The most military fun since Bilko
Re-upping and other sexy things:
1Darryl Forman found the wisdom on Facebook: “This is what happens when a general is led around by his privates.”
“Now we understand the ‘surge,’ ” says Gene Schoenfeld.
As to casting the movie about retired Gen. David Petraeus, Jan Wahl suggests Ed Harris as the lead (“with a possible backup of Daniel Craig”), Catherine Zeta-Jones as Paula Broadwell, Bruce Willis as Gen. John Allen and Sandra Bullock as Jill Kelley.
On the other hand: Seeing a man dressed in fatigues at a KFC in San Francisco on Veterans Day, Adda Dada sneaked up and paid $33, the bill for the meal the man was picking up for his family. The other diners burst into applause, Dada says, and he told the man, “They are applauding for you. Happy Veterans Day.” The man texted his wife — the modern response to any news of every kind — and when he left, his eyes were glistening, says Dada.
I asked Belva Davis, whose Nov. 9 installment of KQED’s “This Week in Northern California” was her last, about her personal after-party, that is, the rest of her life. She said she was having a tough time “trying to get myself focused on my new role in life. … I’ve had these habits always in the back of my mind.”
The “habits” include super-awareness of the news, and the feeling, upon hearing about some development, “I have to do something about that. I have to turn that button off. Everyone tells me it’s not going to happen in 24 hours. But so far, it’s had its challenges.”
At the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, a new employee time clock that identifies users by their touch on a pad (an electronic fingerprint) is causing a bit of grumbling from some workers. But Ken Garcia, director of communications and public affairs, says that no one has been fingerprinted (the system recognizes one’s past prints), and the device stores binary code, not pictures of fingerprints.
Before this, time clocks hadn’t been used at the museums. “A more efficient system” was needed, said Garcia. “We have employees working way more than eight hours a day. So this allows us to pay them.”
“Wozzeck,” the opera performed here by the Philharmonia, includes a scene that depicts a tavern in which an accordionist is playing. Big Lou the
Accordion Princess, who often plays at Schroeder’s Oktoberfest events, got the nod. After the San Francisco gig, she went to Los Angeles for a performance, and from there to New York for a performance at Avery Fisher Hall.
Both Tuesday and Wednesday, driving on Interstate 280 near Alpine Road, Mark Berger saw Bentleys involved in fender benders. That’s a Bentley bash each night. What are the chances?
PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING
“That’s what I like about you, Henry. I hate you less than I hate
everyone else.” Woman to man, overheard on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley by Steve Finacom
During a performance of “An Iliad” at Berkeley Rep, the pause that has been following after actor Henry Woronicz raises an invisible spear over his head and asks, “Have you ever really wanted to kill someone?” was punctuated by the sound of a cell phone ringing. The actor waited for it to stop, they repeated his line with an emphasis, “Have you ever really wanted to
kill someone?” Tappan Wilder, nephew and literary executor for playwright Thornton Wilder, was at the Aurora Theatre’s openingnight performance of “Wilder Times,” a collection of short plays. At a reception after the performance, Tappan gave what was described as an impromptu and witty talk about his uncle and the family.
In the Venetian Room audience at Tommy Tune’s recent Bay Area Cabaret performance was Carol Channing, who Tune said had been his “guiding light.” After his show, Toni Link spotted Tune having dinner with Channing in the Tonga Room.
Hallelujah, at last the Marsh has new chairs. At a party to thank donors who made that possible, Charlie Varon recalled a woman who’d fallen asleep at one of his shows, and added, “With our new and improved chairs, she can sleep through my shows in comfort.” Geoff Hoyle suggested a few beds be installed, too.