Roanoke is a treat. It is a very attractive city, with a most livable downtown - galleries, coffee shops, hippies, the same kind of street people you see in Seattle (looking like they've been at sea too long), etc. And they are building a new art museum that will look like a Frank Ghery creation (designed by a Los Angeles architect named Stout), and will become a tourist attraction. It is right downtown, next to the 365 day a year outside market. The museum is currently housed in a building which has a number of museums, as well as a theater (not a movie house), which is very nice in and of itself. I also went to the Virginia Transportation Museum, which has a lot of old N & W Railway cars, some automobiles (but not enough) and a great electric train setup. It is probably worth going for the electric trains, but not yet for anything else.
Driving south, the country is beautiful and the vibrancy of the towns continue to depend on the presence or absence of universities. But by and large, they are more pleasant than one would think. No reason that a week could not be spent in and around them, looking at history, architecture, scenery, and eating at a variety of restaurants.
In Bristol VA/TN tonight. Ate downtown at the very noisy State Street Bar and Grill. Considering my grouper, cole slaw and sweet potato fries cost $9.99, it was excellent. Not going to stick around Bristol tomorrow, too far to drive. But I was surprised to see that downtown is virtually all antique shops, and some very fancing ones at that.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Plaid Skirts and Topless Gowns
In Winchester, they were celebrating the opening of bagpipe camp. About 50 young men (looked about bar mitzvah age) were getting together at Shenandoah U. One mother, staying at my hotel, wanted to make sure that I knew that her "son did not always dress like that".
And in Roanoke it was time for the Miss Virginia pageant. Either they are crowning them much younger than before or they also had a Miss Pre-Teen Virginia warm up, because the two girls with their mother whom I saw at the Holiday Inn Express were about the same age as the bagpipe boys.
And in Roanoke it was time for the Miss Virginia pageant. Either they are crowning them much younger than before or they also had a Miss Pre-Teen Virginia warm up, because the two girls with their mother whom I saw at the Holiday Inn Express were about the same age as the bagpipe boys.
No Oceans on Eleven
The drive from Washington to Winchester on Route 50 is an attractive one, as you go through Middleburg (OK it was very hot, I had a small lunch and I did stop for a delicious strawberry ice cream cone), which has its own attractions and Upperville (now you see it, now you don't), and by an incredible number of large estates (and you know there are many more that you do not see).
For a city of about 25,000, Winchester offers a lot. I already posted about Little Me at Shenandoah University, where there is a lot of construction going on, including a new student center and a new business school. Historically, you can visit an office which George Washington, the surveyor, used, as well as headquarters of Generals Sheridan and Stonewall Jackson. There is a museum devoted to the Civil War in the 1840 court house (now replaced), perhaps the most attractive library I have seen (built in 1912 and restored most recently in 2000), and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, a new museum and landscaped grounds devoted to the history and culture of the region which apparently is well worth seeing. There are also a significant number of large, distinctive older houses, well maintained.
Driving south on Highway 11, the country is beautiful and you get near (not exactly to) Front Royal, where I had lunch, and which appears to have less interest to the traveler, although Shenandoah Caverns nearby must be worth exploring. Continuing the drive south on 11, you go through Woodstock, Mt. Jackson, Harrisonburg (home of James Madison U), Verona and Staunton (home of Woodrow Wilson, another town filled with historic interest). Then you pass close to Lynchburg (VMI and the Jerry Falwell world), and finally get to Roanoke, where I am now, a city of 250,000, where I have never been (and which I guess sitting here, I will never need to come again). I will use this morning to explore, before going about 150 more miles down the road to the Tennessee border.
For a city of about 25,000, Winchester offers a lot. I already posted about Little Me at Shenandoah University, where there is a lot of construction going on, including a new student center and a new business school. Historically, you can visit an office which George Washington, the surveyor, used, as well as headquarters of Generals Sheridan and Stonewall Jackson. There is a museum devoted to the Civil War in the 1840 court house (now replaced), perhaps the most attractive library I have seen (built in 1912 and restored most recently in 2000), and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, a new museum and landscaped grounds devoted to the history and culture of the region which apparently is well worth seeing. There are also a significant number of large, distinctive older houses, well maintained.
Driving south on Highway 11, the country is beautiful and you get near (not exactly to) Front Royal, where I had lunch, and which appears to have less interest to the traveler, although Shenandoah Caverns nearby must be worth exploring. Continuing the drive south on 11, you go through Woodstock, Mt. Jackson, Harrisonburg (home of James Madison U), Verona and Staunton (home of Woodrow Wilson, another town filled with historic interest). Then you pass close to Lynchburg (VMI and the Jerry Falwell world), and finally get to Roanoke, where I am now, a city of 250,000, where I have never been (and which I guess sitting here, I will never need to come again). I will use this morning to explore, before going about 150 more miles down the road to the Tennessee border.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Food in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
I take it that there is no Shenandoah cuisine. If there was, why would I have wound up at the Texas Grill last night, and at Jersey Lilly's tonight? These two restaurants (which may or may not be chains) are very, very similar. The interiors are dark, rough wood, and they are steakhouses. Each time I got fish. Last night, salmon. Tonight, flounder. Each was more than adequate. Both had good coffee.
Well, here is my question?
Why did I think Texas in Winchester was a good dining experience, and Jersey in Roanoke the opposite?
Well, here is my question?
Why did I think Texas in Winchester was a good dining experience, and Jersey in Roanoke the opposite?
Joyce Carol Oates is/and Little Me
Two things to report: listening to Joyce Carol Oates Tuesday night at Politics and Prose, and seeing Little Me on Wednesday on the campus of Shenandoah University in Winchester VA.
Oates has just published her 36th book, The Gravedigger's Daughter, a novel set in upstate New York and based (loosely) on the experience of her grandmother, whose German Jewish parents had come to this country in the 1890s. Oates knew her grandmother well, but until someone had decided to write a biography of Oates and discovered that her great grandparents were Jewish immigrants, Oates was totally unaware of this heritage.
Politics and Prose was very crowded for her appearance, and getting there twenty minutes early (unheard of for me) did not get me a seat. So I took a book and sat on the floor in a corner, where at least I could lean my back against something. I read about twenty pages, and could have kept going.
I listed to Oates' opening comments, but when she began to read, I went outside, coming back about twenty minutes later to hear the Q and A. I did not want to hear the excerpts Oates was reading. I wanted to be surprised.
How do you write? This is one of the questions that she was asked. She said that she knew that she wrote idiosyncratically. She does a lot of solitary walking and running, and while she is on the move, she is visualizing scenes. Not writing them, she says, visualizing them, almost like cinematography. When she gets back, she writes the scenes, as best as she can remember them, in longhand. Then she stores them and then, when she thinks she has enough scenes, she goes back to them, shuffles them around, and puts them together. She now types up a general plot outline composed of these scenes. Her writing embellishes this outline.
You published your first novel at 26? Yes, but I wrote my first novel at 6. Even before I could write. I just scribbled and scribbled.
Are you going to publish your memoirs? My memoirs? I am so uninteresting. I don't think I have led an interesting life. There really is nothing to read about. Even when I am being interviewed, I don't have much to say. I always wind up interviewing the interviewer. They have all led more interesting lives than I have.
What advice for a young writer who doesn't know how to start? First, talk to the older people in your family. The ones who came here, if they are still alive, or ones who knew them. That's the generation with the stories. And then, join a writers' group. That is the way you learn what part of your writing attracts others.
It was a very interesting hour.
Yesterday afternoon, I drove to Winchester on my way to Tennessee, and stayed at a Best Western (wi-fi in each room and free)across the street from Shenandoah University. They have a four play musical theater season each summer, with students from the conservatory program and what they call "guest artists", although these seem by and large to be faculty.
I saw that Little Me was playing and went across to the large theater's box office and bought a ticket. It was opening night.
I had never seen Little Me, and it was not high on my list of wants. But it is a lot of fun. As a play (Neil Simon)it is the ultimate in corn, and does not hang together particularly well. Based on a book by Patrick Dennis (he had something to do with Auntie Mame, too? Or am I mixing things up?), it tells a rags to riches story of Belle Schlumpfert (rhymes with comfort, in one of the songs), who is a combination Candide and Zelig. And Forest Gump. Always in the middle of things, always winding up worse for the wear, and in the end coming out ahead. Pure corn. A few songs you know ("I love you, as far as I am able" and "I've never been kissed, by a real live girl") and a bunch of novelty songs. The young Belle was excellent, and the male lead (who plays 5 different comic roles) was an absolute kick. (I was sitting next to a good friend of his, who was rolling on the floor)
You never know what you will find, I guess, in small town America.
