Look Both Ways

A "whim" is a desire experienced by a person who does not know and does not care to discover its cause.
-- Ayn Rand

Saturday, May 15, 1999
One year ago: Green Tea Therapy
Two years ago: Lobster Salad and Champagne

I had one mission on my trip to the University District street fair this morning: find the vendor I'd had such luck with last year, and buy more! So I got up earlier than I would have otherwise, took the bus, and got there just as the fair was starting. The vendor was in the spot where I expected to find them, but they've changed their name. What was "Gone Troppo" is now "Zen Tropic." I didn't find out why they made this change, though. I found the style of dress I was looking for, and immediately started pulling out the ones that I liked the look of. I did try them all on this time, since the sizing can vary a bit. I ended up with nine dresses and one skirt. I'm sure that I'm one of their best customers! Most people don't buy in such quantities from them. The owner told me that they'll be at the Pike Market street fair on Memorial Day weekend, but that comes during the festival so I probably won't go. The Fremont Fair is a definite go, though!

I bought myself a funnel cake (with strawberries and whipped cream, yum!) and tried to eat it as I walked up to my only other scheduled shopping stop. The Soap Box store booth had great deals last year, but this year I didn't see anything that I couldn't do without, especially since I still have soap I bought from them last year, not used up yet. When I saw the bus coming, I threw away the majority of the funnel cake, rather than try and take it on the bus, or wait until the next one. I wanted to get home in time to get to the films without rushing.

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I drove down to the Cinerama again, this time because A--- and I weren't sure where we'd try to go later in the day. If Porgy and Bess didn't run too long, we could drive up to the Havard Exit theater and catch the 6:30 show there.

• Money Buys Happiness
  This was a local production. A couple seems to be having relationship problems. The husband undertakes a two-day expedition, pushing a piano across town. Megan Murphy is fine and funny as the wife, but the husband was just there, not doing anything for me. Maybe I was annoyed with him (unfairly) because the writer had the conceit of naming him "Money." ("It's pronounced Moe-nay!" which made me want to say, "In that case, call me Eye-gor.") This is worth a look if it comes your way, though.

• Porgy and Bess
  Wow! This was the type of film that the Cinerama was made for (though it's in Todd-AO process, not Cinerama). A very rare 70mm print, in beautiful shape -- with German subtitles, since it's from a private collection over there. I'd never seen this, and I don't think I've even watched any video'd opera productions of this Gershwin piece. Sidney Portier is the noble, simple Porgy, Dorothy Dandridge is low-self-esteem Bess, Peal Bailey is magnetic as Maria, and Sammy Davis, Jr. is Sportin' Life, very snaky and fun. If this comes near you (it probably won't) I highly recommend it.

A--- decided that we shouldn't try to get up to the Harvard Exit. It's no fun rushing between theaters if there's an alternative. So we went with the alternate plan, and walked over to the Pacific Place theaters for the next two shows. This is in that newish fancy downtown mall where I went to see The Wizard of Oz with Jack and his daughters.

• The Passion of Ayn Rand
  Helen Mirren stars in this biopic, based on a book by an acolyte who later had a falling out with her. I haven't read any of Rand's books, and I don't think I'm likely to, but the movie was good! It's a Showtime production, so look for it there if you don't see it in the theater. I really felt sorry for these young intellectual types, undergoing Maoist-style thought correction in the guise of discussion groups. Incredible irony as they talked about how they must base their actions only on their personal principles and logic, and not look to others for approval, all the time eyeing Rand with every word to see if they are saying the correct phrases.

• Sweety Barrett
  Sweety is a refugee from a seedy Irish/Italian circus, who washes up in a small Irish fishing village. He was the strongman and "everything swallower," who ends up doing heavy work for a local bootlegger. Sweety makes friends with a young boy and his mom. There's a bad cop on the take, though, and things get more and more complicated for poor, simple, Sweety. This was great! really well acted all around, and I didn't see all the plot twists and turns coming down the road. Don't take the kids, though; it gets too sad.

A---- walked me to my car. I was glad it hadn't been towed or immobilized, since I'd stayed a bit over the time I'd paid for. I drove A--- home, then went home and to sleep.

So far the unintentional trend in festival movies this year is to have people running out into traffic, then getting hit by cars. I guess that's better than the year when every other movie had a woman peeing on-screen!