Time Covers the 1960s @The National Portrait Gallery

Welcome to this week's Monday Must-See, Must-Do post. On Mondays, we offer an entry about some current exhibit, event, or dining experience in DC you should take in. Sometimes, we will write the post. Sometimes, it will be taken from another publication. But no matter who is the writer, we believe Monday Must-See, Must-Do will showcase something you shouldn't miss. 

Week in and week out, Time magazine covered the 1960s using all manner of covers created by some of the foremost artists of the day. 

A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery featuring original cover art from the museum’s Time collection explores a selection of the major newsmakers, trends, and happenings that defined the 1960s.

Chronologically, the 1960s began with the inauguration of John F. Kennedy and ended with “one giant leap for mankind,” as Apollo 11 ferried 3 astronauts people to the moon and back.

In the intervening years, Time covered the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the escalation of the Vietnam War, civil rights, the women’s movement and cultural phenomena such as the Beatles, hippies and the sexual revolution

In addition to the artwork above, here is some more of what you will see if you visit the exhibition. Can you name them?

And if you want to recall or learn more about the 1960s, the NPG gift shop is ready for you.

Tips for Experiencing Latino History @The Museum of American History

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured 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 either about the Smithsonian or that 1st appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

Looking to discover Latino history during your museum visit this Hispanic Heritage Month? Christine Miranda, who interned with our Program in Latino History and Culture, has the inside scoop. 

Our museum endeavors to "understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future," and diverse Latino stories are a critical part of that. Here's how to find them across three floors, plenty of exhibitions, and fascinating collections.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in Oh Say Can You See, click here.

Is Reagan National Airport Becoming Too Popular?

Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that first appeared in another publication.

Close to D.C., accessible by Metro, expanding low-cost flight options, and a Taylor Gourmet and Ben's Chili Bowl: What's not to like about Reagan National Airport?

That attitude is apparently concerning regional officials, who say National is growing too much at the expense of Dulles.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in The DCist, click here.

Was It Once Flying Saucers Over DC?

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback. Each Friday in the Flashback we offer a post about some part of the past and its relationship to DC. Sometimes, we will write a new entry. Others times, we will showcase articles that previously appeared in The Prices Do DC or some other online publications. But no matter who does the writing, you can trust that you will learn something important from the Flashback. 

In the 1950s, Washington seems to have been a popular destination for UFOs, both actual ones and cinematic. Two popular science fiction movies, 1951'sThe Day the Earth Stood Still and 1956's Earth Vs the Flying Saucers, depicted alien spacecraft arriving in the nation's capital, to the consternation of both residents and the government. 

But those close encounters may have seemed a bit more plausible, given that the Washington area also was the scene of one of the most celebrated real-life UFO incidents ever--one that still intrigues those who ponder the possiblity of extraterrestrial visits to Earth.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared WETA's Boundary Stones, click here.

Our Wounded Warriors Now Remembered

There are life-threatening injuries to confront and surmount, life-changing disabilities to meet and master, and life-shaping experiences to make peace with and understand.

There have always been memorials to wars and military leaders in Washington, DC. But until this week, none of them have been solely dedicated to those warriors who came home physically and mentally scarred from fighting for American freedom.

DC's newest memorial - The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial - was officially dedicated by President Barack Obama on Sunday and opened to the public one day later.

"With this memorial we commemorate, for the first time, the two battles our disabled have fought, the battle over there and the battle here at home," Obama said at the ceremonies.

Sixteen years in the making, the memorial, located across from the U.S. Botanical Gardens and within sight of the Capitol, is not only a tribute to our soldiers, but also to their loved ones and care givers.

The memorial incorporates many of the more familiar items of modern tribute. There is an eternal flame. There is a pool of water. There are walls of varying sizes. And there are a series of quotes from famed military and political leaders, as well as the words of soldiers and caregivers.

