Cheap thrills
What are you waiting for? The Ringling Brothers Circus is in town, and the best seats in the house (not the most expensive ones, but the best) are a big $24 apiece.
We just got back from the Friday matinee, and there was nobody there. It's a very mellow scene. They've Disney-fied it a bit. They're bending over backward to assure you that they're being good to the animal performers. They don't even call themselves a "circus" much. And they even throw a few bones (if you'll pardon the expression) at trying to make it somewhat educational.
Plus, it's great to be in the Rose Garden without that creepy Blazer feel all over the place. All in all, a great deal.
Your PC neighbors can stay home and watch their soybeans sprout.
| Posted at 7:33 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (12)
Soybeans!! Is that what the grow-light is for?
Posted by Al | September 9, 2005 8:38 PM
Oh yeah, and a full, live orchestra, no less.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 9, 2005 9:00 PM
Hmmm..is that my only choice...the circus or the soybean? If I go to the circus I'm not PC and if I grow soybeans and actually watch them grow I am PC. Life can be so simple sometimes.
Posted by jack danger | September 9, 2005 10:00 PM
See that? And here you thought it was mysterious.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 9, 2005 10:03 PM
If you haven't already, check out a hockey game in the Rose Garden. The place looks great, the sport is awesome and it's a lot of fun.
Unless you go to a seattle game, those can be hella bloody and stoopid.
Posted by Mark Maxcy | September 10, 2005 10:06 AM
Yes, do go to a hockey game instead. It tends to kill fewer elephants.
Posted by Chris | September 10, 2005 11:43 AM
Huh?
Posted by RAH | September 10, 2005 4:14 PM
Um er... I think you're in the wrong thread.
Posted by RAH | September 11, 2005 4:44 PM
My wife and I took our twin boys to the circus today. It was their first time and we all had a great time. The hyperkinetic atmosphere is the perfect entertainment for a couple of 12 year old boys just as it has always been for over 200 years and for that reason alone I think we should preserve it. There is a certain antique cornball charm to it that I would hate to see vanish from the Earth but I could tell from the thin audience that it seems to be a dieing tradition. There were even fewer people w/ megaphones and signs protesting the circus and of course practicing another antique cornball tradition called free speech. All in all a good day.
Posted by Tom | September 11, 2005 8:09 PM
Ringling is a constant target for animal rights activists for good reason. Their (Feld's) lawyers just got sanctioned $51,305 for misconduct and interference in PETA's lawsuit against Kenneth Feld (chair/CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling and Barnum&Bailey).
PETA's has a website detailing their side of the circus argument at www.circuses.com. There are videos showing what Ringling really does, as well as a Fact Sheet detailing USDA actions under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and other Ringling actions.
Posted by Chris Coyle | September 12, 2005 11:45 AM
I believe that Ringling actually hired someone to go under cover at PETA and try to influence/reveal legal strategy.
Plus, those baby elephants they put in their print ads? Dead.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--circusspylawsuit0831aug31,0,6015865.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia
http://www.ktvu.com/video/3711771/detail.html#
Posted by Chris Len | September 12, 2005 4:40 PM
Not that anyone's still reading this, but an update from a L&C law grad...
"i just went to the bossest hearing on a motion to compel discovery. plaintiff: some usual coalition of animal groups, i think peta is headlining. defendant: ringling bros/feld entertainment. main problem: ringling not providing requested discovery or a privilege log. best example: ringling provided "medical history summaries" but not the actual files for the elephants, as was requested. "but we didn't know the files existed" said the attorney for ringling. "we just found them in one of our vet's home office." the argument fell flat because it was revealed by plaintiff's counsel that the vet was the head vet for the circus elephants, and the circus obviously knew to query him and get his records. also brought into court and determined by the judge to be "misleading, at the very best" was an advertisement for the circus proclaiming their commitment to elephant conservation and featuring baby elephants, 3 of whom are now dead (hence the misleading nature of the ad). also, the judge said "crap." more than once. and said that if he found out that the circus had purposely withheld nonprivileged information, he would give new meaning to monetary santions. and threatened to incarcerate the ceo of the circus for the same reason."
Posted by Chris Len | September 16, 2005 2:53 PM