Happy 100th, Julia Child

Julia in her kitchen

Before there was Emeril, before there were Iron Chefs, before there was a Food Network, there was Julia Child, the gracious grandmother of Americans' fascination with fine cuisine and one of the most popular celebrities of her era.

If Child, who died in 2004 at the age of 91, were alive, she would have celebrated her 100th anniversary today. And to celebrate that milestone, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, unveiled a special Child exhibition that includes the completely restored kitchen of her Cambridge, Massachusetts home.

Child's love of food and cooking really began during World War II when, as a member of the OSS (a precursor of the CIA) she lived in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and China and began sampling their dishes. In 1948, she and her husband Paul moved to Paris. "As soon as we got over there and I tasted the food, I couldn't get over it," she once told an interviewer.

Paul encouraged Julia to enroll in the elite Cordon Bleu cooking school. She was so impressed with French food and the French way of cooking that she wanted to write a cookbook encouraging Americans to think about cooking the way the French did. The result was Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the 1st of 14 cookbooks she would write during her long career. That book changed the way cookbooks were written. Previous cookbooks had basically been compendiums of traditional recipes that were simple lists of measurements and some general instructions. Child opted to offer a complete explanation of what to do, tool-by-tool and step-by-step.

In 1962, Child debuted on her 1st cooking show on PBS entitled The French Chef. That show would run for 10 years. She would star in various cooking shows and specials until she retired from TV a few years before her death. Viewers were drawn to Child as much by her sense of humor as they were her cooking prowess. Her message was simple - she wanted people to view cooking not as a chore, but as an immense pleasure and a true, creative outlet.

While dozens of visitors to the Child exhibit crowded around a large screen to watch segments from her popular shows today, others peered through the glass protecting her kitchen. The kitchen represents more than 50 years of cooking history, as tools from the 1940s hang next to ones from 2001, the year she donated her kitchen to the Smithsonian.

The restored kitchen and Child's contributions to the world of cooking will eventually serve as an anchor for the new section Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000 that the museum plans to open in November of this year.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
What better way to continue to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Child after our Smithsonian visit than by heading to one of the top French  bistros in D.C. for lunch? Our choice was made even easier by the fact that Washington is also celebrating one of its two annual Restaurant Weeks and the Bistro Bis (under the direction of Chef Jeff Buben, also head of the marvelous Southern-themed Vidalia here in D.C.) was offering a special 3-course $20.12 lunch menu. So what did I have, you ask? The appetizer - Pate de Campagne (country-style pork pate with mesclun salad, pistachios, toasted baguettes, and mustard sauce. The entree - Porc Toulousienne (honey-glazed pork belly with sweet corn, pearl onion, and heirloom bean ragu. Dessert - Gatea Tirimasu (coffee genoise layered with bavarian mascarpone cream and mocha sauce). Was it good, you ask? I think I'll let the before and after pictures of my dessert dish answer that.

Dessert: The before ...

... and the after.

Scenes from an Outdoor Screen

For those who came of  age between the late 1940s and the mid 1970s, the drive-in theater was often a place to be. Youngsters in their pajamas found it fun to take in a movie with their family before falling asleep. Teenagers loved the drive-ins, albeit less for the movies than as a perfect place to practice night moves on the opposite sex. Meanwhile, the few oldsters in their cars struggled to hear the dialog on the tiny, tinny single metal speakers attached to the drivers side windows of their Ford or Chevy station wagons.

But no matter what the reason, there was something truly cool about watching a film on a giant outdoor screen. But several changes conspired to bring about the death of the drive-in. On the economic side, land prices became too high to continue to use valuable real estate for what was essentially a warm-weather only business. At the same time, the advent of color television, followed by the introduction of VCRs and video rentals contributed to the downfall. By the late 1980s, only a handful of what were once more than 4,000 drive-ins nationwide remained in operation.

But as the 21st century dawned, a new type of outdoor theater blossomed. While the drive-ins were mostly situated in suburban or rural areas, the new outdoor films offered an urban experience. Utilizing names like "Screen on the Green," neighborhoods in cities around America began showing once-a-week films in the summer. Technology allowed for giant, collapsible screens and state of the art sound speakers that could be installed and taken down quickly. And although the drive-ins had always been cheap entertainment, the city screens were an even better value - they were free.

Here's a look at the Crystal Screen setting

For the past 6 years, our neighborhood of Crystal City has been offering such films. The screen is set up in a large plaza between 2 high-rise office buildings every Monday night for 13 weeks. Mobile food trucks replace the old concession stands for hungry movie goers. Some sites use porta-potties, but in upscale Crystal City an adjacent Marriott provided that bathroom service.

So last night Judy and I grabbed a blanket and walked less than a block to join hundreds of our neighbors at this week's Crystal Screen presentation. Like many of the community screenings, Crystal Screen shows a series of movies with a theme, which this year is RomCom (or chick flicks as they are commonly called). Tonight's choice was the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere classic of that genre Pretty Woman. When we moved to Crystal City last year, we vowed to attend at least one showing a season. Last year's theme had been By The Numbers (each of the titles offered had a number in its title) and our choice was 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Like many of the other screenings, Crystal Screen is sponsored by a business or government organization, in this case the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) to promote community growth. At the end of each season, residents are allowed to vote on next year's movies either at the Bell Street movie site or on-line. The 2013 season will feature Blockbusters. To see what choices are being considered, you can click here for the voting list.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

As soon at this year's Crystal Screen offerings were released, I knew we would be attending Pretty Woman, which is one of my wife Judy's 2 favorite romantic comedies, the other being Dirty Dancing. Fortunately, while they aren't my favorites, I can watch both movies. Interesting, last night I found Pretty Woman taking on a different motif in light of this year's presidential race. For those of you who have never seen the film or need a plot refresher, in the modern version of the Cinderella story, Richard Gere stars as a cold, extremely wealthy business tycoon who finds true love with a lovely and loving prostitute portrayed by Julia Roberts. In the movie, Gere's character buys businesses, breaks them into parts, and sells off the parts for much more money than the whole could ever bring (Sound like any GOP presidential candidate we know, Mr. Romney)? By the end of the film, Gere's character has found his heart in both business and love. Of course it's only a reworking of a fairy tale, but I wonder if Romney could have such a revelation if he is elected president? Anybody know what Julia Roberts is doing for the next 4 years?

