June 2006 Archives

Today we were off to the English countryside. First stop: Stonehenge. The spot was picked out as a spiritual center over 5,000 years ago, and the structure was constructed over thousands of years. What I found surprising, other than the fact that pre-historic peoples were able to construct such a monument, was that construction continued for such a long time. Often, after a change of power, the new rulers will destroy the symbols of the old regime's power (for a recent example, see the statue of Saddam). But, either no such change of power occurred (unlikely) or everyone agreed that Stonehenge was worth building. I, for one, am grateful for such a prodigious consensus.

The next stop was Oxford, which besides housing one of the planet's most prestigious universities, is also a quaint small town. There were many hidden alleys, and cute shops. We founds a fabulous ice cream parlor, which was a boon given our poor choice of establishments for dinner. Unfortunately, the Great Hall and the Chapel of Christ's College were both closed when we arrived, but I think we saw enough. (The Great Hall is where they film the Hogwarts dining hall scenes, but we actually happened upon another filming location from PoA...you'll have to wait for the photos to find out where.)

Tomorrow's agenda includes Hyde Park, the Parliament, the British Museum, and Titus Andronicus at The Globe.

Greetings from England. I'm taking a vacation from the stressful world of procrastinating on graduate school projects to visit the continent of Europe for the first time. The plan is to spend 4 days in London with Janeite, then a week in Spain with Elf, rejoin Janeite in London for a day, before heading back to the States. I've only spent a day here, and I'm struck by how similar London is to Hong Kong, albeit with the notable exception of not smelling nearly as bad. The weather here is beautiful, unlike the DC area, where it is still raining cats and dogs apparently.

That east coast torrential rain somewhat dampened my veggie-fest on Monday. I was in DC celebrating the 10-year anniversary of becoming a vegetarian, and I was rewarded with a four-day-long off-and-on downpour that kept a third of my guests at home, and three of them bailing out their basements. Yuck. But, the food was still delicious (we ate at Nirvana on K St) and the conversation jovial---though our clothes a bit soggy. Thanks to all who braved the storm to attend!

Well, I must be off to bed as I have a lot of sleep to catch up on. Our flight here traversed the night of the 27th, yet I only got about three hours of sleep. Will need to rest up if I'm going to solve the mystery of Stonehenge tomorrow.

Cheers!

How about that bizarre World Cup game yesterday? I'd say the US was robbed of a victory by the ref (we tied in the end 1-1), but we continued to seem incapable of putting the ball in the back of the net. For you non-WC fans: to advance, the U.S. needs to beat Ghana in combination with either an Italy win over the Czech Republic or a Czech blowout victory.

On the home front, DC United lost a late lead for the second game in a row -- this time agains the revolution. After looking at the highlights, New England certainly deserved the point, as they created a lot of chances. And, the late, game-tying goal by Dorman was so pretty that it could easily end up being the goal of the week. But,all-in-all, a very frustrating day for me soccer-wise.

However, the most exciting part of the day was traveling to Atlantic City to meet up with Samidh, Seth, and Kevin. We walked the long boardwalk, where I got to experience first-hand several places mentioned in Monopoly. After searching for a reasonably-priced buffet, we found one, but unfortunately it served terrible vegetarian food. Basically, I was subsidizing all of the carnivors who eat steak and lobster. The dessert (peach cobbler a la mode) was decent though.

Next, we headed over to a casino to gamble, and from here on I'll mask their names so they aren't embarrassed by the amount of money they lost. Person A immediately lost $100 on roullete. We then found a "double attack" black jack table where Person B lost $60 and I lost $20. All of this occurred without us winning a penny at any time. Person C played $100 at black jack straight up, won a couple times, but ended up blowing the whole wad. After Person A lost another $20 on roulette, we were pretty dejected and ready to leave.

But, I had $5 I wanted to play on a slot machine. I had to look around for the quarter slots, but found a Monopoly slot machine. Hey, if I could win this game as a kid (the board game version), why not as slots at a casino? I won a couple small amounts immediately, and since I was feeling lucky, I bet 4 credits ($1) on a single pull.... First line: blank. Second line: also blank. At this point I thought I had thrown away my winnings, but the third line was Uncle Pennybags, which immediately paid $12.50, and lit up this odd "Monopoly Bonus" button. After hitting the button four times, with each hit paying off a different amount, I ended up with ... $47.25! Pretty impressive rate of return for a $5 bet :) Of course, if I factor in my blackjack losses, parking and gas costs, I just about broke even for the evening. But that's a win when you go to Atlantic City in my book!

Three reviews below, but first, a rant: Why is this country still sexist when it comes to women and baking/cooking? I brought home-made cookies to our softball game yesterday, but before I had time to announce their presence I had to take the field for batting practice. Someone on the sideline noticed the batch of chocolate chip cookies and immediately asked our first basemen, the only woman on the team, whether she brought them. Obviously, no guy would be competent enough to bake cookies.

I readily acknowledge that with some attribute differences (e.g., height, longevity, strength, endurance) exist on average between the sexes. But I can't for the life of me figure out what part of pre-heating an oven, measuring ingredients, using a mixer, and setting an oven timer people believe women are predisposed to. And if you want to go down the "society pushes women to cook more" route, I'd like to point out that the feminist revolution ebbed and waned over 30 years ago, well before anyone on my softball team was born.

And this strange bias seems to afflict both men and women, as last year's TMG bake-off's demonstrated. Several female colleagues commented how great it was that so many of us men entered dishes in the bake-off. Yes, it was such a struggle to overcome our Y-chromosome handicap.

