Smithsonian Sunday: Beyonce Bounced from Cool Category

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most treasured and visited places. But the Smithsonian also publishes a series of some of the most interesting, fact-filled blogs appearing anywhere on the internet. Each Sunday, The Prices Do DC re-posts an entry that initially appeared in one of those highly-readable blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

Beyonce: Cool or not?

Everyone knows what "cool" looks like. It’s a pair of legs encased in worn jeans, slung over the sides of a Harley. A cigarette rimmed with red lipstick. The dark tint of a jazz musician’s sunglasses, which he wears onstage–at night–as his saxophone cuts through the din of a smoky club.

The term, which was first coined in the 1940s by Lester Young, the lead saxophonist in Count Basie's orchestra, has become ubiquitous in today’s slang. It’s also grown nebulous, conveying everything from a sign of explicit approval–“Cool!”–to an object’s cultural cache. But what makes a person... cool? 

Together, Frank Goodyear, a curator of photography and co-director of the Bowdoin Museum of Art, and Joel Dinerstein, a professor at Tulane University, have tried to answer that question. “American Cool,” an exhibition that the two co-curated at the National Portrait Gallery, is a collection of 100 photographs of men and women who’ve exemplified “cool” throughout history.

“When we use the word cool today, especially as an adjective, we’re tending to refer to something rather than someone,” says Goodyear. “What do we mean when we say someone is cool?’”

To continue reading this post, click here.

Will This Be the Year DC Elects a White Mayor?

Each Saturday we offer online articles not originally published in The Prices Do DC which are of interest to both Washington area residents and visitors.

Tommy Wells showed up one evening last fall at a home in Barnaby Woods, a wealthy, predominantly white neighborhood west of Rock Creek Park, where some 30 people had come to hear the DC councilman explain why he should be the District’s next mayor. This wasn’t Wells’s territory—he represents Ward 6, a racially mixed area that stretches from Capitol Hill to the western bank of the Anacostia River. Wells was here because he’ll need votes from Barnaby Woods, and other communities like it, to prevail over his many rivals.

After he made his pitch, a middle-aged white man approached Wells with a question that the councilman, who’s also white, has been hearing a lot these days: “Do you really think a white candidate can get elected mayor in DC?”

Outside Washington, the musing might sound reminiscent of “a different century,” as the event’s host put it to me. But inside the District, and particularly in the minds of its most longstanding residents, there may be no more germane a question suffusing this year’s mayoral race.

To continue reading this story 1st posted by The Washingtonian, click here.

Friday Flashback: Dave Barry Goes 'Insane'

Each Friday, we repost an entry that previously appeared in The Prices Do DC. Last night, author and humorist Dave Barry appeared at Politics and Prose to discuss his new book You Can Date Boys When You Are Forty. Here, we capture Dave when he appeared at Politics and Prose in February of last year.

Dave Barry has long been called the funniest man in America. And while that title could be debated, there's no doubt that Barry was the funniest man in Washington D.C. last night as he appeared at Politics and Prose to promote his new novel, Insane City, the story of a Miami destination wedding gone horribly and hilariously wrong.

Whether he was talking about the Miami that serves as his fictional book setting and also his real-life home or answering questions from the audience, Barry kept his fans in fits of convulsive laughter.

"I have a theory about book tours and why publishers want you to go on them," Barry said. "Your book will be worth more if you are dead." But despite his tongue-in-cheek claim to the contrary, Barry appeared to be enjoying his night with his fans, many of whom have been reading his books and humor column for decades.

Speaking of Miami, Barry said he "moved there in 1986 from the United States." He said polls such as one that revealed that 67% of Americans view Miami as a dangerous place bother local residents. "It hurts," he says. "We want to track those people down and kill them."

One of his favorite Miami pastimes is watching local drivers. "They appear to be observing the driving rules of their individual country of origin," Barry noted. He said he is particularly fascinated by the legions of New York City residents who now make Miami their home. "They come from New York where they never drove a car. Then they retire to Miami and after they have lost most of their sight, hearing, and the rest of their senses, they decide to start driving. Of course, it's pretty easy to get a driver's license in Miami; it comes with a Happy Meal."

He said every week there is a story about an elderly driver crashing into a building or a swimming pool. And the reason is always the same - the driver confused the gas pedal with the break. "Now, we've all had that happen to us, but how long does it take you to figure it out," Barry said.

