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Author: sutherland
Call for Beta Readers!
Into the Dark is complete and ready for Beta Readers, so if you’d like to read the book before it’s published and have the opportunity to provide feedback, just email me at [email protected] and let me know what format you prefer (Mobi (Kindle), ePub, or PDF).
All Beta Readers will also receive a copy of the book in its published form, and you’re under no obligation to provide feedback — only if you feel like it. Also, please remember this draft is prior to copy-editing, so there will be typos, misspellings, and grammar errors — oh, my! Those will be taken care of by the editor, so I’m asking the Beta Readers to concentrate only on the story, and just let me know the things you like and don’t like about it.
Beta Readers will be selected and receive their copy of the book on June 1st.
Atlanta – The Romances in Repertory
02/05/2014 – 02/09/2014 Miles MPG Average Speed 1291 45.7 48 Driving listening:
02/05/2014 – 02/09/2014
Priceline Retail $ Savings % Savings Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort (4-stars) $66.06
($54 bid)$ 178.08 ($159 pretax)
$112.02 63% Crazy Ron’s BBQ Old Hickory House BBQ Taming of the Shrew Romeo & Juliet Much Ado About Nothing Waterside Restaurant Wednesday
I arrived in Atlanta Wednesday and had just enough time before the Zoo closed to snap a picture of the pandas and send it to the girl-child in order to
torment her
UrbanSpoon, which still thinks I live in Atlanta, sent me to Crazy Ron’s for dinner. This is a typical, roadside BBQ stand, and I thought it would be good when I saw that the smoker was almost as big as the shack.
There I got a to-go box of chopped beef, with baked beans and
macaroni and cheese. The mac-and-cheese didn’t travel well in the cold (40-some degrees), but was still okay. The rest fared better, and I found the beef to be tasty and well-trimmed, with a good portion of bark. It was covered in a good sauce; what first appeared to be too much sauce, but there was enough beef under it to make a good mix. The beans were okay – I’m guessing they started life in a can, but were doctored enough to taste good.
Thursday
Thursday morning I had to start the day by finding a tire shop. The change in temperature from 80-degree Orlando to 40-degree Atlanta set off my tire sensors and I had to have nitrogen added. After that, I set off to find breakfast and Urbanspoon sent me to Rise –n- Dine. I’ve eaten there before, but, well … Urbanspoon said.
No sooner had I parked at Rise –n- Dine, I saw that I had a text from a friend in Atlanta that she was free for lunch. Since it was close enough to lunchtime to skip breakfast, I responded and left the restaurant, expecting to hear where to meet soon – but I heard nothing further, so I figured something had come up. By now I was getting hungry, so I decided on lunch at Dave Poe’s BBQ and headed in that direction.
No sooner had I parked at Dave Poe’s (a truly disturbing trend being established here), my friend texted again and I was off in a different direction. So, a bit cranky-hungry, I finally got some food at a Chinese place – no review, because lunch with me is odd enough without me taking notes and pictures of my food. I spared her that bit.
After lunch, I went back to the hotel where they had the firepits around the pool lit, and I spent the afternoon reading while curled up in the cold next to a warm fire.
The reason for the trip was that Shakespeare Tavern was doing three Romances in repertory. Thursday night was Taming of the Shrew.
Shrew was a solid production with a consistently good cast. Laura Cole, as Kate, shone like the sun … or moon, one.
Friday
Friday morning, I lazed about reading for a bit and had a banana in my room (this will be important later). Around 10:00, I decided to walk to the main Stone Mountain park for a thoroughly unhealthy lunch at the snack stands, so I set out for the Cherokee Trail and enjoyed a hike along the lake.
Now, from the resort to the Stone Mountain park is a 3.5 mile hike. It’s a pleasant hike, mostly level and easy-going. And, arriving around 11:30 after starting my day with a banana, I was quite looking forward to some greasy, high-calorie amusement food.
Oh …
A Friday in February is, apparently, not prime season for Stone Mountain … who knew?
