March 16

The pickings in the theaters are slim but here are some interesting other things to do.

On Netflix:

Don Jon - This indie movie starring Joseph Gordon-Leavitt , Scarlette Johansson and Julianne Moore tells the story of Jon Martello and his obsession with online porn.  This obsession prevents him from realizing a meaningful relationship..  He meets the girl of his dreams and things evolve from there.  It grew on me once Julianne Moore comes into the picture and makes the film a bit more poignant, but you might want to wait until it comes out on an indie channel on TV before putting it on your list.

 

A Nice Way to Spend the Afternoon:

United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra  - Last weekend we were treated to a concert  in the chamber music series.  The program included Mozart's Trio in E-flat, Shostakovich's Quartet No. 12 in D-flat and Copland's Suite from Appalachian Spring.  Our friend's son, Robbie Singer, is a member of the Marine Band and conducted the Copland piece.  Needless to say, that was my favorite with the Mozart piece a close second.  The Shostakovich piece was disconcerting to my ear, but all the musicians were first rate.  If you live in the DC area, this is a great way to spend an afternoon.  The concerts are free and are performed all over town.  For a complete listing, go to their website  www.marineband.marines.mil

At Reston Community Center:

Xanadu - What can I say about this musical based on the film starring Olivia Newton John other than it is very silly!  It is intended to be a spoof, but it was 90 minutes of my life I will never get back.  The performers were energetic and some of them had lovely voices, but I could not get past the piece itself.  Some of the music brought back the 80's especially "Have You Ever Been Mellow," but it was not enough to recommend this production.  At times it was hard to understand the leads as they both put on accents; the girl Australian and the boy surfer dude.  His voice was weak as was the older gentleman.  It is always nice to see theater and I like to support the local arts, but this was can be missed.

Fascinating Read:

The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan - Not the usual book I would pick up, but glad I did.  This book tells the incredible story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in US history.  It is amazing that the people of Oak Ridge Tennessee which was home to 75,000 at its peak were kept in the dark as to what they were doing.  The book gives the reader an insight into the lives of these people, mostly women as they went along their everyday lives.  There were times that I actually gasped out loud at some of the things the scientists did to further the cause. The book was written in an interesting way.  One chapter would focus on the women and their everyday lives and then the font would change and it dealt with the science that was being done.  For an interesting look into this time of discovery, read this one.

DWTS

The new season starts Monday.  I am not familiar with most of the people.  I didn't even watch the Olympic ice dancers who recently competed in the Olympics in Soshi who will be competing and probably have an advantage with their dancing training.  Will I watch it, perhaps.

Roberta