Friday night the search for a permanent synagogue to attend continued at the Historic 6th & I St Shul. A plethora of Clinton pictures adorned the lower level, but these did not make the orthodox service more palatable. Since they split the men and the women (using a short barrier called a machitza) this was clearly not an option for a long-term community. I prefer women and men treated equally, thanks.
Went over to Sean and Nick's to play board games. I brought "The Perfect Ten," a cross between MasterMind a Trivial Pursuit, which was a birthday gift from my roomie. Friday was my first attempt at playing it, and while it was somewhat fun, the poorly shaded colors were quite the hindrance for my color-blind self. We moved on, with more success, to Turbo Cranium.
Saturday started at the Del Rey Dreamery where Jen (who is sadly leaving The Mellman Group), her boy Erich, Kim, and I exchanged presents and delighted in custard. Custard was followed by Fairfax Ice Arena public skate and Einstein Bro's bagels for lunch.
What made Saturday even better was watching the newly-released, extended version of RotK at Leslie's house. What a great movie. Wonderful scences featuring the Witch-King, Saruman, Faramir, Grima, Eomer/Eowyn, and the Mouth of Sauron were added to this edition. I made it two-thirds of the way through the movie before I had a single complaint: the houses of healing scenes leave book afficionados wanting. The HoH is one of the most memorable parts (at least for me) of Tolkien's RotK, and for the movie to brush right over it is a disappointment.
Had lunch Sunday with the family, including my brother, who is back from MIT (but sick with a fever). The afternoon included Philosopher's Club where the hostess and I (who were unfortunately the only two participants this week) discussed The Second Sex and a host of issues revolving around how much the scientific process is influenced by contemporary, popular metaphysical approaches (eg, postmodernism).
Sunday night I caught the tail end of the movie "40 Days and 40 Nights" on Comedy Central. The film seemed decent until the rape scene, which the producers (1) didn't acknowledge as rape, and (2) blamed the victim. Perhaps the filmmakers didn't want to accuse of woman of raping a man, but at least the majority of IMDB commenters agree with me.
Today, for the first time, I test drove a Segway! I was walking the halls of the Georgetown mall, looking for a present for my recommendation-writing boss, when I noticed a store with a lot of free space. Investigating further, I discovered that they were selling Segways and offering test rides for those that would sign wavers. Steering, which you accomplish by twisting the left handlebar, is quite fun and the Segway does respond to your slightest body movements. My conclusion: Dean Kamen's invention is the coolest, completely impractical devices I've ever seen.
And tonight I got the laundry machine card reader to accept a taped-up five dollar bill...ah, it's the little things in life.
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