Exit the King

This is one of the most amazing plays I've ever seen.

Here's the plot:

This is a new production of Eugene Ionesco's Exit the King, in a translation by Neil Armfield and Geoffrey Rush. It is about a megalomaniacal ruler, King Berenger (Rush) whose incompetence has left his country in near ruin. Despite the efforts of Queen Marguerite (Susan Sarandon) and the other members of the court to convince the King he has only 90 minutes left to live, he refuses to relinquish any control.

Here's link to the review from the New York Times.

Everyone on the play was fantastic. From the Times Review:

Every performance evokes a different style — from the superb Ms. Martin’s addled, ratlike servant to the American dude-ishness of Mr. Hutchison’s soldier and the sideshow hucksterism of Mr. Sadler’s doctor. Yet somehow the disparities work, feeding our sense of the loneliness implicit in the very idea of individuality. Ms. Ambrose’s overripe emotionalism as the young queen who still loves her husband is the perfect counterpoint to the acerbic pragmatism in Ms. Sarandon’s sustained coolness (an approach that pays off in Marguerite’s overlong concluding monologue).

And Rush was incredible. I'm so happy I got to see him. Susan Sarandon is great. She really shines at the end of the play when she finally guides Rush to his death. There's a point in the first act when Rush comes out into the audience and at one point he was just a couple of feet away from me.

As I said a tour de force on every front.

Final Pictures From New York

Pictures of Times Square at night.



























































































This last picture is the ball over Times Square. I believe as the year progresses the ball gets higher and higher until of course New Years' rolls around.

Time Line of New York City Trip

Here's the time line of my trip to the Big Apple.

Wednesday May 6, 2009
5:00 am
I get up.

6:10 am
I leave the house but have to go back a fetch something I forgot.

7:18 am
The Mega Bus is ready to roll. There are three other people on the bus with me. I should say three other people with me on the upper deck. There might be people on the first deck but I don't see them.

It's interesting that there is a Bolt Bus which is leaving at about the same time. I wold say there are probably at least 10 or more people waiting for that one.

So the adventure begins!!!!

7:37 am
Officially out of DC. Traffic is moving along well. The ride is actually smooth but of course that's because we aren't traveling on DC roads. We're on the BW Parkway and it is very lush and green from all the rain.

7:48 am
Got on the Beltway for a short time. We exited on to 95 right before traffic came to a screeching halt.

8:31 am
We've made a stop. I'm not sure exactly where but I assume it is somewhere north of Baltimore.

8:58 am
The Bolt Bus just passed us. I have to assume it is the same one that left DC.

9:16 am
My goodness the sun is breaking through. The ceiling of the bus is glass. I have to assume this was a touring bus of some sort. Maybe the clouds will break and the sun will shine. Most likely not however.

9:37 am
Welcome to New Jersey.

9:40 am
Went to use the bathroom. I have to say I'm so glad I'm a guy. The bathroom is downstairs so to speak. There were about 9 other people down there.

10:12 am
Muffing time. Thank you Lisa for getting them for me. It's still a gray day. Looks like it will stay that way.

10:39 am
Just finished the third of the four magazines I brought with me. Better than a book because I can toss them once I get to New York. I figure I won't be ding any reading on the ride back.

11:15 am
The New York City skyline. Just about there.

11:28 am
Going through the Lincoln Tunnel

11:42 am
Drop off!!! I'm heading up toward Times Square and the half price ticket booth. It takes me a little longer to get there. I thought it was right at 42nd Street but it is at 47th.

12:05 pm
I'm in line to get my ticket to see Exit the King. It is interesting that people get in line and really don't have a good idea of which show they want to see. They compare prices of tickets between two shows or which one has better seats.

I think they should have a line for people who have made up their minds. Then one that is for people who really don't know what they are doing. I think it would help speed things along.

I have a ticket to the 2:00 pm show of Exit the King. Row N seat 113. Cost around $62 and change.

12:15-12:50 pm
I'm walking around. The Naked Cowboy is playing in Times Square. All sorts of people are walking up to him and getting their picture taken with him.

12:55-1:13 pm
I'm looking for lunch. I walk into the Roxy Deli. I get a seat and look at the menu. Sandwiches start at around $23. I leave.

I spotted a Pret on 7th Avenue. Go down there and get a sandwich. Get a cookie on the way back to Times Square. I end up sitting at a table right in the middle of Times Square.

And suddenly the sun comes out!!

6:09 pm
Having dinner at Simply Pasta. Simply wonderful.

Exit the King was nothing short of amazing. Geoffrey Rush was fantastic. No wonder he got nominated for the Tony. (I'll go into more details on the shows with the next post)

I made an attempt to get to the top of the Empire State Building but the line was too long.

