(no subject)

I was surprised and saddened to learn that the Amato Opera company, an intimately sized opera house that’s been a feature of the Lower East Side for over sixty years, will be closing in May. (More details here.) Although I’ve never been, my life used to intersect with the Amato in interesting ways; more than one Amato vet came through the door at Rose’s back in the day. Their last two productions are La Boheme (which will be interesting: the last production of that show I saw was directed by Baz Luhrmann) and Marriage of Figaro; I hope to see both before they close. It’s interesting- between CBGB and this, it really is the end of an era...

(no subject)

Ten days. I’ve pared my to-bring list down to a backpack’s worth of material: a few changes of clothing; three books (including a guidebook and a one-volume Lord of the Rings, to the surprise of no one, I’m sure); a swimsuit; a notebook; a camera; a few other dribs and drabs. I’m constantly arguing with myself about the degree to which I want to plan things out: do I make all the hotel reservations in advance and simply guess how much time I’ll want to spend in, say, Auckland? Or do I follow my usual pattern for adventures, and trust that something will work itself out? I don’t honestly see the point of traveling halfway around the world simply to tick off items from an itinerary; it seems to me that the whole point of this is to explore, to see what lies beyond that next bend in the road…

Ten days!

(no subject)

The Farrelly Brothers are working to cast Oscar-winning actors Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro, along with Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey, in an updated version of the Three Stooges.

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...yeah; I got nothin'.