Trigger Hippy at the Hamilton

Trigger Hippy live on the Hamilton stage

Some singers spend their entire career singing with one band. And then there is Joan Osborne, whose style is reborn virtually every time she takes to performing live. There is the Joan Osborne who toured behind her smash hit "If God Was One of Us." There is the Joan Osborne, who fronted the Detroit's Funk Brothers with such Motown classics as "Heat Wave" and "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" There is the Joan Osborne who sits in with The Dead and its various offshoots as a guest vocalist. There is the Joan Osborne who heads out for nights of torch songs with just her long-time keyboard accompanist. There is the blues and soul belter Joan Osborne who recently toured in support of her latest CD Bring It on Home. And then there is the Joan Osborne who last night teamed with singer songwriter Jackie Greene to provide the vocal power for the soul-jam quintet Trigger Hippy at the Hamilton Live here.

In addition to Greene and Osborne, the superstar side project includes Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, bassist Nick Favorik,and new guitarist Tom Bukovac.

It didn't take the group long to pack a specially designed dance floor right in front of the stage. Most of the original songs were penned by Greene, who shuttled among his guitar, Hammond B-3, and Steinway piano depending upon the tune. While Osborne and Favorik provided a soulful, rhythmic bottom, Greene and Favorik produced a number of guitar interweavings worthy of double guitar bands such as The Stones, the Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Widespread Panic.

The night's set list

For her part, when she wasn't offering her always powerful vocals, Osborne paced the stage, leaning on the instrumentalists, dancing, swaying seductively in time, or further driving the beat with her tambourine.

While the 90-minute set provided a showcase for Trigger Hippy originals like "Snatchin' in Back," "99 Pounds," and "Tennessee Mud," an extended cover of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down" with Greene and Osborne reprising the Lennon/McCartney harmonies was a tasteful  highlight.

The intimate club setting provided a perfect opportunity for the band to interact with the crowd, especially Osborne whose remarks ranged  from "we're perfect for relieving all the political pressure of DC" to a call "Are there any good men out there?" She also danced with crowd members from the stage and led the audience in a sultry rendition of the birthday song for a fan celebrating her special day.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

Joan Osborne

Grace Potter

For a few years now, Joan Osborne and Grace Potter, the leader of the jam-band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been waging a see-saw battle for the title of my favorite female rock singer. Ironically, both Osborne and Potter were performing on DC stages last night. Potter and her band were opening for the Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw Brothers of the Sun show at Fed-Ex field. The decision to go with Osborne over Potter last night was easy. First, Osborne was on an intimate stage, while Potter would be prancing on a far-away stadium stage. Osborne would be performing a full set, while Potter and the Nocturnals would be limited to 35 minutes as one of 2 opening acts. Perhaps the main tipping point was cost - Trigger Hippy, $25 for stage side, McGraw/Chesney topped out at $235.

The Artist as Voyeur: Hopper and Hitchcock

Could this be a Hopper house?

From ominous, billowing curtains to the light and dark shadows of deserted city streets, painter Edward Hopper and film director Alfred Hitchcock, both solitary children who grew up to explore the alienation and loneliness inherent in living in modern times, employed many of the same visual techniques in their art. 

The shared concerns and recurring motifs of  Hopper and Hitchcock were the subject of the lecture Spectatorship and Voyeurism in the Art of Edward Hopper and Alfred Hitchcock delivered at the National Gallery of Art by lecturer David Gariff. The lecture was part of a series celebrating the art and times of George Bellows, one of the featured artists at the Gallery this summer.

Gariff said Hitchcock made it clear that he included Hopper, most known for his painting Night Hawks, as one of his most important influences. In fact, Hitchcock called Hopper one of his 2 favorite American painters.

"It was a 2-way street," Gariff said. "Hitchcock wasn't only looking at Hopper; Hopper was looking at Hitchcock."

When Hopper felt stymied in his creativity, he would head to the movies for inspiration. "I go on a movie binge," Hopper said of those times. "I go to the movies for a week or more."

Night Hawks: Can you see this as a sketch for a Hitchcock film?

Just as Hitchcock's characters had trouble connecting with others, Hopper's characters always seem on the verge of telling a story they never tell. "Unconsciously I was painting the loneliness of a large city," Hopper said of Night Hawks.

Both artists included scenes from theaters, offices, diners and trains in their work. Some of Hopper's house sketches could have been the direct model for Hitchcocks famed Bates Motel from his classic Psycho. And both showed a fascination with stairways. "Nobody used stairways better than Hitchcock did," Gariff said. "Everyone in the theater is saying 'don't go up that staircase.' And, of course, the greatest staircase is in the Bates house."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
When I saw the Hopper/Hitchcock talk advertised, I knew I would be attending. Psycho is one of what I consider to be the 3 most chilling films ever made. (For the record, the other 2 are The Exorcist and Alien). Meanwhile, Hopper is one of my 3 favorite American artists. (Again, for the record the other 2 are Romare Bearden and Robert Rauschenberg). And Night Hawks is my favorite American painting. I fondly recall spending a great 1/2 hour once, examining it at the Chicago Art Institute where it now resides.

I Do. I Don't. I Do. I Don't ...

You know that part of the wedding vows that goes "until death do us part." Well, for performance artist Kathryn Cornelius those vows should have been altered to something like "until death do us part or 30 minutes, whichever comes first." In a wild, abbreviated, yet weirdly realistic series of ceremonies yesterday, Cornelius got married and divorced 7 times during an engaging performance piece at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

We caught Cornelius and husband number 5. Here's how the blessed day (or, to be more specific, blessed 27 minutes) unfolded.

