Go to the National Gallery

I feel like some sort of blog-ho, what with all of my postings today, but I wanted to encourage everyone who can to make sure that they catch the Ed Ruscha show at the National Gallery. Ruscha's use of words as the focus of his art is surprisingly interesting. I for one was a little wary of going to see 90 odd drawings of words and phrases, but Ruscha really captures concepts and emotions in his art by playing with the viewer's own feelings of a word. At least that's my take on things, I might have more to say in a few years if I get an MFA.

Also on display at the NGA are a group of Andre Kertesz photographs in a retrospective of his urban photography. Two thumbs. And if you need a little color in your life, just head over to the East Wing to see Fauve Painting from the Permanent Collection. The bright display offers a flash of color from a group of artists who built upon the works of the Impressionists, including Matisse and Braque.

Cinema Beyond the Multiplex

All this movie talk got me thinking about the wonderful film resources that we have in the area. I know that I don't head off to see movies all that often, but when I do, I don't want to be constantly disappointed by the mediocre output of today's Hollywood as put on display last night.

The past twenty years have been a roller-coaster ride for movie theatres in DC. I can recall the distant closings of the great Biograph and the Key theatre's in Georgetown, and the more recent closings of the Outer Circle and Vision's. But thankfully in the past few years there has been a revival of screens showing independent films though out DC.

The Landmark Theaters in Bethesda and E Street have been godsends for contemporary independent films especially for those who are Metro dependent. If you have the wheels, the Avalon Theater in Chevy Chase has been beautifully refurbished and shows smaller indie films under its muraled ceiling. For those lover's of classic cinema, the American Film Institute's Silver out in Silver Spring is the home of old movies in the area.

This post seems to have wandered far from my original intent, which was to promote some of the less well known screens in DC, but all of the aforementioned theaters are well deserving too. Perhaps less independent than all of those theaters, all of the major cultural centers in DC have their own theaters and play a wide range of movies, often in thematic series. The Library of Congress has the Mary Pickford Theater , the National Archives has the McGowan Theater (where I should note that I saw the very emotional and Oscar winning documentary Born Into Brothels on Sunday afternoon), the National Gallery shows movies in the East Wing theater, and the Smithsonian has an array of theater's including at the Freer Gallery and the Hirshhorn Gallery. While you can't always get exactly what you want, these screenings are all free to the public (However in most cases, you do need to reserve tickets in advance.

Just looking at the schedules for this post, I see the Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is playing on March 8th at the Pickford, the Black Maria Film Festival (Shorts) at the Hirshhorn on March 12th, and Ping-Pong at the Freer in late April. Time to get my film on!

Other Oscar Thoughts

Would the Oscars be more interesting if they added some fan friendly awards (Best Movie for under 10 million, Best Comedy, Best Flop, etc.)

The show ran at a tidy 3 1/2 hours, but it seemed really rushed at the end. In future years, might they rush through the beginning, so that the people that win real awards don't have to cut themselves short? Or are we better off not having to listen to more drivel like Hilary Swank?

Has there been any sort of commentary on the fact that Jamie Foxx talked about how his grandma beat his ass to make him who he is today? Is corporal punishment the new/old tough love? (Apparently this may be old news as he gave a similar acceptance speech at the Golden Shower Globe ceremony)

Gwenyth Paltrow continues to be stunningly beautiful. The same cannot be said of Renee "squinty eye" Zellweger.

Does Warren Beatty have to hide his Oscars from Annette Benning? Or does he pop some Viagra and share them with his babies' mama?

Oscar Time!

Whew, what about them Oscars, huh? Wow, that event really got me out of my chair and into the movie theatres. No. Not really. For the first time in memory, I actually sat through the entire Oscar program and watched the presentation of all of the awards. Do you want to know the most amazing part? I only saw three of the movies that received awards (Motorcycle Diaries for Best Song, Eternal Sunshine for Best Original Screenplay, and Born into Brothels for Best Documentary). And I'm not even that excited to catch up on all the "great" films that were nominated for all of the big time awards.

