The Oscar nominations are in! Sadly, I couldn't follow my usual tradition to watch them be announced live this morning cuz I was at a breakfast meeting. :-( But now I'm all caught up, and I have to say that overall I am very pleased. This is a rare year in which I've seen almost all of the films nominated in the major categories. So I'm full of opinions. Here's my take on the biggies (stealing Entertainment Weekly's usual shtick):
Best Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
I've seen every single one of these, and they're all fantastic performances.
Should Win: Terrence Howard
Will Win: Philip Seymour Hoffman (sorry, Heath, but PSH has won more of the critics' awards)
Best Actress:
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE
Here's where I suck, cuz I've only seen one of these. So this is just based on what I've been reading.
Should Win: Felicity Huffman
Will Win: Reese Witherspoon (I love her!)
Best Supporting Actor:
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
I've also seen all of these. This is my only major quibble with the nominations, cuz I thought William Hurt's performance was the worst piece of acting I've ever seen.
Should Win: Matt Dillon. Out of all of these, his was the most provocative performance and represented, to me, the biggest stretch in what I'd previously thought were his abilities.
Will Win: Paul Giamatti. The Academy is huge on giving the award to someone they'd snumbbed the year before (paging Russell Crowe).
Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Here I've seen all of them except North Country.
Should Win: Amy Adams. She was great, and totally brightened up the entire otherwise-dour movie.
Will Win: Rachel Weisz. She's got the awards momentum, and I like her a lot, too.
Best Documentary Feature:
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MURDERBALL
STREET FIGHT
I've seen two of these and heard of 2 - Street Fight is new to me. But I love that this category is getting more and more popular.
Should Win: Murderball
Will Win: March of the Penguins (I love, love, love this movie, but I do think Murderball is a worthy competitor.)
Best Adapted Screenplay:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH
Ah ha, I've seen all of these films, too!
Should Win: Brokeback Mountain
Will Win: Brokeback Mountain Anyone who can take a 10 or 12-page short story and make it into such a beautiful feature-length film deserves the Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay:
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA
I've seen 4 of these - I keep meaning to check out The Squid and The Whale soon!
Should Win: Crash
Will Win: Good Night and Good Luck. This is a really hard one - they're all very intricate, complex stories. But if this wins, it means my George will have an Oscar!
Best Director:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH
Ditto, I've seen all of these, which are the same for the next category. At least this year no one from Best Picture got shut out of the director's race. This is a very tough call because I really loved all 5 of these movies. I guess it's been a really good year for movie-making, eh?
Should Win: Ang Lee.
Will Win: Ang Lee.
Best Picture:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH
Should Win: Brokeback Mountain
Will Win: Brokeback Mountain. You can't deny that momentum.... love me some gay cowboys! :-)
For more picks:
Footnotes: It's the most wonderful time of the year
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Now They've Gone and Done It
Alito has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. It was nice knowing you, Sandy. We'll miss you and your swing vote. Cuz I wouldn't bet all the money I have on (Sc)Alito being a swing voter. I can't wait to see what the ACLU, NARAL and PFAW will focus their campaigns on now.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Sunny Monday!
Between a Starbucks trip, a fire drill, and lunch, I have spent the majority of today outside rather than at my desk. Spring fever, baby! Of course, I'm trying not to think about the fact that it's January and not April. I just came back inside from sitting out for a full hour at lunch with no coat on. It's so gorgeous! Motivation, what motivation?
In the interest of further diversion.... a few random tidbits to wrap up the weekend:
1. Cashion's Eat Place was fantastic. I loved the ambience and the service was great and really friendly. I ordered the tomato, white bean and cabbage soup as a starter. It was very light and tasty. Then I fulfilled my weekend-long meat craving (haha) with a pork chop that had an apple sauce and some apple/sweet potato side. It also had sauerkraut on the side but I didn't eat any of that, since I was digging the sweeter taste of the chop and its sauce. I really liked that the food came out in normal portion sizes. I didn't feel guilty eating the whole chop cuz it was really only about 5 oz, I'd guess. Both the District Chophouse and Oceanaire have ridiculously large pork chops, but this one was so much better. I also had 2 glasses of riesling, which were light and delicious. Now head on over to Somewheristan to read Brunette's review of her dinner items. I expect we'll be heading there again soon, since it's a great place to celebrate special occasions.
2. AS and I enjoyed a low-key Saturday night with a simple dinner out and then we came back to my place to watch a movie. It's funny, but I almost never think of just staying in and watching a movie as an option for a social night. I'm totally trained to think "go out - spend money." But this was a nice change - and cheaper! We watched Happy Endings, which just recently came out on DVD. I liked it a lot. It's a quirky comedy with about 5 different main storylines that all end up tying together. Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tom Arnold (yes, that Tom Arnold) were the main stars, but the whole movie was filled with "oh, look, it's that guy!" moments cuz almost all of the cast was recognizable. I give it 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.
3. One of the funniest chicks I know has started a new blog with her newly-moved-in long term boyfriend. It's all about the quirks and pet peeves they're learning about each other now that they're cohabitating. Funny stuff: http://gregandselena.blogspot.com/
4. Spring fever must really be hitting all of us, cuz already this morning I've had conversations about setting up golf outings and getting Nationals tickets for the summer. I know we're just gonna be crushed when the inevitable February Freeze comes along! Wanna take bets on that darn groundhog this Thursday?
In the interest of further diversion.... a few random tidbits to wrap up the weekend:
1. Cashion's Eat Place was fantastic. I loved the ambience and the service was great and really friendly. I ordered the tomato, white bean and cabbage soup as a starter. It was very light and tasty. Then I fulfilled my weekend-long meat craving (haha) with a pork chop that had an apple sauce and some apple/sweet potato side. It also had sauerkraut on the side but I didn't eat any of that, since I was digging the sweeter taste of the chop and its sauce. I really liked that the food came out in normal portion sizes. I didn't feel guilty eating the whole chop cuz it was really only about 5 oz, I'd guess. Both the District Chophouse and Oceanaire have ridiculously large pork chops, but this one was so much better. I also had 2 glasses of riesling, which were light and delicious. Now head on over to Somewheristan to read Brunette's review of her dinner items. I expect we'll be heading there again soon, since it's a great place to celebrate special occasions.
2. AS and I enjoyed a low-key Saturday night with a simple dinner out and then we came back to my place to watch a movie. It's funny, but I almost never think of just staying in and watching a movie as an option for a social night. I'm totally trained to think "go out - spend money." But this was a nice change - and cheaper! We watched Happy Endings, which just recently came out on DVD. I liked it a lot. It's a quirky comedy with about 5 different main storylines that all end up tying together. Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tom Arnold (yes, that Tom Arnold) were the main stars, but the whole movie was filled with "oh, look, it's that guy!" moments cuz almost all of the cast was recognizable. I give it 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.
3. One of the funniest chicks I know has started a new blog with her newly-moved-in long term boyfriend. It's all about the quirks and pet peeves they're learning about each other now that they're cohabitating. Funny stuff: http://gregandselena.blogspot.com/
4. Spring fever must really be hitting all of us, cuz already this morning I've had conversations about setting up golf outings and getting Nationals tickets for the summer. I know we're just gonna be crushed when the inevitable February Freeze comes along! Wanna take bets on that darn groundhog this Thursday?
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?
So Brunette left it up to me to pick the restaurant for our fancy-dinner "friend date" tonight. We're celebrating both her recent 30th birthday and my big raise, so we decided we'd splurge and not worry about the budget. (haha, I accidentally typed "20th birthday" at first on this -- Brunette, we probably celebrated that one together, too!) So I spent a lot of time on the Internets today researching restaurants and decided that we would try one right here in Adams Morgan, Cashion's Eat Place. I'll report on the meal later....
One thing that became very obvious to me as I was doing that research is that I really have not explored the options in own neighborhood. There are so many interesting, independent eateries that are in such a short walking distance to my apartment, it's really a little embarrassing that in 2 1/2 years on 16th Street I haven't really tried many. For all my griping that there's more to life than The Diner, I really need to do a better job supporting the neighborhood myself.
So, I have a new goal.... I want to sample all that Adams Morgan restaurants have to offer. I've heard good and bad reviews of places, but I want to check them out myself. Ones I'd really like to try:
One thing that became very obvious to me as I was doing that research is that I really have not explored the options in own neighborhood. There are so many interesting, independent eateries that are in such a short walking distance to my apartment, it's really a little embarrassing that in 2 1/2 years on 16th Street I haven't really tried many. For all my griping that there's more to life than The Diner, I really need to do a better job supporting the neighborhood myself.
So, I have a new goal.... I want to sample all that Adams Morgan restaurants have to offer. I've heard good and bad reviews of places, but I want to check them out myself. Ones I'd really like to try:
- Pasta Mia
- Blue Fin
- LeftBank
- 18th & U Diner
- San Marco
- The Grill from Ipanema
- The Little Fountain Cafe
- Felix
- Mama Ayesha's
And I'm sure there are more.... I'll definitely be posting on my progress. So does anyone have a favorite AdMo eatery? Any recommendations or bad experiences?
Saturday, January 28, 2006
That's Not Supposed to Happen
I was just sitting here, slightly hung over on a Saturday morning, watching a DVD of 6 episodes of Sex and the City. At the end of the disc, it's the one where Carrie and Big have the huge fight about how he might move to Paris and he never told her it was in the works, and she realized that the relationship wasn't working. She decided that they needed to be over, that she needed to cut him out of her life, and then they had a bittersweet final moment.
Well, whammo! I burst into a spontaneous crying fit.
I usually try not to blog about this part of my life, but since I'm sitting here alone and no one's answering their texts, I need to express it somehow...
The situation is totally different, but I have had to make a decision like that over the last few months. I finally recognized that a major relationship wasn't working - that it was actually hurting, and I had to go cold turkey, removing the whole relationship from my life. It's been really hard to do, especially in the last few weeks because a few of those bittersweet moments have started cropping up, as he's trying to reconnect. I'm softening a bit but remain strongly committed to the concept of moving on. But those moments make it harder. Someone on a blog somewhere this week posted a comment that was so true -- something to the effect of "every new interaction resets the healing clock." That's what I'm going through right now. My head is totally moving forward, but that heart of mine is not finding it as easy.
If this was my decision, why does it hurt so much?
Well, whammo! I burst into a spontaneous crying fit.
I usually try not to blog about this part of my life, but since I'm sitting here alone and no one's answering their texts, I need to express it somehow...
The situation is totally different, but I have had to make a decision like that over the last few months. I finally recognized that a major relationship wasn't working - that it was actually hurting, and I had to go cold turkey, removing the whole relationship from my life. It's been really hard to do, especially in the last few weeks because a few of those bittersweet moments have started cropping up, as he's trying to reconnect. I'm softening a bit but remain strongly committed to the concept of moving on. But those moments make it harder. Someone on a blog somewhere this week posted a comment that was so true -- something to the effect of "every new interaction resets the healing clock." That's what I'm going through right now. My head is totally moving forward, but that heart of mine is not finding it as easy.
If this was my decision, why does it hurt so much?
Fun Among the Fishes
Another Friday night has passed, another good time was had by all....
