Just saw the play "A Clockwork Orange"

This evening (Saturday) I attended a performance of the Anthony Burgess play "A Clockwork Orange" by Renegade Theatre Experiment of San Jose. It was a very fine performance. The motion picture "A Clockwork Orange" is probably better known and even the novel upon which the movie was based is better known than the play. I have seen the movie and read the book but this is the first time I had seen the play. I enjoyed the play very much. If I had not already been familiar with the novel then I expect certain parts of the play might have been slightly difficult to follow. As it was I found my self following the unfolding of the story in the play and at the same time noticing the places where the book and the play differed. The differences are mostly in the elimination or compression of a few scenes to keep the play to a reasonable length.

The play is performed at the Hoover Theater. This is not one of fine venues found in downtown San Jose; rather it is on the grounds of Hoover Middle School in San Jose. Do not let the humble facility deter you. Admission is $20 and well worth it. This is much a thought provoking and interesting piece. I recommend it.

Transition in POTUS

Well Bush is out and Obama is in.

At the moment the two words which Bush brings to mind are:
Mendacity
Hubris

I have no great expectations about Obama so I will not be surprised if things do not improve however if Obama does better than Bush (which should not be too difficult) then I will be pleasantly surprised.

Time will tell.

Very Fine Day

Yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday) were both unseasonably warm. Both days I went for a mid-day walk in tee shirt and jeans and was very comfortable. Sunny, blue sky, a few wispy clouds with just a slight breeze. The forecast indicates that this weather pattern might continue for a few more days. Wonderful.

Saturday in San Francisco

I spent Saturday in San Francisco, I rode up from San Jose to San Francisco on the Caltrain which took about 90 minutes and gave me time to read. The main reason was to visit the Asian Art Museum to see the visiting exhibition of Afghanistan treasures from the National Museum, Kabul. Many of the items were over 2,000 years old. It is interesting to see the items with either origins or influences from many different areas and cultures such as Greek, Roman, Indian and Chinese. The museum building was the old public library building which was upgraded and is now a fine facility.

After the museum I went over to Valencia Street. There are a variety of interesting shops along Valencia including the Pirate Store, Good Vibrations and Borderlands Books. Borderlands is a great bookstore with both new and used books. Saturday evening I got in line early to get a seat for Writers with Drinks. I have been to Writers with Drinks a couple of times and while it is of variable quality I usually find it interesting. Then since I was closer to a Bart station I walked over to the Bart station and rode Bart to the Millbrae station and then got Caltrain.

Have you read Little Brother?

Cory Doctorow is a fine writer and has written one of those books with is marketed as a Young Adult novel but can be enjoyed byan older audience. If you have not read his book Little Brother then I recommend it. I suggest both buying the book at your favorite bookstore and getting the free download version.

The download is at:
http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/
Most people will have one or more quibbles about the novel but it is well worth reading and it does raise some interesting questions.

Remember the baby shower last month

Remember the baby shower I mentioned previously? Just a quick followup that the baby was born on Friday Jan 2 and that both mother and baby are doing fine. The mother created a gmail account for the young baby and so she will be receiving emails before she can read.

EFF is 18

I attended the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) 18th anniversary party Wednesday evening at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. The EFF is a good group and I generally agree with them. I am a member and if you are interested in liberty in the realm of computers, electronics and the digital world in general then I suggest that you might want to be a member also. Visit www.eff.org and find out more.