Archives for January 5, 2004

See the shiny new orange button in the right-hand column, just under “Write Us,” that says “XML”? Well, here’s a bulletin from artsjournal.com, the invaluable and indispensable host of “About Last Night,” explaining what it’s all about:

This week ArtsJournal introduces a new feature: rss syndication feeds for all of our ArtsJournal bloggers. If you have a newsfeed reader, you can subscribe to any ArtsJournal blog by clicking on the orange “XML” button now found on each of the blogs.

If you know what the first part of that bulletin means, go thou and do likewise. If you don’t know, don’t worry about it. Really.

As for us, we sort of understand, kind of, but we don’t have newsfeed readers of our own (yet). All we know is that they’re supposed to be a good thing, and so we’re glad that “About Last Night” is now available via rss syndication feeds. If and when you become a subscriber to “About Last Night,” please let us know whether you experience any technical difficulties, and we’ll pass your complaint on to the proper authorities.

As for everyone else, ignore that last paragraph. You may continue visiting “About Last Night” the same way you always have, as often as you like. And we still hope you’ll tell your friends about us!

Amtrak deposited me at New York’s Penn Station exactly one hour ago. I was three hours late, having left Chicago’s Union Station three hours late, so in a sense I suppose I was on time. The good news is that the train ride back to New York was as beautiful as you’d expect. It was snowing all the way into Ohio, and there was snow on the ground all the way to Albany. Yes, Amtrak sleepers can be a nuisance (not least because the berths in the Viewliner Standard Bedroom are coffin-sized, with mattresses of a consistency closely resembling pig iron), but the food is pretty good and the views are pretty amazing.

I just this minute saw Our Girl’s report about our hectic but happy weekend doing the art thing in Chicagoland. My own personal opinions of the events in question must remain on ice for a bit longer. You can read about Rose Rage and Man from Nebraska in this Friday’s Wall Street Journal, and I’m planning to blog about “Manet and the Sea” as soon as I unpack, take a shower, get some dinner, and answer all my e-mail, which may take several weeks. For the moment, I can say the following:

(1) OGIC is soooooooo cool.

(2) I want her Eames chair.

(3) If I couldn’t live in Manhattan, I think Chicago might do quite nicely.

Now, everybody send Our Girl an e-mail ordering her to come to New York as soon as possible. Sweeney Todd opens March 9 at New York City Opera, hint hint hint….

After a day spent dashing through the snow in my two-door Chevrolet, we deposited Terry at Union Station a few hours ago and poof, he was gone. His train was following the snowstorm eastward, so it promised to be a memorable journey. God knows Chicago is beautiful tonight, heaped with the kind of snow that piles itself high on the tree branches–the twigs, even–in shapely blobs and somehow balances there, despite very much outweighing what supports it. Every tree is a wonder right now, and I’m a little reluctant to go to bed. The morning will surely look more mundane.

Tallying the weekend’s attractions, we saw 3 plays, 1 art show, and a few Frank Lloyd Wright houses, doing slow drive-bys in Oak Park (it almost felt like we were stalking the houses, and the unfortunate “No Tourists” signs that abound around the Wright Home and Studio do nothing to dispel that impression). My personal score sheet? A Little Night Music fabulous; Rose Rage riveting (I’m still under its dark spell, and won’t shake it soon); Manet and the Sea pleasing overall, with certain highlights that were extraordinary (one Courbet, several Morisots, and a couple of smaller Manets that hailed from private collections). The play at Steppenwolf today, Man from Nebraska? Glossy, polished, and false. But I had to be happy with my batting average, especially considering that Rose Rage amounted to almost three plays. Newest New Year’s resolution: see more Chicago theater. And more Terry. Not necessarily in that order.

Happy trails, Terr…and tell us all about it tomorrow.