Brazil's Dance with the Devil: Love of Soccer Battles Sports Greed

Today, activist sports writer Dave Zirin is in Brazil covering the biggest sports story in the world - soccer's World Cup. But 3 days ago, he was here in DC talking about his new book, Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy with a standing-room only crowd of fellow social advocates at Busboys and Poets.

For more than a year, Brazilians, who as a nation consider soccer a veritable religion, have been protesting the staging of the World Cup by FIFA, the event's organizer, and a too-compliant government, claiming the combination is responsible for financial waste and corruption that is jeopardizing the country's educational, health, and housing services.

Dave Zirin signs books after his talk

"People are protesting soccer in Brazil. In Brazil, soccer is a religion. Imagine a protest in New York City against pizza," Zirin said. "Polls show that 55% of Brazil wants its team to lose. FIFA is as popular as FEMA was in New Orleans after Katrina."

Zirin, who has been covering the Olympics and World Cups for more than a decade, says "the waste and carnage" of such events is mind-boggling. For example, winter events have paid millions to fly snow to mountains. The cost of the recent corruption-filled Winter Olympics in Sochi has exceed $9 billion dollars.

The sports writer often quotes his friend, former Olympian and 1968 Mexico City protester John Carlos, who says the Olympics are only held every 4 years because "it takes them 4 years to count the money."

"It's not that there's no money, it's a question of who gets the money," Zirin said. That controversy is particularly acute in Brazil since the country will also be hosting the Olympics in 2 years.

Here are just some of the statistics for the 2014 World Cup. It is expected to cost more than $15 billion to put on. FIFA required that brand new stadiums be built, many with luxury boxes for only the richest fans. One stadium, constructed in the Amazon Rainforest, has not yet been completed and is rumored to be used as an outdoor prison center after the games are completed. More than 250,000 Brazilians have been displaced from their homes. The government has mobilized more troops for the event than America deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is all satire so dark that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert wouldn't have dared to cover it," Zirin said.

But many in Brazil have been striking back, taking to the streets and staging protest strikes. "They are saying we want FIFA quality wages, we want FIFA quality schools, we want FIFA quality hospitals," Zirin said.

The situation is heightened because of Brazil's long history with European colonialism, slavery, and racial and economic inequality.  "They do not want their soccer to become just another commodity for foreign consumption," Zirin said.

The sports writer maintains that Americans should be following the Brazilian happenings as the country's people take on authoritarian power, corporate greed, and political cronyism and corruption. "All that is what makes Brazil our story, too," Zirin maintains.

Zirin believes that the Brazilian actions may be the beginning of a world-wide movement to curb the excesses and abuses of giant sporting competitions. "I see a renaissance of revolution against these sports organizations that act like Mafia cartels for their own personal enrichment," Zirn said.

And while that may or may not be true, it is certain that with soccer's enormous popularity, the whole world will be watching what happens both on and off the field in Brazil for the next 4 weeks.

Documentarian Ken Burns Talks the Roosevelts - Teddy, Franklin, and Eleanor

Ken Burns (on right) talks history, film, and the Roosevelts

Most historians would agree that both Roosevelts - Teddy and Franklin - should be ranked in the top 10 White House presidents in American history. But, with the current relentless 24/7 news cycle and the shrill, political cacophony of social media, could either man be elected today?

To renowned director Ken Burns, who describes himself as a historian who uses film to tell his stories, the answer is a resounding no.

"I think Teddy would have been (emotionally) too hot. He would have had his Iowa Howard Dean moment and we never would have heard from him again. And I don't think a cripple confined to a wheelchair could get out of the Iowa caucuses. And that is a disastrous," Burns says.

The director offered concluding remarks this week at a seminar on Inequality Begins at Birth: Child Poverty in America, sponsored by the Century Foundation's Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative, the Roosevelt Institute, and the America Pediatric Association.

His remarks followed a viewing of selected clips from his latest documentary on Teddy, Franklin, and FDR's wife, Eleanor, which will be aired for 7 consecutive nights on PBS this September.

Burns said that all 3 of the Roosevelts had appeared individually in many of his previous documentaries, but now he wanted to tell the interconnected story of all 3 in his latest endeavor.

