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What a gorgeous, sunshiny Sunday! Frank and I went to outdoor brunch this morning in Ghent (the artsy-fartsy part of Nawfick) with our pals Joe the Stealth Cop and Kristine the Bargain Queen. Joe is an under-the-radar cop because he looks like the love child of Dana Carvey and Tom Hanks, not like a detective sergeant.Kris simply rules Ebay. Afterwards, we went to see a Noh play at ODU Theater. Verrrry interesting. The first part was a kyogen, or comedy interlude. It involved two retainers eating all their master's honey, which they had been told was "poison." It was quite broadly acted and entertaining; think Laurel and Hardy samurai. The noh part was an episode from the Tale of Genji involving the banishment of a demon. Lots of flashy costuming (oooh! shiny!), monotonous sutra-chanting, extremely deliberate movement, and reversals by the demon.Thought old Horny Gal would NEVER cross that bridge to enlightenment! My eyes got a bit heavy, lemme tellya. I'm sure I would have been more enthralled if I'd understood the words. The semi-operatic chanting made what little Japanese I know hard to find in the garble, and the masks made it worse. The encore scene was a duel between Genji and the Spider King. Shades of Naro! Very brisk and fun. The Spider King hurled long strands of web from his fists, for a cool effect. Overall, a nice way to spend a balmy Sunday. Now I must go grade papers! Aaargh! Today's song: Sake in the Jar, by the Chieftains and Akiko Yano (from Tears of Stone, a very super wondermous CD) Book of the moment: The Samurai's Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard |
 
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Whattaya Noh?