High Class Cultural Activity

This weekend was spent with wife and in-laws partaking in some wonderfully enriching activities. My dear wife has never been to an Alabama football game, nor even Tuscaloosa on Game Day. So by cashing in all of my brownie points, I was able to coax her into joining me at Sonny McLean's Pub via Randy's Donuts to watch Coach Saban's Crimson Tide whoop up on Ole Miss. As a complete non-seqitur: we traversed the entire length of Inglewood on Manchester  Avenue, passing Soul Food Kitchen, The Forum, and seven different places selling fried chicken. I must say that a drive from Lincoln Blvd to the 110 Fwy is a lot like driving through Memphis. Anyway, I digress.

After getting a pre-game donut at the much hyped Randy's Donuts, we took a short rest back in Santa Monica before heading over to Sonny McLean's Irish Pub on Wilshire. Those readers familiar with West L.A. will know that there is absolutely no soul food anywhere near this part of the city. Fortunately though, Sonny's makes fabulous guacamole and perfect shepherd's pie with ground lamb and savory sauce. If you wanted to replicate a Tuscaloosa or Birmingham sports pub, Sonny's would be a close to perfect match. There are plenty of TVs; enough to watch the opening part of my Alabama vs. Ole Miss game, and simultaneously revel in Oklahoma thrashing Notre Dame, and Georgia beating LSU. We found out about this "meet up" of Bama fans online. Apparently there is no connection to LA's chapter of UA Alumni Association, but that doesn't stop 10-20 Southerners from gathering to watch the Tide Roll.

The wife had never seen anyone besides me sing "Yeah Alabama" or shout "Rammer Jammer", so allowing her to witness these firsthand was a real treat. I really enjoyed explaining the bad calls and how the system of "downs" works (why the goal is to keep getting 1st Down) en route to the end zone. Both of us were impressed by the safety for 2 points toward the end of the game. After the win, we both had a little bit of ringing in our ears from the crowd noise inside Sonny McLean's. There is nothing quite so sweet as driving home after an Alabama SEC victory. Roll Tide Roll.

---
On Sunday afternoon, we partook in a similarly exciting event: Georges Bizet's "Carmen" performed by the LA Opera in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, conducted by the legendary Placido Domingo.  Carmen is one of the three most famous operas of all time; sandwiched between Puccini's "La Boheme" and Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro", it was amazing to see for the very first time (with my wife/ in LA). We saw "La Boheme" last year, which was my first live opera experience. Everyone should see a few famous operas in their life to get a sense of refinement, and see and hear Western Civilization's classiest form of entertainment. Filled with very memorable songs, "Carmen" is the story of a gypsy lady who runs off with Don Jose, corporal of Dragoons and later dumps him for Escamillo, the grand bullfighter baritone who sings "Toreador."

At half an hour into the first act, we are treated to the "Habanera" which is the trademark song of this opera. It contains this line: L'amour est l'enfant de Boheme... or in English: Love is a gypsy's child. While I don't proffer this as a rational worldview, it does contain poetic charm. My main grievance on the performance was that my opera-mates told me the ending. Spoiler alert! When taking your son-in-law or your husband out to see a show that he's never seen, don't ruin the suspense by telling him that the title character gets stabbed. If I wanted to know who dies at the end, I'd have read up on it! As my wife says, "don't get attached to any of the characters because they'll probably die." Wow! How's that for comfort? Anyway, aside from Don Jose stabbing Carmen in a fit of desperate rage, it has a cute ending. I hope you like the songs as much as I do --> really catchy tunes.


vivid costumes, gallant dancing, lustrous voices, fun people watching