Whatever the cause of this misperception, I'd just like to go on the record strongly opposing the belief that only women bake. In fact, I have a chocolate cheesecake in the fridge right now. Oh, and while we're disposing of myths, let me add that our first baseman has the highest batting average on the team :)

Below are reivews of A Praire Home Companion, the New York Museum of Natural History, and the new Pride and Prejudice movie.

A Prairie Home Companion

I saw PHC with Samidh and Monica's Kevin in NYC last weekend. My reaction to the movie was exactly the same reaction I have when I listen to the radio show: it's not as funny as I expect it to be. Surprisingly, the movie has a semblance of a plot, though not a particularly good one, but at least it holds the disparate radio show acts together. I found it odd that Guy Noir was the main character; perhaps if Kevin Kline has made the role believable I wouldn't have minded as much. The music is great, and the cast is all-star, though this movie doesn't ask too much of their talents. If you're a die-hard PHC fan, I don't have to tell you to go see this movie; if you're not, I'd estimate that PHC is worth $6 of your $10 movie ticket.

The New York Museum of Natural History

I just felt the need to say that the most interactive part of this museum is the automated ticket machine in the front lobby. Naomi and I toured the museum during my aforementioned trip into the city. And while she was perfectly content with the exhibits, I must say that I've been spoiled by the newfangled museums in DC such as the Air and Space Museum, the Spy Museum, and the Science Center. Those places know how to make learning more than staring at tableaus. Perhaps my expectations were too high, as many people I know gave the museum rave reviews. And while it covered a wide range of topics from African garments to the Big Bang, the presentation left me underwhelmed.

I can only hope that the British Museum, which I'll be visiting in a couple weeks (!), will be much better. Of course seeing the Rosetta Stone will probably trump all other considerations.

Pride and Prejudice

The movie stays reasonably true to the book--the important differences in this version manifest themselves through the characters. From best to worst (via the five daughter rating system).

Mr Collins (5/5 daughters): The old black-and-white version (as well as the A&E version according to Janeite) depicts the role of Mr Collins as an over-the-top, Oscar Wildesque character. In these older versions (and to an extent, in the book), Mr Collins acts so improrietously that one finds it difficult to understand why Mr Collins doesn't realize that he's making a fool of himself. However, director Joe Wright envisions an understated Mr Collins, in which Mr Collins tries so hard to fit it that he--simultaneously--believes he is successful and, in reality, misses the mark to an embarassing degree.

Mr Bennett (4/5 daughters): Donald Sutherland plays the part of Mr Bennet sublimely, with the correct mix of detachment and concern. As a side note, I find it odd how Mr Sutherland seemingly hasn't aged since playing the role of the pot-loving professor in over 25 years ago animal house.

Mr Bingley (3/5 daughters): He is portrayed as a dope, which I guess makes being tricked by his sister and best friend more believable. And I don't mind when guys who go for the prettiest girl over the cleverest are depicted in a negative light. Simon Woods' acting, though, was a bit strained.

Jane, Lydia, Mrs Bennet, Kitty: Nothing stood out.

Mary (2/5 daughters): On the plus side, Mary is protrayed as quite the nerd. She doesn't get many mentions in the text, so it was nice to see them at least make her character one-dimensional. But, I give this portrayal negative marks for personal reasons -- Mary-the-nerd is looked upon with scorn and ridicule, and rather than ignoring her detractors, she breaks down and sobs. Now what kind of role model is that for young girls who want to be the smartest instead of the prettiest? To an extent this interaction is a result of the time period the book is written in, but the filmmaker updated other parts of the story (made it a kissing book!)--I guess us nerds are not worthy enough for renovation.

Charlotte Lucas (1/5 daughters): Am i the only one who thinks that Charlotte's a lesbian? Apparently not, but that didn't stop this cinematic version from portraying Charlotte as a craven, pathetic loser who marries beneath her because she sees herself as too old and too plain for anyone reasonable. Did they even read the Charlotte Lucas scene?! Charlotte marries for pragmatic and stoic reasons, not because she gives into her own fears. As Janeite noted, they even gave one of Lizzy's lines to Charlotte just to make Miss Lucas seem more superficial and agrestic. Bastards.

I seem to have left out Lizzy and Darcy...well, they're minor characters anyway ;)

Spent the weekend in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire for a Dean-NH campaign staffer reunion. Though it rained all weekend, that didn't spoil our fun; I had a grand time catching up with everyone. My ex-coworkers drank so much beer -- I felt bad for the Moosilauke Lodge staff who had to clean up after us. Events included: board games (I lost at scrabble twice), yoga, a slideshow, sing-a-longs, skits, improv (I was a third of an Oracle), and grand theft auto of the bulldozer variety. And of course it wouldn't be a Dean event if there weren't some serious glogging. (Also: Taimsesasta has a great post on the event.)

On the way back from the UV, us Deaniacs threw a event for ex-Dean supporters in Manch-Vegas. I got to see my old campaign mom, who is doing fabulously. In her late 70's, she's still getting more action than I am ;)

Trveling from NH to MA, I stopped by my brother's new abode and helped him carry and build his new desk from Ikea. He's living with three women (one being his SO), which should be an interesting experiene. My bro's always been a very tidy person, so I don't think he'll have much of a problem.

That's all for tonight. Looks like the NetRoots got their (our?) first primary win with Tester in MT. I'll be refreshing CA-50 results with the rest of y'all until late tonight.

Update: Well, Busby was a bit of a dissapointment, though expected. (Janeite and SethBH can both confirm that I predicted a 4-point margin of loss -- exactly what it ended up being.)

Regarding the Dean Reunion, I've posted the lyrics to the hilarious Keene sing-a-long below.