"These were great people, but they were imperfect in personal lives and they were imperfect in their political lives," Burns said, noting that it is the dualities of good and bad and success and failure in all of us that make for great story telling. ""Achilles was a great hero, but he had his heel and he had his hubris," Burns noted.

Burns thought that the greatest attribute of all 3 Roosevelts was their ability to connect to the common people, despite the fact that each had been born into great wealth. "They were to the manor born, but they were willing to go down. All 3 had a willingness to swim upstream and betray their class."

Not surprisingly, Burns said it is important for all of us to study history to gain perspective on our own times. "There really is nothing new under the sun," he said. "The idea of what is the role of government resonates in our times. "(Examining) history gives a chance to mitigate our own over-reactions and restore our confidence.

Soul of Our Nation Is at Stake, Says Sen. Cory Booker

Cory Booker and me: 2 Jersey boys
talk Springsteen and politics.

From his seat on Capitol Hill to his travels around the country, Sen. Cory Booker sees a series of struggles that is leaving "the soul of our nation in the balance."

"We are setting traps for our children that cost us all in the long run," Booker, who represents the state of New Jersey says. "As my father used to say 'it might be better to have been born in 1936 than it is to be born now'. We are falling backward. The question is not what the right answer is - but why are we not pursuing it?"

Booker was the keynote speaker today at a seminar on Inequality Begins at Birth: Child Poverty in America, sponsored by the Century Foundation's Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative, the Roosevelt Institute, and the America Pediatric Association.

As you would expect from the topic, Booker addressed the problems of the young poor, especially those he witnessed firsthand during his time as Mayor of Newark living by choice in public housing.

"New Jersey is still one of the most segregated states in the nation," Booker said. "70 percent of my (Newark) children are like my Dad, poor and being raised by a single mom. My father benefitted from a conspiracy of love. He had people there to make sure he did not fail. But today, we don't have the level of activity and engagement to break the cycle".

Booker said that early education must be improved and college must be made more affordable.  "You can't be a leader in the economy if you are a laggard in education," the senator said.

But some of his harshest criticisms were directed at the American criminal justice system and a failed War on Drugs that has devastated communities across the country.

"We have 4% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners. Americans do not have a higher proclivity for criminal behavior than anywhere else. There are more blacks now under criminal supervision (prison, probation, parole, etc.) than all the slaves in 1850. Think about that," Booker said. "People are being sucked into the criminal justice system."

It is evident that the American justice system is racially biased, Booker pointed out. To dramatize that claim, he compared the treatment of a black youth in Camden (NJ) and a college student at Stanford University, the college where Booker received his college degree. "They're not raiding any fraternities at Stanford. And blacks and whites in America have no different rates of drug use,"Booker said.

The senator also pointed out that once released from incarceration, many people are forced to "go back into that underground economy" because they are banned from, or can't find, employment. He cited a statistic that 84% of the murder victims in Newark had been arrested 10 or more times in their lives.

"We need to empower people to be productive," Booker said. "Poor costs more. The amount we have to pay on the back end instead of investing in the front end is staggering. We are not acting in a fiscally prudent way."

As an example of such action, Booker pointed out that the same Congress that cut food stamps increased financial incentives to sugar manufacturers. "That means it's cheaper to get a Twinkie in Trenton than it is to get an apple."

Booker claimed reversing these situations "is the call of our country."

"Everywhere in this nation is sacred soil. There are no toss-away communities. There are no toss-away people," he said.

That daunting task will take "sacrifice, struggle, and work" the senator noted. "Change is never made in an instant. It takes timeless, indefatigable people to stay in the fight."

Masks and More @National Museum of African Art

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

Dreams are the inspiration for much of the art in the National Museum of African Art’s latest exhibition. It certainly looks like a shadow realm. Illuminated by a twilit scheme meant to evoke late-afternoon sunshine filtered through a dense canopy of leaves, “Visions From the Forests” features mask after mask, many of which seem to have sprung from a restless mind. The whole show has the feel of a power nap: more stimulating than sleepy.

The hallucinatory implication of the title is not just a metaphor. In the tradition of the Dan people of West Africa’s upper Guinean rain forest, where this art comes from, the sandman is quite literally the maskmaker’s muse. For the Dan artist, as the wall text explains, a mask “is typically created after a dream in which someone encounters a forest or household spirit.” The mask, then, is imagination made flesh.

