tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64620753917371675962024-03-05T18:33:16.334-05:00ThirtyFlirtyFab...Figuring out what it means to be an adult in the suburbs...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-45243634960247937472011-03-06T14:13:00.000-05:002011-03-06T14:13:40.206-05:00Mea Culpa(Or, as my mom says, "Mayor Cooper.")<br />
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So, it looks like my typing fingers made a promise my heart couldn't cash in my last post. Of course, the moment I vowed not to let thoughts of pitter-pattering little feet take over the blog, it was the only thing I could think about to post about. It was like when someone tells you not to think of pink elephants...Then, you can't think of anything <i>but</i> pink elephants!<br />
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Add to that the fact that in a week, I won't be thirty any more, and I'd hate to have to think of a clever new name for this blog. (Thirty-one, Flirty-one, and Fabulous...one?)<br />
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All of that out there on the table, I've decided to start a new blog. That's right, you heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen: A BRAND NEW (AND IMPROVED) BLOG. You can find it at <a href="http://mamaturg.blogspot.com/">http://mamaturg.blogspot.com</a>. There will be posts about theatre stuff and living-life stuff (much like this here blog), as well as posts about my journey being a mom and having a family. I've even imported some of my "greatest hits" over there to start us off.<br />
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Come join me at <a href="http://mamaturg.blogspot.com/">Mamaturg</a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-79990211233640306762010-11-21T17:31:00.000-05:002010-11-21T17:31:06.010-05:00Demo: 18-34<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDyv2F4D4sNb5CWv56gZUAuac7mGVIaHXyJ0jLZ4pH2SKEcE4Wrkbj7mOuIKfv4gOTHKHz31tVzp12yhRlrSH0PQksLZoGJbn7zkptUZVXDSw5DTaHpuVxKVsKKSOLEOfA6bRL_-Xtt4/s1600/dodgead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDyv2F4D4sNb5CWv56gZUAuac7mGVIaHXyJ0jLZ4pH2SKEcE4Wrkbj7mOuIKfv4gOTHKHz31tVzp12yhRlrSH0PQksLZoGJbn7zkptUZVXDSw5DTaHpuVxKVsKKSOLEOfA6bRL_-Xtt4/s1600/dodgead.jpg" /></a></div>It never strikes me that I'm firmly lodged in a specific demographic as much as it does when I'm watching a car commercial. Yes, I know, most commercials are geared toward the coveted 18-34 age group (which I'll be in for another four years, thankyouverymuch), and we love us some Betty White getting tackled in a backyard football game, or an indie female singer crooning about how much she loves life. (Double points if she's backed up by a ukulele!)<br />
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But now, I've got this other thing going, which is lending things a whole 'nother shade. I'm going to be a parent. And dammit if we don't all want to be the coolest parents in the world, not those old fuddy-duddy parents we've seen in other generations.<br />
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Or, so the car companies believe of us.<br />
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Almost every car commercial I've seen in the last year or so has an absolutely adorable child, either telling its parent how to use their car or rolling their eyes at how lame their (or other kid's) parent's car is. Tag line: "Just because you're a parent doesn't mean you have to be lame." We're clueless, Toyota tells us, but we don't have to be the geeks we were made fun of for being in high school! Or, we don't have to worry about becoming geeks, just because we've procreated!<br />
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It all started, of course, with this commercial, which I admittedly thought was cute.<br />
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0A1n18oL5QA?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0A1n18oL5QA?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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Yes! I thought. Parents are people, too! But after several viewings, it all seems so...desperate. We like to shop! We wear hoodies! We play loud rock guitar while our children bang on the drums! We know the lingo and we're not afraid to be our horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing selves! We're not lame, and our children will love us! It <i>is</i> a far cry from other, older car ads, but I can't help but feel pandered to.<br />
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Ah, well. I'm just looking for a stroller that can fold up quickly enough to get on the bus.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-48265374330429972052010-11-20T11:17:00.000-05:002010-11-20T11:17:54.987-05:00You're Too Young To...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRA9s8aaptueg9WIQAAxi0fqniKqngwv5Fsf2lv_eYVO7HL76AUYBwjTOklv55afP13OTKvqMChPI_tgDPIFRK0bVjEXYoKnE_YZaCSjNJ3IDZK5Tl6IYNsT7fCNQYrZlqaS4gV3Tm8I/s1600/frug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRA9s8aaptueg9WIQAAxi0fqniKqngwv5Fsf2lv_eYVO7HL76AUYBwjTOklv55afP13OTKvqMChPI_tgDPIFRK0bVjEXYoKnE_YZaCSjNJ3IDZK5Tl6IYNsT7fCNQYrZlqaS4gV3Tm8I/s200/frug.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b style="color: #990000;">WARNING: MUCH THEATRE GEEKERY AHEAD! </b><br />
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I was at a discussion earlier this week with other amateur theatre critics (both professional theatre folks and supporters of the arts), and a panel of choreographers and music directors. The topic was what choreographers and music directors <i>do</i>, exactly, and how we can tell if they've done a good job.<br />
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All was well and good for a while. I don't see (or work on) all that many musicals, but I love the form, and it's always interesting to learn about other people's jobs, especially when it's something I could never do to save my life. Like, I absolutely understand what a music director does, but I didn't have a clue as to how, as a member of an audience, to tell if their vision was coming across.<br />
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THEN. The gentleman in front of me raised his hand to ask a question. He asked how the choreographers feel if their audience doesn't intimately know the historical period they've drawn from for their choreography. I get the question; it came after a statement from one of the choreographers about what happens when dance styles don't match the period of the play. (For example, imposing modern dance on a production of <i>Singin' in the Rain</i>.) But then, he went on to say, "I'll be 70 years old on my next birthday. My first Broadway play was...well, forever ago...I understand the history of the form. But what about these young audience members who don't?"<br />
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And I raised my hand to respond. (More after the jump...)<br />
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I'm sorry, but just because I haven't <i>experienced</i> the golden age of musical theatre firsthand, that doesn't mean I don't understand history or genre. I wasn't around in the sixties; does that mean I don't understand the counterculture movements and musical styles that came out of them? I pointed out that I grew up listening to cast recordings and watching as many videos as I could (I'm a born theatre geek!), and as a lifelong student of theatre history, I'd <i>better</i> understand these things, or I'm not doing my job. I also mentioned that the whole point is to have the songs and dances fit in seamlessly with the dialogue and story, and if they don't feel organic, that's where the choreographer hasn't done his/her job appropriately. (Which, by the way, got appreciative nods from the choreographers on the panel.)<br />
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The gentleman felt the need to raise his hand again and smugly say, "But a cast album doesn't have choreography on it, <i>does it</i>?"<br />
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Fine, I was done with that conversation. I knew I was right.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQE4xw1IFxQcdmRleiot93WfbOydUd3-YGK3aWTUFhKxFJ8Qkq-XsKlTrvlOPntxwVNbnTo88HncH3g0G36Cne94AFQJy711QH8jUf8dQ39UjI0KkWl-L-HEa7oK6pP-ylWJWrm9dLFk0/s1600/singinintherain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQE4xw1IFxQcdmRleiot93WfbOydUd3-YGK3aWTUFhKxFJ8Qkq-XsKlTrvlOPntxwVNbnTo88HncH3g0G36Cne94AFQJy711QH8jUf8dQ39UjI0KkWl-L-HEa7oK6pP-ylWJWrm9dLFk0/s1600/singinintherain.jpg" /></a></div>A few minutes later, the conversation rolled around again to Twyla Tharp's production of <i>Singin' in the Rain</i>, and a gentleman behind me asked about a difference in generations. He wants the raincoat, the streetlight, the splashing from the original; his twenty-year-old daughter could "give a shit" if those elements appeared. He asked if the choreographers would liken it to something like Shakespeare where directors change time period often, but there are always some audience members who want to see what they're expecting with the text, costume, and time period.<br />
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I joined in the conversation again, again pointing out that it doesn't necessarily have to be a generational thing. Again, I'm thirty, and I want the raincoat, the streetlight, the puddle-splashing, too. (Gene Kelly will always be on my List.) And, as with Shakespeare, all of the elements just have to work <i>together</i>. There has to be a seamlessness, an organic sense that everything works together and comes from a natural place. Concepts never work if that's all a play hinges on. If someone wants to do modern dance in <i>Singing' in the Rain</i>, just because they want to, it won't work. If someone puts <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in (for example) a punk setting just <i>because</i>, without anything to back it up, that won't work either. I might have gone a bit far when I said "That's just...EGO," but I stand behind it.<br />
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I loved that we could have an informed conversation about the topic, and really respect when debates like this happen. I mean, that's what the arts are all about, right? But I couldn't help feeling a little discriminated against because of my age; that the first gentleman, especially, was suggesting that only older people could appreciate theatre. But I feel incredibly confident that I made logical points and contributed to the conversation. Go "youngsters!"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-12058440852205219822010-11-17T20:33:00.000-05:002010-11-17T20:33:44.924-05:00Well, Hello!Hello, blog! Long time, no see. I know I've been neglectful. Here, have a bouquet of flowers and a half-eaten box of chocolates. (What? I got hungry!) Want a foot massage?<br />
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I've missed you, baby. Been thinking about you all the time. But you know how it is when you're in a relationship with a workaholic. I hope you'll have me back...<br />
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Yay for more blogging! So, what have I been doing in my long absence?<br />
<ul><li>Dramaturging plays for The Inkwell and Doorway Arts (most recently, this past weekend).</li>
<li>Taking a trip to California (happy reason: wedding, sad reason: funeral--the two were unrelated, just happened to be the same weekend).</li>
<li>Going to concerts (Frightened Rabbit!).</li>
<li>Seeing plays.</li>
<li>Teaching. </li>
<li>Learning more about the ukulele. </li>
<li>Gestating!</li>
</ul>That's right, as if you didn't know already, your (soon-to-be-again-I-promise) intrepid blogger is pregnant! Really racking up the life changes in my ThirtyFlirtyFab year! I may be tempted to discuss the pregnancy and ensuing child on this blog, but I hereby make the following promises:<br />
<ol><li>There will be no medical-type information. ('Cause, raise your hand if you need to know what's going on inside my uterus. Any hands up? No? I didn't think so.)</li>
<li>The pregnancy and ensuing child will not be the sole subject of this here blog.</li>
</ol>I have more dramaturgy gigs coming up, an insight on ageism in the world of play criticism, work-related musings, and hopefully more pictures of food-type yumminess. I'm back, baby!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-21084579142906459202010-08-22T18:18:00.000-04:002010-08-22T18:18:55.575-04:00Cupcakes!We take a break from our regularly scheduled Staycation posts (I promise to write about our awesome Day Four at Mount Vernon very soon!) to bring you pictures of...<i><b>CUPCAKES</b><b></b></i>!<br />
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In the last two weeks, I've baked two batches of cupcakes, my latest non-ukulele-related obsession. The most recent were orange(-ish) with orange buttercream frosting. The cake was particularly moist and delicious, but I had to deviate from the prescribed buttercream recipe, because I couldn't find the required orange flower water for the life of me. I'm incredibly curious, so if anyone knows where to find some in a brick-and-mortar near Silver Spring, I'd love some intel! Otherwise, I'll turn to these here interwebs.<br />
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The tastiest cupcakes came last week, when I baked to impress some out-of-town guests. (Yes, even husband's former college roommate/our best man/great guy and his awesome wife deserve to be impressed every now and then.)<br />