And … I walked here. I am now 3+ miles, an hour and a half, and almost 500 more burned calories away from the nearest food. The banana is a distant memory, burned to cinders by my metabolism well before I ever crossed the lake that’s two miles away now. I hung around for a bit, thinking they might open at noon, but no joy. There was someone in the popcorn stand. I could hear them talking. I could hear the popcorn popping. I could smell the popcorn. But no sign of opening, so nothing for it but to schlep back down the trail.
All the way back to the hotel, I consoled myself with thoughts of a room-service hamburger. No, a cheeseburger. No, a bacon cheeseburger, with french fries. I am, after all, a thousand calories to the good with just this hike and they’ll deliver charbroiled goodness right to my room while I rest my weary feet.
Back in the room, I eagerly dialed room service and ask to place an order … only to be told that there is no lunchtime room service. Damn you, off-season resort staffing! Damn you!
Now please keep in mind that it is almost 2:00. I have been up for seven hours, I have walked six miles, burned almost 1000 calories, and I have eaten … a banana. If hunger is the best sauce, then I am about to eat the best food I’ve ever tasted.
This was the worst buffet I have ever been too.
After perusing a measly assortment of dishes, I settled on some anemic chicken-in-sauce and a salad, this being all that was remotely appealing. The peach cobbler was adequate, presuming you don’t mind canned peaches. The small cakes, however, were stale – to the point that they could not be cut with a knife.
Nasty, bad, and $20.
Friday’s performance at the Tavern was Romeo and Juliet – and I was finally able to get food, a Cornish pasty with homemade ketchup, and a rose-water panna cotta with raspberry sauce.
Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite plays, probably because it was the first Shakespeare I ever saw. The Zeffirelli version, which firmly established my love for Shakespeare – as well as a crush on Olivia Hussey in specific and brunettes in the literal.
As with most good productions of this play, Mercutio stole the show … at least until he died. I did take some issue with Nick Arapoglou’s performance as Romeo. My preference, and it is a preference, is for Shakespeare to be performed without emphasis on the rhyme and meter. Yes, it’s poetry, but it is, first and foremost, a play – it is characters speaking. So when an actor puts too much emphasis on a rhymed word in the middle of a sentence, as this Romeo did, it throws me out of hearing what’s being said and into focusing on how it’s said.
For me, the lines should be spoken by the punctuation and let the poetry flow more organically.
Annie Hester, as Juliet, played the role well, capturing the petulance of a rather spoiled 13-year old in the first act and the grief of a young woman in the second.
Saturday
The beans were very good – thick and heavy with molasses. And the stew is now top of the list for best Brunswick stew I’ve tried on these trips – rich and spicy, with crisp corn and tasty shreds of meat. I finished all of that stew and would have gladly eaten more.
Unfortunately, the meat on the plate didn’t measure up to the sides. It was cold, with some nasty bits still in it, and no bark at all. I’d hesitate to suggest anyone might do such a thing, but it seemed almost as if it had just been boiled and never saw the inside of a smoker. If I could have have taken the beef from Crazy Ron’s and had it with the Old Hickory House sauce and sides, it would make a near perfect meal, but this wasn’t. I did not finish all of the beef.
After lunch, I headed back to the zoo for a bit.
And then on to Shakespeare Tavern again for Much Ado About Nothing, the last of the three and the best.
This was the second time I’ve seen Ado at the Tavern and it is a joy. Andrew Houchins and Erin Consadine, as Benedict and Beatrice, both give wonderful performances and have perfect onstage chemistry for the roles. Drew Reeves gives a performance as Dogberry that rivals Michael Keaton’s in the Branagh production.
All in all, and despite starving a couple mornings, a great weekend. I do wish the Tavern would do more plays in rep, as three is far more fun than one. But I’ll be going back for one at a time – the Scottish Play in April, Comedy of Errors in May, and Antony and Cleopatra in June.
Kres Chophouse, Orlando
A little pricey, but delicious and worth it. We ate here before seeing Venus in Fur at Mad Cow Theatre.
It was a good production at a consistently good theatre … and I don’t just say that because the lead actress spends most of the play strutting about in stockings and a corset …
Not that that hurts …
Dinner started with the K.R.E.S. cocktail, Vodka, Raspberries, Elderflower, Islay, Citrus, Soda. ($9)
Very tasty and just what I needed after a long week of work.