After a moving ceremony on the Corcoran steps (for that description we had to rely on other guests because we arrived late for the event), the couple posed on a giant platform named The Bridge above the doors for their first pictures as husband and wife. The setting made it appear as if they were the top figures on their own giant wedding cake.

Once inside, a silver-voiced master of ceremonies in a tuxedo publicly announced the couple as hundreds of revelers cheered. After a 1st dance, Cornelius and her Dr. husband offered a toast before cutting the traditional wedding cake.

"Our love was meant to be, the kind that lasts forever. And I want you here with me until the end of time," Cornelius said.

"You're the meaning in my life; you're the inspiration," her husband responded.

After being served cake and sparkling water, the guests were urged to hit the dance floor. A boisterous "The Macarena" faded into "The Twist." Those tunes were followed by a joyous "Living La Vida Loca" and a sexy "I Like Big Butts and I Can't Deny." The couple danced together, then joyously moved among the crowd, urging them to even wilder moves.

After a bouquet and garter ceremony, the floor once again became packed as the DJ played the Kool and the King wedding dance staple "Celebration." But, during this song, it became apparent that all was not well in marriage land. The couple didn't dance with each other, and the new bride-of-minutes was particularly enjoying the ministrations of a young, handsome wedding guest.

The song switched to Guns n' Roses "November Rain." Although the couple were slow dancing, as the lead singer Axel Rose sang the lines "Nothin' lasts forever and we both know hearts can change. And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain," Cornelius began to cry. The music stopped. Slowly, Cornelius and her husband began backing up until they stood separated by the entire hall.

"I can't do this anymore," Cornelius said, emotion choking her voice.

 Her husband responded softly, "The silence is deafening."

"I don't love you. I want a divorce," Cornelius replied.

And so, separately, the couple approached a table where a young judge was seated.

"Did there come a time when you were separated from your husband?" he asked Cornelius.

"Yes," she replied

"Well, everything that had a beginning has an end," the judge said. "In the name of art, you are now divorced. This marriage is now null and void."

Cornelius's husband faded quietly away. However the performance artist suddenly broke into a wide smile and danced her way to and through the nearest exit to await whatever would come next. The couple had been married for exactly 27 minutes.

At 3 p.m., Cornelius appeared outside standing on the corner of 17th Street, beaming and blushing like the new bride she was about to become. This time her partner for life would be fellow artists Holly Bass.

As the crowd blew bubbles and a cellist played, Cornelius and Bass exchanged the solemn vows that would make them wife and wife.

With the words "everything that has an end has a beginning," the presiding minister gave permission for the couple to demonstrate their commitment with a 1st kiss.

After posing for pictures with the crowd, Cornelius and Bass mounted the stairs to The Bridge platform, ready to be introduced at their happy reception.

Realizing that we had seen all this before, my wife Judy and I headed down 17th Street to catch the Metro at the Farragut West Station. Coming toward us, we noticed groom #7 and a small entourage on their way to the Corcoran. In his hand, the groom-to-be held a bouquet of flowers for his intended. We wished him luck on that wedding thing. "Thanks. I'll be OK. I'm in love," he replied with a wide smile.

And I guess, when it's all said and done, that's the most important idea. Whether it's real life or performance art, where there is love, or even the appearance of love, there is always a chance. And a chance is all any of us are ever promised.  

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
So what exactly was Cornelius trying to say in her performance piece she entitled Save the Date? In a handout available to the crowd, she explained that the event "explores the life cycle of marriage and divorce, and the wedding ceremony's complex mix of private emotion, public spectacle, social expectation and state power. The multiple marriages, receptions, and divorces question the emotional and political implications of the changing status of marriage as an institution in today's society. The suitors chosen were self-selected through online proposals using Tumblir, Twitter, and Facebook. The online social media courtship explored the relationship between technologies and private vs. public life. In full view of the White House and in the midst of changing political rhetoric on marriage, I hope the performance will evoke conversation and audience questioning."

Some of My Best Friends Are Black

On the night that Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, New York author Tanner Colby, who had been an avid Obama supporter, came to a startling revelation.

"I didn't actually know any black people," he says. "None of my friends were black. I'd never had a black teacher, college professor, or workplace mentor. I'd never even been inside a black person's house. I knew it wasn't just me. I started randomly polling friends and associates - most of them enlightened, open-minded, well-travelled, left-leaning white folks like me - asking them how many black friends they had. The answers were pretty pathetic."

Colby thought the idea of such black/white separation decades after laws had called for integration had the makings of his next book. But he encountered a few problems. His first 2 books, one about John Belushi and the other about Chris Farley, had pigeonholed him as a writer. "I was told 'you do dead guys from Saturday Night Live who die at age 33 from heroin and cocaine in hotel rooms,'" he says with a laugh. "I was running out of dead, fat comedians."

Then there was the problem of race. Colby's idea would involve a white writer writing about black people. That caused grave concern from his publishing company.  Finally, Colby was able to get a green light for his project and the result was his new book Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America, which examines America's still existing color lines in schools, housing, the workplace, and church.

Last night, Colby came to Politics and Prose to read from his book and talk about his findings in an America which he contends was created on 2 basically irreconcilable ideas - one that all men are created equal and the other that black slaves were inferior to their white owners.

For the school portion of his book, Colby returned to his Birmingham, Alabama high school.  There he began with the story of Ms. Alicia, one of the first black students to attend his high school, who today drives a bus from the same black community she lived in to the same high she attended as one of its few black students. For housing, he focused on the rigid segregation lines of St. Louis. For church, he returned to the Louisiana land of his birth to see how 2 Catholic churches in his old town - one black and one white - have handled the integration question.

Colby, who worked in the Mad Men-like world of New York advertising for 9 years, used the story of that life for his chapters on the workplace, arranging his ideas around Roy Eaton, who has been called "the Jackie Robinson of American Advertising" and Byron Lewis, an advocate for black firms advertising black products for black people.