He said his favorite real-life driving adventure involved a 78-year-old man in a Chevy Cobalt who was ...... wait for it ... discovered driving on the runways of the Miami International Airport. "That's not something you want to find at an airport," Barry said. "I can't get near a plane with a bottle of shampoo and this guy is driving between 747s."

Barry just started his book tour and already 2 only-in-Miami stories have hit the headlines. The 1st focuses on the 10-year-old daughter of a narcotics officer who submitted a science project determining which of 3 dogs was the best at sniffing out cocaine. "The school officials were upset, but apparently there was no prohibition against using cocaine in a science project," Barry said. "I don't think that would happen in Cleveland."

And then there is the ongoing story of the Python Challenge. It seems that some people (and by these people "I mean idiots," Barry says) believe that pythons make great pets. When they realize the error of their ways, they dump the snakes in the Everglades, which, since there are no predators for them, has become "Disney World  for pythons. I mean, they eat alligators. There are probably 100,000 pythons out there now."

The situation became so dire that authorities came up with the idea of the Python Challenge - a contest where people could be licensed to hunt pythons after they took (and here Barry is not making this up) an online course in how to kill pythons humanely. More than 1,000 hardy hunters signed up. To date, a whopping 37 pythons have been killed. "Basically, the pythons are winning the Python Challenge," he said.

Barry says the wild times in Miami made it relatively easy to come up with the situations inInsane City. "There really isn't much of a stretch anywhere in the book," he claimed. Barry cited his friend and fellow humor writer Carl Hiassen who claims "you don't need an imagination to write a novel about Miami. You just need a subscription to The Miami Herald."

The author says he never knows how much to reveal about a new book at a book talk because "I am here to sell the things." However, after reading a short passage from the novel, Barry said an orangutan is intricately involved in the plot. "When they make the movie, I think the orangutan should be played by somebody important like Brad Pitt," he said.

During the extended question-and-answer period, Barry was almost upstaged by 10-year-old Neil, who had 2 questions for the author, who after hearing both questions, said he was sure Neil's parents would be putting him up for adoption soon.

"You said you are proud of Miami and yet you called your book Insane City. So which one is it?," Neil asked.

"Well, it's called sarcasm which is something you will learn about right after sex," Barry, who couldn't contain his own laughter, said. "In fact, those 2 things are close."

But Neil wasn't finished. "My parents told me you used to be a comedian (howls of laughter from the crowd). Do you have any advice for a young comedian?," he asked

"You're doing pretty well right now," Barry responded. "I wouldn't change a thing."

One woman asked how he continued to be funny. "The key to humor writing," Barry deadpanned, "Is - if you can't think of another joke, then you might have to get a job"

Another woman asked him if he had always been funny. "I know this is going to come as surprise to you, but I've always been something of a wise-ass. If I could say something that would make kids laugh, I would say it. Some teachers liked it; some didn't. I had 2 different teachers who told me the same thing in pretty much the same words - 'that's funny, David, but you can't joke your way through life."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

Two Daves together.

I think Dave Barry is uproariously funny. In fact, my wife has banned me from reading Barry in bed because I laugh too loudly. Obviously, I was excited to see him at Politics and Prose. But in addition to being a wildly popular writer, Barry was also a founding member of The Rock Bottom Remainders, the greatest (and indeed the only) rock band every made up of best-selling authors. In addition to Barry, the group also included such writers as Stephen King, Mitch Album, Ridley Pearson, and Amy Tan. A few years ago, Judy and I saw the Remainders at the Electric Factory just before they decided to retire. After his book presentation, I got a chance to talk to Barry about his 2nd career as a 3-chord rock and roll guitarist. I asked him if there was any truth to the story that jealousy between Album and him over Tan had led to the break-up. "No, really it was just a lack of talent," he said. "Amy put it best - 'some bands sing to save the whales; our singing would kill the whales.' We were a different kind of band. Some bands rehearse a lot before they play. We didn't. We would get together at the bar after and talk about how we should have played. We used the rumor method. There were rumors that some of the songs contained chord changes. And sometimes we would change chords. But we didn't usually change to the same chords at the same time." For a long period of time, Warren Zevon played with the Remainders. Zevon, who died in 2003, is one of my favorite song writers. So I was interested to know about Zevon's time with Barry. "Warren was, how shall I put this, crazy," Barry said. "The thing I remember most is that Warren could never find anything. He would be driving and he would be lost and he would call us and I would put my wife on the phone and she would ask 'Warren, where are you?' and Warren would tell her the street and she would say 'you're going the wrong way; turn around and then call us.' And, in a few minutes, he would call back and my wife would ask "what street are you on now?' and he would tell her and she would say "Warren, you're still going the wrong way." I told Barry I knew his musical career began with a band - Federal Duck -that he was in when he attended Haverford College on Philadelphia's Main Line. "There were people in Federal Duck who could really play. I wasn't one of them." I told him I attended Villanova University, which is located just down the road from Haverford. "We played at Villanova a lot," Barry said. "Those Villanova frat boys could vomit better than anyone else." I asked him if there was any chance the Rock Bottom Remainders would reunite. "We're waiting for a groundswell or even one request," Barry said. I said, if the reuniting was a question of money, I would contribute a quarter to the effort. "That might do it," Barry said. "That's about what we got for every job."

