Band: University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band
University: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Founded: 1879
Current Director: Anthony Falcone
Fight Songs: "Hail Varsity" and "Dear Old Nebraska U"
My Huskers lost this past week but at least the band got a trip to Orlando out of the deal. The band once played at the Kennedy Center for the Kennedy Center Honors.
All This and Football, Too
My Picks for the Week: 5/10
My Picks for the Bowl Season: 21/32 (5th place out of 12 players in total points, 6th place in maximum points)
With two games left to go, it is mathematically possible for me to finish anywhere between 1st and 8th in the group. Finishing 8th would still be an improvement on last year's 9th out of 10 so I'll take it. So, following the regular season more closely definitely helps. But will it be enough to get me a top 3 finish?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Family Adventures: The Tournament of Roses Parade, 1959
During our recent DC visit, we overlapped briefly with My Aunt who was visiting from Omaha. We hadn't seen her since our wedding ten years ago and she had not yet met our daughter. One of the highlights of that visit was listening to her and My Dad reminisce (largely at my request) about their high school marching band's trip to the Rose Bowl in 1959.
Image via LA Readers
The small town of Columbus, Nebraska had one of the best marching bands in the state in the late '50s. The ambitious and demanding director first applied to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1957 but was turned down. Determination brought a successful application for the '59 parade and this town of 13,000 managed to raise $18,000 for the band to go - not a small amount of money in 1959. They were one of only four non-California bands to march in the parade that year.
On Tuesday afternoon, we all watched a DVD conversion of a home-movie documentation of that Pasadena trip 53 years ago, which also included performances at Disneyland and on an aircraft carrier. As much as I enjoyed seeing all of the old cars, clothes and hairstyles, the real fun for me was watching My Dad and My Aunt as they recognized the faces, most not seen by either in many years.
Though he couldn't have known it at the time, the Rose Bowl adventure was a major turning point in My Dad's life. As was the case for many of his companions, it was his first trip to California. When he got back to Nebraska, a guidance counselor asked how he'd liked it and had he heard of a school called Stanford. My Dad applied and was accepted. Stanford led to the Peace Corps. In the Peace Corps, he met My Mom. Before the Rose Bowl trip, he fully expected to go to college in-state and the rest of his life path would likely have been very different.
Moral of the story: support the music programs at your local school. When they're holding fundraisers for band and choir trips, don't be stingy. One never knows where such experiences might lead.
Image via LA Readers
The small town of Columbus, Nebraska had one of the best marching bands in the state in the late '50s. The ambitious and demanding director first applied to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1957 but was turned down. Determination brought a successful application for the '59 parade and this town of 13,000 managed to raise $18,000 for the band to go - not a small amount of money in 1959. They were one of only four non-California bands to march in the parade that year.
On Tuesday afternoon, we all watched a DVD conversion of a home-movie documentation of that Pasadena trip 53 years ago, which also included performances at Disneyland and on an aircraft carrier. As much as I enjoyed seeing all of the old cars, clothes and hairstyles, the real fun for me was watching My Dad and My Aunt as they recognized the faces, most not seen by either in many years.
Though he couldn't have known it at the time, the Rose Bowl adventure was a major turning point in My Dad's life. As was the case for many of his companions, it was his first trip to California. When he got back to Nebraska, a guidance counselor asked how he'd liked it and had he heard of a school called Stanford. My Dad applied and was accepted. Stanford led to the Peace Corps. In the Peace Corps, he met My Mom. Before the Rose Bowl trip, he fully expected to go to college in-state and the rest of his life path would likely have been very different.
Moral of the story: support the music programs at your local school. When they're holding fundraisers for band and choir trips, don't be stingy. One never knows where such experiences might lead.
On the Coffee Table: Scott McCloud
Title: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Author: Scott McCloud
Image via Amazon.com
This was just the sort of book I needed. My comic book posts, and indeed my whole blog, has been in need of direction and Scott McCloud's examination of the art form is a great place to start. Anyone who's already into comics is probably well aware of McCloud's work. He has now produced three books, presented in comic form, outlining the tricks and trends of the trade. Understanding Comics was the first, published in 1993. The book first came to my attention when it was recommended by Daniel Pink in his very interesting book, A Whole New Mind. This year, it was one of my Christmas presents from My Wife.