Oh, yes, and "Little Me": could be the motto for Joyce Carol Oates, no?
Oates has just published her 36th book, The Gravedigger's Daughter, a novel set in upstate New York and based (loosely) on the experience of her grandmother, whose German Jewish parents had come to this country in the 1890s. Oates knew her grandmother well, but until someone had decided to write a biography of Oates and discovered that her great grandparents were Jewish immigrants, Oates was totally unaware of this heritage.
Politics and Prose was very crowded for her appearance, and getting there twenty minutes early (unheard of for me) did not get me a seat. So I took a book and sat on the floor in a corner, where at least I could lean my back against something. I read about twenty pages, and could have kept going.
I listed to Oates' opening comments, but when she began to read, I went outside, coming back about twenty minutes later to hear the Q and A. I did not want to hear the excerpts Oates was reading. I wanted to be surprised.
How do you write? This is one of the questions that she was asked. She said that she knew that she wrote idiosyncratically. She does a lot of solitary walking and running, and while she is on the move, she is visualizing scenes. Not writing them, she says, visualizing them, almost like cinematography. When she gets back, she writes the scenes, as best as she can remember them, in longhand. Then she stores them and then, when she thinks she has enough scenes, she goes back to them, shuffles them around, and puts them together. She now types up a general plot outline composed of these scenes. Her writing embellishes this outline.
You published your first novel at 26? Yes, but I wrote my first novel at 6. Even before I could write. I just scribbled and scribbled.
Are you going to publish your memoirs? My memoirs? I am so uninteresting. I don't think I have led an interesting life. There really is nothing to read about. Even when I am being interviewed, I don't have much to say. I always wind up interviewing the interviewer. They have all led more interesting lives than I have.
What advice for a young writer who doesn't know how to start? First, talk to the older people in your family. The ones who came here, if they are still alive, or ones who knew them. That's the generation with the stories. And then, join a writers' group. That is the way you learn what part of your writing attracts others.
It was a very interesting hour.
Yesterday afternoon, I drove to Winchester on my way to Tennessee, and stayed at a Best Western (wi-fi in each room and free)across the street from Shenandoah University. They have a four play musical theater season each summer, with students from the conservatory program and what they call "guest artists", although these seem by and large to be faculty.
I saw that Little Me was playing and went across to the large theater's box office and bought a ticket. It was opening night.
I had never seen Little Me, and it was not high on my list of wants. But it is a lot of fun. As a play (Neil Simon)it is the ultimate in corn, and does not hang together particularly well. Based on a book by Patrick Dennis (he had something to do with Auntie Mame, too? Or am I mixing things up?), it tells a rags to riches story of Belle Schlumpfert (rhymes with comfort, in one of the songs), who is a combination Candide and Zelig. And Forest Gump. Always in the middle of things, always winding up worse for the wear, and in the end coming out ahead. Pure corn. A few songs you know ("I love you, as far as I am able" and "I've never been kissed, by a real live girl") and a bunch of novelty songs. The young Belle was excellent, and the male lead (who plays 5 different comic roles) was an absolute kick. (I was sitting next to a good friend of his, who was rolling on the floor)
You never know what you will find, I guess, in small town America.
Oh, yes, and "Little Me": could be the motto for Joyce Carol Oates, no?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
If You Can't Stand the Heat (2 cents)
I go into Jyati Indian restaurant in Adams Morgan to pick up my carryout dinner. It's a hot,muggy Washington evening. One of the regular waiters says to me: This heat is awful, just awful.
Where are you from, I ask? Bangladesh, he says.
Then aren't you used to this?
Why do you think I left Bangladesh?
Where are you from, I ask? Bangladesh, he says.
Then aren't you used to this?
Why do you think I left Bangladesh?
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Another Life (25 cents)
I have just finished reading about another life. This one belongs (perhaps now it belonged, I am not sure) to Leo Saal, who wrote about himself in a very interesting book which no one has read called "Crossings". Published by a small Washington press in 1996, it tells the story of a young man, born in St. Petersburg in 1912, but whose mother was German and who was identified as German on his Russian internal passport, who was raised in middle class circumstances. His father was an officer in the Czar's army, but who preferred his side business of buying and restoring residential real estate in what became Leningrad.
After the revolution, which the family (and according to the book many middle class families) did not necessarily oppose, his father worked for the German Red Cross, which operated for several more years in the USSR. And during the 1920s, the time of Lenin's NEP (New Economic Policy), according to Saal, everything seemed pretty normal. The shops were open, the economy was strong, they even traveled to see his grandmother and other relatives in Germany. But in 1930, first his father and then Saal himself was arrested ("It was a high class crowd in this prison: intelligentsia, medium rank officials, and a few party members. Mostly 'fifty-eighters-, article 58 of the old criminal code with its fourteen paragraphs covered all political crimes"). And by the time the 1930s ended, Saal had been sent into the Gulag (for reasons unclear) working in various prison towns in Siberia, his father had died in prison, and his mother was exiled to a distant town ("In December 1934 Kirov was assassinated. He was Leningrad's popular Party Secretary and a potential rival to Stalin. As a reprisal, thousands of Leningrad residents were ordered to leave the city for faraway places in early 1935, among them were my mother and sister"). After his release from prison, when he was unable to live in Moscow or Leningrad (or several other cities), he led a hand-to-hand existence, marrying a Moscow medical student (with whom he spent surprisingly little time) and trying to keep in touch with his friends.
In 1939, after Germany's quick takeover of Poland, he was inducted into the army, his wife moved to Tblisi to escape potential fighting and, as he says, he did not see her again for 48 years. During the war, when it appeared that Germany was going to win, he switched sides (his first Crossing) and became a German (under German law he was automatically a German citizen) acting as an interpreter for the German army. When Germany lost the war, he remained a short time in West Germany (his mother was living there then as well), he married again (it was unclear that he was ever officially divorced), and eventually with his wife and children (probably sometime during the 1950s) came to the United States, where he finally wound up living in Chevy Chase. He was an artist; whether he did other work here, I do not know.
The book is interesting in so many ways. First, the issues of Jews and anti-Semitism play a small role in his memoirs. He knew that the Jews were discriminated against in Germany but, if you believe him, he knew nothing of the atrocities there or in Poland or the Ukraine when he was part of the German army. Second, he makes the NEP days in Russia look like capitalism without compromise ("In a short span of time, stores opened everywhere. On the Nevskiy Prospekt and Sadovaya Street the mile long arcades of Gostinyy and Apraksin Dvors again featured dozens of stores. Yeliseyev, the famous giant delicatessen store, offered an enless variety of foods; pyramids of Crimean fruit embellished many store windows. Lohr's bakeries and cafes sprangup everywhere."). Leningrad in 1930 was all culture ("Whenever there is a symphony concert and I am not at work, I got a ticket for Aleka and me. Bruno Walter, Klemperer, Zemlinsky, Knappertsbusch, Ansermet, Stiedry, Hindemith, Kuhlenkampf and others cam ein those years to conduct the Leningrad Symphony.") Third, his description of the Gulag and the various camps and work stations throughout Siberia ("Welcome to Bamlag!....the Baikal-Amur Correctional Labor Camp, situated between Lake Baikal and the Amur River, was organized in 1932 for the construction of a new railroad line to substitute for the Manchurian Railroad, now in the hands of the Japanese."), the type of work that was done, how much freedom one had, how sentences were arbitrarily extended or curtailed, etc. form a picture very different from what one might expect (I was not aware then of how lucky I was to have been arrested in 1933 and discharged in 1936. Had I been arrested after Kirov's murder, I would have served my full term until 1940 and most certainly would have received, without further trial, an extended term"). It reminded me a bit of the memoirs of Anna Lavrova, which I read earlier as it told the tale of her following her husband into the Gulag. And then of course, the ease with which he became Russian, German, American.
