Else what's a heaven for?

Fri night, we went to see Coraline 3D. Plenty of clever people have more insightful things to say about it, so I'll simply note it was cool to see a movie on opening day (instead of waiting until all my friends had seen it). I thought it was more Neil Gaiman than Stardust - but I liked Stardust better.

Sat, Clark Kent and I went to see the Seduction and Gothic: Dark Glamor exhibits at the museum at FIT. The former turned out to be "stuff women wore to look hot at various points in history", which was more interesting from a historic standpoint than a fetishizing clothes standpoint. Also, until this very moment, I couldn't figure out why he suggested we go to FIT, except that he was the one with whom I'd discussed re-enactors, which led to a discussion of slash. Ahem. Anyhow, I don't have enough brain cells for poly. Right. The Gothic exhibit was a mix of haute couture and goth/fetish-related clothes items, like a costume from Bram Stoker's Dracula. I'm so vastly amused to see Lip Service in the same exhibit as Alexander McQueen. Worth seeing if you've got the time - it's free and closes this weekend. For those of you not in the area, Valerie Steele, the curator, seems to be coming out with a book.

edit: forgot to mention - my favorite outfits from either exhibit were by Katy England. Black and white with just a hint of pink. Mmm...

It's been a long time since I made out in a cab. And then we [elided]. Not in the cab.

Sat night, bodyguard and I went to see Music in the Air at City Center. They have a series called Encores where they perform old musicals that aren't performed any more. Sometimes there's a reason for that. Music in the Air was one of those. It was written between Show Boat and Oklahoma! but somehow felt more dated than either. Part of it was that it is about a small-town girl from a little town outside Munich and the script does nothing to make the time and place accessible. Interestingly, it seems like they were trying to break away from the usual musical formula of leading couple-comic couple, but it just doesn't work bc you never really sympathize with the older couple.

We went to see it bc Douglas Sills, our favorite Broadway actor, was in it, but he didn't seem to be giving it his all. I'm not as enamored of Kristen Chenoweth as others - maybe bc I saw her in Apple Tree but not Wicked. I still haven't figured out what Sierra Boggess was thinking in taking the ingenue role: I'm not sure if it's written to make her look bad or if she doesn't have the vocal chops to pull it off. Really, the best part of the night was walking home through the Park afterwards.

Oddly enough, we went to the exact same place (Asbestos Wall) yesterday that we did four years ago when I first tried ice climbing. Not sure if it was bc the ice was softer, I was stronger, or sleeping on it helped me grok it better, but I sucked much less this time. I climbed everything they set up, although on the two hardest ones, I hung on the rope and I actually lost the tools three times on one pitch, getting wild applause from the onlookers for my perseverance in recovering them. I was surprised by the others on the trip - we paid an awful lot to get there and yet most folks sat on a log for most of the afternoon. Partly, I suspect, bc the men in the group had all started on the hardest wall, when they were almost all inexperienced, and got discouraged quickly. Must suck to be that full of testosterone. Unfortunately, that meant that it was completely chewed up and soft :(

The head guide was my belayer for one route, so when I got to the bottom, I asked for feedback. He just pointed at his feet and commented, "Most chicks can't hang from just one axe." heh. But he's right of course - if I'd been able to use my legs more, I might not've gotten so tired. Part of THAT was the boots, again. I wore the smallest boots they had in stock (men's size 5), but I still felt my heels sliding up out of them. The guide pointed out that I wore thicker socks on Rainier, so next time I go climbing, I'll have to dig out my expedition socks, although part of me is tempted to buy my own boots.