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I made vanilla cupcakes with raspberry jam running through, and a vanilla buttercream with raspberries plopped on top. Enjoy the picture:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukaOE9M2eYz2yEeEoqkS1A2gXFFvvk_5IQ7PqVX8qJB5cAp_P_w9KhltHDbteqroCe4DUMq1-vjLbULliJkVSRoQ06_m0Vq9SJmmL0me1VJcj84YLy73IEGsxKpYk6qyReFyznQBdrrQ/s1600/DSCN2581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukaOE9M2eYz2yEeEoqkS1A2gXFFvvk_5IQ7PqVX8qJB5cAp_P_w9KhltHDbteqroCe4DUMq1-vjLbULliJkVSRoQ06_m0Vq9SJmmL0me1VJcj84YLy73IEGsxKpYk6qyReFyznQBdrrQ/s320/DSCN2581.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Yum! Will have to make these again sometime soon. Slight modification next time (which the recipe actually calls for, but I left out): cut a hole in the top of the cake and plop some more raspberry jam in there before frosting. Oooo.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-29358747439117368362010-08-21T17:16:00.000-04:002010-08-21T17:16:08.601-04:00Staycation: Day Three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOd7F_PWW8y9HQp2HyB3bDX9_94pQpaE3di_g_qB_t4PDeLXQNRvmzvJkW_DDZ4po9ixUKrcSZEnd2CK7eD-9maItU5VQd2hVeU6rkgVQCIduSe88dufh3o6Fkwmq7OoEpjfR3RkRn9o/s1600/DSCN2697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOd7F_PWW8y9HQp2HyB3bDX9_94pQpaE3di_g_qB_t4PDeLXQNRvmzvJkW_DDZ4po9ixUKrcSZEnd2CK7eD-9maItU5VQd2hVeU6rkgVQCIduSe88dufh3o6Fkwmq7OoEpjfR3RkRn9o/s320/DSCN2697.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>In which Jenn and Jake actually get to go to the Botanical Garden and traipse around the Mall in the rain.<br />
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What a full day of sightseeing on Wednesday! The great thing about staycating in mid-August is that the town isn't as full as it might be otherwise; families are getting ready for back-to-school, so vacations have pretty well ended; most camps are out of session, so there are fewer field trips; and the locals are still out of town. All of this led to many fewer tourists than I had originally anticipated, which was awesome.<br />
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After the jump: the Botanical Gardens, Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Museum of American History, and the Freer/Sackler Galleries (links and pictures included). All within a few compact blocks on the Mall!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIYuf0IPrzd3VZX-9AGib8_DH1XZGEF6G1MD69GAJ6-YYuJFRwn8mNYePxb3eiDB9_mFJGo-vHzM7o8Zef7QiekkrDHhu3KQp5Upr_TpEKC9XRRJRLsADGn0Ac-2RCWnf_TWi6z1cNhU/s1600/DSCN2627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIYuf0IPrzd3VZX-9AGib8_DH1XZGEF6G1MD69GAJ6-YYuJFRwn8mNYePxb3eiDB9_mFJGo-vHzM7o8Zef7QiekkrDHhu3KQp5Upr_TpEKC9XRRJRLsADGn0Ac-2RCWnf_TWi6z1cNhU/s200/DSCN2627.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
<a name='more'></a>After Tuesdays "oh, no, wait, the Gardens are closed" snafu, we headed out early Wednesday morning, to make sure we got a jump on things. So glad we did! The <a href="http://www.usbg.gov/">Botanic Garden</a> was an absolute highlight of the Staycation, and we spent hours there, wandering through the plants. I especially loved looking at the plants that yield our foods, herbs, and spices (the coffee and cacao trees were really interesting, as was the banana tree, at right).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcvw2zorBXkDqOVJw2pTtFj04HYv6qH1ODD0xw4NattvBoeUTGkg4hGQNnXjzegjqFDd8lX74Dw5DauR1HhLtgHod1h5aEEFdMrPBwmXPK4QQjMigYvLg-4jTqB0Wlev-1zSuxX82hHU/s1600/DSCN2654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcvw2zorBXkDqOVJw2pTtFj04HYv6qH1ODD0xw4NattvBoeUTGkg4hGQNnXjzegjqFDd8lX74Dw5DauR1HhLtgHod1h5aEEFdMrPBwmXPK4QQjMigYvLg-4jTqB0Wlev-1zSuxX82hHU/s200/DSCN2654.JPG" width="200" /></a>You can't beat the sheer beauty of the rows and rows of flowers. The variety of nature is absolutely breathtaking. I loved that the displays were set up as if the flowers were naturally occurring, not like they had been artificially cultivated (which, of course, they have).<br />
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As a low-maintenance plant girl, I couldn't get enough of the desert display with the cacti and succulents. And the jungle display was amazing, especially once we got up on the overhead walkway. Seriously, y'all, I took, like, seventy pictures. It was amazing. I recommend it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HoaedhbVUKdIpTD33asjd-IRBGJuwAS81iLZaPmV-tWMR0zO8PqTMrT3VBBj6C2pHITPHNCFKvEfPMbz3oJ_SThUhgq43Se_m8LMAn6DJLVo5RcuMmNXZDbR9EQgI_QfUppBBJovT4c/s1600/DSCN2671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HoaedhbVUKdIpTD33asjd-IRBGJuwAS81iLZaPmV-tWMR0zO8PqTMrT3VBBj6C2pHITPHNCFKvEfPMbz3oJ_SThUhgq43Se_m8LMAn6DJLVo5RcuMmNXZDbR9EQgI_QfUppBBJovT4c/s200/DSCN2671.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaJO2NSsXjEpLaQn-My-HAcg9cO9mXheu0ncTrTucjndhkpo6pHu6_QknixCkNwuO0rqHDXs0I0lmhJm65fM4GeVbDmYWnf2Ddi_8TLzUAM2Qt6Y0sZANYBxDwh5n4jkWqzcyKEnwlz8/s1600/DSCN2699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaJO2NSsXjEpLaQn-My-HAcg9cO9mXheu0ncTrTucjndhkpo6pHu6_QknixCkNwuO0rqHDXs0I0lmhJm65fM4GeVbDmYWnf2Ddi_8TLzUAM2Qt6Y0sZANYBxDwh5n4jkWqzcyKEnwlz8/s200/DSCN2699.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>After we left the Botanic Garden, we took a quick walk across to the <a href="http://www.nmai.si.edu/">Museum of the American Indian</a> for lunch. I'd heard that the <a href="http://americanindian.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=visitor&second=dc&third=mitsitam">food court</a> was great, and so it was. Yes, one could certainly eat like it was Thanksgiving year-round, but we opted to eat different regional foods. I ate from the South American section, with yam-and-banana soup, cornbread, and fried yucca with garlic-chipotle sauce. I don't remember exactly what Jake had, but his Plains Indians fry bread was fab.<br />
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We walked around one of the displays for a little while, and then headed over to the <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/">Museum of American History</a>, one of the few stops on our Staycation (along with the National Gallery) that I'd been to before. I'd never been there with Jake, though, and there were a few things I definitely needed to see with him...and first on the list was Julia Child's kitchen! He hadn't seen it before; I had, but not in years. It was even more interesting since learning as much about Julia as I have in the last couple of years.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1VmLQ4DF-ADi5UFV-T4Z4TErZ3yCuTtHBhDLndlzUsOFYduuHswyzprYtRDonjH1x916c_UXFQADMqMNg_JF77QLaVE8AAPz98HGrm0Vh1O9tOQ0EcSr9MpPESpFVR_hEdNXUIVlAmQ/s1600/DSCN2713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1VmLQ4DF-ADi5UFV-T4Z4TErZ3yCuTtHBhDLndlzUsOFYduuHswyzprYtRDonjH1x916c_UXFQADMqMNg_JF77QLaVE8AAPz98HGrm0Vh1O9tOQ0EcSr9MpPESpFVR_hEdNXUIVlAmQ/s200/DSCN2713.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyqCNw7v65QQ4TXUIZOlZHjPO7T-EEal-AthvMZhv7hpGw4egA-VT_8lQsO7imXtnsw-DK_gY_yNJ6mtP1nj-RNmEuasoDWX92jdomcesHYoZq8Wg0MWH6SLSIMcJHSEbdpACqR2FuSY/s1600/DSCN2726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyqCNw7v65QQ4TXUIZOlZHjPO7T-EEal-AthvMZhv7hpGw4egA-VT_8lQsO7imXtnsw-DK_gY_yNJ6mtP1nj-RNmEuasoDWX92jdomcesHYoZq8Wg0MWH6SLSIMcJHSEbdpACqR2FuSY/s200/DSCN2726.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Other must-see stops were the First Ladies' dresses and the pop-culture displays--how could one <i>not</i> go see Archie Bunker's chair and the ruby slippers?--but an absolute show-stopper was the exhibit about the Apollo Theatre. We learned about the history of the Apollo, alongside artifacts like the producers' notes on performers, Aretha's dress, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's hair cream, and Afrika Bambaataa's robe. <br />
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After <i>THAT</i>, we made our way over to the <a href="http://www.asia.si.edu/">Freer & Sackler Galleries</a> to look at some Asian art. I've always wanted to go to the Freer/Sackler, but had never made my way down. I'm so glad we did on this trip. I don't know a whole lot about Asian art, and these galleries feature art from all over Asia, from the temporary Gods of Angkor exhibit to Chinese and Japanese paintings to Korean pottery to Turkish mosaic. I feel like we only got a taste of what the world of Asian art has to offer, but what a taste. We were immersed in beauty.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2X5n6UOoxUNmhevoIKwpg6FQXKWkqwfkwDic-iO49fl-DK50Jy4n_kKMKAd_A3WtwVjb_397HOQfw9AF0wNV3jrO2qmNijFya7XADp07hyw609H0eY4QTzs5IEed8ZvUHmQzDzQdnysQ/s1600/DSCN2729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2X5n6UOoxUNmhevoIKwpg6FQXKWkqwfkwDic-iO49fl-DK50Jy4n_kKMKAd_A3WtwVjb_397HOQfw9AF0wNV3jrO2qmNijFya7XADp07hyw609H0eY4QTzs5IEed8ZvUHmQzDzQdnysQ/s200/DSCN2729.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
Coming up next: Thursday's day trip to Mount Vernon, and a shrine to Theodore Roosevelt.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-48584367115655624092010-08-18T20:30:00.001-04:002010-08-18T20:31:31.175-04:00Staycation: Day Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXRE8z9nVUHcIu9_ZYyMAhyWx7_5yt42kprE6au09MzSgRgLQ95R1FFWY4hgSxSQh_wMcCS9R3iJr6pVMVwAtFGkXCHZfBqBF1oet2DSIlhQrjdPETCebEOvGgec08gURR1Q5qIxMfLo/s1600/DSCN2606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXRE8z9nVUHcIu9_ZYyMAhyWx7_5yt42kprE6au09MzSgRgLQ95R1FFWY4hgSxSQh_wMcCS9R3iJr6pVMVwAtFGkXCHZfBqBF1oet2DSIlhQrjdPETCebEOvGgec08gURR1Q5qIxMfLo/s320/DSCN2606.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>In which Jenn and Jake run around Gallery Place (and other galleries) and apparently don't know what time things close!<br />
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We planned on seeing a <i>lot</i> on Day Two of the Staycation. (Not as much as Day Three, but that's another post.) The goal was to head out to Gallery Place, hit up the National Portrait Gallery, get some lunch in Chinatown, head down to both the East and West wings of the National Gallery, and then to the US Botanical Garden for a nature-y close to our day. And we accomplished <i>most</i> of that...Be advised, if you go to the Botanical Garden, it closes at 5:00. The website says 7:00, but it doesn't specify that the <i>outside</i> part closes at 7, while the <i>inside</i> part closes at 5. No big, we went back this morning, but it was still a chunk of time walking in the DC summer-hot-n-humid air.<br />
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We had a great time at the galleries, though...details and pictures after the jump!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>First thing we did was hit up the <a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/">National Portrait Gallery</a>, one of those sites I'd never been to before, but had always meant to. It was pretty awesome. The first thing we did was walk around and looked at Matthew Brady photographs; a good number of them were of Civil War-era actors, and it was cool to get to look at photos of people I'd only ever read about in my theatre history books. We didn't get too far into any of the other exhibits before we both realized we were <i>incredibly</i> hungry. We figured we'd come back if there was time after all of the other things we had set aside to see that day, and off we went.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWOZJmWokKq9RvZbsmViDBTvlEWe_cBtrKFsFTfPzTibawssZpHtVwooi2jtZepEKlTGXjKgXUqdwVm3UxBL1XJv1f_oosiqzGC5RZmNopXZisRNGj54YuKHdSZl085tcMbuyO7_FUXQ/s1600/DSCN2605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWOZJmWokKq9RvZbsmViDBTvlEWe_cBtrKFsFTfPzTibawssZpHtVwooi2jtZepEKlTGXjKgXUqdwVm3UxBL1XJv1f_oosiqzGC5RZmNopXZisRNGj54YuKHdSZl085tcMbuyO7_FUXQ/s200/DSCN2605.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>A quick walk on 6th St. NW brought us to Chinatown Express, better known as "that place where the guy makes fresh noodles in the window." We only needed a quick glance at the menu; Jake ordered pork bun, and I had steamed dumplings. SO good! It's good to know a bit of "Chinatown" still exists in Chinatown--which seems now to be typified by "Hooters" or "Anne Taylor" written in Chinese underneath the American sign. (But I digress.)<br />
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After our fortune cookies, we headed to the National Gallery's West Building, to see some Renaissance art. What can you say about the West Building? It's gorgeous. Nothing you haven't seen before in books, but seeing the paintings up close makes them so much better. (Yes, yes, trite, I know. But it's so true.) I love looking at Titian's works, particularly, and the Ginevra d'Benci (DaVinci's only work in America) is practically transcendent.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpC-Hi4wZfIhr3pCcqjxfHoXV72s4a5FP-4ghqGZwNOn4rCE7oZf-9619yCLTMwkmUe-27evSMIHRCuWWYLqXLO6T43QqAVq1XucfSptOp1TVDdNjZlurq0Xii7FW9qqrXG-iE2wQ7tI/s1600/DSCN2607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpC-Hi4wZfIhr3pCcqjxfHoXV72s4a5FP-4ghqGZwNOn4rCE7oZf-9619yCLTMwkmUe-27evSMIHRCuWWYLqXLO6T43QqAVq1XucfSptOp1TVDdNjZlurq0Xii7FW9qqrXG-iE2wQ7tI/s200/DSCN2607.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>We made our way over to the East Building, and after spending way too long marveling over Calder's mobiles, got a chance to look at the temporary Munch exhibit (which has one of my favorite pieces, <a href="http://www.abcgallery.com/M/munch/munch104.html">"Vampire"</a>), and the <a href="http://www.menil.org/visit/rothko.php">Rothko Chapel</a>--partially transplanted from Houston--which was very interesting. I'm a fan of Rothko's work, but I've never seen his all-black pieces. Paired with the music that was composed for them, the space felt very meditative.<br />