Lobster bisque ($8) to start, and good enough that I was halfway finished with mine before I remembered to take a picture.
I opted for the elk loin ($35) … actually the first time I’ve had elk.
The jus wasn’t necessary, as the elk was tender, juicy, and flavorful. Not a bit gamy and more tender than most steaks. I was very pleased with the choice.
My companion had the filet ($34).
It was bigger than it looks in the picture.
For sides we had Brussels sprouts ($8) and vegetables ($7).
To my taste, the vegetables were very good and the sprouts were okay (maybe a bit underseasoned).
All in all, a really good dinner and I’d return.
Atlanta – Othello and Stone Mountain
10/4/2013 – 10/6/2013 Miles MPG Average Speed 950 44 59 Driving listening:
10/4/2013 – 10/6/2013
Priceline Retail $ Savings % Savings Hilton Downtown (4-stars) $62.41
($50 bid)$ 178.08 ($159 pretax)
$115.67 65% This hotel had some mixed reviews. Reviewers called the decor “dated”, complained that they smelled marijuana in the hallway and in their room, and one review claimed they were given a room without a bed.
I was quite happy with it. The decor was a bit older and some of the fixtures were clearly older, but it was clean, well-appointed, comfortable, and, at $50 / night, the view of the $69.99 Motel 6 next door was entertaining.
The hotel does charge $25 / day for parking, which is ridiculous, so I parked at the Emory Hospital lot. It’s only 1/2-mile away and costs $6 / day, or $0 if you leave early before they have the booth manned.
That lot is also right across the street from Shakespeare Tavern where we were going to see Othello.
I do not recommend the route above, which Google Maps came up with. Instead, get to Peachtree St NE immediately and stay off of Pine St NE. Pine St, especially in the early evening, has a certain uncomfortable element to it.
Dining
Ray’s has several locations around Atlanta. The one downtown is nicely appointed and we arrived for dinner well before it became crowded. I started with Ray’s “New Orleans” BBQ Shrimp ($12) and I was a bit disappointed with it. Like many attempts at the New Orleans style of BBQ shrimp, this had more heat than flavor.
The portion size, for the price, seemed quite small, as well.
For an entree, I had the Parmesan Crusted Scallops ($32) which came with “Lobster risotto, basil, balsamic reduction”.
With this, also, I was underwhelmed. $32 for four scallops is a bit high and even with the Parmesan crusting, they seemed flavorless. The risotto was extremely salty, with not even a hint of lobster flavor.
The praline bowl I got for desert was better, with a crunchy bowl, praline sauce, ice cream, and berries. But it wasn’t enough to make up for the previous courses and I left disappointed.
Entertainment
We went to Stone Mountain during the day and rode the tram to the top. The day was hazy and bright, so pictures were a bit washed out.
After some time at the top, we took the mile-long path down the mountain and then around it to the parking lot.
Next trip I want to hike around the mountain and then up and down.
Atlanta–Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Christopher Titus
6/6/2013 – 6/9/2013 Miles MPG Average Speed 1100 46 54 Driving listening:
6/6/2013 – 6/9/2013
Priceline Retail $ Savings % Savings Marriott Atlanta Airport (4-star) $58.61
($48 bid)$94.08
($84 pretax)$35.47 38% The bidding for this trip put me in the Marriott across the street from the Westin I’d stayed at last time. They’re both nice hotels at the right price, but I haven’t been thrilled with the area – it’s pretty empty of anything but a few hotels and warehouses. So next trip I’ll likely spend a bit more for downtown or the areas north of Atlanta.
The point of staying so far out is to avoid the parking charges, but both of these hotels have the same parking rates as downtown hotels. Downtown, if I’m willing to walk a couple blocks, I can put my car at the Emory hospital parking lot across from Shakespeare Tavern for a third of the hotels’ parking rate.
This trip was a little different, because I was in town mostly to see three shows, so I did little during the days – other than one visit to the High Museum, I just relaxed at the hotel, reading and using the gym.
