Finishing off the Catch-up
This has been a quieter week. I played board games three nights, which is something I enjoy but don’t do if I’m going out a lot. And I went to Needles and Crafts on Thursday, as usual. I’ve also been spending a lot of time on things related to travel planning.
BlackBerry: I managed to go to a movie on Wednesday morning. Choosing which movie to see was difficult as there were a few I was interested in. In the end, I went with BlackBerry, which is a fictionalized account of the history of Research in Motion. I’m glad I chose it as I thought it was excellent, with a good mix of humor and suspense. You do have to be able to tolerate near constant use of the f-word, however. (I’m the sort of person who doesn’t cuss much because I want people to know I really mean it when I use that sort of language. But I’ve worked with people who weren’t quite so restrained.)
The Crucible: On Thursday, I went to the Kennedy Center to see the Scottish Ballet production of The Crucible. I was amused to see that the composer of the music was named Peter Salem. Anyway, it was based on Arthur Miller's play, which I read in high school but barely remember. The synopsis was helpful. I enjoyed the ballet quite a bit, especially the courtroom scenes with the girls shrieking and fainting.
Great Falls Storytelling: The Great Falls Tavern has a Saturday “Arts in the Park” program. This week that involved having five members of Voices in the Glen telling folktales. They specifically didn’t want anything having to do with the Civil War, battles, or scary stories. (I had told there once previously, as part of a Halloween program.) We went with a broad theme of helping others and sharing. Anyway, we had a very good and responsive audience. I told three stories. “The Clever Daughter” is a traditional Jewish story, involving a few riddles. “The Three Peas” is a rather strange Slovenian folk tale. (Actually, most Slovenian folk tales I’ve run across are somewhat strange to me.) And “The Lion Who Couldn’t Read” is a humorous story from Afghanistan. There was a similarly wide mix of other stories, including a few interactive ones and a few with music. Overall, it was a very pleasant couple of hours.
Aberdeen Ironbirds: On Sunday I drove up to Aberdeen, Maryland to go to a minor league baseball game. The Aberdeen Ironbirds were playing the Jersey Shore Blue Claws. Leidos Field at Cal Ripken Stadium, to give the ballpark its official name, is a lovely ballpark. Their concessions, however, leave a lot to be desired, with almost no vegetarian options. (They do have Ledo’s Pizza and there were junk foods like nachos and ice cream.) As for the game, this was High-A baseball. The Blue Claws had some surprisingly good fielding, with a couple of very nice catches and won the game 3 to 1. I have probably mentioned before that I like going to games where I don’t care about either team because that lets me focus on the quality of the game. I also appreciated that the parking is free and they let you bring in a normal pocketbook, instead of a minuscule plastic one. By the way, while I remain anti-mascot, I did think that Ferrous (their bird mascot) was cute and he was joined by a sort of cheerleader called The Iron Maiden, which amused me. Anyway, I had a good time and it was worth the hour and a half drive each way.
BlackBerry: I managed to go to a movie on Wednesday morning. Choosing which movie to see was difficult as there were a few I was interested in. In the end, I went with BlackBerry, which is a fictionalized account of the history of Research in Motion. I’m glad I chose it as I thought it was excellent, with a good mix of humor and suspense. You do have to be able to tolerate near constant use of the f-word, however. (I’m the sort of person who doesn’t cuss much because I want people to know I really mean it when I use that sort of language. But I’ve worked with people who weren’t quite so restrained.)
The Crucible: On Thursday, I went to the Kennedy Center to see the Scottish Ballet production of The Crucible. I was amused to see that the composer of the music was named Peter Salem. Anyway, it was based on Arthur Miller's play, which I read in high school but barely remember. The synopsis was helpful. I enjoyed the ballet quite a bit, especially the courtroom scenes with the girls shrieking and fainting.
Great Falls Storytelling: The Great Falls Tavern has a Saturday “Arts in the Park” program. This week that involved having five members of Voices in the Glen telling folktales. They specifically didn’t want anything having to do with the Civil War, battles, or scary stories. (I had told there once previously, as part of a Halloween program.) We went with a broad theme of helping others and sharing. Anyway, we had a very good and responsive audience. I told three stories. “The Clever Daughter” is a traditional Jewish story, involving a few riddles. “The Three Peas” is a rather strange Slovenian folk tale. (Actually, most Slovenian folk tales I’ve run across are somewhat strange to me.) And “The Lion Who Couldn’t Read” is a humorous story from Afghanistan. There was a similarly wide mix of other stories, including a few interactive ones and a few with music. Overall, it was a very pleasant couple of hours.
Aberdeen Ironbirds: On Sunday I drove up to Aberdeen, Maryland to go to a minor league baseball game. The Aberdeen Ironbirds were playing the Jersey Shore Blue Claws. Leidos Field at Cal Ripken Stadium, to give the ballpark its official name, is a lovely ballpark. Their concessions, however, leave a lot to be desired, with almost no vegetarian options. (They do have Ledo’s Pizza and there were junk foods like nachos and ice cream.) As for the game, this was High-A baseball. The Blue Claws had some surprisingly good fielding, with a couple of very nice catches and won the game 3 to 1. I have probably mentioned before that I like going to games where I don’t care about either team because that lets me focus on the quality of the game. I also appreciated that the parking is free and they let you bring in a normal pocketbook, instead of a minuscule plastic one. By the way, while I remain anti-mascot, I did think that Ferrous (their bird mascot) was cute and he was joined by a sort of cheerleader called The Iron Maiden, which amused me. Anyway, I had a good time and it was worth the hour and a half drive each way.