7:40 pm
I'm making my way over to see 9 to 5. Times Square is just packed with people.

10:42 pm
Just got out of 9 to 5. Very enjoyable. Some really well done songs. I'm walking around Times Square and taking pictures.

10:55 pm
I'm heading over to Don't Tell Mama, a bar. I'm going to meet up with a Friend that I volunteer with at Food and Friends for drinks and comparing notes on our days.

11:10 pm - 12:36 am
Have drinks and we talk about Exit the King. He saw the evening performance. We both agree the show was just fantastic.

12:38 am
We leave the bar and it is pouring pouring pouring down rain.

1:14 am
I make it down to the bus. I step into a puddle (actually more like a small lake) and get my feet wet. But I'm going to be on a bus for the next five hours so who cares.

1:35 am
The bus gets going. A lot more people on this one than the one coming up. I'd say around 15 to 20 people.

3 am ish
We make a stop in Philadelphia. Rather a long round about way of getting in and out of the city. But I'm dozing off and am warm and not wet. It continues to rain.

6:48 am
Back in Washington. What a blast. All I can say is why didn't I think of this sooner and when can I go again.

Yes, indeed a triumph.

Triumph in New York City

That's what my 14 hours in New York City were.

A triumph!

Everything worked perfectly.

The bus was on time leaving.

There were no problems getting there.

Walked up to the half price ticket place got a ticket to see Exit the King.

There was a Pret (like the ones in London). Got lunch from there and then sat right in the middle of Times Square and had lunch.

Then went off to see Exit the King. Absolutely amazing! Everyone in the play was fantastic and Geoffrey Rush's performance was a tour de force. Just incredible.

Tried to go up the Empire State building but the line was too long.

Instead found a wonderful Italian place called Simply Pasta at 120 West 41st Street. I had Tortellini Bolognese. I had a banana colada to drink. For dessert Profiteroles which is three cream puffs. One is filled with vanilla ice cream, another chocolate and the last one expresso topped with hot fudge.

Then off to see 9 to 5. I enjoyed it a great deal.

After that met up with my friend who I volunteer with and then headed for the bus.

More about the trip later but now I need to take a shower, brush my teeth and get something to eat. Right now I'm not sure in what order.

2Political Episode Six

2PP006 – 5 May 2009

My special days span the globe, but Arthur adds one from space. We begin talking about the flu outbreak, especially how the media did in reporting about it. Was New Zealand’s media coverage any different? From there it’s a discussion of President Obama’s first 100 days, which then leads to a discussion of Arlen Specter changing parties and the two main parties generally. Arthur mentions a podcaster’s challenge, and why the right just doesn’t “get” new media or the Internet Age.

There are extensive comments on the last episode, so we don’t read them all. Instead, we talk about them and the topics they raise. Back in 2 weeks!

Feel free to visit our website: 2political.com where you can see all the links for this episode or leave a comment. You can also call our US-based comment line, 206-426-0527, or send an email to arthur[at)2political.com or jason{at]2political.com. 2Political episodes will continue to be available through AmeriNZ Podcast for quite awhile, but you can subscribe directly through iTunes (see the link below). You can also subscribe directly: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/2politicalPodcast.


Get 2Poltical Podcast for free on iTunes

On the Way to New York

Well if all goes as planned by the time this is posted I will be on my way to New York City.

I'm going to get up around 5 or so. I'm going to be out of the house by 6. That will give me plenty of time to get down to where I have to meet the bus. In the reservation information they say to be down there at least 30 minutes before the bus is supposed to go. So a 7:15 am departure time means I need to be there by 6:45 am.

I'm just about done packing. There isn't a great deal to do but there are odds and ends that have to be packed. I bough a new backpack for the occasion. The one I take with me to the gym is way to big. The smaller one I have is beginning to show its age. There's a rip in one of the pockets and one of straps has a tear where it joins the pack. I thought it better to get a new one. This new one has lots of pockets.

I've packed my map and all my reservation information. I bough along some stuff to read. Since on the trip back I won't be reading I'll be sleeping, I brought along some magazines which I can throw out once I reach New York. I've got the addresses to all the theaters of the possible plays I'll see tomorrow. Also the address of the bar I'm going to meet my friend who I volunteer with at Food and Friends. He's up in New York starting on Tuesday. So will hang out for a little while and the I'll go off and get my bus back to DC.

This is going to be a blast!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I went and saw this today. It was ok. That's about the best that I can say about it. The action sequences were very very good. The effects too. But the movie between them was about as flat as you could get.

We do find out the origins of James Howlett that is Logan/Wolverine. It was in Alberta, Canada. I won't go into all of the opening part but he finds his father killed by a man. James then has bones come out of his knuckles and then kills the man who killed his father. But the man he thought was his father isn't and the guy he just killed with his last breath tells him he is his father. James runs off with his half brother, Victor Creed. There's no explanation of where James' powers come from. Were they from his father? If they were, how was he able to kill the guy so easily? That's just one of the plot holes in the movie for me.