Dining
On the way to Atlanta (and again on the way home), I stopped for lunch at Smok’n Pig BBQ in Valdosta, GA. I’ve seen their billboards on previous trips, but never stopped before – now it’ll probably become my lunch on every trip in or out of Florida on I-75. I was a little worried when I first stopped, because the décor is reminiscent of the Sonny’s BBQ chain, with a large, shiny dining room in a huge building with a salad bar. They do have two locations, Valdosta and Macon, but there’s nothing “chain” about the food.
On both stops I got the sliced pork sandwich combo ($8). The pork was tender and lean, generously piled on a soft bun. I tried three different sauces: sweet, sweet & spicy, and original. Of the three, I thought the original was best, with even the sweet & spicy being a bit too sweet for me.
For sides, I got baked beans, Brunswick stew, and, on the return trip, sweet potato casserole. The beans were pretty basic, but the sweet potato casserole was very good and the stew was excellent. The Brunsick stew itself is enough to get a return visit from me.
On Friday and Saturday, I ate at a pair of restaurants because I’d read somewhere that the owners had originally been partners in one place, then each opened their own. BBQ being a competitive sport, I decided to try both and compare them.
Both places are storefronts in stripmalls – about the same size, with reviews, plaques, and porcine-topped trophies proudly displayed. It’s clear that both owners take their BBQ seriously
At Dave Poe’s, I got brisket ($9), with baked beans, mac & cheese, and Texas toast. At Sam’s, I got brisket, with baked beans, sweet tater tots, and Texas toast, but I also added a corn muffin. Dave Poe’s brisket was perfectly cooked. It was sliced unevenly, some thicker than others, but that was almost irrelevant, as the slices were fork-tender and shredded easily. The sauce was thin, sweet and spicy, with a strong black-pepper flavor. Sam’s served two distinct briskets on my plate. On the right was a lean flat – the left was more marbled. Unfortunately, both were served barely warm, so the marbled slices were quite chewy. The sauce was Advantage: Dave Poe’s The Texas toast lacked any butter, so it was pretty dry and only lightly browned. Sam’s Texas toast was well-buttered and nicely browned. Advantage: Sam’s Poe’s baked beans were thick and sweet, with a slight kick of heat at the finish. Sam’s beans were very thick and sweet, redolent with molasses. Good, but by the end of the meal I was putting only two or three beans on my fork, because it was just too much sweet and molasses. Advantage: Dave Poe’s The mac & cheese. Oh, Our Dear Lord of Dairy, the Dave Poe’s mac & cheese … Not elbow noodles, but huge tubes of pasta that oozed sauce. A sauce that had both a creamy texture that clung to the pasta, and a bit of stringy, chewy cheese that had incredible flavor. The pieces of dark brown mac & cheese crust were perfect.
Sam’s sweet tater tots were interesting, different, and tasty. Made out of sweet potatoes with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar. It was some time into the meal, though, before I could appreciate their full flavor, because they were the hottest thing on the plate when it arrived. Clearly they’d plated the brisket, then the beans, and last the fried tots, which is the opposite of what they should have done to ensure everything arrived hot.
Advantage: Dave Poe’s So, on points, it’s Dave Poe’s, but the real test is what’s left on the plate at the end of the meal.
At Sam’s, I left most of the fattier slices of brisket and about half the beans and tater tots – not because I was full (there’s always room for BBQ), but because I just didn’t want any more of the items. I liked Sam’s, I’d return there, but it wasn’t enough to make me keep taking just one more bite.
At Dave Poe’s, I left a corner of the dry Texas toast and a plate wiped clean. If there’d been a scrap more brisket, a drop of sauce, a single bean, or the slightest schmear of mac & cheese sauce … I’d have happily sopped it up with that dry toast.
Entertainment
Thursday and Friday nights I was at Shakespeare Tavern for performances of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
For those unfamiliar with R&G, it follows Rosencrantz and Guildenstern through their roles in Hamlet, but since they’re rather minor characters they spend much of their time “off-stage” (though they don’t know it’s a play) wondering about what it all means and why they seem to be always waiting for something to happen.
Described as an absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy … it’s just weird.
But seeing the two in repertory, with the same cast playing the same characters in both Hamlet and R&G was fun. The actors had the opportunity to perform their characters seriously in Hamlet and then with some comedy in R&G – seeing these on consecutive nights really heightened that effect.
