Venus in Fur

I loved this play (by David Ives). Nay, I was thrilled by it. I loved the actors in it (Nina Arianda and Hugh Dancy). The direction is flawless (Walter Bobbie). The ending enigmatic but, oh, so right. The 7:00 curtain was curious but allowed time for a nice dinner (at Bobby Van’s--almost directly across the street from the theater) afterwards. Home in time to watch the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report. Even Rachel Madow at midnight. It took my brain a long time to wind down after all that stimuli in one evening. Maybe shoulda hadda ‘nother glass of Riesling.

Meetcha at Lulu

When a restaurant calls itself “hip” it’s not a word that immediately catches my attention as an establishment I would rush to experience.  Despite this unfortunate beginning I have to admit that Lulu California Bistro in Palm Springs, CA is (at this point in time) a really, really good restaurant.  (I always hesitate to call anything “great” because I feel we are comparing something to that wall in China or that book about Gatsby.)

Whatever hip means as applied to this restaurant there are better adjectives.  The food was excellent and presented nicely, with a flourish of personal service from the attentive wait-staff.  The décor is pleasing to the eye overall with some huge vintage photographs of sort-of familiar show-biz faces that catch the eye and test one’s recognition synapses (I failed miserably…sorry about that) although Cher looked a little familiar.  There is a variety of seating areas with levels of “mezzanines,” any one of which gives you a good view of the others and/or the bustling street.  Good location, Good food, good service, good looks…well, hell, what more could one ask for?

You guessed right, there is one more consideration up for discussion; how much is this really really good place going to set you back?  Fear not, fair ones, the prices are well within reach of the average gourmand and, if you make the right bet with a friend on the Super Bowl, it can be a freebie forever remembered!  You can also, if you can stand the thought, eat before 5:00 p.m. and get a break on the bill.  However, the thought of having dinner at that hour, or earlier, makes me a little nauseous but not from the thought of food itself but of the admission that we seniors can take advantage of our advanced age.  Age is not food ingested easily, no matter how well seasoned.  And a measly $4 off isn’t enough for me to change my view of what’s right in culinary civilization.

Absolut Greyhound

I’m not usually a very good judge of what constitutes good advertising and what doesn’t. I do know that if the commercial is good enough and, I’m afraid, sometimes too loud and obnoxious, I remember what the product is and thus, for the pusher at least, an effective advertisement. My subconscious is just as susceptible as everyone else’s to outside, and sometimes subliminal, forces.

I am fairly proud of the fact that I can watch a favorite television program, say, The Big Bang Theory or NCIS and, afterwards, not be able to recall any of the commercials. If one does catch my eye it’s got to be, well, pretty eye catching.

A case in point: Absolut, although a very familiar brand of vodka, is not normally on my shopping list. If I do buy vodka (very seldom) I’m usually swayed by the most fetching bottle design which, I guess, is part of the effectiveness of advertising, albeit one on-the-spot in the liquor store. Why I’m mentioning this is a new commercial for Absolut Greyhound, which is fusion vodka (with pink grapefruit) that I will probably never buy.

But what a commercial! And what a great video of it they’ve posted on YouTube! The digital special effects are very cool and the location, costumes and make-up are mind bending. I don’t see how any of it has anything to do with vodka but, hey, I remember the product! Also, the fact that dog racing is an abomination has very little to do with it. They are selling a product. And I’m buying into the commercial even though the product will probably never grace my liquor cabinet because, frankly, the bottle itself isn’t pretty enough.