Employing the comic book idiom itself, Understanding Comics shows as much as it tells - very helpful and truly essential to the points McCloud is trying to make. It's a quick read except for the fact that I had to stop a lot to absorb the material. I now have a lot to think about as I continue my explorations of the medium.
To this point, I've approached comics primarily as a reader, thus focusing on elements of plot and character in the text. I have given less thought to how the artwork serves those elements. As McCloud demonstrates, the real trick is synthesizing art and language to communicate effectively. I readily admit my own relative ignorance regarding visual art. In my youth, I received far more encouragement in the realms of music and literature, in no small part because I had more ability in those areas. I've pursued an interest in visual arts as an adult but my knowledge still lags far behind. If I'm to continue exploring comics as a reader and a blogger, I'd like to devote some time to learning more about the graphic aspects.
I especially appreciated the cross-cultural examinations. Manga are the dominant literary force in Japan, or at least they were when I was there in the '90s. Looking around the average train car, far more people were reading comic books than either newspapers or regular books - adults and children alike. However, since I wasn't even into comic books in English at the time, I failed to appreciate the completely different aesthetic which has developed in Japan. My daughter, actually, is already well into Japanese manga, in translation, of course. She has several of the books adapted from Hayao Miyazaki's films and seems untroubled by having to read from right to left. Her favorite, however, is the Chi's Sweet Home series. Whenever she gets a new book in that series, she'll curl up on her bed to read it probably several times through, not to emerge from her room again for hours.
McCloud's thoughts on the balance between the literary and artistic quality of a work are also relevant to a genre I've explored quite thoroughly over the past 8+ years: children's picture books. In my experience, it's rare to find a book in which both aspects are strong. The vast majority have either beautiful artwork with uninspiring text or the other way around. To me, the children's book which best synthesizes the two is Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. In fact, just about everything Sendak ever touched is amazing.
I definitely plan on checking out McCloud's follow up books. I highly recommend Understanding Comics to anyone with an interest in comics or the artistic process in general.
Author: Scott McCloud
Image via Amazon.com
This was just the sort of book I needed. My comic book posts, and indeed my whole blog, has been in need of direction and Scott McCloud's examination of the art form is a great place to start. Anyone who's already into comics is probably well aware of McCloud's work. He has now produced three books, presented in comic form, outlining the tricks and trends of the trade. Understanding Comics was the first, published in 1993. The book first came to my attention when it was recommended by Daniel Pink in his very interesting book, A Whole New Mind. This year, it was one of my Christmas presents from My Wife.
Employing the comic book idiom itself, Understanding Comics shows as much as it tells - very helpful and truly essential to the points McCloud is trying to make. It's a quick read except for the fact that I had to stop a lot to absorb the material. I now have a lot to think about as I continue my explorations of the medium.
To this point, I've approached comics primarily as a reader, thus focusing on elements of plot and character in the text. I have given less thought to how the artwork serves those elements. As McCloud demonstrates, the real trick is synthesizing art and language to communicate effectively. I readily admit my own relative ignorance regarding visual art. In my youth, I received far more encouragement in the realms of music and literature, in no small part because I had more ability in those areas. I've pursued an interest in visual arts as an adult but my knowledge still lags far behind. If I'm to continue exploring comics as a reader and a blogger, I'd like to devote some time to learning more about the graphic aspects.
I especially appreciated the cross-cultural examinations. Manga are the dominant literary force in Japan, or at least they were when I was there in the '90s. Looking around the average train car, far more people were reading comic books than either newspapers or regular books - adults and children alike. However, since I wasn't even into comic books in English at the time, I failed to appreciate the completely different aesthetic which has developed in Japan. My daughter, actually, is already well into Japanese manga, in translation, of course. She has several of the books adapted from Hayao Miyazaki's films and seems untroubled by having to read from right to left. Her favorite, however, is the Chi's Sweet Home series. Whenever she gets a new book in that series, she'll curl up on her bed to read it probably several times through, not to emerge from her room again for hours.
