Scarlett Letters

It's been busy days around chez scarlettina. Planning for this past weekend actually started months ago when garyomaha told me that he and elusivem were going to be in Seattle for a visit. We made some plans--and then suddenly davidlevine was available for a visit the self same weekend. And so began the social whirlwind that this weekend became.

David arrived on Friday night. Saturday we spent the afternoon at the Fremont Solstice Parade, which David hadn't attended since his Clarion West sojourn in Seattle. The parade has exploded since then both in terms of attendance and the scope of the event itself. The day was sunny and warm, and we arrived early to secure a good spot in the shade. It was, as always, raucous, political, joyful. I think my favorite entries in the pageant-cum-party were the stilt walkers, the giant preying mantis puppet, the portrayal of a spouting oil rig surrounded by kayaktivists, the giant bigfoot on the Cascadia Now float, the sharknado (a tornado festooned with blow-up sharks and air sleeve sharks) and, of course, the naked bicyclists. We had to leave before the parade's end, however, because we had plans for the evening with Gary and M.

I haven't seen Gary and M since JayWake, and this was a much better circumstance overall for a visit. We met them, along with their friends Don and Clark and (forgive me) a woman whose name I've forgotten, for dinner at the 5 Spot at the top of Queen Anne. It was lovely seeing them; I was so delighted. It was a nice chance to catch up before we headed down the hill for the evening's entertainment: a concert by the Seattle Men's Chorus, a program of music by Queen.

I've never seen SMC before. They're sort of a musical institution in Seattle and it seems ridiculous that I've waited this long to see them. A couple of the men who sang with SLGC sing with them now. Between the program and a chance to see those folks and, of course, the company, I was very much looking forward to the evening. Its also one of the last shows to be directed by the chorus' long-time, well-respected director Dennis Coleman. And they put on quite a show, with a guest actor/singer who strongly resembled Freddie Mercury singing lead on a couple of numbers, some excellent soloists (stronger, I thought, than their guest Freddie) and some terrific vocal arrangements. I've sung Queen in concert; I know how hard some of the music actually is on examination, so I had a great appreciation for what the chorus was doing, and they did it very well indeed. We had a marvelous time, and I think many people, like myself, left the hall bouncing and singing.

Sunday was a much quieter, more low-key day, and very much what the doctor ordered. In the morning, David and I met the usual suspects for writing at Ballard Coffee Works. We had lunch at The Market Arms and then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Ballard, strolling around the locks and just soaking up the sun. A bagpipe band was performing on the green. A classic car show was being held with a parade of absolutely gorgeous classic cars. Down by the locks, two seals dipped in and out of the water trolling for salmon smolt; a heron looked on, dipping for smolt as they passed by. We saw salmon swimming through the fish ladder, and watched as the gates of the locks opened and closed for pleasure craft navigating the passage.

The evening was quiet, pleasant. We watched the second episode of "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," which I've been quite enjoying. David took off yesterday morning.

Lovely weekend. Pleasant. Full of good people, good things. The coming week promises more goodness. We shall see.

I'm late in posting about this, but I wanted to be sure to chronicle it just the same. Every year, EB and I try to do something in the spirit of Halloween because we both love the holiday and the season. It's been suitably gloomy around here for at least part of each day the last couple of weeks, so we were in the perfect mood for a Halloween celebration. That being the case, on Sunday we attended a concert at Benaroya Hall presented by the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra called "Music's Darkest Harvest". I got the tickets via one of the crowd-sourced discount programs--LivingSocial or AmazonLocal or something like that. Anyway, the program was full of seasonally appropriate music, including:

• Rachmaninoff"s "The Isle of the Dead"


• Herrmann's "Concerto Macabre" (from the film "Hangover Square")


• Liszt's "Totentanz"


• Chopin's "Funeral March"


• Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain"

The encore turned out to be delightfully familiar: "Funeral March of the Marionettes" (also known as the theme from Alfred Hitchcock Hour).

The soloist was the marvelous Peter Mack on piano who gave a theatrical and energetic performance.

We stayed for the Q&A with the director and soloist after the concert. Both men answered questions with generosity and enthusiasm, the director with an almost manic, obsessive energy.

We had a delicious, decadent dinner afterwards at The Brooklyn, a steakhouse within a couple of blocks of the concert hall. It couldn't have been a nicer afternoon, with more than a touch of the haunting spirit about it.

For our last day in Paris, we did a little triage: so many things we haven't done and only a day left in the city. We debated: the Catacombs, the Jewish Museum, the Carnavalet (city of Paris history museum). Having spent yesterday with the dead and so much time in churches, we decided to spend a little time with the Jews and that history here.

