I’ll get to the thing I saw on the street momentarily. I saw a play yesterday and it was terrific. I would highly recommend it to people who like straight plays, no music. It’s called “August: Osage County”. Go see it if you have the chance. When I found out it was three hours and twenty minutes long, I got all kinds of concerned, but it didn’t feel long at all. There’s one character, the family patriarch named Beverly Weston, who opens the show with a long story that really clarifies his character and helps us understand his wife’s character as well. The way this particular actor chose to speak was great. He would bark his sentences and yell certain words for emphasis. All of his sentences ended with exclamation points. “I noticed we were LOW on EGGS! So I went to the FOOD MART and picked some UP! Now we can make TOAST to go with the EGGS! Prob’ly shoulda picked up some MILK, but I FORGOT!” etc. For some reason, I just got a kick out of listening to him talk. By the way, this has almost nothing to do with the play, so I’m not ruining it for you, you can still see it and it will still be terrific. Also, the set is neato too. It’s a whole house onstage, the whole thing. You can see a picture of it on their website (so technically I’m still not ruining the play).
Okay, so I was walking to the theater and I passed a record company that had pictures of recent CD covers on the outside of their building. Here is the picture that caused me to laugh:
Let me explain. When I was a child, I read a great deal of Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl wrote a book called The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant) which is a phenomenal children’s book. There’s a big friendly giant in it, but there are also big yucky unwashed hairy giants who eat children out of their beds at night. Some of the names of the bad nasty giants are Childchewer, Gizzardgulper, Maidmasher, Meatdripper aaaaaaaand Bonecruncher. See the name of the artist on the CD in the middle there? When I saw that, all I could picture is the illustrations in my copy of The BFG from my childhood. I thought the album cover would look much better like this:
Quentin Blake’s illustrations really capture a sense of unwashed blechiness, don’t they? So, quick recap: If you’re in the New York area, see August: Osage County. And if you like to read, buy The BFG and read it.