“Be reasonable, you haven't yet tried everything!”
Another drive-by, for another audience request. Some of you know that I'm going to ReaderCon this coming weekend, which I'm enormously psyched about. What I'm not is particularly ready. Like, I've got a membership (two, actuallydamn you, PayPal); and I've got a room; and I know that rambleman is flying into NYC on Thursday afternoon and we’ll be making our way to MA at some point in the next 24-36 hours. Unfortunately, a bunch of the truly useful details are still fuzzy. So I'm going to throw myself to the mercy of the LJ community and ask a pitiful question: since both of us work in publishing and are consequently nigh-broke, is anyone out there interested in reducing costs by joining our room or folding us up into theirs? Also, ifand this is a big “if” at this pointwe wound up renting a car for the trip, would anyone be interested in driving with us and helping out with gas bills? I'd mildly prefer people I know (or people who people I know can vouch for), but it’s far too late to be picky at this point. And since we’d need to cancel with the hotel a day or two beforehand, this is obviously a limited-time offer.
Also urgently: suppose I were to do something crazy like organize a Pirates 2 trip on Friday or Sunday afternoon (pirate garb optional but highly recommended). Could any of you be convinced to join me for that? Of course, the alternative is waiting to see it with my awesome Fed friendswho will dress up as piratesthe following Monday or Tuesday, so you’ll have to make a pretty compelling case that it’s worth my effort.
Aside from how absurdly not on top of ReaderCon logistics I am, things are pretty damn good. I feel especially spoiled right now, since the Divine Miss Shay has been bunking up with me for the past week or so. We saw DeVotchka, Seu Jorge, Macbeth (via Shakespeare in the Park), and Orlando Bloom (and Kate Bosworth) fangirling the History Boys; ate Korean, Filipio, Malaysian, mac ‘n’ cheese, Shake Shack shroom burgers, Magnolia baked goods, and wasabi ice cream (OMG so good); cooked brunch and Lebanese eggplant; and, y’know, hung out. I can’t really make myself believe that she’s going away again in mere hours, but at least I can counterbalance that with the delusion that she’ll be back soon, and possibly for a good long while.
In the mostly-too-late-to-be-of-any-use category of theatre reviews, at some point during Shay’s visit I skipped out to see The Busy World Is Hushed, which will be at Playwrights Horizons until July 9th. Keith Bunin is not yet a perfect playwright, but it's almost scary how quickly he's progressing. I'm only a little bit sheepish about admitting that I hit the curtain call crying, but I think it was defensible. For perspective: the last time I cried in the theatre was probably for Albee's The Goat; before that, for Hedwig and the Angry Inch (nope, I’m not a sucker for LGBT themes at all). In the actually-too-late-to-be-of-any-use category is the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Waiting for Godot, which was somehow, stunningly, recast into post-Katrina New Orleans without being obnoxious about it at all. I am almost as notorious for my of dislike of Samuel Beckett as I am for my dismissiveness of Stephen Sondheim, so it is no small feat (even for the continually impressive HCT) to have pulled off a Beckett adaptation so breathtaking that even a rube like myself could appreciate it.
I’d ramble on, and maybe proofread this a few more times, but I have a Harry and the Potters show to run to. Here’s hoping I like the band more than the books.
Oh yeah... I’ll be in Seattle next weekend for PNWA (plus a few days lax), so now might be the time to tell me what other awesome things I should be doing while I’m there.
ETA: Damnit all, Harry and the Potters was sold out. Well, next time, I hope...