Day 199/365 - In the Heights

When I decided to make a weekend trip up to New York, I checked to see what shows were playing on Broadway. The pickings were pretty slim. It was mostly just shows I'd already seen and more rehashes of Disney movies. The only show I really wanted to see was the musical "In the Heights." Instead of buying my ticket in advance over the internet, I thought I'd wait and see if I could get a discounted, day of performance ticket from the TKTS booth in Time Square. No such luck, unfortunately. I wound up having to pay full price at the theater box office, but it was money well spent.

"In the Heights" is something pretty rare on Broadway these days -- an original show rather than one based on a movie. The play is set in Washington Heights, a section of upper Manhattan that is home to many Latin immigrants from many lands and islands. The story focuses on a wide cast of characters who are all either trying to follow their dreams or figure out what their dreams actually are. It's a bit of a cross between "La Boheme" and "Romeo and Juliet," with a New York Latin flair. The story is engrossing and keeps you engaged as you wait to see how it all turns out in the end. It's a bit unusual though in that there is no antagonist in the play, apart from the vicissitudes of life and circumstance. The presence of a heavy might have been a good idea and could have tempered or counterbalanced the overall sweetness of the play.

The characters are likeable and well fleshed out for the most part, although some of the minor characters are largely stereotypes. The performers are generally good, especially the male lead Usnavi. The dancers are appropriately energetic and limber and the singers are passable. The set design is good and eschews the trend toward mechanically spectacular staging in favor of a fixed set that conveys the claustrophobic coziness of the neighborhood. The music and songs are good and "In the Heights" is the first musical I've seen that successfully blends singing and rapping without making a mess of either.

It's easy to see why "In the Heights" won the Tony Award for Best Musical. It's just a shame that there aren't more original shows like this being staged on Broadway. It's disappointing that the creeping 'Disneyfication' of Time Square has now extended to the productions in the theaters as well. If this keeps up, Time Square will be little more than a urban strip mall full of chain restaurants and chain plays.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Day 198/365 - At Citi Field

I took the day off work and caught the Acela up to NYC today so I could see the Nationals play the Mets in their new ballpark, Citi Field. This was my first Nats road trip of the season. I usually try to catch a couple of their road games each year. This year I'll be going to both of the brand new ballparks in New York. In each case, I bought my ticket on-line the day they went on sale and I got a pretty good seat in both ballparks. Here at Citi Field, my seat was thirteen rows back from the field and just a little to the left of home plate.

With this trip, I've now been to watch pro baseball at fourteen different parks: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Camden Yards in Baltimore, Olympic Stadium in Montreal, RFK Stadium in DC, Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, Wrigley Field in Chicago, U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Old Yankee Stadium in NYC, Shea Stadium in NYC, Minute Maid Park in Houston, Nationals Park in DC, Petco Park in San Diego, and Citi Field. My favorite so far is Wrigley. It's so snug and cozy there it's like you're watching a baseball game being played in a friend's backyard. My least favorite is probably Three Rivers. With the way that stadium was designed, it was like watching a game being played at the bottom of a well.

Citi Field is all right. I like it better from the outside than the inside. It has a very nice facade that is a throwback to old Ebbits Field and the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at the main entrance is cool. Inside, it's really nothing special, although the bridge in back of the bullpens is a good gimmicky touch. The seats feel like they're far back from the field. I just had a couple hot dogs, a pretzel, and some crackerjacks so I can't really speak about the food options there, but the beer choices are pathetic. I walked all around the lower seating bowl and all they had on tap was Bud and Bud Light. I did find a stand that at least had Brooklyn Lager in a can, so I didn't have to go thirsty.

The Nats lost tonight, as per the usual. They kept it close, though. The final score was 4-3 and they were going up against a really tough pitcher in Johan Santana. They scored two runs in the ninth inning, so at least they made it worthwhile to stick around to see how it finished. Oh well, hopefully I'll get a better result when I go see them play at the New Yankee Stadium in June.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Day 197/365 - Slice of Heaven

Come to think of it, that would be a pretty cool name for a pizzeria.