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We headed back to the West Building; on our way through the Gift Shop (dontcha know you <i>have to</i> go through the Shop to get from building to building), we had seen a poster for a Ginsberg exhibit we had missed. We had to go through the <a href="http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/daleinfo.shtm">Chester Dale exhibit</a>...and I'm so glad we did! Dale was a collector (to say the least), and some of the most wonderful Impressionist and Modern pieces wound up in his hands. I got to see one of my favorite Picasso paintings, <a href="http://www.abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso278.html">"The Lovers."</a> On to the <a href="http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/ginsberginfo.shtm">Ginsberg exhibit</a>--a collection of his photographs of his friends, complete with extensive captions in his own hand. <i>Very</i> cool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTegAw3KMQR4xCbtx0sXIfsOrTq626E2klNMigpz5Rx3ubbeEVlSuZ3rVkzsMyfBGuq6MNsOD3Pm0GharAKIa25HfLmTPbRMIsnNkJHK0iWSQckektG7xqFD24dDIs3S7A08hA1JJdfNY/s1600/DSCN2611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTegAw3KMQR4xCbtx0sXIfsOrTq626E2klNMigpz5Rx3ubbeEVlSuZ3rVkzsMyfBGuq6MNsOD3Pm0GharAKIa25HfLmTPbRMIsnNkJHK0iWSQckektG7xqFD24dDIs3S7A08hA1JJdfNY/s200/DSCN2611.JPG" width="200" /></a>After that, we made our way over to the Botanical Gardens, and found it closed, as previously mentioned. Grr. At least we had more time for the Portrait Gallery, but we had to walk both ways in the heat and humidity...Ugh.<br />
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On our way back, we took a detour through the Sculpture Garden. I don't blame the folks who were knee-deep in the fountain one bit. Some of the pieces were pretty spectacular.<br />
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We saw three very cool exhibits when we got to the Portrait Gallery: one was on the history of portraiture of American Presidents (everything from post-modern Clinton and Kennedy to posed-to-hell Eisenhower and Adams); one was <a href="http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/americansnow/index.html">a look at modern portraits</a> (a striking Toni Morrison, a technologically superb Chuck Close, and everything in between); and the last was a <a href="http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/rockwell/">Norman Rockwell retrospective</a>...from the collections of <i>George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.</i> (OK, it was technically in the National Museum of American Art, but they share the same building, so...) I forget that Rockwell isn't all about unabashed sentimentality, and this was a good reminder.<br />
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Tomorrow: Day o' Smithsonians!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-42243841826688169102010-08-17T21:23:00.000-04:002010-08-17T21:23:28.702-04:00Staycation: Day One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVLAdy6L8S2Be4S_IysOLtKptHtvL7lSK0FuG9wWV7DssKRt3uCBw2gCBKCK4A7XpPsI0RuxoIFaCyjGZKM9gVd4-qxOF0rXsqdlY_hRBZ-jfFM57EivyaSFnjF68zV3jKonfT4LHrrw/s1600/DSCN2592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVLAdy6L8S2Be4S_IysOLtKptHtvL7lSK0FuG9wWV7DssKRt3uCBw2gCBKCK4A7XpPsI0RuxoIFaCyjGZKM9gVd4-qxOF0rXsqdlY_hRBZ-jfFM57EivyaSFnjF68zV3jKonfT4LHrrw/s200/DSCN2592.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>The idea was multi-fold:<br />
<ol><li>I had to burn up at least a week of vacation time before the fiscal year ends on the 31st.</li>
<li>Going someplace costs too much money.</li>
<li>People spend tons of money to visit DC.</li>
<li>I can get to DC for a pittance on the Metro.</li>
<li>There's stuff I've never seen in my own area.</li>
</ol>True, I came to the area at least once every other year on field trips in school (even "lobbied" for gun control to Senator Mikulski when I was, like, twelve). And, yes, I lived in DC for ten years before moving five minutes away in MD. But there comes a time in every urban dweller's life when they stop going to do touristy things, no matter how awesome they are.<br />
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And so, my summer staycation was born! I wanted to visit sites I've either never been to, or hadn't been in a long time. The itinerary:<br />
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<u><b>Monday</b></u><br />
Day o' Journalism (Newseum, then home to watch <i>Citizen Kane</i>, which, no, I'd never seen, shut up)<br />
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<u><b>Tuesday</b></u><br />
Gallery Place Day (National Portrait Gallery, lunch in Chinatown, quick walk to the National Gallery of Art)<br />
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<u><b>Wednesday</b></u><br />
Smithsonian Day (Botanical Gardens, American History, American Indian, and the Freer)<br />
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<u><b>Thursday</b></u><br />
Day trip to Mount Vernon<br />
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<u><b>Friday</b></u><br />
Day trip to the National Arboretum, and then catch-up on whatever else we feel the need to see<br />
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And with Jake working from home this summer, I have a perfect tour group of two. After the jump...How I spent my Monday!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I had a bunch of friends in college who had to go to the <a href="http://www.newseum.org/">Newseum </a>in its old location, to experience a pretend news broadcast for their Communications classes. I never had a reason to go, and since the tickets cost money, it slipped out of my daily consciousness. We set aside the day to go yesterday, and after a quick stop for the amazing lunch deals at <a href="http://www.thaidermusa.com/">Thai Derm</a>, we headed downtown.<br />
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Highlights of the trip were the exhibit on the FBI, the artifacts from the Berlin Wall<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv4PKvJRZKrE1g-xD0whIVskdEFg0HlfiG42-TsSz8qOHUxD5wRix6sjCIaPWfARCfXI6ZXgMs8tjnmnD8ptR7YbsrrwQst5NOQcmjejEW7_kGc7gZcUv92D6qyUcaI4JoX5SNkDn2QA/s1600/DSCN2588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv4PKvJRZKrE1g-xD0whIVskdEFg0HlfiG42-TsSz8qOHUxD5wRix6sjCIaPWfARCfXI6ZXgMs8tjnmnD8ptR7YbsrrwQst5NOQcmjejEW7_kGc7gZcUv92D6qyUcaI4JoX5SNkDn2QA/s320/DSCN2588.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
the exhibit about Elvis<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ2SvoDTSC1ltxFLhn_vJOiAMfwNvXSI3Eys39-IE4Bvc8j4UEkmVq-XaDgTSKrEYTulktf42qJg8lTBAwp4XhfX-7LAhX9yFvPCjO-RO6iOWW3aOhE4ak5fxTTAlbg5xlM40vwe9d68/s1600/DSCN2600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ2SvoDTSC1ltxFLhn_vJOiAMfwNvXSI3Eys39-IE4Bvc8j4UEkmVq-XaDgTSKrEYTulktf42qJg8lTBAwp4XhfX-7LAhX9yFvPCjO-RO6iOWW3aOhE4ak5fxTTAlbg5xlM40vwe9d68/s320/DSCN2600.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
the front pages and artifacts from 9/11<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8x1CguVDSMqqBeTJT2rkHDKwPoPQvW-PWSmXB036szNiasPttQEi1-5Zd92Qs-AsT-ES9XM0B4cdqoI1yXcQgA0HZgfWvC690_aSnoBm7Wm3ZbjRhEyg9NdhxiO1knoOUKrt0LTHY7ME/s1600/DSCN2597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8x1CguVDSMqqBeTJT2rkHDKwPoPQvW-PWSmXB036szNiasPttQEi1-5Zd92Qs-AsT-ES9XM0B4cdqoI1yXcQgA0HZgfWvC690_aSnoBm7Wm3ZbjRhEyg9NdhxiO1knoOUKrt0LTHY7ME/s320/DSCN2597.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
the photography exhibits, including the fabulous retrospective of Walter Iooss's sports photography<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNGSPmHj5a6Op6ZBgAONI0WMdu6xmCa_NkJLJBQhUEpyoElYm6mNAaJxufJKGMC_wCOfVIpu2wARLmH-CHxL3i4XOL15V-Ma2LnHDYw7Fp3dAU0iSown07xUGcJ1M8_woA9cTbrBr5tk/s1600/DSCN2589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNGSPmHj5a6Op6ZBgAONI0WMdu6xmCa_NkJLJBQhUEpyoElYm6mNAaJxufJKGMC_wCOfVIpu2wARLmH-CHxL3i4XOL15V-Ma2LnHDYw7Fp3dAU0iSown07xUGcJ1M8_woA9cTbrBr5tk/s320/DSCN2589.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
and the exhibit on our five freedoms granted by the First Amendment, which for me culminated in the display on Women's Suffrage.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWK6nUyjrYkAnRebcQxsy03Rd68NhLhKUovkeTpI8FjboghZusvKBkJpF_-t2uLO_vIhrIe4J0bYtjVOVW2mnZ4ZG0FbPr8c7IwhJGKmvt-fuqSl1LlEW0Zal0hFiDcv2MCWZbfqRbYrs/s1600/DSCN2603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWK6nUyjrYkAnRebcQxsy03Rd68NhLhKUovkeTpI8FjboghZusvKBkJpF_-t2uLO_vIhrIe4J0bYtjVOVW2mnZ4ZG0FbPr8c7IwhJGKmvt-fuqSl1LlEW0Zal0hFiDcv2MCWZbfqRbYrs/s320/DSCN2603.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Then, back home for some Armand's deep dish and <i>Citizen Kane</i>, which, even though I've essentially seen most of it through pop culture references and clips on <i>The Simpsons</i>, was still an amazing movie-watching experience.<br />
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Next post: Tuesday's Gallery Place expedition!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-11387585829119014452010-08-10T21:39:00.002-04:002010-08-10T21:55:43.805-04:00The Many Loves of Donald Draper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjzj57Ru96rRStJ8k3aosHk2vZ4np1ES-hOQYPphDi8cWbrPLYGDbrrFsVrp3Wt76qaFWyfID2DR1FWG8eAKST8hyvmohy9g5tUYnCMkUBXxhBWct_CQtTYhMura9runviiZi4uzK81A/s1600/don-betty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjzj57Ru96rRStJ8k3aosHk2vZ4np1ES-hOQYPphDi8cWbrPLYGDbrrFsVrp3Wt76qaFWyfID2DR1FWG8eAKST8hyvmohy9g5tUYnCMkUBXxhBWct_CQtTYhMura9runviiZi4uzK81A/s200/don-betty.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>Mad Men</i> is such a great show, and I'm looking forward to blogging about it every week. I don't want to do a recap, though--that seems to be too par for the course, and besides, I couldn't possibly do it better than <a href="http://tomandlorenzo2.blogspot.com/2010/08/mad-men-s4e3-good-news.html">TLo</a>. So, instead, I'm just going to post my random musings about things that I've been fixated on.<br />
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Tonight: hair color.<br />
<br />
Something has been striking me as odd about the women this season. It's not that Betty is a bad mom (we knew that already.) It's not that Peggy is <i>way</i> more headstrong and assertive than we've seen her in the past (a lot can happen in a few months and a change of venue). I finally put my finger on it yesterday: there are <i>more blondes</i> this season than we've ever seen before.<br />
<br />
Don was married to Betty--the epitome of the blonde early-sixties housewife--for years. And besides her, we never saw him with a single blonde. Not one...except Anna Draper (more about her later). As far as I can recall, all of the women he's related with except Joan (more about her later) have been brunettes. And that's completely changing this year. After the jump is my breakdown of the women in Don Draper's life, categorized by hair color. Just see if you notice the same pattern I did...I put <i>way</i> too much thought into it. :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyNDbgOJhBowzV0Np_4UBMHp8Zq9c2eMAk9RjV7geobivXT0ZIHjy3FXqvMkIsUMfFR0t1IkNbBAuYt7ntP7U_kglV8d4csNmdkeBo3e8ac_E68ygmnBvXsa30fwCA7f1tYo0A9PjnAg/s1600/BettyDraper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyNDbgOJhBowzV0Np_4UBMHp8Zq9c2eMAk9RjV7geobivXT0ZIHjy3FXqvMkIsUMfFR0t1IkNbBAuYt7ntP7U_kglV8d4csNmdkeBo3e8ac_E68ygmnBvXsa30fwCA7f1tYo0A9PjnAg/s200/BettyDraper.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Blondes</b></i></span><br />
<u>Betty</u>- Married. Lots of sex. Much of it probably not great.<br />
<u>Sally</u>- Daughter. Very 1960s dad relationship.<br />
<u>Anna</u>- Wife of the <i>real </i>Don Draper. I think Anna is the mom Dick Whitman never had, living the life he wishes he could--and is glad he can escape both to and from. Never a sexual relationship, but she does "know everything about [him] and loves [him] anyway." She's the one person who lets him be who he really is, with no veneers and no facades. Probably Don's perfect woman, but he knows she's better off with him 3,000 miles away.<br />
<u>Bethany-the-actress</u>- Fixed up over Thanksgiving. He makes a move; she turns him down.<br />
<u>Psychologist Faye Miller</u>- He makes a move after she psychologizes him; she turns him down. (For what it's worth, I do think she's right, and he'll end up married by the end of the season.)<br />
<u>Patty (Anna's sister)</u>- Super-uptight. He wouldn't dream of it.<br />
<u>Stephanie (Anna's niece)</u>- The first Berkley proto-hippie we meet. He makes a move; she turns him down.<br />
<u>Sexual-relationship count</u>: 1/7. Not for lack of trying.<br />
(Note that only three of these women ever appeared on our screen before season 4.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHyqgJhIIum927BVyNuAYIomHVke0XPRWGANdzh6ryWYpvfjFPEl31rHKgQYQHXh1QFqJG732bW4bz7X5M7-USHMlT0ltvzg1UcyCo0zehxfyRWwidwnde-j2Riqb6rgyrNSdjrHvmi4/s1600/RachelMenken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHyqgJhIIum927BVyNuAYIomHVke0XPRWGANdzh6ryWYpvfjFPEl31rHKgQYQHXh1QFqJG732bW4bz7X5M7-USHMlT0ltvzg1UcyCo0zehxfyRWwidwnde-j2Riqb6rgyrNSdjrHvmi4/s200/RachelMenken.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Brunettes</b></i></span><br />