The Museum of Jewish Art & History is a relatively small museum in the Marais district. We didn't get to see it all but we saw a nice chunk of it. It traces the history of the Jews in France from Medieval times and even earlier to today. It includes discussions of both Ashkenazic (Eastern European) and Sephardic (southern Europe, Middle Eastern and north African) origins, the latter of which I found very interesting (being Ashkenazic myself). The exhibits and artifacts were quite good, the English captions pretty extensive (but not with every exhibit) and I was thrilled to see paintings by Chagall and Modigliani up close and personal. In fact (and I feel a little too blase saying this), what really impressed me more than anything wasn't the beautiful artifacts and examples of Jewish religious articles, but all of the paintings in the collection that we saw. It's a small collection, but the works are just outstanding, with really fine examples of Orientalist portrayals of Jews in Africa and the Middle East, and beautiful portraits and portrayals of life in Eastern Europe, as well as Jewish personalities from French history. The museum was also running an exhibit on the Jews of Algeria which was fascinating. We'd arrived at the museum around 11, and by the time we were about two-thirds through the special exhibit I began to really need lunch. It was about 2:30 and, after a quick poke into the gift shop, where I bought a beautiful star of David, we went off in search of lunch.

Our plan for the rest of the afternoon was a light one. We planned to walk back to Place des Vosges so Elizabeth could take care of some VAT business, and then we walked over to Ile St Louis, mainly so we could say we'd done it. We got some ice cream, and then strolled across the bridge to Ile de la Cite to visit the Deportation Memorial.

The Deportation Memorial commemorates the 200,000 French who were deported to concentration camps, never to return. It's a beautiful, sobering place. You go down a narrow ramp into a concrete-walled enclosure where nothing is visible except for the sky, and then into a sort of small sanctuary where the names of all the camps (some of which I was unfamiliar with) are listed in triangle-shaped alcoves. The main feature is a long hallway behind bars, where 200,000 crystals are embedded in the wall on either side and illuminated from I couldn't tell where. At the opposite end of the long hall is a bright light intended to symbolize hope. It's a lovely tribute, a thoughtful place.

We proceeded back to our apartment from there to pull together our luggage and get down to packing. I wrote some postcards (but will be mailing them from Lithuania) and finalized all our details.

We ate so late that it didn't occur to either of us to go get dinner, even though we had discussed having one last fabulous meal. Our time, however, was constrained by the fact that we had tickets for a concert at Notre Dame at 8:30, a performance featuring Gregorian chant about which we were both excited, and we knew that once one sits down at a French restaurant, one is pretty much committed for the evening. So much for that last meal.

We headed over to the cathedral about a half an hour early, got our seats, and chatted up two ladies from Australia who sat behind us. They'd been touring Europe and had only arrived a couple of days before. They very kindly gave us 2 euro to purchase a program (we'd left all our money at the apartment) so that we could follow along, and then we all got comfortable. The performers were two quartets, one vocal and associated with Notre Dame, and one instrumental. (I'm writing this in the airport and can't find the program, otherwise I'd note the name of the group. It was something like Quartet Barbarienesque.) The concert was called "Ave Maris Stella" and consisted mostly of praise for the Virgin Mary in Latin along with a number of instrumental pieces. These eight people filled this enormous cathedral with ringing, ethereal sound for 90 minutes. There wasn't much to watch, so as I listened, I found myself gazing at the ceiling or looking at the architecture and the lighting, just getting lost in the music. There's something about Gregorian chant that's so compelling and this music, performed by what sounded like two sopranos, an alto, and a countertenor, was no exception. The instrumental quartet was also very good. It was a fitting finale for our trip.

When we went back to the apartment, we finished packing, shared some of the last of the bread, cheese, and butter in the house for a mini-meal, and then hit the sack. We had to be up at 4 AM to be ready for our shuttle at 5, and both wanted as much sleep as possible.

Once again, I had the pleasure of hosting kateyule and davidlevine here at Chez Scarlettina this weekend. The precipitating event was an Uncle Bonsai concert at the Phinney Ridge Community Center that we attended on Saturday night with KA and TW WANOLJ, but it provided us with an excuse for a laid-back couple of days.

Friday evening was dinner here and video-watching.

Saturday started with brunch at the 5 Spot with markbourne and e_bourne, and then continued with a stroll around Queen Anne, popping in and out of shops as the mood struck us. At Queen Anne Books, I picked up a copy of The Passage by Justin Cronin, which was shelved in science fiction but about which I've heard nothing in SF circles even though it's marked as a NY Times bestseller. The first couple of paragraphs were beautifully written and the premise was intriguing, so I picked it up. We also stopped at Blue Highways Games, where kateyule picked up a copy of Dixit Odyssey and I bought a Gloom deck which, after playing it twice with my guests, I can't wait to share with other friends. (I may need to buy an expansion or two, however, to play with a larger group. It ain't cheap, but it's well worth it. Clever, clever mechanics for a card game.)