Last night, many of my original plans ended up getting changed midway through, but it was one of those nights full of fortuitous turns and funny moments:
Last night, many of my original plans ended up getting changed midway through, but it was one of those nights full of fortuitous turns and funny moments:
- After a work meeting at 5 o'clock on a Friday (eeek!), a work friend and I headed back to the office to drop off stuff before heading out. We just happened to be there at the right moment to run into my good friend T, whose plans had just been wiped out for the evening, so he came along.
- We started out at the opening of Bruce McKaig's new exhibit Time Markers at the DC Arts Center. Very cool - folks should check it out!
- While at the exhibit, we were approached by volunteers from Whitman-Walker who were handing out free "sex boxes" - which became a major part of the entertainment for the evening. They came complete with rubber gloves, lubricant, condoms, and flavored dental dams!
- The 3 of us then moved to The Reef and held court near the big fish tank for hours. MH and The Johnson soon joined us, and even though the other 2 couples who were supposed to join in (bah! bailers!) never made it, there were certainly enough stories to go around.
- Midway through the evening, I "picked up" 2 girls in the bathroom who were having a crisis, cuz the one girl's brand new necklace had broken. MH has taken jewelry classes, so I suggested they come over and maybe she could help. Turns out that The Johnson, who's an engineer, whipped out a tool from his pocket and quickly fixed it. But as he was working, he missed the two girls kissing and then loudly declaring "I like boys!" The peanut gallery was ready to start tossing the sex boxes....
- Then, suddenly I noticed that the guys standing next to me were getting more animated and dancing around, and I kept getting one guy's a@@ rubbing against my leg. Hmmm.... so of course, we all had to call them over. They were 3 young British bucks - I correctly called their age at 22 - who were fascinated when we shared the sex boxes with them. One young Brit blew up the ruber gloves and started tossing them about like a beach ball, another couldn't figure out what the lubricant was, and kept saying "you use this for a girl's fake tits!" and another gave us a language lesson in all of the British slang for the toilets. The boys left after about 1/2 hour cuz "mum" was picking them up in the car outside. But then they reappeared, saying they'd "kicked mum in the head." Hmm.
After we all called it a night, T was nice enough to walk me home. (A whole different category of good guy.) I was hopped up with late-night adrenaline so I fired up the old laptop, and as luck would have it good friend Mandy was bored at work in Yemen (a phrase I'd never thought I'd say) and in the mood to chat. So we have a really great almost 2-hour IM conversation, covering lots of girl talk - analyzing relationships and where we stand on the universal "getting over him" situations, lamenting the fact that none of our guy friends have any guy friends, and counting the days 'til she's back from Yemen so we can go back to Sonoma for another marathon night at the bar!
So, another great night spend with good people. Most days, I don't even notice that I'm single cuz I've got so much love from so many great funny, caring, intelligent, interesting friends. :-)
Friday, January 27, 2006
Out Late on a School Night
Last night, I went with a bunch of people to see the photography exhibit at CHAW again. (Only one week left - be sure to see it before it's gone!) It was really great to have so many people excited to see my piece and the show itself, and I've been really happy with all the amazing support my friends have shown for my photographic pursuits. It's really meant a lot. Now, what would really mean a lot is if someone - anyone - would buy my piece!!! Every time I see it hanging on the wall I give it a little pep talk. "Sell yourself today, baby!" Let's hope it works!
After the exhibit, we headed over to one of my very first haunts in DC: The Banana Cafe. I used to work just down the block from that place and I can't even count the number of happy hours I spent there. Lots. The place hasn't changed - it's still an adventure in inconsistent service and super-cheap alcohol and appetizers. The whole gang stayed for about an hour, laughing uproariously about all sorts of things...office gossip, movies and tv, whom among us was caught wearing the same clothes as the day before...(it wasn't me!). Good times.
Much of the group started to fade away after a while, but Shoofly, Scenic Artisan, another friend and I stuck it out until well after last call. I had a great time - lots of good conversation, on everything from all that we hate about the Bush Administration to the evolution of man to crazy astronomy professors and their theories connecting dolphins and aliens. It reminded me of some of those all-night-long marathon conversations that friends and I would have in college, with candles burning and Enigma on the CD player. Ah, memories.
It was definitely a great night, but now I'm dragging on the whole getting-to-work thing.... why exactly do we have a 5-day work week???
After the exhibit, we headed over to one of my very first haunts in DC: The Banana Cafe. I used to work just down the block from that place and I can't even count the number of happy hours I spent there. Lots. The place hasn't changed - it's still an adventure in inconsistent service and super-cheap alcohol and appetizers. The whole gang stayed for about an hour, laughing uproariously about all sorts of things...office gossip, movies and tv, whom among us was caught wearing the same clothes as the day before...(it wasn't me!). Good times.
Much of the group started to fade away after a while, but Shoofly, Scenic Artisan, another friend and I stuck it out until well after last call. I had a great time - lots of good conversation, on everything from all that we hate about the Bush Administration to the evolution of man to crazy astronomy professors and their theories connecting dolphins and aliens. It reminded me of some of those all-night-long marathon conversations that friends and I would have in college, with candles burning and Enigma on the CD player. Ah, memories.
It was definitely a great night, but now I'm dragging on the whole getting-to-work thing.... why exactly do we have a 5-day work week???
Thursday, January 26, 2006
I Do Love a Curmudgeon
I happened to score a pair of tickets to last night's opening of the new show at Ford's Theatre, Trying. I didn't know much about it beforehand, but a gal pal and I headed over prepared for anything and it turned out we both really enjoyed the show.
It's the story of Judge Francis Biddle, who had been Attorney General under FDR and then was the chief American judge at the Nuremburg Trials. The play itself centers on the 6 months of Biddle's life. He's in his 80's and his body and mind are starting to fail, but he has brought on a new secretary to help him write his memoirs. The relationship between the cantankerous but brilliant old lion and the young secretary - a 25-year-old woman's libber from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - really forms the backbone of the play, as they each share stories with the other that illuminate "life lessons" and all. But it's not cheesy - the writing is really crisp and there are a lot of great one-liners, especially from Biddle about being a Democrat. Those actually got some cheers from the audience! It's a very talky play, but those are usually my favorite, and it's filled with both emotion and dry humor. If you liked Wit, you'd probably like this one too.
The casting was great, too. James Whitmore played Biddle, and he was really strong in the role. I know he's a very acclaimed actor, but the biggest thing I remember him in myself is when he was the prisoner who ran the library in The Shawshank Redemption. That was a great character, too. Hmmm... maybe I should rent that movie again.
All in all, it was a great way to spend a Wednesday night. Plus it was free! :-)
It's the story of Judge Francis Biddle, who had been Attorney General under FDR and then was the chief American judge at the Nuremburg Trials. The play itself centers on the 6 months of Biddle's life. He's in his 80's and his body and mind are starting to fail, but he has brought on a new secretary to help him write his memoirs. The relationship between the cantankerous but brilliant old lion and the young secretary - a 25-year-old woman's libber from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - really forms the backbone of the play, as they each share stories with the other that illuminate "life lessons" and all. But it's not cheesy - the writing is really crisp and there are a lot of great one-liners, especially from Biddle about being a Democrat. Those actually got some cheers from the audience! It's a very talky play, but those are usually my favorite, and it's filled with both emotion and dry humor. If you liked Wit, you'd probably like this one too.
The casting was great, too. James Whitmore played Biddle, and he was really strong in the role. I know he's a very acclaimed actor, but the biggest thing I remember him in myself is when he was the prisoner who ran the library in The Shawshank Redemption. That was a great character, too. Hmmm... maybe I should rent that movie again.
All in all, it was a great way to spend a Wednesday night. Plus it was free! :-)
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Cha-ching!
You know what my favorite day of the year is????
RAISE DAY!
Woohoo, I made out pretty well this year. Hooray!
And now, a very important introduction...
Mr. Visa, meet Mr. Paycheck. Mr. Paycheck, meet Mr. Visa.
RAISE DAY!
Woohoo, I made out pretty well this year. Hooray!
And now, a very important introduction...
Mr. Visa, meet Mr. Paycheck. Mr. Paycheck, meet Mr. Visa.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Reasons Why I Love Scrubs
1. They share my hatred/fear of large flightless birds like ostriches or emus.
2. They share my love for that hottie we've watched for decades, Mr. Jason Bateman.
Seriously, I don't see this show often enough, but I still love it!
2. They share my love for that hottie we've watched for decades, Mr. Jason Bateman.
Seriously, I don't see this show often enough, but I still love it!
Commercial Props
...to Disney World, of all places. I love their new commercial about "everyday heroes" that shows joe-shmo parent types walking around in their snug-fitting superhero costumes, then taking their kids to DW. The best part about it is the somewhat anonymous, musak-ed version of one of my all time favorite songs, "Believe It or Not" - the Greatest American Hero theme song! Ah, clever ad folks. Thanks for making me smile.
Oh, For the Love...
I took a quick break from work to check the CNN headlines, and what did I find? Oh, please, do they really need to do another movie remake of a tv show??? Weren't Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes of Hazzard enough? I know Miami Vice is coming out soon and C.H.I.P.S. is in the works. But did they have to go so far as Magnum P.I.? The one show that every 80's mom watched religiously, due to their mom-lust for Tom Selleck? *Shudder* They couldn't possibly find a young actor who could live up to his mustachioed/flip-flopped/Hawaiian-shirted/Ferrari-driving glory. So why try?
Housekeeping
I've got a busy day at work ahead of me -- actually a busy few days coming up. But I wanted to share with you all some new sites that have caught my interest. Check out the links to the right. I've added several new bloggie friends, and if you haven't checked them out yet please take a look when you have some time. I've also added some of my favorite arts sites for the DC area. I know there are hundreds if not thousands more, but these are my personal favorites at the moment. If you're ever looking for something fun to do with your friends, family, or that special someone - take a look at the exhibitions and performances that are going on constantly in this city. Enjoy!
Monday, January 23, 2006
Weekend Fun....and Freakiness
After a shocking turn of events on Dancing with the Stars (who, exactly, are the Master P fans out there?), I spent the majority of the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. L up at the new house in Gaithersburg.
Saturday was Mrs. L's birthday and we celebrated with a delicious meal of pork chops and several glasses of wine, plus a Michael Buble CD and their very first viewing of March of the Penguins. The movie was fantastic in theaters, and now it's even more enjoyable in the home game version. Who'd'a thunk it would be so fun to MST those penguins!!! After a welcome home visit from Brunette and her cool prezzies from India and 2 more rounds of Guillotine, in which I kicked their a**es as usual, we turned in for the night.
Here's where the weekend got freaky for me. I was supposed to sleep on the Aerobed in the L's guest room. Since the new house is big and they're not using all the rooms yet, they had very economically closed off the guest room after we all camped out there on New Year's and shut off the heat. As great hosts, they had taken the time to open the room up that morning and get the heat flowing again. Now here's the important detail: the Aerobed that was inflated on New Year's had been in the room the whole time. When I went to bed at 2 am, I noticed that the room was kinda chilly, but I figured that by piling on the blankets I would warm up and sleep like a baby all through the night.