Prior to the late-1960s, as accurately portrayed on the AMC TV Show Mad Men, blacks found themselves locked out of advertising. "There was a huge and botched attempt to change that, that ended in acrimonious failure," Colby said. "Black ad figures said 'if white people don't want us, we will take care of ourselves. Black agencies will serve the niche."

They began an experiment called soul marketing. Several examples of that approach still exist today. At the height of black power, black ad men created a "bold, cold Newport man," sort of the Marlboro Man of black pride. Today, 75% of all black people who smoke, smoke menthol cigarettes such as Newports. That corresponding number for whites is 23%.

Of course, when white ad men discovered the rising power of black stars such as Bill Cosby or Michael Jackson, they scrambled to produce ads for the black market, often with ridiculous results. In 1992, an agency used music star M.C. Hammer as a spokesperson for Kentucky Fried Chicken. "Really, a black man dancing for chicken," the black community answered, we don't think so. However today, the marketing world is still  often divided between white and black ideas and black and white companies.

In the question and answer period that followed Colby's reading and remarks, the author said he was hopeful that time and continued contact would eventually eliminate racial divides and gaps. "I now believe I am more thoughtful and more educated," Colby said. "I see the world differently."

Colby was asked how the black subjects he interviewed viewed him. "At first, they treated me like a curiosity,' he said. But when they realized he was making a serious effort to comes to terms with the reasons behind the racial divisions, they became quite willing to talk about the subject and share their ideas.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

Can you spot Price and Pope in this picture?

As I write this post, I am half-way through Colby' powerful book. It has prompted me to think about race in my own life. I was raised in an ethnically diverse community in South Jersey and remained there for almost 6 decades, leaving only to attend 4 years of college at Villanova University. As I look at my own life, here are my totals of close black friends. Childhood two, although almost all of my weekend sports playmates were black. High school one, college one. During my 10 years as a reporter and editor, my best friend was black and W. Leon Pope is still the unofficial godfather to my son, Michael. During my 27 years as an urban educator, I considered most of the black teachers I taught with good acquaintances, rather than good friends. I did maintain close relationships with most of my students, even jokingly calling many my other sons and daughters by different mothers. But, even if you have much contact and try to maintain an open mind, it is still difficult to see situations the way others do. Two cases in point. Once, in Philadelphia, Pope and I went into a club to get some beer. Inside, I couldn't help but notice that I was different than the other 400 people. Outside, Pope laughed. "You looked a little nervous in there," he said. "Well, I just felt I was different," I said. "Well, now you know how I feel," Pope responded. Pope was like my older brother, but I had never really considered seeing our reporting world through his eyes. And one more. One day, during class, I was talking to one of my special groups (yes, I know teachers aren't supposed to have favorites, but that is a lie those of us who try to do a good job keep well hidden). We were talking about race. "You know," I said. "I sometimes think we put too much emphasis on a person's skin color in education," I postulated. "Does it really matter if a teacher is black or brown or white if he or she is a good teacher? Both Warren and Osco answered the question almost in unison. "Mr. Price, look, you are a good teacher. But when we look at you, we know we can't ever be you. You're white and we're black. But when we look at Mr. Dunkins (at the time a popular black teacher and coach) or Mr. Lane (then the superintendent of the school system), we can be like them. And that's important,' they said. "OK, lesson learned," I said. They just smiled, reveling in the idea that once again - as was so often the case in my class - the students had had to school the teacher.

La Tomatina

It began in the 1940s in the Spanish town of Brunol, where a band of young men engaged in a brawl grabbed tomatoes from a vegetable stand and hurled them at their opponents. Now, more than 60 years later, as many as 40,000 tourists flock to Brunol to participate in Tomatina, the world's largest food fight, which is held annually on the last Wednesday in August. And for one week, DC celebrity chef Jose Andres and his team are offering a less messy way to celebrate the tomato festival with a special menu featuring a variety of tomato-laden tapas at their Jaleo restaurants..

In Brunol, the signal for the tomato-tossing chaos begins with the firing of a single shot. In preparation for the food fight, trucks bring about 40 metric tons of tomatoes into the town's plaza.. Revelers grab those tomatoes, which must be crushed to reduce the chance of being injured, and the hurling, slipping, and sliding begins. Participants are urged to use gloves and goggles, but they aren't required.

The food fight lasts for exactly one hour. A second shot signals the end. The thousands of participants and the whole town square are colored red and rivers of tomato juice flow freely. Fire trucks hose down the street. Participants use hoses that locals provide to hose down their bodies.

Besides the economic benefits from the thousands of tourists, Brunol receives another annual advanatge from its food fight. After the cleaning, the village's cobblestone streets are pristine due to the acidity of the tomatoes.

At Jaleo, the more low key tribute to the Brunol celebration begins with the presentation of the special Tomatina menu. Next is the eating. Neat diners can escape with no evidence of the tomato feast on their clothes. For those who aren't as neat, there is always a stick of Tide to Go instant stain remover.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

So pretty: watermelon and tomato skewers

Since one of the 3 Jaleos in the D.C. area is just around the corner from our apartment complex, we had to check out the special Tomatina menu. I chose:

• fried green tomatoes with Valdeon cheese
• ajo blanco mousse with a tomato granitee
• watermelon and tomato caviar skewers and
• jumbo lump crabmeat with tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, peppers, and brandy sauce.

To see the complete Tomatino menu, click here.

Third Coast Percussion: John Cage at 100

Now you might not consider a Chinese fortune cookie, leafy green fronds, a well-used cookie sheet, odd-shaped rocks, an unopened can of beer, an unlit cigarette, or the iPhone you might be reading this blog entry on as musical instruments. But, if you were 1 of the 100 modern composers who were asked to compose a 7-second snippet of music to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of avant-garde musical composer John Cage you might. And, if you were 1 of the 4 members of the Third Coast Percussion, who performed the original composition Renga:Cage:100 last night at the Kennedy Center, you definitely would.