The entire cast was wonderful, as always, but there were some standouts:
Nicholas Faircloth and Paul Hester as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (whichever is which) were great in both productions, but especially in R&GaD. These are marathon-roles, since the play, at almost three hours, follows their two characters almost exclusively.
Jonathan Horne as Hamlet. A great performance, subtly different in both productions. I can’t wait to see him next month in Fortinbras, when he gets to play Hamlet as a ghost.
Kelly Criss as Ophelia. Her part in R&G is small, but worth mentioning because it’s not every day an actress gets to walk up stairs and across the stage in a diving mask, snorkel, and swim fins (at Ophelia’s drowning). In Hamlet, she shined, drawing the audience in when Ophelia is crazy.
Next month they’re doing Fortinbras, the “sequel” to Hamlet, when all the dead characters get to come back as ghosts and pester the Norwegian Prince who came to rule Denmark by showing up.
Saturday was Christopher Titus at the Punchline. The show was hilarious and all new material. If you’re not familiar with his shows, check YouTube for excerpts – he’s a brilliant comedian.
Fort Myers
5/17/13 – 5/18/13 Miles MPG Average Speed 458 44 49 Driving listening:
5/17/13 – 5/18/13 Priceline Retail $ Savings % Savings Crowne Plaza Fort Myers (3.5 star) $68.81
($58 bid)$104.16
($93 base rate)$35.35 34% Friday
I drove down early Friday and was on the Sanibel causeway by noon to do some kayaking (details on my kayaking blog).
After kayaking I was very hungry. Runkeeper said I burned 1100 calories on that paddle, but Runkeeper can’t take into account the wind and currents. I’m thinking the mile and a half from the point to the causeway into strong winds and out-going tide counts as 3x. So I felt entirely justified in having a big dinner.
Lee Roy Selmon’s is a southwest Florida chain, and I prefer to avoid chains when traveling, but it had a big advantage when it came up in the Urbanspoon app’s random selector: It was really, really close to my hotel. After 8-miles of paddling and the discovery
that my sunscreen was defective, I was not in the mood to drive far. I wanted pretty good food, close by, and a lot of it. The second advantage was that it was Happy Hour.
The server brought me some BBQ rolls to start. These are warm, tasty, yeast rolls covered in butter, garlic, and BBQ sauce.
These were really good and I followed them with soft pretzels and cheese sauce with bacon ($3 for Happy Hour).
Good pretzels covered in coarse, crunchy salt. The cheese sauce was a little thin, but good. And for the entrée, I had their pulled pork with sides of baked beans and maple-bacon creamed corn.
The beans were really good, sweet with a hint of molasses, but they also had green peppers, which I’m not fond of. The creamed corn was good, but a little too sweet – which is an unusual thing for me to say. It’s normally served with the fried chicken and waffles, so that may be why – I think the maple syrup is overused, making it too sweet and thin, but it could go well with the fried chicken and waffles.
The pork itself was excellent and the sauce was a good compliment – sweet and sticky, without being overpowering. It was well-trimmed, with very little fat.
For dessert, I got the bread pudding with praline sauce and ice cream to-go and ate it back at the hotel.
So after an eight-hour paddle that afternoon, I was discovering that 1) I was out of shape and starting to hurt, and, B) my sunscreen had expired and I was the proud owner of a nasty, if oddly shaped, sunburn. So I stopped by the front desk sundry shop to get some pain killers … only to find that they were out of stock until Monday. Well, not entirely out of stock.
The three girls working the front desk assured me it would be effective and have no ill-effects.
Sanibel Island
I was in Fort Myers for the weekend, so brought my kayak with me to get in some paddling time around Sanibel. I left home early Friday morning and arrived at the Sanibel Causeway around 12:00.
From the causeway, I could see Fort Myers Beach in the distance, as well as the Sanibel lighthouse on the southern tip of the island.
I paddled toward the nearest channel marker to have the last time in the channel as possible. The bayside was flat calm with no wind or waves, at least until boats started coming through the channel.
Rounded the point to paddle the Gulf side.
A pod of dolphins passed between me and the beach.