Cut to about 4:30 am. I wake myself up with kinda violent, uncontrollable shakes. I've never felt anything like this before. My whole body was shaking - my shoulders were shimmying, my legs were sorta kicking and my feet and arms were kinda flailing. And my jaw was chattering so hard my teeth were knocking together. Ummm, hypothermia much? I was understandably a bit freaked out, so I got up and went into the bathroom and immediately noticed that it was warmer once I was out of that room. I sat in the bathroom for a while - about 5 minutes? - and waited for those shakes to go away. They finally did...which is good, cuz I don't know what I would have done otherwise. I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep in that room, so I quickly went in and grabbed all the blankets, then went downstairs to sleep on the couch. I warmed up pretty quickly and did manage to sleep the rest of the night away.
The next morning, I told the L's what had happened. Mr. L went up to the room to check it all out, concerned that he might have a heating issue with the new house. Well, it turns out that the heat in the room was working just fine. But he touched the Aerobed and realized it was as cold as ice. So, somehow, the Aerobed had gotten so cold while it was in the shut-off room and was so well-insulated that the cold air just stayed in there. And I had basically been sleeping on a bed of freezing air. Yikes.
Now we have all learned the important lesson - deflate the Aerobed and let it hang out in a warm closet until its next use. I'm glad nothing was wrong with the heat, cuz I'd hate for the L's to have major house issues. But I think I'll pass on being the guinea pig next time around. :-)
After all the freakiness subsided, the rest of the weekend went by in a lazy swirl of watching their fun honeymoon video, returning home to veg out to Lifetime, and then my usual Sunday gig of the best night of tv. All in all, a good weekend!
Oh, and...
Pittsburgh's going to the Su-uu-uu-per Bowl!
Saturday was Mrs. L's birthday and we celebrated with a delicious meal of pork chops and several glasses of wine, plus a Michael Buble CD and their very first viewing of March of the Penguins. The movie was fantastic in theaters, and now it's even more enjoyable in the home game version. Who'd'a thunk it would be so fun to MST those penguins!!! After a welcome home visit from Brunette and her cool prezzies from India and 2 more rounds of Guillotine, in which I kicked their a**es as usual, we turned in for the night.
Here's where the weekend got freaky for me. I was supposed to sleep on the Aerobed in the L's guest room. Since the new house is big and they're not using all the rooms yet, they had very economically closed off the guest room after we all camped out there on New Year's and shut off the heat. As great hosts, they had taken the time to open the room up that morning and get the heat flowing again. Now here's the important detail: the Aerobed that was inflated on New Year's had been in the room the whole time. When I went to bed at 2 am, I noticed that the room was kinda chilly, but I figured that by piling on the blankets I would warm up and sleep like a baby all through the night.
Cut to about 4:30 am. I wake myself up with kinda violent, uncontrollable shakes. I've never felt anything like this before. My whole body was shaking - my shoulders were shimmying, my legs were sorta kicking and my feet and arms were kinda flailing. And my jaw was chattering so hard my teeth were knocking together. Ummm, hypothermia much? I was understandably a bit freaked out, so I got up and went into the bathroom and immediately noticed that it was warmer once I was out of that room. I sat in the bathroom for a while - about 5 minutes? - and waited for those shakes to go away. They finally did...which is good, cuz I don't know what I would have done otherwise. I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep in that room, so I quickly went in and grabbed all the blankets, then went downstairs to sleep on the couch. I warmed up pretty quickly and did manage to sleep the rest of the night away.
The next morning, I told the L's what had happened. Mr. L went up to the room to check it all out, concerned that he might have a heating issue with the new house. Well, it turns out that the heat in the room was working just fine. But he touched the Aerobed and realized it was as cold as ice. So, somehow, the Aerobed had gotten so cold while it was in the shut-off room and was so well-insulated that the cold air just stayed in there. And I had basically been sleeping on a bed of freezing air. Yikes.
Now we have all learned the important lesson - deflate the Aerobed and let it hang out in a warm closet until its next use. I'm glad nothing was wrong with the heat, cuz I'd hate for the L's to have major house issues. But I think I'll pass on being the guinea pig next time around. :-)
After all the freakiness subsided, the rest of the weekend went by in a lazy swirl of watching their fun honeymoon video, returning home to veg out to Lifetime, and then my usual Sunday gig of the best night of tv. All in all, a good weekend!
Oh, and...
Pittsburgh's going to the Su-uu-uu-per Bowl!
Friday, January 20, 2006
In Praise of the Good Guys
We single gals find lots of ways to navigate through the social world, and I want to take a moment to give a shout out to some of the very important people who make it happen for us: that certain breed of gal pals' boyfriends/husbands that I'll call the Good Guys. The Good Guys (GG's) are in happy relationships with the women in our lives, and we see them often in all kinds of social settings.
The GG's are special cuz they're the ones who so effortlessly make us feel like we're a part of the party, like we're never the third or fifth or seventh wheel. They make sure that we get our own share of attention and they find little ways to make us feel feminine and safe, without ever crossing any boundary of the comfortable friend relationship. They're the guys who will dance with us, or get into hour-long conversations about movies or books or deep philosophical questions with us at parties. They'll hold the door open for us, they'll look out for us in crowded bars, they'll make sure we make it home safe, and sometimes when they treat for dinner for their girlfriend/wife they'll even treat us, too. Going out with the gal pals and their GG's *never* makes you feel like Bridget Jones, stuck with the "smug marrieds."
I have 4 of these GG's in my life, 3 who've been around for a while and 1 who's new - 2 of them are married, 1 wants to be soon (already calls the gal pal his "wife") and the other 1 certainly should be at least engaged by now! (But that's not my bear to poke.) But I really gotta give it up for these GG's - they make my life more enjoyable, they certainly go out of their way to make sure I don't feel awkward for always being solo, and they give me a whole lot of hope that I'll find a Good Guy of my own out there someday.
The GG's are special cuz they're the ones who so effortlessly make us feel like we're a part of the party, like we're never the third or fifth or seventh wheel. They make sure that we get our own share of attention and they find little ways to make us feel feminine and safe, without ever crossing any boundary of the comfortable friend relationship. They're the guys who will dance with us, or get into hour-long conversations about movies or books or deep philosophical questions with us at parties. They'll hold the door open for us, they'll look out for us in crowded bars, they'll make sure we make it home safe, and sometimes when they treat for dinner for their girlfriend/wife they'll even treat us, too. Going out with the gal pals and their GG's *never* makes you feel like Bridget Jones, stuck with the "smug marrieds."
I have 4 of these GG's in my life, 3 who've been around for a while and 1 who's new - 2 of them are married, 1 wants to be soon (already calls the gal pal his "wife") and the other 1 certainly should be at least engaged by now! (But that's not my bear to poke.) But I really gotta give it up for these GG's - they make my life more enjoyable, they certainly go out of their way to make sure I don't feel awkward for always being solo, and they give me a whole lot of hope that I'll find a Good Guy of my own out there someday.
Help Virginia Wineries!
I am a huge fan - and consumer - of Virginia's wineries, and I just got an urgent email advocacy alert about legislation that's coming up that will greatly affect the wineries' ability to self-distribute their wines. I love that Virginia has such a strong farm winery industry, and would hate to see those wineries affected. As I live in the District and am unrepresented anyway, I can do nothing but share it with you. If you live in Virginia and feel the urge to act, all the details are:
--------------
Virginia Farm Winery’s Future is being THREATENED and YOU can Help!
{A Winery} is asking your help in contacting your legislative representatives and asking them to support HB 1288 which will allow Virginia farm wineries to self-distribute their wine to retail stores and restaurants.
This is a very important request we are making of you and should not take too much of your valuable time. We are asking that you please send a letter or email to your Senator and/or Representative of the Virginia General Assembly who will soon vote on HB 1288. We have provided you with links allowing you to take this action in a quick and easy manner.
Thank you for taking your personal time to continue supporting the growing Virginia Wine Industry and this important issue.
The Management and Staff
{A Winery}
HB 1288:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?061+sum+HB1288
Senator and Representative:
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
Draft letter: (After you review the letter, simply highlight, copy and paste into your word processing software, fill in the information defined by ( )s, print and mail.
http://app.e2ma.net/campaign/5acb85c32405e4704fa840b96d905ac2
--------------
Virginia Farm Winery’s Future is being THREATENED and YOU can Help!
{A Winery} is asking your help in contacting your legislative representatives and asking them to support HB 1288 which will allow Virginia farm wineries to self-distribute their wine to retail stores and restaurants.
This is a very important request we are making of you and should not take too much of your valuable time. We are asking that you please send a letter or email to your Senator and/or Representative of the Virginia General Assembly who will soon vote on HB 1288. We have provided you with links allowing you to take this action in a quick and easy manner.
Thank you for taking your personal time to continue supporting the growing Virginia Wine Industry and this important issue.
The Management and Staff
{A Winery}
HB 1288:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?061+sum+HB1288
Senator and Representative:
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
Draft letter: (After you review the letter, simply highlight, copy and paste into your word processing software, fill in the information defined by ( )s, print and mail.
http://app.e2ma.net/campaign/5acb85c32405e4704fa840b96d905ac2
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Like a Dog With a Bone
Wow, the news media is going crazy with this new terror warning. It's almost as if they were just hungry for a new terror or security story. Sure, a Bin Laden tape is news and his warnings really aren't that different than what we proably all assumed deep down - that there are still people out there plotting to do something. It goes without saying that I hope they're unsuccessful - that the powers that be manage to thwart whatever plans are afoot.
But the news media's reaction is to stir themselves up into a frenzy again, just like back in 2001/02 and in the ramp up to the 2004 election. CNN has dispatched their reporters far and wide to send in their updates on security levels across the nation. So far, it seems that there's no change. They showed a clip of a Bloomberg news conference where the main message was "business as usual." So is the media creating a frenzy that just isn't out there with officials and the masses? Is this our reminder that 24-hour news agencies thrive on BREAKING NEWS and their beloved red bottom-of-the-screen scrolls?
But the news media's reaction is to stir themselves up into a frenzy again, just like back in 2001/02 and in the ramp up to the 2004 election. CNN has dispatched their reporters far and wide to send in their updates on security levels across the nation. So far, it seems that there's no change. They showed a clip of a Bloomberg news conference where the main message was "business as usual." So is the media creating a frenzy that just isn't out there with officials and the masses? Is this our reminder that 24-hour news agencies thrive on BREAKING NEWS and their beloved red bottom-of-the-screen scrolls?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Thoughts are Like Butterflies...
Random, fleeting, fragile and beautiful.... umm, yeah, was just trying to make the title work, I'll stop now. :-)
It's hump day! Actually, the evening of hump day. Time for a few random thoughts:
1. We finished a huge proposal at work today and submitted it. Major, major money that would finish the big project that we've been working on for years. Fingers crossed!
2. I think George Clooney is my new celebrity crush. He's been so unabashedly liberal this year, I just love it. And easy on the eyes... So I start 2006 with a revamped "laminated list" featuring: George Clooney, Eric Bana (also new, due to Munich), Matt Damon, Gary Dourdan, and Bono.