Saturday night we had dinner before the concert at The Olive and Grape in Greenwood, a Turkish place which I fully intended to return to again. The food was delicious, and there were enough items on the menu unfamiliar to me that it merits further investigation. Highly recommended. The concert itself featured a number of brand new songs, some so new that the band didn't know them entirely yet. The show was good, funny, fun. In a delightful turn of events, I ran into lisagold there, and we caught up in happy haste before the concert and at the break. I gave her a lift home when it was all over. So good to see her.

My company departed this afternoon after lunch at Blue C Sushi. I look forward to seeing them again at Potlatch 21 next month. I came home, read for about an hour (Alison Weir's excellent biography of Elizabeth I, which is nevertheless taking me far too long to finish) and then passed out for two.

And so it's Sunday night. Busy, busy week ahead, and ponderables being pondered. I intend to write about my ponderings within the next day or so as time allows. Pleasant dreams, friends.

Last May, I posted a kvetch when I discovered that Elton and Billy were touring together and would be appearing in Seattle. I kvetched mainly because I didn't have the money to buy tickets and I was afraid that this opportunity wouldn't come along again. tbclone47 picked up a gauntlet I hadn't meant to throw down, and made it possible for both of us, as it happened, to get tickets after all. The show was tonight. I will be forever grateful. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen--two masters in top form, clearly having a good time.

The lights went down, and two pianos--face to face--rose onto the stage from below. The crowd goes wild. Billy entered to the strains of "Yankee Doodle," Elton to "God Save the Queen." Billy wore his performance blacks--black pants, tee shirt, and jacket. Elton wore black pants, a red shirt, and a pair of tails on the back of which was a design topped by the words "Island Girl." They met in the center like boxers preparing for a fight--but very good-natured and obviously ready to play. Anyway, they launched the night with four songs together alternating verses, then Elton did a set of 11 songs, Billy did a set of 11ish, and then they came together and did another seven. I should note for the record that the sound at the Key was terrific--crystal clear and powerful.

Because I'm that kind of dork, I wrote down the set list which you can find beneath the cut, with notes. ( I just may be the lunatic you're looking for... )

I noticed things as the night went on that I promised I'd note for myself for later consideration:

1. I noticed how differently some of Billy's lyrics impacted me tonight, decades after I first heard them, especially songs like "Allentown" and "Italian Restaurant." Age changes your perspective, and a song like "Allentown" with its themes of unemployment and disappointment resonates for me in a way it never has before. Facing my 30th high school reunion later this year makes "Italian Restaurant" a little...scary....
   
2. I noticed that Elton's band was very guitar heavy and that Billy's was much more brass-oriented, with a much stronger jazz and big band influence.
   
3. Billy made a point to introduce his band--which Elton didn't.
   
4. And Billy could not sit still--which I knew he wouldn't. I've never seen him in concert but that he'd get up, run around, pull crazy stunts like jumping off his piano (didn't do that tonight and, frankly, I didn't expect him to). He was just much more in touch with the audience, I think, than Elton was.
   
5. Both men's voices have aged well. Elton doesn't have his higher notes, though; Billy still does. When he modulated up an octave on "Piano Man" he may have fought for the higher register, but Elton fought harder for it.
   
6. I really wanted a souvenir of the night--a tee shirt, a program book, something. The tees were $40, the program books $25. What you're reading right now? This is my souvenir.
   
7. Under the heading of "In My Dreams," I really wanted to see Billy and Elton sing "Baby Grand" together, but that was too much to hope for. It's a beautiful song, which Billy wrote specifically to sing with Ray Charles, but not nearly as well known as Billy's other work. And "Piano Man" was clearly the right song for the two of them to close with. Here's a video of Billy and Elton singing it together several years ago (starts with them talking about the first time they ever met), to give you a taste.

I had a grand time tonight. Patrick clearly enjoyed himself as well. I'm so grateful and happy that I could go to this concert. I had a fabulous time. I'm still buzzing. Don't know how I'll ever get to sleep!

ETA: Here's the review for Wednesday night' show from the Seattle Times. Air piano. Heh. Guilty as charged.

Just got home from the Jonathan Coulton show at the Moore Theater where I had an absolute blast. ironymaiden put together a small group for the excursion which included melkahb, frabjouslinz and others. Saw a number of unusual suspects there. In fact, probably two-thirds of Geek Seattle was there.

