Saturday evening roundup

I sent my dad this Times piece on Russian dictators throughout the ages "humanely" intervening to spare censored and/or persecuted writers and artists. He replied that Mandelstam was killed by Stalin, and Pasternak by Khrushchev, and that Shostakovich was accused of "political incorrectness" (I think he means incitement or some such thing) and some famous soviet conductors were afraid to play his symphonies.

Dad also told me that Gogol's "The Government Inspector" was required watching when he was in eighth grade. I saw STC's production production of it today and enjoyed it, but if didn't feel Russian (the way, say, Sydney Theater's "Uncle Vanya," did). Michael Kahn directed it as if it were a Moliere or a Shakespearean comedy. I'm not sure how this could have been different; the set and costumes were perfect, and I'm glad he didn't try for Russian accents. But, apart from the scene where the peasants tell their stories, it felt like Gogol set in France.

If you're going to tell people to learn English, the least you can do is learn English.

Are those less or more hypocritical than the guy on social security holding the "No Redistribution to Freeloaders" sign? That's a Craig T. Nelson if I every heard one.

That's one awesome poem-tattoo.

A smartphone-abroad user's guide for everyone.

Plant-based diets are good for you.

Oh, I did end up going to Vegfest, which was okay. Ironically, I ended up going because it was not far from where my friend's dachshund would compete in the Wiener 500, but I got distracted--in conversation with fellow vegans--and then a bit lost, and missed the race (and then had to get a move on to get to the theater). What I will tell you, from the turnout, is that you (businesses) ignore us to your own detriment.

Tomorrow I'll see if I can hit the National Book Festival on the way to the theater. Gotta love this city.