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To the horror of my 13-year-old, I am following Justin Bieber on Twitter. I don't make a habit of following preteen pop stars. Or listening to their music. Or even keeping up on who they are. But he followed me and I thought, what the heck.

So far it's been kind of amusing. As far as I can tell, he does his own tweeting (e.g.: Dwight from The Office! OMG!), and I even went and watched the music video of his new song, "Baby" with Ludicris, the rapper. The song itself is pretty unremarkable and unsensational, and has a catchy little tune. The video is cute, with teens bowling and a couple of pretty girls who look a lot like the kids I see at my daughter's school. Back in the '80s, I would have looked for it on VH1, and would have bought his new album. Now, apparently, preteens are downloading it (or asking to) on iTunes.

So I think I will keep following him for a while, even if he is a Canadian. At least until his voice changes.

Valentine's Day and the theater

Today was Valentine's Day, and tonight my spouse and I had a lovely dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant, where for an hour we enjoyed each other's company without the distraction of our fabulous children.

But first, this afternoon my daughters and I went to see "She Loves Me" at the Second Story Repertory theater in Redmond.

What a wonderful valentine of a musical! My older one commented it was the perfect musical to see on Valentine's Day, intentional of course. SSR is in a shopping mall, and a small theater that seats 200. When you sit in the front row, you feel like you are at a private performance. There are seats on three sides, the stage on the floor (play goers have to walk across it to get to their seats), with no need for mics, and very little makeup. I expect the actors are careful not to spit when they talk, or sweat when they dance.

The play itself is from the Hungarian play, "Parfumerie" from which sprung three American films: "The Shop Around the Corner" starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan, "In the Good Old Summertime," a musical with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, and most recently "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Sometime in between the last two, "She Loves Me" appeared on the Broadway stage and stayed long enough to earn a Tony. Each version is somewhat different. "She Loves Me" sticks close to the original story.

Of course, as is always true at SSR, the acting and singing was outstanding. Jon Lutyens, who does everything from Shakespeare to contemporary to musicals in Seattle theaters, was a faceted, Tom Hanks-ish (without being Tom Hanks-like) leading man, and Anne Kennedy was a strong, funny, unsentimental leading lady, who even in her wallowing in misery was defiant. The supporting cast was, to a person, outstanding. I love the live theater.

The family consensus? Everyone loved it. Older daughter wants to see it again, with her own money. I'd say that's a definate approval.

So that's how I spent my Valentine's Day. Perhaps it is not cliche or typical, but the only thing I would have wished for today was to have my spouse along to complete the family unit and enjoy it with us. But someone had to stay home with the dog.