I took a break from getting my stuff together for my weekend jaunt up to NYC tomorrow to head over to Cafe Pizzaiola for a Neapolitan-style pizza with smoked mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and prosciutto. Followed up, of course, with a dish of gelato. There's no indulgence like self-indulgence!

Forget ambrosia, I think pizza is truly the food of the gods. It encompasses all four food groups -- grains and cereals in the crust, dairy in the cheese, and meat and vegetables in the toppings. That has to make it the most perfect of all foods. And it's even circular, which makes it the perfect shape.

I had a friend in law school who said that pizza is like sex -- even when it's not great, it's still pretty damn good. This, however, was great.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 196/365 - Little Blue Marble

Happy Earth Day to all my fellow Earthlings (and to any otherworldly visitors as well).

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 195/365 - April Bower

For this week's self-portrait we have this shot of me under a canopy of pink cherry blossoms in a grove of trees between Capitol Hill and Union Station in Washington, DC. Honestly, I wasn't intentionally trying to look like Eraserhead here.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 194/365 - Rain Delay

I waited out a two-hour rain delay at Nationals Park tonight to catch the major league debut of the Nats top pitching prospect, Jordan Zimmermann. It was cold and rainy and foggy and the ballpark looked both ghostly and like a ghost town, but the kid pitched pretty well and helped his team notch a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. It was nice to watch the Nats win for a change, even though I missed the end of the game because I had to leave in the bottom of the 8th inning in order to catch the last train home. Stupid rain delay.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Rowboat Romance

This week's bonus photo from my archives is a shot I took of two rental rowboats snuggled up to each other in the C&O Canal in Washington, DC.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Day 193/365 - The Agony of Defeat

Today was the second game for my kickball team. We got clobbered again, but at least this time we scored two runs instead of getting shut out. You should have seen us whooping and hollering and jumping up and down after we finally scored. You'd have thought we'd just won a championship or something. I guess small victories are better than no victories whatsoever, even though they do still go down in the "L" column.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 192/365 - Stinkier than Dirty Diapers

Went to my second Nats game of the season and of course they lost again. For the second day in a row they blew a lead in the ninth inning and lost to the Marlins in extra innings. A three-run lead, yet!

Beautiful day for a baseball game, but a bad day to be a Nationals fan. Ugh. The look on this baby's face says it all.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 191/365 - Lunch al Fresco

Today was a perfect weather day in DC, which meant I absolutely had to have lunch somewhere with sidewalk seating. I opted to walk to a little Thai place on Capitol Hill and had the red curry duck, coconut ice cream, and two Thai iced teas. I love Thai iced tea.

So, to recap -- Friday afternoon, Thai food, sunshine, 70 degrees, interesting book, and hot Hill staffers strolling by. Yeah, I've had worse lunches.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 190/365 - Lysistrata

My first exposure to the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes' play "Lysistrata" came from my World Lit class in undergrad. I remember being surprised by how funny and, um, earthy it was. I guess I thought anything that old and classic had to be dry and sedate. Although I'd read the play many years ago, I'd never seen it performed live until last night when I caught Synetic Theater's production of it. Technically though, I guess I've still never really seen it performed live.

Synetic's version of "Lysistrata" is more a re-interpretation or re-imagining than a straight production. It's a joint production with the Georgetown University drama department and most of the cast is composed of Georgetown students or recent grads. The play concerns a Greek woman who, tiring of the ceaseless war between her city-state and a rival state that drains their treasuries and destroys their men, organizes her fellow women and the women of their rival state to press for peace. The women's tactics include occupying the treasury building and stealing their men's armor and weapons, but their primary strategy involves a sex strike. No peace, no nookie. The immovable object of war thus meets the irresistible force of sex.

