June Roundup, Part One
Sad news: Nicolai Ghiaurov, one of my very favorite singers, and, indeed, one of the great vocal artists of the twentieth century has died in Italy at the age of seventy-four. Fans of serious music can be grateful to have so many wonderful recordings of his amazing voice to treasure. This Saturday’s Pre-Opera Program will feature Mr. Ghiaurov’s remarkable talent. Tune in to WUFT-FM on June 5th at 1:00PM EDT.
My sunburn has at last been defeated, or shall I say, it’s given-up. Sunburns: Nature’s Quitters.
So there’s a new restaurant in Gainesville called “Crispers” which bills itself as “fresh salads and such”. It seems to be owned by Publix (my favorite supermarket), and offers nothing that I want except delicious, nutritious milkshakes with Publix ice cream, which I am just going to go on record here and declare the best ice cream you can buy. I stop by after work almost every day because my companion enjoys their food. However, each trip results in some mix-up which results in some profanity. It is entirely their fault, as they cannot get an order right to save their lives. This evening we had to drive 11.5 miles round-trip and complain to the manager to try and correct the problem. Lamentably, the manager, Chris, was a wanker, and tried to place the blame on us, and suggested that we ordered wrong. Sure, Chris, I ordered ham, a food I hate, and would never eat. Then he actually suggested that in the future we should just learn to accept that I orders will be wrong. I feel another of my trademark letters coming on. I am not going to add Crispers to my Axis of Evil unless I get a unsatisfactory response to my up-coming letter. But, Assistant Manager Chris at the Gainesville Crispers, you are not helpful.
My jury duty scheduled for the first was cancelled. Good thing, because some defendant was about to receive an unfair and partial trial by this peer. I’m kidding, of course. Still, $15 per day ain’t enough money to pay da bills, as it were. My serving on that jury would have just created a need for a future trial…for me, for shoplifting bread because I was too poor to eat.
A trip to the beaches of St. Augustine on the 30th resulted in a particularly unpleasant sunburn. Have I not heard of sunblock, you ask? I have, of course, and I put it on my face, so at least I am not lobster-face. But standing in the ocean means that my legs are pale and my shoulders and back are red. I have had much worse, but I had almost forgotten the feeling. In a couple days, though, I should look tan and healthy.
Went to see Van Helsing on May 29th. Pretty good, pretty good. It would have been better had the theater not had the volume up so loud that my ears were bleeding. I also note that ticket prices have sky-rocketed: $8.75 for a show!? In five years I have seen the price of a movie ticket in Florida go from less than $5.00 to almost $9.00. If it continues at this pace, in 2009 we will pay $16.00 to see a film. Anyway, it was good to be back at the Royal Park 16 theater here in Gainesville. I know that place has been having its butt kicked by the theater in Butler Plaza for a few years now. I am sure of it because I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie at Royal Park. Three years ago, maybe? All the big movies of the last few years (Lord of the Rings, Spider Man, Signs, Chicago, etc.) have been shown at Butler Plaza, and Royal Park has been stuck with the garbage. Not any more, though. I see that they now have all the big summer films, except Harry Potter and Shrek 2. So, good for them. Now lower the volume!
Filed under: Film, Food, Gainesville on June 16th, 2004 | No Comments »