuse to be squared off.
I usually go to a place in Chinatown (corner of 10th and Race, name escapes me now). They’re pretty inexpensive ($15 for a man’s wash and cut), quick, and competent. They know how to cut Asian hair. Sometimes they’ll even give me a vigorous shoulder massage. Very vigorous.
The best haircut I ever got was at a small place on Rt. 70 in South Jersey by the Han-Ah-Reum. Paul and Paula or something. They were a hairstyling couple that immigrated from Korea. When they were just getting set up they used to take clients inside the back of their apartment. They were good. Especially the guy.
But then they got their little shop and the prices got jacked up. So did the attitude. I always felt intimidated going into their store, being a total banana. Once I waited nearly an hour and for no good reason that I could tell. Maybe I was just bitter, but the quality seemed to drop at the same time. So I stopped going there. And found Chinatown.
A friend of mine works at American Mortals. Too pricey for my wallet, but I hear it’s really good. Maybe I’ll treat Dana to a ‘do there one day. She’s much more sunny when she likes her hair.
Last night, Dana, Chun, Kim, and I went out to see a late showing of Amazing Grace.
Let me brief: not a good movie. Which is unfortunate, since the subject matter — the abolition of slavery in the British Empire — is an important, compelling one that deserves a much better treatment.
Everything I’m watching right now is kind of colored by the McKee experience I had, so I’ll go right ahead and say that the first thing I noticed about the movie was the weakness of the story. Not compellingly structured, with confusing flashbacks and obvious exposition. Chun suspected there were also a number of minor (if not major) inaccuracies.
