Opera, politics, art and other things

Went to the opera last night, Verdi's Falstaff, which I enjoyed very much, not least because I saw the second and third acts from a much better seat than usual! At the first intermission, Jim said that the couple who usually sit next to them weren't there, so why didn't I move up? Sounded good to me! Their seats are in the first section on the main floor (mine is the back of the main floor, under the boxes), much closer, better acoustics and more leg room. Jim said these people aren't renewing next year, and thought I might try to get one of the seats. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like that, it would cost me 2 1/2 times what I'm currently paying, so unless I win the lottery, that ain't happening.

We had dinner beforehand and talked politics, mostly about Barack (as to be expected from a bunch of Hyde Parkers!). Duncan said (tongue in cheek) that he's voting for him in order to get the potholes on his street filled. His theory is that if Barack wins, Chicago is more likely to get the Olympics, (of course, this might be a reason to hope he doesn't win!) and since much of the Games would be on the south side, our streets will get paved and our infrastructure improved. Jamie pointed out that Hillary went to the same high school that he did, and therefore he would have a connection either way. Our local state rep also goes to the opera, and we ran into her, so there was more talk about our favorite son.

I went to pick up my ring today. They did an excellent job, and it cost less than the estimate. They cleaned the ring as well, and it looks all sparkly again.

As I was downtown anyway, I went to the Art Institute. There was what they call a "Q & Art with a curator", about the Clarence Buckingham Collection of Japanese Prints, a gallery I visit pretty much every time I go to the Art Institute. They change the exhibit every three months, so there's usually something different and, if not, it still pays to re-visit. It was quite interesting. She talked a lot about the collection itself (they have 16,000 prints, which sounds like a lot but pales in relation to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts 65,000), how they put the shows together and decide the themes, and also about some of the specific prints that are in the current exhibit (which focuses on Kabuki actors). She said they are always happy to hear ideas for future exhibits, and as it happened, I had been thinking that an exhibit about the growth of the collection would be intriguing. She had mentioned that the curator who had advised Buckingham had kept a very detailed record, and that he had drawn little designs in the records, and I thought it would be fun to see those. I suggested that, and she said, "Oh, that would be a good idea!" So if you ever hear that the AIOC is doing such an exhibit, you'll know where the idea came from.

I should mention that admission is free the entire month of February, so if anyone is in Chicago, now is your chance! (The Hopper and Winslow exhibits are extra, though.) There's a guy who sells Streetwise regularly outside the AIOC, and his pitch today was, "Admission is free, so you should have a dollar to help the homeless." He's usually pretty good at coming up with riffs like that, so I hope he did okay.

I had not realized that they were also having a Member Appreciation Day, which pretty much consists of "you can get 20% off at the Museum Store instead of the usual 10%". However, I restrained myself, mostly because I wanted to get to the Cultural Center for another free cabaret performance.

I took another couple of pictures for croc_sandwich, and then came home.