This quote from former U.S. General and President Dwight Eisenhower greets visitors as they enter the memorial space:

"Each of you bears upon the body the permanent scars of dangerous service; service rendered in order that our grand nation might continue to live according to the expressed will of our citizens."

The project was organized by two former Veteran Affairs Secretaries and philanthropist Lois Pope (the heir to the National Enquier fortune), who raised more than $80 million dollars to complete the project.

In 2012, there were 21.2 million military veterans living in the United States, according to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate. The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial foundation believes there are at least 4 million disabled veterans today.

However, that may be an underestimate. For, as one of the quotes on one of the walls points out: "In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

There's Always More to the Story

The long story behind the memorial. (from Wikipedia)

Why this memorial? (from NPR)

Personal Reflections (from AVDLM)

There's a Big New Face on the National Mall

Welcome to this week's Monday Must-See, Must-Do post. On Mondays, we offer an entry about some current exhibit, event, or dining experience in DC you should take in. Sometimes, we will write the post. Sometimes, it will be taken from another publication. But no matter who is the writer, we believe Monday Must-See, Must-Do will showcase something you shouldn't miss. 

Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada is a big artist with big ideas. Standing a wiry 6-foot-5, he is rethinking the concept of portraiture: Instead of capturing an individual on canvas, he portrays universal man in giant “face-scapes” tilled into the ground

Born in Cuba, raised in the United States and based in Barcelona, the 48-year-old earth artist has received international renown for monumental face-scapes he’s done in Belfast, Amsterdam and two sites in Spain. Now the National Portrait Gallery has commissioned his first such work in the United States, a face-scape that will appear on the National Mall for a month, beginning October 1.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in Smithsonian.Com, click here.

Museum of the American Indian Using New Exhibit to Spread Its New Message

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured 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 either about the Smithsonian or that 1st appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

The confusion begins with the entrance to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, a soaring, curving stone building at the southeastern corner of the Mall.

The entrance faces east — a symbolic nod to the many Native Americans who orient their homes to the east and the rising sun — but that makes it difficult for visitors coming from the Mall or Metro to find their way in, and entering through the back door diminishes the dramatic effect of the Potomac Atrium .

The two major exhibitions on the upper floors are similarly confounding. “Our Lives” celebrates the survival of the dispossessed without chronicling the policies and battles that brought them close to extinction, while “Our Universes” spotlights the creation myths of seven nations without drawing any connections or contrasts between them.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in The Washington Post, click here.

30 Things DC Loves

Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that first appeared in another publication.

Whether you just got to DC or have been here a while, you know we love to eat, drink, and argue. 

More specifically, here are 30 things we can’t get enough of, starting with #1: cherry blossoms. DC is perpetually in a state of either going new-parents-level photo crazy over the blossoms or waiting for them to return.

While you're waiting, here are 29 other things you can't stop loving:

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in Thrillist, click here.

A Bite of Baseball Fandom

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback. Each Friday in the Flashback we offer a post about some part of the past and its relationship to DC. Sometimes, we will write a new entry. Others times, we will showcase articles that previously appeared in The Prices Do DC or some other online publications. But no matter who does the writing, you can trust that you will learn something important from the Flashback. 

Today, we are reposting an entry that 1st appeared on Sept. 17, 2013. With the Nats in the Major League baseball playoffs it's appropriate to look at what happens to your baseball fandom when you relocate. 

UPDATE: The Nats lost the 1st game of the best-of-five series to the San Francisco Giants 3-2.

When it comes to baseball fandom, whom you root for is often a matter of geography. Born and raised in Los Angeles? Chances are good you will be a Dodgers or Angels fan. Came into the world a couple hours drive to the south and you're probably a San Diego Padres fan. A couple of hours north and you could well spend your entire life following the San Francisco Giants.

Of course, the phenomenon isn't related only to the West Coast. Colorado, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, New York, Boston, it doesn't matter - born there, attend your 1st games there, stay there, your allegiance often remains there.

