Easter Birthday Weekend

I don't know where to start.  "At the beginning," most of my friends would say.

I received a call early this morning and.............................I got the job!  

I start on Wednesday and I will be at the top of the stated salary range (woo!).  I must have done a good job on those tests, eh?  Expectations may be high.

I can't believe I have a job, actually.  I feel as though I've been looking for the One for most of my adult life.

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My friend Claire, a former colleague at the dental office in NYC, came down for Easter weekend.

She arrived late on Thursday night and on Friday we went downtown to see the few remaining cherry blossoms, and when I say few I mean next to none.  Remember the blossoms I captured a couple of weeks ago at the Smithsonian Castle gardens?  They are all gone now!  Even the weeping cherry tree is becoming bereft of blossoms.  And everywhere the blossoms had been there are now budding leaves.

After that, we visited the Freer Gallery next door.  It's a little gem of a place, filled with all sorts of Asian art and antiquities.  Well, not filled so much as tastefully arranged.

Bodhisattvas

Kongorikishi warrior (Japan, 12th-14th century)

A calligraphy hanging with vase, and a Japanese lacquer box with inkstone

Having rabbit radar, I spotted this before entering the room



Singh?





James McNeill Whistler

Whistler's Peacock Room - Fighting Peacocks, and the Princess of the Land of Porcelain

Delicate Egyptian relief

One of my aunts looks like this!

Loggia at the Freer Gallery

Top:  Labor supported by Science and Art

Bottom:  Law supported by Power and Love

Why?  I think that Labor requires science in its conception and art in its execution.  Law needs power in order to be carried out but love to prevent it from becoming oppressive.

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After the Freer we wandered over to the Smithsonian Castle which is also the SI Visitor's Center.

Despite never having stepped foot in America, James Smithson is interred here.  Why he bequeathed his fortune to the people of America for the advancement of knowledge, we may never know.  There is no way in the early 19th century he could foresee that this nascent nation would become a world power and thereby enable a spread of knowledge worldwide.  Think of all the advancements that have come out of the US in the 20th century alone.

A pier table and mirror in the hall where there is an exhibition of about 6 proposals for the new Museum of African American History, including one from Norman Foster



The Great Hall was lined with exquisite glass cases containing iconic American artifacts, from nature to technology

The Washington Monument

A little something for Flighty

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We tried to visit the Sculpture Gardens across the Mall but it was just closing for the evening, so we walked a few blocks to Chinatown

The Chinatown Gate.  Claire noted that, although NYC's Chinatown is much larger, it has no gate

On the way to the restaurant, we stopped in at the Teaism shop next to the teahouse, where the walls were lined with fabric tea boxes, teapots, and teacups

Stained glass at Rosa Mexicano, where we enjoyed a dinner of delights:

1) the best guacamole ever, prepared at the table

2) spicy chicken flautas and crab cakes with mango salsa

3) mini personal pitchers of Sangria

4) 3 types of sorbet, and a tres leches cake covered with soft meringue and topped with a birthday candle!

I was still full more than 3 hours later...

My next post will cover the subtle delights of Saturday, so stay tuned.

NMNH

On we go to the National Museum of Natural History!

But first, I had a great evening on Friday.  I was taken out to U Street, the home of Washington's jazz scene.  We checked out a couple of places, but ended up at Cafe Nema, a cozy, relaxed little place with friendly staff.  There was a good selection of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Somali food.  Most importantly, the band was ablaze - so much energy - they played from the heart.  They're called the Young Lions and have played with Branford Marsalis.  It turns out we were sitting next to the previous mayor (Williams) and his friend, and they dedicated a song to him.

On Sunday, we're going to a desert music concert, so I'll tell you about that too.

Also, I now have my DC driver's license, and was able to use it mere hours later to get into a bar.  They shredded my NYC license in front of me and I said bye bye.  Back home, my roommate said, "Great, now you can drive the car you don't have!"

