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Catchup - The Rest of April
May. 12th, 2022 10:50 pmAfter I got back from New York, I was mostly focused on getting two things done: 1) taxes and 2) preparation for Passover. I did accomplish both of those, though not without a lot of whining. I have less to say than I normally would about Passover, because I went to both seders over zoom this year. Sigh.
Fortunately, I had various distractions to keep me from going completely crazy.
We Declare You a Terorist …: My friend Cindy had a discount offer for this play, which was part of a new play series at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. I had not quite realized that the performance we were going to was the very first ever of this play and that was definitely not obvious from the performances. The story involves the 2002 siege of the Dubrovska Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists (including several of the women known as “black widows.”) I vaguely remembered this incident, but didn’t know much about it. The Russian government pumped in a gas that rendered everyone unconscious, then shot the Chechens. Unfortunately, about a quarter of the hostages also died from the side effects of the gas.
The play actually is actually focused on The Writer, i.e. the playwright, who has been caught trying to sneak into Chechnya and is being interrogated by an officer of the FSB (the successor to the KGB). There are flashbacks, shown via projections, in which he remembers the relationships he developed during the siege. One was with one of the black widows; the other, with a teenager who had been attending the play with her parents. All four characters are interesting and more complex than they seem at first. The projections were handled with the two actresses in a movie theatre off-stage, but interacting in real time with The Writer, by the way. That worked better than I would have expected from that description. Overall, this was an intriguing play and I am glad that I got to see it. (And, of course, it is timely in light of the Ukraine war.)
By the way, we had dinner before the play at Q by Peter Chang. I had some very tasty noodles with lamb, while Cindy got a chicken dish that she said was too spicy for her, even though she had asked for “medium.” We wouldd probably go there again but request the food be mild.
Baseball: My first live baseball game of the season was the second game for the Nationals, who were playing the Mets. I had chosen that game instead of opening day because it was Stephen Strasburg bobblehead giveaway day. It was very strange seeing Max Scherzer pitching for the Mets. (By the way, I have divided loyalties on this match-up, since I grew up a Mets fan, but feel obliged to root for the Nats while living here.) I am also annoyed by the designated hitter rule having been imposed on the National League. The bottom line is thet the Nats pitching was pretty bad. There was also a brawl after a Nats pitcher beaned a Mets batter. I should also note that there were two young women sitting in front of me who were primarily focused on discussing the upcoming wedding of one of them (who was apparently there with her parents). That and gossiping about various people they knew and talking about the bad behavior of the bride-to-be’s dog and pretty much everything but the game. It was annoying and distracting. Sigh.
By the way, four people were shot (fortunately, none fatally) right over by Nats Park the next night. That’s pretty scary.
Anyway, while I am on the subject of baseball, this season is depressing. Not only are the Nats doing terribly, so are my Red Sox. And the Royals (who I have a soft spot in my heart for because a guy from my home town used to pitch for them). And, of course, with the Source of All Evil in the Universe in first, the Grand Unified Theory of Politics, Economics, and the American League East explains why things are so miserable in the world right now.
STC Mock Trial: Every year, the Shakespeare Theatre Company puts on a mock trial, with the case based on something from a Shakespeare play and various DC luminaries participating. This year’s was also live-streamed, making it much easier to watch. The case was called “Much Ado About Margaret” and based on Much Ado About Nothing. The specific question was whether Margaret had defamed Hero by posing as her in her wedding dress, thus convincing Claudio that Hero was unfaithful to him. The presiding judge was Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, with Debra Katz (known for representing workplace whistleblowers) representing Hero and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff representing Margaret. The whole thing was reasonably amusing. And, by the way, Emhoff revealed that Kamala Harris is better at Wordle than he is. (But he lost the case.)
Randy Rainbow Book Tour: Randy Rainbow has been doing a number of events to promote his memoir and I went with another friend (Kathleen) to one at Sixth and I Synagogue. In this case, he was interviewed by CNN reporter Dana Bash. She had him read several anecdotes from the book. I was particularly interested to hear about his friendship with Stephen Sondheim. They also played one of his videos. Overall, he was funny and it was enjoyable.
By the way, since the event was during Passover, we were rather constrained with respect to dinner. Fortunately, Zaytinya had a few things on their menu that I considered acceptable to eat. But, boy is it hard to go there and not have any of their bread.
Circumnavigators Happy Hour: The acting president of the Circumnavigators Club had invited members of the Travelers’ Century Club to join them at a happy hour. There were a few people there who I know from TCC, including a BBC reporter who had profiled us back in 2017. Anyway, there was lots of good travel conversation and I ended up staying longer than I’d expected to. But it also reminded me how much I miss traveling.
Artechouse: I had not actually been to Artechouse before, though I had always heard good things about it. So I was happy to accompany Cindy to their current immersive experience, which is called Pixelbloom. This is focused on springtime and cherry blossoms (and other flowers) and includes both a main exhibit that takes 20 or so minutes to watch and a few side exhibits.
Note that you apparently have to click the pictures to view the videos on flickr.
There are two side rooms with other exhibits. One ends up letting you appear to be part of the picture.
