The Third Man. I saw this at the Castro a little while back when the restored print was making the rounds, and I had a hankering to watch it again. Really I just can't get enough Orson Welles. The film is based on a Graham Greene novel in which the protagonist arrives in post-WWII Vienna to find that the man who had invited him there has just been killed in a car accident. His investigation into his friend's death leads him to discover some pretty nasty secrets. I can't say anything about it without spoiling the movie, but the scene on the ferris wheel is one of the best ever.

Home. A new restaurant where Johnfrank used to be. I had nothing against Johnfrank, but Home is much more personable and affordable. I liked the atmosphere, and the food was San Francisco comfort food at its finest. I ordered the molasses-glazed porkloin (it came with sexy grits and tasso) and a side of sauteed spinach. I don't know what was in those grits, but they were highly addictive.

San Francisco Ballet. The last time I'd seen the SF Ballet was at the Stern Grove Festival four years ago just after I'd moved to the city from Santa Cruz. This was also my very first time inside the War Memorial Opera House. The Ballet performed three different pieces, each completely different. The first one, Nacho Duato's Without Words, was my favorite, undoubtedly because the dancing was very modern. I love classic ballet, but there is also something very disturbing to me about how the dancers seem to be trying to defy not only the ground but their very bodies. In Without Words none of the women were in pointe shoes and there was a lot of contact with the floor. Julia Adam's Angelo seemed inconsequential in contrast, even though it chronicled in dance one man's life journey. Essentially a danced play, Angelo started out strong when depicting childhood and early adolescence, but it lost me once the lead character reached adulthood. Guennadi Nedviguine danced a beautiful Angelo, and I could tell Adams had really put everything onstage for a reason. However, it just didn't come together very well. The final piece in the program was Prism with choreography by SF Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. Set to Beethoven's 1st Piano Concerto, it was a joyous showcase of classical movement. Yuan Yuan Tan was particularly amazing during the second movement, dancing the longest pas de deux ever with Damian Smith. Throughout the piece any issues I have with ballet dissolved as I sat absorbed in the beautiful precision of the dancers' movements. My only lingering gripe is how few people of color were in the company, something that I might not have noticed had I not just seen Robert Moses' Kin last week.

Dandeline and Camper Van Chadbourne. Sheila and Dan played an awesome set to an appreciative crowd at the Starry Plough Saturday night, followed by some good wacky stuff from Camper Van Chadbourne. CVC is Victor Krummenacher and Jonathan Segel from Camper Van Beethoven teamed up with avant-garde musician Eugene Chadbourne. Camper Van Beethoven was one of the first bands I ever loved, so I was a little tripped out to be introduced to the man who plays violin on "She Divines Water". But I got over it.

Orange County
SF Ballet
Dandeline