What Took Me So Long? (12 cents)

It is now Sunday night, and I have not had an entry since last Wednesday. Not sure why. At any rate....

1. Baseball. We went to see the Nationals beat the Cardinals at a Wednesday day game. The Nats won two of the three game series, continuing to do well at home. Then, they flew to Denver and lost four straight to the Rockies, although scoring 28 runs. They gotta get their act together.

2. Art. On Thursday, I went to the National Gallery and went on the docent tour of the exhibition of Venetian Art, 1500-1530. I had been at the exhibit twice before, but for the first time realized that 1500-1530 meant just what it says: all this art was completed within a 30 year period. The tour was good because it gave a little more historical context (the build up of Venice, its wealth and art patronage, the development of large wealthy controlling families, the loss of its eastern market when Constantinople fell in 1452, the jealosy of the remainder of Italy and the formation of the Cambrai league to keep Venice from expanding inland), and described the major artists (Bellini, Georgioni, Titian). Bellini was old in 1500 (about 70), his pupil Georgioni died at a young age of the plague, etc. We learned about certain techniques (how in Venice, the artists drew outlines on the canvas, or wood, while in Florence, they drew the designs first on separate paper). We learned about the placement of characters, the direction in which they looked, curtains of honor behind the central characters, and so forth. We learned about the donors who commissioned the paintings and how they were painted in with the saints and holy family. We learned that Joseph was always painted old, so it would be clear that he could not have been the father. Unfortunately, the hour exhibit was an hour old, when the leader was only about 1/3 through the paintings and announced that he appeared to be running overtime. I left at that point, and headed back to work.

3. Books. I finally finished "Grace and Power" by Sally Bedell Smith. If you read Seymour Hersh's "The Dark Side of Camelot", this book is a good companion piece, going over much the same ground, but concentrating on Jackie as well as Jack. What a different time it was then: it would be hard to conceive of a president with as many girls and affairs as Jack had (Bill Clinton looks like a monk in comparison) today with the press remaining silent; it is impossible to imagine how much time the Kennedys spent away from the White House (together or apart): Virginia, Camp David, Europe, Hyannisport, Florida; it is impossible to imagine how much socializing they did with their friends, going to restaurants, house parties, weekend getaways, and so forth, staying out until 2 or 3 in the morning. None of this could happen today.

4. Restaurants. Another nice meal at Arucola on Wednesday, and tonight, we ate at the Double T Diner in Ellicott city, with relatives. Six people, under $100 with tip, and good food. Go figure. Not elegant, however.