<u>Peggy</u>- He wouldn't dream of it. Not his former secretary-turned-protegee. <br />
<u>Midge</u>- His Beatnik lover. I hated her, but they probably had really good sex.<br />
<u>Rachel Menken</u>- Not only a brunette but a Jew. Who owned her own business. I loved Rachel. Don loved Rachel. I think they could have been really good for each other--if he hadn't been married. What a great character.<br />
<u>Bobbie Barrett</u>- This one was crazy. A total power struggle. And the scene in the hallway at the restaurant...Whew! But gross. And wrong. The whole relationship. <br />
<u>Crazy Teacher Ms. Farrell</u> (What the hell was her first name? Couldn't have been Suzanne...)- Don <i>so</i> wanted to get caught with this one. His kid's teacher, who lived right up the street? And she was nuts. I was surprised she didn't go <i>Fatal Attraction</i> on him.<br />
<u>Allison</u>- Oh, Don. Breaking your "anyone but my secretary" rule. Totally consentual, but still...Poor Allison. (She does seem to have made it out OK so far.)<br />
<u>Candace</u>- The slapping hooker! They've had a "relationship" for a while it seems. And at only $25/night.<br />
<u>Sexual-relationship count</u>: 6/7. Not too shabby.<br />
(Note: All of these women except for Candace, have appeared in at least one of the last three seasons.)<br />
<br />
I'm not sure what to make of this right now, the fact that Don had never hit on another blonde before, and this season alone, he's tried it with three. Is it that he's trying to reclaim his marriage with Betty, or find another woman like Anna? <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5S76Ku7fPd7jlO7n8ef5CxK6dMJzSbtSGwSBAT_VlFoMuNcY-hxV48VkiFSBKxSpKBxr0WwmHcwBM0m7AM-FyP5rDrH39QMB7sipseZjghl4lHAWhC-N6SjvlI2JGZ6QsTk7fzvbb3U0/s1600/JoanGoodNews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5S76Ku7fPd7jlO7n8ef5CxK6dMJzSbtSGwSBAT_VlFoMuNcY-hxV48VkiFSBKxSpKBxr0WwmHcwBM0m7AM-FyP5rDrH39QMB7sipseZjghl4lHAWhC-N6SjvlI2JGZ6QsTk7fzvbb3U0/s200/JoanGoodNews.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Redhead</b></i></span><br />
<u>Joan</u>- OK, here's the thing I realized about <a href="http://firefly.wikia.com/wiki/Our_Mrs._Reynolds">Our Mrs. Reynolds</a>...ahem...I mean, Harris. She's the only redhead in the world of SCDP. And if she and Don were to have even a little fling, television sets everywhere would instantly explode. But there's a mutual respect thing, I think, and she's "Roger's." She's out of the running for sheer reason of being uncategorizable--not a blonde, not a brunette, not like anyone else in our insular TV universe. And I think it should stay that way.<br />
<br />
Also, may I please mention: she was wearing blue eyeshadow and pink-nude lipstick on this week's episode, and she looked amazing. We've never seen a color like that on Joan's eyes; she tends toward winged eyeliner with no noticeable color on her lids. I might have to try this new look.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-38048956837590942482010-08-02T22:23:00.001-04:002010-08-03T12:53:55.191-04:00With KindnessToday was a <i>very </i>full day, for reasons I'd rather not get ingot in a public forum. But something really nice happened--like, jaw-droppingly nice--and I just have to share. :)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJuXaL5CARY2fl03eCBuM55dWq7hxFMV_iZr_Bl421hF0tT-BbvSi35om-rXnMRmXfWONLSHBWXHiKpSWvzsrgp47iLQ8WRmc6aTLR_jU75sOj6Wkxx1RVD7jaRK-bY76a-ldv8zZMY0/s1600/6R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJuXaL5CARY2fl03eCBuM55dWq7hxFMV_iZr_Bl421hF0tT-BbvSi35om-rXnMRmXfWONLSHBWXHiKpSWvzsrgp47iLQ8WRmc6aTLR_jU75sOj6Wkxx1RVD7jaRK-bY76a-ldv8zZMY0/s200/6R.jpg" width="200" /></a>I was picking up a prescription from CVS, and the girl behind the counter complimented my hair color. I just redid it on Friday--red fades so darned quickly--and it <i>does</i> look pretty good, if I do say so myself. So, I told her, "It's L'oreal 6R."<br />
<br />
"Really?" she asked. (As though she couldn't believe she could have this color for $8.00.)<br />
<br />
"Sure. I can get you a box if you want." It was, like, two aisles over.<br />
<br />
"Really?" she asked again. I nodded and she thought for a moment. "You're not from DC, are you?"<br />
<br />
"Well, I lived in DC for twelve years or so, but I live in Silver Spring now."<br />
<br />
"Oh, ok." She started counting out pills, and I ran over to the hair color aisle and pulled a box for her. You know, just so she could see what it looked like. We talked more about hair for a little bit (she wasn't sure red would look good on her; I gave her my mantra that hair is the one thing you can change, and if you don't like it, dye it some other color) while she typed my info into the computer, and then she handed me the prescription. I asked if I could pay with my FSA card, and she said...<br />
<br />
"You know, you were so nice, I took off the co-pay for you."<br />
<br />
I think I must have just silently blinked a few times, and then I remembered her scanning a CVS gift card. I think I thought she was just scanning one of the behind-the-counter CVS scan cards. But, no, she <u><i>COVERED MY CO-PAY</i></u>. I told her that was incredibly sweet, and she said, "You were nice to me. No one is ever nice to us. Like, one percent of people, but they're not as nice as you. So, thank you."<br />
<br />
I thanked her very much and left the store. And then I called my mom, one of the two people (along with my dad) who taught me to always be nice to strangers. It really pays sometimes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-91617729949034615932010-08-01T13:34:00.001-04:002010-08-10T21:40:27.938-04:00When Are We?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4ItC4Om7MQx46ZJxJ0hHTiii8n8hwo3-Ixn-hhHf1UdcbvslKTzA9OrIN6SWDbwkeIJs0xVPDZXpKUc0ckv9Flsnjft1puNYFyQiDXHjosfS_6KqXRmhyphenhyphenemBqjlMrg5ICTULPhdjh_E/s1600/Jantzen_ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4ItC4Om7MQx46ZJxJ0hHTiii8n8hwo3-Ixn-hhHf1UdcbvslKTzA9OrIN6SWDbwkeIJs0xVPDZXpKUc0ckv9Flsnjft1puNYFyQiDXHjosfS_6KqXRmhyphenhyphenemBqjlMrg5ICTULPhdjh_E/s320/Jantzen_ad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>As you and the rest of the pop-culture-aware universe know, the fourth season of <i>Mad Men</i> started last Sunday. We found ourselves at Thanksgiving dinner, 1964, as Betty and the children ate with Henry's family and Don...got slapped in the face by a hooker. Because he asked her to. November 1964 means that we've missed the Beatles on <i>Ed Sullivan</i> (which we would have thought would be a big deal, since SCDP deals heavily in TV ads at this point), the release of the Rolling Stones' first album, and the opening of the New York World's Fair.<br />
<br />
So, what are going to be the big pop culture/historical moments this season? Here are my guesses:<br />
<ul><li>Some mention of Lenny Bruce's obscenity trial</li>
<li>Malcolm X's assassination </li>
<li>Some mention of the TV broadcast of Rodgers & Hammerstein's <i>Cinderella</i></li>
<li><i> </i>Bloody Sunday/the march on Selma</li>
<li> Dylan goes electric/releases <i>Highway 61 Revisited</i> (definitely something about the changing music scene)</li>
<li>Cigarette advertising banned on British TV</li>
<li>Maybe a mention of the creation of the Pillsbury Doughboy, like the parsing of the iconic VW ad a couple of seasons ago</li>
<li>The Northeast blackout of 1965 could have very interesting plot implications</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOQfnsc23AilqrVqclE1LsGOLfIxsMRSFqJEvJLt7br0trz2SVXgcZQz5_1jDGONld2xOwoWBqsQPkG6BtuQ_nmGk_zis9ibTseRt58lqtnmpLK6Ks6KH6pWqAHXZQgF3KXh8GEZZbvc/s1600/joanep1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOQfnsc23AilqrVqclE1LsGOLfIxsMRSFqJEvJLt7br0trz2SVXgcZQz5_1jDGONld2xOwoWBqsQPkG6BtuQ_nmGk_zis9ibTseRt58lqtnmpLK6Ks6KH6pWqAHXZQgF3KXh8GEZZbvc/s200/joanep1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>And, of course, Joan's husband gets drafted and either (a) killed in Vietnam, or (b) flees to Canada. Either way, we get our swinging single Joanie back! (And I'm rooting for the former. He's not a good person.) <br />
<br />
Of course, some of these aren't the most important things that happened in 1965 (some of them are), but I think they're the events that are most likely to have some bearing on the world of SCDP. I'll be happily watching to find out if I'm right.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-37015781515453858222010-07-31T20:59:00.000-04:002010-07-31T20:59:04.202-04:00Out on a Limb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2-bQyhFb_RMdVIC1Ya8a0P6_C5-DeuQZAf-hhiVGauN2Jda2Xc5USV9SECusGTvnb-3oTYZAAHfXTwQSWbHf4Orly3P_hko4KWgMyFFAAdV7QhD5QdNh34fkmh9BTBCSbD2aI_jhNMs/s1600/hula.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2-bQyhFb_RMdVIC1Ya8a0P6_C5-DeuQZAf-hhiVGauN2Jda2Xc5USV9SECusGTvnb-3oTYZAAHfXTwQSWbHf4Orly3P_hko4KWgMyFFAAdV7QhD5QdNh34fkmh9BTBCSbD2aI_jhNMs/s200/hula.JPG" width="184" /></a></div>So, I had no idea I even <i>had</i> a 31x31 list. I mean, I guess I don't, <i>really</i>. Nowhere have I written down--or even seriously thought about--a list of 31 things I'd like to do before I turn 31. But I realized this morning that next month, I'll be doing two things that certainly <i>would</i> go on my list if I had one: being in a dance recital and learning to play the ukulele.<br />
<br />
First things first: I've been taking belly dance lessons for a couple of semesters, and in the back of my head, I've always thought it would be cool to get enough confidence to perform in front of people. Though I firmly believe in my workplace mantra of "process, not product," and I really am taking classes for the pure learning and doing something new with my body, I find myself back in the world of remembering choreography and looking at costumes.<br />
<br />
I took nine years of ballet, five years of jazz, and one fateful college semester of tap (shoutout to Aly in Cali!), and I always say that what I <i>really</i> learned from those classes was that I can't dance. But here I am! Turns out that while I'm still most definitely a beginner, belly dance (or <i>raqs sharki</i>) is the one kind of dance I've ever been the least bit comfortable with. I actually kinda understand it. It's pretty intuitive, and I've always been good at isolations. And so, next month, I'm going to be in my first recital since 1992. Eep!<br />
<br />
Of course, my dad says that since I'm playing the ukulele now, I should switch to hula dance. Which brings us to... <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrxZWhqBM07ql8iwiiW9lQSgWpx19LJP0YHp9i7vviAilRahk_FU0BgjkRKIoOGp66ODHvInVz8jRwI6uRdna4sgSgVQ6BqiDgKsj4gCdiEKH-LX0HVAFtfpvCmju7f-RGBExzfM2XOM/s1600/Makala_Yellow_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrxZWhqBM07ql8iwiiW9lQSgWpx19LJP0YHp9i7vviAilRahk_FU0BgjkRKIoOGp66ODHvInVz8jRwI6uRdna4sgSgVQ6BqiDgKsj4gCdiEKH-LX0HVAFtfpvCmju7f-RGBExzfM2XOM/s200/Makala_Yellow_01.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>Second things second. For a while now, I've been enamored with ukulele music. Particularly cute girls with ukuleles. (I've previously posted my <a href="http://thirtyflirtyfab.blogspot.com/2010/05/quirk.html">current very-favorite song</a>.) So, I thought, why not join the ranks of girls with ukes? So what that I've never, ever been able to play an instrument with any sort of aptitude, ever. Not the flute I picked up in fourth grade; not the guitar I bought in 2003 and put aside a month later in a fit of early-twenties <i>it's just too hard!</i> pique. I started browsing ukulele websites (not sure why I didn't think there would be an amazing amount of sites out there), bought a cheap uke, signed up for a class, and got a book from which to start learning.<br />
<br />
So, now, I have an absolutely adorable bright yellow <a href="http://kalaukulele.com.mytempweb.com/Search_Results_Makala.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=19&txtsearchParamType=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&btnSearch.x=13&btnSearch.y=11">Makala ukulele</a> with a dolphin bridge, and the beginnings of callouses on my left-hand fingers. I have nowhere near any sort of technique at all. But I can play seven chords, and fingerpick five notes on the A string and three notes on the E string. I'm even starting to figure out how to read sheet music! I'm excited about the lesson I'm taking in a couple of weeks; it'll be really helpful to have someone show me how you're <i>supposed to </i>strum, instead of the fake-strumming I've been doing. My goal is to be able to do a song for our summer camp talent show next year, and I think I'll definitely be able to do it.<br />
<br />
Maybe I should start a 31x31 list...I'll think about it. :) <br />
<br />
Since I'm apparently terrible at imbedding videos at the moment, here are some links to three girl-with-ukulele songs I'm into at the moment:<br />
<blockquote>Garfunkel & Oates: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilOx2Jmm1r4&feature=fvsr">"I Would Never"</a> (slightly NSFW)<br />
Sophie Madeleine: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Nz_TkgRYc">"You Are My Favourite"</a><br />