Things of note:
1. I have seen 0 of the movies nominated for Best Picture, Actor, and Director.
2. I have seen 1 nominee from each of Best Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and Cinematography
3. Despite Tom Shales review in the Washington Post, Chris Rock was actually pretty funny at times. Highlights include making fun of Jude Law and an extended metaphor placing Bush's first term in the context of being a Gap employee.*
4. Hilary Swank being cut off by the orchestra on multiple occasions and bulling her way through to extend the agony of the viewer at home.
5. Oh, and the Aviator dominated the early awards for such important things like Costumes, Make-up, and Art Direction, but then bombed in the big leagues once everyone came to their senses about what a crappy movie it was.
6. I will make an effort to see Million Dollar Baby (aka "the big winner") because I love Clint and I actually meant to see the movie before the Oscars, but there's been no time.
7. Hollywood needs to start putting out more quality films and then actually recognizing them for their efforts, otherwise I am moving over to all Bollywood all the time.
8. I will never stay up to watch another Academy Awards ever. Unless someone that I personally know is nominated.

*Here is Chris Rock's analysis in full (lifted from the Dan Froomkin's White House Briefing)

"A lot of people like to bash Bush. I'm not going to bash Bush here tonight. I
saw 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' I think Bush is a genius. I think Bush did some things
this year nobody in this room could do -- nobody in this room could pull
off.
"Bush basically reapplied for his job this year. Now, can you imagine
applying for a job, and while you're applying for that job, there's a movie in
every theater in the country that shows how much you suck at that job? It'd be
hard to get hired, wouldn't it? Now I watched 'Fahrenheit' and I learned some
stuff, man. And Bush did some things you could never get away with at your job,
man. Never, ever ever. You know, when Bush got into office, they had a surplus
of money. Now, there's like a $70 trillion deficit.
"Now just imagine you
worked at the Gap. You closing out your register and it's $70 trillion short.
The average person would get in trouble for something like that, right? Not
Bush. No. then -- then, he started a war. That's cool. Support the troops. He
started a war.
"Now, just imagine you worked at the Gap. You're $70 trillion
behind on your register. And then you start a war with Banana Republic, 'cause
you say they got toxic tank tops over there. You had the war. People are dying.
A thousand Gap employees are dead, that's right, bleeding all over the khakis.
You finally take over Banana Republic. And you find out they never made tank
tops in the first place."

Hitting the Bigs.

I can't lie and say that I made it the last iPod Jukebox Night, but I tried, and that counts for something right? Turns out I should have gone and tried to get interviewed. Looks like this is really going to catch on. Not to sound like a hipster, but I hope that the unwashed masses don't mess with the vibe too much.

Snow!!!!!!

I am currently very jealous of my housemate's snow day. There isn't even snow on the roads or sidewalks, and DC up and canceled. There had better be lots o' messiness later on. At least enough to send me home early (come on guv'ment).

Hot Hot Heat. Aka I got mine!

The Hot Hot Heat are coming to the 9:30 Club on Friday March 11th, and I just picked up my tickets last night. Hot Hot Heat should be enough to get you to the door, but this has the makings of an amazing show with Washington Social Club serving up the opening act.

Buying these tickets actually made me realize that I am getting old. As I walked up to the ticket window last night, there were people hanging around waiting for the doors to open before the Le Tigre show. When I say people, I mean there were five adolescents hanging outside the doors because their mothers couldn't drop them off any later.

I was strolling up when I heard someone say in a snotty voice "Love the Burberry." (At this point it would probably make sense to mention that I bought a Burberry rip-off scarf from a thrift-store this fall) I stopped, looked up, and considered throttling the 16 year old Bethesda anarchist. Then I realized that ten years ago, I would have said something similar, especially if I was trying to impress the two rrrrrriot girlz who were accompanying this kid. So I put on a shit-eating grin and replied in my most gracious-I'm-not-being-sarcastic voice "Thanks dude, love the black hoodie." I then continued on to the box office and bought my tickets, sans the $4.50 surcharge that they add on for internet purchases.