McCloud's thoughts on the balance between the literary and artistic quality of a work are also relevant to a genre I've explored quite thoroughly over the past 8+ years: children's picture books. In my experience, it's rare to find a book in which both aspects are strong. The vast majority have either beautiful artwork with uninspiring text or the other way around. To me, the children's book which best synthesizes the two is Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. In fact, just about everything Sendak ever touched is amazing.
I definitely plan on checking out McCloud's follow up books. I highly recommend Understanding Comics to anyone with an interest in comics or the artistic process in general.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Family Adventures: Happy New Year
Photo via Whats4lunch
While out on errands on Saturday, we stopped for lunch at the Asian Bistro in Williston. It's a bit further from our home than Joyce's Noodle House in Essex but apparently My Wife prefers their lo mein to Joyce's. I had no idea. It was chicken fried noodles for me - not bad but, as usual, My Wife ordered better.
Image via Amazon.comWe went to the Mocks' for an early evening New Year's gathering. We brought over a new game to share: Dixit. My Wife has had her eye on Dixit for a while now and bought it as a gift for our family. It's a sort of story telling/guessing/fool your opponents game. It's a lot of fun: easy to learn and perfectly suitable for a wide range of ages. The game is technically limited to six people and we had seven which was a little funky but two of the kids volunteered to play as a team so it worked out fine. It allows for a low-key atmosphere, too - not overly competitive and we could all be happy for the winner, Mrs. Mock in this case.
Image via ProductWikiPictionary was a different story. Things got a lot more emotional with that one! I hadn't played in years but it was fun. My team struggled but we made a strong effort in the end. The toughest word I had to draw (unsuccessfully) was current.
We brought over Duck Soup to share. It's long been our tradition to watch Marx Brothers movies on New Year's. Evidently, they tended to be on TV when My Wife babysat as a teenager on New Year's (I'm still learning new things about her all the time). Apparently, it's a long-standing tradition for loads of people. TCM had a New Year's Eve Marx Brothers marathon this year. Here I thought it was just her clever idea!
Duck Soup is my favorite Marx Brothers film, though I also like Horse Feathers, the first one I ever watched. The adults watched more than the kids did last night. Those kids who did wander in and out were mostly confused by it - understandable if you're not paying close attention, I suppose.
Before I sign off, I'd like to take a quick moment to express my disappointment with Fantasy Tennis Tour. Due to their apparent compatibility issues with Firefox, I wasn't able to log in and make my picks for the opening tournaments of the year. It's not worth the weekly frustration so I'm bagging the idea for the year. Oh well. I dare say I'll find other things to write about!
But let's end on a positive note. Here's my favorite scene from Duck Soup:
Happy New Year!
On the Coffee Table: Treasures from Big Planet Comics
As explained in my DC in December post, My Wife and I went to Big Planet Comics during our recent trip to Washington. I've been wanting to go on a comic shopping spree for a while now and Christmas money provided a good opportunity. Following is a rundown of the treasures we found. I'm thinking that at some point, I may subscribe to a few books or start a pull list at a local shop. Thus, I'm in search of titles I expect can hold my interest long-term. And so...
New 52
I'm down to two titles of interest from DC Comics's New 52 relaunch: Green Lantern and Justice League. It is not lost on me that both series are currently being written by Geoff Johns, clearly the most compelling creative force in the DC Universe. Unfortunately, I think the fourth issues are the end of the road for me with both.
Image via RazorFine Review
Green Lantern is still my favorite of the New 52 stories and if I were to keep one foot in the DC Universe going forward, I would place it in the GL world. Sinestro's a keeper and the idea of his own people turning on him after he's bestowed temporary rings upon them is almost enough to hold me. But I foresee more brawling and I've officially had enough. I realize the ongoing battle royale is a major draw for the mainstream comics audience just as hockey fights are crucial for NHL diehards. I need more...or, rather, less.