The old Connie Mack stadium in Philadelphia

So, since I was born in Philadelphia and spent the next 6 decades in neighboring South Jersey, it wasn't surprising that I was a Phillies fan, just like my mother and father before me and my son after me. When I was 8, I was struck with baseball fever. I avidly collected baseball cards. I devoured every issue of The Sporting News. I could tell you more stats than you would ever need to know. I played organized Little League, sandlot baseball, and backyard wiffle ball. When no one was around, I would take a glove, a wall, and a rubber ball and create a whole series of 9-inning games. If it was raining, there was this board game with dice that would let me continue my baseball passion.

I loved going to games at the old Connie Mack stadium with my Dad and his friends, 2 of whom were pro baseball scouts (one for the Reds, one for the Pirates) and one of whom, Goose Goslin, was an actual Baseball Hall of Famer with his bust in Cooperstown, NY. They all taught me how to truly appreciate the magnificent nuances of the game.

But while I loved the game, in reality, I was only a slightly-below-average player, (my farm league team went 0-16 and my error cost my Little League team a championship). However, I remained a super fan. Well, at least until my teen years when rock and roll music and playing keyboard (the rock women who ignored me for the singers were much hotter than the baseball groupies I never had) replaced baseball as my American pastime.

Although I gave up my super label, the Phils remained a part of my life. If I watched a game on TV, there was a 90 percent chance the Phils were involved. The horrible sense of loss I felt when the Phils blew the pennant in 1964 in one of the greatest collapses in baseball history still surfaced every so often in my memory. When I took my son to a baseball game, unless we were on vacation, it was to see the Phils.

But 3 years ago we retired and moved to Washington, DC. Suddenly, it was the Washington Nationals, not the Philadelphia Phillies, who were the home town team. When I turned on the local TV, the game was the Nats and whomever they were playing. The sports pages I read were now reports of the Nats in the Washington Post, not stories of the Phils fate in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Quickly, I came to know more about the new Nats than I did the Phillies. And the Nats ballpark was only 5 Metro stops and one train change from our apartment.

The new Nationals Park in DC

All of which brings us to last weekend. My wife found us incredibly low-priced tickets to all 3 games of the 2013 final series between the Phillies and the Nationals . So I would have 3 chances to test out if my allegiance to the Phils had faded to be replaced with a new fondness for the Nats.

I decided on a plan. To test out which team I was really now a fan of, I would post different positions on my Facebook page depending on the score. I would then feel which one felt right. It would also give me chance to see if I would have any family (one of whom would be sitting next to me for all 3 games) or friends if I really did switch from the Phils to the Nats. Here is a game-by-game account of that game plan.

Game 1 (Nats 6, Phils 1)

• My FB post - Phils up 1-0 in the top of the 1st. Go Phils
• Replies - 7 likes
• My post - Ramos homerun puts Nats up 2-1. Go Nats.
• Best Comment - "Oh now you're a Nats fan. Figures. You always were slimy."
• My post - Zimmerman homerun makes its 3-1. Nats rule
• Best comment - "Hey, tap that guy in front of you on the shoulder (I had previously posted a picture of where I was sitting) and ask him if he thinks you are more stupid or more ugly, you turncoat".
• My post - Nats up 6-1 after 5. I am a Nats fan. I have always been a Nats fan. In fact, I was a Nats fan before there was a Nats team.
• Best comment (tie) - "You mean you were the Expos sole fan" (The Nats were once the Montreal Expos). No wonder Montreal couldn't keep the franchise. But what's more alarming is that you were pro-Canadian" and "You were a greenheads fan if I recall, not a gnats fan."
• My post - Great night to be a Nats fan
• Best  comment - "You weren't one when you went in. Are you going to change your sex, too?"

