Alligators 'n Roadkill
On The Road
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Love is a pile of ____, A Musical
We were invited to a performance of a play at the Teatro de la Ciudad de Chihuahua, in Chihuahua, Mexico, this past Saturday evening. This was a presentation of the City of Chihuahua, and featured some very professional actors.
The Playbill:
Before I mention the play itself (other than showing you the playbill, that is), let me tell you about the venue. The theater itself is old, and its location has variously been occupied by theaters known by names such as Betancourt (1877-1904, when it was destroyed by fire), Teatro Centenario (until 1938, when it was again destroyed by fire), then Cine Colonial (1947-1992, when the doors were closed). As the names might suggest, it was a regular theater, with live performances up until it became a movie theater in 1947. Following the closure in 1992, the theater was not used until the City opened it as The Theater of the City, in 2001.
The theater from the street
The presentation that we saw was an original play whose name ends with the well known emoji for "poop." The name is literally suggesting that love is nothing more than a pile of same. Basically, despite my own inability to hear and completely comprehend the dialogue, I got the gist of the idea that young couples today argue over petty things, and have a bit of trouble resolving their differences. It is a comedy, and it does have a number of really decent songs.
A great view of the interior
I have to confess that I was disappointed from the get go to see the actors using microphones, and in my opinion, that took something away from the entire presentation. Even though these were the behind the neck, hang near the mouth type, they could not overcome the rustle of clothing too close, or the inevitable movement that put the mikes too close to the mouth. So, in addition to the fact that young people tend to talk too fast for us older folks, and my own limited Spanish, I had to deal with distortion that was pretty much present throughout. In short, my comprehension of this play was very limited.
Some of the intricate detail
I understand that at least one of the songs belongs to one Cristian Castro, a well known Mexican singer, and a brother of one of the cast members. That brother played the part of the Psychiatrist, and his name is Marcos Valdes, who just happens to be the son of Loco Valdez, a famous Mexican comedian, and a member of a very distinguished family of actors. Marco's mother is Veronica Castro, a famous singer, actress, producer, and presenter.
I guess I'm trying to say that this play has some serious bona fides, and, as I did mention, it is a professional presentation that was - for me, at least - marred by the use of microphones coupled with a less than ideal sound system.
Before I mention the play itself (other than showing you the playbill, that is), let me tell you about the venue. The theater itself is old, and its location has variously been occupied by theaters known by names such as Betancourt (1877-1904, when it was destroyed by fire), Teatro Centenario (until 1938, when it was again destroyed by fire), then Cine Colonial (1947-1992, when the doors were closed). As the names might suggest, it was a regular theater, with live performances up until it became a movie theater in 1947. Following the closure in 1992, the theater was not used until the City opened it as The Theater of the City, in 2001.
The presentation that we saw was an original play whose name ends with the well known emoji for "poop." The name is literally suggesting that love is nothing more than a pile of same. Basically, despite my own inability to hear and completely comprehend the dialogue, I got the gist of the idea that young couples today argue over petty things, and have a bit of trouble resolving their differences. It is a comedy, and it does have a number of really decent songs.
I have to confess that I was disappointed from the get go to see the actors using microphones, and in my opinion, that took something away from the entire presentation. Even though these were the behind the neck, hang near the mouth type, they could not overcome the rustle of clothing too close, or the inevitable movement that put the mikes too close to the mouth. So, in addition to the fact that young people tend to talk too fast for us older folks, and my own limited Spanish, I had to deal with distortion that was pretty much present throughout. In short, my comprehension of this play was very limited.
I understand that at least one of the songs belongs to one Cristian Castro, a well known Mexican singer, and a brother of one of the cast members. That brother played the part of the Psychiatrist, and his name is Marcos Valdes, who just happens to be the son of Loco Valdez, a famous Mexican comedian, and a member of a very distinguished family of actors. Marco's mother is Veronica Castro, a famous singer, actress, producer, and presenter.
I guess I'm trying to say that this play has some serious bona fides, and, as I did mention, it is a professional presentation that was - for me, at least - marred by the use of microphones coupled with a less than ideal sound system.
Monday, October 1, 2018
So, Why Does The U. S. Have A Department Of Defense?
I have been thinking about our yuge (we're talking major Bigly here) National Debt and Deficit, and other woes of the Trumpian Era, and this one thing keeps bothering me. Now, I grant you, this did not begin with the current administration. It began a long, long time ago, when we first chose to ignore the warnings of Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he talked about the Military Industrial Complex, upon his leaving the office of President. It escalated over the years, and then got really, really bad in the wake of the stupid that followed 9/11.
I am talking about Defense Spending, and the seriously out of control Department of Defense! Why should our spending on what we euphemistically call Defense be so damn high?!
Just to be sure that I had this right, I looked up the word:
DEFENSE:
NOUN
1. the action of defending from
or resisting attack.
"she
came to the defense of the eccentric professor" ·
synonyms: protection · shielding · safeguarding · guarding · security · fortification ·
·
an
instance of defending a title or seat in a contest or election.
"his
first title defense against Jones"
·
military
measures or resources for protecting a country.
"the
minister of defense" ·
synonyms: armaments · weapons · weaponry · arms ·
2. the case presented by or on
behalf of the party being accused or sued in a lawsuit.
synonyms: rebuttal · denial · vindication · explanation · mitigation · justification ·
3. (in sports) the action or
role of defending one's goal against the opposition.
"we
played solid defense"
I do not see anywhere in that definition, anything about sending our armed forces to any other place on this planet! Do you see words like "invasion" or "occupy" in there? I sure do not. I mean, how is invasion of Iraq equal to "protecting" our nation? Did Iraq have the power to invade us, and only the Defense Department was aware of that? So, how are we defending our nation by invading the Middle East, and making war on nations, when it was individual terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers? Why did our "Defense" not prevent that horror? Isn't that what Defense is supposed to do? When did Defense become Offense? Why are we OK with this?
Have we all forgotten just how much money we've allowed our Defense to piss away over the years?! Are we all totally ignorant of the good that could have been accomplished with that much money, if diverted towards the infrastructure, or health care, or education? Does it not hurt you to think of all the waste? All the loss?
How is joining an all volunteer Army, and going off to countries whose citizens never hurt us equivalent to "serving" the nation? Hint: If you joined the Army (or, the Navy, or the Air Force, or the Marines, or even the Space Farce) to serve your country? You don't need to go to some far away place to do that. You can "serve" your country right here at home by volunteering to house and feed the homeless, or educate young people, or volunteer at a hospital, or go to work fixing broken streets and highways!
And, if we have a desperate need for Defense of our nation (I abhor the use of that word, "homeland"), then should we not have shoreline artillery batteries, Air Force Bases near our borders, and Army posts? Why must our Defense be concentrated overseas?
I mean, if we have some 800 +/- bases across the world, that is not even remotely like Defense. That's Empire Building, and we have always denied any bent towards Imperialism.
Personally, I think it is way past time to stop saying that we must have a huge Defense budget, and time to begin calling it what it is. It is either an invasion budget, or an empire building budget, or better yet, an Offense Budget, because all of those are more accurate and honest.
Bottom line, for me, is this: We don't need a humongous military force. No. More. War.
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