![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39 **DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
Managed to sleep until 8 despite my neighbor having a very loud phone conversation at 6am that could be heard through the walls. Yay earplugs.
A slow morning and sort of using today to figure out what I want to do and see, and when. There are things I'll do on my own, things that I'll save to do with Jameson during the time he's here, and things I'll need to plan around our show schedule and time-consuming chores like doing laundry and walking to grocery stores.
I have THREE golden days in Boston, so there's a good chance I'll get to do all of this and more. But we will see!
("golden day" = a true day off. No travel and no shows.)
But as for today, I wanted to keep it chill. Worked on Indianapolis Foodie Finds and walked to Target to get a retinol cream. Stopped in at UNIQLO to see if they had any cool graphic tees (none that appealed to me) and past the Commons to get to Bakey for more of those scrumptious challah dough bagels! They also sell babkas, croissants, actual challah loaves, and coffee/tea.
Back to the hotel for snack and rest and binging TADC until showtime. The evening show went well, though I made a few weird mistakes. This happens once in a while especially with the bass; I get a little of what I call "slide dyslexia" in which I either accidentally reverse a slide position, or hold down the triggers on the bass in the wrong order. It is no different than a pianist hitting the wrong note once in a while I suppose. Anyway as soon as it happens I drop the note so it won't be heard, I doubt anyone noticed.
After the show we had a party sponsored by this theater's promoters/presenters, at a nearby Maggiano's. There was pasta and salad of course, but also tiramisu and cake and other desserts! I had a glass of red wine and chocolate cake :) As usual we talked a lot, and as actors arrived the volume in the room reached impossible decibels, so I left when we had to scream at each other to be heard :p Still, I am glad for the social time and interaction with the actors!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
Was up at 8, breakfast and excited because today's plan was pan-fried dumplings and a walk to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts!
The dumplings were for a slightly early lunch. I'd seen them on TikTok and figured I'd better show up before actual lunchtime to avoid any rush of young people hitting this now-viral tiny takeout place. It really is just a little hole in the wall called Potluck. They have a hot bar of Chinese prepared dishes, but the dumplings come out separately on a big black wok. The bottoms are toasted and caramelized, and the tops are soft and drizzled with oil, sesame seeds, and chives. The inside is pork with scallions. They were juicy and delicious! The bottoms were so crispy and lovely. You get eight dumplings for $10.
As soon as I sat down to eat an actual CROWD of students piled in. The restaurant owner/cashier had to organize them into a line going out the door! I was right to show up early. I ate pretty quickly and got out of there, but MAN were those dumplings good! Glad I got to try them.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I couldn't help but oogle like a tourist on my way to the museum.
Preparations are underway for the Boston Marathon on Monday.
I stopped at an H&M to look for my Perfect Black Pants but they did not have them, sigh. That delayed me a solid 20 minutes but I still got to the museum around 1pm.
There was so much to see, they've got a gigantic collection spanning two floors and organized by geographic location (American art, European, Asian, African, etc.) I just allowed myself to wander and soak it all in. I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to be in the moment.
But I did photograph some of my favorites of the day, and here they are.
Zsolnay Manufactory vase featuring dragon, Hungarian, 1900. I should have done a video so you could see the dragon's face.
“Dogs Wedding”, Hocht Manufactory, Germany, ceramic (I forgot the artist)
“Landschaft UOL”, Paul Klee, 1932. I have a soft spot in my heart for pointillism.
Alberto Giacometti, and I couldn't find the artwork title. Loved the texture and spacing of it.
A Thai instrument made with mother of pearl and snakeskin
Crocodile instrument
A dragon trombone. These were popular in French military bands for a while. The tongue is designed to waggle when the instrument is playing!
Believe it or not this is a bass clarinet. An attempt at making it more compact. Only five of these were made by the craftsman.
Ornate French horn + attachments/tubing options.
“Hawk and the Warming Bird”, Shibata Zeshin, 1870s.
Detail of the same.
Absolutely gorgeous privacy screen, Japanese, forgot to take closer pic of info plaque.
I walked through exhibits for a solid two hours, then decided I was tired and needed to head home. Got an Uber (Yes I know the T would have been cheaper, but not faster, and I wanted time to rest and was willing to pay for the privilege.) Got to the hotel and rested, had a snack, and got ready for the evening show. It went well, and we had an interesting "guest actor" who was an ABC anchor and who appeared during "Belle" as a villager. She even had some lines! From what I heard her lines went well, I am not sure how the acting part went but it should be shown on TV at some point so we'll find out!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: I have not found a laundromat within a mile and don't want to walk extensively/Uber tomorrow, so I will shell out extra dough for a wash & fold service this once. No other plans as Friday is normally my day of rest. One evening show.
Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each and no plans.
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
Managed to sleep until 8 despite my neighbor having a very loud phone conversation at 6am that could be heard through the walls. Yay earplugs.
A slow morning and sort of using today to figure out what I want to do and see, and when. There are things I'll do on my own, things that I'll save to do with Jameson during the time he's here, and things I'll need to plan around our show schedule and time-consuming chores like doing laundry and walking to grocery stores.
I have THREE golden days in Boston, so there's a good chance I'll get to do all of this and more. But we will see!
("golden day" = a true day off. No travel and no shows.)