Danielle Ate the Sandwich: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyYAm7A64u4">"Handsome Girl"</a></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-10053563117841730882010-07-27T14:34:00.000-04:002010-07-27T14:34:44.728-04:00Long Weekend...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmtzgKVhv8euXb_QdZBX0WjZVU5kzyf8fqbIjWHSJplXVyn1C_QFH2nPWsaYP1u-naG11pg75Z0aW3yfUmUePh1DwL_6pzTmkUMzdfydJ3t26nSdDiqT8g_PopSou57vXISIiiwljLNY/s1600/treedown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmtzgKVhv8euXb_QdZBX0WjZVU5kzyf8fqbIjWHSJplXVyn1C_QFH2nPWsaYP1u-naG11pg75Z0aW3yfUmUePh1DwL_6pzTmkUMzdfydJ3t26nSdDiqT8g_PopSou57vXISIiiwljLNY/s320/treedown.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy <a href="http://washingtonpost.com/">washingtonpost.com</a> reader TiffanyWcool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Due to the storm that hit the area on Sunday, I'm on day five of an unforeseen long weekend. (Hooray!?) I did leave for work at my regular time yesterday, and got a call from my boss at 7:30am that went something like this...<br />
<blockquote><b>BOSS</b>: Hey, are you coming to work today?<br />
<b>ME</b>: Yeah, I'm on the bus now. I'll be there in ten minutes. Why?<br />
<b>BOSS</b>: Well, we don't have power, and we're trying to figure out what we should do. So, um, I'll buy you some coffee at [local cafe].<br />
<b>ME</b>: Sounds good.<br />
<i>(They both hang up their phones. Curtain.)</i></blockquote>Why, yes, I do occasionally write plays for a living. Was that evident by my spectacular pacing, and command of dialogue? :)<br />
<br />
Of course, what should have been a quick cup of coffee on the company dime turned into a <i>long</i> cup of coffee on the company dime, followed by hanging around outside of the theatre letting parents and students know that we couldn't get into the building either (and, no, ma'am, I'm sorry, if we don't have power, it means we can't call or email our patrons), and then going to Starbucks--on the company dime--with some of my coworkers until finally realizing the power wasn't going to be restored any time soon and calling it quits for the day. My boss (a really good guy) drove me home.<br />
<br />
I got to hang out with Jake, which was awesome, and also take a good, long nap. Also awesome.<br />
<br />
This morning, I woke up at my summer-usual 5:00am, took a shower, got dressed, and hunkered down until I could figure out whether or not I had to go to work. (Jake and I tried to watch the season finale of <a href="http://www.vh1.com/shows/youre_cut_off/series.jhtml"><i>You're Cut Off</i></a>--which, by the way, is amazing--but VH1 cut out 20 minutes in, so that didn't happen.) I did not have to go to work. But we were all "on call" until 11:30, when we would figure out if we could open for afternoon classes.<br />
<br />
Nope, <i>still</i> no power.<br />
<br />
So, five-day weekend, it is! So far, I've used this time to practice my ukulele (I can successfully play 6-8 chords now!), ice my sprained ankle (sports injury, don'tcha know?), and do a mini-tour of Silver Spring with Jake, Hollie, and Adri. I love impromptu middle-of-weekday hanging out! We had lunch at <a href="http://www.thaidermusa.com/">Thai Derm</a> (<i>insane</i> weekday lunch deals), browsed our local <a href="http://www.silverspringdowntown.com/go/thai-market-and-carryout">Thai Market</a> (we get some good ingredients from here, but also love to look at things like dried squid balls), and stocked up our fridge with a trip to <a href="http://fenwickbeerandwine.com/">Fenwick Beer & Wine</a>.<br />
<br />
I'll wake up at the same time tomorrow, and bide my time again until I hear whether or not we have power at the theatre, and whether or not I have to go to work. Whee!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-20852973134191491302010-07-23T12:09:00.002-04:002010-08-10T21:40:52.330-04:00Mod, Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeR8zYdx4ilRMSCmWXwGtt189vzDPmCsOfksf8IHYAF6ZlufbajPbpi-1dc5cWVXUKgtzLYJxy078b8yjj_CpybUlxIFHxFEvseQpGBQSL4hvDe32enISxbU0F-7uhmqmgb7kww6RcQbg/s1600/MMS3_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeR8zYdx4ilRMSCmWXwGtt189vzDPmCsOfksf8IHYAF6ZlufbajPbpi-1dc5cWVXUKgtzLYJxy078b8yjj_CpybUlxIFHxFEvseQpGBQSL4hvDe32enISxbU0F-7uhmqmgb7kww6RcQbg/s200/MMS3_blog.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>At this time of summer, and blogging from the couch, a young (ha!) girl's thoughts turn to the wonders of television. With <i>Lost</i> over forever, and our "Must See" shows on hiatus until Fall (which, by the way, why are some channels still adhering to the old "season" lineup, while others have year-round new programming?), Jake and I have been working our way through TV shows on DVD. We don't get HBO, and so to date, we've gone all the way through <i>Curb Your Enthusiasm</i>, and we're moving at a rapid pace through <i>The Sopranos</i>. We've also just started with season 1 of <i>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
While I've been really enjoying all of the above, what really gets me is the '60s. It took us a while to get through the 17 episodes of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061287/"><i>The Prisoner</i></a>, but wow, what a ride! The series--and yes, I'm talking about the original 1967 Partick McGoohan series, not last year's Jim Caviezel retread--is about a secret agent who resigns from his job and wakes up on a mysterious island, stripped of his identity, and called only "Number 6." His adversary is an ever-rotating line of "Number 2"s, who try to find out why he resigned from his government job. And all Number 6 wants to do is escape.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgziD5ulumLYlPg6UOZThB7ePgwwdxp9oV9RqUlpHNqxeYYy26NVWrk4XKnntWl_PIyIHdOT5iIiXGCyffEjosKOp3fU-Y8sSLyKMrD9NkRM6PXlOG5M2SI1YXcMK_5dNwLdqwc6rCRoI4/s1600/prisoner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgziD5ulumLYlPg6UOZThB7ePgwwdxp9oV9RqUlpHNqxeYYy26NVWrk4XKnntWl_PIyIHdOT5iIiXGCyffEjosKOp3fU-Y8sSLyKMrD9NkRM6PXlOG5M2SI1YXcMK_5dNwLdqwc6rCRoI4/s1600/prisoner.jpg" /></a>A lot of shows owe something to <i>The Prisoner</i>; it goes without saying that <i>Lost</i> took quite a few idea and motifs from the show set on a mysterious island with far-out sci-fi mythology. My personal favorite is the <i>Simpsons </i><a href="http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/the-computer-wore-menace-shoes/episode/9075/summary.html">episode </a>"The Computer Wore Menace Shoes," where Homer is taken to a mysterious island after he makes up a rumor that turns out to be true. The episode was funny the first 20 times I saw it, but now it makes <i>so much more sense.</i> Right down to the Patrick McGoohan cameo! (<i>The Simpsons</i> also used The Orb to do in Hans Moleman in another <a href="http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/the-joy-of-sect/episode/1476/summary.html">episode</a>, when Marge was trying to escape from the Movementarians.) And the storytelling structure reminds me a lot of the structure in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112159/"><i>Neon Genesis Evangelion</i></a>: the reluctant hero tries with all his might to escape his "destiny," through test after test from unlikely science and technology, until finally the narrative becomes bizarre and existential, leading the audience to question every theory they might have had.<br />
<br />
It's one of the most mod things I've ever seen, from the costumes to the set and dialogue to the lava lamp-like projections defaulted in front of Number 2 when he's not watching Number 6.<br />
<br />
Of course, for the early 1960s, you can't beat my real Obsession of the Moment, <i>Mad Men</i>. Yes, it's everyone's obsession right now, but we finally made our way through seasons 1-3, and I'm so excited for season 4 to start on Sunday, and see what's going on at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzu8CuFR73uOqfP3ha2dG2C5LvUZqEtbSoV6rtw1nVHTgyPywp3Kk611aBiEIsEuF7YqZmFSH2g52xNXi9cYpA0hcsvyb70GXsUPndfuxPMbiCdXyDnYvye3iK2YG7Z0ZWmHO82Lzljo/s1600/joan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzu8CuFR73uOqfP3ha2dG2C5LvUZqEtbSoV6rtw1nVHTgyPywp3Kk611aBiEIsEuF7YqZmFSH2g52xNXi9cYpA0hcsvyb70GXsUPndfuxPMbiCdXyDnYvye3iK2YG7Z0ZWmHO82Lzljo/s320/joan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I won't recap for you; if you're going to watch it, you probably already know what's going on. My favorite place for analysis is <a href="http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/">Tom and Lorenzo</a> (formerly Project RunGay). They recap every episode with great humor and insight, but my <i>favorite</i> feature on the site is their <a href="http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/search/label/Mad%20Style?max-results=18">Mad Style</a> analysis. They take a character and break down the choices made by the costume designer. It's unquestionable that the costumes on the show are spectacular, and I've never been happier to have the kind of figure in vogue during the late'50s/early '60s, and my grandmothers' hats and gloves. Joan Holloway is my idol.<br />
<br />
I told a friend of mine the other day that I've loved watching the series on DVD, and I don't know what I'll do when I have to wait a whole week in between episodes. He answered, "You do exactly what you did for <i>Lost</i>: go on the internet, read what people have to say, and have half-hour discussions at work."<br />
<br />
Done.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-51955047797520566202010-07-21T18:21:00.000-04:002010-07-21T18:21:33.398-04:00Metro, O Metro<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4vabSEeqOLpYfDWJ5eX1R1_YoCDoYuYJbzvw-qRBw5BBQbHc_dBx3viSSBj89wrroiGV8JpmYX3UC1Oa71fuqvhCdbJg1jlwUUaC1HUsy9qmvge6JkiHzGJ9qPr1lxehz7FtuWMDNN0/s1600/Zombie-Seat-Hog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4vabSEeqOLpYfDWJ5eX1R1_YoCDoYuYJbzvw-qRBw5BBQbHc_dBx3viSSBj89wrroiGV8JpmYX3UC1Oa71fuqvhCdbJg1jlwUUaC1HUsy9qmvge6JkiHzGJ9qPr1lxehz7FtuWMDNN0/s200/Zombie-Seat-Hog.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy <a href="http://seathogs.com/">seathogs.com</a><a href="http://seathogs.com/">http://seathogs.com</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There's been a lot of talk about Sunday's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/18/AR2010071803101.html"><i>Post</i> article</a> about seat hogs in the DC Metro system. Most of the buzz centers around one question: "what is a seat hog? Because I'm not one. I swear, I'm not one. If I'm taking up a ton of room, it's for a good reason. I swear! So, what's a seat hog?" <br />
<br />
Here's the thing (in my opinion): if you're taking up more than one seat <i>and are unresponsive to requests for the spare seat</i>, you might be a seat hog. This does <i>not</i> include people who are sitting on the aisle because their stop is coming up soon. This does <i>not</i> include people who are overweight and "spill over"--not my terminology--into another seat. (Side note: I'm stymied by the number of people who took this as their opportunity to rail against larger people who take public transportation. Some of the complaints are pretty sizeist and despicable.) This does <i>not</i> include people who are sitting in designated seats, but do not have a <i>visible</i> disability.<br />
<br />
What does this include? Certainly the dude who rode my bus a couple of weeks ago, sitting on the aisle seat with his bag next to him, who mumbled something unintelligible that sounded like "um, nuh-uh, sorry but no" whenever someone asked him to scoot over...And then made way for his friend who got on several stops later. This was while many of us were standing up. He might be a seat hog.<br />
<br />
Probably the woman who was sleeping next to me on the way home this afternoon, who was spilling over into my seat for two reasons. One: she was sleeping and kept brushing up against my arm. Two: she had her cloth portfolio (small briefcase?) shoved in between herself and the wall of the bus, causing her to spill over an inch or two into my seat. She might be a seat hog.<br />
<br />
Absolutely the people who put their earbuds in, turn their music up so I can hear it as if I were playing the music myself, and spread their legs defiantly, taking up two seats and non-verbally daring someone to ask for a seat. They might be seat hogs.<br />
<br />
Also: tourists. I don't know what the solution is to traveling with large suitcases, and I might be guilty of this myself on the way in or out of town. But the solution is probably <i>not</i> to pile your luggage into the seat next to you. Or, worse, put your bag in front of the seat next to you, so the empty chair taunts the people who are standing and holding tenuously onto the pole. They might be seat hogs, too.<br />
<br />
Not seat hogs, but equally annoying include:<br />
<ol><li>The dude who stood <i>way</i> too close to me on the bus on Monday. I was sitting, and he shoved himself, standing, into my space so close I was almost uncomfortable enough to ask him to move. I realize he was getting himself out of the way so other people could board, but seriously, dude, just move back instead of standing on top of me. Not a seat hog because he was technically standing, though he was very nearly hogging <i>my</i> seat.</li>
<li>People who talk <i>way</i> too loudly to other riders who are very close to them. Most recent offenders: three off-duty Metro employees--maybe other bus drivers--who were practically yelling so loud I couldn't hear the podcast I was listening to. At 7:00 in the morning.</li>