Image via RazorFine Review
The same goes for Justice League. Now that all of the major characters have been introduced, I don't have sufficient interest in the Darkseid story to continue. Aquaman is still my favorite character (My Wife's, too, interestingly), just as he was when I was a kid. I'm glad to see that he's less of a jerk in issue #4 than he first appeared to be in #3.
Spies
Image via Civilian Reader
Day 2 of our DC adventure was espionage-themed and, on Mock's recommendation, I picked up a couple of spy titles: Cold War and Frenemy of the State. Both were fun but I preferred Cold War. I bought issue #1 of The Michael Swann Dossier, entitled "The Damocles Contract." I liked a lot of things about this book: the long, non-verbal opening; the traditional, Bondesque set-up and the closing cliff-hanger. I'm genuinely curious about the next installment. There's definite long-term potential here.
Image via League of Comic Geeks
Frenemy of the State #5, while also enjoyable, was less appealing to me. I appreciate the idea of a 21st century update on the spy concept, but it emphasizes aspects of our contemporary culture which I find annoying, namely cell phones and texting. A female lead is a nice change, though.
Science Fiction
Image via wikia
As part of my anticipated expansion into the realm of science fiction, I have sought out comic books from that genre. The pickings are surprisingly slim, especially for books which don't have movie or television origins. One series I've avoided to this point is Star Wars. I should have known better. I have been obsessed with the galaxy far, far away since I was four years old and the past 34 years have done very little to sate my curiosity.
Image via Big Shiny Robot
My devotion, though, is to the original film trilogy and I tend to be skeptical of any variations. Thus, for my original venture into Star Wars comics, I thought I'd try the two series I could find with strongest ties to the characters I know and love. I grabbed Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse #1 and Star Wars: Crimson Empire III - Empire Lost #1. The first pre-dates the original trilogy and feature Han Solo and Chewbacca in cameos. The second takes place after the trilogy and features Leia. Both were good enough to convince me that I may have been missing out on something all these years. I wonder, in fact, if the DC titles I bought suffered somewhat in comparison. As interesting as I find the Green Lantern story, it pales in comparison with my love for Star Wars.
Image via Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales
A while back, a shop clerk suggested Sweet Tooth as a book to try so I grabbed issue #28. In short, I didn't care for it at all - quite grotesque. I won't be following that series any further.
Marvel
Image via Amazon.com
As discussed before, I am a Marvel man at heart and a Wolverine fan most of all. I bought the Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine compilation and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just as in the DC books, there's plenty of scrapping with Wolverine but it's always tied to a broader sense of character and I appreciate that.
Image via iFanboy
I thought I'd try a couple of Marvel characters I don't know as well: Thor and Iron Man. Unfortunately, neither The Mighty Thor #9 nor The Invincible Iron Man #511 did much for me. Thor isn't actually featured very much in this book. There's a lot more Loki. While Thor stories pique my curiosity about Norse mythology, they don't do much to inspire me to read comic books. Meanwhile, I see some potential in Iron Man but the idea of a business mogul superhero is less than inspiring to me.
Image via iFanboy
Fables
Definitely one of the hot titles in comics right now, I figured I'd give Fables #112 a try. I like the concept a lot but the broader story wasn't particularly compelling to me. I enjoyed the book but I don't think this is one I'll follow long-term.
Images via Five Comics a Week
My Wife
As I've written before, I often feel that My Wife tends to order better than I do in restaurants. I find myself very curious about her Big Planet buys, though I haven't read them yet: Super Spy: The Lost Dossiers and The Drops of God, Books 1 and 2, a Japanese manga series about wine.
New 52
I'm down to two titles of interest from DC Comics's New 52 relaunch: Green Lantern and Justice League. It is not lost on me that both series are currently being written by Geoff Johns, clearly the most compelling creative force in the DC Universe. Unfortunately, I think the fourth issues are the end of the road for me with both.
