Not that I wasn't already dreading hitting the big 3-0 this year... but I guess I can't run from it, considering what I just got in my mailbox (emphases mine):
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Now if you'll excuse me, I think it's time for my medication and then some bingo.
Last night, for her birthday gift, Shally and I went to see the Cirque Du Soleil production "Kooza" in downtown San Jose. It's only around for a handful more weeks, and it's not cheap (came out to $100/ticket to sit in the back of the middle section facing the stage), but it was well worth it for each of our first Cirque experiences.
For those who haven't been to a show before, I believe the entire program is Canada's take on the traditional circus - clowns and stunts. The clowns may be effective entertainment for little kids (even though some of the interludes/comments from the clowns were surprisingly crude), but the real purpose they served was filler while the stage was being set up for the next big set piece.
The danger that spectators can sometimes fall into when watching performers who are really really good at what they do, is to begin taking them for granted and thinking, "That might not be that hard." Fortunately, we were stripped of this assumption fairly early on in the show when one of the high-wire artists lost his footing after a leapfrog over another performer, and had to swing himself back up onto the high wire gymnastics style, before giving it another go successfully. Seeing him fall helped strip away the illusion of invincibility and helped ratchet up the tension for every performance, knowing that these were in fact world-class acrobats, jugglers, and athletes.
I think the neat part of the show is well encapsulated in this review I read after getting back: "When I leave the KOOZA show, I self-analyze what emotions tumble through my veins: joy and vigour, mixed with a handful of hope. Why hope? Because Cirque du Soleil proves that a performance stalwart can continue to inspire wonder in its 20th show. Within three hours, it can turn men into boys, children into instant smiles and twinkling eyes."
We happened to sit behind a Vietnamese family with three cute little girls who engaged us in conversation throughout the evening, offering us popcorn, and expressing wonder at the cool things happening on stage in front of them.
Here are the highlights (referenced in this video):
1) Wheel of Death (3:30-5:15) Without a doubt, the highlight of the show. Those two guys started the whole contraption spinning around the central fulcrum, then began doing stunts like leaps, jump rope, both inside and outside the wheels. I found myself involuntarily going "Whoah!" with nearly every revolution... and my exclamations simply melted into the general sense of amazement that the whole audience was verbalizing.
The rest of these highlights will simply be presented in the order they happened...
2) Contortionists (00:34-00:37, 1:27-1:48) Otherwise known as the "bendy girls." Look at the first clip where the girl plants her chin on the ground and then crab walks all around her head... that's The Exorcist creepy. I would not have been overly stunned to see one of them turn their head 360 degrees.
3) Trapeze (1:57-2:08) This was the weakest part of the show for me other than the clowns... while flying around on a trapeze certainly looked like fun, it didn't wow me like most of the other acts did.
4) Unicycle (00:57-1:04, 2:16-2:22) I think Shally really liked this one. It had a very romantic feel to it, with the unicyclist and his partner looking like they were dancing on 1 wheel - a mobile cha-cha-cha, if you will. Coolest stunt here was the guy twirling the girl around his body (a la upper level swing dancing) while riding around on the unicycle (second clip)
5) High wire (2:23-3:18) Reading reviews, apparently all 4 of these guys are brothers. I wonder if they teased the guy that fell, like brothers do... "You have to do the dishes until someone else falls!"
Still, the trick with the two guys on bikes carrying the third guy on a chair? Jaw-dropping, especially considering one of them had fallen earlier in the performance.
6) Juggling (5:26-5:30, 5:36-5:40) Having seen Chris and Shally both do some juggling, I was sorta able to appreciate what this guy was doing. He had rings with different colors on each side, and then while juggling would rotate them before flinging them into the air so we could see the rings apparently change color during the middle of the routine. Also very cool: using the feet to juggle bowling pins.
7) Chair (5:16-5:18) Less active than the other acts, but it involved a buff Asian gymnast (reminded me of the Asian guy from Ocean's 11) stacking chairs 30 feet into the air and then balancing on them with one hand. Made me feel like I should work out more.
8) Teeterboard (6:08-6:22) A fitting finale to the night, involving teams of acrobats leaping onto a teeter-totter to launch someone on the other end into the air to do half gainers, twists, and land on someone else's shoulders. Jaw dropping moment: strapping a girl to a single stilt, launching her, and having her land it without falling... wow.
Unfortunately, the show leaves San Jose on 3/16, but if you ever find yourself in Hartford, Philadelphia, Chicago, or Boston in the next few months... check it out.
What a great time to be an NBA fan. Let me count a few ways...
5) TNT and NBA TV in HD. In 2007, Comcast didn't give us these channels in HD, but all of a sudden in 2008, we do. Now we can watch NBA games either on Tivo (to speed through commercials and free throws) or in glorious high def.
4) The recent trades. While it bugs me that the Lakers got a legit All-Star big man (of which there might be only 10 or so in the entire league) for absolutely nothing, I have to admit that a league with good teams in LA and Boston is more interesting just because of the history and the fanbases. Sure, it means that there will be more irritating bandwagon fans hopping on (especially the Lakers bandwagon), and as a Warriors and Spurs fan it's frustrating that my teams could very well even fall out of the playoffs, but just as a basketball fan it's fascinating to see how LA, Dallas, and Phoenix are integrating their newest acquisitions. TrueHoop had a good article on this topic last week, about the differences between the effects of good social cohesion (a good locker room environment) and good task cohesion (teams that might not like each other in the locker room but work together well on the court).
3) The proliferation of web analysis and highlights on the league. Sites like TrueHoop, ESPN NBA Highlights, and Coaching Better Bball have all entered my daily reading. In particular, the latter site (a recent discovery) has been quite enjoyable to see video clips of plays, offensive sets, drills, and insights that I wouldn't be able to pick up on my own.
2) The ridiculously competitive Western conference. Every win or loss, even in the regular season, has daily implications for the playoff seedings. What does this translate into? Regular season games with the intensity of playoff games. While I'm concerned that this will drain the West teams prematurely in the playoffs prior to meeting up with Boston, Detroit, or Cleveland in the Finals, it does mean that every week there are great games on TV.
1) One year ago today, with the Warriors mired in a 6 game losing streak, they beat Detroit 111-93 to begin a 16-5 run to end the season and sneak into the playoffs. I still can't quite believe just how things have changed in the atmosphere here in the Bay Area with this team since then - I was at the 76ers game last Friday, and we were expecting to win against a decent East team that upset Phoenix the very next night. The W's didn't disappoint, going up by double digits early and never letting us feel the familiar tension from years past of "how are they going to blow the game this time?"
While the team doesn't appear to have the talent necessary to be a true contender for the title now or in the future (today's core of Baron/Jax and tomorrow's of Monta/Biedrins/Wright), the fact that basketball is fun to watch in the Bay is the greatest reason to be an NBA fan right now.