I may have to get with the program.

Apple has just dropped the prices on their iPods. In addition to the price drop, they have also added new models, including a 6 Gig Mini and a 30 gig full size model. I have so far resisted the call for an iPod, for a number of reasons, including 1) I really don't listen to music on the go very often (would the convenience of a mini change this?) 2) I only have a marginally functional computer (but I am already on the market for a new iBook/Powerbook) 3) $$$$ (lower prices/I need to treat myself better). So I guess that its time I hop on the tail end of this trend.

Overwhelmed by New York, Underwhelmed by The Gates

As always, NYC was a vibrant flurry of activity with hardly a quiet moment. Christo's Gates were the impetus for the trip, but seeing friends was a close second. The weekend was spent running around trying to see people and things, and generally succeeding.

I guess that the only way that I will be able to write this post is to just come out and say that the Gates Project was, not disappointing and not bad, just underwhelming. It was pretty, and at times I would have the sensation that I was entering an orange tunnel in the midst of Central Park. However, I was never wowed by the construction cone orange banners hanging over the paths of the park. There was no sense of the vastness of the project. At no point could I see more than 50 or so gates (even from the roof of the Met), and the empty spaces of the park dominated the colorful gates despite their drab winter appearance.

While walking through the park, my friend and I were trying to come to grips with what bothered us about the whole project. We both thought that the gates themselves were pretty, and that the concept was interesting. In the end however, we realized the Gates were a piece of conceptual art that was layered on top of one of the most impressive pieces of urban landscaping in the world. The Gates simply did not do justice to the park itself. Olmstead planned the park, and to have someone else come in and layer their own work on to the land just felt cheap.

I am happy that I went because I don't think that I would have come to grips with Gates without having seen them for myself, but its funny that the pictures that I took of the Gates look much better than they did in person. If you missed them, don't worry, you can continue to sleep at night.

en eff!

Sometimes you just have to take pride in seeing someone you know emerge from their cocoon of being a little bitch to take their rightful place as a man. Gabriel Spitzer-Hirsch aka "Ace" seems to have done far better for himself than I ever could have imagined. When I knew him, he was an awkward undergraduate, finding his way in the world and around a game of speed quarters. And now, well it almost makes me weep to see this.

The child is almost a man. More importantly, he is almost a man with an internship. When I read about him booing that little fucktard Jeffrey Maier, I really thought that I would cry, but then I googled him and found this page of poems (look for his name at the bottom), and I had to laugh instead. This kid is too funny.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

After sidling down to the Metro platform this morning, I checked up at the sometimes functioning display, and what did I see the new PIDs display showing that there are lots of trains about to come through C-Heights. But then this guy standing next to me, turns to me and asks "What are you looking at?" I'm thinking wtf, its 8am, I don't want to deal with this crap. So I tell him "The sign." He looks at me funny and repeats with a strong accent "Where do you work?" First I'm relieved that I had misheard his question and that he didn't want to throw down before we hopped on the train. But then I realize that he actually wants an answer.

Typically, I would say that talking to random strangers on a Metro platform during the morning commute violates the Rules of Etiquette (ie if you don't know them, they are not overtly staring at you, or you are not a tourist asking for directions, you start conversations with people). However, I was so taken by surprise that I found myself embroiled in a fairly fluffy getting-to-know-you conversation about DC and what I did. It felt oddly like a first date, with most of the discomfort coming from the fact that I was having trouble understanding this guys questions through his accent.

Turns out he's a German who is in town for 3 months to work on some project at NIH for his Masters' dissertation. Nice guy, and a, um, different way to start off a morning commute. When he got off at Gallery Place, I gripped up with this moment of fear that he was going to ask for my number or something. That would have been weird. But I also wasn't sure what I would have said. I've been a traveler in random countries before, and I know how comforting a little outreach can be. Luckily, he waved goodbye and hopped off the train. Other people got on to fill his spot. Then he walked by the doors again because he realized that he couldn't go up the down escalators. And waved again.