3. I just watched Born Into Brothels. It's very moving, and I loved watching the kids be transformed through their cameras. I am looking forward to hearing all kinds of stories when Brunette and AS return from their 3-week trip to India.
4. I simply can not imagine what I ever did before I got my iPod. Was there life before iPod??? I love it! I am listening to it on all commutes these days. I have noticed that means I'm reading less of the Express and thus am somewhat unaware of the newsbytes that keep us all up to date... but the trade-off is that I get to rock out to and from work!
5. I'm looking for a good spa in the DC area. I want a massage and a facial (my early birthday present to myself), and it needs to be at a place that's Metro-accessible. Any recommendations?
6. I am now living off of Diet Sprite Zero. (Isn't it redundant to have both "diet" and "zero" in the name?) It's so crisp and refreshing, perfect for watching tv in my ridiculously hot apartment, where I can't control the heat. I think if you cut me open my veins would bleed lemon-lime.
7. Eww! Ew Ew Ew! A major "Stand By Me" leech moment on CSI:NY! This show is okay, but not as fun as the original CSI. There's no Gary Dourdan, of course.
8. I saw Match Point the other day. It's a really good movie. The London setting makes it feel very different from most Woody Allen films, and it doesn't have the same sort of rhythm as a lot of his others. But, typical Woody Allen, all the characters live in a rarefied world of gorgeous apartments or country estates, art galleries, the theater, and shabby-chic little getaways. The movie is very suspenseful and takes several turns that I never expected. Good stuff.
It's hump day! Actually, the evening of hump day. Time for a few random thoughts:
1. We finished a huge proposal at work today and submitted it. Major, major money that would finish the big project that we've been working on for years. Fingers crossed!
2. I think George Clooney is my new celebrity crush. He's been so unabashedly liberal this year, I just love it. And easy on the eyes... So I start 2006 with a revamped "laminated list" featuring: George Clooney, Eric Bana (also new, due to Munich), Matt Damon, Gary Dourdan, and Bono.
3. I just watched Born Into Brothels. It's very moving, and I loved watching the kids be transformed through their cameras. I am looking forward to hearing all kinds of stories when Brunette and AS return from their 3-week trip to India.
4. I simply can not imagine what I ever did before I got my iPod. Was there life before iPod??? I love it! I am listening to it on all commutes these days. I have noticed that means I'm reading less of the Express and thus am somewhat unaware of the newsbytes that keep us all up to date... but the trade-off is that I get to rock out to and from work!
5. I'm looking for a good spa in the DC area. I want a massage and a facial (my early birthday present to myself), and it needs to be at a place that's Metro-accessible. Any recommendations?
6. I am now living off of Diet Sprite Zero. (Isn't it redundant to have both "diet" and "zero" in the name?) It's so crisp and refreshing, perfect for watching tv in my ridiculously hot apartment, where I can't control the heat. I think if you cut me open my veins would bleed lemon-lime.
7. Eww! Ew Ew Ew! A major "Stand By Me" leech moment on CSI:NY! This show is okay, but not as fun as the original CSI. There's no Gary Dourdan, of course.
8. I saw Match Point the other day. It's a really good movie. The London setting makes it feel very different from most Woody Allen films, and it doesn't have the same sort of rhythm as a lot of his others. But, typical Woody Allen, all the characters live in a rarefied world of gorgeous apartments or country estates, art galleries, the theater, and shabby-chic little getaways. The movie is very suspenseful and takes several turns that I never expected. Good stuff.
An Epidemic
So there's this hilarious thing going on at work. I work in a place that has 30-some offices across the country, and we're all tied in to each other via the web/email network. Yesterday morning, some idiot forwarded on a fake virus warning and sent it to the big universal "All" in the address book. So 3,000+ people got this dumb email message. Someone replied pretty soon after saying "before sending out something like this, please check its accuracy" and included a link to Snopes saying that the virus warning was a hoax.
You'd think it would stop there. But no! For the last two days, we've now had about 15 reply-to-all responses. They all look the same -- people replying to the most recent author AND to the "All" list with "Please take me off your list. Stop sending me these. I have better things to do!" Hahaha! Do they even realize this is going to ALL employees? Finally someone this morning started a new thread to "All" saying please stop replying, this is a list that went to everyone, let it die. But, nope, people are still catching up and sending new responses. I'm actually a little surprised that our IT folks haven't put the smack down yet. We're hoping this keeps up all week, cuz it's pretty freakin' hilarious.
This is all good timing, actually, cuz I'm reading The Tipping Point right now. Somehow this all has to relate as an epidemic, spreading this virus.... not a computer virus, but a virus of idiocy!
You'd think it would stop there. But no! For the last two days, we've now had about 15 reply-to-all responses. They all look the same -- people replying to the most recent author AND to the "All" list with "Please take me off your list. Stop sending me these. I have better things to do!" Hahaha! Do they even realize this is going to ALL employees? Finally someone this morning started a new thread to "All" saying please stop replying, this is a list that went to everyone, let it die. But, nope, people are still catching up and sending new responses. I'm actually a little surprised that our IT folks haven't put the smack down yet. We're hoping this keeps up all week, cuz it's pretty freakin' hilarious.
This is all good timing, actually, cuz I'm reading The Tipping Point right now. Somehow this all has to relate as an epidemic, spreading this virus.... not a computer virus, but a virus of idiocy!
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Ugh.
I just did my bills for the first time since after the holidays. Ugh-o-rama. Keep in mind, the pre-holiday zaniness included more than 400 bucks for new contacts AND professional framing of my photo for the show. Opening the envelope for the Visa bill did not make me happy...though I know the gods of Visa love me.
I keep seeing financial advisors on the morning news shows talking about ways to curtail your finances. One of the biggest pieces of advice is that if you're a good credit customer, you should call and try to get them to lower your APR. Has anyone ever tried to do this? Mine isn't horrible, but it's not a single-digit rate either. I may give that a try.
For now, though, I have to pay more attention to that one New Year's resolution of mine - trying to spend less money. For the time being, I think that means staying in more on nights and weekends. (I can't give up buying my lunch - I *have* to have a reason to leave the building, that's for my sanity and others' safety.) I have my Netflix, my friends and I can have some fun trying to cook meals ourselves (as long as it's not in my crap-a@@ kitchen), and game nights are always fun. So who's with me???
Sadly, the first casualty of this new policy is the blogger happy hour. I was on the fence anyway cuz it wasn't working out to be a great night plan-wise... but I'm going to have a quiet night at home and hope to catch all the fun pics and stories on everyone's blogs on Thursday. Have a great time, gang! Drink some beer and eat some fatty Irish food for me! :-)
Wanna See Some Art?
In keeping with my New Year's resolution to see more of what the city has to offer, I've been checking out the art scene. If you're interested in some free things to do....here are my recommendations for 4 exhibits around town:
Photography:
Juried Photography Show at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. This is the show I'm in! It is open until February 3rd.
Time Markers by Bruce McKaig at the District of Columbia Arts Center. This one-man show by my own photography instructor is open January 27 - February 26 right in the heart of Adams Morgan.
The Way We Worked at the National Archives. This is an exhibit of historical photography from the Archives' holdings.
Sculpture:
For something a little different, check out Sculpture Unbound at the Edison Place Gallery in the Pepco Building. That's the exhibit I went to last week - fun stuff!
Has anyone seen anything else to recommend? I'd love to find some new galleries and exhibitions to keep exploring!
Photography:
Juried Photography Show at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. This is the show I'm in! It is open until February 3rd.
Time Markers by Bruce McKaig at the District of Columbia Arts Center. This one-man show by my own photography instructor is open January 27 - February 26 right in the heart of Adams Morgan.
The Way We Worked at the National Archives. This is an exhibit of historical photography from the Archives' holdings.
Sculpture:
For something a little different, check out Sculpture Unbound at the Edison Place Gallery in the Pepco Building. That's the exhibit I went to last week - fun stuff!
Has anyone seen anything else to recommend? I'd love to find some new galleries and exhibitions to keep exploring!
Monday, January 16, 2006
The Birthplace of Jazz
There's an interesting article up on the WTOP site today that looks at a specific piece of the controversial Bring New Orleans Back Commission recommendations on how to rebuild the city. This piece focuses on the Commission's cultural recommendations -- how do you rebuild the cultural fabric of a city? No one is pretending that culture is the primary concern of the Commission -- "We're not going to sit here and pretend that what we're doing is more important than levees, but we all know that without its culture, New Orleans isn't New Orleans," said Cesar Burgos, chairman of the cultural committee -- but I'm glad to see that it's a part.
The proposed plan is to focus on New Orleans' rich history as the birthplace of jazz, creating destinations like a National Jazz Center / Museum and working to preserve a number of landmarks related to jazz history. I love the idea of creating a cultural component to the rebuilding plan - both as a way to support the redevelopment of the city for its own residents and as a reason to attract visitors who will spend money sampling the arts, as well as hotels, restaurants, parking, shopping, etc. Of course, I work in the arts, so I'm a big believer in cultural tourism and the power that the arts have to generate a positive economic impact.
And, the power of art for art's sake cannot be denied, as the people of New Orleans look for ways to bring back their truly unique, rich, multi-layered city. It would be a further tragedy, in my mind, if the lasting effect of Katrina would be the creation of a giant strip mall / bland, soulless creation of commercial developers. By making sure that any redevelopment plan includes a cultural component, such as this real focus on the history and culture of jazz, it seems that the Commission is really looking to bring back New Orleans as its own city, with its own unique soundtrack.
On a separate but related note, I saw a heart-wrenching feature on CNN recently that was looking at individual stories of people in the Gulf region post-Katrina. They highlighted the cutlural community by focusing on the story of a woman who is the main pianist for the New Orleans Philharmonic (thought the group may have a different name). She lost her own personal collection of Steinway pianos, 3 or 4 of them that averaged about 100 years old. They were these gorgeous pianos, true works of art and examples of craftsmanship that really doesn't exist anymore. Katrina destroyed them, and seeing the pictures of these crippled instruments was just heart-breaking. The woman described the horrible sound she heard when the garbage trucks came to take away the pianos, and as they were lifted and dropped into the trucks they made this terribly loud, jumbled sound of dissonant notes as the strings were all crushed. She was able to save a few of the keys and was fashioning them into an octave that she could save and frame on her wall. It was so sad.
Of course, no one is saying that losing the pianos equates to losing lives, but it's an example of losing the kinds of things that *make* a life. I can't even imagine having to rebuild a city and the lives of all of residents, nearly from scratch. I wish them all the best of luck.
The proposed plan is to focus on New Orleans' rich history as the birthplace of jazz, creating destinations like a National Jazz Center / Museum and working to preserve a number of landmarks related to jazz history. I love the idea of creating a cultural component to the rebuilding plan - both as a way to support the redevelopment of the city for its own residents and as a reason to attract visitors who will spend money sampling the arts, as well as hotels, restaurants, parking, shopping, etc. Of course, I work in the arts, so I'm a big believer in cultural tourism and the power that the arts have to generate a positive economic impact.
