The Sound of Music (on tour)

MusicMy sister, my daughter, and I saw a musical in our local theatre venue— The Sound of Music. I remember seeing the 1965 film version as a child (and I am telling how old I am by that admission) and absolutely loving it. The performance was part of what they term their “Broadway Entertainment” series. The auditorium there seats 2000, so it is actually larger than most theatres on Broadway. The seating is a bit more comfortable, however.

I told my daughter that I was wary of not liking the stage version, but it was really good. The sets worked well, and the actress playing the Reverend Mother has one heck of a set of pipes on her! The actor portraying the captain was a very good singer, too. I do not believe anyone could do a better job of singing the part of Maria than Julie Andrews did, but the actress who performed for us did a good job.

While many of the songs from the movie were used, this touring version is actually closer to the original stage play that the film was based upon. Although my daughter was upset that they left out one of her favorites, “Confidence” the Baroness and Max sing in the stage play!

Our girls night out was great fun, from our happy hour beverages, to our meal at a hip restaurant, and the heart warming musical, with nary a naughty word, finished the evening.

Humor

The history of writing funny stuff stretches back into the earliest times. Humor comes in certain time honored forms: slapstick, exaggeration (a/k/a hyperbole), sarcasm, irony, and puns. Most any humorous work relies on one or more of these techniques. Until recent times, that is. Now, vulgarity seems to have overtaken all of these.

Hubby and I have been watching an HBO show called Veep and, while there are a couple of decent running gags, I have not been laughing much. After subjecting ourselves to four episodes, neither of us is sure if we want to continue. I’m not so easily offended, but this show doesn’t strike me as funny, and it is clearly supposed to be a comedy. The actors seem to be working very hard at maintaining a frantic pace, which may indeed be how things are in the White House, but there is no slapstick, little irony, few plays on words, and less sarcasm than one might expect in a political drama.

Oh, I do like the bit with the staffer who has an imaginary dog. That’s funny and a bit ironic. Also amusing is the main character (Selina Meyer) hoping that the president will actually need her (thus far he hasn’t.) The character (Tony?) who doesn’t even bother whispering a brief description of everyone the VP meets and does not actually know is a bit of exaggeration and his remarks sometimes make me smile. And, the pace seems so fast that perhaps the intent is hyperbole, but it is more intense than humorous.

So, what’s left? Lots and lots of cussing, and at least fifty percent of it is a verb/expletive that might be labeled as “for unusual carnal knowledge.” Not funny. It just isn’t. I guess the writers are lazy or haven’t ever seen anything funny.

It’s sad really. A re-run of I Love Lucy can still make me laugh, but Veep doesn’t.

Here’s a thought

dollar signSometimes, we forget what we could have had for free. I just talked to a business associate who lost her semester-long research writing due to a computer hard drive issue. Even the Geek Squad couldn’t retrieve her data. And, like many of us, she had access to cloud storage at school, included in her fees. Had she merely saved it a few times along the way, she wouldn’t have to start from scratch. Sad….

Recently, I read a short article in Market Watch about freebies that we might forget we have. Take a look while it is still available. Which one(s) have you forgotten?

Spring into action

NortonAs one of my Works in Progress is a text on motorcycling, for spring I am sharing a cool updated article on getting started in motorcycling.  This list is an effort to name some current bikes that should appeal to new riders. Quite honestly, I think some of the “beginner bikes” in this list are too heavy, powerful, and/or expensive, but it is a good place to begin, should any readers want to try two-wheeled transportation.

Thanks to the editors of Ride Apart for this nifty list.

See the WIP Ride to Eat tab for more about my riding book to be.