Then we get a montage of all the wars the two of them (Logan and Victor) fought in over time. I'd say this is probably one of the best parts of the whole movie. James begins to tire of all the killing while Victor seems to like killing more and more.

There's a secret military man who comes along and takes them both away from the regular army. This guy William Stryker has other mutants that he uses to perform top secret missions. James now Logan grows tired of the violence and walks away.

He drops from sight for 6 years until Stryker reappears. Logan's girlfriend is killed by Victor. Or is she? Everything is not what it seems. Frankly the twists and turns aren't really all that twisty and turny.

Logan is injected with adamantium to make him powerful enough to kill Victor. At least that's what Stryker says but that's not the case either. After awhile you really don't care all that much how the plot goes because it just doesn't make all that much sense.

Stryker's been robbing mutant powers from their DNA to make the perfect mutant. All the manipulations by Stryker are to get Logan to agree to the adamantium. And well it goes on from there.

There is a cool fight scene in the end where Logan and Victor battle the super mutant Weapon XI. This is the perfect mutant that has received all the powers that Stryker took from the other mutants. You might want to stick around for the credits there are a couple of additional scenes. One which is at the very end.

I have to say I'm disappointed in the film. I was hoping for something a little bit better.

The Museum Tour

The weather wasn't all that inviting. It was misty and then turned rainy and then there were a couple of down pours. But it was really a perfect day to head down to the Mall and go to museums. After all umbrellas were invented to help keep you dry or at least not to get really wet.

I started out from my house a little after 9:30. I figured I would get down to the National Gallery, the first stop on my tour, right about when it opened. I always start with the East Gallery and work my way west. I arrived a little after 10 and then proceeded to have a fantastic if somewhat damp day down at the Mall. It is one of the reason I so love living in Washington. I'm able to spend a day just like this.

The first thing I saw at the East Wing was an exhibit on small French paintings.

The East Wing of the Gallery

There was a great display of medieval manuscripts and the illuminations which are the drawings that do with it. All done in gold leaf very impressive. Unfortunately you couldn't take any pictures.

Over to the West Gallery

I headed over the other gallery and saw these guys replacing a sign. Not the best of weather to do that in.

Touring the National Gallery

It's always great to come back to the National Gallery and see some of your favorites. I've always enjoyed Joseph Turner.




































Here are portraits of our first five presidents.

More From the National Gallery

The thing that always amazes me about the National Gallery is the breadth of the types of paintings that are there. Here are a few examples.

Natural History and National Museum of American History

After the National Gallery, I went down museum row so to speak. The next stop was the Natural History Museum where they have a fantastic exhibit on mammals. There's a great interactive presentation at the web site.

I also learned the three things that makes us mammals: hair, three tiny bones in the middle portion of the ear and their mother's give milk. There is also a fantastic movie about the mammal family reunion which is a must see.










































Then I headed to the National Museum of American History and saw an exhibit on Lincoln:

As part of the Smithsonian-wide celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the Museum will bring together—for the first time—its unique and unparalleled Lincoln collection. Through a focused selection of nationally important Lincoln artifacts, visitors will explore the life and times of this extraordinary figure. Each highlighted object will be augmented with personal stories told by Lincoln and the people who knew him best. The exhibition will showcase more than 60 historical treasures associated with Lincoln's life from an iron wedge he used to split wood in the early 1830s in New Salem, Ill., to his iconic top hat he wore the night he was shot at Ford’s Theatre. The exhibition will tell a new and very intimate story of the life and legacy of this remarkable individual.

I headed off to Ford's Theatre thinking I might take in a tour but I'd just missed one so I went to my final stop for the day.

Final Stop the National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum

This is a wonderful exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum.

Here the description;

In 1934, Americans grappled with an economic situation that feels all too familiar today. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration created the Public Works of Art Program—the first federal government program to support the arts nationally. Federal officials in the 1930s understood how essential art was to sustaining America's spirit. Artists from across the United States who participated in the program, which lasted only six months from mid-December 1933 to June 1934, were encouraged to depict "the American Scene." The Public Works of Art Program not only paid artists to embellish public buildings, but also provided them with a sense of pride in serving their country. They painted regional, recognizable subjects—ranging from portraits to cityscapes and images of city life to landscapes and depictions of rural life—that reminded the public of quintessential American values such as hard work, community and optimism.

1934: A New Deal for Artists celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Public Works of Art Program by drawing on the Smithsonian American Art Museum's unparalleled collection of vibrant artworks created for the program. The paintings in this exhibition are a lasting visual record of America at a specific moment in time. George Gurney, deputy chief curator, organized the exhibition with Ann Prentice Wagner, curatorial associate.