More than anything else, though, it tells the story of a life, very different from yours or mine, where somethings just seem very familiar. For example, his grandfather's nursery business in pre-war St. Petersburg ("He raised 50,000 roses. From Germany, Belgium, Holland and Japan he imported flowers in great numbers, including 70,000 hyacinths, 35,000 tulips, and 5,000 white lillies annually. At his peak, he employed a staff of 200"--how different from Russia under Communist rule). He visited friends of his wife ("Irina had arranged for us to stay with friends of her family, the Vereyskiys. ....He was a well known graphic artist and curator of prints at the Hermitage. His son Orest, also an artist, was a friend of Irina's. Orest's parents, although separated, maintained a common household which included their son and Mrs. Vereyskiy's new companion, a historian. Orest's mother was a well know writer of children's books.") It doesn't seem so different, does it? And I guess in some ways, it was not
After the revolution, which the family (and according to the book many middle class families) did not necessarily oppose, his father worked for the German Red Cross, which operated for several more years in the USSR. And during the 1920s, the time of Lenin's NEP (New Economic Policy), according to Saal, everything seemed pretty normal. The shops were open, the economy was strong, they even traveled to see his grandmother and other relatives in Germany. But in 1930, first his father and then Saal himself was arrested ("It was a high class crowd in this prison: intelligentsia, medium rank officials, and a few party members. Mostly 'fifty-eighters-, article 58 of the old criminal code with its fourteen paragraphs covered all political crimes"). And by the time the 1930s ended, Saal had been sent into the Gulag (for reasons unclear) working in various prison towns in Siberia, his father had died in prison, and his mother was exiled to a distant town ("In December 1934 Kirov was assassinated. He was Leningrad's popular Party Secretary and a potential rival to Stalin. As a reprisal, thousands of Leningrad residents were ordered to leave the city for faraway places in early 1935, among them were my mother and sister"). After his release from prison, when he was unable to live in Moscow or Leningrad (or several other cities), he led a hand-to-hand existence, marrying a Moscow medical student (with whom he spent surprisingly little time) and trying to keep in touch with his friends.
In 1939, after Germany's quick takeover of Poland, he was inducted into the army, his wife moved to Tblisi to escape potential fighting and, as he says, he did not see her again for 48 years. During the war, when it appeared that Germany was going to win, he switched sides (his first Crossing) and became a German (under German law he was automatically a German citizen) acting as an interpreter for the German army. When Germany lost the war, he remained a short time in West Germany (his mother was living there then as well), he married again (it was unclear that he was ever officially divorced), and eventually with his wife and children (probably sometime during the 1950s) came to the United States, where he finally wound up living in Chevy Chase. He was an artist; whether he did other work here, I do not know.
The book is interesting in so many ways. First, the issues of Jews and anti-Semitism play a small role in his memoirs. He knew that the Jews were discriminated against in Germany but, if you believe him, he knew nothing of the atrocities there or in Poland or the Ukraine when he was part of the German army. Second, he makes the NEP days in Russia look like capitalism without compromise ("In a short span of time, stores opened everywhere. On the Nevskiy Prospekt and Sadovaya Street the mile long arcades of Gostinyy and Apraksin Dvors again featured dozens of stores. Yeliseyev, the famous giant delicatessen store, offered an enless variety of foods; pyramids of Crimean fruit embellished many store windows. Lohr's bakeries and cafes sprangup everywhere."). Leningrad in 1930 was all culture ("Whenever there is a symphony concert and I am not at work, I got a ticket for Aleka and me. Bruno Walter, Klemperer, Zemlinsky, Knappertsbusch, Ansermet, Stiedry, Hindemith, Kuhlenkampf and others cam ein those years to conduct the Leningrad Symphony.") Third, his description of the Gulag and the various camps and work stations throughout Siberia ("Welcome to Bamlag!....the Baikal-Amur Correctional Labor Camp, situated between Lake Baikal and the Amur River, was organized in 1932 for the construction of a new railroad line to substitute for the Manchurian Railroad, now in the hands of the Japanese."), the type of work that was done, how much freedom one had, how sentences were arbitrarily extended or curtailed, etc. form a picture very different from what one might expect (I was not aware then of how lucky I was to have been arrested in 1933 and discharged in 1936. Had I been arrested after Kirov's murder, I would have served my full term until 1940 and most certainly would have received, without further trial, an extended term"). It reminded me a bit of the memoirs of Anna Lavrova, which I read earlier as it told the tale of her following her husband into the Gulag. And then of course, the ease with which he became Russian, German, American.
More than anything else, though, it tells the story of a life, very different from yours or mine, where somethings just seem very familiar. For example, his grandfather's nursery business in pre-war St. Petersburg ("He raised 50,000 roses. From Germany, Belgium, Holland and Japan he imported flowers in great numbers, including 70,000 hyacinths, 35,000 tulips, and 5,000 white lillies annually. At his peak, he employed a staff of 200"--how different from Russia under Communist rule). He visited friends of his wife ("Irina had arranged for us to stay with friends of her family, the Vereyskiys. ....He was a well known graphic artist and curator of prints at the Hermitage. His son Orest, also an artist, was a friend of Irina's. Orest's parents, although separated, maintained a common household which included their son and Mrs. Vereyskiy's new companion, a historian. Orest's mother was a well know writer of children's books.") It doesn't seem so different, does it? And I guess in some ways, it was not
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Reality Check (12 cents)
There were a number of items in yesterday's Washington Examiner that gave me pause. I am setting them down here because I have learned that no one but me reads the Examiner. It is my own private paper.
First, there was an ad for a "lifetime of home remodeling solutions". I cannot even conceive of what that could include.
Second, there was an article about Vice Admiral Eric Olson becoming head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, as if this were the most important job in the world. Perhaps it is, but truth be told, I never head of the Special Operations Command, and nothing in this article gave me a hint of what it does. Is it that secret?
Third, "The Phantom of the Opera" is opening, for the umphteenth time, at the Kennedy Center but this time apparently with a new twist. Now the pastry chef of the Roof Top Restaurant (I didn't even know that they had any kind of chef up there) is serving a Phantom Bar - "a chocolate buttermilk cake covered in chocolate sauce and served with a hand-rolled marzipan rose, a white chocolate Phantom mask and an almond tuile music note".
Fourth, secrecy abounds, and not only with regard to the Special Operations Command. the Metro pension plan is so secret that not even its participants are allowed to learn anything about it. The Old Naval Hospital (again something I never heard of) at 921 Penn. Ave SE (oh, I do know the building) is to be renovated for community use, but no one in the community is to be allowed to participate in discussions of what those uses should be.
Fifth, the mayor of Gaithersburg does not like the budget, so will not sign it, and the law does not appear to permit expenditures by the city outside of what is permitted by its adopted budget.
Sixth, zoo officials cannot tell if the giant panda is pregnant and may not learn until a day or two before she gives birth, if then.
Seventh, Madina Ashimova made her first Washington appearance as the Snow Queen (sponsored by that famous vodka from Kazakhstan, Snow Queen. Huh?) and her dress caught on fire.
Eighth, Tony Bennett got a humanitarian award from Aid Darfur.
Ninth, the new manager of Metro said casually that the system needs "a couple billion dollars" over the next few years to upgrade.
Tenth, and this is reassuring, the headline says: "Fenty has staff training for disaster".
Eleventh, if you want to replace your gutters, would you call www.guttercover.com and get $400 off from the Britt family, or would you call www.mdguttershutter.com and get $500 off with no payments until April 2008 (provided, of course, you make an immediate deposit), or would you be satisfied with $100 off from www.harryhelmet.com, because they bring you every other product so you can see how much better there's is? I know, you would go back to www.fosterremodeling.com, because they have a lifetime of ideas.
Twelfth, in the "World News Section", it is all good: if you were a deadly rebel in Somalia, you can now get amnesty; if you spend your time worrying about the health of your brother Fidel, like Raul Castro does, you might have overlooked the fact that your wife just died; third, if you lived in Baghdad, would you wonder whose side Allah was on, with 78 killed and more than 200 wounded at the Khillani (does khill have anything to do with kill?) mosque; if you were Gazan...., oy.
Thirteenth, on the editorial page they will publish letters with fewer than 150 words. How about words with fewer than 150 letters?
Fourteenth, a woman sued TJ Maxx $550,000 because she slipped on a hanger. In an understatement, her lawyer said "I don't sue for this kind of money for nothing."
Fifteenth, chef Alex Powell of 701 Restaurant, believes in "simple food". The recipe for veal chops include the following simple ingredients: sugar, garlic, chipotle chile, ancho chile, port wine, lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, fish sauce, shallots, butter, sherry vineger, veal stock, black pepper, tarragon, white asparagus, green asparagus, bacon, puff pastry, olive oil, roasting potatoes, grapeseed oil, argula and, of course, veal chops. Simple.
Sixteenth, if you have surprise guests for dinner, why not give them Gorton's crunchy breaded premium tilapia fillets? This is one of today's "delectable finds for foodies". Along with Gorton's (ready for this?) Potato crunch fish sticks. "almost a cross between potato chips and fish sticks". (Bet they'd go swell with the tilapia.)
Seventeenth, and on the gossip page, the big questions are: Is Katie Holmes pregnant again? Why did Keri Russell name her son River Deary? Why didn't Ashton Kutcher have a date at Teddy's on Saturday night? What were Jay-Z and Beyonce cavorting about on that private yacht off St. Tropez? And did you know that Nicole Kidman is now 40?