Of the 75 objects on display — which include silver jewelry, stone carvings, colorful fabrics and horns made of ivory — 33 are wooden masks carved by the Dan, the Vai, the Mende and other peoples of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea. The most striking of these are several ­helmet-style masks that cover the entire head.

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

Oh Say Can You See These Facts About the Star-Spangled Banner

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 about the Smithsonian, many of which appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

The Star-Spangled Banner is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States. 

Huge, vibrant, and rich in history, most Americans are familiar with the story of this particular flag: It's the one that flew over Fort McHenry the morning after the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that would one day become our national anthem. 

Although this flag has been around for 200 years now, there is more to this story that begs to be told. And with Flag Day and a special celebration set for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History this week, now is the perfect time to learn more.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in the Oh Say Can You See blog, click h

For Summer in Washington, Don't Put Your Best Flip-Flop Forward

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's website.

In July 2005, some members of the Northwestern University’s women’s lacrosse team wore flip-flops to meet President George W. Bush. The choice of footwear raised a stir in Washington and beyond. (David Bohrer/Associated Press)

Abra Belke shudders when she thinks about summer mornings in the Rayburn Building. “It sounds like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” said the former Capitol Hill staffer and lobbyist. “Interns and junior staffers are just clomping down the hall in their $5 Old Navy flip-flops.”

Flip-flops are a fashion don’t for Belke, who writes the Capitol Hill Styleblog. But those Hill aides aren’t the only ones flashing their toes. All across Washington, rising temperatures mean a switch to summer styles. And from shoulders to shoes, it’s a moment that tests what can and can’t be worn at work.

For some HR departments, the change of season — and the arrival of a new batch of interns — is an occasion to send friendly reminders about the dress code, which in this city can come with a level of detail befitting the Federal Register.

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

Gay Pride: Out Is In

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback. Each Friday in the Flashback will will 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. 

This weekend, DC is celebrating Capital Pride. Here is a post from last year's celebration

Conflicts are part of human life. Some are relatively common, affecting most of us. But what if a conflict is more specific to exactly who you are? For example, you are a young gay man who loves bowling, but is not  exactly sure how well you fit into the masculine, beer-swilling aspects of that sport. Or a lesbian woman who wants to travel  to China, where such a lifestyle is illegal? Or a person born as a female who is absolutely certain she should become a he and live life as a man?

Well, for these and hundreds of other such issues, solutions could be found today at the booths that lined the Pennsylvania Avenue Street Festival, one of the largest events in this year's Capital Pride week-long celebration..

While many of the thousands of visitors at the festival were here for a good time and to celebrate with fellow members of the DC-area's large and growing gay community, others used the opportunity to find help for  questions and issues.

Adam Boenning at his bowling booth

Our want-to-be bowler could head to the booth of the Capital Area Rainbowling Association, where Adam Boenning was offering small, colorful Grab-An-Ass donkeys for a buck as a fundraiser, as well as information for anyone who wanted to bowl in a same-sex league.

"We have 10 leagues that bowl 7 nights a week in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area," Boenning explained. He said there are about 1,400 bowlers currently in the association leagues. And, in the area of athletics at the Street Festival, Boenning wasn't the only one talking same-sex sports. You could visit the booths of DC Strokes (rowers; coxswains needed), the Washington Renegades (rugby) and several others.

Our would-be China traveler could seek out Linda Kemp, the DC regional sales consultant for Olivia, a San Francisco-based travel company for lesbian women. Kemp said Olivia has provided travel for more than 200,000 women all over the world.

"There's a common denominator for our travelers - they feel free to be themselves," Kemp said.

Kemp said that while travel was the main concern of the firm, there was another goal - spreading the idea that lesbianism is not something to be feared.  "We're always out. People are afraid of what they don't know and they get to know us," she said. Kemp laughed as she related a story of one of the travels to Turkey. The group encountered a community  that had been particularly hit hard by economic devastation. There, poor local women lined up with home-made rugs, imploring the visitors to buy them. Which they did.  The next day the local headlines in Turkish read: Lesbians Help the Economy of Turkey.

At the DCATS (the DC Area Transmasculine Soicety) booth, Eli Strong was one of a trio of volunteers available to answer queries and provide information.