While we're discussing fashion

What moron invented button-fly pants for men? Is there any fashion design that makes less sense? The whole point of the fly is to allow easy access for, um, "private business".

Why does this spring to my mind you might ask? Well, on Monday (also known as the day of arrival of the fever from hell), I found myself wearing a pair of button fly khakis. Oooh, classy. I know, I know, the sure fire way to stand out in the fashion Mecca that is DC is to wear khaki's to work. However, once I started feeling sick, I immediately began to pound the water, aka hydrated. As the human body tends to do, this flood of water needed to come out. Of course this stuck me with the conundrum of do I use a stall or the urinal? Because without an easily accessible fly, there's a fair bit of clothing to fight through before getting down to work. And going into a stall is like admitting defeat.

With the copious amounts of water that I consumed, I found myself faced with this dilemma several times in one afternoon. What I learned was button-flies are the _worst fashion idea ever_. The buttons do nothing except get in the way. The don't flatter your calves like women's heels. And its not sexy like a thong (on a woman). It serves no purpose but to annoy and delay.

If you wish to make a horrible mistake, you can find clothing manufacturers still producing this crap. I for one am considering burning the useless piece of crap khaki's that tortured me so during my day of agony.

I am a materialistic fashion whore.

I can't deny it, but I can try to make excuses, like I've had a raging fever all week (and been unable to post). The fact of the matter is that I kind of dig fashion sneakers. The fact is also that I can't afford the really pricey "what the hell is that crap on your feet" shoes, so I make do with deals that I can grab off the internet. That's where I picked these up.


My new kicks.

I'm kind of digging on ROOS right now. Maybe its the style, maybe its the pockets. Maybe its that I was crazy jealous of the kids that had Roos back in grade school, and I can only excercise this demon by shopping mercilessly. Or maybe they're just nice shoes.

Taking the China out of Chinatown

Is Chinatown Disappearing? I would be hard pressed to say no. Gallery Place is taking over the grimy streets of Chinatown and turning them into glittering Urban Outfitters and Starbucks. Its been coming for ten years, but when will we finally stop referring to it as Chinatown? I for one will hold out until this nonesense about DC having a "midtown" wears off.

At least there is a United Colors of Benetton to keep up the diversity in Chinatown.

Christo Lecture at the Corcoran

For those of you who heard about Michael Cullen's lecture about Christo and the Gates Project in Central Park from DCist yesterday, let me give you a little recap. I would ask for commentary, but from a quick glance around the room last night, I doubt that many DCist readers made it to the talk. You didn't miss all that much.

Cullen is an architectural historian and friend/project director for Christo and Jean-Claude. As his story goes, he was the first person who asked Christo to wrap the Reichstag. And their relationship took off from there. Cullen spent a long time talking about the 23 years of political wrangling that was needed to convince the German government to let Christo wrap the Reichstag.

The talk went pretty much like this:
"I sent Christo a postcard saying that he should wrap the Reichstag. Christo said good idea. We talked to some people in charge. One guy said yes. He was replaced by a guy who said no. Twenty years later he was replaced by a woman who said ok. Then we did it. We changed the public perception of the Reichstag through our work of public art. Did I mention that Christo and I are BFF"

He then talked about the Gates project for two minutes. For more information than Cullen provided on the Gates go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here. He did say that the gates were going to be yellow, and that the use of fabric is very important in Christo's work.

To close on the thoughts of the gf "For $15 you thought we would at least see some slides."

Rumors of a New Weezer Album?

So says Pitchfork. Which they picked up from the band's website. All I can say is "Its about damn time." However, after some contemplation I realized that's its only been three years since Maladroit was released. I would be willing to wait another couple of years if they made something as good as Pinkerton, rather than say another Green Album. Just a personal preference, but if you've never heard Pinkerton, I would suggest picking up a copy from a used CD store. If I were more computer-friendly, I would figure out how to post a song. I'm not, so you're out of luck today. (You can download some tunes from the Weezer website, but the album itself is great).