Eighteenth, add to the cheery coffee news: "Coffee may protect against blinding eyelid disorder". (Also keeps elephants out of your front yard)
And all that before I even got to the sports page.
First, there was an ad for a "lifetime of home remodeling solutions". I cannot even conceive of what that could include.
Second, there was an article about Vice Admiral Eric Olson becoming head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, as if this were the most important job in the world. Perhaps it is, but truth be told, I never head of the Special Operations Command, and nothing in this article gave me a hint of what it does. Is it that secret?
Third, "The Phantom of the Opera" is opening, for the umphteenth time, at the Kennedy Center but this time apparently with a new twist. Now the pastry chef of the Roof Top Restaurant (I didn't even know that they had any kind of chef up there) is serving a Phantom Bar - "a chocolate buttermilk cake covered in chocolate sauce and served with a hand-rolled marzipan rose, a white chocolate Phantom mask and an almond tuile music note".
Fourth, secrecy abounds, and not only with regard to the Special Operations Command. the Metro pension plan is so secret that not even its participants are allowed to learn anything about it. The Old Naval Hospital (again something I never heard of) at 921 Penn. Ave SE (oh, I do know the building) is to be renovated for community use, but no one in the community is to be allowed to participate in discussions of what those uses should be.
Fifth, the mayor of Gaithersburg does not like the budget, so will not sign it, and the law does not appear to permit expenditures by the city outside of what is permitted by its adopted budget.
Sixth, zoo officials cannot tell if the giant panda is pregnant and may not learn until a day or two before she gives birth, if then.
Seventh, Madina Ashimova made her first Washington appearance as the Snow Queen (sponsored by that famous vodka from Kazakhstan, Snow Queen. Huh?) and her dress caught on fire.
Eighth, Tony Bennett got a humanitarian award from Aid Darfur.
Ninth, the new manager of Metro said casually that the system needs "a couple billion dollars" over the next few years to upgrade.
Tenth, and this is reassuring, the headline says: "Fenty has staff training for disaster".
Eleventh, if you want to replace your gutters, would you call www.guttercover.com and get $400 off from the Britt family, or would you call www.mdguttershutter.com and get $500 off with no payments until April 2008 (provided, of course, you make an immediate deposit), or would you be satisfied with $100 off from www.harryhelmet.com, because they bring you every other product so you can see how much better there's is? I know, you would go back to www.fosterremodeling.com, because they have a lifetime of ideas.
Twelfth, in the "World News Section", it is all good: if you were a deadly rebel in Somalia, you can now get amnesty; if you spend your time worrying about the health of your brother Fidel, like Raul Castro does, you might have overlooked the fact that your wife just died; third, if you lived in Baghdad, would you wonder whose side Allah was on, with 78 killed and more than 200 wounded at the Khillani (does khill have anything to do with kill?) mosque; if you were Gazan...., oy.
Thirteenth, on the editorial page they will publish letters with fewer than 150 words. How about words with fewer than 150 letters?
Fourteenth, a woman sued TJ Maxx $550,000 because she slipped on a hanger. In an understatement, her lawyer said "I don't sue for this kind of money for nothing."
Fifteenth, chef Alex Powell of 701 Restaurant, believes in "simple food". The recipe for veal chops include the following simple ingredients: sugar, garlic, chipotle chile, ancho chile, port wine, lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, fish sauce, shallots, butter, sherry vineger, veal stock, black pepper, tarragon, white asparagus, green asparagus, bacon, puff pastry, olive oil, roasting potatoes, grapeseed oil, argula and, of course, veal chops. Simple.
Sixteenth, if you have surprise guests for dinner, why not give them Gorton's crunchy breaded premium tilapia fillets? This is one of today's "delectable finds for foodies". Along with Gorton's (ready for this?) Potato crunch fish sticks. "almost a cross between potato chips and fish sticks". (Bet they'd go swell with the tilapia.)
Seventeenth, and on the gossip page, the big questions are: Is Katie Holmes pregnant again? Why did Keri Russell name her son River Deary? Why didn't Ashton Kutcher have a date at Teddy's on Saturday night? What were Jay-Z and Beyonce cavorting about on that private yacht off St. Tropez? And did you know that Nicole Kidman is now 40?
Eighteenth, add to the cheery coffee news: "Coffee may protect against blinding eyelid disorder". (Also keeps elephants out of your front yard)
And all that before I even got to the sports page.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Pilgrim Among the Shadows by Boris Pahor
An interesting memoir, written in the 1970s and translated from Slovenian into English in the 1990s, Pahor writes of his experience as a prisoner/medic in a series of concentration camps during World War II. A non-Jewish perspective. Very well written (a dense, poetic, meandering style), and as would be expected very depressing.
This is the only book by Pahor translated into English. On a website that I found, however, you were invited to read the plot outline of one of his Slovenian books (the plot outline being in English). That book was called Nekropola.
Well, Pilgrim Among the Shadows IS Nekropola. Weird.
This is the only book by Pahor translated into English. On a website that I found, however, you were invited to read the plot outline of one of his Slovenian books (the plot outline being in English). That book was called Nekropola.
Well, Pilgrim Among the Shadows IS Nekropola. Weird.
A Little About Food
First, about lunch. Having decided that I was in a lunch rut (always getting my lunch at the same few places, even though the quality was consistent and the prices right), I decided to branch out a bit. Based on yesterday and today, I think this was a mistake.
Yesterday, I went to a little sandwich shop on L Street called Kozey's and ordered a tuna melt on rye. Tuna melts can be excellent; they can be awful. This one was an typical tuna melt. And typical is closer to awful than to excellent.
Today, I went to Soho, a funky place on the corner of P and 22nd, filled with people whose shorts and shirts don't match and who are having lunch with their laptops. The blackboard called the chicken salad "the best". I asked the woman behind the counter if this was true, and she said it was and the she made it. So what could I do? I ordered it on whole grain bread, but unlike the crusty whole grain bread you find at Au Bon Pain, this bread was like whole-grain Wonder bread, if there is such a thing. And the chicken salad was more like chicken salad paste, than chicken salad. I have wanted to try to Soho, because it is around the corner from a book store I frequent, and I can sit there and look through a book (impervious to the electronics surrounding me). But I won't go there again very soon.
As to brunch, we went to Bistrot Au Coin, which is not on a corner and is on Connecticut Avenue near Dupont Circle. It should be terrific, but something is not quite right. It is not quite comfortable, although it looks like it would be. It looks like it could be a little cleaner (of course we walked out of Nathan's in Georgetown a few weeks ago, because it looked like it had not been dusted for a year or two). But the scrambled eggs were first class, the french fries very good, the small salad tasty, the baguettes fresh and crusty, and the expresso good. But there is something about the place not quite right.
As to fancy dinner, on the other hand, I think that Arcadiana (Massachusetts Ave) is one of the most comfortable restaurants imaginable. The food was also very good, although not cheap. Edie had a delicious trout, served on some sort of green vegetable, and I had red fish served on a jambalaya risotto. Both were excellent. Mine was interesting because the red fish by itself was good, and the risotto by itself was good, but when you put them together they excelled. Hannah had veal medallions, which she also said were excellent.
As to cheaper dinner, we went to Colonel Brooks, where Edie's Rockfish reuben, and my salmon caesar salad were first class. Our friend Ray had a too-spicy pasta dish. And the service was capital A abysmal.
And that's a little about food.
Yesterday, I went to a little sandwich shop on L Street called Kozey's and ordered a tuna melt on rye. Tuna melts can be excellent; they can be awful. This one was an typical tuna melt. And typical is closer to awful than to excellent.
Today, I went to Soho, a funky place on the corner of P and 22nd, filled with people whose shorts and shirts don't match and who are having lunch with their laptops. The blackboard called the chicken salad "the best". I asked the woman behind the counter if this was true, and she said it was and the she made it. So what could I do? I ordered it on whole grain bread, but unlike the crusty whole grain bread you find at Au Bon Pain, this bread was like whole-grain Wonder bread, if there is such a thing. And the chicken salad was more like chicken salad paste, than chicken salad. I have wanted to try to Soho, because it is around the corner from a book store I frequent, and I can sit there and look through a book (impervious to the electronics surrounding me). But I won't go there again very soon.
As to brunch, we went to Bistrot Au Coin, which is not on a corner and is on Connecticut Avenue near Dupont Circle. It should be terrific, but something is not quite right. It is not quite comfortable, although it looks like it would be. It looks like it could be a little cleaner (of course we walked out of Nathan's in Georgetown a few weeks ago, because it looked like it had not been dusted for a year or two). But the scrambled eggs were first class, the french fries very good, the small salad tasty, the baguettes fresh and crusty, and the expresso good. But there is something about the place not quite right.