Image via RazorFine Review
Green Lantern is still my favorite of the New 52 stories and if I were to keep one foot in the DC Universe going forward, I would place it in the GL world. Sinestro's a keeper and the idea of his own people turning on him after he's bestowed temporary rings upon them is almost enough to hold me. But I foresee more brawling and I've officially had enough. I realize the ongoing battle royale is a major draw for the mainstream comics audience just as hockey fights are crucial for NHL diehards. I need more...or, rather, less.
Image via RazorFine Review
The same goes for Justice League. Now that all of the major characters have been introduced, I don't have sufficient interest in the Darkseid story to continue. Aquaman is still my favorite character (My Wife's, too, interestingly), just as he was when I was a kid. I'm glad to see that he's less of a jerk in issue #4 than he first appeared to be in #3.
Spies
Image via Civilian Reader
Day 2 of our DC adventure was espionage-themed and, on Mock's recommendation, I picked up a couple of spy titles: Cold War and Frenemy of the State. Both were fun but I preferred Cold War. I bought issue #1 of The Michael Swann Dossier, entitled "The Damocles Contract." I liked a lot of things about this book: the long, non-verbal opening; the traditional, Bondesque set-up and the closing cliff-hanger. I'm genuinely curious about the next installment. There's definite long-term potential here.
Image via League of Comic Geeks
Frenemy of the State #5, while also enjoyable, was less appealing to me. I appreciate the idea of a 21st century update on the spy concept, but it emphasizes aspects of our contemporary culture which I find annoying, namely cell phones and texting. A female lead is a nice change, though.
Science Fiction
Image via wikia
As part of my anticipated expansion into the realm of science fiction, I have sought out comic books from that genre. The pickings are surprisingly slim, especially for books which don't have movie or television origins. One series I've avoided to this point is Star Wars. I should have known better. I have been obsessed with the galaxy far, far away since I was four years old and the past 34 years have done very little to sate my curiosity.
Image via Big Shiny Robot
My devotion, though, is to the original film trilogy and I tend to be skeptical of any variations. Thus, for my original venture into Star Wars comics, I thought I'd try the two series I could find with strongest ties to the characters I know and love. I grabbed Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse #1 and Star Wars: Crimson Empire III - Empire Lost #1. The first pre-dates the original trilogy and feature Han Solo and Chewbacca in cameos. The second takes place after the trilogy and features Leia. Both were good enough to convince me that I may have been missing out on something all these years. I wonder, in fact, if the DC titles I bought suffered somewhat in comparison. As interesting as I find the Green Lantern story, it pales in comparison with my love for Star Wars.
Image via Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales
A while back, a shop clerk suggested Sweet Tooth as a book to try so I grabbed issue #28. In short, I didn't care for it at all - quite grotesque. I won't be following that series any further.
Marvel
Image via Amazon.com
As discussed before, I am a Marvel man at heart and a Wolverine fan most of all. I bought the Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine compilation and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just as in the DC books, there's plenty of scrapping with Wolverine but it's always tied to a broader sense of character and I appreciate that.
Image via iFanboy
I thought I'd try a couple of Marvel characters I don't know as well: Thor and Iron Man. Unfortunately, neither The Mighty Thor #9 nor The Invincible Iron Man #511 did much for me. Thor isn't actually featured very much in this book. There's a lot more Loki. While Thor stories pique my curiosity about Norse mythology, they don't do much to inspire me to read comic books. Meanwhile, I see some potential in Iron Man but the idea of a business mogul superhero is less than inspiring to me.
Image via iFanboy
Fables
Definitely one of the hot titles in comics right now, I figured I'd give Fables #112 a try. I like the concept a lot but the broader story wasn't particularly compelling to me. I enjoyed the book but I don't think this is one I'll follow long-term.
Images via Five Comics a Week
My Wife
As I've written before, I often feel that My Wife tends to order better than I do in restaurants. I find myself very curious about her Big Planet buys, though I haven't read them yet: Super Spy: The Lost Dossiers and The Drops of God, Books 1 and 2, a Japanese manga series about wine.