But as for today, I wanted to keep it chill. Worked on Indianapolis Foodie Finds and walked to Target to get a retinol cream. Stopped in at UNIQLO to see if they had any cool graphic tees (none that appealed to me) and past the Commons to get to Bakey for more of those scrumptious challah dough bagels! They also sell babkas, croissants, actual challah loaves, and coffee/tea.
Back to the hotel for snack and rest and binging TADC until showtime. The evening show went well, though I made a few weird mistakes. This happens once in a while especially with the bass; I get a little of what I call "slide dyslexia" in which I either accidentally reverse a slide position, or hold down the triggers on the bass in the wrong order. It is no different than a pianist hitting the wrong note once in a while I suppose. Anyway as soon as it happens I drop the note so it won't be heard, I doubt anyone noticed.
After the show we had a party sponsored by this theater's promoters/presenters, at a nearby Maggiano's. There was pasta and salad of course, but also tiramisu and cake and other desserts! I had a glass of red wine and chocolate cake :) As usual we talked a lot, and as actors arrived the volume in the room reached impossible decibels, so I left when we had to scream at each other to be heard :p Still, I am glad for the social time and interaction with the actors!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
Was up at 8, breakfast and excited because today's plan was pan-fried dumplings and a walk to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts!
The dumplings were for a slightly early lunch. I'd seen them on TikTok and figured I'd better show up before actual lunchtime to avoid any rush of young people hitting this now-viral tiny takeout place. It really is just a little hole in the wall called Potluck. They have a hot bar of Chinese prepared dishes, but the dumplings come out separately on a big black wok. The bottoms are toasted and caramelized, and the tops are soft and drizzled with oil, sesame seeds, and chives. The inside is pork with scallions. They were juicy and delicious! The bottoms were so crispy and lovely. You get eight dumplings for $10.
As soon as I sat down to eat an actual CROWD of students piled in. The restaurant owner/cashier had to organize them into a line going out the door! I was right to show up early. I ate pretty quickly and got out of there, but MAN were those dumplings good! Glad I got to try them.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I couldn't help but oogle like a tourist on my way to the museum.
Preparations are underway for the Boston Marathon on Monday.
I stopped at an H&M to look for my Perfect Black Pants but they did not have them, sigh. That delayed me a solid 20 minutes but I still got to the museum around 1pm.
There was so much to see, they've got a gigantic collection spanning two floors and organized by geographic location (American art, European, Asian, African, etc.) I just allowed myself to wander and soak it all in. I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to be in the moment.
But I did photograph some of my favorites of the day, and here they are.
Zsolnay Manufactory vase featuring dragon, Hungarian, 1900. I should have done a video so you could see the dragon's face.
“Dogs Wedding”, Hocht Manufactory, Germany, ceramic (I forgot the artist)
“Landschaft UOL”, Paul Klee, 1932. I have a soft spot in my heart for pointillism.
Alberto Giacometti, and I couldn't find the artwork title. Loved the texture and spacing of it.
A Thai instrument made with mother of pearl and snakeskin
Crocodile instrument
A dragon trombone. These were popular in French military bands for a while. The tongue is designed to waggle when the instrument is playing!
Believe it or not this is a bass clarinet. An attempt at making it more compact. Only five of these were made by the craftsman.
Ornate French horn + attachments/tubing options.
“Hawk and the Warming Bird”, Shibata Zeshin, 1870s.
Detail of the same.
Absolutely gorgeous privacy screen, Japanese, forgot to take closer pic of info plaque.
I walked through exhibits for a solid two hours, then decided I was tired and needed to head home. Got an Uber (Yes I know the T would have been cheaper, but not faster, and I wanted time to rest and was willing to pay for the privilege.) Got to the hotel and rested, had a snack, and got ready for the evening show. It went well, and we had an interesting "guest actor" who was an ABC anchor and who appeared during "Belle" as a villager. She even had some lines! From what I heard her lines went well, I am not sure how the acting part went but it should be shown on TV at some point so we'll find out!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: I have not found a laundromat within a mile and don't want to walk extensively/Uber tomorrow, so I will shell out extra dough for a wash & fold service this once. No other plans as Friday is normally my day of rest. One evening show.
Saturday and Sunday: Two shows each and no plans.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-18 11:32 am (UTC)I wonder if anyone still makes those dragon trombones? Imagine having one of those?
no subject
Date: 2026-04-18 01:46 pm (UTC)The serpent-head trombone is called a buccin, and it was in production in the 1800s. Popular in the French army. I don't think anyone is out there making new ones because A) having a bell in that shape really makes it sound different than a trombone, B) the overtone system on a historically-accurate one of these is not very good (the notes don't "slot" easily) so it's harder to play WELL than a trombone, and C) either buying one (they are antiques and museum pieces, $$$$ up to $$,$$$) or to have one made for you from scratch would be astronomically expensive.
I bet you could have one reasonably-affordably 3D-printed, but it would still sound funky due to the bell shape. They'd be good for hobbyists, and maybe playing as a soloist sometimes for funsies, but you couldn't play this in a section with other trombones/brass, it sounds too different and would not blend with the other instruments.
About the buccin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buccin
What a buccin sounds like (this footage is actually the same instrument I saw at the museum, played by Doug Yeo who is a Boston Symphony trombonist. He makes it seem easy, but these are actually kinda tough to play well so I bet he had to practice with it quite a bit to get this result.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UickfyNVE7c
no subject
Date: 2026-04-19 03:00 am (UTC)