Tuesday, April 30, 2002 ::: I was at the gym last night and saw part of frontier house, where several families have opted live just like it was 1883, and experience all the pains and hardships of frontier life. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the whole episode, but was hoping they'd get to the parts where everyone starts complaining. I guess this is the american take on 1900 house, where I recall all the women tired of living in a world where it takes a whole day of beating clothes against a metal board to get them only half-clean, and as a consequence became suffragists. And hired a maid.
Wednesday, April 24, 2002 ::: I saw sunset boulevard, which I thought a little overblown, as if it were The Worst Thing Ever to be a kept man. maybe in 1950 it was. But I do like some of billy wilder's other films, especially some like it hot and the apartment.
Monday, April 22, 2002 ::: I have been reading quite an amazing book, Jeb and Dash, a diary of a gay man and his life in washington between the wars. There is a lot to sympathize with, frustrated ambitions in writing and love affairs which always seem to sour at their brightest moments. The portrait of the city and the culture at the time I find quite fascinating, as well as Jeb's drift from his conservative southern family's politics towards things more progressive. They were particularly horrified by his wearing a black tie in mourning for sacco and vanzetti's execution.
Saturday, April 20, 2002 ::: I recently had the chance to catch up on reading my new yorker magazines, and there were some good articles in there - an excellent article by malcom gladwell entitled the social life of paper, which was also a book review for the myth of the paperless office, which is now on my reading list. Gladwell's writing is superb as usual, and puts other reviews to shame.
I also noticed that the person on the cover of the march 18, 2002 issue is wearing pikachu pelts.
Friday, April 19, 2002 ::: Speaking of The New Yorker, they've put up a profile of Hugo Chavez from their archives, and I remember what a fascinating portrait it was.
Tuesday, April 16, 2002 ::: 'Asked whether the administration now recognizes Mr. Chávez as Venezuela's legitimate president, one administration official replied, "He was democratically elected," then added, "Legitimacy is something that is conferred not just by a majority of the voters, however."'
That was a quote from this article in today's new york times. At first, I thought that the Bush Administration, while conservative in its foreign policy, was not going to be stupid. But now not only are they doing stupid things, they are following up by saying even stupider things.
Monday, April 15, 2002 ::: So I've been reading about some more Washington twenties fixtures, since I finished with Florence Harding. I am on to her arch-nemesis, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Alice was, it seems, a wild, uncontrollable youth and continued to be quite a vivid character throughout her life, and she lived just a few blocks away from my apartment. Oh, and this is the book I'm reading about her, although there seem to be a number of others around, but they were not at the library.
ready-made. Forget halfhearted spice racks, these people are seriously heavy-duty. Issue No. 1 I recommend especially, as the second has more features than actual things to make and do.
today's shopping lessons: nice cheap shoes are very hard to find. expensive shower curtains all look like they've been stolen from a new orleans bordello, but cheaps ones are either nicely understated or outrageously fun, and so I got one with some nice fish patterns. The old curtain was getting kind of scary and something just had to be done about it.
Thursday, April 11, 2002 ::: So I didn't really talk about my trip to new york. It was really quite nice. I visited the new york historical society, which has quite a collection of schlocky washingtoniana and nineteenth century board games, and did plenty of shopping, and saw the lights, which are quite beautiful - they really appear as they did in the original design - two pillars of light that seem to go on up forever.
Monday, April 08, 2002 ::: I had often wondered, where does kitty litter come from? does it fall from the sky like manna in some part of the world, to be gathered by wandering nomadic peoples, and slowly make its way by caravan and ship to our fair american shores? Is it manufactured by some chic german factory, running along an assembly line like clockwork? No, it lies beneath the earth, like gray, crumbly gold. And this mine could be coming to a suburb like yours. Sometimes the truth ain't pretty, folks.
This lego builder is incredibly incredibly distracting, and loads of fun. It takes a minute or two to figure out how the 3-d elements work, but after that it's pretty much clean sailing. via felafel.
less frequently seen muppets, via hit or miss. It seems that statler and waldorf have been enjoying a more prominent role in popular culture of late, or at least they seem to be referred to in various articles, websites and the like that I have been reading in the last few weeks or so. They do have a certain gruff charm.
Some very nice pictures of wtc lights, via catherine's pita via rion. I should mention that I plan to go to nyc this weekend (visiting my sister and brother-in-law), and among other things, visit century 21 now that it's open again. Oh, and probably hit williamsburg and a few other spots. really, anything that would be recommended and not mobbed with tourists, and even a few places that are.
