just back...the final chapter

sounds like some horrific blog post, eh?

THE CREATURE FROM THE BLOG LAGOON

actually, i think brooke shields and chris whatshisname starred in that about 25 years ago...

really, we did have a long day.

we had free tix to the ballet at Ellie Caulkins for the 7:30 Cinderella show.

had 5:30 reservations at Rialto Cafe

cool decor but weird place.

you are named after a theatre district in Rome and yet you offer skillet corn bread to every table. and what is up with the over-ambitious busy (and mediocre) food? who the hell puts raspberries, strawberries, golden raisins, figs, and dried papaya (?) in a waldorf salad?

you may as well call it ambrosia free fruit salad with a smattering of greens and send it to a hemingway competition... the entrees? weren't any better... i had chicken pomodoro pasta and lois opted for their so-called flat iron steak (looked more like a piece of chuck). both were pretty lame. tasted okay but poorly executed in presentation. we paid $61.05 for ugly, mediocre food...when we could've had better looking and tasting food at MacaroniGrille...for at least $15 less.

guess where we're not going back...it's too bad because lois said she had some good lunches there with her work buddies.

the ballet? great but with some seemingly avoidable caveats...made a reality only through mass homicide

we had a couple tix in the private loge that lois' company has...since they renovated the building over a period of two years to the tune of $90 million.

the loge box seats are 7-8 per spacious box. in each area, there's 3-4 tall bistro/bar seats (very similar to those found at billiard halls) and 4 lower seats (round chairs - upholstered and padded). nice setup but a bit of a bear to pull the chairs out. the lower seats definitely need casters.

the show was excellent. the entire cast was gifted in both strength and grace. you (or maybe it's just me) often wonder how many hours it took to build up the muscles to perform some of the moves.

nope. no problem with the show. the sets were ethereal and the lighting dramatic without being distracting or gaudy.

no...what i deemed to be justifiable homicide was to slaughter the idiots in the adjacent loge box. it was a couple with comp tix (understandable) and their seemingly huge entourage (completely confounding).

i dunno but the eight people in this posse was made up of (i think):

mom dad grandpa grandma brother girlfriend neighbors and three grandkids.

guess with which faction we had a problem...

yeah...the kids turned out to be very cute 3-4 year-olds who loudly whispered from across the box. ummm. whispering is meant to be directed INTO an ear, not across the auditorium.

ah well. at least they've got indoor voices...

of course, the real problem had lain with the adults. poorly behaved kids are a result of oblivious parents who are lacking in responsibility and common sense.

the lights go out...the music starts...and crinkling commenced.

yes, this clan surreptitiously smuggled 'treats' for the kids...juice boxes, snacks, etc.

arghhhhhh

it's one thing to sneak candy and a soda into a movie theater. who doesn't do this?

what the hell are you bringing your oversized backpack of junk food to a ballet performance? you could have rented a video and watched it at home!

the crinkle of their super size doritos bag was maddening...

oh, they weren't done yet.

kids start jabbering. we're talking about three year olds who might have an inkling of pretty cinderella...solely through animation. but do you think kids can sit through a half hour performance if you have to bring snacks to keep them occupied...LET ALONE three acts and two intermissions (135 minutes total)?!?

kids start arguing/whining/crying. instead of shushing them for the ENTIRE performance, would it not be more effective to TAKE the kids out into the lobby for a little talk/idle threats?

click...crankcrank

yes, i'm now the crank. really though, i'm referring to the idiot mom(?) who had the audacity to sneak in a camera to take pictures during the ball scenes. okay, i saw a couple other flashes in the mezzanine. mebbe some overzealous shutterbugs with their digital cameras, fished out from their pockets. it seems pretty impossible to go to any performance without someone wanting to click pics. i, too, have snuck in a camera into heavy metal concerts (as a teenager) to get some coveted pics of drugged out, piss drunk rock stars whom i thought were kewl.

but these people brought in a DISPOSABLE camera...yeah, the type that you have to turn the plastic wheel to advance the film.

so torturous to not sling a couple chairs into their overcrowded space - a lesson in self-restraint.

why the rant? because all this crap was audible from two sections over! we had moved over one more box after the first act.

it was such a teeth gnashing poke-me-in-the-eye night.

it's not that we're ballet/opera/symphony/performing arts snobs. it's just that you expect a little common sense when you attend these things. just SHUT it and watch...if that's too much to ask, either don't attend or gimme one of the ritalins that you're obviously forgetting to take.

a good rant though...i can honestly say that it made me sleepy and fulfilled my cathartic needs. i can rest well, knowing that i dragged you all down with me ;)