Take me out to the ballgame!

Well, its time to buy those ticket packages!

The trio of Nationals mini plans includes a 41-game plan and two different
20-game plans. The 41-game plan includes Opening Night, April 14 and a $2.00
discount per game off the individual game ticket price. 41-game plan prices
range from $205 to $738 and the 20-game plan prices range from $140 to $400.

It got me thinking that maybe I could splurge the $200 and get a 41 game package in the cheap seats. Then I realized that I'm probably only going to go to 5 games, and I might as well just buy the tickets at the gate. For a little more info check out this articlearticle from yesterdays Post.

All this talk about the Nationals has taken me back to the first baseball games that I ever saw. They were all at big football stadiums (Memorial Stadium and RFK) and the seats were always great. As a little kid, I thought that Memorial Stadium was the best place ever to see a game. You got to sit high up in these bright orange bleacher seats and you could look down and see the entire field. I now realize that those are what we like to call the "cheap seats", but as a six year-old, I was just excited.

I also got a kick out of the O's exhibition homestand at RFK every spring. It wasn't the same as having a team of our own in DC, but it was pretty darn close. If I remember correctly, it was the O's vs. the Expos. I wouldn't mind seeing that match-up again.

Gene Weingarten. What a dork.

Archives are apparently all the new rage. Of course that is just a guess, judging from Gene Weingarten's latest column (Whee the People), the grand reopening of the National Archives, and that epic film classic National Treasure. Of course, archives haven't gone away since the last time that they were big. I don't know when that was exactly, but I am guessing some time before I was born.

What this all means exactly is that I am finally on the cutting edge of culture. May the hipsters come swarming to my office in their incessant thirst for knowledge. Pretty soon I'll have to leave, 'cause it'll be all played out, but 'til then I feel like I am in the money.

More importantly though is that maybe people will start realizing how important the old stuff that we keep in libraries and archives (no, I don't mean scrapbooking) is to our national heritage and culture. More so than "The Newlyweds" and "American Idol".

iPod Jukebox Night

Another event to attend! This Wednesday night is the return of iPod Jukebox Night at Cafe Saint-Ex. DJs prep your 12 minute song lists, and listeners be prepared to hear a range of styles(within the confines of indie hipness of course).

The second Wednesday of every month starting at 9pm at Gate 54 (the basement of Saint-Ex at 14th and T).

This may soon motivate me to purchase an iPod of my own quite soon, but I am working on getting an iBook first, so that might be a while....

Music: Millennium Stage

In visiting the Kennedy Center for the NSO show on Saturday, I realized that it has been many, many moons since I last attended one of the free shows at the Millennium Stage. In the past, I have seen a number of great concerts, including Rhett Miller and Odetta, and many more that were fun and entertaining. The stage hosts a range of acts, stretching from blues to pop to high school dancers. You never know what might be playing, so I wouldn't show up without checking the schedule (or here) unless you have a very open mind.

On the plus side, it is always free. Shows start at 6pm every night of the year.

A Night at the Symphony

Ending up with two tickets to the National Symphony on Saturday night is one of the better aspects of "having connections" in this town (aka being a native). A trip to the symphony is not something that I have ever done before, but I am not averse to testing the waters of high culture. Last year I even used my connections to get opera tickets.

Saturday night was a last minute affair, and when my GF and I arrived at the Kennedy Center, we had no idea what the program was. We had thought that the ticket owners had said "Schubert", but much to my delight, Leonard Slatkin was conducting a "celebration of the 1940s". Not that it made much difference to my untutored ears, but I have to say that I enojyed the show very much. Several of the short pieces were quite excellent, and the "Schubert" was in fact Schuman's Symphony No. 3 which was quite an intricate work. Perhaps a more meaningful review of the show can be found at the Post.

I was a but surprised that the concert hall was only half-full, but perhaps the obscurity of the works kept away all but the most dedicated. Or unaware patrons.

