Corteo

So I had to wait for 11 days past my birthday to find out what Chad's gift to me was...tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo. He really wanted to surpise me, and was well on his way to doing so when I inadvertantly drove by it with him and mentioned that while I knew it was expensive, we should look into going anyway. He got this sheepish expression on his face and replied, nah, we don't need to go. I pretty much figured it out at that point, but didn't push it.

I have seen two other Cirque shows, Varekai and the one at Disney in Orlando, La Nouba (courtesy of my friend Scott, who works there). Always fantastic and awe inspiring. How can the human body do some of that? I know from Scott that there are quite a few Olympic medalists who are performers, and it doesn't surpise me. Its kind of neat to know what they can do for the Olympics, and how it can translate into something so similiar yet so very, very different.

We had pretty decent seats, slightly obscured, but no problem at all, really. My only (small) complaint was the little boy that I was seated next to. He was here with his family, looked like grandparents, too. And he just squirmed his way through the entire first act, in and out of the seat, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing. I wondered to Chad why the parents/adults hadn't stuck the two kids in the middle to avoid this. Fortunately for me, they did that after the intermission. I guess kids learn one thing by growing up going to church--when and how to sit still.

It was based (loosely) around one performer's dream of his funeral. Hard to explain, but that was the overlying framework. Lots of people in the air, numerous angels. The first performance was probably my favorite: four used three chandeliers for aerial acrobatics (I guess you would describe it that way). Haven't we all wanted to swing from the chandeliers at one point or another? I wish I had better ways to explain it all. There was one lady who was basically walking a tightrope, and the first time she went across she did it "en pointe", which was amazing. But she later walked up a tightrope that was at a 45 degree angle...amazing. So much to take in!

Here is what Cirque says about the show:
Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.

Afterwards, we headed over to a mexican style restuarant there at Atlantic Station. The made guacamole table side, and boy, was it good. I don't usually eat just guacamole on tortilla chips without salsa, but this was fantastic that way. I just ordered an appetizer, as I was not that hungry. It was really good, but, wow, was one of my little chicken rolls covered with a spicy sauce! And it wasn't just me, Chad ate some, too, and he agreed that it was pretty spicy.

A good night.

Cystic Fibrosis Update

Dear Friend,

As 2006 comes to a close, I would like to thank you for being a part of our team. Because of people like you, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has made tremendous progress this year and is making a real difference in the lives of people with cystic fibrosis.

The best measure of our success is the increased life expectancy for people with CF. In 2006, the predicted median age of survival increased to almost 37 years old, up from 35 in 2005.

This improvement is due in large part to our robust drug discovery and development program. This year, we played a key role in the development of hypertonic saline, a new inhaled therapy proven to improve pulmonary function and reduce hospitalizations. Now widely available to CF patients, thousands of people are currently benefiting from this new therapy.

Today, we have nearly 30 potential therapies advancing through various stages of discovery and development. Inspire Pharmaceuticals is currently recruiting 300 patients to participate in clinical trials for denufosol, which aims at treating the basic defect in CF. Gilead Sciences is preparing to conduct clinical trials for a potential antibiotic, aztreonam. And Vertex Pharmaceuticals' potentiator compound, which may help correct the function of the CF gene's defective protein, has also moved into clinical trials.

This year's progress in CF research would not have been possible without the outstanding dedication and commitment of our generous supporters. Together, we are adding tomorrows every day to the lives of those with CF. Click here to find out how you can get involved now and in the coming year.

Thank you again for your support, and best wishes for a joyous holiday season.

Sincerely yours,

Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., President and CEO
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
6931 Arlington Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
(800) FIGHT CF
Web: www.cff.org
E-mail: info@cff.org
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