The above list names just a fraction of the more than 100 percussive "instruments" the talented quartet employed in their hour-long tribute to Cage. In addition to the riveting contemporary composition, Third Coast also played 4 original Cage pieces which employed drums, woodblocks, upside down pots, vibraphones, radio transmissions, cymbals, bells, whistles, childrens' toys, and a plucked piano.

Obviously, the centerpiece of the performance was Renga:Cage:100. The group scurried across the Millennium Stage to grab the specific percussive instruments called for in the 7-second snippets. At some points, the group shouted, chattered, or screamed  in unison. At other times, they stomped their feet. The rapidly unfolding piece, which at one point included the actual unfolding of musical scores, was as much visual as aural. Some snippets transported the audience into an other-world of surreal science-fictiony sounds. Others could have come from a long-ago African village or Caribbean island. Still other provoked sustained laughter. One of the lightest moments came when all 4 players grabbed about 10 mallets each and arrived at an instrument, only to produce the tiniest sound of a lightly-struck single note. The work, which has been hailed as “the first true musical expression of social media culture,"ended with the entire audience raising a large 7-second "hmmmmmmm."

For those of you not familiar with Cage and his work, he is to music what David Lynch is to art and film. If you appreciate his pieces, he is a genius. If not, his work is simply an incomprehensible cacophony of noise.
Almost all critics agree, however that Cage (1912-1992) was one of America’s most significant and influential creative minds. Composer, musician, inventor and philosopher, he created the nation’s first touring percussion ensemble, invented the prepared piano, and brought everyday sounds and actions into the concert hall.  Of his music Cage himself said, “Percussion music really is the art of noise and that’s what it should be called.”

Among the Cage compositions performed last night was Credo in US (1942). Written just 7 months after the strike on Pearl Harbor, Cage said his satirical collage offered an honest portrayal of America, devoid of the idealized patriotism that dominated much American music composed at that time. It was his first work to incorporate a radio. The presence of the radio automatically brings into the work an element of the time and place the piece is being performed. (Note: if you are getting this post in your email, you must click here to call up the video of a previous performance of Credo in US. Believe me, it is worth the time and effort to check this out. Words can't begin to do justice to the brilliance of Cage's work).

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
John Cage was one of the great innovators in music. Ever cognizant of time not yet come, he left openings for future performers to decide what instruments they would play. Last night, Third Coast Percussion used both computers and smart phones in their performance. Obviously, there were no such devices of social media in Cage's time, but you can be certain he would have incorporated it into his work had it been available. To learn more about Cage and Third Coast's ties to it, you can access the group's blog by clicking here. If you want an even more in-depth look at Cage's ideas at work, you can click here to access the complete free Millennium Stage show from the Kennedy Center last night.

Open City: London, 1500-1700

London in the 1600s.

For the past 2 weeks, the 2012 Olympics have been showcasing London as a vibrant, world-class city.  But, of course, London has been one of the worlds great cities for more than 500 years. And the 1st 2 centuries of that growth is now on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library's new exhibition Open City: London, 1500 - 1700.

The exhibition shows how in the year 1500, London was a medieval capital which about 50,000 called home. Two centuries later, it was a sprawling, early modern metropolis with almost half a million residents (today London's population is 8.1 million), the seat of an emerging empire, abuzz with international commerce and new political and religious ideas.

So how did it change so much so fast? And what was it like to live there while it did? Open City explores these questions through rare books, plays, manuscripts, maps, diaries, prints, artifacts, and replicas.

The story is told through an examination of 3 public spaces:

• the church
• the theater
• the marketplace

Of course, since this is the Shakespeare Library, much is made of the impact of words, both those of the Bard of Avon himself and others.  Prior to the invention of the printing press, stories and tales had to be mostly transmitted by word of mouth. Books were few and few could read. News was spread orally in commercial areas where maids and servants came on a daily basis to get water. Mass entertainment at the beginning of the 17th Century consisted mostly of church rituals, juggling, dancing, and bull and bear baiting.

But soon, across the city proper on the banks of the Thames River, new theaters - including the now world-famous Globe - arose. At the time, boosters of the city hoped theater could be used "to bring the world to London." The advent of the press with its ensuing proliferation of portfolios, pamphlets, broadsheets, and books created the 1st virtual public gathering place and sparked new ideas in commerce, travel, government, and religion.

In 1665, London endured a devastating plague that more than tripled the death rate. A year later, the Great Fire killed still more, while destroying 130,000 homes and structures. Shaken, but resilient, London began rebuilding and expanding, an expansion that continues today.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Unless you are reading this in London, you probably won't be able to see Olympic London, but if you want to get a taste of a much earlier London, you have until September 30th to visit the Shakespeare Library and see Open City.

Hamlet: The Bad Ass Quarto

Stars Yorick, Ophelia (Kimberly Gilbert), Kyd, the brown bag puppet

Imagine if LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and the rest of the USA Olympic basketball team got together in the morning, ran through a couple hours of practice, and then faced their stiffest competition for a gold medal that night. Or, if music is more your thing, consider a concert where 4 musicians, after one afternoon of rehearsal, tried to perform a note-for-note rendition of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's that night in front of a capacity crowd.

Well, both of those scenarios are analogous to what the Taffety Punk Theatre Company pulled off last night with their annual Bootleg Shakespeare performance at the Globe-like theater at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

The multi-talented company, with only one afternoon of rehearsal, delivered a nearly flawless performance of Hamlet: The Bad Ass Quarto which was true to its tragic underpinnings and, at the same time, often  uproariously funny.

Prior to the opening act, Marcus Kyd, who played the mad, moody Prince of Denmark, explained the Taffety process. The actors got the lines from the 1603 First Quarto (which is often called the "bad," rough-draft version" of Hamlet) about 2 months ago. They learned them individually, but didn't perform them together until about 8 hours before showtime. The "bad" quarto is about 1,600 words less than the Hamlet that is normally performed.  That produces an effect that is at once familiar and oddly-alien (most often in the not yet eloquently completed soliloquies such as "To be or not to be...) which only added to the uniqueness of the production.