Game 2 (Phils 5, Nats 4)

• My post - Ruiz just hit a 3-run double. Phils up 4-1. Glad I have always been a Phils fan.
• Best comment - "Seriously, you're bordering on being hidden from my timeline with your flip-flopping bullcrap". 
• My post - I think these Nats fans must be feminists. They keep shouting "less gonads, less gonads". 
• Best comment - "All this flipping and flopping may be affecting your hearing. Maybe hormones? Perhaps taking their advice would help?"
• My post - Phils win 5-4. I am a Phillies fan. I have always been a Phillies fan. I will always be a Phillies fan.
• Best comment (tie) "You, David Price, are now, have always been, and will continue to be a fair weather Jersey/Philadelphia sports fan" and "Next thing ya know you'll be a Republican, too". 

Games 3 (Nats 11, Phils 2)

• My post - Phils up 1-0 with Nats at bat in the 2nd. Glad I am a Phils fan.
• Best comment - "Hope you don't break you leg hopping on and of that bandwagon. Wait, on 2nd thought, I do".
• My post - Nats up 4-2. Let's go Nats.
• Best comment - "Did you just turn your reversible shirt inside out again?"
• My post - Nats up 10-2. I am glad I am a Nats fan
• Best comment - "I wish they had a tongue-sticking-out, finger-sticking-up icon on Facebook. But they don't. Use your imagination". 

So all this brings us to the 7th inning of the final game of the series. I had tried keeping my Phils fandom. I had tested out a new Nats card. But I still wasn't certain. Time was running out. There was only one thing to do. I jumped from my seat and headed to the concession area. I stopped at the Ben's Chili Bowl stand. I bought a DC half-smoke with everything on it. Then I headed to the Taste of the Majors. I bought a Philly cheesesteak wid' onions. I headed back to my seat. If my heart and my head couldn't decide, I would let my stomach make the choice. 

My wife looked at me. "You're unbelievable," she said, reaching for the Tide Stick she knew she would soon need. I ignored the comment. I couldn't let a few stains stand in the way of a major league decision like this. I figured the fairest way was to eat a bite of the Philly steak, then a bite of the DC half-smoke (home teams always bat last, you know). In the early eating innings, it was close. They were both good. But by about the 8th bite, with cheese dripping from my chin and chili staining my pants, it suddenly became clear. I liked DC half-smokes, but I loved Philly cheesesteaks. I was, had always been, and will always be a Phils fan, for better or worse, in their sickness and their health, in their winning and their losing, until death do us part. Or until at least next season. There is always peach pie (Atlanta Braves), deep dish pizza (Chicago Cubs) Texas beef brisket (Houston Astros) and quesadillas (Arizona Diamondbacks). 

What's for Lunch @Penn Commons

What's for Lunch@ is a periodic feature at Counter Culture in the Capital, which is a companion blog to The Prices Do DC. The concept is simple. My wife Judy and I enjoy a lunch at a DC eatery and post what we liked from the menu. Between us, we represent the 2 extremes of dining. Judy is relatively conservative with her choices and avoids all spicy foods (no heavy garlic, peppers or onions). I am an extremely adventurous eater and will try anything as long as it doesn't contain my 2 no-nos: asparagus or chicken feet. So whether you're more Judy or more me, we encourage you to follow our suggestions for a good meal at under $25 per person. Trust us. It will be good. We only post if we would recommend the meals.

Now this is way you make sure the gazpacho stays chilled

Today's Dining Spot - Penn Commons (700 6th St NW - Penn Quarter neighborhood)

Type of Food - Modern American tavern

Brief Background - Penn Common is part of the Passion Food Hospitality Group which also includes DC Coast, Acadiana, PassionFish, District Commons, Burger Tap and Shake, and Fuego Cocina y Taqueria

My Choice - Golden Tomato Gazpacho (crab and cucumber relish w/pretzel croutons) and Ting's Grilled Thai Steak Salad (greens, carrots, cashews, scallions w/spicy chili-lime dressing)

Judy's Choice - Jumbo Lump Crabcake Sandwich (old bay tartar sauce, over-cured tomatoes)

Total Cost for 2 - $48.40

Other Choices - The complete menu.