And, the power of art for art's sake cannot be denied, as the people of New Orleans look for ways to bring back their truly unique, rich, multi-layered city. It would be a further tragedy, in my mind, if the lasting effect of Katrina would be the creation of a giant strip mall / bland, soulless creation of commercial developers. By making sure that any redevelopment plan includes a cultural component, such as this real focus on the history and culture of jazz, it seems that the Commission is really looking to bring back New Orleans as its own city, with its own unique soundtrack.
On a separate but related note, I saw a heart-wrenching feature on CNN recently that was looking at individual stories of people in the Gulf region post-Katrina. They highlighted the cutlural community by focusing on the story of a woman who is the main pianist for the New Orleans Philharmonic (thought the group may have a different name). She lost her own personal collection of Steinway pianos, 3 or 4 of them that averaged about 100 years old. They were these gorgeous pianos, true works of art and examples of craftsmanship that really doesn't exist anymore. Katrina destroyed them, and seeing the pictures of these crippled instruments was just heart-breaking. The woman described the horrible sound she heard when the garbage trucks came to take away the pianos, and as they were lifted and dropped into the trucks they made this terribly loud, jumbled sound of dissonant notes as the strings were all crushed. She was able to save a few of the keys and was fashioning them into an octave that she could save and frame on her wall. It was so sad.
Of course, no one is saying that losing the pianos equates to losing lives, but it's an example of losing the kinds of things that *make* a life. I can't even imagine having to rebuild a city and the lives of all of residents, nearly from scratch. I wish them all the best of luck.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
In His Honor
Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929. So while we observe his birthday tomorrow, today, in his honor, I offer up my favorite quote:
Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter.
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
The Love Affair Continues
I just had my third meal in as many months at Matchbox, and I still just love that place. Onyah, Reporter Boy, and I went there after checking out another gallery opening (well, to be fair, Reporter Boy skipped the opening to watch the Redskins lose....), and we had a great time.
We were seated in the back booth on the 2nd level, which is the only one oriented to the front of the building versus all the side-to-side tables on the rest of the floor. It was a little claustrophobic getting in and out of the booth - which required not only moving our table but also the one of the couple very closely next to us - but once we were seated it was very comfortable. Onyah felt like we were holding court - like the head of a board meeting or a mafia family.
I allowed myself a single mini burger (always so damn tasty) and then I ordered the full entree-sized Bistro Salad. I've had that salad every time I've been there, and it was a recommendation from my first server. It's a mixed greens salad, with sliced pears and a goat cheese-slathered giant crouton (really like a big biscotti), all covered with a deelish basil vinaigrette. It's one of the best salads I've ever had, and it's been just as good every time. The entree size comes with TWO goat cheese croutons!
And tonight, my love for Matchbox deepened even more. After scanning the wine list, I was thrilled to see that they had a viognier! That's my favorite wine, you know. It was an Alamos viognier from Argentina, and it was super-tasty. The light, fruity wine was a great companion to my light, fruity salad.
Mmmmmmmmmmm.... love me some Matchbox! Has anyone else had any tasty restaurant meals lately? Spill the beans! :-)
We were seated in the back booth on the 2nd level, which is the only one oriented to the front of the building versus all the side-to-side tables on the rest of the floor. It was a little claustrophobic getting in and out of the booth - which required not only moving our table but also the one of the couple very closely next to us - but once we were seated it was very comfortable. Onyah felt like we were holding court - like the head of a board meeting or a mafia family.
I allowed myself a single mini burger (always so damn tasty) and then I ordered the full entree-sized Bistro Salad. I've had that salad every time I've been there, and it was a recommendation from my first server. It's a mixed greens salad, with sliced pears and a goat cheese-slathered giant crouton (really like a big biscotti), all covered with a deelish basil vinaigrette. It's one of the best salads I've ever had, and it's been just as good every time. The entree size comes with TWO goat cheese croutons!
And tonight, my love for Matchbox deepened even more. After scanning the wine list, I was thrilled to see that they had a viognier! That's my favorite wine, you know. It was an Alamos viognier from Argentina, and it was super-tasty. The light, fruity wine was a great companion to my light, fruity salad.
Mmmmmmmmmmm.... love me some Matchbox! Has anyone else had any tasty restaurant meals lately? Spill the beans! :-)
Friday, January 13, 2006
I'm Becoming An Art Snob
Well, not really, but I do play one on tv....
Tonight I went to the second of three gallery openings this week. This was Sculpture Unbound at the Edison Place Gallery in the Pepco Building. The juried exhibit was put together by the Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran and the Washington Sculptors Group.
I liked the show. This was a bit outside of my usual comfort zone, featuring big installation pieces and a lot of conceptual work. I think my favorite piece was this very tall welded bronze piece that was painted teal and blue. One of my companions is an artist herself and very knowledgable about sculpture and modern art in general. She didn't really like that piece as much, but I guess it's all personal taste. There were some sculptures that I just didn't "get" - like different kinds of dirt on the floor? But some were pretty interesting and appealing because of the technique and craftsmanship that went into them.
I like seeing pieces that spark a more visceral reaction - things that you want to touch or look at in lots of different ways. I may not always understand the concept or the emotion the artist was trying to convey but I can still love a piece for its shape, color, or texture. There was this really fun piece that was a huge ball of aluminum mesh held together with hot glue. I really wanted to bounce on it! :-)
It's also fun to check out the kind of people who attend an art opening. These big pieces were priced pretty high - from $1,000 - 9,500 from what I saw. So the packed gallery was filled with a mix of artists, students, people like us who like art and soak it up for free, and people who can afford to spend thousands on the art itself. A pretty eclectic group!
Tonight I went to the second of three gallery openings this week. This was Sculpture Unbound at the Edison Place Gallery in the Pepco Building. The juried exhibit was put together by the Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran and the Washington Sculptors Group.
I liked the show. This was a bit outside of my usual comfort zone, featuring big installation pieces and a lot of conceptual work. I think my favorite piece was this very tall welded bronze piece that was painted teal and blue. One of my companions is an artist herself and very knowledgable about sculpture and modern art in general. She didn't really like that piece as much, but I guess it's all personal taste. There were some sculptures that I just didn't "get" - like different kinds of dirt on the floor? But some were pretty interesting and appealing because of the technique and craftsmanship that went into them.
I like seeing pieces that spark a more visceral reaction - things that you want to touch or look at in lots of different ways. I may not always understand the concept or the emotion the artist was trying to convey but I can still love a piece for its shape, color, or texture. There was this really fun piece that was a huge ball of aluminum mesh held together with hot glue. I really wanted to bounce on it! :-)
It's also fun to check out the kind of people who attend an art opening. These big pieces were priced pretty high - from $1,000 - 9,500 from what I saw. So the packed gallery was filled with a mix of artists, students, people like us who like art and soak it up for free, and people who can afford to spend thousands on the art itself. A pretty eclectic group!
I Vant to Suck....
Your blood? Your money?
The brand new Broadway production of Lestat opens in March. Who knew??? Elton John and Bernie Taupin have collaborated with Anne Rice to create a musical about her vampire hero/anti-hero. Will it be good? Will it be deliciously cheesetastic? Or will it just suck? It looks like it premiered in San Francisco last fall for its pre-Broadway trial run... has anyone heard anything?
You know, this could be worth a road trip to NYC this spring to see the old bloodsucker live and in perfect harmony....
The brand new Broadway production of Lestat opens in March. Who knew??? Elton John and Bernie Taupin have collaborated with Anne Rice to create a musical about her vampire hero/anti-hero. Will it be good? Will it be deliciously cheesetastic? Or will it just suck? It looks like it premiered in San Francisco last fall for its pre-Broadway trial run... has anyone heard anything?
You know, this could be worth a road trip to NYC this spring to see the old bloodsucker live and in perfect harmony....
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Book Disappointment
Don't worry, this is NOT a post about that completely over-hyped "Million Little Pieces" story. Didn't read it, wasn't planning to, don't care.
No, this post is about Simon Winchester's latest book, A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906.
His last book, Krakatoa, is one of my absolute favorites. It as actually the book that made me think "hey, I kinda like non-fiction" and got me started on looking for a wide variety of new reading material. Krakatoa is about the volcanic eruption in Indonesia in the 180o's, but it's about so much more than that. Winchester is a geologist by training, and the book starts out with an explanation of the forces at work in the Earth that cause continential drift, the shifting of the plates, and the creation of volcanoes. It may sound like a dry SAT reading comprehension section, but he makes it very interesting and understandable. And, it's only a small part of the book.
Winchester goes on to explain the whole history of Indonesia and Dutch exploration and colonization. He talks about how the development of the colony led to the creation of cities, and how their geographical location made a difference in the impact of the volcano among different groups of people. There is a chapter or so on the history of the telegraph system, and how because Krakatoa occurred soon after the completion of the trans-Pacific telegraph lines, it really became the first global event. People in Japan, New York, and London all learned about the eruption within hours. The book also explores theories about how the eruption and its destruction of the infrastructure led to the creation of Indonesia's current fundamentalist society. This was all fascinating stuff - learning about history and technology through the story of a volcanic eruption.
And that book talked about the volcano, of course. He gave almost a minute-by-minute of what happens when a volcano erups - explodes - and the impact it ahs on the oceans, on the land, and on the wildlife and plant life for thousands of miles. Winchester talks about the cycle of a volcanic land, and how flora and fauna gradually start to come back after an eruption and this delicate but hearty ecosystem develops. It may sound dry, but I promise, it was really interesting and written in a very compelling way.
So, cut to the new book. I was hoping it would be written in the same way. Sure, I expectd some discussion of plate tectonics and the geological causes of earthquakes, but I was hoping to learn about the history of California and a snapshot of San Franciso at the start of the last century. I was hoping it would cover the kinds of change that resulted from the earthquake - cultural, technological, economic, even religious. I would even be interested in learning about the current state of earthquake preparedness in the US.
Well, I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book, and I've had to take a break. I'm pretty disappointed. An overwhelming majority of the book has been focused on geogology, on the science of plate tectonics and the nature of the San Andreas Fault. There's been just a little bit about the California Gold Rush and some history of other places in the US that have suffered devastating earthquakes, but it has not balanced out all of the ancient geology he talks about. Most of his discussion of current issues still focuses on the science of geology and new theories about continental drift.
I'm not totally giving up on the book yet - I'm still hoping that the final chapters of the book will cover more wide-ranging topics, looking at the story of the earthquake from different angles. I really want to like this book, since I loved Krakatoa so much. If any of this sounds interesting, I do strongly recommend it. I'll let you know how the new one turns out.
Any new books you have to recommend?
No, this post is about Simon Winchester's latest book, A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906.
His last book, Krakatoa, is one of my absolute favorites. It as actually the book that made me think "hey, I kinda like non-fiction" and got me started on looking for a wide variety of new reading material. Krakatoa is about the volcanic eruption in Indonesia in the 180o's, but it's about so much more than that. Winchester is a geologist by training, and the book starts out with an explanation of the forces at work in the Earth that cause continential drift, the shifting of the plates, and the creation of volcanoes. It may sound like a dry SAT reading comprehension section, but he makes it very interesting and understandable. And, it's only a small part of the book.
