Old Norse

Took a big ol' nap yesterday afternoon. So I felt somewhere between well rested and woozy later in the evening. Mary Beth and I walked over to Playhouse on the Square to see some ballet. Ballet Memphis have a program they're calling Take Shape. It consisted of three different pieces: Square Dance, The Fingers of Your Thoughts, and The Reassuring Effects (of Form and Poetry). The second piece was probably my favorite, it was definitely the most modern. It also used some music I like a lot (it had quite a few sections with different pieces of music and it started and ended with Satie!). Parts of it had a thing with this white sheet that I liked. The first one was probably my second favorite. It's by Balanchine, who is "the most influential choreographer of the 20th century." This piece fused classical ballet with American folk dance (as implied by the name). It's also apparently really difficult (for professionals, I mean for me holding any single ballet pose would be beyond all possibility). It has a pretty large cast with complex sequences of movement all around the stage, so given our cheap seats right in the front row it was sometimes difficult to take it all in when a lot was going on all across the stage. But it was pretty nice to look at. The last one had especially nice costume colors and the lighting was really good. Later at home I finished reading King Harald's Saga by Snorri Sturluson. It was a bit dry. At least it was really short. I mean, I like reaching out and trying new things, but a thirteenth century account of an eleventh century Norse figure isn't my favorite reading material. Harald was also a pretty big dick. I mean, I guess that's not surprising or anything. Now it's morning and today.