Dick Jr. Jr.

Last night we took the BART over to Orinda (about 20 miles East of Oakland) to see the California Shakespeare Theatre's (They call themselves CalShakes for short, Rose and I agree that sounds like a neurological disorder) production of Richard III. It was very enjoyable, albeit a bit cold. The atmosphere was dead on for a such a devious, dark theme...the amphitheatre was set in a natural bowl, with with tall rolling hills in all directions, just as the play was starting some thick fog rolled in, some terrible animal was lurking in the forest just to the right of the stage...no, wait...that's just another theatre patron who got a head start on the drinking. One thing did kind of irk me though. We went last night specifically because they have what they call "tasting nights", where the website infers that you can sample food, wine, tea, coffee, and beer from about 9 different sponsors and vendors. When we got there, all that was offered was vodka and pre-packaged sugar cookies. I can think of a few grosser combinations than straight vodka and sugar cookies, but not many. So, on went the play, while we huddled under provided blankets. Now is the summer of our discontent, made achingly chilly by this weird coastal weather.