Of course, as appropriate for a company with punk in its name, the ensemble introduced several clever touches into its production. There was Hamlet's evil uncle dispensing play money all over the stage to signify his wealth. There were contemporary references to such modern ideas as the 1 percent. Rossencraft and Gildenstone appeared bedecked in yuppie attire. Hamlet's love Ophelia was accompanied into her descent into madness by 2 whirling, shrieking figures. Todd Scofield portrayed Corambis (Polonius in the final version of Hamlet) as an even  more blowhardy Frasier Crane.

Two highlights of the play were the mesmerizing performance of Kyd as Hamlet and the intriguing staging of the play within the play scene in which Hamlet helps a group of traveling players reenact a scene similar to the one in which his uncle killed his father. Using the top stage balcony of the stage, that scene was played with members of the acting troupe pulling marionette-like strings for the characters portraying the murder most foul.

This was our first time at a Taffety Punk performance, but you could tell that many in the audience were long-time fans. The loudest laughs of the night came when a paper-bag puppet, who appears in every Taffety production, showed up on the right hand of a cod-piece wearing messenger sent to bring Hamlet to his mother.

So what will Taffety Punk do for next year's free Bootleg Shakespeare? According to Kyd, that decision hasn't been made yet. "We'll probably decide over drinks tonight," he said. Rest assured that we will be there. And, if you are in the D.C. area then, you should, too.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
It was clear the Taffety players have fun at what they do. They want the audience to engage in that same spirit. And what better way to do that than to have them actively participate. Last night, on cue, the crowd was expected to make the sounds of trumpets. Also on cue, they were to make the sound of a crowing rooster. Of course, that means that I can now say that I have performed in Hamlet at the Folger Shakespeare Theater. Now, I realize that I was just one of hundreds. But I am certain that while my trumpets were only a little above average, my cock was the best in the place.

Acoustic Rooster and the Writer Who Created Him

When Kwame Alexander started Virginia Tech University majoring in bio-tech, he was all set to become a doctor. But 2 developments in his sophomore year altered those plans. The 1st was organic chemistry. "It kicked my butt," Alexander says with a laugh. The other was the elective poetry course he took with famed African-American poet and author Nikki Giovanni. "That  changed my life," Alexander says.

Alexander decided to become a writer and 2 years after graduation he completed his 1st book of poems entitled Just Us. Always gregarious and outgoing, Alexander began appearing at churches and libraries. He would hold readings at any place that would have him. He sold 2,000 copies of his book. "That gave me the bug," he says.

More than a decade has past since that 1st volume, but Alexander still enjoys promoting his books in person. Last weekend, we caught up with the author at his display table at Eastern Market in the Capitol Hill section of D.C.

"These are my 2 latest children's books," he would proclaim to any passersby who appeared interested. He would then give them the highlights of Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band, where a group of animals with names like Thelonious Monkey, Mules Davis, and Duck Ellington have a late night jazz contest, and his latest creation, Indigo Blume and the Garden City, in which a young outcast teaches her community to "go green."

So how did a poet, whom his mentor Nikki Giovanni praised by saying "If I can have a literary son, I like to think it is Kwame Alexander. Hard worker, truth seeker, soul sharer," become a writer of children's books? Alexander begins the story this way. In 2008, his daughter was 15 and fell in love. Alexander's knew he should be supportive as a father, but he was perplexed. His wife suggested that her husband write about young love "to understand it." The book became popular with the teenage set. At a book talk, an editor asked Alexander if he had considered writing for young adults. Now, he has a novel coming out for middle-school age students in 2013 and the high school set the following year.

Kwame Alexander talks about his work

But that still doesn't get us to the children's books. For that impetus, he needed his 2nd daughter, who is now 4. When she was even younger, she would implore her father to read to her constantly. "I noticed with all the reading, the tone of my writing began to change," Alexander noted.

The idea for Acoustic Rooster actually came 2 years ago during the time Alexander was taking advantage of a writing fellowship in Italy. "Every day I would walk past this chicken coop," he said. "One day I began thinking, what if the animals had a party - what kind of party would they have? I was listening to all this jazz and bossa nova at the time and there were all these musicians jamming every night. I can't take credit for Duck Ellington - I had heard that somewhere. I just started creating the whole idea. It was dream-like."

But what is a successful author and publisher (Alexander runs his own publishing company) doing hawking his books in the hot August sun? "It's a great way to stay in touch with the readers and the buyers," he said.

And there are other benefits to personal appearances, too. In the hour I spent with Alexander one man stopped by and promised to hook him up with a friend who was involved with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, a woman from NPR said that she would get him on more NPR programming, and a fellow writer who said he had really wanted to meet Alexander, said he would be getting back to him about a special project. And that's not to mention all the books that Alexander was sellling.

So what's next? "I think I will continue to write for readers between kindergarten to high school," Alexander says. "I have a 4-year-old at home. She's my audience. I'll grow with her."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

Since we've moved to the D.C. area, I have met many of my favorite writers including George Pelecanos,  Bob Woodward, Douglas Brinkley, David Maraniss, and Colson Whitehead. But thanks to my 3-year-old grandson Owen, none of them had quite the impact as my chance encounter with Kwame Alexander. In June, my wife and I were watching our 2 grandkids for a week. Both Judy and I are constantly buying books for them. Since I love music almost as much as reading, many of my purchases deal with music. I picked up Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band the 1st time I saw it in a bookstore.  I read it to Owen for the 1st time at his June visit. It quickly became his favorite book. "Grandpop, read the Rooster one again," he would say. Two weeks later, I was walking through the Eastern Market and saw a table of Acoustic Rooster books, along with its author. Alexander was headed to Brazil for a writing event, but promised we could get together when he returned. Now I know a 3-year-old clamoring "read the Rooster one again, Grandpop" isn't quite as prestigious as a Pulitzer or a Nobel. But, for a grandfather like me, it's about the best endorsement a book can have.