Steve McQueen: Before He Won His Oscar

If you want to see cinematic work made by Oscar award-winning director Steve McQueen before his best picture movie 12 Years a Slave," you need to head to the Hirshhorn Museum on the National Mall.

There you can view McQueen's 4:35-minute, silent, black and white "Deadpan," which is included in the exhibition Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950.

The short, filmed in 1997, is a re-staging of Buster Keaton's 1928 scene in "Steamboat Bill Jr."

In the film, McQueen stands motionless as the side of a house falls on him. McQueen escapes injury because the house falls in such a way that he is framed through a glass-less window.

In the catalog that accompanies the exhibition, McQueen explains that his film has "a lot to do with being framed, about frames, window frames and the frames of houses."

It also represents "being framed within the broader, wider society and the individual within the frame standing up. So you can escape ... even when you're out, you're in," he added.

Critics have said the endless repetition of the building's collapse suggests an obsessive need to re-stage a traumatic event.

Damage Control, which is on display until May 26, explores the ways in which artists have used destruction as a central element of art to comment on cultural and social issues of the post-nuclear age.

Hope and Heart: The History of Baseball in DC

The story of professional baseball in DC is not one filled with glory. In fact, pennants here have been as elusive as the number of times Republican Congressmen support proposals from President Barack Obama.

In the 20th Century, there was a slogan about the dismal baseball played in the nation's capital: "Washington DC, First in War, First in Peace, and Last in the American League."

How bad has it been? This year will be the 90th anniversary of Washington's only World Series title. From 1947 to 1962, Washington only finished over .500 one time.

But with spring training for the 2014 season now underway, there is an optimistic attitude - or should we say "Natitude" here - that with young stars like outfielder Bryce Harper and a pitching staff that many think may be the best in baseball -  the fortunes of Washington's Nationals and the city's baseball fans may be changing.

Tonight, at a program sponsored by The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, Associated Press reporter Frederic Frommer discussed his new book You Gotta Have Heart: A History of Washington Baseball from 1859 to the 2012 National League East Champions." Frommer was joined in the discussion by former Washington Senators' announcer Phil Hochberg.

Frommer explained that the title for the book came from the song "You Gotta Have Heart" from the musical Damn Yankees, a musical in which a Washington baseball player sells his soul to the Devil in order to be able to help his team beat the hated New York Yankees.  (If you can't see the following video excerpt, click here.)

The story of pro baseball here begins in 1859. During that year, there were 2 teams playing - the Nationals and the Potomacs. For the next several decades, DC teams "came and went,"

"There really wasn't any stability," Frommer explained.

In the 20th Century, the team stabilized, but its name still alternated between the Nationals and the Senators.

In 1924, the Senators, with 27-year-old player/manager Bucky Harris at the helm, won the only World Series title in the city's history. That team was led by Hall of Fame pitcher Walter "Big Train" Johnson. The Senators defeated the Yankees 4-3 with Johnson pitching 4 scoreless innings in the final game. "The entire nation was pulling for Johnson and Washington. They were sick of the Yankees," Frommer said.

