Jersey Rant

Note: Longtime readers know I normally don't discuss hockey on the internet while the season is in progress due to various superstitions. But given recent trades, Capitals management appears to think the season is over. So, here we are.  Now I recognize that hockey jerseys have to accomplish multiple things. They need to look cool on a hanger, or more likely these days, in a thumbnail in the online store. So the color, the design, the logo, the front is very important. The thing is, once the game starts, everyone's leaning over their sticks to play, and I the viewer can only see the back. The back has a prominent number and name, so the referee and linespeople can easily identify offenders. 

But what happens is often the back is white with one contrast color stripe along the sleeve. Or black, with one contrast color stripe across the sleeve. And I do not know who anybody is. Canada and Switzerland played each other and I only know who won because of the box score in the corner. Sure one team was red with white letters and one was white with red letters, but the only reason I now know that Canada had on white is because I later saw Canada's dark jersey and it had black stripes which would have been very useful to me on the light jersey. (They were wearing black shorts, but so was Switzerland.) 

And you might be thinking Tara, this is maybe a once every for years problem, and I will point you to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadians. On a TV that is less than wall sized, even their logos are hard to tell apart on overhead shots because they are both round red things. (Yes they are very distinct when held stationary side by side. Do you know how often hockey players are stationary?)

So, hockey jersey designers, I implore you, think of the backs, or even the sides, when coming up with something the viewer at home can latch on to to tell the teams apart. 

Lucy Darling

I went to see the Lucy Darling show at the Warner Theater on Friday. I'm not going to do a full theater style review, in part because it's a variety show, and it changes a little every night since it's audience driven. I had somewhat jokingly described it to my coworkers as she's a magician and comedian who makes fun of the audience. 

First, Lucy was just coming off 48 hours of vocal rest, so her voice was a little different than normal. Mark was there with her. It was a lot of fun. The audience clearly had a lot of fans who had either been to prior shows, or possibly just watched every possible video on the internet. 

My friend and I sat in the orchestra, but far enough back that we did not hope to become part of the show. It also meant it was fun to people watch who had clearly dressed to be in the show. There were a few interactions I can wait to see how they get edited for the internet. 

I definitely think if you have seen the videos and thought, I want 90 minutes of that, the show will absolutely deliver. I know Lucy/Carisa has been working non-stop for a bit. I hope the vocal thing clears up quickly. 

"Operation Mincemeat"

Content note: Contextually appropriate use of Nazi imagery. 

I will get to the show, though the TL:DR is that I loved it and it was worth the journey and the expense.

I came to "Operation Mincemeat" in an unusual way for a theoretical Broadway watched. I had seen the #Ham4Ham performance, I had seen the Olivier's performance, and I was a little meh. I'd even seen a performance of "Dear Bill" and been like, well, this is nice. And scoffed at the people typing in the comments, "It makes more sense in context." (It does, in fact, have more emotional punch in context. This is however true of just about any good musical song.)  Funnily enough, I watched a Max Kylemenko video where he spent a day with the cast and it was exactly the kind of weird behind the scenes stuff that I love and I was like, I should look into this musical some more. I discovered that the entire cast album was available, and and did my cast album listen while I scanned through the plot summary. And I fell in deep. I scoured the internet for interviews. I watched the writer/creators early videos from when they were developing the songs. I became obsessed. 

When I decided to see "Hadestown" I put myself on a timeout from the cast albums, and "Operation Mincemeat" became the replacement cast album. I debated trying to stuff it into my Hadestown trip and then decided to plan a separate trip. 

Figuring the original cast having now played these roles in multiple theaters, having made it through an award season in the UK and here, might be seeking a rest soon, but wanting to avoid peak winter holiday tourist season I picked end of January. In a year that ends in six. 

Some of you might remember the last time I went to New York the last weekend in January in a year that ended in six. (Blog here. But basically, it snowed so much they shut down Broadway. Fortunately after I had seen my planned show.)