<li>People who don't have the balls to ask for a seat, but passive-aggressively glare at the person next to an empty seat. By and large, if you ask, someone will shove over. And if not...They might be a seat hog.</li>
</ol><i>Fin</i>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-944872528616213272010-07-21T17:59:00.000-04:002010-07-21T17:59:17.753-04:00Sweet Cuppin' Cakes!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9nBhkQ27vd_x5QULSf8VZ0BU0WbgovVGo2yEMRMgrAiB0W_5k6_PkEo6VlZyl7QhTkE46jOTzr-ZduY5afpR3ggAOmedCIl1mpL2udMwnoGuV9QcCS2nitKOiDnZqM9rj-iF0kiugGk/s1600/DSCN2511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9nBhkQ27vd_x5QULSf8VZ0BU0WbgovVGo2yEMRMgrAiB0W_5k6_PkEo6VlZyl7QhTkE46jOTzr-ZduY5afpR3ggAOmedCIl1mpL2udMwnoGuV9QcCS2nitKOiDnZqM9rj-iF0kiugGk/s200/DSCN2511.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cupcakes I made. Messy but dee-licious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The cupcakes seemed to be a hit amongst the general populace at work and home today and last night (respectively), and I promised one of my coworkers I'd post a recipe.<br />
<br />
One of the cool things about the new cupcake cookbook I bought (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cupcakes-Primrose-Bakery-Martha-Swift/dp/1906868085?ie=UTF8&tag=thirt-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thirt-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1906868085" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />) is the way it's organized. Yes, the photos are colorful and adorable, the narratives are well-written, the tips are useful, and the recipes are clear and concise. But it's the organization that gets my Type-A side.<br />
<br />
The first section of the book gives recipes for "basic cupcakes." The second section gives recipes for "basic frostings." You can mix and match to your heart's delight. (And then, if you wish, move onto the "Festive and Seasonal" cupcakes and cupcakes for "Special Occasions." And "Beyond Cupcakes." Ooo.) So, I mixed and matched, and came up with vanilla cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. Recipes from the <a href="http://www.primrosebakery.org.uk/">Primrose Bakery</a> after the jump.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>If you like this recipe and like making cupcakes, I can't stress enough...<i>buy this book</i>. If nothing else, it's great food pr0n, and will look absolutely adorable on your cookbook shelf or coffee table. And, best case scenario, you make really good cupcakes.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Note:</b> The book suggests not refrigerating the cupcakes or the frosting. They should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If they last long enough. :)<br />
<br />
<b>Vanilla Cupcakes</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(makes 12 regular or 36 mini cupcakes)</i></span><br />
<i>8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature</i><br />
<i>1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar</i><br />
<i>2 large eggs</i><br />
<i>1 cup self-rising flour</i><br />
<i>3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon AP flour</i><br />
<i>1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, at room temperature</i><br />
<i>1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract</i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3dZ3uiJaFop5vY4oV_-JSt-GpiqEyvia4dI3CC1dnoqcEzeSBj6eqDkLXfKMMvdrfuoUYFiqnmD35gAF305_Tu2L15BlLRjWUXQTacvr7EDLeimCT8MMgkWYCUJ_H7tdoH9LNcRBhOQ/s1600/lemon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3dZ3uiJaFop5vY4oV_-JSt-GpiqEyvia4dI3CC1dnoqcEzeSBj6eqDkLXfKMMvdrfuoUYFiqnmD35gAF305_Tu2L15BlLRjWUXQTacvr7EDLeimCT8MMgkWYCUJ_H7tdoH9LNcRBhOQ/s320/lemon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How lemon cupcakes are supposed to look. Photo from <a href="http://www.primrosebakery.org.uk/">Primrose Bakery</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><ul><li>Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners</li>
<li>In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.</li>
<li>Sift the two flours together into a separate bowl. Mix the milk and vanilla together.</li>
<li>Add 1/3 of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in 1/3 of the milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.</li>
<li>Carefully spoon the mixture into the cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (regular size) or 15 minutes (mini size) until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a wooden skewer in the center of one of the cupcakes--it should come out clean.</li>
<div style="text-align: right;"></div><li>Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. Once they are completely cool, frost the cupcakes.</li>
</ul><br />
<b>Lemon Buttercream Frosting</b><i> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Makes enough to frost 15-20 regular cupcakes or 1 "two layer" cake. Or enough for 12 cupcakes plus plenty to spread on toast for breakfast. I have no shame.)</span></i><br />
<i>8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature</i><br />
<i> 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice</i><br />
<i>Grated zest of 1-2 unwaxed lemons (2 teaspoons)</i><br />
<i>4 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted</i><br />
<ul><li>In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon zest, and half the confectioner's sugar until smooth--this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the confectioner's sugar and beat again until smooth and creamy. If needed, thin with additional lemon juice.</li>
</ul>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-22987111263069216482010-07-20T06:20:00.001-04:002010-07-21T06:07:10.031-04:00Sweets<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3j_j_DaGrsstREr-U_VnRLM3I-LnvxXIX0rd7Y8nW95gDjdjCrKSHiLrolZKsWeVAir2zeNiAYsBO8ulWq61_XWh7019QJDzFRqExsYsH366fwiVH1NPMrUbtE5BYkB2t1UrMrTxbHQ/s1600/cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3j_j_DaGrsstREr-U_VnRLM3I-LnvxXIX0rd7Y8nW95gDjdjCrKSHiLrolZKsWeVAir2zeNiAYsBO8ulWq61_XWh7019QJDzFRqExsYsH366fwiVH1NPMrUbtE5BYkB2t1UrMrTxbHQ/s200/cupcakes.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cupcake adventure</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I went into Border's after work yesterday to see if they had any books for beginner ukulele players. (Which I am about to become. Much more about that later, I'm sure.) I "accidentally" came out with a book about cupcakes.<br />
<br />
I've been wanting a cupcake book for a while. I've thought about just trying to adapt cake recipes for cupcakes--I'm sure it can be done, but I'm not sure about baking time, and I'm just insecure enough to be questioning my technique the whole time the cakes are in the oven. I love the cupcakes I've made before (chocolate ganache cupcakes from <i>Cook's Illustrated</i> were amazing), and I'm definitely going to keep making them, but it was time for something new. I wanted a book that was going to give me good basic recipes I could go back to again and again, but also give me recipes beyond the normal that I could stretch myself with.<br />
<br />
Enter <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cupcakes-Primrose-Bakery-Martha-Swift/dp/1906868085?ie=UTF8&tag=thirt-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thirt-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1906868085" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />. This book is <i>adorable</i>: very colorful with great illustrative photos. I'm pretty sure it evokes the feeling of the bakery it comes from, but since it's in the UK, I have no way of confirming that idea. (Anyone want to bankroll a "research trip" for me to go to England and taste cupcakes?)<br />
<br />
I tried the vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting last night. The recipe came together really quickly, and I didn't have to go shopping for any ingredients that weren't already in my cupboard. Of course, our oven runs either 50 degrees hot or 25 degrees cold, and I haven't yet figured out how to adjust for it. So, when the oven was running way too hot, I turned it down before popping the cupcakes in...which cycled it too cold...which led to a slightly longer baking time...which made for slightly over-browned cupcakes. Also, I filled the cups too much (it seemed like a good idea at the time), so they overflowed a bit.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0WPNyQAhoyO3pvpOI8Stn0jFVqJlJ3QFSgHqVaovJk6aghn6vZwRZjX-gTawJQO8kPQfbeS68LwflP7CIBIUTFo6kdMgjIILdCdcRGuCLdUSt7LEFol9nqWxrDXsPoJTtPNIiF0EzQ0/s1600/primrose+cakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0WPNyQAhoyO3pvpOI8Stn0jFVqJlJ3QFSgHqVaovJk6aghn6vZwRZjX-gTawJQO8kPQfbeS68LwflP7CIBIUTFo6kdMgjIILdCdcRGuCLdUSt7LEFol9nqWxrDXsPoJTtPNIiF0EzQ0/s320/primrose+cakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But still...delicious! They're moist, and ever-so-slightly-vanilla. This is a <i>great</i> basic recipe, and I'll definitely try it again and again.<br />
<br />
The buttercream was, well, unlike any buttercream I've ever tasted before. It was cloyingly sweet, really tasting of nothing but confectioner's sugar. I chalked it up to the fact that the Brits like their sweets much sweeter than we do. But, upon closer inspection of the recipe this morning, I realized I used a quarter-cup too much confectioner's sugar! A <i>quarter-cup</i>! And it really made a difference. I think I'll whip up a new batch this evening and see if that helps. I couldn't frost all of the cupcakes because the frosting was too sticky, so I could absolutely try a do-over.<br />
<br />
I'm already a huge fan of this book, and I can't wait to try more. I'm especially looking at the carrot cakes, the blueberry and cornmeal cupcakes, and the Earl Grey cupcakes. Yum!<br />
<br />
<u><b>UPDATE!</b></u><br />
I came home last night after a trip to the grocery store, duly chastened by what I'm now calling "The Great Frosting Failure of 2010." I didn't want to try another vanilla buttercream, having been burned by the first one, so I bought a few lemons and set out to make a lemon buttercream.<br />
<br />
Success! The frosting is creamy and tart, and came together very easily. Here are the lessons I learned:<br />
<ol><li>Flavored frosting is just as easy, and tastes delicious on a vanilla cupcake.</li>
<li>The recipe for vanilla buttercream in the book must have been printed wrong; there's no <i>way</i> you can make a good buttercream with only 2 tablespoons of butter. They must have meant either "8 tablespoons" or "2 sticks." I'm up for experimentation.</li>
<li>Measuring the right amount of confectioner's sugar is very important. Also important: realizing you can hold some back. I measured the required 4.25 cups, and wound up using only 4. </li>
</ol>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-73214723483870077902010-07-15T22:15:00.001-04:002010-07-15T22:15:47.142-04:00Notes on Camp<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uad0FRfnQlpC7NDc7ez5wUVARh2ybahMP5TR7_jiC7_OcCdbexrs8NCzn6CSh-fpnsxxcXRxg4CDZq6dkM99WqifzyASvUD0uJbOm-tSRlbg0BYepqb7Y2GDe8mncRmrspJ2jYc090c/s1600/Quarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uad0FRfnQlpC7NDc7ez5wUVARh2ybahMP5TR7_jiC7_OcCdbexrs8NCzn6CSh-fpnsxxcXRxg4CDZq6dkM99WqifzyASvUD0uJbOm-tSRlbg0BYepqb7Y2GDe8mncRmrspJ2jYc090c/s320/Quarry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milford Mill Swim Club, the center of my summers from 1987-1995.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One may never feel more loved than she does as the summer camp she runs nears its last day. The camaraderie formed at summer camp is amazing. Kids who never met, go to different schools, in different grades, are thrown together into this weird situation, and absolutely fall in love with each other. <br />
<br />
I had a major camp flashback the other day as I rode the bus to...well, camp. Yes, I was riding a WMATA bus instead of a classic yellow. And yes, I'm the Camp Manager, not a camper. But still. The LED sign on the front of the bus was busted and the driver had taped a white piece of paper to the windshield to let us know what route he was driving. And it reminded me so much of the signs on the buses at my camp telling us we were riding the "Red Bus" or the "Green Bus" or whatever. It's weird how something so simple can elicit such a visceral reaction.<br />
<br />
The camp I manage isn't all that different from the one I went to when I was a kid. They're both theatre camps, four weeks long, during which you put on a play and also take classes in drama, dance, music, and art. The major difference is that the camp I manage is completely an indoor camp (save outdoor recess, when it's actually cool enough to get out there), and the camp I went to was an outdoor camp. In addition to all the artsy activities, we also had sports, and two kinds of swim: instructional and recreational. How did we do it all?<br />
<br />
I'm constantly amazed by the kids in my camp. They have so much fun, and we put on a play in four weeks! Less than four weeks, if you count the time before they get their scripts, and the last day of camp, which is just fun-and-games. And, of course, I'm amazed by the staff--I'm not in the classroom all day like they are, and what they do is astonishing to me.<br />
<br />