The great Josh Gibson

The team's owner Clark Griffith, a former major league pitcher himself, never had much money to operate the team. In fact, much of his revenue was derived from letting others rent his Griffith's stadium including the Homestead Greys of the professional Negro League. That team featured 2 of the greats of the old Negro League, Josh Gibson often called "The Black Babe Ruth" and Buck Leonard. Baseball was extremely popular with the city's African-American residents and black players couldn't play in the then all-white pro league. Actually, Griffith toyed with the idea of adding Gibson and Leonard to his team, but he never did. "He was a little too risk-averse in what was then a small Southern town," Frommer said.

Griffith was succeeded as owner by his son Calvin, who vowed never to move the team. But in 1960, he turned his back on that promise and headed for Minnesota, where the DC team became the Minnesota Twins. An expansion team was placed in DC, but it too left Washington for Texas to become the Texas Rangers in 1972.

DC was without a team until Major League Baseball moved the Montreal Expos squad to DC in 2005, where they became the Washington Nationals playing in the East Division of the National League.

President Richard Nixon throws out the first pitch

Of course, no matter what it's name, Washington baseball franchises have had a long history with politics, especially the presidents of the United States. In 1910, then-president William Howard Taft became the 1st resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to throw out the ceremonial pitch to start the season. Today, presidents throw that pitch from the mound (and pray they at least get the ball to the catcher), but in the early years the president tossed the ball onto the field from his presidential box and the players on both teams "battled for the ball like bridesmaids," Hochberg said.

Hochberg said that of all the presidents, Richard Nixon was the most knowledgeable about pro sports and baseball. Frommer said he found a lot of interesting comments on Nixon's Watergate tapes about his thoughts on baseball in the nation's capital.

After their victory in their division in 2012, expectations were high for last year's National's squad. But the season turned out to be a disappointing one filled with injuries and under performances from several players.

This year's Nationals squad getting in shape for their March 31 opener

This year will be different, Frommer believes. "Last year was just one of those things that happen in baseball," he said. "I think they will win the division."

But win or lose, the Nationals probably won't put too many of the political Congressional leaders who attend games on the fab-o-vision. "Club officials told me they were afraid they might get booed," Frommer said.

It's Snow Much Fun in DuPont Circle

Remember when you were a kid and there was a big snow and you bundled up, headed outside, gathered your friends, and engaged in an epic snowball fight.

Well, when it snows enough now in DC, you can head to DuPont Circle, channel your inner child, toss away your inhibitions, and pelt friends and fellow snow-loving strangers with as many snowballs as you can make.

The event is sponsored by the Washington DC Snowball Fight Association, which when snow begins falling uses social media to entice DC snow lovers to DuPont Circle.

With today's snow fall, the snow fight was set for 2 p.m.  (UPDATE: The snowball fight was held, but it was moved to the National Mall) Last month, the event was held after the Feb. 13 snow fall. Here we have a few pictures from that event.

Just hand-roll and let them fly

Now this is a snowball

On-the-scene reporter gets pelted

And if art is more your thing, you can also construct your most imaginative snow creations. Here are some samples from last month's snow covering.

Smithsonian Sunday: The History of America's Hucksters

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most treasured and visited places. But the Smithsonian also publishes a series of some of the most interesting, fact-filled blogs appearing anywhere on the internet. Each Sunday, The Prices Do DC re-posts an entry that initially appeared in one of those highly-readable blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

In 1962 Andy Warhol transformed cardboard Brillo grocery cartons into plywood and silkscreened replications that became art. Was he making a resonant cultural statement, or was he working his own playful con?Warhol, a leading commercial artist, embraced Madison Avenue’s love of ambiguity and reconfigured it as art in the early 1960s. He understood the world where commercial images blurred the line between necessity and desire, between real and replicated. His was the age of “Is it real, or is it Memorex?”

So the David O. Russell-directed film American Hustle fits right in. The film is emerging as a crowd favorite, having garnered three Golden Globes and ten Academy Award nominations. Loosely-inspired by the 1970s Abscam scandal, an FBI sting operation that snagged several members of Congress accepting bribes, American Hustle and its marvelous cast connects to America’s love affair with confidence men, hucksters and charming rascals.

To continue reading this article detailing a hustle through the history of American husksters with a Smithsonian curator as your guide, click here.

Saturday Supplement: DC's Scandal Back on TV

Each Saturday we offer online articles not originally published in The Prices Do DC which are of interest to both Washington area residents and visitors.