Actually, I plan to join Zipcars eventually.  Every neighborhood has a fair selection of cars, pickups, SUVs, cabriolets, or station wagons which you can find on a map.  You pay a small yearly fee ($50), receive a proximity card which opens the car you have booked online, and then pay a low hourly ($9-11) fee and can extend your booking via SMS text if needed.  Sounds awesome.  You can rent a Mini Cooper or even a BMW.

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OK, are y'all ready to go to the museum now?  I think we can do this in one post.

The National Museum of Natural History

Ooh look, another rotunda!

There was the usual T rex skeleton in the great hall, and so on.  This little bird fossil was captivating.

There was a temporary exhibition on Africa.  Here two things from Ghana:  a front door, and a fancy coffin, which is like a status symbol.  This one is a KLM jumbo jet.

A plesiosaur and a giant turtle from the Pleistocene Era



Which natural history museum does not have a whale hall?  Here is an ugly bugger, called the Right Whale - because it really is the one that the Inuit whalers meant to catch.

Also, which whale hall does not have an outstanding feature?  This one was that all the wall friezes were video screens of underwater footage.

An amazing show, like that touchable flag display at the American History museum, here is the Story of Earth - projected onto a rotating globe.

Clockwise:  intro > earth's fiery gaseous volcanic birth > the names of the continental plates > following the minor ocean currents using rubber duckies, which as they continued became as tumultuous and water-swept as a van Gogh painting.  The narrator told the story of the development of life on earth, the effect of the water on climate, earthquakes and tsunamis, lightning strikes, hurricanes, volcanoes, the underwater canyons currently being mapped, Pangaea and Panthalassa...

Did you know it takes some of the deepest slowest currents nearly 1,000 years to circle the globe?

Emperor penguins sort of have fur

And a sealion gives a cheeky glance

The stuffed animals at the museum, not being 100 years old, all looked alive to me because their fur and feathers were so fresh.

In the Exploration and Discovery hall, a new species discovered at the Geothermal Vents in the deep sea:  the Yeti Crab, named after the abominable snowman.

The benches lining one wall were inset with nautical knots, a neat detail.



A special exhibition of hundreds of FRESH ORCHIDS detailing Darwin's study of orchid evolution.

North American Plains - a hare, a bison, and by the bison's back foot, a screaming rodent



I have always thought the South African Dik Dik was adorable.  It's hardly bigger than a jack russell terrier and it's teeny weeny hoofs are unreal.

The giraffe becomes one of the most graceless animals when drinking water.

A nectar sipping bat


The gorgeous Arctic Fox in camouflage

It's a good thing my phonecam battery ran out before the Gems and Minerals hall because I would have tried to show you those too.  Had a look at the Hope Diamond and lots of touchable rocks.

NMAH II

Today was very English - grey and overcast, breezy, mild enough to go out with a scarf and gloves but take them off after a few minutes walking.

I walked about 3/4 mile down to Tenleytown to go shopping at Whole Foods, and as I exited the store just the right bus came along.  It's possibly my first bus ride since last time I was here (I tend to avoid buses, unfortunately) but as you know from before, they're easy here because the next intersection is usually announced AND they stop every block and a half so you can't really get lost.

Anyway, I've come to realize I need to re-learn a few southern courtesies.  I've been working on remembering to smile at people, or how to respond to a neighborly exchange.  Well, when I got off the bus, the person in front of me thanked the bus driver, and the person behind me bid her a good evening.  As I walked home, I felt as though I'd been remiss, and am now resolved to fix this.  I'm trying to remember if people say hello when they get on too.

I am no longer in either London or NYC, that's for sure.

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Continuing on from the first part, let us move on to two permanent star exhibitions at the NMAH:

First Ladies at the Smithsonian

The ever-popular and changing First Ladies exhibition at the Smithsonian which holds most of the inaugural gowns.

L, top: Mary Lincoln, 1861

L, bottom: Mrs Warren Harding, 1921

Center: Mamie Eisenhower, 1953
R, top: Martha Washington, 1789

R, bottom: Dolly Madison, 1809 (or maybe Mrs James Monroe, 1817?)

