A front seat at the polar vortex
Unexpected views of the Potomac River freezing over during a polar vortex.
All posts filed under: Random DJB Thoughts
This is where I put anything that is not easily categorized…
Just What is the BBVA Compass Bowl?
I called my father – the long-suffering Vanderbilt alum – earlier today to celebrate the fact that the Commodores were in their third straight post-season bowl game. I believe I noted that the “end of the world was near.” For a family that grew up watching Vanderbilt football, having a successful football program does bring worries about the balance of nature being seriously out-of-whack. My father always referenced the 1945 Alabama vs. Vanderbilt game as typical of what a school that – how shall we say this delicately – cared somewhat more about academics than the rest of its Southeastern Conference brethren had to deal with on a season-by-season basis. According to family lore, Alabama had stockpiled players in ROTC in 1945 as the war effort was winding down. The result: a 71-0 shellacking. To this day, I have never heard my father root for the Crimson Tide. (For those who join us in our feelings toward Alabama football, I recommend Brian Phillips’ hilarious take on Nick Saban’s Nightmare following the Tide’s “upset” loss to …
Farewell 2013; Hello 2014
It is the season for musing on the year that is rapidly passing away and making resolutions for the year ahead. I tend to use this blog to reflect on items throughout the year (see – among many others – thoughts on the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, preseason baseball, wonderful European travel, fathers, live music set in the midst of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, “stay-cations”, holiday weekends, our year in photos, and 21st birthday celebrations.) So I have only one additional reflection today…but I have several resolutions. I’ve found that when I call out my resolutions publicly, I tend to keep them. (Funny how that works!) But first, let’s look back. I am a lucky man. The picture above pretty much explains it all. As Claire and Andrew have passed significant life milestones, I have often written about my wonderful children. They aren’t perfect, but they do give me a great deal of pleasure (when they aren’t driving me crazy. Have you seen those rooms!?!) However, I’ve been reminded over this holiday season how lucky …
Happy 21st, Claire and Andrew!
A picture from each year of the 21 remarkable years since Claire and Andrew entered our lives.
A Musical Weekend
Messiah. Just a mention of the name of the famous Handel oratorio this time of year brings up thoughts of Advent. So it was only fitting that we settled in at the beautiful First Church of Christ Scientist in Providence on Friday evening for the first of two performances of this perennial favorite on our weekend calendar. Candice and I are in Providence to visit with Andrew and to hear him sing with both the University Chorus and the Brown Madrigal singers. Friday evening’s performance of Messiah was a double bonus, in that this was a “bring your own score” community sing-a-long. It has been a long time since I sang in a regular performance of Messiah, but I do own a score and brought it along for the evening. Some choruses were like riding a bicycle – you never forget. Others…well, I decided not to inflict pain on those around me and quickly dropped out of those where my muscle memory wasn’t very good. Andrew, as you already knew, did a much better job with …
From the Bookshelf
Despite a busy fall schedule of work and travel, I’ve managed to finish several books that have sat on my bookshelf for various periods of time. Some are hot off the press, others have been waiting for me to pick them up for more months than I care to admit. All were worth reading, and two were terrific finds. So here are a few thoughts on a season’s worth of reading – beginning with the one I finished earlier this week, and working backwards from there. Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson. This new work on the Middle East of World War I falls in the “terrific finds” category. Obviously much has been written about the exploits of T.E. Lawrence – the famous “Lawrence of Arabia.” In this book, however, the veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson weaves in Lawrence’s story with those of three spies from the era (German Curt Prüfer, American – and Standard Oil employee – William Yale, and Zionist Aaron …
Our year in photos – 2013
2013 saw Andrew and Claire pass the halfway point of their college years, with all that brings.
Community Pride—With Meaning
These are words you don’t often hear in today’s America: “We would like to see this community come to be not the cheapest in America, but the very best community of its size in the country.” Last week I was in Indiana for the National Preservation Conference – the National Trust’s annual gathering of preservationists from around the country. I’ve been in this field for quite some time, and this year marked my 37th conference. I’ve seen and heard a great deal at these sessions . . . but I can’t recall how long it has been since I was as moved as I was by Will Miller’s closing remarks at last Saturday’s luncheon in Columbus, Indiana. The story of how industrialist J. Irwin Miller and the Cummins Engine Foundation came to pay the architectural fees for public buildings designed by world-class architects has been told countless times. Architecture buffs and cultural travelers now flock to Columbus by the millions annually to see some 70 modernist buildings along with a Victorian Main Street and historic …
No No-No, But Still A Special Night
Well, that was a pretty special way to end Round One. Justin Verlander twirls a gem in the last game of the 2013 Division Series that included massive blow-outs, improbable walk-off wins, and one of the best days of baseball ever. Verlander must salivate when he can close out a series against the Oakland A’s. For this year’s elimination game, he throws a no-hitter through 6 2/3’s innings, only to see it broken up by Yoenis Céspedes. (I mention Yoenis Céspedes just because I love writing “Yoenis Céspedes”…with apologies to Gail Collins.) But Verlander’s classic – supported by a surprise dinger from the injured Miguel Cabrera who, with only one home run in September, showed up in time in October to help the Tigers win the series – was just the latest in a good round of games. As the Nats learned last year, momentum can change quickly in these short five-game series. Oakland looked like everything was going its way this year, until it didn’t. Ditto for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were rolling until …
For the Love of the Music
The last time I heard John Jorgenson play, it was this past summer under a beautiful Shenandoah Valley sky, where his quintet awed us all with a dazzling set of gypsy jazz. Tonight, Jorgenson was back – this time at the Institute of Musical Traditions – playing a dazzling set of bluegrass. And all this from one of the great Telecaster masters of his generation, who once spent six years on the road with Elton John. It boggles the mind to think one man can switch so effortlessly between technically difficult genres and still make great music. Thank God Sir Elton paid him the big bucks so he can now play all the music he loves. Jorgenson was clearly having a good time tonight, singing and playing bluegrass with singer-songwriter-guitarist Jon Randall and bassist Mark Fain – both from Nashville – and his old California buddy – and west coast bluegrass/roots music legend – Herb Pedersen. The band definitely had the “west coast bluegrass” sound going – with smooth harmony singing (minus the twang) and …
MORE TO COME... 