This past week, the ABC hit show Scandal, set in the DC world of politics, political intrigue, and image fixing returned to its Thursday night slot. Here are 2 articles related to the show.

It would be easy to say Joe Morton’s not a bad guy, he just plays one on TV. The 66-year-old actor was introduced toward the end of season two as Command, the ultra-scary head of shadow government B613—and then revealed in the season finale as Olivia Pope’s estranged father, Rowan Pope. But before his twisted relationship with his daughter could be fully explored, Shonda Rhimes brought in an even more formidable villain—Rowan’s long-thought-dead wife, Maya—which made even an all-powerful government operative whose business is to terrify and manipulate everyone around him seem somehow not as bad.

Morton is a veteran actor with a career spanning stage, screen, and multiple decades—including a run at Arena Stage in the 1970s as Walter in Raisin, a musical adaptation of the play A Raisin in the Sun. He was in Washington earlier this month as a presenter for the annual BET Awards, and we chatted with him by phone about the serendipitous way he snagged his Scandal role, what he likes about his bad-guy character, and the relationship advice he’d share with the real Olivia Pope.

To continue reading this article which first appeared in The Washingtonian, click here.

With the news that Homeland star Nazanin Boniadi has signed on to appear in the second half of season three of Scandal, and with our favorite borderline-alcoholic fixer returning to our Thursday-night TV screens this month, we started wondering: What if the two shows actually exist in the same universe? It makes sense: No one ever actually meets the President in Homeland, so it’s highly possible Fitz and Mellie are the residents of Carrie and Saul’s 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Here are some ideas we dreamed up for possible plotlines for season four. You’re welcome, Shonda and Gansa/Gordon.

To continue reading this article which first appeared in The Washingtonian, click here.

Friday Flashback: And the Oscar Goes to ...

Tomorrow (Saturday) at the Newseum Washington Post movie critic Ann Hornaday will talk about all the movies in this year's Oscar race. Here is an article about a Hornday's 2012 movies presentation which 1st appeared in The Prices Do DC on Feb. 25, 2013.

Argo: The best movie of 2012

Even before the 1st envelope was opened at tonight's Academy Awards there had been 2 huge winners from the 2012 movie year, according to Washington Post movie critic Ann Hornaday.

With films such as Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty, the 1st winner was the adult audience. "This was a great year for the garden variety film goer," Hornaday says. "Adults were a very big market. These were the kind of dramas most of us grew up with."

Hornaday appeared at the Newseum on Saturday to talk about the year in film and many of the Oscar nominees. It was the 3rd year in a row that Hornaday had presented such a program the day before the awards would be announced.

This year's 9 nominees were all strong pictures. But Hornaday contends the strength of movies reached into other genre categories such as comedies like Magic Mike, science fiction films like Looper, and thrillers like Skyfall, the latest in the long line of James Bond pictures. "What you want is diversity," she said. "Some years there has been a huge disconnect between what critics like and what the public likes, but it wasn't that way this year."

Hornaday says that there are film experts who believe the bounty of strong movies can actually be attributed to the failing economy of a few years ago. It can take 4 or 5 years for a film project to reach the theaters, which means many of these films saw their financing actually reduced. In turn, that reduction may have sparked an increase in creativity, the result of which actually made for a better movie. "My sense is that they (filmmakers) are really upping their game," Hornaday said.

The second big winner was Washington, D.C. which was a integral locale to 3 films - Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty - most favored to win the best picture award. "It was a great year for DC," Hornaday said. The critic said that Washington has long fielded a strong presence in stories and settings in films. "People have always had a fascination with the power behind the curtain. But what set these apart was the lack of cynicism. And this came at a time when Congress is stuck with such a bad odor," she contended.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Hornaday is an interesting and engaging speaker. But her real strength is in her cogent, informative writing. To check out Hornaday's recent writings including articles supporting her contention that audiences were the big winners in 2012 and a look at the Oscar under the influence of politics, just click here.

Forget Snakes on a Plane, Now It's Snakes in the Gallery

Demeter in front of a masterpiece he calls jokingly calls "Pass the buck". Photo by Matt McClain/Washington Post

When you think of art, you think of snakes - right? You don't. Well, Bela Demeter does. For 35 years, he was a reptile keeper at the National Zoo. After he retired, he became a docent at the National Gallery of Art. As he wandered around the Gallery giving his guided talks, he realized that the art there contained a lot of reptile motifs. So now, a few times a year, he gives a special walking tour entitled Dragons in Art.

