- 4 tickets to a Broadway show – $470.00
- Lodging for 2 nights in Manhattan – at least $800.00
- Seeing the look on Kyle’s face when Mary Poppins floats into the New Amsterdam Theatre – Priceless
Yeah, we’ll be there Veteran’s Day weekend and to say Kyle is excited is a gross understatement. He still doesn’t quite know what to think about “another woman” in the role Julie Andrews made immortal, but we’re getting there. While I made him dinner last night, we had this conversation:
Kyle: Who’s the actress that’s playing Mary Poppins?
Dad: I’m not sure, man.
Kyle: Not Julie Andrews, right?
Dad: No, not Julie Andrews. She was the best.
Kyle: She still is…
So, let’s see what else is in the bag for your tuppins today:
Ah… “La Luna.” My camera is currently at Canon for a free repair to this unpleasant phenomena and I’ve been researching for a possible upgrade. The Canon Powershot S3 IS seems a good deal that I believe will get even better once the PowerShot A710 IS is released any day now. During my research adventure, I found this incredible shot of the moon by Noel Carboni.
I spent quite a bit of time yesterday reading “Halting the Race to the Bottom” by John Sexton, president of New York University. I found the following paragraph on the arts right on the money.
We have seen the close to total evaporation of funding for research in the humanities and social sciences — work which has less measurable outcomes than scientific research, even as it expands the boundaries of understanding and insight. Though John Maeda could write in Science Magazine that he believed “the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are conventionally considered useless, will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever try to live longer or live more prosperously.” He could embrace the notion that “the arts are the science of enjoying life,” while our leaders (reflecting as they do society’s increasing impatience with soft values and subtle tones) have come close to abandoning the arts.
Now lets take a stroll to the opposite end of the intellectual spectrum where shameless whore Pete Rose is now selling $299.00 autographed baseballs that say “I’m sorry I bet on baseball.” It’s sad that the extraordinary on-the-field achievements of this guy will never be recognized in a Hall of Fame induction simply because he’s a jerk. If he just stepped up and apologized when it happened instead of denying and lying, he’d probably have a plaque in Cooperstown today.
Speaking of baseball players living in the land of Oz, Alex Rodriguez need to shut up and play if the Yankees have any hope of winning their 27th World Series. In a recent interview, the Scarecrow told Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post, “I can’t help that I’m a bright person.” He went on to prove that statement utterly preposterous by saying, “When people write bad things about me, I don’t know if it’s because I’m good-looking, I’m biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team. . . .” How about you suck in the clutch, Alex? Get a few key hits (i.e. earn your money) and help deliver a championship and you’ll be amazed the nice things people will write about you. Not me, because I’m a bitter Red Sox fan, but some people will.
There are only two movies I really remember from my childhood – The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. The Sound of Music was the first movie I saw in an indoor theater and the first time I experienced tears over a movie – scene where Maria leaves the von Trapp home to return to the Abbey. And I can still picture playing on the swing set in our backyard with my twin sister talking and laughing with her and my older brother’s friend (who lived down the street and who was my first crush) as we told him about the movie and as we tried singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Your trip to NYC sounds like a good time. -M.