Free, not always the best choice

Today started the free-in-the-park-concerts and we tried the Thousand Oaks flavor of the month. The group billed themselves as Manhattan Transfer meets Take 6. This was a bit of an overstatement but it was free. They were real fine with the harmony but white people should never cover James Brown, N-E-V-E-R.

Free concerts mean people drag their kids and food and chairs and blankets and it's a bit odd. Why would people come to the concert only to talk with friends and ignore the performance on stage? On one side of us, a man started talking when the performers came out and never; never shut up. I mean he didn't even take a freakin' breath.

The group on the other side had a million kids with assorted parents and not once did they look at the stage. They too were afflicted with diarrhea of the mouth. These people were not on the periphery but close enough to see the group.

Truly, I have no problem with kids being at these concerts, and if they run around and don't pay attention, hey they're kids, but what's up with their stupid parents? Sit out away from everyone who might not like to hear your conversation or your cell phone and have a nice day in the park.

Up by the stage there were a group of parents dancing with children. The kids were having a ball, the parents, too. This is great, kids need to see live performances and what better place. Their experience was much better than the little ones running amok while their parents all chatted like magpies. Selfish bastards. And to think, the park wouldn't let me bring my dog. Why?

Save gas; visit locally

If you are planning a trip to the Getty Center, and you should this summer, you'll have a wonderful selection of exhibits on view. It looks like August 26 to 31 would be the prime days to visit if you wanted to see all of the following for a truly great attractions for the summer.

Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art and Science
June 10–August 31, 2008
This show should be great for kids, she was a painter of insects and flowers. Who doesn't like to see a big bug?

Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture
August 5–October 26, 2008
Bernini, the genius of Rome and stone, and a few of his contemporaries will be on exhibit this summer. Can't wait. Bernini was a womanizer, drinker, murderer, and all around fun guy but he did create work like the Ecstasy of St Theresa.

Faces of Power and Piety: Medieval Portraiture
August 12–October 26, 2008
Early Medieval portraits from the Manuscript's collection. Delicate jewels in miniature.

In Focus: The Landscape
August 26, 2008–January 11, 2009
The landscape in photographs from all the big guys in the Getty collection, twenty-five of them including--Gustave Le Gray, Alfred Stieglitz, and Robert Adams--to name a few. I'll be spending my free time here.

I don't know when there were so many at the same time which is good if you want to pack your summer with a bundle of great things to see. With gas prices going through the roof don't travel so far, visit locally. Did I forget the Central Garden? With Huell Howser's visit I'm sure we'll get visitors just wanting to see our beautiful garden.