On the Road: DC in December
On Friday night, we got back from a quick trip down to DC to visit my parents. As has been our custom of late, we took the train there and back. Some dining advice for anyone taking the Vermonter all the way through: it's best to hit the café car right after New York, where they restock. Most train fare is pretty awful but it helps to have choices. The teriyaki chicken bowl is my personal favorite.
Image via tr3s
One of many great things about grandparents is their willingness to babysit. My Wife and I took advantage of this on our second day to plan a late afternoon/early evening date. My Wife really wanted to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy while we were in town so we used that as the inspiration for a spy-themed extravaganza.
Image via Cul de Sac
Our first excursion of the day was to Big Planet Comics, not far from my parents' apartment. Big Planet just recently moved their DC store from Georgetown to U Street. I was rather hoping for a store comparable to That's Entertainment in Worcester but Big Planet has nowhere near as much space. All of their comics were new. I didn't see second-hand boxes anywhere. Nonetheless, variety was more than adequate for both of us to find decent treasures. We even grabbed some spy-themed titles in honor of the day. My thoughts on my finds are best handled in a separate post, I think.
Photo via Drink DC
On the way to the subway station, we stopped in at Kramerbooks, one of northwest DC's top-notch independent book stores. We didn't find any spy novels but there were some other good finds: a couple of Asimov books plus George Plimpton's Paper Lion. I've been wanting to read Plimpton for a while now but his sports books are hard to find these days. Paper Lion has been released as a 45th anniversary edition - what an odd number.
Next, on to the movie. The Landmark E Street Cinema is a relatively new theater, just opened in 2004. It's a nice one. I love the new trend of being able to purchase beer at a movie theater.
Photo via Little Worlds
The film was very good, the highlight of our spy-themed day. We first ventured into John Le Carré's world via the 1979 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy TV series on the BBC, starring Alec Guinness. My Wife has also since read the book and has been very eager to see the new film, especially since two of her favorite actors are in the cast: Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch. Gary Oldman stars as George Smiley, the Guinness role. I think he was a fine choice. In fact, I can hardly imagine a better choice.
I can understand why someone might not care for the film. The pace is very slow, the tone very quiet - both of which reflect the TV series perfectly. It did help me to already be familiar with the story. Since I knew whodunit, I could focus on other aspects. The look of the film was very satisfying: dark, murky, foggy. Attention to time period detail was thorough: the right cars, the right clothes, the right hairstyles, etc. Casting all around was outstanding.
Obviously, going from a book, to a seven-part TV series to a feature film required much condensing and there were plenty of differences in this latest interpretation. The confrontation between hero George and nemesis Karla was an interesting case. In the 1979 series, Guinness faces off against Patrick Stewart in the scene. In the new film, Oldman interrogates an empty chair - only an actor of his ilk could have pulled it off so effectively.
I was inspired to read the book myself and perhaps even give the TV series another look - overall, 4 out of 5 stars.
Image via Wikipedia
If the film was the highlight of our day, the disappointment was the International Spy Museum. That's not to say that it's not a high quality museum. It is. If you want to see loads of Q-esque spy gadgets from all over the world, they're all here - including a replica of James Bond's Aston Martin. The history of espionage is well-documented from antiquity to the present. Here's the problem: museum admission is $18 for adults. In a city where one has access to the world's largest museum complex free of charge, any institution charging even a modest admission had better have something pretty special on offer. The attempts to offer an interactive experience are admirable but not sufficiently accommodating for the large crowds passing through. In the end, I felt that I'd rather just read a good book on the subject.
Photo via The Art of Being Mom
Our espionage date culminated at Zola, the museum's fine dining establishment. Theme elements are light: images from classic spy films like The Third Man grace the walls. Beer and wine selections were pretty good and the food decent. The carnitas tacos were my favorite. Service was mediocre - polite but inefficient. No one ever brought us bread for the table, for instance.
