Overheard at the Fox
An "intrepid" crowd trudged through the slush on Sunday afternoon to watch Fabio Mechetti conduct two entire symphonies from memory -- and to witness (this was a nice touch) the return of former concertmaster Kelly Farris and his former assistant and white-maned sidekick, Michael Price, sawing away back there among the first-violin back benchers.
Also, this tidbit, overheard at intermission: "Well, January has been a torturous month. The Dow was down 10,000 points, and 10,000 feet of snow fell on Spokane."
As Sinclair Lewis once said, "Winter is not a season, it's an occupation."
Change-of-Edge Spirals
If you want to see the 2006 U.S. champion, Sasha Cohen, check out "Stars on Ice" at the Arena next Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 pm. Tickets: $25-$110. Call 325-SEAT.
Share and Savor
Slow Food aficionados will gather for a Meet and Greet Potluck Brunch on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9:30-11:30 am at the Saranac Building, 25 W. Main Ave. Bring your own tableware and a breakfast treat to share (no Pop-Tarts, please), and mingle with others who enjoy delicious, local, sustainable food. E-mail sf.spokaneriver@gmail.com for more information.
Social Sickness
In the 1950s, a Chicago company sold, on average, nearly 200 units a day of its most popular item, fake vomit. Today, "it's still made the old-fashioned way, ladle by ladle, formed and coagulated," its latex texture resembling "a jagged lunar landscape" and featuring "ridges of multihued solid chunks." Yet currently, Americans purchase scarcely 15 pieces a day of what the president of Fun Inc. calls "America's best vomit." Who will put a stop to this cultural malaise?
