On the weekend of the Super Hype Bowl, the Washington Nationals web site notes that we’re 14 Days and 13 Hours (as of this posting) until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The blog DCist has a great post today with a video of President Obama mocking the people of Washington about their response to the weather. His girls couldn’t believe that school was closed today (which was true for Andrew and Claire’s schools, which are just down the street from Sidwell). One of the girl’s said that in Chicago they would have gone out for recess in this weather.
The DCist response is perfect:
President Barack Obama basically called District residents a bunch of wusses when it comes to dealing with snow and ice. We’d be offended if he wasn’t, you know, totally, absolutely correct.
I just realized that I have a new favorite sport for the off-season (i.e., the non-baseball months of the year). Hockey. Yes, hockey. I’m choosing to watch hockey games on television instead of basketball (especially given that interminable season that is pro basketball).
And I’m hooked thanks to the Washington Capitals and their superstar Alex Ovechkin, the Great Eight. (Ovechkin wears #8 on his jersey.) He’s a terrific talent – fast and strong with a wicked shot – and he has the teammates to support him.
A friend of mine from New Orleans once said Southerners had learned to like hockey because it was the closest legalized sport to cock fighting. A good line, but the fighting is not what I find intriguing about the sport. I just watched a game between the top two teams in the Eastern Division of the NHL: the Capitals and the Boston Bruins. Although this is just after the All-Star break in the middle of the NHL season, these two teams played at a speed and skill level that was breath-taking. Incredible puck handling, stop-on-a-dime turns, unbelievable stops by both goalies…this game had all the drama of playoff hockey. As befitted such a well-played contest between the top two teams, the game went into overtime. Ovechkin just missed a game winner due to a great stop by Thomas in the Boston goal, and in the ensuing rush up the ice the Capitols took a penalty. On a bad bounce the Bruins with the power play won in overtime. Nonetheless, it was a great game no matter your team.
Thomas Boswell, the baseball-loving columnist for the Washington Post, recently wrote a column that explains the appeal of this Capital team. It ends with:
Sometimes, over the years, the Caps have been sportswriter spinach and fan repellent. And sometimes, they’ve been fun. But they’ve never been a thrill, never been the best show in town, never been the team whose tickets you gave to your family for Christmas. Until now.
It’s a strange new place we find ourselves, to be sure. But we can probably learn to enjoy it.
It is indeed a thrill that I’m enjoying a great deal.
Having been in Los Angeles the last four days for work-related meetings, I haven’t had an opportunity to post More to Come…updates. But I have had time to explore parts of the city with colleagues involved in historic preservation. As is always true when I’m in Los Angeles, I learned more and more about this city’s many wonderful historic places.
Our meetings were in Santa Monica, and I took some time to visit the historic pier and to sample a nice Spanish restaurant in their funky Main Street – which is more like a neighborhood commercial center these days. Don’t think I spent hours on a sunny beach – it was cool, rainy at times, and in the 50s.
But on Saturday, when we spent 8 hours touring around town, the weather gods cooperated. While the temperature stayed in the 50s, the rain gave way to partly cloudy skies.
We began our tour on bus and went through a number of neighborhoods off Wilshire Boulevard, before we ended up downtown. It was my first chance to see Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Although viewed only from the bus, one could quickly see why this new building has captured the imagination of architecture critics and the public alike, and is becoming a major gathering space in a city that doesn’t have many public spaces. The photo at the right doesn’t do the building justice, but there are many online views for those who want to explore further.
Our tour then led us to Little Tokyo, where we began with a walking tour. The preservation issues here are difficult, as many of the Japanese Americans who once were confined to this part of the city have now dispersed. We did visit a family-owned candy shop where they’ve been selling traditional Japanese confections for over 100 years. And the street art was used to help tell the story…such as the note that in 1890 there were approximately 40 Japanese in Los Angeles. By 1930, 35,000 Japanese in Los Angeles live within a 3-mile radius of the corner where we stood. The Japanese American National Museum was another surprise. We were all deeply moved by the exhibit on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Stepping inside of one of the barracks rescued from a western internment camp made the experience very present.