Photo via National Museum of American History
The third day of our visit was busy as well. In the morning, we took Our Girl to the National Museum of American History. I have visited the museum many times in my life but it had been a while. The museum has seemingly been in various stages of renovation for decades. Long gone is the old-fashioned ice cream shop, once my favorite part of the entire Smithsonian. It's still a great museum, of course. I think the dollhouse display is impressive but Our Girl was underwhelmed - lack of Calico Critters, perhaps? Not surprisingly, the Jim Henson display is my personal favorite.
Photo via VisitingDC.com
In the late afternoon, my parents treated us to a performance of Knuffle Bunny at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Kennedy Center is an important place for our family. My father has sung with the Choral Arts Society of Washington for over 30 years and most of their concerts are at the Kennedy Center. Both my sister and I walked across the concert hall stage for our high school graduations. This was the first visit for both My Wife and Our Girl and we took some time to appreciate the Hall of Nations, the Hall of States, the view of the river and, of course, the gift shop. I would never turn up my nose at my parents' generosity but we all agreed that Knuffle Bunny was best suited for kids - not exactly adult-friendly. Our Girl enjoyed it, though. That's all that really mattered.
Dinner was a greater success: Mama Ayesha's, a DC institution since 1960 and long a favorite of our family's. Vermont is wonderful but among other things, it lacks a decent Middle Eastern restaurant. My Wife's Lebanese family heritage is very important to her, especially in terms of her culinary sensibilities so the opportunity to reconnect when we're in a big city is very exciting. I often feel that My Wife orders better than I do in restaurants but I did pretty well at Mama Ayesha's. The mushakal mashal (mixed grill) is outstanding. As one would hope for a Mediterranean restaurant, the wine list is very impressive.
Overall, it was a great trip. We're looking forward to our next visit.
Image via tr3s
One of many great things about grandparents is their willingness to babysit. My Wife and I took advantage of this on our second day to plan a late afternoon/early evening date. My Wife really wanted to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy while we were in town so we used that as the inspiration for a spy-themed extravaganza.
Image via Cul de SacOur first excursion of the day was to Big Planet Comics, not far from my parents' apartment. Big Planet just recently moved their DC store from Georgetown to U Street. I was rather hoping for a store comparable to That's Entertainment in Worcester but Big Planet has nowhere near as much space. All of their comics were new. I didn't see second-hand boxes anywhere. Nonetheless, variety was more than adequate for both of us to find decent treasures. We even grabbed some spy-themed titles in honor of the day. My thoughts on my finds are best handled in a separate post, I think.
Photo via Drink DC
On the way to the subway station, we stopped in at Kramerbooks, one of northwest DC's top-notch independent book stores. We didn't find any spy novels but there were some other good finds: a couple of Asimov books plus George Plimpton's Paper Lion. I've been wanting to read Plimpton for a while now but his sports books are hard to find these days. Paper Lion has been released as a 45th anniversary edition - what an odd number.
Next, on to the movie. The Landmark E Street Cinema is a relatively new theater, just opened in 2004. It's a nice one. I love the new trend of being able to purchase beer at a movie theater.
Photo via Little Worlds
The film was very good, the highlight of our spy-themed day. We first ventured into John Le Carré's world via the 1979 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy TV series on the BBC, starring Alec Guinness. My Wife has also since read the book and has been very eager to see the new film, especially since two of her favorite actors are in the cast: Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch. Gary Oldman stars as George Smiley, the Guinness role. I think he was a fine choice. In fact, I can hardly imagine a better choice.
I can understand why someone might not care for the film. The pace is very slow, the tone very quiet - both of which reflect the TV series perfectly. It did help me to already be familiar with the story. Since I knew whodunit, I could focus on other aspects. The look of the film was very satisfying: dark, murky, foggy. Attention to time period detail was thorough: the right cars, the right clothes, the right hairstyles, etc. Casting all around was outstanding.
Obviously, going from a book, to a seven-part TV series to a feature film required much condensing and there were plenty of differences in this latest interpretation. The confrontation between hero George and nemesis Karla was an interesting case. In the 1979 series, Guinness faces off against Patrick Stewart in the scene. In the new film, Oldman interrogates an empty chair - only an actor of his ilk could have pulled it off so effectively.