Synetic's production of "Lysistrata" is certainly funny, but a bit disappointing. They settle too easily for the broad, cheap laugh and the efforts to modernize the play come off as heavy-handed and a trifle clumsy. While they've largely maintained Aristophanes' original story, they've done more than a bit of violence to his words. Here's a thought -- when a play has survived for over 2000 years and been hailed as a great work all that time, the less you monkey with it the better. Case in point, the godawful rap sequence. Although I will admit that changing the lyrics of the Eagles' "Desperado" to "Lysistrata" in a later serenade scene was pretty damn funny.

"Lysistrata" is really an odd fit for Synetic. They do best when they focus on telling a story through dance, motion, and pantomime. There's not much of that in this production and what is there is a bit too MTV-ish. "Lysistrata" is more dialogue-driven and that is not Synetic's strength. Stretching yourself and trying new things is fine, but hopefully they'll return more to what they do best in future productions.

The costumes, score, and set for this production are all adequate but not particularly noteworthy. Nothing about any of them really stands out. Similarly, the performances are workmanlike, but none of the actors really shine in their parts. Synetic's production of "Lysistrata" is fine if you're just in the market for a few cheap laughs. Otherwise, you're better off reading the original.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 189/365 - No Joy in Mudville

I had a ticket for tonight's Nats-Phillies game, but it was postponed for a date to be named later on account of rain. Oh well, at least the Nats won't lose again tonight.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 188/365 - Beer O'Clock

This week's self-portrait is me taking a beer out of the fridge, a process that is repeated many times over the course of a year. Don't worry, though -- there's still more in there if you're thirsty.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Day 187/365 - Home, Bittersweet Home

Today was Opening Day for the 2009 baseball season at Nationals Park in DC. The hometown Washington Nationals played host to the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. I wish the hosts had been a little less accommodating to their out of town guests. The Nats lost to the Phillies 9-8. They're now 0-7 on the season and were once again done in by poor pitching and shoddy defense. Ugh.

At least they made it close, though, with a two run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning. Plus I got to leave work early today, sit outside in the occasional sunshine, buy some new swag at the team store, and eat a hot dog and pretzel and drink a beer (followed six innings later by a Coke and an order of chili cheese fries). So in the final accounting I'd still say there were more entries on the plus side of the day's ledger than on the minus side.

Nothing breaks your heart and torments you with renewed hope like love and baseball.

Go Nats!

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Glory Days

For this week's photo from my archives, we reach back all the way to my high school days. I took this shot of the old train depot in my hometown for my 11th or 12th grade photography class. They've restored the depot now, but I think I kinda liked it better when it looked more like a relic from the past than a museum piece.

(Taken with my first SLR, a Pentax K-1000)

Day 186/365 - Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everybunny!

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 185/365 - Saturday Night Geek Out

Tonight was one of the geekiest and most entertaining nights I've had in a while. My friends Des, Chris, and I went to the Medieval Times dinner show at Arundel Mills Mall in Maryland to eat with our fingers, cheer for the Red Knight, and watch dudes poke each other with lances and whack each other with swords. Then it was off to Dave & Busters to drink (more) beer and play video games.

There was a trivia game I really wanted to play, but I was never able to snag an open spot. And I know I could've rocked at that game, too. Instead I spent most of my time playing a submarine game where you torpedo passing ships in order to win tickets. I wound up with 500 tickets, but they didn't have much worth getting at this D&B, so I just decided to hang on to them.

Then we capped the night off with more drinking at my friends' place while we played Rock Band and Lego Batman on their Wii. It's a bit sad for someone above the age of 15 to admit that they stayed up until 4:15 in the morning playing Lego Batman on the Wii, but I don't care. I had a blast!

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 184/365 - The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico, A Comedy

The effects of global commerce and corporate imperialism might seem an odd subject for a comedy, but it makes for a very funny play. Tonight I went to see Gala Hispanic Theatre's production of "The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico." In keeping with the theme of the evening, I decided to have Mexican food for dinner before the show so I wandered a few blocks up from the theater's location in the Columbia Heights section of Washington, DC to Taqueria Distrito Federal.