Leaving the museum, we toured other neighborhoods, passed the Hollywood stars walk of fame, and ended up at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Storer House for a tour and cocktails. (See photo at the top of the post and those following.) One of four textile block houses of Wright’s in LA, the Storer House is not generally open to the public but we were able to visit throughout the house. The spaces were wonderful and pure Wright. Very intimate and private bedrooms were adjacent to two large family spaces on the main floors. The view of LA from the rooftop was beautiful.
A wonderful evening…but the plane is getting ready to board.
I am in Santa Monica, California, for a set of meetings. For most people, when they think of Santa Monica they think of the beautiful beach and the restored Santa Monica Pier, with its historic carousel and the great Ferris wheel that lights up the night sky. Those things are all pretty wonderful, but when flatpickers come to Santa Monica they think of Live at McCabe’s.
Back in the 1970s, Norman Blake was making his first west coast appearance and he recorded an album at McCabe’s Guitar Shop, which is located on Pico Boulevard here in Santa Monica. It is a wonderful album for several reasons, but most of all because it showcases Blake’s incredible guitar flatpicking skills. For those who’ve only heard Blake on O Brother Where Art Thou or on his later albums, there’s always a wonder – as others have noted – at how Blake came to be mentioned among the first guitar greats in the same breath with Doc Watson, Dan Crary, and Clarence White. When you listen to Live at McCabe’syou no longer ask the question. Playing solo and with his wife Nancy, Blake gives a tour de force of guitar flatpicking on this album. I learned Sweet Heaven When I Die from this version many years ago and still play it today – although without Norman’s virtuosity.
I drove past McCabe’s last evening on the way to dinner and was reminded of this album, Norman’s place in flatpicking history, and of this wonderful video of Norman and Tony Rice that I found on YouTube just a few days ago. Enjoy these two guitar giants as they ride along the New River Train.
In searching the Internet this morning, I found a post on the Daily Kos’ Street Prophets section on faith that discussed the difference between the prayers of Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery at Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony. I recommend the entire post, but I loved the ending enough to add it here. Pastor Dan writes,
As a Facebook friend says, “Rev. Lowrey is to Rick Warren as Mavis Staples is to Britney Spears.” Yep, pretty much.
That’s a great line…and very true. If you don’t know Mavis Staples, listen to the following video. And the images are a poignant reminder of why so many people were quoted yesterday as saying, “I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime.”
January 20, 2009 was a great day to be an American. It was also a wonderful day to be in Washington. And although I’m writing this from Santa Monica, California – I didn’t leave Washington until we had a new president.
Claire was on the mall with friends and she took several pictures of the inauguration – including the one at the top of the post. She reports that it was very festive, and this picture captures that spirit.
Because I had to fly to California later in the day, and Candice was coming back from a long weekend in Florida, Andrew and I opted to go to Politics and Prose – the wonderfully independent and progressive neighborhood bookstore – to watch the inauguration with like-minded friends and patrons. It was great. The staff provided free popcorn, the coffee shop was hopping turning out the hot chocolate and lattes, and everyone was in a very good mood. Andrew had on his Obama ’08 cap and we enjoyed the view and the company. There were three different screens and the place was full…it was almost as busy as a Harry Potter launch party! We all cheered, a few hissed at the sight of outgoing officials, and I think everyone had a tear come to the eye. I certainly did.
So I flew across the country for work later in the day, but did get to see the parade (thanks to Virgin America’s cool in-seat TV screens). And just watching Larry King Live on CNN, one of his quests just talked about a great moment for him which I also found very moving. That was when Joseph Lowery, the Civil Rights icon, began his prayer with the third stanza of Lift Every Voice and Sing, the Negro national anthem. Hearing that song the day after the MLK holiday and in this context was just the right touch.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou Who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.