A little while after the dolphins a huge loggerhead sea turtle surfaced about twenty feet from me – no picture because he got his breath and went back under before I could turn the camera on.
I took a break on the beach on the way out and on the return.
The calm water of the bay was gone when I rounded the point, the wind had picked up and the tide was going out, so it was over a mile into the wind against the current.
Once off the water, I discovered two things:
First, the front hatch of my boat has a leak, so I was shipping water when waves broke over the bow. I drained quite a bit before loading up, but still had saltwater hitting my windshield in every decelerating, right-turn for two days.
Second, my sunscreen was less than effective.
Ow.
A quick trip to Tampa
5/6/2013-5/7/2013 Miles MPG Average Speed 233 47.8 43 Driving listening:
This was a business trip just for one night, but it adds to the stats, so here it is. On the way to the hotel I stopped at the Seminole Hard Rock to make a donation to the tribe. I have a lot of ancestral guilt about how the Native Americans were treated — despite, I think, most of my ancestors not arriving here until the 20th century – so I consider the money I left there to be a charitable contribution.
Yeah … you know, I wonder if I can write it off on taxes …
5/6/2013-5/7/2013 Priceline Retail $ Savings % Savings Wyndham Westshore (3.5 star) $76.29
($61 bid)$151.37
($135.15 base rate)$75.08 50% The hotel itself was a little dated, but had some nice touches. Like dueling M&M dispensers at the front desk (plain on one end and peanut on the other) and a rack of hardcover bestsellers for loan to guests.
Free candy and books goes a long way.
Unfortunately the room was subpar. The bed was memory foam and I think it was remembering a 400-pound previous guest. Deep divots on either side had me trying to sleep in the middle and waking up periodically.
There was also a serious lack of hot water. Took a long time for the shower to heat up and then only at its highest setting – which continued to heat throughout the shower, so had to be continuously adjusted . Frustrating, but only for one night.
I only had time for one real meal this trip and made it at Jimbo’s Pit BBQ. I got the combo platter with sliced beef and pork ($10) and a sweet tea (very good).
The pork was a little fatty for my taste, but the beef was lean and tasty. The bottom of my beef pile had been cut from the end of the meat, so it was a little dry, but I like that. The hush puppies were a little undercooked and doughy in the middle. But the beans were delicious – homemade and thick. I like baked beans, but in moderation — I’m not normally one to eat them by the heaping forkful, but these were fantastic.
Prius & Priceline: A Year in Review
So it’s been a year since I got the Prius (April 2012), and I thought I’d review some statistics … because I like numbers and have geeky friends.
First off the numbers for the last twelve months for Priceline (source in Excel or CSV). This data includes what I bid vs. what the hotel’s web rate was for the night, as well as what I actually paid (bid + taxes & fees) vs. the hotel’s rate plus an estimate of taxes (12%). I did this because comparing the base bid/ask numbers skews the savings higher, as it doesn’t take into account Priceline’s fee.
So based on those more accurate numbers, I’ve spent 50 nights in Priceline hotels over the last twelve months, paying an average of $67.23 a night with taxes and fees included, and enjoying an average of a 3.32-star hotel.
That’s $3294.37 I’ve spent on hotel rooms that would have been $6648.70 if I ‘d paid retail – a savings of $3354.33, or 50%.
Dude, some say, you spent three grand on hotels? That’s insane!
I can understand that perspective, but there’s another factor at work here – the Prius.
In calendar year 2011, driving a V8 Mercury Mountaineer, I spent $4407 on gasoline. In the last twelve months, driving the Prius, I spent $1985 on gasoline, including a 9000-mile trip around the country. So even with that trip and all the others, spending weekends in 2013 visiting DC, Atlanta, Raleigh, Savannah, New Orleans, Denver, and Greeneville, I still saved over 50% on my fuel bill.
Rather than spend that other $2400 on gas, I spent it on hotels – that’s a lifestyle change I’m glad I made.
Thinking of it that way, applying the gas costs that I’d been incurring anyway to the hotel stays, the delta is only $872.
Think about that for a moment – I had been spending $4407 on gas, but the last twelve months I spent $5379 on gas and hotels.
Fifty nights, $872 difference – that’s $17.45 per night. I’ll call it a bargain.
