Ah Springtime
Risu is clearly affected by the change of seasons. In addition to his frequent humping of Pierogi, he's a spaz when I'm in the room with him. I can't take 2 steps toward the door without him jumping on me and running around my torso. This morning I tried to leave when Risu was in the opposite corner of the room. Somehow he managed to run out with me, Pierogi following close behind. I scooped up Pierogi and followed Risu, who, by this time, was already downstairs and in the kitchen. Bobbin fled and hid under the bed, Callisto ran after Risu and was watching him intently while he ran around and jumped on everything.
At one point, Risu climbed atop a short bookcase. Callisto looked up at him. Suddenly, Risu jumped onto Callisto's back then continued running on the floor. Callisto stood there, apparently unsure of what had just happened. Naturally I was cracking up. Risu ran throughout the house some more until I was finally able to clasp him to my chest and go back upstairs into his room. I think I'll let him run around some more on weekend mornings when I'm not in such a hurry to get out of the house. This was entertaining and I think Risu enjoyed his adventure.
Last night I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in my usual way by going to the MN Folk Festival Ceili. Prior to dancing, I had a traditional Irish dinner of Punch pizza. On my way to the dance, I saw several police cars along W. 7th, many with their lights on. It looked like they were busting drunk drivers early.
The Ceili is like a reunion. I see many of the same people year after year. I got to talking with a young married couple after I danced with them and their daughter. They recognized me not only from last year but also from last week's newspaper article. This year I noticed a group from St. Kate's. They were some of the students with whom I danced while learning West Coast swing and the Lindy Hop. I danced all of the Ceili dances but sat out the waltzes, not that I wanted to. At the end of the evening, several dancers approached me and thanked me for helping them learn the dances. It was their first time at a Ceili and they were having trouble remembering the patterns, so I took charge and "called" the dances as we danced. I was patient, encouraging and clearly having lots of fun. This helped them to have a good experience.
When I was in college, some friends and I wanted to try something different. One evening we went to the Urbana Park District for a square dance. None of us knew how but we figured we'd learn when we were there. Turns out that all the other dancers were practically geriatric, and they constantly yelled at us for screwing up. They took their square dancing very seriously. Naturally we never went back. I had that memory in the back of my mind while I was encouraging the new Ceili dancers. When they erred, we all laughed and kept going which is how it should be. We were there for fun, not competition.
The feline dynamic in the house has changed since Jupiter's death. Both cats follow me around more than usual. Callisto seems mellower. She had frequently hissed at Bobbin and Jupiter but I haven't heard her hiss at all. They've got new sleeping arrangement too, and I'm not too pleased with them. The former pattern was Jupiter tucked under my left arm, Bobbin tucked under my right arm, and Callisto either across my shins or next to my legs. Now Bobbin sleeps across my shins and Callisto sleeps on my chest facing me (better than the alternative I suppose.) Callisto has a tendency to reach out with her front paws and catch my chin with her claws. That gets very annoying.
I've seen some kick-ass theater this week. On Tuesday I went to the G to see Brief Encounter per carinbrat's recommendation. It was easily one of the best shows I've seen in my life. The script was crisp and the acting was beautiful. The play had so many lovely Brechtian moments without them feeling forced. The cast used their props and set creatively and integrated music, dance, stylized movement and video magnificently. I don't want to give away any details because I strongly encourage everyone to go see this. I loved this play so much that I'm seeing it again.
Tonight I saw The Spanish Tragedy at Gremlin. In stark contrast to Tuesday's show, this set was seriously minimal and consisted only of fabric hanging at the back of the stage. Yet that's all this play needed. The minimal set forced focus on the acting and the script (which I appreciated since Shakespearean language is sometimes tough to comprehend.) The cast were excellent; they found the musicality in the prose and the depths of their characters. The play moved along at a good clip thanks to its compelling story and deft direction. My only critique is that I wish that the character of Revenge would have appeared more otherworldly in her speech and movement so as to distinguish her from the human characters. I'm a fan of stylized movement and non-realistic theater after all. I appreciate that the director chose not to use stage blood in this production. With its high body count (N=9), all that blood would have gotten comical like Cromulent's Titus did. The deaths were more powerful without the visible gore.