God bless our new President. And God bless America.
It wasn’t the concert the Institute of Musical Traditions originally envisioned, but thanks to the professionalism and love for music the performers brought to the evening, it was more than advertised.
Andrew and I took in the regular Monday night IMT concert this evening, which featured Peter Ostroushko and Danny Gotham. However, they were delayed by a major pile up on I-70 that Peter later told us included a fiery semi that was completely incinerated. Thanks to quick thinking by the IMT folks, however, they called in friends Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer and in a delightful half-hour opening set they kept the evening moving and proved they’re much more than just children’s artists. Marxer’s musicianship was in special evidence on her cello banjo and in some sweet swing guitar solos.
Ostroushko and Gotham then took the stage and began with a mandolin duet of tunes learned from Norman Blake. The second tune in the medley, a Blake original entitled Jeff Davis, got Ostroushko in the mood for some political humor. He told of a time a few years ago when he read an opinion article in the Minnesota paper that said W. was the worst American President since Jefferson Davis. Peter said he was perplexed…because he didn’t think Jeff Davis was that bad.
Sly humor and major musical chops were in evidence throughout the evening. Peter played a beautiful arrangement of Bob Dylan’s Girl From the North Country, and then explored the “Minnesota Blues tradition.” (The headwaters blues.) While Andrew and I had to duck out before the end in order to get ready for tomorrow’s trek to see the inauguration, it was a very satisfying evening.
The IMT series has plenty to delight this winter…but guitar players will want to mark March 30th for the John Jorgenson concert.
Random moments of grace from the first half of a special holiday weekend here in Washington…
Having the time to read the New York Times slowly. Many Saturdays I’m so busy with errands I zip through the Times and the Washington Post. I’m glad I didn’t yesterday. Gail Collins has a sense of humor that I love, and the start to her Saturday column had me laughing out loud.
Right now you may be asking yourself: How am I going to celebrate Barack Obama’s inauguration?
You may, of course, have something else on your mind entirely. Like what the chances are that the next time you get on a plane, geese could fly into both engines. Or what the heck geese are doing in New York in the middle of winter when their relatives who worked hard and played by the rules had all gone south months ago.
Or you may just be wondering how that rescue in the Hudson River would have gone if it had been led off by the Department of Homeland Security rather than New York Waterway’s director of ferry operations.
I can’t help you, people. Today I am on inauguration duty.
Yep. I’m glad that Brownie was nowhere near the Hudson this week. Collins goes on to skewer William Henry Harrison and the Obama campaign’s evolution into Amazon.com for all-things Obama. It is a funny read. Laughing is good for the soul.
Singing Lift Every Voice and Sing in Church. It is the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, so there’s a 100% chance that we’ll sing the Black National Anthem – Lift Every Voice and Sing – in church. And our musical director Sonya doesn’t disappoint. I love this song, although someone in my family who shall go nameless says it sounds like it was written by committee. (She can’t understand the shifts between the A and B sections.) Nonetheless, when I get a chance, I sing this with all the gusto I can muster. It is moving even when 75% of those singing are white. And today we had a bonus as Sonya also had Wondrous Love on the program. Read my earlier post to find out why this is my favorite song in the hymnal. He who sings prays twice.
Laughing Out Loud during A Prairie Home Companion with Andrew. We’re driving along listening to the portion of Prairie Home Companion when Garrison Keillor reads notes from the audience. One note says, “Enjoy the party, but not too much. Remember that assisted living is a finite term.” Andrew and I both LOL, and he adds, “That’s pretty good,” with a joke-lover’s acknowledgement of a well-turned phrase. I love my son’s perspective on the world.
