Thank God for short work weeks!

OK, last week was different. A Star Is Born (1937) on Wednesday night was really good, and it still showed a peak into movie studio life as it exists today. Although, of course, you don't have the studio bosses controlling so much of the performers' lives anymore. But still the fan craziness applies.

Tell you what was weird, though.  Seeing Lionel Stander in the movie, looking so dang young!  Remember him? Max from Hart To Hart?  Sheesh!  That was a shocker!!

Friday night was Death on the Nile (1978), with Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Bette Davis, and whole cast of others!  AND IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!  I don't think I ever saw it on the big screen before, and it was great!!  Granted, this screen was not as big as a regulation movie theater screen, but it was still big.  And grand.  Just grand!

Of course, I sat through the movie, seeing all the sites, and I kept thinking, "Yeah, my mom's been there ...  and there ...   and there."  That wasn't so much fun.

And then Saturday was the day trip to Austin with my neighbor Deborah.  We left around 9 a.m. and got to Austin around 12 noon.  Had lunch at Katz's Deli & Bar (fried pickles, Reuben sandwich, fresh-cut french fries, cole slaw -- mmm mmm good!), went to The University of Texas at Austin campus to see the Blanton Museum (I'm not a huge fan of contemporary art, but they've got a really good collection!) and the Tower Tour (nice view, even it was cloudy and foggy).

Then we had dinner at Brick Oven (one of my old college haunts) and went to see my niece in her play (here's a review).  It was fantastic.  The play was staged in Austin once before (2005, I think), and my niece was in it then.  The writer-director was in her class at UT, and it was good before. But this time around it was PHENOMENAL!  Clearly there's been some work put into polishing it up, and it has just blossomed as a result.

The play tells the story of Ophelia (from Shakespeare's Hamlet), who -- let's face it -- got short-shrift in the play.  As much as you hear about the great love that was O&H, you just never see Ophelia much in the play at all.  So this play tells her story from her perspective.  The writer-director has broken up Ophelia into 5 different faces (each played by a different actress): in love, impassioned, on edge, undone, and in water.

My niece played "Ophelia impassioned" and got to romp around on stage with Hamlet (played by the delicious Gabriel Luna) in hilarious, sexually-suggestive situations.  And of course, she got to make out with him on-stage.  (I didn't mind so much -- since he was such wonderful eye-candy -- but bear in mind that her father, mother, grandmother, and boyfriend/fiance [BFF] were all also in attendance.)

After the play -- and after congratulating everyone for a job well-done, including Mr. Luna -- Deborah & I headed to Kerbey Lane Cafe for some dessert and final fortification (i.e., coffee for Deborah) before heading home.  (The Italian Creme Cake was divine!)

All told, we were in Austin for about 11 hours.  We got back to Dallas a little after 2 a.m.  We told ourselves we did this to prove we were still young.  And we did.

...

It certainly makes up for putting in an order for new glasses on Friday, with my very first bifocals.  Yikes!  More about that later.