As to fancy dinner, on the other hand, I think that Arcadiana (Massachusetts Ave) is one of the most comfortable restaurants imaginable. The food was also very good, although not cheap. Edie had a delicious trout, served on some sort of green vegetable, and I had red fish served on a jambalaya risotto. Both were excellent. Mine was interesting because the red fish by itself was good, and the risotto by itself was good, but when you put them together they excelled. Hannah had veal medallions, which she also said were excellent.
As to cheaper dinner, we went to Colonel Brooks, where Edie's Rockfish reuben, and my salmon caesar salad were first class. Our friend Ray had a too-spicy pasta dish. And the service was capital A abysmal.
And that's a little about food.
Latest news from Sprint (22 cents)
The sign on the Sprint Cell Phone store says: "Sorry, no technical service today due to a systems failure".
Makes you think.
Makes you think.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
James Grover McDonald
The book "Advocate for the Doomed" contains the diary of James Grover McDonald from the years 1932 to 1935. It is over 800 pages long. There will be several additional volumes published over the next several years. If I had all the time in the world, I would love to read through it. But I don't, and that is probably why this book will not be a best seller.
McDonald was the United States' first ambassador to Israel. Before that, he was the League of Nations Commissioner for Refugees. And before that he headed the Foreign Policy Association, advocating an active foreign policy in opposition to the American isolationists.
The book was just published. It contains McDonald's notes about meetings with Hitler, Roosevelt, the future Pius XII and many others. It contains new information, because McDonald believed, from 1933 on, that Hitler and the Nazis were out to destroy the Jews. Well before there were death camps. And (surprise!), no one would believe him. This too will pass, they seemed to think.
McDonald was a diarist, but not a writer. So he went to Thomas Sugrue, a writer but not a diarist, to ghost write his memoirs. Sugrue had already worked with McDonald on a book called Mission to Israel, which dealt with the first years of the Jewish state. So he was a natural. But the book was never written (for one thing, Sugrue died young), and Sugrue's daughter found amongst her father's things, in a box in her basement, fragments of the diary. They looked important to her and, not knowing what else to do with them, she took them to the Holocaust museum. The diary fragments, I believe, dealt with meetings with Cardinal Pacelli, the future pope. The historians at the museum wanted to find other fragments of the diary. They went to Columbia U., where the McDonald papers were kept. No luck. They then located McDonald's daughter, a lecturer at George Mason University in Fairfax, who had 10,000 diary pages at her house, and who had tried unsuccessfully earlier to get publishers interested in them.
Yesterday, at the Holocaust Museum, the editor of the publications, Prof. Richard Breitman of American University, Barbara McDonald Stewart, the daughter, and a museum archivist and a museum historian, all of whom had worked on the publication, discussed the book.
McDonald was prescient. He early saw Hitler's designs. He saw that Jewish emigration from Germany was not the goal. It would only be a step in an attempt to wipe the world clean of Jews, a most corrosive influence on society. The world would be in favor of this, was the feeling of Der Fuhrer. "We'll show the world how to get rid of the Jews", Hitler told McDonald in 1933. (McDonald's mother was German, he spoke German, had German friends, had written favorably about Germany in his younger years, and was generally viewed as pro-German in 1933). McDonald was aghast.
Like Kurt Gerstein, he wanted to get the church active in stopping the anti-Semitic movement throughout much of Europe. Cardinal Pacelli would hear nothing of it. He had just negotiated a Concordat between Berlin and Rome. In return for avoiding political activity, the church would be allowed to function and hold on to its assets. This was all important to the Vatican. And McDonald knew this in 1933.
He liked Roosevelt, and especially liked Eleanor Roosevelt. His relationship with FDR apparently soured as time went to (but in subsequent volumes, not here) as he felt Roosevelt was acting too often from political expediency, rather than a sense of moral duty or responsibility.
Again like Gerstein, McDonald was a failure. His warnings were not heeded. His position as Ambassador to Israel (by now he had become, it appears, a full fledged Zionist supporter) was the high point of his life. After he retired from that position, he spent years pushing the sale of Israel bonds.
Whether the future volumes will be as interesting as this one, I don't know. Should I have shelled out the $35? The book would have been signed by the four speakers/editors. Maybe. But I didn't.
McDonald was the United States' first ambassador to Israel. Before that, he was the League of Nations Commissioner for Refugees. And before that he headed the Foreign Policy Association, advocating an active foreign policy in opposition to the American isolationists.
The book was just published. It contains McDonald's notes about meetings with Hitler, Roosevelt, the future Pius XII and many others. It contains new information, because McDonald believed, from 1933 on, that Hitler and the Nazis were out to destroy the Jews. Well before there were death camps. And (surprise!), no one would believe him. This too will pass, they seemed to think.
McDonald was a diarist, but not a writer. So he went to Thomas Sugrue, a writer but not a diarist, to ghost write his memoirs. Sugrue had already worked with McDonald on a book called Mission to Israel, which dealt with the first years of the Jewish state. So he was a natural. But the book was never written (for one thing, Sugrue died young), and Sugrue's daughter found amongst her father's things, in a box in her basement, fragments of the diary. They looked important to her and, not knowing what else to do with them, she took them to the Holocaust museum. The diary fragments, I believe, dealt with meetings with Cardinal Pacelli, the future pope. The historians at the museum wanted to find other fragments of the diary. They went to Columbia U., where the McDonald papers were kept. No luck. They then located McDonald's daughter, a lecturer at George Mason University in Fairfax, who had 10,000 diary pages at her house, and who had tried unsuccessfully earlier to get publishers interested in them.
Yesterday, at the Holocaust Museum, the editor of the publications, Prof. Richard Breitman of American University, Barbara McDonald Stewart, the daughter, and a museum archivist and a museum historian, all of whom had worked on the publication, discussed the book.
McDonald was prescient. He early saw Hitler's designs. He saw that Jewish emigration from Germany was not the goal. It would only be a step in an attempt to wipe the world clean of Jews, a most corrosive influence on society. The world would be in favor of this, was the feeling of Der Fuhrer. "We'll show the world how to get rid of the Jews", Hitler told McDonald in 1933. (McDonald's mother was German, he spoke German, had German friends, had written favorably about Germany in his younger years, and was generally viewed as pro-German in 1933). McDonald was aghast.
Like Kurt Gerstein, he wanted to get the church active in stopping the anti-Semitic movement throughout much of Europe. Cardinal Pacelli would hear nothing of it. He had just negotiated a Concordat between Berlin and Rome. In return for avoiding political activity, the church would be allowed to function and hold on to its assets. This was all important to the Vatican. And McDonald knew this in 1933.
He liked Roosevelt, and especially liked Eleanor Roosevelt. His relationship with FDR apparently soured as time went to (but in subsequent volumes, not here) as he felt Roosevelt was acting too often from political expediency, rather than a sense of moral duty or responsibility.
Again like Gerstein, McDonald was a failure. His warnings were not heeded. His position as Ambassador to Israel (by now he had become, it appears, a full fledged Zionist supporter) was the high point of his life. After he retired from that position, he spent years pushing the sale of Israel bonds.
Whether the future volumes will be as interesting as this one, I don't know. Should I have shelled out the $35? The book would have been signed by the four speakers/editors. Maybe. But I didn't.
Even Nazis Had Children (12 cents)
Intuitively, I probably always knew this. It hit home, though, in 1962, when I visited my college roommate's high school exchange student's family in Bad Homburg Germany and saw the pictures of the relatives in SS uniforms on the wall. And, when I was still young, when I met other of my German contemporaries.
When I saw "Either/Or" at Theater J, I thought about the children of Kurt Gerstein, the Nazi hero/anti-hero of the play, and when I wrote a short play to be performed at the 5 x 5 after "Either/Or" closed, I chose to write about Gerstein's daughter, and about her schoolmates' reactions when she told them what her father had done during the war.
Coincidentally, at the McFriends store in Rockville, I saw a copy of a book called "Hitler's Children" by Gerald Posner, and brought it home. I finished it this morning.
The book was written in the mid-1980s, when the children ranged in age from mid-40s to mid-60s. Today, the children of Nazi leaders, to the extent they are still alive, would be 65+ for the most part.
Not surprisingly, the views of the children towards their parents varied greatly. And many such children refused to speak to the author. The book was interesting in that it showed how the children went on with their lives (generally relatively successfully), and how very few of those who spoke with the author seemed to harbor Nazi-like feelings, although many remained close with their parents (some of their parents had been hanged as war criminals after the war).
