From the Sort of Sublime to the Pretty Ridiculous

Adam, my Recognized-by-the-State-of-California-Domestic-Partner, sang at Disney Concert Hall today during a matinee performance with The California Philharmonic. It was exciting. The program was called Beethoven, Bernstein & Bolero. A big section of West Side Story selections followed by Bolero comprised the first act. The second act was selections from Bernstein’s Candide followed by Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from his 1824 Symphony No. 9.

The choir sang in act two. Especially moving was the piece Make Our Garden Grow from the finale of Candide. It’s a stirring, wonderful piece of music. I hate music writing so I will keep away from it. Just listen to it when you have a chance. But what was quite something else was watching and listening to the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth. It’s really quite complicated with overlaying movements going on. I have never heard it live, before. A treat. And even though the French horn section was weak (especially obvious during Bolero), the whole concert came off exceptionally well.

I particularly liked watching Bolero being performed. Seeing the instruments being added in bit by bit, you could actually watch how the piece was composed. Fascinating.

And of course, the sound at Disney is legendary. The visual of the French Fries organ is a bit distracting, but also playful. California is just playful. It’s Googie. No way around it.



Problem with going to concerts, one can get a little sleepy. My good friend Anne took a bit of a cat nap during Bolero. I must admit, I succumbed for about three minutes during the Beethoven. Maybe we need music to soothe us to sleep? I don’t know.

After a large meal in Chinatown, we went to see Tropic Thunder. Tom Cruise as a big money-worshipping, hairy Jew? Robert Downey Junior in blackface? Ben Stiller sucking on steaming guts?

Look, I’m not very P.C., nor am I queasy. I guess this kind of movie is simply not for me. I can’t say it was the worst movie I've ever seen or anything. All I can say is, I’m old and have no interest in this sort of offering. Years ago, we walked out of There’s Something About Mary. Not because it was offensive, but because lack of wit in a comedy just seems like a waste of time. Could there be a way to do this kind of thing without such worn out ideas and poundingly monstrous ham fisting? Is the money-worshipping Jew, played by Tom Cruise, the personification of Ben Stiller himself? A guy who makes the exact fare that he knows will extract maximum dollars from possible movie-going wallets? I would not have dared to write something so offensive before today, but Tropic Thunder begs one to tread in this territory, mercilessly, so hopefully one can shame (and lets go all the way here, the way the movie does) the offending Jews who gave their Jew money to make this tacky Jew movie. Isn't that funny the way I kept writing Jew?
Dying is easy, comedy is hard. True. Movies are made, but mostly not for me, boobala.