Thou beslubbering miscreant!

Well, if this isn't the most miserable "Lost" poster I've ever seen. Steal my pet turtle, abscond with my dropped jade earring, but for heaven's sake, don't take my Shakespeare.

This sad sign is posted on Birch Street near California Avenue in Palo Alto. I feel for the guy who lost the print. I'd be unhappy enough to write in capital letters, too.

In his honor, I have been enjoying tooling around on various "Shakespeare Insults" sites. Fie upon the thief, who is clearly also a lumpish, milk-livered, beetle-headed measle.

(By the way, in case you can't make out the words in the photo, they read: "Reward for return, no questions asked, sentimental value. Call Nick: 650-814-2104.)

Photo by Rebecca Wallace

Oval Office Makeover

Like many things in the Washington, DC design scene the makeover of the Oval Office doesn't call attention to itself.  It's definitely substance over style. I'm not surprised. This make over recognizes the economic times we're in. It also shows it's cerebral side. I think this room is highly personal for the president. He spends lots of time here... It needs to have a calming effect. Color is tonal.  Furniture and accessories are well chosen... they have significance to the president. I especially like the reupholstered brown leather chairs and the soft texture of the twin sofas. Absolutely love the contemporary coffee table. This Oval Office feels more comfortable and casual than previous but it's also thoughtful and serious. I hope it meets all the needs of the president.

After

Before

 

A note about email notifications

Dear loyal readers who get email notifications whenever I blog: You haven't been getting those emails for a while. (Did you notice, Mom?) Apparently, when I had to move Ad Libs to a different URL, that knocked out the whole notification thing.

Please, if you would be so kind, sign up again by typing in your email address in the right-hand column. Then the notification festivities shall re-commence.

And many thanks for reading, and for getting in touch and commenting. It's wonderful to hear from all of you.

Wow with Lighting

Lately I'm enamored by light fixtures of all kinds.  Especially since I now sell lighting on this blog. This chandelier in Elle Decor caught my eye. It adds a special touch to a monochromatic room.  The impact of lighting in a space should never be underestimated. Light fixtures allow lighting to be layered.  Start with a striking overhead fxture, move to a floor lamp or table lamp and finish the lighting plan with a  wall sconce or small accent lamp.  If you have questions on how to wow with lighting....email me. 

Brave new work

Yesterday, I caught the last performance of the in-development indie-rock musical "Fly By Night" at TheatreWorks, and you'd have to consult the program to believe the show was still being refined. It was so polished. I've rarely seen such a smooth combination of comedy and tragedy: in the script, the performances, the gorgeous music.

That's tough. Often a playwright tries to lighten the mood by dropping in an anvil of a joke, and ends up cheapening a tragic scene. Here, while I had a few minor critiques -- a plot point needed clarification, one scene could have been trimmed, the lyrics were sometimes hard to make out -- I sat riveted for nearly the entire show. And you don't often get to take part in such a long standing ovation, with the actors brought out for a second bow. I was sorry we weren't able to applaud all the writers: Will Connolly (who also played guitar in the show), Michael Mitnick and Kim Rosenstock.

I think that Meredith McDonough, who heads the New Works Festival, said in her curtain speech that the rehearsal period for this production was about three weeks. So, extra kudos for the actors. No weak links anywhere, but Ian Leonard was a standout as the nebbishy Harold McClam, the sandwich boy with a lovely tenor and a tenuous grasp on his soul mate in the year leading up to the New York City blackout of 1965. (The ongoing -- but never heavy-handed -- foreshadowing of the outage was one of the script's greatest strengths.)

Molly Bell of Los Altos deftly mixed humor and a lonesomeness as aspiring actress Daphne, paired with pipe-puffing playwright Mark Anderson Phillips, who was so powerful recently in TW's "Opus." Their perfectly ridiculous duet in the show-within-a-show about a torn pair of pants kept my companion snickering. ("Euripides, you pay for these!")

Also, a lovely, wistful turn by Kristin Stokes as waitress Miriam, and impressive shape-shifting by Wade McCollum as the Narrator, who morphed in and out of a host of characters throughout the afternoon. He's also starred in "I Am My Own Wife." Any actor who can take on that remarkable script can pretty much do anything.

Looking forward to seeing where the show goes next. With a musical in progress, you can't jump online and buy the finished CD, but some of the "Fly By Night" songs are on Will Connolly's MySpace page. Take a listen.

Pictured: Will Connolly in a photo from his MySpace page.

Lamps Lamps Lamps - Online

I love home furnishings especially lamps! Red River Interiors is adding something new. We 're offering excellent home furnishings to you....beginning with lamps.  I've personally selected our first product offerings from my favorite vendors.   Red River Interiors will always bring you stylish quality products that you'll love to have in your home, office or give as a gift. So, until our e-commerce site is constructed, check here for weekly home accessories,fabrics and shop, shop, shop. Email us which products you're interested in.We invoice through Paypal. and ship by UPS..... Free shipping in Continental US.

TABLE LAMPS 

Confection

Gold and black contemporary cutie. Unique inverted black shade and cone stem.

Shade dimensions:  12"x14"  Bulb type: 1E  100 W

PRICE: $189

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Waterfall

Strings of glass crystals fall from the square gold stem. The shade is finished in gold leaf. Add it to a glass table top.   Shade dimensions: 14" x13.75"  Bulb type:1E  100W

PRICE: $179  

TESSA

We love gold and silver leaf and the Tessa lamp comes in both.  The inverted shade is striped leaf and has hanging tear drop crystals. You'll love it on a buffet table or on your personal desk.

Dimensions:  9 "W x 38 "H x 9 "D  Shade:  9.5" X 15"

PRICE:  $299

gold

silver

Prauge

A round gold body is accented by circular highlights of black and silver on this table lamp. The cylindrical silver shade is then topped by a black sculpted finial. Dimensions:13 "W x 26 "H x 13 "D. 

PRICE: $279

  Turin

Distressed gold table lamp topped by a sculpted fleur de lis. The black shade is accented by gold spatter and gold striped border.  Dimensions: 16x36x16 and Shade Dimensions: 9" x 12.5" 

PRICE: $359

Email redriverinteriors@gmal.com if you have questions.

Summer in the studio

An intriguing note in the Foothill College newsletter about music instructor Paul Davies. As if teaching today's sprightly youths about music theory, composition and the Beatles weren't enough, Dr. Davies was recently in the studio recording scenes from his new opera.

Titled "Carlota," the opera is about Charlotte of Belgium, who was a princess of Belgium and also Empress Carlota of Mexico. According to the college newsletter, Davies' music is so complex that it would be tough for musicians to play it live flawlessly, so he worked with Foothill music-technology instructor Ed Goldfarb to assemble a "virtual orchestra."

Sounds like a departure from some of Davies' past works, which have included pieces for solo harp and a cappella choral voices. And here he is at the piano playing the Warsaw Concerto.

Pictured: Paul Davies. Photo from foothill.edu.