My favorite part was an area where your footsteps caused beehives (complete with bees) to form and dissolve. Because they dissolve when you move away, it was really hard to get decent pictures but this brief video (again, you will need to click through to flickr) gives you the general idea.
Mormon Temple Open House: Cindy had also gotten a parking pass to go to the open house at the LDS Temple in Kensington, Maryland. Normally, people who are not members cannot go into the Temple, but they had deconsecrated it for renovations and are doing this open house until it is reconsecrated. Since I have a long-standing interest in religious architecture, I thought this was a good opportunity.
Of course, I’ve seen the outside several times.
They also have a very nice fountain surrounded by a lot of tulips.
Everybody had to put on some covers on their shoes before going inside. We thought you weren’t supposed to take photos inside, but a lot of people were, so we went ahead. This is the Baptistry, which is where baptisms are performed. That includes baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors. There are sculptures of oxen supporting the font. Also, the painting in the background is fairly typical of the style of painting throughout the temple. One thing about those paintings is that they show almost entirely white people, though there were two of black women with children near the end of the tour route. There was also a room off to the side where there were sets of what I assume is the famous Mormon underwear.
We went on to see Dressing Rooms where people change to white clothing worn in the temple, the Brides Room where a bride waits before her sealing ceremony, and Instruction Rooms (essentially small auditoriums) where people go periodically to watch audiovisual presentations about their religious obligations and covenants. The Celestial Room is supposed to symbolize heaven and be a place for quiet contemplation, but I thought it had the ambience of a hotel lobby (probably a Marriott, at that). The Sealing Rooms are where marriages and other sealing ceremonies take place. (For example, I know a Mormon woman who, with her husband, adopted three children and they had them selaed to her and her husband.) This is supposed to be eternal. I asked one what happens if someone is widowed and remarries, but didn’t get a coherent answer.
Overall, this was interesting and worth seeing, especially since it’s pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity. I should also note that the Washington Temple (which is really in Kensington, Maryland) is the third largest, behind Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Also, I had expected a bit of a hard sell, but they really weren’t pushy, just providing information.
Weekday Brunch: Kathleen had house guests from Israel (a Style Invitational Loser and her wife) and asked me to join them for a late breakfast on a weekday before they left. So we went to Bob and Edith’s Diner in Crystal City, which is pretty much your standard diner. My veggie omelet and English muffin were fine. It was surprisingly busy for a Thursday morning. It;s always good to get out of the house.
Other Stuff: Other things I did in April included a couple of story swaps, various phone calls re: planning for storytelling events, and a couple of genealogy meetings and presentations. And, of course, lots of evenings playing games (mostly Code Names) over zoom. There was also way too much time spent working on decluttering, but that requires a separate entry.
Fortunately, I had various distractions to keep me from going completely crazy.
We Declare You a Terorist …: My friend Cindy had a discount offer for this play, which was part of a new play series at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. I had not quite realized that the performance we were going to was the very first ever of this play and that was definitely not obvious from the performances. The story involves the 2002 siege of the Dubrovska Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists (including several of the women known as “black widows.”) I vaguely remembered this incident, but didn’t know much about it. The Russian government pumped in a gas that rendered everyone unconscious, then shot the Chechens. Unfortunately, about a quarter of the hostages also died from the side effects of the gas.
The play actually is actually focused on The Writer, i.e. the playwright, who has been caught trying to sneak into Chechnya and is being interrogated by an officer of the FSB (the successor to the KGB). There are flashbacks, shown via projections, in which he remembers the relationships he developed during the siege. One was with one of the black widows; the other, with a teenager who had been attending the play with her parents. All four characters are interesting and more complex than they seem at first. The projections were handled with the two actresses in a movie theatre off-stage, but interacting in real time with The Writer, by the way. That worked better than I would have expected from that description. Overall, this was an intriguing play and I am glad that I got to see it. (And, of course, it is timely in light of the Ukraine war.)
By the way, we had dinner before the play at Q by Peter Chang. I had some very tasty noodles with lamb, while Cindy got a chicken dish that she said was too spicy for her, even though she had asked for “medium.” We wouldd probably go there again but request the food be mild.
Baseball: My first live baseball game of the season was the second game for the Nationals, who were playing the Mets. I had chosen that game instead of opening day because it was Stephen Strasburg bobblehead giveaway day. It was very strange seeing Max Scherzer pitching for the Mets. (By the way, I have divided loyalties on this match-up, since I grew up a Mets fan, but feel obliged to root for the Nats while living here.) I am also annoyed by the designated hitter rule having been imposed on the National League. The bottom line is thet the Nats pitching was pretty bad. There was also a brawl after a Nats pitcher beaned a Mets batter. I should also note that there were two young women sitting in front of me who were primarily focused on discussing the upcoming wedding of one of them (who was apparently there with her parents). That and gossiping about various people they knew and talking about the bad behavior of the bride-to-be’s dog and pretty much everything but the game. It was annoying and distracting. Sigh.
By the way, four people were shot (fortunately, none fatally) right over by Nats Park the next night. That’s pretty scary.