What was most interesting, though, were two things: one, that many of these children did have family members (generally older generation) who were still Nazis at heart, and two, that until the interviewees were in their teens, they had no idea about the Nazi atrocities, or about how the Jews were singled out and dealt with. To me this was a little surprising, since amongst the older generation ti was common knowledge, and there was no secrets from the children that there had been a war, and that Germany had lost and suffered great destruction.
Were the children kidding when they said that they did not know about the Jews until they were 13, or 15 or 18? Did the Germans of the previously generation lie when they said that they did not know the Jews were being killed. A lot of people quoted in this book found themselves surprised and revolted in the 1960s. For some, this knowledge cemented their negative feelings towards their parents. But are they being honest? Are they deluding us? Are they deluding themselves? Or is it easy not to see what is right before your eyes?
When I saw "Either/Or" at Theater J, I thought about the children of Kurt Gerstein, the Nazi hero/anti-hero of the play, and when I wrote a short play to be performed at the 5 x 5 after "Either/Or" closed, I chose to write about Gerstein's daughter, and about her schoolmates' reactions when she told them what her father had done during the war.
Coincidentally, at the McFriends store in Rockville, I saw a copy of a book called "Hitler's Children" by Gerald Posner, and brought it home. I finished it this morning.
The book was written in the mid-1980s, when the children ranged in age from mid-40s to mid-60s. Today, the children of Nazi leaders, to the extent they are still alive, would be 65+ for the most part.
Not surprisingly, the views of the children towards their parents varied greatly. And many such children refused to speak to the author. The book was interesting in that it showed how the children went on with their lives (generally relatively successfully), and how very few of those who spoke with the author seemed to harbor Nazi-like feelings, although many remained close with their parents (some of their parents had been hanged as war criminals after the war).
What was most interesting, though, were two things: one, that many of these children did have family members (generally older generation) who were still Nazis at heart, and two, that until the interviewees were in their teens, they had no idea about the Nazi atrocities, or about how the Jews were singled out and dealt with. To me this was a little surprising, since amongst the older generation ti was common knowledge, and there was no secrets from the children that there had been a war, and that Germany had lost and suffered great destruction.
Were the children kidding when they said that they did not know about the Jews until they were 13, or 15 or 18? Did the Germans of the previously generation lie when they said that they did not know the Jews were being killed. A lot of people quoted in this book found themselves surprised and revolted in the 1960s. For some, this knowledge cemented their negative feelings towards their parents. But are they being honest? Are they deluding us? Are they deluding themselves? Or is it easy not to see what is right before your eyes?
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Our New Prius (3 cents)
1. It is very comfortable.
2. On a trip to NYC, it got slightly over 50 miles per gallon.
3. It takes regular gas.
4. There appears to be more hidden trunk space than there appears to be.
5. It is easy to drive, and has a good feel.
6. It has bluetooth telephone capability giving hands free speaking and call reception.
7. It has a back up camera which is sort of cool.
8. It is keyless, which is sort of cool.
But
8. The radio controls (most of them) and the heat/airconditioning controls (all of them) are electronic on a screen and you can't see them both at one time. You have to flip screen to screen. What happens if your screen goes out?
9. The bluetooth connection has to be turned on each time you drive (if you want the phone to work)
10. There is no sky light
11. The seat adjustments are manual.
12. There is a weird split to the back window.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 9. At least.
2. On a trip to NYC, it got slightly over 50 miles per gallon.
3. It takes regular gas.
4. There appears to be more hidden trunk space than there appears to be.
5. It is easy to drive, and has a good feel.
6. It has bluetooth telephone capability giving hands free speaking and call reception.
7. It has a back up camera which is sort of cool.
8. It is keyless, which is sort of cool.
But
8. The radio controls (most of them) and the heat/airconditioning controls (all of them) are electronic on a screen and you can't see them both at one time. You have to flip screen to screen. What happens if your screen goes out?
9. The bluetooth connection has to be turned on each time you drive (if you want the phone to work)
10. There is no sky light
11. The seat adjustments are manual.
12. There is a weird split to the back window.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 9. At least.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Is there no news that's fit to print?
Looking at today's New York Times front page, I find five features articles, and no news articles. The features articles are each of them interesting, but are they news, and particularly front page news?
1. "Grass Roots Roared, and an Immigration Bill Fell", featuring a story about conservative internet-savvy voters who lobbied against the immigration bill.
2. "Corporate Korea Corks the Bottle as Women Rise", featuring a story about the strains on after-work drinking parties in South Korea, becuase of the presence of more women in the workplace.
3. "Hispanic Voters Gain New Clout with Democrats", about Spanish language voting campaigns.
4. "Microsoft Finds Legal Defender in Justice Department", about how the Antitrust Division is no longer accusing Microsoft of violations, and is actually defending Microsoft against claims by others.
5. "Chinese Leave Guantanamo for Albanian Limbo" about how five Uighurs from China, whom China refuses to repatriate, are confined to a camp in Albania until they learn to speak Albanian.
Top left of the masthead: "All the News That's Fit to Print".
1. "Grass Roots Roared, and an Immigration Bill Fell", featuring a story about conservative internet-savvy voters who lobbied against the immigration bill.
2. "Corporate Korea Corks the Bottle as Women Rise", featuring a story about the strains on after-work drinking parties in South Korea, becuase of the presence of more women in the workplace.
3. "Hispanic Voters Gain New Clout with Democrats", about Spanish language voting campaigns.
4. "Microsoft Finds Legal Defender in Justice Department", about how the Antitrust Division is no longer accusing Microsoft of violations, and is actually defending Microsoft against claims by others.
5. "Chinese Leave Guantanamo for Albanian Limbo" about how five Uighurs from China, whom China refuses to repatriate, are confined to a camp in Albania until they learn to speak Albanian.
Top left of the masthead: "All the News That's Fit to Print".
Friday, June 08, 2007
God Must Be Happy (1 cent)
I spent yesterday afternoon at the Holocaust Memorial Museum attending a two hour session on the implications of the recent discovery in Vienna of 800 boxes of Jewish community records from the Nazi years. For many reasons, it was a fascinating afternoon.
After the session ended, I drove home and we decided to go out for dinner. We have a gift card from Filomena, a restaurant in Georgetown that we had never used, and where we had never been. So, very unusual for us, we drove to Georgetown for dinner. We got to Filomena at about 6:45 and were told that the next available table would be at about 8:30. We decided to go elsewhere.
Filmena is on Wisconsin Avenue, south of M Street. For no particular reason, we walked up to M Street and, again, for no reason turned left and walked west. We wandered a while (restaurants that used to be there are now mostly furniture stores) and saw hidden in a window that boarded a passageway that went to a set of steps that went down to a courtyard a small sign calling attention to a restaurant called "Leopold's", and another sign that said that it had won a Washingtonian Magazine award in 2006. We had never heard of Leopold's.
We walked down the steps, found ourselves in a spacious courtyard with outside tables, and saw Leopold's Kafe, a very contemporary looking place (much glass, much plastic, no wood) that looked exactly that it had stepped out of contemporary Vienna (having seen places last year that looked precisely like that). Then we looked at the menu, which included Austrian wines, schnitzels, and sausages, as well as more universally continental dishes.
Leopold is the name of one of Vienna's new museums in what is now known as the Museum Quarter, and there were Leopold posters on the interior walls.
So, what chance would there be to go from spending an afternoon dealing with Vienna to a restaurant that looked like it was Vienna? This is too much of a coincidence, so I conclude that it was at God's direction.
God must be happy. For once (and maybe only for once), his plan worked out just as he wanted it to. I am happy to have played a part.
Auf wiedersehen.
After the session ended, I drove home and we decided to go out for dinner. We have a gift card from Filomena, a restaurant in Georgetown that we had never used, and where we had never been. So, very unusual for us, we drove to Georgetown for dinner. We got to Filomena at about 6:45 and were told that the next available table would be at about 8:30. We decided to go elsewhere.
Filmena is on Wisconsin Avenue, south of M Street. For no particular reason, we walked up to M Street and, again, for no reason turned left and walked west. We wandered a while (restaurants that used to be there are now mostly furniture stores) and saw hidden in a window that boarded a passageway that went to a set of steps that went down to a courtyard a small sign calling attention to a restaurant called "Leopold's", and another sign that said that it had won a Washingtonian Magazine award in 2006. We had never heard of Leopold's.
We walked down the steps, found ourselves in a spacious courtyard with outside tables, and saw Leopold's Kafe, a very contemporary looking place (much glass, much plastic, no wood) that looked exactly that it had stepped out of contemporary Vienna (having seen places last year that looked precisely like that). Then we looked at the menu, which included Austrian wines, schnitzels, and sausages, as well as more universally continental dishes.