A Look at the Less Than Holy World of Politics

As soon as the last race is run at the Olympics in London this week, the news scene will shift back across the Atlantic to America where 2 men will finish a marathon race of their own which will end in a flurried finish-line sprint in November to determine which of them will spend the next 4 years living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Of course, no one knows if Barack Obama or Mitt Romney will capture the presidential contest. But that doesn't stop the unceasing speculation. And one of the people best positioned to engage in that speculation is Chris Cillizza, political analyst and author of the Washington Post political blog The Fix.

Cillizza, who is also an MSNBC contributor, appeared at the Newseum yesterday to discuss the presidential race and the highlights of his new book The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insider's Guide to a Less Than Holy World of Politics.

As part of the Inside Media program, Cilllizza answered a wide range of political questions posed by moderator John Maynard and audience members.

Who will Romney pick as his vice-presidential running mate?
"That's almost impossible to answer now. It's a classic case of those who know aren't talking and those who don't know are," Cillizza said. "I think ultimately Romney wants to make a competency pick. The cloud of Sarah Palin still looms large". Cillizza says there about 5 viable candidates. So who does he think it will be? "Rob Portman (a U.S. Senator from Ohio) is almost the opposite of Palin," he said.

What effect will the 3 presidential debates have on the race?
"I do think those debates matter" Cillizza said. But he says we shouldn't expect any startling revelations or last-minute innovative programs. "Both sides are very wary of making mistakes," he said

What are the top 10 issues we won't hear any policy about this fall in the presidential race?

1. immigration
2. health care
3. education
4. debt reduction
5. energy
6. foreign policy
7. foreign policy again (it's so important and so ignored it gets 2 spots)
8. campaign finance
9. gun control
10. terrorism

What about all these negative ads?
"You  may not like them; everyone says that. But they work. Campaigns are not going to dump money into things that don't work. They worm their way into your consciousness. I guarantee if you go into a voting booth, whether you vote for Romney or not, you're going to think about the fact that he really can't sing 'America the Beautiful,'" Cillizza said.


What is the impact of the Citizens United ruling and large campaign contributions?
Experts say the race between Obama and Romney may cost upwards to $6 billion. "Super-PAC money has kept Romney in the race," Cillizza said. "But I think we will really need to look at the Senate and Congressional races to see the real impact. There could be a case where 1 or 2 millionaires could contribute enough money to get a friend elected."
 
How did he come to write The Fix?
In 2005, Cillizza was doing political writing in Washington. John Harris, who was the founder of Politico but  was working at the Post, asked Cillizza to write a regular political blog for the paper. "The Fix is not for everyone," Ciollizza said. "It is for people that really like politics."

Tales, Tips, and Tidbits

Chris Cillizza

Cillizza also writes "The Worst Week in Washington", a weekly feature that appears in the Sunday Outlook section of the Post and briefly explains which political figure or group had, as the title explains, the worst political week. Cillizza says sometimes the choices are easy. "Matthew Weiner, (the New York City Congressman of underwear photo fame) had 3 or 4 straight weeks. It was a Ripkin-esque run (a reference to 3rd baseman Cal Ripken who set a record for most consecutive  starts by a Major League baseball player)," Cillizza said. Others picks are more nuanced. But what do the politicians that Cillizza has to write about regularly think about the feature? "Everybody likes it until they appear in it," he said. "It's kind of a there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I thing. We all make mistakes; we're all human. I'm sure I will have to give it to myself some week. I've been really close." Did Cillizza have any concerns when it was first suggested that he write the Worst Week. "I thought we might struggle to find  people to write about, but so far, that hasn't been an issue," he said, provoking laughter from the audience.

Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape

Spanish surrealist painter Joan Miro lived through the most tumultuous times of the 20th century, but instead of giving in to darkness and despair, he produced innovative, magnificent art that he called "something like a cry of joy that delivers you from anguish."

Miro and his works are the subject of a comprehensive exhibit Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape now at the National Gallery until August 12.

The Farm

The exhibit takes its name from the ladder motif that appears in so much of Miro's work. Critics have suggested that Miro used ladders as a symbolic bridge between both earth and heaven and between the worlds of reality and imagination. The 2-floor exhibit captures all of the periods of Miro's groundbreaking work from his scenes of his beloved Catalan farmlands to the sparse, yet colorful canvases of his final years.

The artist credited his Catalan roots for keeping him grounded despite the fancy flights of his art. "We Catalans believe you must always plant your feet firmly on the ground if you want to jump into the air," Miro said. "The fact that I came down to earth from time to time makes it possible for me to jump all the higher."

Although not considered an overtly political painter, the horrors of World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II had a great influence on Miro's art. His works began depicting surrealistic figures with twisted bodies crying out in anguish as they flee from all-encompassing fire. But, at the same time, he also featured other figures with raised, defiant fists.

One of his most famous murals, informally titled The Reaper and initially paired with Pablo Picasso's powerful anti-war masterpiece Guernica, told the visual story of Catalan peasants revolting against oppression.

Can you find the excrement here?

During this time, Miro also began giving his works provocative titles like "Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement" and "Woman Stabbed by the Sun Reciting Rocket Poems in the Geometrical Shapes of the Musical Bat Spittle of the Sea."

"We are living through a hideous drama that will leave deep marks in our mind," Miro said of those violent times. "When an artist speaks in an environment in which freedom is difficult, he must turn each  of his works into a negation of the negations."

In the later 1940s, Miro turned to creating a series of paintings that featured stick-like alien figures, strange animals, and celestial stars and suns. In 1945, a showing of his work in New York established him as one of the major creators of modern art.

In 1968, seemingly inspired by student protests around the world, Miro began creating some of his most arresting work, including a series entitled the burnt paintings. After finishing the large canvasses, Miro would burn a portion of the work and rip it by throwing stones on it.