Winchester goes on to explain the whole history of Indonesia and Dutch exploration and colonization. He talks about how the development of the colony led to the creation of cities, and how their geographical location made a difference in the impact of the volcano among different groups of people. There is a chapter or so on the history of the telegraph system, and how because Krakatoa occurred soon after the completion of the trans-Pacific telegraph lines, it really became the first global event. People in Japan, New York, and London all learned about the eruption within hours. The book also explores theories about how the eruption and its destruction of the infrastructure led to the creation of Indonesia's current fundamentalist society. This was all fascinating stuff - learning about history and technology through the story of a volcanic eruption.
And that book talked about the volcano, of course. He gave almost a minute-by-minute of what happens when a volcano erups - explodes - and the impact it ahs on the oceans, on the land, and on the wildlife and plant life for thousands of miles. Winchester talks about the cycle of a volcanic land, and how flora and fauna gradually start to come back after an eruption and this delicate but hearty ecosystem develops. It may sound dry, but I promise, it was really interesting and written in a very compelling way.
So, cut to the new book. I was hoping it would be written in the same way. Sure, I expectd some discussion of plate tectonics and the geological causes of earthquakes, but I was hoping to learn about the history of California and a snapshot of San Franciso at the start of the last century. I was hoping it would cover the kinds of change that resulted from the earthquake - cultural, technological, economic, even religious. I would even be interested in learning about the current state of earthquake preparedness in the US.
Well, I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book, and I've had to take a break. I'm pretty disappointed. An overwhelming majority of the book has been focused on geogology, on the science of plate tectonics and the nature of the San Andreas Fault. There's been just a little bit about the California Gold Rush and some history of other places in the US that have suffered devastating earthquakes, but it has not balanced out all of the ancient geology he talks about. Most of his discussion of current issues still focuses on the science of geology and new theories about continental drift.
I'm not totally giving up on the book yet - I'm still hoping that the final chapters of the book will cover more wide-ranging topics, looking at the story of the earthquake from different angles. I really want to like this book, since I loved Krakatoa so much. If any of this sounds interesting, I do strongly recommend it. I'll let you know how the new one turns out.
Any new books you have to recommend?
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Hustle & Flow
I watched Hustle & Flow tonight. This further confirms my belief that Terrence Howard should and probably will be our next major star. I love seeing an actor lose himself in his roles, and it's nearly impossible to believe that the actor who plays Djay is the same actor who played the buttoned-up executive in Crash. I don't know if he'll score an Oscar nomination, but he should. He is nominated for a Golden Globe, so we'll see how that goes for him next week.
And Anthony Anderson was really great as Clyde/Key the producer. He has a fantastic monologue about "talking the talk" and "walking the walk" - I need to look it up to get the exact script. There's another good monologue by the young piano player kid, talking about how rap is coming back home to the South, where it all started with the blues. The scenes with DJay and Skinny Black (Ludacris) are amazingly compelling - you really just can't look away. And DJay's relationships with both Nola and Shug are layered and interesting, when they didn't have to be.
And the music? Yeah, I was tapping my feet and singing along to Shug's hooks.
This is such a strong movie -- everyone should see it. You may not love it, but it's different and smarter than a lot of stuff out there right now.
Everybody's gotta have a dream.
So, Nola.... kill them fans.
And Anthony Anderson was really great as Clyde/Key the producer. He has a fantastic monologue about "talking the talk" and "walking the walk" - I need to look it up to get the exact script. There's another good monologue by the young piano player kid, talking about how rap is coming back home to the South, where it all started with the blues. The scenes with DJay and Skinny Black (Ludacris) are amazingly compelling - you really just can't look away. And DJay's relationships with both Nola and Shug are layered and interesting, when they didn't have to be.
And the music? Yeah, I was tapping my feet and singing along to Shug's hooks.
This is such a strong movie -- everyone should see it. You may not love it, but it's different and smarter than a lot of stuff out there right now.
Everybody's gotta have a dream.
So, Nola.... kill them fans.
Bring Me Into the 21st Century
I was told yesterday that I have the iPod of a 47-year-old woman. Ouch! Now, I admit to not being very up on current trends or hits in music.... I don't listen to the radio and for some fluke reason MTV and VH1 don't come through very well on my cable. My usual source for new music is either word of mouth or new movie soundtracks. A little sad, but I accepted being out of touch with "what the kids are listening to" ages ago.
But I don't want my poor iPod to feel like a fuddy-duddy! So I'm looking to you, my blog friends, to share recommendations on fun new music that's worth a 99 cent download.
My usual tastes are pretty simple -- I like the same stuff I've been listening to my whole life, and the iPod currently features a wide selection from Madonna (including the new album), U2, Prince, George Michael, and Bruce Springsteen. I'm also indulging in my guilty pleasure of the little pop tartlets, so I've got several Christina Aguilera selections (Dirrty is rocking my world these days) and some Britney and Kelly Clarkson. I also have the Garden State soundtrack, some of The Killers, and the whole Maroon 5 album. Another guilty pleasure category helps me reminisce on my hair band days -- Bon Jovi, Poison, GnR. Then I've got a bunch of 70's stuff - Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, James Taylor, Elton John.
The first step is admitting I need help -- what are some of the new songs or artists you've discovered that are worth a listen? My newest addiction is "Take Your Mama" by the Scissor Sisters, which was a Scotte recommendation. Any suggestions?
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
See Me On the Wall!
The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop's Photography Exhibition opens tonight in their brand new photography studio and gallery space. I'm going to the opening reception and I'm just gosh-durned excited to see my own work up on the wall! CHAW is celebrating photography all this month with Tuesday evening lectures as well as the exhibition. The show will be up until February 3, so I hope that all who are interested get a chance to stop by and see it! The gallery will be open Monday - Thursdays 9-9, Fridays 9-6, and Saturdays 9-3. If there's interest, I'd be happy to organize a little blogger outing with some drinks before or after! Oh yeah, and somebody *please* buy my piece! :-)
Monday, January 09, 2006
The Travel Bug
I love to travel. I think that's how the typical Aquarian wanderlust has manifested itself in me. Every few months, I just get the major itch to go see somewhere new. And I'm really starting to feel it right now. I have no trips planned at the moment and I'm jonesing. I need a travel plan!
Last year, I went to NYC for an overnight solo trip to see the Gates, then I went with a college friend for a long weekend in Las Vegas in April. That's it - other than two visits to Indiana, which I don't count because it's to see family, I haven't traveled in almost a year. Itch, itch, itch...
Brunette and I have been talking about taking a week-long trip to either San Diego or Portland, OR. Once she's back from her own adventure in India, I hope we can nail that one down. I'd love to see either city!
Another plan I need to think about is my annual mother-and-daughter fall trip with Mom. She and I started doing these a while ago and it's a lot of fun. We try to go to new places where neither of us have been. I'm going to jog my memory and see if I can list the places we've been...
2005 - Was a mother-father-daughter visit. They came to DC and we did tourist fun.
2004 - Mom and I went to NYC and saw 3 shows and lots of museums.
2003 - Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. This was my first real photographic adventure. I loved it!
2002 - Mom came to DC. I had just moved here and she and I started exploring together.
2001 - San Francisco. We did the touristy stuff here, too - Alcatraz, Muir Woods, the Bay cruise.
2000 - Boston. This was our first trip and I was hooked! We also drove up the Cape Ann peninsula and I fell in love with Salem and Marblehead.
Now I need to figure out where we can go in 2006. She's been talking about visiting Nova Scotia, and I've never been to Maine. Maybe we'll be heading up North?
So do you have any exciting travel plans for the year? Any suggestions?
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Seeing Red on TV
Those Arlington Assembly of God commercials make me so angry! I first started seeing them a few months ago, and it seems like they're on with increasing frequency.
If you've seen them you know what I'm talking about. One is with a man speaking, one with a woman, but they follow the same formula: I was young and vulnerable, then I was abused, then I was led astray and started living a sinful life as a homosexual, but then I found the true meaning of love in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I'm happy and married and have children and live my life with the Lord.
Oh, man, these commercials make me angry! I won't even get into the whole biology argument, cuz logic and science don't ever seem to work against a die-hard religious argument. At least, I have not figured out how. But what really surprises me is that these commercials are showing so frequently in the DC market. Hi, 91% blue? Maryland and even NoVA are pretty moderate, as far as I can tell, so this campaign seems to be fairly out of sync with the culture of this region. I don't even see commercials like this in southern Indiana. When even a major American corporation like Ford Motor Co defies the religious right and sticks with advertising to the GLBT audience (go HRC!), it really feels jarring and makes me angry to see this message in our nation's capital.
If you've seen them you know what I'm talking about. One is with a man speaking, one with a woman, but they follow the same formula: I was young and vulnerable, then I was abused, then I was led astray and started living a sinful life as a homosexual, but then I found the true meaning of love in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I'm happy and married and have children and live my life with the Lord.
Oh, man, these commercials make me angry! I won't even get into the whole biology argument, cuz logic and science don't ever seem to work against a die-hard religious argument. At least, I have not figured out how. But what really surprises me is that these commercials are showing so frequently in the DC market. Hi, 91% blue? Maryland and even NoVA are pretty moderate, as far as I can tell, so this campaign seems to be fairly out of sync with the culture of this region. I don't even see commercials like this in southern Indiana. When even a major American corporation like Ford Motor Co defies the religious right and sticks with advertising to the GLBT audience (go HRC!), it really feels jarring and makes me angry to see this message in our nation's capital.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Ho Hum
I'm kind of looking forward to a very quiet weekend, which is already well underway. I have three main goals for the next three days:
1. Netflix. I have three new DVD's...Veronica Mars Season 1, Disc 5; Eddie Izzard Unrepeatable; and Born Into Brothels. That seems like a good variety to me. Is anyone watching anything else they recommend? I love reorganizing my queue.
2. Filling Up My iPod. So many CD's, so little time....
3. Cleaning My Apartment. I am a pack-rat, a clutter-bug. It's definitely long past due for me to do a major overhaul and get rid of a bunch of junk. The timing is right, cuz we got a very aggressive letter from the building management saying they are doing apartment inspections next week. So this is the perfect weekend for me to get rid of silly stuff and straighten the place up more than just a bit.
I will be able to do a little socializing.... Onyah and I are venturing out on Sunday to catch Heath Ledger in his straight-man romance of the season. A hot Aussie playing Casanova? Yeah, I'll see it. Perhaps someday I'll know how to quit him.....
1. Netflix. I have three new DVD's...Veronica Mars Season 1, Disc 5; Eddie Izzard Unrepeatable; and Born Into Brothels. That seems like a good variety to me. Is anyone watching anything else they recommend? I love reorganizing my queue.
2. Filling Up My iPod. So many CD's, so little time....
3. Cleaning My Apartment. I am a pack-rat, a clutter-bug. It's definitely long past due for me to do a major overhaul and get rid of a bunch of junk. The timing is right, cuz we got a very aggressive letter from the building management saying they are doing apartment inspections next week. So this is the perfect weekend for me to get rid of silly stuff and straighten the place up more than just a bit.