We took the tour yesterday. And we discovered that not only is it about snakes and dragons and toads, it offers equal parts art, myth, religion, science, and history. And, as an added bonus, Demeter infuses his engaging tales with a keen sense of wit.

Demeter admits that he uses snakes and dragons as a luring come-on for his true purpose. "We're really trying to expose you to the arts," he says.

In all, the tour covers 10 galleries and 6 centuries of art.

Mercury

We began in the massive rotunda, examining a statue of the Roman god Mercury. Mercury is often represented holding a caduceus, which has become a symbol for medicine. The caduceus depicts intertwined snakes. But actually, using Mercury's ornament for medicine is a wrong representation, Demeter says.

"Mercury did a lot of things. The Greek and Roman gods, they multi-tasked. Mercury was the god of liars and thieves and merchants - in fact mercantile comes from the word Mercury. But he never had anything to do with medicine," Demeter noted.

"The Romans and Greeks had a profound respect for snakes. The Romans used snakes in their worship and they had priests like our snake-handling ministers of today," he added. "But if you know anything about snakes, they are escape artists." That is why some species of snakes are in different parts of Europe today - they are the direct descendants of escaped snakes carried by the Romans to the lands they conquered.

With the advent of Christianity, however, humans view of snakes took "a decidedly sinister turn," Demeter pointed out. There were 2 reasons for this. First, the Egyptians, who held the Jewish people in captivity, worshipped snakes. In fact, famed Egyptian queen Cleopatra was known as "the serpent of the Nile." Christianity was designed to rebuke the pagan beliefs of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

And then, of course, there is the fact that the concept of original sin from the Garden of Eden tale is forever intertwined with idea of temptation from a wily, Devil-like serpent.

So for the next few galleries we examined various artists' renditions of the snake in the Garden of Eden. (For an example, look at the picture of the "Rebuke of Adam and Eve" by Italian artist Domenichino, which Demeter jokingly refers to as "Pass the Buck.").

In one of those pictures, an evil-looking cat is in the foreground, staring back at each viewer of the picture. Demeter has a theory about why the cat was included. "I've read the Genesis story and I don't remember any cat," he said with a laugh. "But in the 15th Century, the cat was associated with the Devil. Think about witches and their familiars. Their familiars were never a dog; they were always a cat. In fact, during that time, there was an effort in Europe to kill every cat. By the 1400s, cats were almost extinct. But something else was going on at that time. Europe was swept by a number of plagues. The plagues were carried by fleas that came on rats. And what kills rats - cats. That's something to think about."

Demeter says that such examples point out one of his steadfast beliefs about art. "No art is formed in a vacuum," he says, pointing out that understanding the history, culture, and beliefs of a period in which a piece of art was produced helps you understand and appreciate the art much better,

St. George slaying the dragon

Christian art of ages past also often depicted the battle between virtuous knights such as St. George and evil dragons. "These were really showing the power of the church in subduing evil," Demeter said as we began examining a series of dragon in Christian art.

In fact, Demeter said the great artist Leonardo da Vinci had his own beliefs about depicting dragons in art. "When you are drawing a dragon, you should use as many real parts (of animals) as you can," da Vinci was supposed to have said. "That will make it more terrifying."

Early Dutch painters always included real-life images with highly symbolic meanings in their works. We looked at one Dutch painting that Demeter noted included a frog so realistic that its species can still be identified today. "That's how well the Dutch did their art. It's amazing," Demeter noted.

Frog or toad: Now you should be able to tell

From the paintings, we moved to sculpture, examining first a series by DaRavenna involving Neptune and dragon-like sea monsters. In the same gallery, were incredibly realistic depictions of frogs and toads. Demeter explained how those depictions were so life-like. "They used real models as molds. Now you can't use a live frog. And you can't use a dead frog. So they would stun the frog by putting him in either vinegar or urine," Demeter explained. Of course, that process was painful for the animal. In fact, Demeter pointed out that one of the replicas was actually mislabeled by museum experts. It was called a toad when actually it was a frog. And how did Demeter know. The small statue had its mouth opened in anguish and only frogs open their mouths that way.