Inside Penn Commons

The Union Station Hall's Come Alive with the Sound of Music

Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell @Union Station

Often times in life you don't get a chance for a do-over. But sometimes you do. And Joshua Bell got such a chance yesterday.

Back in 2007, Grammy-award winning violinist Bell performed some of the world's greatest music as a busker at the busy L'Enfant Metro station. More than a thousand pedestrians hurried by Bell without notice. Very few stopped to listen and only a handful realized they were being treated to a free concert by a musical master.

Washington Post staffer Gene Weingarten wrote a column about the adventure and that story, entitled "Pearls Before Breakfast: Can One of the Nation's Great Musicians Cut Through the Fog of a D.C. Rush Hour?" won a pulitzer for Weingarten and greater notoriety for Bell, who already was one of the most acclaimed musicians in the world. (A link to the complete version of Weingarten's story appears at the end of this post).

Yesterday, 7 years later, Bell gave a repeat performance of sorts.  He appeared for a half-hour free performance at Union Station. But this time hundreds and hundreds of fans and classical music enthusiasts packed the Grand Hall at the station to hear Bell's playing.

Prior to his lunch-time, half-hour concert, Bell explained why he wanted a do-over to Washington Post reporter Jessica Contrera.

"I'm in dangerous territory of it becoming the main thing I'm know for," Bell said. "I really don't want that on my tombstone: Here he is underground again."

The crowd began arriving more than an hour before the scheduled 12:30 start. The best seats went to those who huddled near the temporary stage in front of the dozens of TV cameras on hand to capture the performance, which would also call attention to the National Youn

Arts Foundation and the release of Bell's latest CD.

Other fans sat on the circular stairs leading up to one of the station's restaurants. Perhaps the best seats were held by 3 construction workers who perched atop scaffolding being used for renovations to the station's ornate ceiling. For the rest, it meant filling in the hall, standing on tiptoes, and craning necks for the best view possible.  Cameras and cell phones were thrust into the air to capture the event.

At the very back of the crowd, far removed from the stage, 3 female workers with the ubiquitous government ID tags draped around their necks assessed their chances for the show.

"Can you see anything back here?" the latest of the 3 arrivals asked the other 2.

"Not really, but we are here and we can hear," one replied.

Weingarten introduced Bell, who then played Bach and Mendelsohn in the 30-minute performance. He was accompanied by 9 students from the National YoungArts Foundation. Those young musicians are also featured alongside the violin virtuoso in his HBO documentary special "Joshua Bell: A YoungArts MasterClass" which will air on Oct. 14.

So, after it was concluded, how did Bell feel about his do-over?

"Music - you need the give and take from the audience, the feeling of attention. It's not about me; it's about the music itself," Bell told PBS senior correspondent Jeffery Brown after the concert. "Today, I was a little surprised at how many people came. I was a little worried that when I agreed to do it that there might only be a handful of people and it might be embarrassing. This far exceeded my expectations I was so happy," he said.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Even more on Bell and his DC musical story

 Here is the link to Weingarten's orginal Pulitzer Prize winning story.

Should you do the do-over if there's a chance for a 2nd chance? (from NPR)

A Look at the Dark Side Over the Rainbow @National Women's Art Musuem

Welcome to this week's Monday Must-See, Must-Do post. On Mondays, we offer an entry about some current exhibit, event, or dining experience in DC you should take in. Sometimes, we will write the post. Sometimes, it will be taken from another publication. But no matter who is the writer, we believe Monday Must-See, Must-Do will showcase something you shouldn't miss. 

Call it the anti-Disney effect.

While a rash of films such as Maleficent have tried to remake villains into sympathetic antiheroes, “Soda_Jerk: After the Rainbow,” opening September 19 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, has the opposite goal: to reveal the heart of darkness in the star of the family film The Wizard of Oz.