It was a very nice surprise to be able to enjoy the Symphony rather than another night of Adams Morgan. And I know that the GF got a kick out of it. Even if I made her dress up, only to see a gentleman in the front row wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

Date possibilities very high, a sure fire way to impress. And with tickets starting at $20, its a pretty affordable way to here good classical music. Pick a show and enjoy!

Wow!

Thank you DCist! I don't know how one makes to the blogger links at DCist, but I seem to have squeaked in there. I guess that means that I will have to step it up over here and keep updating with meaningful content. Unlike this unabashedly self-indulgent preening.(It's ok to bask every once in a while, right?)

I am only starting to get the hang of blogspot, so there will be some changes in the layout of this blog over the next few weeks until the interior decorator in me is happy. So, if you're here, leave me a comment letting me know what you like, and what you'd like more of. Remember, even anonymous peer-pressure is a powerful tool.

Wonder(land)ful Wednesdays

Thanks ColumbiaHeightsDC for the heads-up on live music at Wonderland Bar and Grill!

Wednesdays at Wonderland Michael Jantz and Brice Woodall are playing a free
show called AmpsIIZero and features local bands and musicians in an MTV style
unplugged showcase at 9:30 of the first Wednesday of every month.

C-Heights, Home Sweet Home

Well, you can always count on the City Paper to pull the cover off of the simmering tensions of gentrification. The struggle between newcomers and old-timey residents is part of every neighborhood (just look at Tenleytown), but the problem is compounded in Columbia Heights by the vast divide of race and class. This dual pitfall really adds some spice to the neighborhood, as those who hope to raise their property values try to tip-toe through the mine-fields:

Side 1) Cultural Studies, Part 2: By August 2001, "boytwirl" had been living in
Columbia Heights for six months and had loved it—except for the creeping feeling
that "others" thought he was taking advantage of his poorer neighbors "because I
am a newcomer, white, well-educated, professional, etc. In particular, the term
of ‘re-gentrification' has been tossed out to me on numerous occasions and I
resent it vehemently." He added: "I may have had some advantages in life and may
be considered wealthy by some but that doesn't mean that I'm required to live in
Chevy Chase."

Side 2) In November 2002, Columbia Heights resident "zupancic3" offered a
lesson in how to gentrify the corner store—one bottle of Chimay at a time.
Offering this bit of unsolicited advice to "Arthur's Grocery," the neighbor
wrote: "I would start with selling a few microbrews, and some decent wine."
Zupancic3 conceded that the unsolicited inventory plan might shove Steel Reserve
off the shelves, but argued: "In business, if you don't adapt to changing times,
you may not be in business anymore."

Well, at least we will all soon have a Target to shop at and Starbucks Grande Mocha Lattes for $5 a pop. For all of that info, I suggest this here blog to see how quickly we are moving towards full-on gentrification.

Site: The International Gallery at the Ripley Center

One of the advantages of working down on the mall is that I can just drop in at some of the museums and galleries in my spare time. And one of the under-visited gems that the Smithsonian has to offer is the International Gallery at the Ripley Center. The Ripley Center is literally hidden away, tucked underneath one of the SI gardens, between the Freer-Sackler and the African Art Museum. The entrance is a nondescript kiosk between the Smithsonian Castle and the Freer Mansion. But down below the gardens and the skylights, the International Gallery hosts a wide variety of art exhibits from the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Services that can't be seen anywhere else in the DC area.

The exhibits are all small and do not include the major works of art that find their way to the American Art Museum or the National Gallery, but they frequently offer a look at a more off-beat group of artists and works. Some recent shows include: "Piano 300-Celebrating Three Centuries of People and Pianos", "In the Spirit of Martin" a collection of works inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the exhibit that sparked this piece "In the Russian Tradition: A Historic Collection of 20th-Century Russian Paintings", this exhibit brings together 45 paintings from before the December Revolution until after the fall of the Soviet Union. While I have to admit that few of the paintings would challenge for a place in the traditional canon of modern art, there are some marvelous works that show that even under the heavy hand of the Soviet Union, lots of beautiful art was created in Russia.