Not-so Kinky Boots

Sixth Street Austin

...and a good time was had by all.

My young lady friend and I had a great time last weekend and I learned another lesson.  I learned that while it is great to visit some places, there is no place like home.  Pure and simple.

Austin is a great city.  The two of us roamed the South Congress area and 6th Street.  There were a lot of great vintage shops to peruse, music to listen to and places to eat.  The Young Lady also noticed that there are a lot more people wearing cowboy boots in Austin than they do in Houston.  I casually confirmed that notion on the theory that Houston is a much more cosmopolitan city than Austin.

So yes, Austin is a great place to visit but I do believe that I would rather live in Houston for one very important reason - breadth of activities.  You see,  I could definitely see enjoying "the weirdness" of Austin but I do believe that I would run out of things to do before long or end up in a rut of doing the same thing over and over.  Here in the Bayou City, there is such a laundry list of constantly changing thing to do.  Austin has South by Southwest, but Houston has so many more things.  Anyway, I'll stay here.

Next up was going with the Young Lady to see Kinky Boots at the Theater Under the Stars (TUTS).  Once again, the venue was gorgeous.  The Young Lady and I were a bit tired after two days of walking and making the three hour drive earlier in the day but the thought of relaxing at a broadway musical sounded great.

My review of Kinky Boots..."Meh" (shrugging shoulders).  You could recite what was going to happen three minutes into the show and while Cindi Lauper's score was good, it was much like her pop career and you could not remember any song ten minutes after you left the building.  Nothing stuck.  You enjoyed it while listening to it, but...

Anyway, a great (and much needed) weekend with the Young Lady.  I do miss her and can't wait to see her again.

The crust alone...

There is a jewel here in Houston that I am surprised I have not mentioned before.  It is the go to place for desserts and pseudo dining...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The House of Pies!

There are two locations here in Houston (on Westheimer and on Kirby) and while it bills itself as a "family dining" place, no one is fooled by this.  It is simply the place to go to get a slice of pie.  Everything from your traditional fruit pies to the creme pies to cheesecakes.  Now they do have a great set of cakes (the carrot cake is great), but the shiny baubles are the pies.

Now, this weekend the Web Guy is getting a visit from the very lovely lady and we will be venturing to Austin for my first visit there.  Now that SHOULD the center of our discussions, but no... we are ensuring that our schedule includes two mandatory stops.  Everything else revolves around this... pie at the House of Pies (which we will hit after seeing Kinky Boots at TUTS on Saturday night) and sopapillas at Molina's Cantina (traditionally before I take her to the airport).   It is funny (but not surprising) that places to eat here in Houston override pretty much everything else.

So eat up, folks.  Go out and grab a slice (or two) to go with a cup of coffee.  I know I will be...

Scheduling madness...

After a number of years wanting to go see them, I am finally pulling the trigger.  Tomorrow night, I am going to see Blue Man Group.  I am very excited.  But, there was a dilemma in choosing to attend this event.

There is just so much going on here...

For example, the same night as the Blue Man Group (which... keep in mind, is on a Tuesday night) is a professional production of "FlashDance, the Musical" at the Theater Under the Stars, an interview/discussion with Dr. Ruth Westheimer at the Museum of Fine Arts (which strangely seems appropriate), a "Last Chef Standing" tasting event, a Sherlock Holmes play at the Alley Theater... and more.

...on a Tuesday night!

Point being, there is always something going on and happening in this wonderful city.  To be perfectly frank, the major reason I pulled the trigger on going to see BMG is because I got a notice of half price tickets from Goldstar.  Now to see if they were worth the wait.

To battle the ogre windmills...

Last Saturday I went to see a wonderful production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" in the Woodlands.  This show is (in my mind) a masterpiece that combines very witty, quick dialog that would make today's viewers think of Aaron Sorkin along with Bob Fosse's choreography (none better).  This amateur production would have made Robert Morse proud.

Last night I had the pleasure to attend the Theater Under the Stars (www.tuts.com) and a production of "Man of La Mancha".  First off, the the venue is magnificent.  'Nuff said... and after some initial sound issues (the background/supporting stomps, claps, noises tended to drown out the dialog) I settled into a wonderful performance of a wonderful musical.

One of the best things about the Theatre (to me) is the magical way a good production can make you forget what is rumbling around in your mind (and I had a LOT of things rumbling around there last night) and transport you into a story.  Now, 'Man of La Mancha' is a special one to me just because I have had a special affinity with Senor Don Quixote and that special kind of "madness".  But more to the point, it is wonderful to have the number of venues and the breadth of productions available to this version of Cervantes' hero.

Get out there and enjoy.  Tilt at a few windmills.  Dream a dream.  Go lose yourself in a story... you just might find yourself in a whole new light.  Experience the power of the story teller, we all could use a little madness in our dreams.

To dream ... the impossible dream ...
To fight ... the unbeatable foe ...
To bear ... with unbearable sorrow ...
To run ... where the brave dare not go ...
To right ... the unrightable wrong ...
To love ... pure and chaste from afar ...
To try ... when your arms are too weary ...
To reach ... the unreachable star ... 

This is my quest, to follow that star ... 
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far ... 
To fight for the right, without question or pause ... 
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause ... 

And I know if I'll only be true, to this glorious quest, 
That my heart will lie will lie peaceful and calm, 
when I'm laid to my rest ... 
And the world will be better for this: 
That one man, scorned and covered with scars, 
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, 
To reach ... the unreachable star ...