I've just been flashing back recently to singing in the music room with the dingy orange carpet (especially during the impromptu talent shows when it was raining outside), the overpowering smell of chlorine in the indoor pool, learning our blocking in the blazing heat under a striped tent, the counselors hauling our lunches in garbage bags out of an industrial-sized refrigerator, pretending to be "sick" during sports so we could play cards, spreading my towel out on the grass with my friends so we could eat lunch together like "cool kids"...and bug juice. Lots of bug juice. Flashbacks.<br />
<br />
Camp ends tomorrow, and I'm really going to miss the kids--especially the ones who have been with us for three years and are "graduating" to our camp for older students. Good thing a new session starts tomorrow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-46769663468145021462010-07-14T19:50:00.002-04:002010-07-14T22:02:57.901-04:00Beer Me a Beer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLg-DM-2fUcOVpCH2JpQYXL_e7gpj9Nx1cgyCN62c138jvghWvOUC5GLnJhS-Eu9veT1iPwyDHbTGR9_6O0XeIPh85AeWLdeIuekC6XVb0bw3rgudphCa3bS4OfyAXlg4BGa3KDTv-aD8/s1600/Beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLg-DM-2fUcOVpCH2JpQYXL_e7gpj9Nx1cgyCN62c138jvghWvOUC5GLnJhS-Eu9veT1iPwyDHbTGR9_6O0XeIPh85AeWLdeIuekC6XVb0bw3rgudphCa3bS4OfyAXlg4BGa3KDTv-aD8/s200/Beer.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>It's been a bit of a tough week. And not least of all because of an interaction I had with a patron late on the other afternoon. (Note to the general public: maybe don't yell at someone in front of her staff when she's indubitably correct, and then <i>certainly</i> don't curse in front of children. Probably not a good idea.) So by the time I got home, I wanted nothing more than good food, good drink, and good company.<br />
<br />
Good thing we were having dinner with some awesome friends!<br />
<br />
Hollie is the bar manager at <a href="http://www.blacksquirreldc.com/">The Black Squirrel</a>--recently home of my kick-ass Thirty Flirty Fab birthday party--and really knows a thing or two. You can always count on her to bring some amazing small-batch beers and help you enjoy them in a way you never knew was possible. (I love my friends...) So, Jake cooked, Hollie brought the drink, and Adri and I joyfully went along for the ride.<br />
<br />
Our food-and-beer pairing menu after the jump. (Don't get too jealous...We were merely tasting.)<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>Course #1:</b> Corn on the cob with chipotle-scallion butter (Recipe from <i>Gourmet</i> [RIP], July 2008)<br />
<b>Beer #1:</b> <a href="http://www.terrapinbeer.com/">Terrapin </a>Side Project <a href="http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/46-Volume-7---Maggies-Farmhouse-Ale">Maggie's Farmhouse Ale</a><br />
<br />
<b>Course #2:</b> Pork tostadas with cilantro, lime, queso fresco, avocado, and sour cream (Recipe from <i>Cook's Illustrated</i>, March/April 2010)<br />
<b>Beer #2:</b> <a href="http://www.dogfish.com/">Dogfish Head</a> <a href="http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/occassional-rarities/squall-ipa.htm">Squall IPA</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqzWBuB0iFzZhWy0e-EXY4H253TeFbOTvTOh-2kOTfrvHrgh_cHExKQ7Si8itQy-E583DQaxUW2E2rHAkLgB1PUnSOiezF_J1F3iHBe-XtWTX0CihKT3jYiw8AZmYzqiVC2Xog95JpJ8/s1600/squall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqzWBuB0iFzZhWy0e-EXY4H253TeFbOTvTOh-2kOTfrvHrgh_cHExKQ7Si8itQy-E583DQaxUW2E2rHAkLgB1PUnSOiezF_J1F3iHBe-XtWTX0CihKT3jYiw8AZmYzqiVC2Xog95JpJ8/s320/squall.jpg" width="89" /></a></div><br />
<b>Course #3:</b> Rhubarb-Peach Cobbler (Recipe from <i>Good Eats</i>)<br />
<b>Beer #3:</b> <a href="http://www.dogfish.com/">Dogfish Head</a> <a href="http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/occassional-rarities/sahtea-0.htm">Sah'tea</a><br />
<br />
And sipped while watching Hulu on the couch after dinner...<br />
<b>Beer #4:</b> <a href="http://www.urthel.com/HFDMENG.htm">Urthel</a> <a href="http://www.urthel.com/MNSamENG.htm">Samaranth Quadrium Ale</a><br />
<b>Beer #5:</b> <a href="http://www.atwaterbeer.com/">Atwater Block Brewery</a> Wake Up & Smell the Beer <a href="http://www.atwaterbeer.com/atwater-brands/">Vanilla Java Porter</a><br />
<br />
They were all pretty darned good. (We did taste another one that did not get such rave reviews from those of us in the Peanut Gallery: <a href="http://www.newhollandbrew.com/">New Holland Brewing's</a> <a href="http://newhollandbrew.com/corp/beer/cellar_series">Envious</a>.) I'm always a fan of a good, heavy java porter. And Maggie's Farm was clean, fresh, and a little sour: the perfect pairing with the corn on the cob. The Sah'tea tasted like chai tea in the best way possible. But I think my favorite was the Squall IPA. I don't generally like my beers to be incredibly hoppy, but the hops weren't overbearing on this one. It paired <i>so</i> well with the heat of the tostadas and the creaminess of the queso fresco, avocados, and sour cream. You need a bold beer to do that. :)<br />
<br />
The only bad thing about being exposed to all of these beers is that they aren't all widely available, and now we have to keep our eyes wide open for a bottle or two of some of them. But <a href="http://fenwickbeerandwine.com/">Fenwick Beer & Wine</a> is good about stocking small-batch beers, so that might be a good in-road for those of us a mere two blocks away. They were definitely worth another taste or two. Or three. Or...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-21006281331415143742010-07-10T14:31:00.000-04:002010-07-10T14:31:35.339-04:00Hawt Trendz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLry-zNkf61TfjMg8opv7ocTl9EPHH3kM3a0gDLIq4024rtaOrGmbUJEgCLqnVv8HjpA4J1kgN0ZySb1RKBowRHi8pjOim7PsFGrjlQQS7kLNe-hjiWHrWi3-oCzDoXAHNAFBlE_nWij0/s1600/sandals-with-socks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLry-zNkf61TfjMg8opv7ocTl9EPHH3kM3a0gDLIq4024rtaOrGmbUJEgCLqnVv8HjpA4J1kgN0ZySb1RKBowRHi8pjOim7PsFGrjlQQS7kLNe-hjiWHrWi3-oCzDoXAHNAFBlE_nWij0/s200/sandals-with-socks.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>There are times in our lives when what the fashion-type people tell you to wear directly conflicts with what your mother always told you about how to wear clothes.<br />
<br />
Evidence number one: leggings-as-pants. (Momma said: if you're going to wear tight pants, wear a shirt that covers your tushy.)<br />
<br />
Evidence number two: prints layered with prints. (Momma said: prints go with solids; solids go with solids; prints don't go with prints. Unless you want to look like a crazy person.)<br />
<br />
Evidence number three: socks with sandals. (Momma said: if you're wearing open-toed shoes, no socks, hose, or tights. Show your toes!)<br />
<br />
I've been known to wear socks with closed-toe high heels. I like the look, it keeps my feet warm in the winter-time, and eliminates the likelihood of blisters. I especially like wearing my patchwork-look Betsey Johnson socks with aged-brown T-straps, and black socks (cable-knit with a thick white braid) with cone-heeled patent leather Mary Janes. But I haven't yet been able to wrap my head around wearing socks with sandals.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's because I associate socks-with-sandals with a certain, um, type. (Or, as Jake put it when I told him the subject of this blog post, "Socks with sandals aren't anew trend; they've been around for men for <i>years</i>. It's a look that says 'I've got a ham radio and I may be a pervert.'") It's the middle-aged men at my swim club growing up. It's the tourists you see around the Mall. It usually goes with a fishing cap when you're not anywhere near the water.<br />
<br />
But now, I'm <i>supposed</i> to wear socks with my strappy sandals? Because the rest of my outfit is summery, but my feet are kinda cold, maybe? I don't get it.<br />
<br />
But if you like the look, <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/how-to-wear-socks-and-sandals.php">here's a tutorial</a> on how to do it. I guess.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-43282194428018951652010-07-07T21:57:00.000-04:002010-07-07T21:57:36.608-04:00Back to Life<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQgm903Ey1vJ6YCyLePEcuvJXEs4DLGlf1CZDfsSeaw8rc-lX7RRYMNAfAgrSNNZPGqeejRqZPa3djZHipHZQtRVo0YhBFAgVQJDXtPybcJcjk973WWgJcn5HwlhXT-Qm2jycGs7wqEw/s1600/DSCN2426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQgm903Ey1vJ6YCyLePEcuvJXEs4DLGlf1CZDfsSeaw8rc-lX7RRYMNAfAgrSNNZPGqeejRqZPa3djZHipHZQtRVo0YhBFAgVQJDXtPybcJcjk973WWgJcn5HwlhXT-Qm2jycGs7wqEw/s320/DSCN2426.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Live free or die bear!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After an amazingly restorative long weekend in the Greater Buffalo Area, I'm back to my cozy little metropolis. Even though the weekend started off with a dead car, tons of traffic, and a little side trip to the Susquehanna Valley Mall (one of the best examples I've ever seen of the death of mall culture)--and I'll talk about that more later, probably--and even though it ended with hacked email accounts for both me and Jake, we rolled into Wales Center.<br />
<br />
Here is what you have to do when you go to Buffalo: eat wings. With waffle cut fries. And ranch dressing. That was all I was talking about with my friends at home before I went. And for good reason. I don't eat wings here any more. But I will eat everything I can at <a href="http://barbill.com/">Bar Bill</a>. Which is usually between five and eight wings and lots of fries. And I no longer call them <i>Buffalo</i> wings. (It's like that joke that in China, they just call Chinese food "food.")<br />
<br />
Also, when you go to Western New York, you have to drink beer. And drink beer I did! Maryland beer! Jake brought a case of Flying Dog to the Fourth of July (on the third) party, and it went over like gangbusters. The fireworks in East Aurora were awesome, and we got to watch them from a great location. I've been watching fireworks for thirty years, and they still amaze me. I think they're spectacular. And I'm not ashamed to gasp like a five-year-old when I watch them.<br />
<br />
Also, when you're in that area, you simply <i>must</i> spend time at <a href="http://www.vidlers5and10.com/">Vidler's</a>. I can't express enough how awesome this place is. It's a five-and-dime, I guess, but what it really is is two floors of sheer awesome. You can get everything in the world at Vidler's, from a Girl Scout uniform to a citrus squeezer to fake vomit. A trip to WNY isn't a trip to WNY if I don't eat wings, drink beer with friends, and go to Vidler's.<br />
<br />
The rest of our time was spent with the family, reading, swimming, playing Wii golf and <i>actual</i> golf in the field in front of the house. And eating lots and lots of food. It was completely restorative. I had been so stressed, I didn't know how stressed I was. This weekend (book-ended with visits to my parents' house--thanks for the car!!) was exactly what I needed.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-89944892009705672322010-06-30T20:49:00.000-04:002010-06-30T20:49:51.399-04:00Time to BreatheWow, it's been a <i>week</i> so far. Monday was fraught, Tuesday a bit better, and today...well, I stepped in a packet of ketchup and that's all I've been able to smell for the rest of the day, since it splashed all over my ankle, and inside the hem of my jeans. There's been so much I wanted to blog about, but I've just been so <i>exhausted</i>!<br />
<br />
This has been a week of broken-down cars, camper freak-outs, hot hot heat, frantic decision-making, and oxidized hair dye, when all I wanted to do in the whole world was dye my hair. Blurg.<br />
<br />
Yesterday was made much better by a ten-minute date with a bottle of red hair dye (a day belated, but it looks fab) and an actual date with Jake!<br />
<br />
When I got home from work, he suggested we go to <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/jackies-sidebar-silver-spring">Sidebar </a>for the Tuesday raw bar menu. It was a great idea. We've had our fair share of drinks there, but have only had bar snacks (and the occasional Chicago-style hot dog). Sidebar just got a mention in <i>Washingtonian</i> as your "Plan B" go-to speakeasy in the DC area, but it's my #1 pick.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzLfU4Fhcy2ImaLU4oKaQczIwl_lzBSpLye6iNn81a7J9MkPdW7oLO-Bv1qQW9kennTkO9PQesiz0YjiVAakS06dc8iNqPPTqMDg2fNiShT3G_cUlJJlXWJgRMd_P-3qx3pkIUqe2GVo/s1600/oysters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzLfU4Fhcy2ImaLU4oKaQczIwl_lzBSpLye6iNn81a7J9MkPdW7oLO-Bv1qQW9kennTkO9PQesiz0YjiVAakS06dc8iNqPPTqMDg2fNiShT3G_cUlJJlXWJgRMd_P-3qx3pkIUqe2GVo/s320/oysters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Last night, I had a Classic Old Fashioned and a Sazerac, along with the raw bar dinner. I decided to be bold and <i>try</i> an oyster, 'cause what would a raw bar dinner be without one? I picked the smallest one (natch), and it was delicious! The oysters came with two dipping sauces, and the green one was far superior to the brown vinaigrette-y one. We also had lobster rolls (amazing!) and scallop ceviche with tortilla chips (delish!) to round out the meal. We had great seats up at the bar, and watching the bartender--Gordon?--mixing the drinks was quite a show. Will definitely be back for more raw bar action, and I can't wait to go to a Wednesday chef's night sometime soon.<br />
<br />