In a case alone, the inaugural gown worn by Helen Taft, 1909

The pale yellow Oleg Cassini gown worn by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 did not show up so well in my photo. There was also Laura Bush's 2001 fuschia gown. Michelle Obama's has not arrived yet.

In the center of one exhibition there was a huge Colonial Massachusetts farmhouse in various stages of "undress" from the layers of wallpaper to the mortise and tenon structural joins and ceiling joists. As you walk around the exhibition viewing objects and events occurring during the house's different historical eras, the room setups change to reflect the style of the day. So, for instance, in the Abolition section opposite the Wedgwood "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?" pendants, the house would show the parlor set up in mid-19th century style with the Bible and abolitionist pamphlets on the table.

In our photo above we see a Colonist's evolution into a Revolutionary. An English settler who becomes a Minuteman to fight for his new country. The ribbonlike textile attached to the sleeve is a length of homemade lace, with the bobbins hanging from it.

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The Star-Spangled Banner

The right side of the above image shows the entrance to the iconic exhibition (no photos allowed), The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem - excellent online exhibition here.

Where do I start with this? It covered the War of 1812, a crucial rite of passage for the young nation seeking credibility and a place on the world political stage.

There was a charred piece of wood from the White House. Here's something I remember from history class. The White House is white because the British tried to burn it down in 1814. After refurbishment, in order to cover up the charring and fire damage it was whitewashed and so it has stayed ever since.

I won't get into the whole story of the war, that could be its own post, except I don't do politics here :)

The Star Spangled Banner, the flag itself, is made of English wool bunting and was sewn by Martha Pickersgill over seven weeks in the summer of 1813 with her daughters and a servant. They were contracted by the Fort and were specialists at making ships' colors and signal flags. At 30 x 42 ft, it was larger than the footprint of the house so the work was moved across the street to a brewery and upon completion was hung on the ramparts of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, an important seaport which was the site of the pivotal battle. The British bombarded the port for 25 hours while the Americans throughout the States held their breath.

Francis Scott Key was watching from aboard a ship a few miles distant. As morning arrived he could see the flag still flying and the British ships withdrawing, the United States having withstood the bombardment.

Inspired by the sight of the flag intact in the sunrise, he penned his famous poem.

The flag remained the property of the family for the next 90 years while the song gained in popularity across the nation, but it was displayed at local celebrations. They lent it to the Smithsonian in 1907 and a few years later officially gifted it to the nation. But the Star Spangled Banner did not become the national anthem until 1931. And before the War of 1812, the flag was not the most iconic symbol of this nation but used mostly to identify ships and forts. During the Revolution 30 years earlier, the major symbols were the eagle and lady Liberty.

The flag is now 10 feet shorter and missing one star, owing to the family giving out cuttings to keepsake collectors, and thus it remains. After a major painstaking preservation and reinforcement project in the late 1990s, it has been held in a special climate-controlled protective display chamber and tilted at a 10-degree angle for both support and visibility.

The most amazing technological feature at the exhibit is the giant interactive table onto which is projected the flag in movable sections, with point and click info boxes. Almost like the Microsoft Touch table. Another fantastic interactive flag is available here.

I was quite touched to imagine how Key must have felt seeing that flag still flying in the morning, and penning his four inspired verses.

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

[...]

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Onto lighter things, I bought a pin for the cherry blossom festival. Difficult to read the card, but it says: The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. (Proceeds go towards the Festival to offer cultural and community-based events that are free and open to the public.)

I also bought a pin of the Great Seal of the United States of America (proceeds go towards the mission of the Smithsonian Institution, "the increase and diffusion of knowledge"). The card says:

"Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were given the task of creating a motto and seal for the Nation by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The official seal was finalized on June 20, 1782. The Great Seal features the American bald eagle as its main element, a symbol that represent the American spirit.

The Eagle breast is a shield made up of thirteen vertical stripes representing the thirteen original States. The Eagle's claws clutch thirteen arrows in one and an olive branch in the other. The banner in the Eagle's beak is inscribed with E pluribus unum, which means "out of many, one".

