WHERE WAS I? BATLIBS SPECIAL EDITION! Anyone can play, but this time there's a twist: You've got to fill in the blank with the correct guess. It probably won't be easy, but I hope it'll be fun. Just leave your guesses (and questions) in the comments using a distinct moniker so we can tell you apart from the other players. Enjoy!

A BIG DAY IN THE BIG APPLE

My ol' college pal Buddy was recently in town. We managed to keep ourselves entertained by doing some "cultural activities." Many of them involved the very trendy practice of looking for fusilli and rotini shapes in modern art. Only now do I realize that I had confused fusilli with...fusilli lunghi?

Anyway, one morning I stopped by a copy shop before meeting up with Buddy. That's where I spotted _________________________—not a super-celebrity by any measure, but still fun to recognize.


SECOND CHALLENGE ADDED MAY 26

That evening, Buddy and I went to see the play Betrayed, which I recommend. This fact-based Culture Project production portrays what happens to some Iraqis who go to work for the American foreign service after the invasion. In a way, it can be viewed as a companion to the documentary No End in Sight. I've seen a bunch of movies about the Iraqi situation, but I think this was the first play I've seen on the subject; it's interesting to see the characters realized "live" instead of projected on a screen.

Before the play began, Buddy and I recognized the celebrity _________________________ , who sat several rows in front of us.


THIRD CHALLENGE ADDED MAY 31

Those two spottings were interesting (to me, at least), but that same day I had yet another encounter—and it really blew my mind!

This time, Buddy and I were standing in line at MOMA, waiting to see one of the works in the Olafur Eliasson show. Not having anything better to do, I was talking to Buddy about wanting to (finally) see guitar legend Les Paul on a Monday night. That's when the guy behind us piped in.

"I can't believe you're talking about Les Paul," says he. "I just saw him the other night!"

"What a coincidence!" says I. "How'd you like him?"

"Oh, he was just great," says he.

"What made you decide to go?" asks I.

"Oh, my relative received an award at the White House recently, and Les Paul was there. Nice guy," says he. "So I thought we'd go and see him."

"Who's your relative?" asks I.

"Oh, _________________________ ," says he.

"_________________________?" asks I.

"Yes, _________________________ ," says he.

"You know, my buddy Buddy and I just saw him yesterday," says I. "We were at the Grey Art Gallery, where we saw a portrait of him. What a coincidence!"

So now I ask you: Who is Relative X?

NOTE The dialogue is paraphrased.