klwilliams (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
klwilliams) wrote2016-02-02 05:54 pm
klwilliams) wrote2016-02-02 05:54 pm
Entry tags:
A Shatner weekend, with strange toilet interruptions
When I first saw that William Shatner would be performing, though performing how I wasn't sure, my first thought (as I'm sure would be yours) was, "I must see this!" Fortunately, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lifeofglamour and cathyn also had this same impulse, so desperance and I joined forces with them for the weekend.
Our first stop was at the Crown and Crumpet, which advertises as a "British tea room". A friend had invited us to share her Groupon discount, and when we first I arrived I was very sure about what we were getting into. The Crown and Crumpet is a cordoned off area of an open floor that's one level of a Japanese-themed mall.
One floor of this mall contained a Japanese girls' clothing store. The girls coming downstairs looked like cosplayers at an anime con, which was a sharp contrast to the pseudo-English tea shop we were at. However, the tea (served by young Japanese women) was a perfect American ideal of a British tea, with curried chicken sandwiches, a scone, and a very tasty crumpet, among other bits offered. Very nice.
At one point I needed to use the restroom. Again, a very Japanese experience awaited me. Each of the toilets in the women's room had attached to it an appliance that heated the seats and had options to be used a bidet (both front and back jets, plus drier). I didn't try it. I also failed to use a squat toilet when I was in Japan. I'm very mainstream American in my habits.
That evening we made our way to the Nourse Theatre in San Francisco, a smaller venue than was originally announced. We had good seats in the fourth row, and the place was fairly full but not packed. Even though we'd had seats far apart, the four of us were seated together. Finally, half an hour late so everyone could be seated, Shatner came out.
William Shatner gave a retrospective of William Shatner's life, with a focus on his acting. He was interesting, and at times funny, and very personable. Most of his emphasis when he discussed roles was on Captain Kirk, though I don't know if I would have come if I hadn't seen him as Denny Crane. He elided over finding his second wife dead when he arrived home (at the time there were insinuations that he might have had something to do with it, since she was found floating in their pool). He told a story about one his horses that I'm sure he meant to be heartwarming but just made me feel bad for how the horse was not very well taken care of. I'm not sure I came away with any new insights, but I've been a Star Trek fan for forty years, so there wasn't a lot of new ground for me to tread. I'm pleased he's doing so well in his eighties, and I hope he continues to do well for many years to come.
Ah, and the second interesting bathroom moment: the Nourse Theater had one of the women's bathrooms open as a co-ed bathroom. I've never been in a public co-ed bathroom in the US, though I have in the UK. Since it was a women's room it was all stalls, and these were made of sturdy material and had fairly low sides and doors, though they didn't go all the way down the way they would have in the UK. Everyone was being mature about it, and even though the seat had been left up (not a big deal as far as I'm concerned) the rest of the stall had been left quite clean. I think having co-ed stalls makes a lot more sense in venues like this one, where there won't be a lot of drinking to affect behavior.
I had a great time this weekend.
lifeofglamour and cathyn also had this same impulse, so desperance and I joined forces with them for the weekend.Our first stop was at the Crown and Crumpet, which advertises as a "British tea room". A friend had invited us to share her Groupon discount, and when we first I arrived I was very sure about what we were getting into. The Crown and Crumpet is a cordoned off area of an open floor that's one level of a Japanese-themed mall.
One floor of this mall contained a Japanese girls' clothing store. The girls coming downstairs looked like cosplayers at an anime con, which was a sharp contrast to the pseudo-English tea shop we were at. However, the tea (served by young Japanese women) was a perfect American ideal of a British tea, with curried chicken sandwiches, a scone, and a very tasty crumpet, among other bits offered. Very nice.
At one point I needed to use the restroom. Again, a very Japanese experience awaited me. Each of the toilets in the women's room had attached to it an appliance that heated the seats and had options to be used a bidet (both front and back jets, plus drier). I didn't try it. I also failed to use a squat toilet when I was in Japan. I'm very mainstream American in my habits.
That evening we made our way to the Nourse Theatre in San Francisco, a smaller venue than was originally announced. We had good seats in the fourth row, and the place was fairly full but not packed. Even though we'd had seats far apart, the four of us were seated together. Finally, half an hour late so everyone could be seated, Shatner came out.
William Shatner gave a retrospective of William Shatner's life, with a focus on his acting. He was interesting, and at times funny, and very personable. Most of his emphasis when he discussed roles was on Captain Kirk, though I don't know if I would have come if I hadn't seen him as Denny Crane. He elided over finding his second wife dead when he arrived home (at the time there were insinuations that he might have had something to do with it, since she was found floating in their pool). He told a story about one his horses that I'm sure he meant to be heartwarming but just made me feel bad for how the horse was not very well taken care of. I'm not sure I came away with any new insights, but I've been a Star Trek fan for forty years, so there wasn't a lot of new ground for me to tread. I'm pleased he's doing so well in his eighties, and I hope he continues to do well for many years to come.
Ah, and the second interesting bathroom moment: the Nourse Theater had one of the women's bathrooms open as a co-ed bathroom. I've never been in a public co-ed bathroom in the US, though I have in the UK. Since it was a women's room it was all stalls, and these were made of sturdy material and had fairly low sides and doors, though they didn't go all the way down the way they would have in the UK. Everyone was being mature about it, and even though the seat had been left up (not a big deal as far as I'm concerned) the rest of the stall had been left quite clean. I think having co-ed stalls makes a lot more sense in venues like this one, where there won't be a lot of drinking to affect behavior.
I had a great time this weekend.