"We work with people who are born or assigned to be female at birth and feel that it is an incomplete or inaccurate description of who they are," Strong said. "We get together for social stuff, but we deal with problems, too."

One of the biggest problems facing transmasculines is health care. Providers don't always recognize their condition and refuse to pay for operations, testosterone, and other needed medical help.

Strong, who was born a woman and now is a male and legally married to a woman, said he knows all too well the problems people like himself face on a daily basis. When his wife suggested that they relocate to another area, Strong convinced her to change her mind. "DC is one of the leaders in the country when it comes to human rights," he said. "I told her we're not leaving DC for somewhere where I'll lose my rights."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

My new lesbian lunch crew: Caring and confident

I know you can't (and indeed never should) stereotype. But I am going to break my own rule here. As a group, the dozens of gays, lesbians, and transgenders I met and talked to at the Street Festival were among the most friendly, sensitive, and socially conscious people I have ever encountered. And I know the small rainbow bracelet one of the festival goers gave me to wear on my wrist wasn't the reason for their warmth. Take the group of 6 lunching lesbians from Virginia who took me under their wing. I sat down on a low wall with them as they ate. One of the younger members (whom I'll call Angel for reasons that shall soon be obvious) immediately began asking me how I was enjoying myself. In a voice filled with genuine concern for my well-being, she asked "Are you here with anybody," her tone and body language indicating that I was welcome to hang with her group if I weren't.

My wife: A DC Roller girl?

I told her I was waiting for my wife, whom I later found was  engaged in a just-as-friendly conversation with a member of the DC Roller Girls, the district's popular roller derby queens. "Hey," Angel told the others. "He and his wife are here for our support." We then launched into a conversation about the day (a lot of fun), the life of a southern lesbian (she said she had it much easier than her gay brother) and some of the issues in an America that still simply isn't as tolerant as it should be about same-sex relationships. One of the older women, wearing a "Girls Will Do Girls" T-shirt joined in. Suddenly, the whole group burst into laughter as they discovered one of their members eating a corn dog on a stick in a particularly sexy, but decidedly not lesbian, fashion.  "Hey we're lesbians. Do you know what that looks like? You're giving us a bad name. People are going to think we like men."  I joined in their laughter. In fact, laughter seemed to be one of the biggest parts of this pride day. Homosexuals of all ages and types smiled when the food vendors would shout "give me a big one" or "give me a long one" as cooks pulled another sausage from the smoking grills. They smiled even brighter and longer as they roamed the Festival, greeting and hugging old and new friends. It seemed fitting that this most accepting version of America was happening between the National Archives, where the most sacred documents of our founding are kept, and the Capitol, where the laws that should govern and protect us all are made. As I left my 6 new friends, the younger man's T-shirt of a couple holding hands as they strolled by summed up the entire day. "Out Is In," it read. That may not yet be true everywhere in America 365 days a year. But it was definitely true on this sunny Sunday June afternoon on a packed Pennsylvania Avenue.  Out really was in.

These Synetic Theater troupe members prove we can all get along.

How many times have you needed this?

If the Idea of Chewing on Insects Doesn't Bug You, Here's a Free DC Lunch You Would Have Enjoyed

The 2 young women, dressed in fashionable summer DC office attire, looked down at the red napkin being held in front of them. The napkin contained today's featured appetizers - Mexican spice mealworms, roasted mealworms, roasted crickets, and roasted locusts.

"How do they taste?" one of the women asked, making a face. "Are they yucky?"

"No, they are really crispy. And salty," the man replied before slipping a small handful of the insects into his mouth.

Such conversations were the order of the day yesterday on the outdoor dining patio of the Occidental Seafood and Grill on Pennsylvania Avenue, which was serving as the site of a 3-hour, pop-up Pestaurant offering a menu consisting entirely of cooked insects.

The event, which was titled "Pestaurant on Pennsey," was sponsored by Ehrlich, a DC-area pest control company. The 1st  Pestaurant event was held last year in London. This year the DC lunch at the Occidental was one of 12 locations around the globe that were offering insect dining.

Company officials said that one reason for the worldwide event was to try to make bugs and insects a little more appetizing to the general public. A 2013 report from the Unite Nations called consumer disgust "one of the largest barriers to the adoption of insects as viable sources of protein in many Western countries". It also named "insect farming" as a potential way to "address food and feed insecurity" across the world.