The 1939 classic helped Judy Garland—17 when she starred as Dorothy Gale—earn a permanent place in people’s hearts. Yet, as is well documented, her life wasn’t nearly as rosy as her character’s, a contrast the exhibit explores.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in The Washingtonian, click here.

Star Trek Model: Boldly Going Nowhere (For a While)

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured 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 either about the Smithsonian or that 1st appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

On September 11, 2014, the studio model of the Star Trek starship Enterprise, which has been on public display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum since 1976, was removed for conservation in preparation for its new display location in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, which will open in July 2016. The announcement of the artifact’s inclusion in the transformed Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall was made on April 3, 2014.

The eleven-foot-long studio model was used in filming the original Star Trek television series, (NBC, 1966-1969). Paramount donated it to the National Air and Space Museum in 1974. Initially displayed beginning in September 1974 in the Arts and Industries Building’s Life in the Universe exhibit, this significant cultural icon has been displayed in various locations in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC since that building’s opening in July 1976, although it has also been off display occasionally. Since March of 2000, it had been in a custom-built display case on the lower level of the Museum’s store.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in Smithsonian.Com., click here.

Crystal City Seeks to Become Tech Center

Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that first appeared in another publica

Mitchell N. Schear is responsible for 20 million square feet of real estate in the Washington area, but on a recent morning, he was sitting at a sidewalk cafe near his Crystal City office in loafers, talking about how excited he was about the new neighborhood bar.

Highline, as the venue has been dubbed, will be the latest outpost of Geoff Dawson’s long string of local bars and restaurants, one that includes Bedrock Billiards, Ripple, Rocket Bar and Iron Horse Tavern.

When it opens later this year at 2010 Crystal Dr., Highline will also be the latest drop added to Schear’s Crystal City petri dish, where he is trying to grow a hub of technology companies to fill his company’s ample available office space.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in The Washington Post, click here.

DC's Own Roberta Flack

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback. Each Friday in the Flashback we offer a post about some part of the past and its relationship to DC. Sometimes, we will write a new entry. Others times, we will showcase articles that previously appeared in The Prices Do DC or some other online publications. But no matter who does the writing, you can trust that you will learn something important from the Flashback. 

In the Washington, D.C. area, she’s often called, “Our Roberta,” a brown-skinned, florescent woman with a striking Afro, working as an image of her singing style.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Roberta Flack started playing the piano at an early age. When she was five, her family moved to the Nauck community in Arlington and she took up the organ, lending her musical talents to Macedonia Baptist Church. At 15, she entered Howard University with a full music scholarship and, by 19, she was a college graduate.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in WETA TV's Boundary Stones, click here.

U Street: Like Harlem, a Home to Great Black Literature

When you consider the Harlem Renaissance, you naturally think of New York City. But many of the writers most closely associated with that time also have strong ties to Washington DC.

Langston Hughes, possibly the greatest black writer of that period lived for a time in DC. So did his female contemporary Zora Neal Hurston, the author of the classic Their Eyes Were Watching God. Jean Toomer's novel Cane was set in Washington.

Although the black writers roamed around the capital, the area they were most associated with was U Street and its surrounding neighborhoods of LeDroit Park and Shaw. U Street itself was known as DC's Black Broadway from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Last week, a special literary-themed walk was offered as one of the DC By the Book Tours, designed by the DC Public Library. The tour was part of a week-long program featuring 4 walking tours which were operated as part of the annual week-long  Walkingtown DC, sponsored by Cultural Tourism DC.

The tour was designed and led by Kim Roberts, an editor of the Beltway Poetry Quarterly. Roberts is also one of the prime movers behind the DC Writers Homes project.

At each of the tours 14 stops, volunteers would read a passage from an author associated with that location. As a special benefit, readers got to choose one of 2 books for their efforts - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz. The books were courtesy of the DC Library.

The YMCA where
Hughes roomed

For example, outside a YMCA where Hughes once had a room, the description was highlighted by this excerpt from Hughes' autobiography, The Big Sea.