Leopold is the name of one of Vienna's new museums in what is now known as the Museum Quarter, and there were Leopold posters on the interior walls.
So, what chance would there be to go from spending an afternoon dealing with Vienna to a restaurant that looked like it was Vienna? This is too much of a coincidence, so I conclude that it was at God's direction.
God must be happy. For once (and maybe only for once), his plan worked out just as he wanted it to. I am happy to have played a part.
Auf wiedersehen.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Presidential Courage
So, Michael Beschloss' book on presidential courage seems to be getting panned all over. Based on what I have seen about the book, and on his presentation several weeks ago and Politics and Prose, that is not surprising.
He picked a number of examples of various presidential accomplishments, defined them as obvious examples of presidential courage (all were not) and stated them to be the best examples possible (they were not).
At any rate, in contemporary terms, look at George Bush (if you dare). You can't deny it: invading Iraq was an example of presidential courage. It might have also been an example of presidential stupidity or presidential deception, but clearly it involved courage.
So, we have a courageous president, right? Well, not so fast.
Our president does not appear to have the courage to pardon Scooter Libby, a man who clearly does not deserve to hang out and dry while his superiors go free.
For shame.
He picked a number of examples of various presidential accomplishments, defined them as obvious examples of presidential courage (all were not) and stated them to be the best examples possible (they were not).
At any rate, in contemporary terms, look at George Bush (if you dare). You can't deny it: invading Iraq was an example of presidential courage. It might have also been an example of presidential stupidity or presidential deception, but clearly it involved courage.
So, we have a courageous president, right? Well, not so fast.
Our president does not appear to have the courage to pardon Scooter Libby, a man who clearly does not deserve to hang out and dry while his superiors go free.
For shame.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
40th Anniversary
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of Day 1 of the Six Day War. We went to a commemoration held at American University's Kay Spiritual Center, but not sponsored by the university. I am embarrassed to say that I don't know the names of all of the panelists, but of the four, two were Aaron David Miller and Yuval Rabin, Yitzhak's son. The other two were Arabs who live in the Washington area. All are involved in peace, bridge building activities. None are considered 'radical'.
I was surprised at the size of the audience. There must have been 200 people there. We only knew or recognized a handful. Many were activists with various peace organizations. There seemed to be many more Jews than Arabs (not surprisingly for any number of reasons).
The question is where to go from here. Or, putting it maybe a bit better, is there any where to from here. There was clearly a lot of sorrow and frustration expressed by the panelists, but each still had a smidgeon of optimism. None could understand where that remain optimism comes from. All agreed that on so many issues the sides were so very far apart.
The support was still for the two state solution. Which was deemed the right thing to support, but only because there was nothing else to support.
I return to my own thoughts. I do not think that the two state solution is possible. I think it is a chimera. You cannot name a state today that is divided in this manner; Pakistan failed and split, for example. And particulary you cannot think of a successful such state which would be separated by an 'enemy', and an enemy with much more power.
So, I repeat what I have said before.
Look at Jordan. A successful country to be sure, but a parliamentary monarchy under a Hashemite (ethnic Saudi) king, when the population itself is virtually all Palestinian or Bedouin (the majority being Palestinian). At some point, the kingdom will fail, and a form of democracy will take root, with Palestinian interests controlling the country. At that time, I believe that pressure would build for a merger of the West Bank into Jordan (where it was before 1967). I think that there are many reasons for this, and I think a viable country would remain.
As to Gaza, immediate viability is impossible, but long term viability, as a separate state unto itself, is quite possible. Look not only at what Singapore has done. Look closer to home (Gaza being home for this exercise). The emirate have done quite well for themselves.
Gaza has the port, it has the work force, and it has the beaches. Imagine goods coming from North African into Gaza, being transported across Israel into an augmented Jordan. The pieces are there for an economically interdependent region.
What about Hamas? As one of the Arab speakers said last evening, democracy is a great thing, but to implement it when Hamas is powerful would be a disaster. As we can see from the current Palestinian experience.
Perhaps this true, but perhaps Hamas would have bigger fish to fry if it had a country to develop than focusing on its enemy, Israel.
If the Arab focus could be on internal development. If the occupation could end. If the Israelis could stay together without a common enemy. If the Palestinians could do the same........
Both sides seem to need each other as focal points for internal feels of solidarity and community. That has to change. And a large number of West Bank settlers will have to be relocated, most likely. But the world is filled with people who move, and if it is done in the context of a mutually secured agreement for security, who knows what the limits might be.
In the meantime, I go back to what Tom Segev said when we heard him last month. He said that the citizens of the region seem to have give up today on large goals with prospects of immediacy, and instead being content to simply manage and control the conflict, so it does not break out too often.
My guess is that Segev is correct, but I think this time of controlled tension can be used to develop the possibility of two Palestinian states, not one, although this is clearly contrary to majoritarian thinking today.
I was surprised at the size of the audience. There must have been 200 people there. We only knew or recognized a handful. Many were activists with various peace organizations. There seemed to be many more Jews than Arabs (not surprisingly for any number of reasons).
The question is where to go from here. Or, putting it maybe a bit better, is there any where to from here. There was clearly a lot of sorrow and frustration expressed by the panelists, but each still had a smidgeon of optimism. None could understand where that remain optimism comes from. All agreed that on so many issues the sides were so very far apart.
The support was still for the two state solution. Which was deemed the right thing to support, but only because there was nothing else to support.
I return to my own thoughts. I do not think that the two state solution is possible. I think it is a chimera. You cannot name a state today that is divided in this manner; Pakistan failed and split, for example. And particulary you cannot think of a successful such state which would be separated by an 'enemy', and an enemy with much more power.
So, I repeat what I have said before.
Look at Jordan. A successful country to be sure, but a parliamentary monarchy under a Hashemite (ethnic Saudi) king, when the population itself is virtually all Palestinian or Bedouin (the majority being Palestinian). At some point, the kingdom will fail, and a form of democracy will take root, with Palestinian interests controlling the country. At that time, I believe that pressure would build for a merger of the West Bank into Jordan (where it was before 1967). I think that there are many reasons for this, and I think a viable country would remain.
As to Gaza, immediate viability is impossible, but long term viability, as a separate state unto itself, is quite possible. Look not only at what Singapore has done. Look closer to home (Gaza being home for this exercise). The emirate have done quite well for themselves.
Gaza has the port, it has the work force, and it has the beaches. Imagine goods coming from North African into Gaza, being transported across Israel into an augmented Jordan. The pieces are there for an economically interdependent region.
What about Hamas? As one of the Arab speakers said last evening, democracy is a great thing, but to implement it when Hamas is powerful would be a disaster. As we can see from the current Palestinian experience.
Perhaps this true, but perhaps Hamas would have bigger fish to fry if it had a country to develop than focusing on its enemy, Israel.
If the Arab focus could be on internal development. If the occupation could end. If the Israelis could stay together without a common enemy. If the Palestinians could do the same........
Both sides seem to need each other as focal points for internal feels of solidarity and community. That has to change. And a large number of West Bank settlers will have to be relocated, most likely. But the world is filled with people who move, and if it is done in the context of a mutually secured agreement for security, who knows what the limits might be.
In the meantime, I go back to what Tom Segev said when we heard him last month. He said that the citizens of the region seem to have give up today on large goals with prospects of immediacy, and instead being content to simply manage and control the conflict, so it does not break out too often.
My guess is that Segev is correct, but I think this time of controlled tension can be used to develop the possibility of two Palestinian states, not one, although this is clearly contrary to majoritarian thinking today.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
A nice noon time concert (22 cents)
sometimes, I am not certain about the accoustics at the Church of the Epiphany, and today was one of those times. Betsy Hinkle's violin did not sound quite rich enough. But her playing was otherwise impeccable and the accompaniment of Jad C. Bernardo was first class. The main item on the program was Cesar Frank's Sonata in A for Piano and Violin, which is one of my favorites, and I had not heard it for a long time. They ended with two selections from Porgy and Bess, much less demanding, and very enjoyable. About 75 people in attendance by my count. The weather was beautiful outside, so the dozen or so homeless men who usually sit in the back of the church were not there.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
A few quick thoughts
1. Neisha Thai Restaurant last night was very good.
2. Went to a lecture this morning on the role of women in Caesaria in the 4, 5, and 6th centuries. I found it a little disappointing because the lecturer, Kenneth Holsum, who has led a major dig in Caesaria and teaches at U. Md., is a very dry speaker, and he went on for over an hour although he did not have that much to say on the subject. He started by saying that nothing has been published on women in Byzantine Caesaria; by the time he was finished, I knew why. There is surprisingly little to say, particularly if you want to divide the roles played by Christian, Jewish and Samaritan women. Holsum would simply extrapolate and guess a little too much. Not that it was a waste of time, and not that nothing of interest was said, but for a lecture on this particular subject, I don't think he got very far.
