Entry tags:
Catching up
I hauled a box of books over to the Hyde Park Co-operative Society for their annual book sale. Every year on Columbus Day weekend, hordes descend, among them myself, and acquire books. All for a good cause (the Co-op) and any leftovers are donated to other non-profits.
Finished paring the leather for my current bookbinding project, punched the holes for sewing, and started to set up the sewing frame. Oy. The bolts were frozen and I could not budge them. So I got out the WD-40, but still had to spritz them a couple of times and use some serious elbow grease. Got them moving, though. But decided to take a break and surf for awhile. (~smile~)
Yesterday, I had a really nice evening at Margaret's. Both Lois (who now lives in Colorado) and Sue (recently moved back from southern California to central Illinois) were in town, so there were some extra folks at dinner, and Lois brought her sister, with whom she was staying. It was pretty much the whole group, too, which is rare. It'll be great to have Sue back in the area (well, okay, Springfield is a 3-4 hour drive, but it's still closer than LA!). And she sure did move at the right time, considering what's happening to real estate prices in southern California. She says that if she'd sold even a month earlier, she'd have gotten $50,000 more, and that people kid her that hers was the last house sold there. But still, she sold "in the 8's", and got a bigger house (and a way bigger yard) in Springfield "in the 3's". She is still in a state of shock over how much lower the cost of living is there. Good move for her, too. In the time I've known her, she's worked her way up the masthead, from lowly reporter to publisher!
Friday night was dinner and theatre with the usual people. Dinner was excellent. The play, on the other hand, was not. I'd have stuck it out if I hadn't been headachey, but under the circs I left at intermission. It was King Lear, with Stacey Keach starring. Sounds like it should be good, right? No. They had to go and "update" it. When you walk into the theatre and see urinals onstage, it's not a good sign. Lear in the first scene is played like a buffoon, and what was that incestuous caress of Goneril's ass? And I really don't see how having Oswald performing oral sex on Regan, or having Edgar smoking crack, adds anything to our understanding and appreciation of the play.
The better cultural event of the week was Raisin, the musical version of Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun at Court Theatre. They suffer under some constraints due to the size of the place, and had to have the band onstage, but that was okay. One thing I didn't care for was that they had the cast seated behind the action, along with a small gospel group, when they weren't "onstage", as though they were part of the audience. I found that a bit distracting, especially when they reacted to the performance, but overall, it was a good show. Excellent acting, too.
Most of last week (Monday through Thursday), I was coaching at the Intensive Trial Advocacy program at the University of Chicago's legal clinic. I had great fun, as always, and did two lectures in addition to the small group coaching (one on impeachment and the other on objections/making the record). I kid Herschella that we all come for the food, as they give the faculty lunch every day, and there are two student-faculty dinners, all of which were delicious. It's also quite pleasant not to have to set my alarm, as the faculty meetings are in the late morning and I'm only a five minute drive from the Law School.
All in all, a good week.
Finished paring the leather for my current bookbinding project, punched the holes for sewing, and started to set up the sewing frame. Oy. The bolts were frozen and I could not budge them. So I got out the WD-40, but still had to spritz them a couple of times and use some serious elbow grease. Got them moving, though. But decided to take a break and surf for awhile. (~smile~)
Yesterday, I had a really nice evening at Margaret's. Both Lois (who now lives in Colorado) and Sue (recently moved back from southern California to central Illinois) were in town, so there were some extra folks at dinner, and Lois brought her sister, with whom she was staying. It was pretty much the whole group, too, which is rare. It'll be great to have Sue back in the area (well, okay, Springfield is a 3-4 hour drive, but it's still closer than LA!). And she sure did move at the right time, considering what's happening to real estate prices in southern California. She says that if she'd sold even a month earlier, she'd have gotten $50,000 more, and that people kid her that hers was the last house sold there. But still, she sold "in the 8's", and got a bigger house (and a way bigger yard) in Springfield "in the 3's". She is still in a state of shock over how much lower the cost of living is there. Good move for her, too. In the time I've known her, she's worked her way up the masthead, from lowly reporter to publisher!
Friday night was dinner and theatre with the usual people. Dinner was excellent. The play, on the other hand, was not. I'd have stuck it out if I hadn't been headachey, but under the circs I left at intermission. It was King Lear, with Stacey Keach starring. Sounds like it should be good, right? No. They had to go and "update" it. When you walk into the theatre and see urinals onstage, it's not a good sign. Lear in the first scene is played like a buffoon, and what was that incestuous caress of Goneril's ass? And I really don't see how having Oswald performing oral sex on Regan, or having Edgar smoking crack, adds anything to our understanding and appreciation of the play.
The better cultural event of the week was Raisin, the musical version of Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun at Court Theatre. They suffer under some constraints due to the size of the place, and had to have the band onstage, but that was okay. One thing I didn't care for was that they had the cast seated behind the action, along with a small gospel group, when they weren't "onstage", as though they were part of the audience. I found that a bit distracting, especially when they reacted to the performance, but overall, it was a good show. Excellent acting, too.
Most of last week (Monday through Thursday), I was coaching at the Intensive Trial Advocacy program at the University of Chicago's legal clinic. I had great fun, as always, and did two lectures in addition to the small group coaching (one on impeachment and the other on objections/making the record). I kid Herschella that we all come for the food, as they give the faculty lunch every day, and there are two student-faculty dinners, all of which were delicious. It's also quite pleasant not to have to set my alarm, as the faculty meetings are in the late morning and I'm only a five minute drive from the Law School.
All in all, a good week.