Thai & Titus
No travel this weekend, for which the Big Bad Wolf is either grateful (that I’m home) or pissed (that she doesn’t get to play with Gary from Fetch!).
On Saturday, I had lunch at Thai Cuisine with family. We arrived a little before noon (when they opened), but the doors were open so we went inside. They weren’t ready to serve food yet, but did seat us. I ordered the pa-nang ($10), red curry and coconut milk (below), and we also got an order of pra-ram, peanut sauce (both with chicken), and beef fried rice.
I’d ordered the pa-nang medium-spicy, as opposed to mild, hot, or Thai-hot, and should have gone for mild. It wasn’t uncomfortably spicy, but it was hotter than I would normally like. A taste of the mild pra-ram was milder than I’d like, so go figure.
The flavor was good and there was plenty of chicken, but vegetables were lacking – only a few, small slices of carrot. The pra-ram could have used some more vegetables as well.
So it was okay food, and I’d go there again if I was in the area, but with so many other Thai choices in Orlando, I wouldn’t make a special trip to eat at Thai Cuisine.
On Sunday I headed for the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and stopped at Hawker’s for a quick bite beforehand. Hawker’s offers small plates, so I decided to get a couple of those, starting with Asian BBQ pork ($5), an out-of-focus picture of which follows:
This arrived lukewarm, not hot at all, but was still good. The pork was tender and salty, with a sweet sauce. My only complaint, other than the temperature, would be that the pork could have been sliced thinner or in smaller chunks.
Following that was stir-fried bean sprouts:
This arrived hot and was very good. The flavor was very mild, despite the chilies, and the vegetables were crisp – the bean sprouts still very crisp.
Today’s play was the final show of Titus Andronicus at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre.
Titus Andronicus is not typically viewed as one of Shakespeare’s better plays – in fact, it’s often referred to as his worst.
I don’t really see that – I like the play. It’s definitely different than the others, in that it is the bloodiest staging, but if you like murder, rape, revenge, mutilation, and the odd bit of cannibalism, then Titus is for you!
Arguably, for sheer number of deaths, Richard III or Hamlet should be less well-liked than Titus, and King Lear is ultimately crueler, but Titus has a baser feel, and I think that’s why the criticism came about. As Shakespeare’s plays moved from the masses (when Titus was quite popular) to a more hoity-toity audience, I think the treatment of the themes in Titus became less popular.
But Titus was serving human flesh to his unwitting dinner guests long before Hannibal … and Anthony Hopkins has played both characters … so keep that in mind next time Sir Anthony invites you to dinner.
Another reason it hasn’t been that popular might be that it’s a revenge-tragedy, but unlike other revenge-tragedies, the revenge doesn’t really result in further loss. In Hamlet, for instance, Hamlet’s quest for revenge results in the deaths of virtually everyone close to him.
In Titus, the quest for revenge doesn’t start until the second act, before which Titus has already lost everything – and really loses nothing in the second act, other than his life, but at that point his revenge is complete.
Unless … you look at it from the point of view of Tamora and her sons – maybe it’s their revenge against Titus in the first act that’s the real focus of the revenge-tragedy theme, since it sets up Titus’ revenge against them. That’s an interesting idea I might have to think about.
This production took the Goth theme and ran with it, having a heavy metal score and dressing the Goths as … well, Goths.
It was thoroughly bloody, with the backdrop having five rolls of butcher paper. They’d roll these down to catch the blood spatter and then tear them off and roll down more for the next scene.
In case this sounds like an excessive amount of blood for a play, here’s a quick rundown on Titus: Titus captures the queen of the Goths and her sons, so he kills one as a sacrifice. Then her sons kill the emperor’s brother and frame Titus’ sons. They (Queen’s sons) also rape Titus’ daughter, then cut out her tongue and cut off her hands. Titus’ sons are executed, but not before Aaron the Moor tricks Titus into cutting off his own hand, claiming the emperor will spare his sons if he does. Then Titus decides to get revenge, so he kills Tamora’s sons, bakes them into a pie, and serves them to her and the emperor.
Probably a death or two I missed.
Yes, it was Saw IV for the 16th century. Yay, Shakespeare!
