SVong-Along

The Queen of the Night is a crazy, dramatic journey of an opera singer, Lilliet Berne. I originally started reading it right after my trip to France in August 2018, inspired after roaming the streets of the Marais and learning a little more about Paris after spending a couple of days there. It took me a while to get through this book, as I discovered I'm not a huge fan of opera and the story is confusing with so many characters to follow. This novel is told from the perspective of Lilliet Berne, "a legendary soprano with every accolade except an original role." Her life is insanity- the beginning opera scene did not appeal to me as much as the story of her family hardship, traveling to another continent, joining a circus, becoming a prostitute, forming a web of love and affairs, and surviving seiges. To me, the narrative was confusing partially because it is meant to be: there is mystery surrounding the start even though the story is from the perspective of the pro

VietGone is a play/sorta-musical about love, loss, war, race, and family. I had credit from an unused Groupon (yes, some people still actually use Groupon), and used it to see the Sacramento production. I had heard about it since Simu Liu played the lead in Toronto, so that sparked my interest along with my general appreciation for Asian Americans representin' in the arts.  I say that it's like an Asian version of Hamilton mostly because there are a few rap songs, but also there are some really intense scenes and war is a big part of the plot. Another commonality is that some of the characters play multiple roles, which is sometimes confusing but pretty funny and impressive. Rinabeth Apostol was definitely a highlight- playing a self-proclaimed bitch that had a super intense rap repeating "I don't give a shit!" I'm always struck by the portrayal of badass women and Apostol was so good.  Besides a strong female lead, the story is entertaining and

Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show, Crazy Rich Asians) stopped by Sacramento as part of his "Tone Issues" tour, and I got "VIP tickets" to see him last night [literally front and center and my foot could kick the stage]. (From his instagram.)  I don't know how to move my mouth, like Henry Golding in CRA. The show was great, and I'd recommend seeing him not only because he'll make you laugh, but you can also learn a lot about America, race, and why everything in life is meaningless. (Also this blog is totally dumb and ironic because he might have mentioned that bloggers are a-holes who have nothing better to do- which is basically true of my life as a Sacramento resident). Below are more detailed reasons why you should get tickets to his show: 1. You'll see other funny accompanying acts such as Emily Catalano and Chris Martin (yes from the UK, no not in Coldplay). I loved how Emily covered topics such as Costco and relationships, and she