3. Last month, as you may recall, I read Raphael Patai's "The Seed of Abraham". Why is it that, today, I could not tell you one thing in it?
4. How are they allowing the Nats/Padres game to continue through this rain? It wouldn't be such a bad call, if the Nats were winning, but they are not.
2. Went to a lecture this morning on the role of women in Caesaria in the 4, 5, and 6th centuries. I found it a little disappointing because the lecturer, Kenneth Holsum, who has led a major dig in Caesaria and teaches at U. Md., is a very dry speaker, and he went on for over an hour although he did not have that much to say on the subject. He started by saying that nothing has been published on women in Byzantine Caesaria; by the time he was finished, I knew why. There is surprisingly little to say, particularly if you want to divide the roles played by Christian, Jewish and Samaritan women. Holsum would simply extrapolate and guess a little too much. Not that it was a waste of time, and not that nothing of interest was said, but for a lecture on this particular subject, I don't think he got very far.
3. Last month, as you may recall, I read Raphael Patai's "The Seed of Abraham". Why is it that, today, I could not tell you one thing in it?
4. How are they allowing the Nats/Padres game to continue through this rain? It wouldn't be such a bad call, if the Nats were winning, but they are not.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The Week that Was (16 cents)
This was actually a fairly eventful week, but the lack of air conditioning in my home office has hampered by computer usage and blogging. Why the air conditioning went out, we don't know. Our regular air conditioning company came out and said that the air conditioner seemed OK, but that it was getting any electricity. We need an electrician. The electrician is coming on Tuesday, so here (on a Saturday) I am, without air conditioning in the room in which I do most of my homework.
Last Saturday, we picked up our new car, a silver Toyota Prius. Our first Toyota; our first hybrid. It is the 'greenest' car on the American roads, and according to this morning's paper, Toyota sold three times as many Priuses in May 07, as they did in May 06. It drives very comfortably and, in fact, is a relaxing car to drive. You don't have the sensation that you should be revving the engine up continually (in fact you can't), and you try (even subconsciously) to over accelerate. It is odd, in that the car has no key (you have a block shaped key-like thing that you can keep in your pocket), no starter (you push a button that says 'power'), and no gear shift (just a small vestigial toggle that protrudes about 2" from the dashboard). It also is low on trunk space (it is a hatchback), unless you pull down the back seat, but then your storage space, although more than ample, becomes visible.
We tried out the car on Saturday in Loudoun County at the Hunt and Stable Show, and then we drove it to New York, leaving our house Tuesday during rush hour and returning by about 11 p.m. Wednesday night. We went to see the Barcelona exhibit at the Met, closing this weekend), which proved very worthwhile, and a good primer for our August trip. We stayed on the way up at a more than satisfactory Best Western in Burlington NJ, and ate at a Ruby Tuesday's (or was it a Friday's or was it an Applebees?) across the parking lot, where the tilapia turned out to be better than the salmon.
We drove into the city (HollandTunnel was not fun) and followed the sign to the Met and the Met parking lot, where for only $26, we could park for five hours. The garage is under the museum, something that seems vaguely dangerous, although they do check your trunk (or what passed for our trunk) upon entry.
The Barcelona exhibit deals with the period from 1881 (when a newly textile-prosperous city decided to become a center of culture and art) until 1939 (when newly installed General Franco decided the opposite), and had sterling examples of art, jewelry, crafts, furniture, architectural models and more. We were lucky enough to catch a tour guided by one of the three curators of the show. We hope to see many of the exhibited items back in Spain in August.
Coming back (we left the museum about 4) and spent almost 2 hours trying to get through the Lincoln Tunnel, and onto the NJ Turnpike.
The drive back was quick, except that we had a two hour stop in Mt. Holly, an unknown (to us) old town, with buildings going back to the early 18th century. Everything was closed when we got there, and we ate at the Robin's Nest, an upscale restaurant where the highlight was the 3-soup appetizer: cold strawberry, cream of spinich and Md. crab.
The car did very well, and averaged the promised 50 miles per gallon (and it takes regular gas at that).
Since our return Wednesday night, I went to the National Museum for Women in the Arts to see the exhibit of paintings by women from the Italian renaissance, which was very enjoyable. Particularly the portraits (there were fewer still lifes, religious subjects, or historical subjects), some of which were up there with the best of the portraits of the time. I also saw Harry Benton's photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, which spanned a 50 year period of time from the 1950s until today. Benton is a Scottish photographer, who has worked for a number of periodicals and newspapers. While I do not think that all of the photos on display were of display quality, many clearlly were. Perhaps I will get time to talk about them later.
Finally, after a dinner at Bua Thai on Thursday, we saw again Either/Or at Theater J, which seems to have matured in the weeks it has been performed, and is now an excellent show, making it all the sadder that it has to close this weekend, and that the reviews were based on the first few performances. The show was good then (and the reviews positive), but seems to have improved dramatically (no pun intended). I guess this happens with some shows, particularly when they are premieres and were undergoing continual changes until just before opening night. The talkback with cast and director was also interesting.
Last Saturday, we picked up our new car, a silver Toyota Prius. Our first Toyota; our first hybrid. It is the 'greenest' car on the American roads, and according to this morning's paper, Toyota sold three times as many Priuses in May 07, as they did in May 06. It drives very comfortably and, in fact, is a relaxing car to drive. You don't have the sensation that you should be revving the engine up continually (in fact you can't), and you try (even subconsciously) to over accelerate. It is odd, in that the car has no key (you have a block shaped key-like thing that you can keep in your pocket), no starter (you push a button that says 'power'), and no gear shift (just a small vestigial toggle that protrudes about 2" from the dashboard). It also is low on trunk space (it is a hatchback), unless you pull down the back seat, but then your storage space, although more than ample, becomes visible.
We tried out the car on Saturday in Loudoun County at the Hunt and Stable Show, and then we drove it to New York, leaving our house Tuesday during rush hour and returning by about 11 p.m. Wednesday night. We went to see the Barcelona exhibit at the Met, closing this weekend), which proved very worthwhile, and a good primer for our August trip. We stayed on the way up at a more than satisfactory Best Western in Burlington NJ, and ate at a Ruby Tuesday's (or was it a Friday's or was it an Applebees?) across the parking lot, where the tilapia turned out to be better than the salmon.
We drove into the city (HollandTunnel was not fun) and followed the sign to the Met and the Met parking lot, where for only $26, we could park for five hours. The garage is under the museum, something that seems vaguely dangerous, although they do check your trunk (or what passed for our trunk) upon entry.
The Barcelona exhibit deals with the period from 1881 (when a newly textile-prosperous city decided to become a center of culture and art) until 1939 (when newly installed General Franco decided the opposite), and had sterling examples of art, jewelry, crafts, furniture, architectural models and more. We were lucky enough to catch a tour guided by one of the three curators of the show. We hope to see many of the exhibited items back in Spain in August.
Coming back (we left the museum about 4) and spent almost 2 hours trying to get through the Lincoln Tunnel, and onto the NJ Turnpike.
The drive back was quick, except that we had a two hour stop in Mt. Holly, an unknown (to us) old town, with buildings going back to the early 18th century. Everything was closed when we got there, and we ate at the Robin's Nest, an upscale restaurant where the highlight was the 3-soup appetizer: cold strawberry, cream of spinich and Md. crab.
The car did very well, and averaged the promised 50 miles per gallon (and it takes regular gas at that).
Since our return Wednesday night, I went to the National Museum for Women in the Arts to see the exhibit of paintings by women from the Italian renaissance, which was very enjoyable. Particularly the portraits (there were fewer still lifes, religious subjects, or historical subjects), some of which were up there with the best of the portraits of the time. I also saw Harry Benton's photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, which spanned a 50 year period of time from the 1950s until today. Benton is a Scottish photographer, who has worked for a number of periodicals and newspapers. While I do not think that all of the photos on display were of display quality, many clearlly were. Perhaps I will get time to talk about them later.
Finally, after a dinner at Bua Thai on Thursday, we saw again Either/Or at Theater J, which seems to have matured in the weeks it has been performed, and is now an excellent show, making it all the sadder that it has to close this weekend, and that the reviews were based on the first few performances. The show was good then (and the reviews positive), but seems to have improved dramatically (no pun intended). I guess this happens with some shows, particularly when they are premieres and were undergoing continual changes until just before opening night. The talkback with cast and director was also interesting.
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