| OCR Text |
DAILY 12 Face-of- Friday, August 18, 2006 HERALD "Phantom,' we had a terrific panoramic view and could watch that chandelier shimmy -without tilting our head. ADVANTAGE: Love" Our S69 "Love" seat was a row from the top but offered Crowd a grand perspective of the At a 7 p.m. Thursday perpandemonium below. Because the seating was so steep, formance of "Phantom," we were taken aback by the large there was nothing to block number of children and young our view unless, of course, adults. We were even more you count the video screens that descend from the rafters surprised when just about everyone stuck around for the several times. Only once (durshow's final two scenes after ing "Hey Ju'de") did we find them intrusive, and once was a malfunction prompted an intermistoo much. unplanned ll feaan exuberant turing the VW bug from the cover of "Abbey Road." free-for-a- f Ticket info Continued fromBl I Tickets for 'Phantom' Wow factor (866641-7469- part you usually know what to expect: acrobats, trapeze artists, crazy costumes. But the circus aspect of "Love" is kept to a minimum, with more dancing than in other Vegas Cirque shows, such as "6." That's a good thing (if you've seen one spandexed performer twirling by her toes, you've seen 'em all). Not that "Love" always makes a lot of sense "Help!," for instance, features a bunch of guys hotlogging on roller www. phantomlasvegas. It's hard to top the first few minutes of "Phantom," when its fabled, doomed chandelier assembles itself over the audience (its demise toward show's end is unexpectedly But it tries mightily to keep impressing, with pyrotechnics, gorgeous sets (including the Phantom's glowing underground lair) and lush costumes. If you've seen Cirque part circus, part ballet, , com) are $75 to $150; dark Tuesdays (starting Sept. 11, dark Wednesdays instead of Tues- days). I Tickets for 'Love' (800-963-963- www. mirage.com) are $69 to $150; dark Tuesdays and Wednesdays. ADVANTAGE: "Phantom" sion. We expected the Friday crowd at the 10:30 p.m., "Love" to be more rambunctious (except for that birthday girl rocking out next to us). Instead, applause was and were we oddly muted the only ones singing along to "All You Need Is Lover If so, sorry, everyone. but it sure is fun to skates watch, and there are so many Beatles references tucked within the show's sophisticated mayhem that it would take several viewings to mine them. Highlights include "Octopus' Garden," when the ADVANTAGE: "Phantom" darkened arena becomes the luminesof the ocean, depths cent jellyfish floating through View from the cheap the air; "Lucy in the Sky With seats Diamonds," accompanied by We weren't under the dome thousands of tiny, synchroor flanked by fake people, nized lights dangling from but from our $75 perch at above; and "Drive My Car," Bottom Line Grief and birthday cheer don't mix T DEAR MISS MANSERS roommate birthday cards in the mail from her friends, but the only card she received from a family member had something in it that I thought very disturbing when she shared it with me. Inside, on what was supposed to be a happy moment for her, was an obituary notice from the Internet announcing the death of her cousin who had died almost three months ago. This is not the first time this has happened to her. There have been other deaths in her family relations that the family doesn't seem to let her know right away, and it's upsetting, frustrating and angersome to her. Is there any kind of etiquette to sending special-occasio- n cards to family or friends? Continued from Bl It worked, just like Farn- sworth had imagined as a Idaho farm boy and math whiz already stewing over how to send pictures, not just sound, through the air,. He had been plowing a field when, with a jolt, he realized an image could be scanned by electrons the same way: row by horizontal row. The prodigy at his plow had already made a fundamental breakthrough, charting a different course from others' ultimately doomed mechanical systems that required a spinning disk to do the scanning. Yet Farnsworth would be denied credit, fame and reward for developing the way TV works to this day. The latest in BYU Sports online wwww.heraldextra.com is Even TV had no time for him. His sole appearance on national television was as a mystery guest on the CBS game show "I've Got a Secret" in 1957. He fielded questions from the celebrity panelists as they tried in vain to guess his secret ("I invented electronic television"). For stumping them, Farnsworth took home $80 and a carton of Winston cigarettes. In 1971, Philo Farnsworth died at age 64. But his wife, Elma "Pern" Farnsworth, who had worked by her husband's side throughout his tortured career, continued fighting to gain him his rightful place in history, until her death earlier this year at 98. Fleeting tribute was paid on the 2002 Emmy broadcast to mark TV's 75th anniversary.' Introduced by host Conan O'Brien as "the first woman ever seen on television," Pern Farnsworth stood in the audience for applause on her husband's behalf. It was a skimpy challenge to the stubborn misconception that the Radio Corporation of America was behind TV's creation. This is a version of history RGA was already promulgating as its president, David Sarnoff, was plotting to crush