I arrived in Washington with only a sailor's peajacket protecting me from the winter winds. All my shirts were ragged and my trousers frayed. I am sure I did not look like a distinguished poet, when I walked up to my cousin's porch in Washington's Negro section, LeDroit Park ... Listen, everybody! Never go live with relatives if you're broke! That is an error.

Or here is a poem "I Sit and Sew" by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson, the wife of noted black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, who worked for a time at the Library of Congress.

I sit and sew—a useless task it seems,

My hands grown tired, my head weighed down with dreams—

The panoply of war, the martial tread of men,

Grim-faced, stern-eyed, gazing beyond the ken

Of lesser souls, whose eyes have not seen Death,

Nor learned to hold their lives but as a breath—

But—I must sit and sew.

I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire—

That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire

On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things

Once men. My soul in pity flings

Appealing cries, yearning only to go

There in that holocaust of hell, those fields of woe—

But—I must sit and sew.

The little useless seam, the idle patch;

Why dream I here beneath my homely thatch,

When there they lie in sodden mud and rain,

Pitifully calling me, the quick ones and the slain?

You need me, Christ! It is no roseate dream

That beckons me—this pretty futile seam,

It stifles me—God, must I sit and sew?

DC Critic Takes a Look at the New Fall TV Season

Watching TV then ... 

... and watching TV now

DVR. OnDemand. Streaming. 800+ channels. Watching on giant home screens. On computers, laptops, and tablets. Even on your phone.

There is no doubt that the way people are watching television is changing. But some things still remain the same. Even though more shows are beginning in mid-season and summer than ever, fall is still the biggest time for introducing the most new shows. And that means viewers must decide which of the new offerings are worth their time.

Many people turn to TV critics to help with that choice and, earlier this week, Washington Post TV critic Hank Stuever appeared at the Newseum to offer his 2014 picks and pans.

Stuever explained his process for rating shows. "Some of it is my thoughts and my tastes and reactions, but I really look at - is the show good at what's it's trying to be. That is the Golden Rule - is a show good at what it's trying to be," Stuever told the audience at the Inside Media taping.

So what shows are the best at being good at what they are trying to be this year?  Stuever singled out 4 examples.

Madame Secretary (CBS)

"People have wanted a new West Wing. It's an appetizer for The Good Wife and it hits the same audience."

Transparent (Amazon)

"I really do like this show. Jeffrey Tambor (as a father changing to a woman) has the most self-absorbed adult children. I think this is Amazon's best effort so far."

Gotham (Fox)

"The pilot captures exactly what it is trying to be. It's an origin story and it's riffing on the whole Batman story."

Black-ish (ABC)

"-Ish is an interesting way to put a show together. It's on after Modern Family. It's remedial about race, but after the summer we've had, I think America is ready for something remedial about race."

OK, so there are some hits. What about sure misses? Stuever singled out 2 - Scorpions on CBS ('It gets stupider and stupider and then it implodes") and NCIS: New Orleans ("gumbo from a can").

Of course, Stuever readily admits that his judgments could be wrong. "I put a caveat on the whole fall season because I've only seen what they (the networks) will let me," Steuver said.

Stuever believes TV is becoming more reflective of our diverse American society. "You sort of see the fruits of everyone else's hard work over the last 3 decades to have TV shows that look like the viewers who watch them." he said.

To support his contention, Stuever pointed to ABC on Tuesday night, which is being called "Shonda Rhimes Night" since the new show How to Get Away with Murder (starring Academy award-winner Viola Davis) will be joining hits Grey' s Anatomy and Scandal in the lineup. All 3 shows are being produced by Rhimes, a black female TV executive.

"You've never had 2 black women back to back as stars in a show," Stuever said."Before, blacks could be best friends, but rarely the stars."

The critic also provided insight into how he goes about doing his job. He has a computer and a TV at his desk in the Post building. He also watches TV at home. "Organization is the key to any job. I try to look way ahead and then I try to look up close. I have to make instant decisions right away. Sometimes I have to decide if I want to review a show based on 5 or 10 minutes. But I take as many notes now as I did when I was a features reporter," he explained.