Chinese dragon vase

The tour finished in the gallery containing exquisite Chinese porcelain vases. The Chinese have a quite positive view of both dragons and snakes. "They are not mean. They bring good luck. To have been born in the year of the dragon is the best. To have been born in the year of the snake is the second best," Demeter said.

The Chinese have a very involved mythology surrounding dragons. They believe it takes 3,000 years for a dragon to fully form and that they go through many stages during that time. The Chinese also believe that dragons bring rain. Demeter said that there may be a scientific reason for that belief.

"The ancient Chinese were very astute observers of nature. We have found remains of crocodiles in China with a skull of more than 30-feet. Such a crocodile would have been huge. It could have weighed tons - in short, a dragon. Crocodiles are also effected by barometric pressure. When it drops, they move. Thus, it would have been natural to associate them with rain," Demeter said.

"The Chinese were also aware of dinosaur fossils. You put that all together and you can easily see where the dragon mythology comes from," he added.

Hillary Clinton on the Rise

First Lady of the United States for 8 years. The most successful failed female presidential nominee candidate in history. One of only 3 women to serve as Secretary of State. The most likely Democratic presidential candidate for 2016 should she choose to run.

Obviously, all these factors combined make Hillary Rodham Clinton one of the most reported on women in the world.

But Washington DC political reporters Jonathan Allen and Aimee Parnes were convinced a need still existed for a comprehensive book detailing a sense of how Clinton makes decisions and how she might govern if she were to become president of the United States in 2016.

Last night, Allen and Parnes appeared at Politics and Prose to discuss their new book HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton."

And obviously, judging by the large crowd that attended last night's presentation, there is an audience definitely interested in Clinton. In fact, Allen began the book talk this way: "I hate to disappoint all those of you who came to see Hillary Clinton," his remark eliciting loud chuckles.

The new book actually tells 2 stories - the political battles between the Clinton and Obamas camps and Clinton's tenure as Obama's Secretary of State.

"This is not a foreign policy treatise, but we wrote through the lens of her decision making and how government works." Allen said.

Parnes said she originally wanted a different book title. "I wanted to call the book The Phoenix," she said. "She (Clinton) always kinds of plunges and then rises higher than ever."

Obama had long considered Clinton for the Secretary of State job despite the brutal campaign the 2 camps waged in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary and objections from many of his advisers, Parnes noted.

"He fought and fought and fought to get her. He felt it very strongly. He knew it would help him bring her set of Democrats back and he believed she was right for the job," Allen said. "It was a shot-gun wedding, but a very close one."

However, it was clear from their reporting that the Clintons and Obamas shared a work relationship, not a deep personal friendship. "I don't expect to see them socializing together any time soon," Allen said.

Allen said Clinton's time as Secretary of State altered the perception of the American government. "The footprint of American democracy was a combat boot. But she presented a different picture of America. There was an elevation of perception, especially in Europe," he explained.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the questions from the audience dealt with the probability of a Clinton run for the White House in 2 years.

Both reporters said her time as Secretary of State had changed Clinton. "I think she is a little bit more liberated. She learned to let some people in that are outside the circle. There is willingness to try to address deficiencies," Allen said.

Traveling in Place

For Ann Lordeman, it sounded like a perfect match. Lordeman likes to learn while she travels, and Road Scholar promises their programs are not tours, but learning adventures. And after 1 program (she has since been on 14 more) Lordeman found that she indeed had discovered a great way for her to travel.

"I know they will take me to places that I never even knew existed, places that I wouldn't see on my own," Lordeman says.

So that is why, this past weekend, Lordeman could be found at the Road Scholar booth at the Washington DC Travel and Adventure Show in the Walter Washington Convention Center. There, she answered questions and told about her experiences to many of the 20,000 people who attended the 2-day event.

Lordeman, who is a retired researcher for the Library of Congress, volunteered her time to share her love of travel with anyone who would listen.

But most of the travel experts at the convention were professionals. Take Pieter Reynolds of Your Ireland Personalized Vacations. You could find Reynolds, employing a lilting Irish accent, cajoling visitors to stop at his company's exhibit and explore the options.

The company builds many of its trips around special events. For example, there is an Ireland excursion for St. Patrick's Day, Rome at Easter, and Germany at Christmastime. Reynolds said one of the most asked about theme-trips this year is a British Isles excursion which features sites from Downtown Abbey, the wildly popular BBC television series.

