NBA and Theater: A classic combo?

A couple of interesting things I have done recently. Both new and fun.

Wizards Game
I went to my first NBA game a couple of weeks ago. It was the Washington Wizards vs. the LA Clippers. I went with a coworker who had free center court tickets about 20 rows from the floor. I don't watch basketball at all so it was a new experience for me.

It was an evening of visual stimulus. It was incredible how literally every second was filled with some kind of entertainment. Of all of the professional sports events I have attended, this was the most exciting.

I'm not going to lie, I was so entertained that it wasn't until late in the first quarter that I figured out where the scoreboard was (you have to look up). Turns out the Wizards are generally bad at basketball so they were losing. They ended up losing by about 20 points.

The highlight of the night was the "Chipotle Break". During a break Chipotle employees came out and threw burritos into the crowd while every screen in the place flashed "CHIPOTLE! CHIPOTLE! CHIPOTLE!" and the sound system repeated "CHIPOTLE!" over and over. Amazing. I was literally clapping with joy. Hilarious.


The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs
I live in the theater district of DC. Twenty feet from my apartment entrance is the Woolly Mammoth Theater, which focuses on new, edgy, and experimental theater. It holds about 250 people.They are currently playing The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.  I went on Monday night to the "Pay What You Can" night, where you pay whatever you can/want for a ticket.

The show is a monologue where Mike Daisey (who wrote and performed the show) explores the history and culture of Apple and how we view technology. The entire show is just him sitting at a table, without scene changes, breaks, music, or any gimmicks. The show is hysterical and powerful at times. Evidently the co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, saw the show and told the NYTimes that it changed the way he viewed technology.  This is a pretty good review.