Anyway, while I am on the subject of baseball, this season is depressing. Not only are the Nats doing terribly, so are my Red Sox. And the Royals (who I have a soft spot in my heart for because a guy from my home town used to pitch for them). And, of course, with the Source of All Evil in the Universe in first, the Grand Unified Theory of Politics, Economics, and the American League East explains why things are so miserable in the world right now.
STC Mock Trial: Every year, the Shakespeare Theatre Company puts on a mock trial, with the case based on something from a Shakespeare play and various DC luminaries participating. This year’s was also live-streamed, making it much easier to watch. The case was called “Much Ado About Margaret” and based on Much Ado About Nothing. The specific question was whether Margaret had defamed Hero by posing as her in her wedding dress, thus convincing Claudio that Hero was unfaithful to him. The presiding judge was Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, with Debra Katz (known for representing workplace whistleblowers) representing Hero and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff representing Margaret. The whole thing was reasonably amusing. And, by the way, Emhoff revealed that Kamala Harris is better at Wordle than he is. (But he lost the case.)
Randy Rainbow Book Tour: Randy Rainbow has been doing a number of events to promote his memoir and I went with another friend (Kathleen) to one at Sixth and I Synagogue. In this case, he was interviewed by CNN reporter Dana Bash. She had him read several anecdotes from the book. I was particularly interested to hear about his friendship with Stephen Sondheim. They also played one of his videos. Overall, he was funny and it was enjoyable.
By the way, since the event was during Passover, we were rather constrained with respect to dinner. Fortunately, Zaytinya had a few things on their menu that I considered acceptable to eat. But, boy is it hard to go there and not have any of their bread.
Circumnavigators Happy Hour: The acting president of the Circumnavigators Club had invited members of the Travelers’ Century Club to join them at a happy hour. There were a few people there who I know from TCC, including a BBC reporter who had profiled us back in 2017. Anyway, there was lots of good travel conversation and I ended up staying longer than I’d expected to. But it also reminded me how much I miss traveling.
Artechouse: I had not actually been to Artechouse before, though I had always heard good things about it. So I was happy to accompany Cindy to their current immersive experience, which is called Pixelbloom. This is focused on springtime and cherry blossoms (and other flowers) and includes both a main exhibit that takes 20 or so minutes to watch and a few side exhibits.
Note that you apparently have to click the pictures to view the videos on flickr.
There are two side rooms with other exhibits. One ends up letting you appear to be part of the picture.
My favorite part was an area where your footsteps caused beehives (complete with bees) to form and dissolve. Because they dissolve when you move away, it was really hard to get decent pictures but this brief video (again, you will need to click through to flickr) gives you the general idea.
Mormon Temple Open House: Cindy had also gotten a parking pass to go to the open house at the LDS Temple in Kensington, Maryland. Normally, people who are not members cannot go into the Temple, but they had deconsecrated it for renovations and are doing this open house until it is reconsecrated. Since I have a long-standing interest in religious architecture, I thought this was a good opportunity.
Of course, I’ve seen the outside several times.
They also have a very nice fountain surrounded by a lot of tulips.
Everybody had to put on some covers on their shoes before going inside. We thought you weren’t supposed to take photos inside, but a lot of people were, so we went ahead. This is the Baptistry, which is where baptisms are performed. That includes baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors. There are sculptures of oxen supporting the font. Also, the painting in the background is fairly typical of the style of painting throughout the temple. One thing about those paintings is that they show almost entirely white people, though there were two of black women with children near the end of the tour route. There was also a room off to the side where there were sets of what I assume is the famous Mormon underwear.
We went on to see Dressing Rooms where people change to white clothing worn in the temple, the Brides Room where a bride waits before her sealing ceremony, and Instruction Rooms (essentially small auditoriums) where people go periodically to watch audiovisual presentations about their religious obligations and covenants. The Celestial Room is supposed to symbolize heaven and be a place for quiet contemplation, but I thought it had the ambience of a hotel lobby (probably a Marriott, at that). The Sealing Rooms are where marriages and other sealing ceremonies take place. (For example, I know a Mormon woman who, with her husband, adopted three children and they had them selaed to her and her husband.) This is supposed to be eternal. I asked one what happens if someone is widowed and remarries, but didn’t get a coherent answer.
Overall, this was interesting and worth seeing, especially since it’s pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity. I should also note that the Washington Temple (which is really in Kensington, Maryland) is the third largest, behind Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Also, I had expected a bit of a hard sell, but they really weren’t pushy, just providing information.
Weekday Brunch: Kathleen had house guests from Israel (a Style Invitational Loser and her wife) and asked me to join them for a late breakfast on a weekday before they left. So we went to Bob and Edith’s Diner in Crystal City, which is pretty much your standard diner. My veggie omelet and English muffin were fine. It was surprisingly busy for a Thursday morning. It;s always good to get out of the house.
Other Stuff: Other things I did in April included a couple of story swaps, various phone calls re: planning for storytelling events, and a couple of genealogy meetings and presentations. And, of course, lots of evenings playing games (mostly Code Names) over zoom. There was also way too much time spent working on decluttering, but that requires a separate entry.