Saturday night I'm going to the North Star Roller Girls derby. I got a trackside seat, so maybe I'll wind up with a rollergirl in my lap! I don't have any plans for Friday night yet. How odd.
At one point, Risu climbed atop a short bookcase. Callisto looked up at him. Suddenly, Risu jumped onto Callisto's back then continued running on the floor. Callisto stood there, apparently unsure of what had just happened. Naturally I was cracking up. Risu ran throughout the house some more until I was finally able to clasp him to my chest and go back upstairs into his room. I think I'll let him run around some more on weekend mornings when I'm not in such a hurry to get out of the house. This was entertaining and I think Risu enjoyed his adventure.
Last night I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in my usual way by going to the MN Folk Festival Ceili. Prior to dancing, I had a traditional Irish dinner of Punch pizza. On my way to the dance, I saw several police cars along W. 7th, many with their lights on. It looked like they were busting drunk drivers early.
The Ceili is like a reunion. I see many of the same people year after year. I got to talking with a young married couple after I danced with them and their daughter. They recognized me not only from last year but also from last week's newspaper article. This year I noticed a group from St. Kate's. They were some of the students with whom I danced while learning West Coast swing and the Lindy Hop. I danced all of the Ceili dances but sat out the waltzes, not that I wanted to. At the end of the evening, several dancers approached me and thanked me for helping them learn the dances. It was their first time at a Ceili and they were having trouble remembering the patterns, so I took charge and "called" the dances as we danced. I was patient, encouraging and clearly having lots of fun. This helped them to have a good experience.
When I was in college, some friends and I wanted to try something different. One evening we went to the Urbana Park District for a square dance. None of us knew how but we figured we'd learn when we were there. Turns out that all the other dancers were practically geriatric, and they constantly yelled at us for screwing up. They took their square dancing very seriously. Naturally we never went back. I had that memory in the back of my mind while I was encouraging the new Ceili dancers. When they erred, we all laughed and kept going which is how it should be. We were there for fun, not competition.
The feline dynamic in the house has changed since Jupiter's death. Both cats follow me around more than usual. Callisto seems mellower. She had frequently hissed at Bobbin and Jupiter but I haven't heard her hiss at all. They've got new sleeping arrangement too, and I'm not too pleased with them. The former pattern was Jupiter tucked under my left arm, Bobbin tucked under my right arm, and Callisto either across my shins or next to my legs. Now Bobbin sleeps across my shins and Callisto sleeps on my chest facing me (better than the alternative I suppose.) Callisto has a tendency to reach out with her front paws and catch my chin with her claws. That gets very annoying.
I've seen some kick-ass theater this week. On Tuesday I went to the G to see Brief Encounter per carinbrat's recommendation. It was easily one of the best shows I've seen in my life. The script was crisp and the acting was beautiful. The play had so many lovely Brechtian moments without them feeling forced. The cast used their props and set creatively and integrated music, dance, stylized movement and video magnificently. I don't want to give away any details because I strongly encourage everyone to go see this. I loved this play so much that I'm seeing it again.
Tonight I saw The Spanish Tragedy at Gremlin. In stark contrast to Tuesday's show, this set was seriously minimal and consisted only of fabric hanging at the back of the stage. Yet that's all this play needed. The minimal set forced focus on the acting and the script (which I appreciated since Shakespearean language is sometimes tough to comprehend.) The cast were excellent; they found the musicality in the prose and the depths of their characters. The play moved along at a good clip thanks to its compelling story and deft direction. My only critique is that I wish that the character of Revenge would have appeared more otherworldly in her speech and movement so as to distinguish her from the human characters. I'm a fan of stylized movement and non-realistic theater after all. I appreciate that the director chose not to use stage blood in this production. With its high body count (N=9), all that blood would have gotten comical like Cromulent's Titus did. The deaths were more powerful without the visible gore.
Saturday night I'm going to the North Star Roller Girls derby. I got a trackside seat, so maybe I'll wind up with a rollergirl in my lap! I don't have any plans for Friday night yet. How odd.