"Those tickets are really hard to get. We tried for 2 years," Reynolds said.

In all, there were more than 200 exhibitors offering travel information both for sites in America and around the world. You could get brochures on safaris in Africa, cruises in the Caribbean, layovers in Iceland, religious pilgrimages to the Holy Lands, and high adventure train trips through West Virginia.

Or you could sit with a crowd of about 1,000 people and hear TV traveler Rick Steves impart tips about his back-door excursions in Europe. Afterward, you could have Steves sign one of his many books, which were for sale at the site, if you wanted to wait in a line that snaked around the exhibition hall.

Ashley Waters gets cooking

If food is your thing, you could stop by the Cuisine Noir Taste of Travel Stage and watch, smell (and, in some cases) taste exotic foods prepared by chefs who explained each stage of their cooking process. We paused to watch Ashley Waters create a dish called Belizean Sere, which included red snapper, coconut, and plantains while her co-host described the foods and culture of her native Belize.

Then you might stroll to the Destination Theater to hear speakers like Colonel Joel Wilkinson, Director of the Maine Warden Service and host of the Animal Planet network's "North Woods Law."

Colonel Wilkinson describes the rugged charms of the Maine woods

If you wanted a more hands-on experience, you could learn scuba driving in a large pool, practice riding a Segway, or show off your rock climbing expertise.

As you can see, if it involved travel, there was plenty to do. There was even a special booth for those who would like to travel, but are afraid of leaving their home unoccupied. DAT services was offering tips on how to secure your home if you take off for other parts of the country or the world. Or, I suppose, even a travel and adventure show.

At the travel show, you learn scuba diving ...

... spin for prizes ...

... watch dancers and performers from around the world ...

... and/or climb up the rock

Smithsonian Sunday: The Real Most Interesting Man in the World

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most treasured and visited places. But the Smithsonian also publishes a series of some of the most interesting, fact-filled blogs appearing anywhere on the internet. Each Sunday, The Prices Do DC re-posts an entry that initially appeared in one of those highly-readable blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

The real "Most Interesting Man in the World" didn’t sell Dos Equis; Eliot Elisofon took pictures. And yes, Elisofon was allowed to touch the artwork in the museum, because he gave it to them. He also put the Brando in Marlon. And strippers kept photos of him on their dressing tables.

His Latvian last name (accent the first syllable: EL-isofon) so confounded General George S. Patton that the commander simply called him “Hellzapoppin.”

The most interesting man in the world didn’t think of himself as a good photographer, but rather as the “world’s greatest.” And while ceaseless self-promotion was his game (he hired a press agent and a clipping service), the output of his camera can be measured: The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art boasts more than 50,000 black-and-white negatives and photographs, 30,000 color slides and 120,000 feet of motion-picture film and sound materials. In addition, the photographer collected and donated more than 700 works of art from Africa. Hundreds of other images are owned by the Getty Archives, and his papers and materials are housed at the University of Texas at Austin.

To continue reading, click here.

Saturday Supplement: 7 New Museums Headed to DC?

Each Saturday we offer online articles not originally published in The Prices Do DC which are of interest to both Washington area residents and visitors.

First, we have an article on Lonnie Bunch who is guiding the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to reality.

Then we have a look at 6 other new museums now being planned for DC.

Lonnie Bunch as the site of the new Smithsonian Museum of African-American History

Lonnie Bunch can’t walk three feet at the BET Honors pre-dinner reception this month without stopping to hug, accept well wishes and talk about the 380,000-square- foot museum he’s building from scratch on the National Mall.

In a room full of VIPs and stars, his celebrity is singular.

He huddles with Motown founder Berry Gordy to talk Detroit collaborations. There’s a brief chat with Georgetown professor and pundit Michael Eric Dyson about coming up with a Smithsonian program. There’s a quick hi-by with Attorney General Eric Holder.

“Next month, it comes out of the ground!” he enthuses about the construction to a guest whose name escapes him.

To continue reading this article which first appeared in The Washington Post, click here.

Artist rendition of the proposed DC science fiction museum

Between now and 2020, at least seven museums will open in the D.C. area, funds allowing. Most everyone’s aware of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, but the six below — including the just-announced ICE — are more mysterious.

Here is a look at those 6 in article originally published in the The Express.  To read the article, click here.