Credit Card Relief

Last week the house passed legislation to rein in the practices of the credit card companies.

This should have been done a long time ago. Consumers have been complaining about these practices for years but, as long as the Republicans had anything to say about it, this legislation went no where. But now even Republicans are on board. It passed by an overwhelming 357-70 vote.

There was the usual reaction from the banking industry:

Edward Yingling, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, said the group "strongly believes that any additional legislative efforts should strive to achieve the right balance between enhancing consumer protection, and ensuring that credit remains available to consumers and small businesses at a reasonable cost."

"We continue to believe that more work needs to be done to achieve that balance," he said.

Once again raising rates at a whim to whatever the card company wants to is the idea of achieving a "balance" between the consumer and the card company. I don't think so. The actions taken would restrict the ability of the card companies from doing that.

I'm still pissed at Bank of America for what they did. I will say that the one card I canceled from them is just about paid off. The other one I'll keep because I've had it for so long and the credit limit is so high. But I'm starting to look into getting a card from the credit union I joined a couple of weeks ago. Once I have that the only reason I'll use the Bank of America card is in an emergency.

I think I can best sum up my feelings about Bank of America this was: the only way I'd ever do business with them ever is if someone had a gun to my head and threatened to shoot.

A Week Off

I have the week off!!!

My plan today is to head down to the Mall and see what there is to see at the National Gallery, Natural History and American History Museums. It looks like the rain from the last few days is going to continue but that's what umbrellas are for.

Tuesday, I going to have lunch with a friend and then we are going to see a movie or the other way round.

Wednesday is my day in New York. I'm taking the bus up at 7:15. I'm supposed to get there around 11:45. I plan to walk up to the half price ticket place and get a ticket to a show. I have a list of potential plays to see: Exit the King, Blythe Spirit or Mary Stuart. Then in the evening I have a ticket to see 9 to 5. I head back to DC on the 1:30 am bus on Thursday morning.

Thursday I think I'm resting.

Friday is sort of an open day. I think I'm going to have a training session.

Then Saturday and Sunday I'm getting on the bike and seeing how far I can go each day.

And that's what I'm doing on my week off.

Powerless Before Nature

I was looking into the weather for my trip to New York and saw this video about the Dallas Cowboys practice facility collapse from the wind. It is incredible how quickly the thing falls to the ground. Just goes to show you how powerful nature can be.

The Cat and the Printer

I was surfing the web today and ran across this video. I know when my printer isn't working correctly I sure want to give it a good whack.

I was in a Confined Space

Oh my goodness I was in a confined space today. Not just once but several times. OH NO!!!

As our Vice President said earlier in the week:

"I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said when Matt Lauer asked whether he would advise family members to use public transportation.

"I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to Mexico, it's you're in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. "

And I've been on the subway not once but twice today. Then I went to my gym which is in a confined space. Further I went to a spinning class which is in and even more confined space. Oh no. Oh NO.

Oh no is right.

I'm beginning to get the feeling that the Swine Babe Flu reaction is getting just a little out of hand. The VP's remarks certainly didn't help matters. Closing of school districts when a few kids in a few individual schools might have been exposed to Babe Flu is a little over the top too. I think an important point was raised about this. Where do all these kids go if they are not in school? Is it possible they are just as likely to be exposed to the flu as if they stayed in school?

Then there's the coverage of the death of the toddler in Texas. This was breaking news on CNN when I was at the gym around 8 in the morning. It was till breaking news when I got home from work nine hours later. Somehow that not still breaking news.

Then there was the general coverage of this whole very tragic event. The first death in the United States. Well yes and no. It was the first death of someone who died from the flu from the U.S. But it was not the first death of someone from the US from the flu. This is a huge difference.

This flu can be scary enough as it is. The comments and reporting on it need to be done very carefully. So far there've been a couple of stumbles along the way. Hopefully they will be last.

Renaming the Flu

This seems rather silly in a way but I guess it makes some amount of sense. There is an ongoing attempt to rename the Swine Flu the H1N1 Flu Outbreak. Or h1N1 for short.

Producers of pork are concerned about the use of Swine Flu:

Groups representing the pork industry _ including the National Pork Producers Council, the National Pork Board and the American Meat Institute _ have all been in talks with the Agriculture Department asking officials to discourage the name "swine flu" and to reassure the public that pork is safe.

Read more about it here.

I can't see the media changing to saying the H1N1 flu virus.

A friend came up with a great idea. Call it the Babe Flu. The Babe Flu you say. Yes the Babe Flu. If you know your movies then you know that Babe was a movie about a pig. Thus the new name Babe Flu. Certainly a lot easier to remember and much catchier than the H1N1.