I was inspired to read the book myself and perhaps even give the TV series another look - overall, 4 out of 5 stars.
Image via Wikipedia
If the film was the highlight of our day, the disappointment was the International Spy Museum. That's not to say that it's not a high quality museum. It is. If you want to see loads of Q-esque spy gadgets from all over the world, they're all here - including a replica of James Bond's Aston Martin. The history of espionage is well-documented from antiquity to the present. Here's the problem: museum admission is $18 for adults. In a city where one has access to the world's largest museum complex free of charge, any institution charging even a modest admission had better have something pretty special on offer. The attempts to offer an interactive experience are admirable but not sufficiently accommodating for the large crowds passing through. In the end, I felt that I'd rather just read a good book on the subject.
Photo via The Art of Being Mom
Our espionage date culminated at Zola, the museum's fine dining establishment. Theme elements are light: images from classic spy films like The Third Man grace the walls. Beer and wine selections were pretty good and the food decent. The carnitas tacos were my favorite. Service was mediocre - polite but inefficient. No one ever brought us bread for the table, for instance.
Photo via National Museum of American History
The third day of our visit was busy as well. In the morning, we took Our Girl to the National Museum of American History. I have visited the museum many times in my life but it had been a while. The museum has seemingly been in various stages of renovation for decades. Long gone is the old-fashioned ice cream shop, once my favorite part of the entire Smithsonian. It's still a great museum, of course. I think the dollhouse display is impressive but Our Girl was underwhelmed - lack of Calico Critters, perhaps? Not surprisingly, the Jim Henson display is my personal favorite.
Photo via VisitingDC.com
In the late afternoon, my parents treated us to a performance of Knuffle Bunny at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Kennedy Center is an important place for our family. My father has sung with the Choral Arts Society of Washington for over 30 years and most of their concerts are at the Kennedy Center. Both my sister and I walked across the concert hall stage for our high school graduations. This was the first visit for both My Wife and Our Girl and we took some time to appreciate the Hall of Nations, the Hall of States, the view of the river and, of course, the gift shop. I would never turn up my nose at my parents' generosity but we all agreed that Knuffle Bunny was best suited for kids - not exactly adult-friendly. Our Girl enjoyed it, though. That's all that really mattered.
Dinner was a greater success: Mama Ayesha's, a DC institution since 1960 and long a favorite of our family's. Vermont is wonderful but among other things, it lacks a decent Middle Eastern restaurant. My Wife's Lebanese family heritage is very important to her, especially in terms of her culinary sensibilities so the opportunity to reconnect when we're in a big city is very exciting. I often feel that My Wife orders better than I do in restaurants but I did pretty well at Mama Ayesha's. The mushakal mashal (mixed grill) is outstanding. As one would hope for a Mediterranean restaurant, the wine list is very impressive.
Overall, it was a great trip. We're looking forward to our next visit.
I'm with the Band: Northwestern
Band: Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band
University: Northwestern University
Founded: 1911
Current Director: Daniel J. Farris
Fight Songs: "Go U Northwestern" and "Rise, Northwestern!"
The routine above is a nice one. I especially like the waving flag effect. "Go U Northwestern" was written by Theodore Van Etten in 1912. I can't find writing credits for "Rise, Northwestern!"
All This and Football, Too
My Picks for the Week: 11/16
My Picks for the Bowl Season: 16/23 (2nd place out of 12 players in total points, tied for 9th in maximum points)
University: Northwestern University
Founded: 1911
Current Director: Daniel J. Farris
Fight Songs: "Go U Northwestern" and "Rise, Northwestern!"
The routine above is a nice one. I especially like the waving flag effect. "Go U Northwestern" was written by Theodore Van Etten in 1912. I can't find writing credits for "Rise, Northwestern!"
All This and Football, Too
My Picks for the Week: 11/16
My Picks for the Bowl Season: 16/23 (2nd place out of 12 players in total points, tied for 9th in maximum points)
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