I will be able to do a little socializing.... Onyah and I are venturing out on Sunday to catch Heath Ledger in his straight-man romance of the season. A hot Aussie playing Casanova? Yeah, I'll see it. Perhaps someday I'll know how to quit him.....
I Heart SiteMeter
The most recent visitor to this blog was referred here by doing a Google search on "Lisa Rinna's lips." Ahahahaha! Thank you, Brunette, for your comment that's making me so searchable! :-)
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Can't.....Breathe.....
Oh, thank goodness. Jon Stewart is back from the holiday!
He just did a segment using clips of arguments on the Senate floor between Senators Robert Byrd and Ted "Hulk Tie" Stevens. He called it a "Coot-Off!" Ahahahaha! These clips were unbelievable, these two old guys yelling at each other with their "old coot" grunts. In the end, Stevens was awarded three Yosemite Sams, and Byrd was the victor with 3 1/2 Yosemite Sams. What did Byrd win? "A lifetime supply of the way things used to be."
But what is burned into my brain in a terrifying way? Oh, Jon went there... he showed a revamped poster for Brokeback Mountain featuring the two Senators instead of Jake and Heath. "Senator Stevens, I don't know how to quit youuuuuuuuuu......!"
My eyes! My eyes!
He just did a segment using clips of arguments on the Senate floor between Senators Robert Byrd and Ted "Hulk Tie" Stevens. He called it a "Coot-Off!" Ahahahaha! These clips were unbelievable, these two old guys yelling at each other with their "old coot" grunts. In the end, Stevens was awarded three Yosemite Sams, and Byrd was the victor with 3 1/2 Yosemite Sams. What did Byrd win? "A lifetime supply of the way things used to be."
But what is burned into my brain in a terrifying way? Oh, Jon went there... he showed a revamped poster for Brokeback Mountain featuring the two Senators instead of Jake and Heath. "Senator Stevens, I don't know how to quit youuuuuuuuuu......!"
My eyes! My eyes!
Stream of Consciousness
I feel like I've been posting less this week, because I've been staying in for the evenings and haven't had as many funny social stories to share. Good for my wallet and waistline, but it's a little more boring when it comes to blog post ideas. Have no fear - I'm gonna treat you to another random numbered post.
1. I had a 7 pm meeting tonight and got home just after 9. So even though I missed more than half of the contestants, I'm still already completely hooked on the new season of Dancing with the Stars! I got to see Giselle Fernandez, Jerry Rice, and Tatum O'Neal dance. They were all pretty good, but I hope that's not the trend now. I loved watching some of the goofy dancing last time around! Joey McIntyre with his flailing steps? Priceless! Although now that they just went through the scores, it appears I may have missed some clunkers in the first hour of the show. Did anyone see it? Any deliciously embarrassing moments???
2. Finally, today, my favorite gal pal was back to work after the holidays. So now I'm calling the holiday slow period officially over, and everything's getting back into full swing. It was nice to have those few weeks operating in a sort of "sleep mode" but it does feel like it's time to refocus and really get started in on the new year and all of our new goals.
3. Why do I keep meeting attractive, smart, funny, interesting, compassionate MARRIED men??? My tastes have definitely changed over the years, cuz lately all the guys I'm attracted to are solid, successful, intellectually curious, and in their mid-30's. So much for the poet/dreamer/coffee-house type. Seems like that's now a thing of my past.
4. I love the Friends function of Netflix! I think I'm up to 7 Netflix Friends now, and it's so much fun to suggest movies, to check out their queues, and to see random titles that I never would have found myself. It's cool to see what diverse tastes my friends have. Three of my Netflix friends are in the same office with me at work and we are constantly talking about movies and comparing our current selections. Somehow, Netflix has managed to make viewing movies at home still be an extremely social experience. Bravo!
1. I had a 7 pm meeting tonight and got home just after 9. So even though I missed more than half of the contestants, I'm still already completely hooked on the new season of Dancing with the Stars! I got to see Giselle Fernandez, Jerry Rice, and Tatum O'Neal dance. They were all pretty good, but I hope that's not the trend now. I loved watching some of the goofy dancing last time around! Joey McIntyre with his flailing steps? Priceless! Although now that they just went through the scores, it appears I may have missed some clunkers in the first hour of the show. Did anyone see it? Any deliciously embarrassing moments???
2. Finally, today, my favorite gal pal was back to work after the holidays. So now I'm calling the holiday slow period officially over, and everything's getting back into full swing. It was nice to have those few weeks operating in a sort of "sleep mode" but it does feel like it's time to refocus and really get started in on the new year and all of our new goals.
3. Why do I keep meeting attractive, smart, funny, interesting, compassionate MARRIED men??? My tastes have definitely changed over the years, cuz lately all the guys I'm attracted to are solid, successful, intellectually curious, and in their mid-30's. So much for the poet/dreamer/coffee-house type. Seems like that's now a thing of my past.
4. I love the Friends function of Netflix! I think I'm up to 7 Netflix Friends now, and it's so much fun to suggest movies, to check out their queues, and to see random titles that I never would have found myself. It's cool to see what diverse tastes my friends have. Three of my Netflix friends are in the same office with me at work and we are constantly talking about movies and comparing our current selections. Somehow, Netflix has managed to make viewing movies at home still be an extremely social experience. Bravo!
Where all the cool people will be....
It's time for another blogger happy hour! Stay tuned for more stories and photos. I look forward to seeing new friends again and meeting even more people this time around! See everyone on January 18th!
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Foiled!
I am not much of a concert person. I don't go to live shows very often, and there's usually only about one concert a year that I have any interest in seeing. For me, it's usually all about the nostalgia acts, cuz I need to have harbored a life-long love in order to shell out the money for a ticket. That explains why my major concert experiences have been Madonna, Depeche Mode, Mr. Neil Diamond, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, and various 80's Rewind Tours. Plus Barenaked Ladies, TWICE, but that's just a fun time no matter what.Anyway, like I said, there's probably only about 1 show a year that I want to check out. I was so excited over New Year's when I learned that Bon Jovi would be coming to the MCI Center. Bon Jovi! Oh, I used to have Teen Beat centerfolds of Jon Bon up in my locker. At one time, I knew everything ever printed about him. I knew he shared my brother's birthday, March 2, and I thought it was cool that when I was 13 he was 26. It was love. So I knew that the inner 13-year-old self of mine just HAD to see him in concert.
Today, I was all excited to put the shout out to my gang (there has to be a fellow hair band lover in there somewhere, right???) when I went to the Ticketmaster site to check out the concert details. Dammit!!!!! The concert is February 2!!!! Which doesn't seem like a big deal in and of itself, except.... that's the same night as a major event I'm helping to plan here at work. Dammit!!! So I have to be at work, just a few short blocks away from my adolescent love, while he's singing about Living in Sin on a Bed of Roses. Ack, foiled!!!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
SATC Revisited
I just finished re-watching the first season of Sex and the City, courtesy of Netflix. I think that season was circa 1998 or so, but I was amazed to see that it still seems pretty fresh. I was 23 when that show started and I am definitely viewing it through different eyes now. I've had a few more years of being a single gal in the city, and there's a lot more I can relate to!
Things I had forgotten about the first season:
- Carrie used to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the camera. Yikes! I'm so glad she stopped doing that. The voiceover is one thing, cuz you can believe that she's writing her column. But talking directly to the viewer just takes you out of the show.
- They used to do "man on the street" clips where minor characters or total extras would just speak to the camera about the subject du jour, and they would even put little titles on the screen to tell you who they were. "Skipper Johnson, Twentysomething"? and the like. It made the episodes kinda choppy, and I think the narrative was much stronger in later years without it.
- Carrie used to smoke all the time. Seriously, she was a chimney! I don't remember her smoking later, do you?
Things that I loved about the first season, even more so by rewatching it now:
- I never really understood the Big relationship the first time around, but I'm finding myself liking him, and liking him for Carrie, more and more.
- Charlotte was never my favorite. I always thought she was too prissy and whiny. But now I like her more, too!
- The Rabbit. 'Nuff said.
And speaking of SATC, I'm so excited to see that I can catch the rerun of the House episode that featured Ron Livingston as a guest star. I loved this one! Ron/Berger/Peter Gibbon plays a superstar doctor working to cure TB in rural Africa. He comes down with a mysterious illness himself and ends up House's patient, then uses the opportunity to make a stand against big corporate medicine. Of course, he and House have all kinds of conversation about the ethics of medicine, and about spending money to save one patient when you could be saving thousands. Good stuff!
Monday, January 02, 2006
A Neighborhood in Transition
I subscribe to the Adams Morgan Yahoo Group. I've found it to be a great resource, and I highly recommend that everyone sign up for their own community's group or message board. You can learn a lot about local issues, events, and places to check out.
There has been a discussion thread recently about the "gentrification" of Adams Morgan and particularly about the appearance of several major national chain stores coming in where there used to be independent establishments. The following is a very well-written and thoughtful post from a neighbor that I thought was strong enough to share. I've taken out the names/email addresses. I hope the authors don't mind - if you want to see the originals feel free to log on to the Yahoo group itself.
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2006 10:16:17 -0500
From: Resident 2
Subject: Question of Adams Morgan Changing
Dear Neighbors,
In the message pasted below Resident 1 notes that Adams Morgan is looking more and more like a Mall these days with national chains moving in ie: the closing of the historic Comet Deli this month to be replaced eventually by national haircare chain Bubbles. I agree with the majority of people living near the Comet who wish it would be taken over by new management and preserved, yet its also the right of the owner to sell out to make the most money possible. With owners looking to make the most money, whether its rent or sale of property, the tendency will continue to be national chains moving in to A-M. Corporate power will rule the day as these chains can pour much more money into acquiring a site than say a new local business or even a local chain like the Austin Grill.
Yet another factor in these chains coming to A-M is the willingness of people to buy from them, so the problem of the character changing toward "urban corporate malls" has as much to do with the people who shop at these places as the ambitions of these national chains. The chains are here precisely because A-M has character with the hope it might rub off on them. Is the Starbucks more attractive because Trist is down the street? Does Pizza Hit want a piece of Super Slices business? Or do people just buy coffee at the nearest location to work or home? Its probably a little of both. Ironically if the national chains manage to supplant the independent retail/restaurants that have local character they may actually undermine their own success here.
In 2005 a handful of independent retail stores opened in A-M, but about the same number closed while a bunch of national chains opened and none closed.
I Say Break the Chains!
There are numerous groups that joined the Organic Consumers Association by declaring December "Buy Local Month" http://organicconsumers.org/btc.htm . But why not buy local all year round and keep your money in your community by frequenting businesses that are better connected to DC. If you haven't shopped at independent stores lately why not make it your 2006 resolution to buy local, fair made and while your at it, organic! Who needs Amazon.com when you got Idle Time books and Crooked Beat Records. Who needs Harris Teeter & Whole Foods when you got So's Your Mom and Yes Organic Foods. Don't forget the numerous independent restaurants you might want to drop in spend some dough at, because before you know it, they could be replaced by publicly traded companies that ignore local flavor (also international pallets). Don't torture your taste buds let alone the environment when you eat that factory farmed cheeseburger at McDees and BurgerDespot. Just say no to Hormone Pizza Hut and KFC's Antibiotic laced fried meat. I'll take the quick eats at the Astor for the same prices over those imperial chains.