Paul and Storm, of whom I had not heard before tonight, opened. If Coulton sings Geek Music, then Paul and Storm do Pop Culture Musical Comedy. These guys were hilarious and also, incidentally, excellent musicians. Gotta love a show that includes nuns and pirates. I mean, really.

ironymaiden has been trying to get me on the Coulton train for years. I finally acquiesced, probably about a year ago, and I still haven't heard all the music. I really wanted to see him do his thing live and it was totally worth the trip. Highlights of the show for me were "Skullcrusher Mountain" (because I love it so), "Space Doggity" (new to me and just so sad and great at the same time), "Soft Rocked by Me" (because it was the sound of my youth), "Re Your Brains" (because, dude, zombies!)...oh hell, it was all good. I really can't pick a single stand-out, if I'm truly honest.

Great night! My throat is sore from the yelling. And I'm here to tell you that if you don't already know this man's music, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to JoCo's site and listen. Yeah, you. And you, too.

With all credit due to Miss Maiden. It's my fault it took me so long. I'm not worthy.

PS--Also, got the word in the mail this evening that my unemployment benefits have been extended another two months or so. This is--and isn't--a relief. Honestly, I'm grateful for the reprieve, but time flies and I don't know where or how I'm going to find a job. Obviously, I'll keep looking, but with today's news of Microsoft layoffs (and layoffs at other Seattle companies), I'm guessing the competition just got tougher. And tonight's show was my last extravagance, even though it wasn't a big one.

Yesterday two of the members of my writing workshop (RS and bravado111), along with carapace_green and the MbO'Hs came over for a mailing party. The idea was to bring all the stories we didn't have out on submission yet, to get online and find markets for them, to prepare them and stick 'em in the mail. Well, we spent a lot of time researching, discussing market fit and so forth and wrapped up, in total, I believe, close on the order of 30 stories, maybe more. Sadly, we spent so much time researching and discussing (and eating and gossiping ::grin::) that we missed actually getting to the Post Office! The important thing, however, is that the stories are all ready to go. Mine will be going out tomorrow. And we all, I think, had a fine time.

Before carapace_green left, I mentioned that I was going to see the Dead Can Dance show with KS and fretted about what to wear. Ladies, should you need fashion advice, Ms. Green is your grrl! Within moments, we were upstairs discussing my options. Instead of going full-on black, which seemed the obvious choice to me, she recommended my flared burgundy pants to wear with my black cami and translucent, black-and-gold, beaded silk blouse with the draped neckline (some of you may have seen this on Saturday night at CascadiaCon). I searched in vain for my black and gold ankh (where is it?! I still haven't found it!) and instead wore my sterling-silver-and-rutilated-quartz pendant (basically, a clear gemstone shot through with what look like black cobwebs) and my garnet studs and rings.

Thus attired, I was ready for dinner at Tup Tim Thai before the show. If you dig Thai food and are in or near Seattle, I recommend you drop by this Queen Anne stalwart. The food is delicious, the staff courteous and solicitous. We started with the chicken angel—stuffed and seasoned chicken— and we each had a different prawn dish (mine with cashews, his with I-don't-remember-what-except-it-washot). I had a nice pinot grigio with dinner, which worked very well. And the company was excellent.

Then it was off to the Paramount Theater for the first Dead Can Dance show Seattle has seen in ten years. I had been prepared to be meeting the full complement of Seattle's goth contigent at the show, and while it was well-represented, it was not the whole of the audience. In point of fact, though black and red were the predominant colors, dress for the night ran the gamut from jeans and tee shirts to Theater Attire. (aynjel, I saw a corset you would have appreciated, a black-on-black brocade that was quite stunning.) I have had a passing acquaintance with DCD's music, liking some of it, not caring for some of it. Well, this show made me a convert. In the background, the stage was draped with velvet-red curtains over white. The music displayed influences from Africa to Australia to Ireland, sometimes kicking along, sometimes somber and mournful. Over it, Lisa Gerrard's rich voice just flew. (Is she an alto, a mezzo? She's quite remarkable.) The men in the group wore, really, just street clothes. She wore this brilliant yellow robe (for lack of a better word) that completely hid her shape, and she stood behind a podium draped with a fabric of the same shade to play and sing. I remarked to KS at one point that I couldn't decide whether what she was wearing was fabulous or awful. His response: "Awful." Later, upon further consideration, we decided she was doing the Diva/High Priestess thing and it was all about theatricality. She certainly stood out in the darkness in quite a striking fashion but I think that may have been her costume's only virtue. In the end, of course, her clothes didn't really matter. The music was stellar and the show didn't let up for a minute. A fine, fine evening.

I understand that writersweekend will be attending the show tonight. She's in for a treat. Props to the_monkey_king for the loan of a DCD disc beforehand.

What a day!