Reading Frank Rich and remembering my childhood. Frank Rich is required reading at our breakfast table on Sunday morning. Today’s column talks about growing up white in a segregated Washington, DC, and how so much of the city was unknown to him as a child. I also grew up in southern communities, but our home – although on Main Street – was next to the city’s African American neighborhoods. I probably thought I knew those areas. My parents were quiet but firm southern progressives who encouraged us to treat everyone with respect. So I spent a lot of time on playgrounds with the kids from our neighborhood – black and white. It was just normal. But I now understand there was much I didn’t understand about being black in the south in the 1970s, a revelation Rich notes in his column as well. Once I found myself as the only white in a neighborhood basketball game. “Are you scared?” asked one of the kids. I wasn’t. But I did think then, and again today, that I really didn’t know what their life was like. The MLK, Jr. weekend when we inaugurate the first African American president in the country’s history is a good time to be reminded that we still have a long way to go.
Claire’s Inaugural Memories. To her credit, Claire made up her mind that she was going to be in the midst of history this weekend. Right now she’s at the Lincoln Memorial for the concert. As you see the Lincoln Memorial this weekend, check out the story about the Daniel Chester French model of the seated Lincoln coming to DC. Claire and Andrew saw that model last March when we visited the National Trust Historic Site Chesterwood. On Tuesday, she’ll walk down to the mall with friends who live on Capitol Hill to witness history. She’s excited…and I’m excited for her.
Listening to Patty Loveless Sing Hank Williams. Is there a more sublime country singer than Patty Loveless? I don’t think so. On that same Prairie Home Companion show, Loveless sang songs from her new CD of 50s and 60s classic country, Sleepless Nights. One was a beautiful and haunting Hank Williams song.
As much as I like Hank Williams, this wasn’t my favorite Patty Loveless song. That would be the Darrell Scott-penned You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive. Written about the coal miners of Kentucky, Loveless sings this as only someone from eastern Kentucky can. Enjoy the video below from Merlefest, and keep looking for those random moments of grace this weekend.
In the post, the writer Ari focuses on a King speech entitled The Other America that Dr. King gave weeks before his death. Ari writes:
By this time in his life, though, King openly expressed sympathy for those who embraced other means, for those who would not turn the other cheek:
But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard.
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” That’s wonderful writing. But also: that’s not the MLK my son learned about in kindergarten last week or the MLK my students learn about in their textbooks.
Ari then moves on to talk about how the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, which was enacted over a great deal of controversy with the support of unions and corporate America, was finally approved, and he ends with this summation:
I wonder what Martin Luther King would think of his eponymous day. Of the MLK lesson plan — long on heroism, patriotism, and feel-good rhetoric but short on violence, non- or otherwise — in my son’s classroom. Of the fact that his holiday’s roots in organized labor have been completely forgotten. Of the painful irony that corporate sponsorship proved key in passing the law marking his birthday.
More than that, I wonder what those sponsors would think if they were transported back to Grosse Pointe, on March 12, 1968, to hear King deliver his “Other America” speech, including the line, “a riot is the language of the unheard.” I suspect they wouldn’t recognize that Dr. King. I wonder how many of us would.
Not your normal post around the MLK holiday, but it is important to understand the full dimension of King and his work. As a historian, I found the post worth the read and worth sharing. Recommended.
one could quickly see why this new building has captured the imagination of architecture critics and the public alike, and is becoming a major gathering space in a city that doesn’t have many public spaces. The photo at the right doesn’t do the building justice, but there are many online views for those who want to explore further.
January 20, 2009 was a great day to be an American. It was also a wonderful day to be in Washington. And although I’m writing this from Santa Monica, California – I didn’t leave Washington until we had a new president.
different screens and the place was full…it was almost as busy as a Harry Potter launch party! We all cheered, a few hissed at the sight of outgoing officials, and I think everyone had a tear come to the eye. I certainly did.
Claire’s Inaugural Memories. To her credit, Claire made up her mind that she was going to be in the midst of history this weekend. Right now she’s at the Lincoln Memorial for the concert. As you see the Lincoln Memorial this weekend, check out 