the lonely rival who stood in his way, Ultimately, Farnsworth would go head to head with RCA's chief television engineer, Vladimir Zworykin, and a vast company whose boss had no intention of losing either a financial windfall or eternal bragging rights. With that in mind, Sarnoff waged a war not just of engineering but also dirty tricks, propaganda and endless litigation. In 1935 the courts ruled that Farnsworth, not Zworykin, was the inventor of electronic television. But that didn't stop Sarnoff, who courted the public by erecting a wildly popular RCA Television Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair and, after announcing that the National Broadcasting Co. would expand from radio into TV, transmitted scenes from the fair to the 2.000 TV receivers throughout the city. Thanks to Sarnoff, money woes and the lost years of World War II (which put TV broadcasting on hold), the clock ran out on Farnsworth's patents before he could profit from them. Now, few even working in . RCA-owne- d the industry that Farnsworth sparked know who he is. But one who does is Aaron Sorkin, I: It u v If you id "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway but were wondering "When will you'll love "Phantom." You get a rich, effects-ladethis-end?,- n theatrical experience, with plenty of time left to shoot craps in the casino. But unless you just don't get the Beatles, or don't enjoy music in general, or find endless spectacle tiring, you can't do better in Vegas these days than "Love." It's one of the best shows to hit the Strip in a long time. " Farnsworth 3 4T the playwright, screenwriter and creator of "The West Wing" (as well as "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," a TV drama that probes the inner workings of a fictitious TV series, which premieres next month on NBQ. A decade ago, Sorkin briefly considered scripting a Farnsworth biopic. Later on, he opted to write a screenplay that instead would focus on the battle between Farnsworth and Sarnoff. Then he decided a play would be the better form for this tale. The result, "The Farnsworth Invention," will have a workshop production at California's La Jolla Playhouse next winter, with a possible New York staging in fall 2007. It's unlikely such a theater piece will make Philo Farnsworth a household name. But as Sorkin wrote in a re"The story of the cent struggle between Farnsworth and Sarnoff seemed like a nice way to invoke the spirit of exploration against the broad canvas of the American Century." The struggle between them was fierce and unfair. But in his sad fashion, Farnsworth won: The force unleashed as televisior was his doing, however blind the world may be to what he did. GENTLE READER Yes: It says that "Happy Birthday, Your Cousin Is Dead" is not a good message. Miss Manners would have thought people could figure this out for themselves, but apparently not. Every Christmas, she hears from people who have received death notices in otherwise cheery cards. They want to know how to reply with a polite version of "Oh, well, win some, lose some." Because that is impossible, that multitask messaging is rude. Word of deaths should be sent (if not by the immedi- . ately bereaved, then by their friends who ask what they can do to help) in a timely fashion to those who may be presumed to be interested. DEARMISS MANNERS We are fortunate to have moved to a home next to the ocean. Also, we are pleased to be in a position to host our friends and family in a pleasant location. I only want to have my company come when it doesn't conflict with our plans. We are a family of six, including two serious athletes, so our schedules can sometimes be complicated. I understand that the polite response is to say (if it is inconvenient or an otherwise undesired visit), "Oh, I'm sorry we cannot host you Judith Martin Miss Manners right then, but I'm happy to let you know of several nice hotels in the area. " Please advise me on how to handle would-b- e guests who reply that they'll slightly change their schedule, or worse, insist that they won't be any trouble so they'll come along anyway? Finally, how should one politely handle a close relative (is this possible?) who doesn't register inconvenient schedules? I'd rather not become inhospitable through sheer frustration. You GENTLE READER seem to have lost Control of the invitations to your own house. Admittedly, there is some leeway allowed to relatives about proposing themselves, but it is the host's privilege to set the dates. Miss Manners suggests your jumping in and doing this when a proposed date is inconvenient. You cannot sound inhospitable when you are saying, "How about the weekend' of the second? Or the tenth?' That is for guests you do want to entertain. For those you do not, you can also say firmly, "I'm so sorry, bui we have such a crowded schedule right now. Why don't we call you when we're free?" For a conflict-fre- e wed- ding, send a long, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092 and you'll receive "Miss Manners On Proper Wedding Planning." your etiquette questions to Miss Manners (who is distraught that she cannot reply personally) at il MissMannersunitedmedia. com. Mi ill lis " r 0(0 1 (JWTFjP Mini m X )i j Q v r O O M 'II 1 khyu II I 0 iun it it tit |