Stuever said that some of the show previews are sent to him as a computer link with an encrypted password. Others arrive on DVD. "It's about 50/50 now," he said.

Of course, with all the new channels and new shows out there, the job can get overwhelmingly at times. Such was the case with the PBS Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelts. "I had to binge watch it to review it. I loved it, but just like in college, I let it sit on my desk all summer," he said with a laugh.

Then there are always people who can't believe a person can get paid for watching TV.  That is especially true when groups of young students tour the Post building. "I can see what they are saying - 'see that guy. That man gets paid for watching TV all day," Stuever said.

Celebrating Banned Books Week

Even with the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, America has been, and continues to be, the scene of literary censorship and book bannings. While much of the focus is on books written for younger readers, almost all our American classics - Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Catch-22, have come under fire from critics who wanted them removed from school or local library shelves.

But the champions of the freedom to create, express, and read whatever one wants have a powerful weapon in their arsenal in the censorship wars - Banned Books Week.

Launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries, Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. 

And as it has since the inception, the DC Public Library is taking part in the week by staging a series of events calling attention to the problem of censorship.

UNCENSORED: The Art Exhibition is a temporary public art event at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The Great Hall has been transformed into a gallery, showcasing works of art by local D.C. artists pertaining to the theme of censorship. In addition to the Great Hall, the exhibition space will include the large entryway windows and parts of the second floor. 

Here are just 3 examples of what you will see in the exhibit, which will remain on display until Oct. 18.

Pay No Attention by Halsey Barryman

A sign painter by trade, Berryman generated a few samples of signs using quotes from George Orwell's 1984. He then incorporated these into an installation of hand-painted signs based on quotes that deal with censorship and are found in a number of banned books.

Untitled

Kathryn Cote

Cote created a sculpture painting that explores the concept of the "wallflower" as it pertains to literary censorship. Each panel is covered in a series of small, paper roses which have been constructed using printed news articles and academic journals discussing controversial topics that appear throughtout the often-challenged young adult book The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Untitled
Janelle Ortiz

Censorship of art reached a pinnacle with the Nazis in World War II. To rid works the Nazis did not favor they burned them. Setting fire has also been common for many other censored and rejected items including books. For this exhibit, Ortiz built a pedestal from traditional materials and burned it prior to the installation.

Other events for the week include:

The Birmingham Jail Players Present:
A Celebration of Our Freedom to Read
Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

A group of lively DCPL employees who came together for King Week earlier this year, reunite to celebrate Banned Books Week by reciting excerpts from the works of their favorite challenged authors. Come hear the words of such authors as Kurt Vonnegut, Judy Blume, Mildred Taylor, Toni Morrison, and many more. They will be joined byAzar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, known for her outspoken defense of the freedom to read and the power of literature to change the world.

Teen Reading
Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.

Mt. Pleasant Library

Are you a teen who loves to read? Do you need to earn some community service hours?
Join the Mt. Pleasant Library Teen Book Club!

This week we will celebrate Banned Books Week by reading books that have been challenged or banned in school and public libraries. Grab a related book and come chat Wednesday, Sept 24 at 4:30 p.m. in the Teen Space on the Lower Level. Library staff will have some favorites out on display and you can always ask for suggestions at the Information Desk. 

I Read Banned Comics
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Northeast Library

Join us in focusing on freedom of information and expression by bringing your favorite graphic novel or comic and sharing a little bit about why you like it with others.  Come and hear about what others love and why.  We'll also have some great suggestions for those who are just curious about the popular genre and those who are veteran readers.

Read-Out! Harry Potter

Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Benning Library

We will be reading some of our favorite banned books at Read-Out! this month. Come by and listen to the first chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Captain Underpants, and other banned favorites. This program is appropriate for children ages 8-12 and will take place in the children's story circle.