Living on Mintwood Place since 1999 I'd say its looking more like a GOP hood. Of course I don't know the political affiliation of everyone moving in and don't imply all Republicans are rich or senseless to local character, but an informal survey of the contractors working to fix the 5 tiny units across the street from my house that advertised starting from the low "$600's to over $1M" showed that everyone was sold to a wealthy Republican from outside the district. I was told that none of them are going to make DC their primary residence, but time will tell if that is true. I could never afford to buy my own apartment at todays prices, not even if it was half as much of its current value. I know many neighbors in the same boat. The pressure to leave DC for cheaper digs while cashing out the equity is huge. So I guess in the long term A-M residents are going to have to pay the price of the neighborhood's appeal. It reminds me of a paradise island somewhere in the tropics that is so beautiful that everyone wants to visit and by arriving in such great numbers they destroy the reef system and trash the place. For years A-M was in the shadow of Georgetown as far as nightlife. This helped it evolve with scores of local restaurants/businesses taking root. With the solidifying of A-M as the hot spot in town it is changing in ways that may forever destroy the character of a place that seemed to resist the monoculture of national chains for as long as I can remember. This paradise we found can stay that way if us locals work to keep it. Everyone be mindful of the consumer choices you make in 2006, they impact us all.
Happy New Year,
Resident 2
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:48:54 -0000
From: Resident 1
Subject: I might as well be living in a mall.
I've lived in A-M for 15 years. It's starting to look and feel more
and more like everything I specifically chose to avoid by choosing and
staying to live in this neighborhood. Are any other residents starting
to feel this way? If you go to other cities, they and their residents
seem to value maintaining the unique and longstanding characters of
their neighborhoods. Until recently, the balance between local, quirky
and new, national seems great to me. Now, the mix seems to be growing
disturbingly out of whack.
Maybe, it's just a symptom of the City as a whole. It makes me sad and
confuses me.
There has been a discussion thread recently about the "gentrification" of Adams Morgan and particularly about the appearance of several major national chain stores coming in where there used to be independent establishments. The following is a very well-written and thoughtful post from a neighbor that I thought was strong enough to share. I've taken out the names/email addresses. I hope the authors don't mind - if you want to see the originals feel free to log on to the Yahoo group itself.
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 01 Jan 2006 10:16:17 -0500
From: Resident 2
Subject: Question of Adams Morgan Changing
Dear Neighbors,
In the message pasted below Resident 1 notes that Adams Morgan is looking more and more like a Mall these days with national chains moving in ie: the closing of the historic Comet Deli this month to be replaced eventually by national haircare chain Bubbles. I agree with the majority of people living near the Comet who wish it would be taken over by new management and preserved, yet its also the right of the owner to sell out to make the most money possible. With owners looking to make the most money, whether its rent or sale of property, the tendency will continue to be national chains moving in to A-M. Corporate power will rule the day as these chains can pour much more money into acquiring a site than say a new local business or even a local chain like the Austin Grill.
Yet another factor in these chains coming to A-M is the willingness of people to buy from them, so the problem of the character changing toward "urban corporate malls" has as much to do with the people who shop at these places as the ambitions of these national chains. The chains are here precisely because A-M has character with the hope it might rub off on them. Is the Starbucks more attractive because Trist is down the street? Does Pizza Hit want a piece of Super Slices business? Or do people just buy coffee at the nearest location to work or home? Its probably a little of both. Ironically if the national chains manage to supplant the independent retail/restaurants that have local character they may actually undermine their own success here.
In 2005 a handful of independent retail stores opened in A-M, but about the same number closed while a bunch of national chains opened and none closed.
I Say Break the Chains!
There are numerous groups that joined the Organic Consumers Association by declaring December "Buy Local Month" http://organicconsumers.org/btc.htm . But why not buy local all year round and keep your money in your community by frequenting businesses that are better connected to DC. If you haven't shopped at independent stores lately why not make it your 2006 resolution to buy local, fair made and while your at it, organic! Who needs Amazon.com when you got Idle Time books and Crooked Beat Records. Who needs Harris Teeter & Whole Foods when you got So's Your Mom and Yes Organic Foods. Don't forget the numerous independent restaurants you might want to drop in spend some dough at, because before you know it, they could be replaced by publicly traded companies that ignore local flavor (also international pallets). Don't torture your taste buds let alone the environment when you eat that factory farmed cheeseburger at McDees and BurgerDespot. Just say no to Hormone Pizza Hut and KFC's Antibiotic laced fried meat. I'll take the quick eats at the Astor for the same prices over those imperial chains.
Living on Mintwood Place since 1999 I'd say its looking more like a GOP hood. Of course I don't know the political affiliation of everyone moving in and don't imply all Republicans are rich or senseless to local character, but an informal survey of the contractors working to fix the 5 tiny units across the street from my house that advertised starting from the low "$600's to over $1M" showed that everyone was sold to a wealthy Republican from outside the district. I was told that none of them are going to make DC their primary residence, but time will tell if that is true. I could never afford to buy my own apartment at todays prices, not even if it was half as much of its current value. I know many neighbors in the same boat. The pressure to leave DC for cheaper digs while cashing out the equity is huge. So I guess in the long term A-M residents are going to have to pay the price of the neighborhood's appeal. It reminds me of a paradise island somewhere in the tropics that is so beautiful that everyone wants to visit and by arriving in such great numbers they destroy the reef system and trash the place. For years A-M was in the shadow of Georgetown as far as nightlife. This helped it evolve with scores of local restaurants/businesses taking root. With the solidifying of A-M as the hot spot in town it is changing in ways that may forever destroy the character of a place that seemed to resist the monoculture of national chains for as long as I can remember. This paradise we found can stay that way if us locals work to keep it. Everyone be mindful of the consumer choices you make in 2006, they impact us all.
Happy New Year,
Resident 2
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:48:54 -0000
From: Resident 1
Subject: I might as well be living in a mall.
I've lived in A-M for 15 years. It's starting to look and feel more
and more like everything I specifically chose to avoid by choosing and
staying to live in this neighborhood. Are any other residents starting
to feel this way? If you go to other cities, they and their residents
seem to value maintaining the unique and longstanding characters of
their neighborhoods. Until recently, the balance between local, quirky
and new, national seems great to me. Now, the mix seems to be growing
disturbingly out of whack.
Maybe, it's just a symptom of the City as a whole. It makes me sad and
confuses me.
I Resolve...
It's New Year's Resolution time again! Mine are pretty simple and hopefully achievable:
1. Get healthy. I am now back on the diet, and I've decided to start sharing and tracking my progress with the blog world. Since I know people look for different things when reading blogs, I'm going to keep The View from 16th Street fun and relatively diet-free. I have started a new blog, On the W.W.Wagon, where I'll be sharing all the details, challenges and hopefully successes. Please check it out!
2. Down with Visa. I really need to cut down on my spending and pay down that darn Visa bill this year. It looks like things are lining up well so that I should be able to do so. I hope to be able to move this year, so that means saving up some money for a deposit and new furniture and such, so I really am gonna be more of a homebody for a while to keep from spending money all the time.
3. Explore the City. I've lived in the DC area for 3 1/2 years now and there are still so many things I've never seen! I want to check out the American Indian museum, I need to see Tai Shan, I want to see jazz performances on U Street, I need to figure out why Georgetown is so popular, I want to start going to the various neighborhood gallery walks. There's so much to see and do, I want to make sure I get out there and explore the mostly really inexpensive things our city has to offer!
4. Keep Up the Photography. I have had so much fun learning about my camera and myself this year. Even though I'm gonna take a break from classes for a while (they're getting a little expensive) I want to make sure I'm still capturing images as often as I can. I really want to make that "photography wall" in my apartment really impressive!
5. Get Political Again. Those midterms are coming! Let's really take a stand this time. I want to get back into volunteering with the DNC and/or various 527s. Watch this space, cuz I'm sure I'll be posting more about the balance of the Hill as the elections come closer.
Okay, that's enough. I'm hoping I can reach all of these goals in 2006. Good luck to everyone out there on your resolutions!
1. Get healthy. I am now back on the diet, and I've decided to start sharing and tracking my progress with the blog world. Since I know people look for different things when reading blogs, I'm going to keep The View from 16th Street fun and relatively diet-free. I have started a new blog, On the W.W.Wagon, where I'll be sharing all the details, challenges and hopefully successes. Please check it out!
2. Down with Visa. I really need to cut down on my spending and pay down that darn Visa bill this year. It looks like things are lining up well so that I should be able to do so. I hope to be able to move this year, so that means saving up some money for a deposit and new furniture and such, so I really am gonna be more of a homebody for a while to keep from spending money all the time.
3. Explore the City. I've lived in the DC area for 3 1/2 years now and there are still so many things I've never seen! I want to check out the American Indian museum, I need to see Tai Shan, I want to see jazz performances on U Street, I need to figure out why Georgetown is so popular, I want to start going to the various neighborhood gallery walks. There's so much to see and do, I want to make sure I get out there and explore the mostly really inexpensive things our city has to offer!
4. Keep Up the Photography. I have had so much fun learning about my camera and myself this year. Even though I'm gonna take a break from classes for a while (they're getting a little expensive) I want to make sure I'm still capturing images as often as I can. I really want to make that "photography wall" in my apartment really impressive!
5. Get Political Again. Those midterms are coming! Let's really take a stand this time. I want to get back into volunteering with the DNC and/or various 527s. Watch this space, cuz I'm sure I'll be posting more about the balance of the Hill as the elections come closer.
Okay, that's enough. I'm hoping I can reach all of these goals in 2006. Good luck to everyone out there on your resolutions!
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Happy New Year!
2006 is off to a great start so far! This year, I rang in the New Year in the company of good friends, which is really the best way to do it. Mr. and Mrs. L (the Newlyweds) hosted the gang for a sleepover at their brand new house up in MD. (Don't ask me where. Once we're past Bethesda I never know where I am, I just trust in whoever is driving me around. The blessing and the curse of being carless.) We had a Wisconsin New Year's, complete with squeaking cheese curds and the tastiest beef sticks ever. Plus, Mrs. L made super-tasty, and super-rum-laced wassail, which I hope we have at every function from now on. We traded belated Christmas presents - hence the boppin' Bozo - and indulged our dorky sides with a few Cheap Ass Games. By the time I turned in at 3:30 am, the New Year was already pretty darn fun.
January 1 has been calm and relaxing so far, too. After a yummy homemade cornmeal berry cake (courtesy of Mandy, who also made berry cobbler last night), the L's, Brunette and I spent 4 hours on the couch watching a marathon of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Thanks, Mr. L, for letting us girls control the tv! Oh, and there were more cheese curds and beefsticks as well as kabobs to be had. The diet starts tomorrow!
On the way home, I happened to catch the first sunset of the New Year. It was so gorgeous that there were at least 3 of us stopping to take pictures as we walked along the Ellington Bridge. Pretty cool, huh?
Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