Burnt Canvas (1973)

May 1968

Throughout his life, Miro let his art be his voice. His definition of an artist was "one who, amdist the silence of others, uses his voice to say something." And as Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape clearly demonstrates, Miro said quite a lot.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

As an enhancement to the exhibit, famed D.C. Chef Jose Andres has created a temporary cafe in the National Gallery featuring foods from Miro's Catalonia. We ate there for lunch. I had the buffet which consisted of::

• Empredrat de mongetes (white bean salad with vegetables, black olives, and tomatoes)
• Sopa freda de cireres de Santa Coloma de Cervello (cold cherry and tomato soup)
• Samfaina (traditonal Cataln stew of vegetables)
• Xatonada (salad of frisee, preserved tuna, and romesco sauce)
• Formatges amb anous i codony (Catalan cheese with Marcona almonds and quince marmalade)
• Escalivada catalana (salad of roasted red pepper, eggplant, and onion)
• Pollastre a la catalana (traditional Catalan chicken stew with dried fruit and nuts)
• Fricando de galtes de vedella amb bolets (traditional Catalan stew of beef chunks and mushrooms)
• Crema catalana (traditonal carmelized Catalan custard)

It was really good and provided a great complement to Miro's work.

Politics and the Dancing Body

Dance as art. Dance as entertainment. Dance as an expression of beauty. But what about dance as a means to protest injustice or advocate reform?

Politics and the Dancing Body, a recent exhibit at the Library of Congress, showcased ways that American dance choreographers used dance to celebrate American minority culture, voice social protest, and raise social consciousness in the period between World War I and the end of the Cold War.

Many of the great choreographers of that time were featured including Isador Duncan, Lester Horton, Martha Graham, and Alvin Ailey.

The exhibit was divided into 4 sections. They were:

• exploring natural roots 
• finding a political voice
• domestic projects for import
• turmoil at home and the Cold War protest

Included in the exhibit were photos and memorabilia for dances aimed against Fascism, the Nazis, and the atrocities of the Holocaust and similar performances created in support of the Communist Revolution and the uniting of impoverished workers around the world.

American minorities were represented by works celebrating Native American culture and black innovations such as the blues and jazz.

The spirit of the theme of the exhibition was captured in the words of Yuriko Kikuchi, who designed a dance focusing attention on the plight of the thousands of Japanese-Americans wrongfully detained in camps during World War II. Her work, according to exhibit notes,  was "an expression of a bewildered woman - one among millions unjustly uprooted - to regain her place in society and rediscover her human freedom and dignity."

Another thematically powerful work presented was Mary Anthony's "The Devil in Massachusetts," which the choreographer called "a parable of our time." Like Arthur Miller's famous play The Crucible, Anthony used the Salem witch hunts to speak out against the Communist witch hunts of the 1950s.

"When men live by fear instead of trust, the devil will have his way," Anthony said at the time.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Politics and the Dancing Body is closed, but there is still much to do and see at the Library of Congress, which I think is one of D.C.'s  too-often neglected attractions. Click here to see how you might spend a few hours at the library with its breathtaking architecture, enlightening exhibits, and vast collection of materials.

CTA Covers the Real CTA

Chicago Transit Authority drummer Danny Seraphine

I vividly recall the 1st time I ever heard the sounds of  the Chicago Transit Authority. It was a hot June day in 1969. In just hours, I would be graduating from Bridgeton High School. All 680 members of my graduating class were sitting in the stands of the football stadium, anxiously waiting to receive our tickets for commencement night. Several students had brought transistors radios. From the tiny speakers of one near me, I heard a bass. Duum duum duum-da-duum. Duum duum duum-da-duum. Duum duum duum da da da da da-duum-da. Duum duum duum da da da da da-duum-da, I rushed over and turned the radio up as loud as it would go. The bass was joined by drums, then the rhythmic chink of a strings-muted guitar. Next came wood block, then cowbell, then tambourine. Finally, a screaming Hammond B-3 brought in the downward chords to the Spencer Davis classic "I'm a Man," but a version of "I'm a Man" as new as the post-high school life that awaited me. This sounded like freedom. I was hooked.

All that summer, Chicago Transit Authority was one of the LPs on my turntable. The same held true in freshmen and sophomore years in college. CTA was also in heavy play on the underground FM radio stations that I listened to when one of my records wasn't spinning. But as the 70s wore on, my interest in Chicago (by then they had shorted their name) waned. They became pop superstars, releasing hit after million selling hit, but for me the excitement and innovations of the 1st few LPs were gone.

Last night, I got a chance to revisit the past as Danny Seraphine, the original Chicago Transit Authority drummer, who in his book Street Player: My Chicago Story claims to have been instrumental in initially forming the band that later fired him, bought his new group to The Hamilton here in D.C. That group is also named CTA, but this time that acronym stands for the California Transit Authority, which is where Seraphine now resides.

Seraphine and CTA, supported by a trio of New York session horn players the drummer dubbed The Skid  Row Horns, played a jazzy blend of early Chicago staples, new originals, and one cover - "Dreams," one of the great songs on the 1969 debut album by the Allman Brothers.

The CTA songs that I once loved were back. "South Carolina Purples." "Beginnings." "Make Me Smile." "25 or 6 to 4." And oh yes, a rousing, extended  "I'm a Man."

"Man, I love playing these things," Seraphine told the small, but quite supportive Hamilton audience. "I hope you like them."

Well, Danny, if you're reading this you don't have to worry. We did.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
While Chicago moved to the bottom of my list over the years, my wife Judy always kept them as her #1 rock group. Her favorite Chicago song is, and has always been, "Color My World." The new CTA played a revised, guitar-driven version of "Color My World" last night that we both really liked. In fact, Judy loves "Color My World" so much that she chose it as her song to be played at the church during our 1973 wedding. For the record and the sake of full disclosure, I chose "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
 by the Rolling Stones. In my defense,  I was obsessed by Mick, Keith, and company. I wore the same style suit to my wedding that Mick had worn to his. Of course, I wasn't totally insensitive to Judy's feelings. I learned to play "Color My World" on the piano so I could serenade her whenever the need arose.