A huge vat of marbles at the museum shop, thus ending on a fun note :)

NMAH I

On Thursday, I went to the National Museum of American History.

Well, first I went to a pre-interview test, but let's just say...have you ever walked into a place and wanted to walk right back out before anyone noticed you'd arrived?  Yeah, it was like that.

But it was a gorgeous day, around 10C/51F with dazzling sun and a mild breeze, so I decided that rather than going home, I'd stick around downtown.  Deciding to skip the metro, I was lost around Dupont Circle for nearly half an hour wondering which way to go and not remembering which had been the correct way to my original destination for when (if?) I go back next week for the interview.

I waited for a bus for a few minutes but I have no patience for that kind of thing, so I used my feet instead, which feels much more productive.  In fact, from leaving home to returning at night, I walked a total of 6 miles on this day.

I headed south a little too soon so ended up at the western end of the Mall, to the west of the Washington Memorial.  Needing a little rest, I sat at a bench in Constitution Gardens overlooking the water.  I felt SO HAPPY in the moment that I sent a picture message entitled "Peace" to my dear friends Diva, Pandy, and Amy.  Diva enjoyed it so much that she blogged about it, and sent me a return image of her own "Peace"!  Indeed I agree with her in that the wonder of modern technology allowing you to share special moments with your friends thousands of miles away can be quite miraculous.

As soon as I'd texted them, a couple of ducks came waddling over, female in the lead, male bringing up the rear just like a couple going shopping.  She stood there quietly pleading for some lunch while her hubby stayed in the background preening.  Craning her neck as high as she could and peering up at my lap with her big brown eyes, she'd look down from time to time to inspect the floor or nibble my toe, convinced I had a sandwich and insisting I could share it with her.  I leaned over, talking to her and showing her my empty hands, and I am sure people walking past thought I was off my rocker.

Hello there, large two-legged being.

Do you have any lunch?

I'll wait.

Hm, your toe looks tasty.

The Canada geese have been arriving over the past weeks, and are out in full force grazing on the open green spaces.

Looking West on the Mall


Looking East on the Mall

By the time I finish blogging about all these museums, you will know what's at all the Washington DC compass points!

The splendid Environmental Protection Agency sits across the road from the Museum of American History.

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Soon I was at the museum learning all about American history and it brought all that book-larnin' to life for me.

The collections and exhibitions encompass so many interesting things such as:

Penicillin

Plastics

Bomb shelters

The Pill

Nuclear power and the Manhattan Project

Laser

The 1950s middle class housing boom

Julia Child's Kitchen (she was the American Fanny Craddock/Delia Smith)

DNA splicing

The patented DuPont Oncomouse (the first patented animal developed to receive the cancer gene for research)

Oil-eating bacteria

The Texas Supercollider

CFCs and the Ozone Layer

Colonial life

Abolitionists

Immigrant workers

Wartime homemaking

L, top:  A Renaissance automaton, the Walking Monk.  When wound up, he rolls forward turning his head from side to side, opening his mouth, rolling his eyes, and beating his hand on his chest while holding a rosary with the other.  There was a video showing a complete version in robes and church paraphernalia.

L, bottom:  An early 20th century chemical laboratory

Center:  "Stanley" won the DARPA Challenge 2005, one of many robotic cars competing to make their own driving decisions.  In case of emergency, they can be overriden to go remote control.

R:  A small cross-section of the Texas Superconducting Supercollider, a giant project which Congress closed down in 1993 but which was supposed to be the largest atom smasher in the world.  It has now been replaced by CERN underneath Switzerland/France.

Let me know if you're interested in finding out what exactly is accomplished by smashing atoms.  I could rustle up a blog post about it...

Or anything else.  Please cast a vote for what you would like to read about.

FLIGHTY, the following is especially for you, part of one of those neat little glass cases stuffed full of little accoutrements, the best snapshot of an era.

WWII Ration Book.  One coupon for meat, fats, fish, and cheeses.  Another for 5 lbs of sugar.  There were also mileage and gas coupons for motorists.

In the next installment, we will learn about the Star Spangled Banner and the First Ladies' gowns.