Snow appeared in the forecast for my January trip, but it wasn't supposed to start until late Saturday, so probably wouldn't accumulate until after I was on the train back. I shared this plan with multiple people who gave me varying looks of, oh, well, I look forward to hearing how that works out for you. By Thursday the totals were looking dire, and one friend texted me, you have to stay in New York if you do this, travelling back after the show is ridiculous. By that point I had gone from thinking the journey back in the weather would be a fun adventure, to maybe this is not the kind of adventure I wish for. I was too tired, and still a little bit sad about going to rearrange things Thursday night, so decided to do it first thing Friday. And Friday I woke up to Amtrak having cancelled my trip. Telecharge very kindly let me rebook my show ticket. And I picked a new weekend in February.

Now yes, I know snow happens in February too. But I was trying to see the original cast, and this was their last weekend of performances. I know the American recruits are amazing. But I wanted this. 

So when I checked the weather at the start of the week and saw snow, I had an unusual reaction for me. I thought, really. Fortunately it shifted just enough into Sunday that I was, fingers crossed going to be fully back home before there was a drop. But school kids, call me! I can be bribed. 

Also, I failed to check the Olympics schedule when I made my plans, so I really appreciate the gold medal men's hockey game being scheduled after my return. It was really very kind of the Olympics.

So, the show. It is amazing. It is funnier in person. (The cast album is pretty funny.) Do I think most musicals are best if you go in cold? Sure. But live theater is still amazing. Even when you've listened to it enough that you've figured out all the character switches, watching them do it, is amazing. 

Sorry, here are the basics. The Allied forces need the German troops to move off of Sicily so they can use Sicily to launch their big win the war plan. The plan the British devise, Operation Mincemeat, is to plant a dead body with some secret war plans involving Sardinia. The troops on Sicily will go to Sardinia to check it out and voila!

The show uses five actors to play eighty some characters. There are several songs where they switch character mid song. A friend of mine pointed out that "Come From Away" does this. I feel like Mincemeat does this at a eleven. But yes. The show also explores privilege, the way that war changed opportunities for women, and the sort of goofiness of some of the things that were happening. 

I am a person who is well-versed in World War II stuff, and didn't really feel like I needed more, but once again, if you sing to me, I can be bought. 

As I said this was the last weekend for the original cast, but it's been running in the West End happily without the original cast. I feel sure whatever cast you see will be amazing. I already want to see it again.

Sports

The thing about sports is there is no such thing as a foregone conclusion. Sure everyone will claim they can tell. But sports betting would not exist if sports was actually predictable. We hold and watch competitions because both the expected and unexpected can be amazing to witness. 

Writing or many creative pursuits can be like that. You set targets and goals and some days you show up and are a star who exceeded expectations. And some days, not so much. You try to practice and learn your best conditions so wherever possible you have more good days than bad. But some days it snows in the middle of your half pipe competition or someone nudges you off the short track and you just don't know. Even on the publishing side you'll hear stories of trains full of books falling into lakes or covers that got banned by one of the stores or some rave going viral. Wildly unpredictable things happen every day. You show up as ready as you can be for what happens next. 

Sale!

Newsletter readers got this news first, but Clear as Ice is currently on sale as in the US and Canada as part of the Lovers and Haters sale. Clear as Ice is the story that you might remember started here on the blog as part of #Hockeyfiction. Sienna is no stranger to social media. When she unwittingly starts something claiming there are no Asian Americans in hockey, and then discovers there is one on her hometown team, she knows it’s up to her to make amends. And given her new no dating this year rule, she won’t have any trouble keeping things professional. Al is used to people acting like he’s the first or only Asian American in hockey. As the Domes’ season moves towards the playoffs, he knows how to keep focused just on hockey. Even as Sienna turns out to be more than he expected in so many ways. Kobo link is here: https://bit.ly/3pvCSeS If you prefer other vendors, other links are below. Zon: https://amzn.to/3AxKDr4 Apple: https://apple.co/3PtQZMx Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/mvXreX Bookshop link: https://bookshop.org/books/clear-as-ice/9798201254728