It's tough to find good Mexican food in DC. While there are many people in the area whose families immigrated here from Central American countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, not many people have immigrated here from Mexico. As a result, most of the local Mexican restaurants are operated by Central Americans. The food is a bit more authentic than Chi Chi's, but it's still not the same. TDF is the real deal, however.

It's a small place, only a half-dozen or so tables inside and three on the patio out front. It's fast, cheap, good, and authentic. Well, as authentic as Mexican food gets in the U.S. anyhow. I don't know if you can ever exactly duplicate a national or regional cuisine in a restaurant in another location. It never tastes quite the same for some reason. TDF is definitely good, though. I ordered the Combo #3, which is five tacos, the dessert of the day, and a drink for only $13. It was one of the cheapest pre-theater meals I've ever had.

TDF has about a dozen different types of meat fillings for their tacos and you can pick and choose what you want in them. I opted for two pork tacos, one chicken, one bbq goat, and one bbq beef. The chicken one was a little dry, but the others were yum. The dessert was a tasty slice of flan and my drink, given the play I was seeing, had to be a Coke.

As I learned from the play, Mexico's per capita consumption of Coke is second only to that of the U.S. "The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico" is a two-person play about a filmmaker and a performance artist from Seattle who decide to go to Mexico to make a documentary about American cultural and corporate globalization as symbolized by Coke's infiltration into Mexican society. The pair of actors that form the cast play a wide range of parts throughout the course of the play, including: the filmmakers; the tourists, farmers, and resort community workers they interview for the documentary; various figures from Mexican political history; and, in one particularly hilarious scene, the characters on a telenovela.

In their quest to document the extent to which American corporations have exploited and manipulated the Mexican people, the two filmmakers (who despite their loudly professed ideals are just as ignorant, patronizing, and chauvinistic as those they criticize) themselves exploit and manipulate a family of poor farmers in order to jazz up their documentary. While they start out to be liberators, in the end they wind up being just another kind of oppressor (although that's a fact that they themselves never seem to recognize).

The play is quite good and flows well, with the exception of a music video recreation scene at the end of the first act that just doesn't fit and doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose. The two performers are excellent and the set design, though simple, is effective. Gala Theatre itself is housed in an upstairs portion of the old Tivoli Theatre, formerly the most opulent movie palace in DC. Some of that opulence survives in the ornate ceiling of the theater, but it's not much compared to its former glory as revealed in the historical photos that line the walls leading to the theater.

"The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico" is part ironic comedy, part satire, part history lesson, part political argument, and all good. And if you go to Taqueria Distrito Federal for dinner beforehand, it's even better.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 183/365 - Halfway Home

For this week's self-portrait we have me standing in the middle of the George Mason Memorial Bridge (aka the 14th St. Bridge) that links Virginia to DC. Not only am I in the middle of the bridge and the middle of the Potomac River here, this is also the midpoint on my walk home from work. It's 50 minutes from my office to this point, and another 50 minutes from this point to my apartment.

This seemed like the perfect spot for today's shot given that this marks the midway point in my 365 project. I've got 182 days behind me and another 182 days ahead of me. I never thought I'd make it this far. My guess was that I'd quit the 'photo a day' thing after about a month. I'm glad I decided to do a 365 project, but I'll also be glad when it's over. It's gotten to be a bit of a grind.

Some people go on to do a second and third year. Not me. It'll be nice to be able to go back to taking a photo when I feel like it rather than having to do a shot each and every day. I may do a second 365 project 5 or 10 years down the road, but I don't see myself doing another one any sooner than that.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 182/365 - Post-It Note Impression No. 4

I hadn't done one of these in a while, so I figured I was overdue for another Post-It Note impression.

Quick, who am I this time?

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)