Easy Culture and Arts

We may not get the biggest shows here in Manhattan but we do get a good variety and it's enough for me. Last Sunday I went to hear Itzhak Perlman, "undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin" with Heather, my music and theatre expert friend. Very impressive and as always I marvel at how dedicated and talented other people are. I feel like I tread water all day and never finish anything and other people accomplish so much and have such obvious talents. I was also impressed by how many people sat there listening for two hours, without talking, without playing on their phones, without sleeping (that I noticed at least). That's pretty rare in society these days. Maybe that's my talent? Am I setting the bar too low?

Today I took Megan with me to see Swan Lake, performed by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. I handed her the program so she could read what it would be about and she already knew. Yes, apparently we own the DVD of Barbie of Swan Lake. I know I've seen parts of it but never really paid attention to the plot so I did need the program notes. I am certain that I've listened to it many times though because the music was very familiar. Heather was out of town but texted me during intermission to point out that they also use the music on Little Einsteins. See how TV can educate our children?

Obviously they get shows of this caliber in big cities all the time, not a big deal there, but I don't think any city can rival how easy it is to access them here. 7 minute drive, splurge on the parking garage for $1.50 an hour, walk one block, get the best seats in the place for much less than elsewhere (according to my expert Heather) and kid tickets are even half price.

I took Megan out for dinner afterwards and it was nice to talk to her about almost teen stuff. The texting with kids in her class has begun so I needed to go over some rules with her. It turns out that she has already learned a lot from the Disney shows they watch. Apparently mess ups with text messages is a common comedy theme. As long as we can keep that hilarity from showing up in our real lives... Hmm, it seems that the TV is doing most the teaching around here. What exactly does keep me busy all day?! I feel like tomorrow is going to need to be productive so I can salvage some pride.