So, yes, my car is dead, and children are nutty, and it's been really hot out this month, but at least there are good drinks and tasty seafood and good company (not to mention chances to fabulize oneself) to allow me time to breathe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-18885874487758147252010-06-26T11:59:00.000-04:002010-06-26T11:59:28.434-04:00Date Night: Silver Spring<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLf9XycsnJq9QQPkmkoIxJSMnouykmgnz3F2qGERcFiH69s5KUJiHzIaLYzsHHg5Xy3Q52PlCQOogHBetVAWduvjYrWJrIreDCubKD7L4qQLQrnrkfR5vXSVD5r4YLSFo_5SFe_AlLwNw/s1600/xregretters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLf9XycsnJq9QQPkmkoIxJSMnouykmgnz3F2qGERcFiH69s5KUJiHzIaLYzsHHg5Xy3Q52PlCQOogHBetVAWduvjYrWJrIreDCubKD7L4qQLQrnrkfR5vXSVD5r4YLSFo_5SFe_AlLwNw/s200/xregretters.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still from <i>Regretters.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Yesterday afternoon, there was an item on my Outlook calendar that said "Go Home on Time For Once!!!" Yes, that's three exclamation points. I really meant it. But after a long day of dressing like a superhero (I was one of two Wonder Woman-ses--the other was seven years old--and one of the students wore an orange wig and came as ME!), cleaning up and re-dressing a student who had an accident (par for the course for me, but I had to tell her she could pretend she was wearing Beyonce's old jeans to get her to go back to class), handling the mishegoss that comes with a fire drill, and doing my regular old job, there was no way I could actually only put in an eight-hour day.<br />
<br />
So, there was nothing I wanted more when I got on the bus home from Bethesda than to hang out with Jake for the night. We had movie-going plans, and since my bus got stuck in earlier-than-expected traffic, I had to hit the box office for tickets before running up to the apartment to change into a dress (not wanting to wear my sweaty-from-camp Wonder Woman T-shirt out for the night), and then straight out for our date.<br />
<br />
Totally worth it.<br />
<br />
This week is <a href="http://silverdocs.com/">SilverDocs </a>at the AFI, and again, it's one of those things that would be a shame to miss considering it's <i>right across the street from my apartment</i>. People come from all over the world to this festival; how could I miss it?<br />
<br />
Last night, we had tickets to <a href="http://silverdocs.bside.com/2010/films/regretters_silverdocs2010"><i>Regretters</i></a>, a film about two Swedish men who had gotten gender reassignment surgery to become women...and then took it back! One of them, Orlando, had a second reassignment surgery, and now considered himself a sort of "third gender," neither male nor female, but with male sex characteristics. The other, Mikael, lived as Mikaela for eight years, and still wasn't happy with who he was. In the last shot of the movie, we see him being wheeled into the OR for his second reassignment surgery.<br />
<br />
The film was fascinating for many reasons, one of which was their rationales for getting the surgery in the first place. We usually hear stories about people "feeling trapped in the wrong body," and then feeling more complete when they have the gender signifiers they've always thought they should have. Orlando was a gay man in a time and a country where being gay was illegal. He figured life would just be easier as a woman, since he has "feminine mannerisms" anyway. Mikael learned from a young age to be scared of men, and never had satisfying interactions with women; he figured he could relate to women better if he was one. But he found that people treat women differently than they did men, he never really <i>felt</i> like a woman, and he still felt awkward around people; being a woman didn't turn out to be the cure-all he thought it would have been.<br />
<br />
The movie is set up as a conversation between these two men: one who just wants to feel comfortable with himself as a human being and fade into the background, and one who loves being flamboyant and noticeable. (In Stockholm, Orlando is easily recognized as "the man in the red suit"; he wears sequins and earrings, and has his platinum hair heavily styled.) There are home movies and slides interspersed throughout the narrative, so we can see who these men are and were. The filmmaker appeared for a Q&A afterward, and it was good to hear that the movie had been embraced by the transgender community, since it was pretty controversial. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.<br />
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The movie was preceded by <i><a href="http://silverdocs.bside.com/2010/films/imjustanneke_silverdocs2010">I'm Just Anneke</a>, </i>a short film about a 12-year-old girl who is taking hormone blockers to put off puberty until she decides whether she wants to live her life as a boy or girl. The most interesting part of this movie for me was Anneke's mother declaring "I was always the fat girl who got chosen last in gym class. How could I not support my daughter, and who she chooses to be?" And "She's choosing to be who she is. I don't think I know who I am, even as a grownup."<br />
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We went to <a href="http://www.gharekabab.com/">Ghar-E-Kabab</a> for dinner afterwards. Vegetable Momo, Lamb Saag, and homemade Indian ice cream makes for a great after-movie, end-of-date-night meal.<br />
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Tonight: <a href="http://silverdocs.bside.com/2010/films/stonesinexile_silverdocs2010"><i>Stones in Exile</i></a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-52725031066004130462010-06-24T21:25:00.000-04:002010-06-24T21:25:15.028-04:00The Life at Sea is the Life For Me...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdiXppRA7bHw7g0x3rb4sLotDhto2ikMcHJtnlWyZYN89I2Z8aMG-fLWnWCvVIATQuf6AFZugF5pR9IhVUeXXxQlzNOMX_QSFqt_7FujCNAKp-7A8eCUVJ3VAbUOFQJpFp1L-t4QwIN0/s1600/SinbadPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdiXppRA7bHw7g0x3rb4sLotDhto2ikMcHJtnlWyZYN89I2Z8aMG-fLWnWCvVIATQuf6AFZugF5pR9IhVUeXXxQlzNOMX_QSFqt_7FujCNAKp-7A8eCUVJ3VAbUOFQJpFp1L-t4QwIN0/s320/SinbadPoster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's summertime, and the living is <i>far</i> from easy. We've declared this summer a Pirate Summer at work since all of our shows--professional and student--are about pirates and sailors, but theatrical piracy isn't all fun and games, you know. This year, there was really no clear demarcation between the end of Spring semester and the beginning of summer; one of the projects I work on during the school year has been held over through the summer (good for the budget and for the cause of arts education, bad for my sanity), and camp crept up on me.<br />
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Good thing I like my job!<br />
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Camp started this week, and the kids are amazingly super cute. (Those adjectives should show you the extent of my brain-dead-ness at the moment. Also, the fact that I used the word brain-dead-ness.) Part of the reason I like managing the summer camp is that I get to hang out with some awesome teachers, and some pretty cool students. Sure, I'm also the one who has to deal with the parents, but we have a good relationship for the most part, and it's not too much of a schlepp.<br />
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The biggest reason I like working with the camp is that it gives me an opportunity to stretch my creative muscles and write a play. I've <a href="http://thirtyflirtyfab.blogspot.com/2010/03/sinbad-in-process.html">previously posted</a> about the play I was writing, <i>The Adventures of Sinbad and the Princesses from Persia,</i> and now it's actually finished and in rehearsal! It's sort of an odd feeling, hearing kids speak and sing the words I wrote. Very interesting and a great experience, but odd nonetheless.<br />
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I'm usually on the other end of the process, editing scripts other folks have written, and gauging how natural their words sound coming from actors. This has been different from the other scripts I've written. I'm working with a new composer I've only worked with peripherally as a songwriter (there was a blackout at work last year & we wrote a song for a play my friend wrote, because we had nothing else to do). The director had a hand in dramaturging my script and helping me through a couple of drafts. (I <i>love</i> how involved he's been! I can't dramaturg myself, and he was incredibly helpful in helping me define the characters and find the arc of the play.)<br />
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I've also been sitting in on rehearsals the last couple of days, and have been able to have a little bit of input, which I usually don't get to do. I'm trying to do that from the perspective of a dramaturg (as in, "this makes sense in the world of the play; this doesn't") rather than from the perspective of a playwright (as in, "but this doesn't fit my <i>vision</i>!"--not that most playwrights are like that). I've told the director he can feel free to tell me if I'm being annoying, but he hasn't yet. :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6462075391737167596.post-82200425447886105722010-06-15T22:23:00.001-04:002010-06-15T22:26:00.595-04:00Yar.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid02-HshV4tZMPoWPzXwQK_obbIQd7gGkOeAeLXCaSHauDuu0ZZPjwDt_6jxmw9JKiWt2OqnUj-PG-EgyOaf8Gr2-tsmZPHGDRMWi6nB4ScDEV9DNMcGhnEXGAacM55cSwx4csg87BwrE/s1600/captain+hook+disney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid02-HshV4tZMPoWPzXwQK_obbIQd7gGkOeAeLXCaSHauDuu0ZZPjwDt_6jxmw9JKiWt2OqnUj-PG-EgyOaf8Gr2-tsmZPHGDRMWi6nB4ScDEV9DNMcGhnEXGAacM55cSwx4csg87BwrE/s200/captain+hook+disney.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I'm a little obsessed with Peter Pan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I <a href="http://thirtyflirtyfab.blogspot.com/2010/06/little-change-will-do-you-good.html">previously posted</a> about how even though I work in the theatre industry, my job can be just like every other job. For example: I work in a cube, have to deal with office politics, and agonize over whether to eat California Tortilla or deli for lunch (accessorized, of course, with the obligatory Diet Coke.) There will, inevitably, be more posts in a similar vein.<br />
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However. Here are a couple of reasons my job is <i>not</i> like everyone else's. One: I get to play. Two: I get to play while dressed as a pirate and doing a crappy (but effective!) accent.<br />
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<b>Reason the first:</b><br />
A few weeks ago, the wife of one of Jake's colleagues contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in leading an improv class at her temple's retreat. It should have some connection with the weekend's theme (awareness of the environment, particularly ethical eating), be somehow related to Judaism, and include about 60 students and parents, from four years old to grownup-aged.<br />
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No sweat, right?<br />
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It's tough to write a lesson plan that includes so many people, at so many ages. But somehow, we did it! Armed with my colleague Jackie, as well as a bag of musical instruments and dance scarves (and my loyal assistant Jake), we trekked deep into suburban Baltimore to lead this class. Honestly, we had no idea what we were walking into. Were they going to be into the activities? Were they expecting to watch while the kids did improv activities with us? Would everyone be able to understand and participate? How big was the space going to be?<br />
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It was awesome. The group had a really good time (I think!) and so did we. I was out of breath and sweating by the end. I love interacting with people, and when I get to work with small children, teenagers, and adults, and include them in activities that bring them together and give everyone a good time, that just makes my day. (Gross, huh?) I would gladly do it again, especially now that I actually know what I'm doing. Ha!<br />
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<b>Reason the second:</b><br />
This summer, we're doing all pirate plays at work, both in our professional family theatre, and in the summer camp I manage. What better way to kick off a pirate summer than with a pirate treasure hunt? Which, of course, entailed decking the lobby and classrooms out like pirate locales (The Jolly Roger Inn, the Shiver Me Timbers, Long John's Lagoon), and all of us dressed up like pirates. My colleagues organized the whole thing; I just showed up as the Bonny Captain Jenn to lead tour groups through the "treasure hunt."<br />
<b> </b><br />
What a great time! Again, we were all exhausted and sweaty by the end of the afternoon, but it was well worth it. We (groups of 4-25 students and parents, each led by a staffer) left on a tour every ten minutes for three hours. We defeated the Kraken (by throwing pennies into our "scholarship fountain), learned how to sword fight, solved puzzles, and ultimately "found" the treasure.<br />
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My accent was halfway between Irish and Caribbean, and I was wearing my belly dance scarf and a tri-corner hat. At work. What more could a girl ask for?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508317345227850229noreply@blogger.com0