But the free fun afternoon lunch also had a more immediate social impact. Erlich donated $5 to DC Central Kitchen, an organization which feeds the homeless and the poor, for every person who sampled bugs from the 3 insect-laden tables.

On the savory table, the wait staff was serving roasted crickets, Mexican spice mealworms, roasted mealworms, buffalo worms, and roasted locusts. On the sweet table, the offerings included scorpion lollipops, chocolate ant rounds,  mealworm lollipops, ant candy, and ant and cricket lollipops.

Chef Rodney Scruggs

But, by far, the biggest culinary hit of the afternoon was the tasty grasshopper burgers created by Occidental executive chef Rodney Scruggs. He said his burgers were a combination of turkey, grasshopper, and a secret ingredient. "You always have to have a secret ingredient," he joked. He explained that the grasshoppers used in the burgers reminded him of dry mushrooms. "I could see them pairing well with a really old wine," Scruggs said. The chef explained that after much consultation dried grasshoppers were added to give the burger "a little extra crunch." He said that since grasshoppers are a staple south of the border, he topped his creation off with a special salsa.

As television, print, and online cameramen recorded the scene, Scruggs said the environmental and charitable focus of the event appealed to the restaurant. "It's for good causes, but it's playful, fun, and whimsical, too," he said. "It's really a win-win for everyone".

Extra, Extra, Read All About 
A Series of The Prices Do DC Bonus Posts

Chirping About a Cricket Contest 
I had intended just to come, eat a few bugs, and blog about it. But then I saw the sign.

"Next ... Cricket Eating Competition 1:15 p.m.," it said. "Your participation is a $20 donation to DC Central Kitchen. Win Prizes."

It really didn't take a lot of consideration. I had already downed a grasshopper burger and 2 big helpings of savory bugs, so I had no aversion to adding crickets to the list. I think DC Central Kitchen is one of the city's best charities, so that was attractive. And while I would be a newbie to the world of competitive cricket eating, I did have some experience in related fields. As a young reporter doing a 1st-person story, I had been the July 4th South Jersey watermelon seed spitting champion back in the 1980s for all of 2 hours until my record was broken.  And, since retiring to DC, I had blogged about the 2012 July 4th Z-Burger battle bash.

As I finished the last bites of a grasshopper burger, I told my wife to sign me up.

I took my seat at the table with about 20 other competitors. On my right was a legislative aide from Capitol Hill. On my left was a young Environmental Protection Agency worker.  Both gave me some pause for concern. I mean who knows more about bugging than the government. And the EPA deals all the time with environmental pests. But I actually thought my toughest competition might come from the recent graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who said he loved to compete in eating contests.

The head judge, who came all the way from England (or at least had a British accent) gave the directions. They seemed simple enough. We would each be handed 3 small cups of dried crickets. The winner would be the person who downed all 3 cups the quickest. If any crickets spilled on the table, you would have to consume those, too. You would have to raise your hand and then open your mouth to prove that all the insects had been completely swallowed. You couldn't drink anything while eating.

The judge asked if we were ready. We all nodded. "Alright begin," he said.

I learned quite a bit about cricket consuming in the next 3 minutes. First, there are almost as many ways of eating crickets in a cricket-eating competition as there are crickets. There is the dainty, grab one-by-one style. There is the 2-handed, 2-cup plunge. There is the dump-the-whole-cup down-at-once and then try to swallow method.

Then there are the faces of the contestants. They are interesting to say the least. They are also distracting. In fact, I became more interested in watching the faces than I did in eating. Or at least that is what I told myself. Actually, I realized after my 1st cup of crickets that I wasn't cut out for hard-core cricket chomping and chewing. I did manage to down a 2nd cup. But by that time, the winner had long finished and I was battling for a 2nd or 3rd place finish that I really didn't have the stomach for.

But even though I emerged beaten, I was not downhearted for long. A few steps away was the perfect cure for taking the sting out of a lost bug battle - I grabbed another of Chef Scruggs' really tasty grasshopper burgers. However not before having 2 glasses of water and a Coke. If nothing else, I now knew that cricket eating is the saltiest work this side of competitive salt-shaker downing.

Move Over President Obama, My Bug Eating Feats Just Steps from Your White House Make Fox News

Don't Think a Pestaurant Is a Serious Subject? Tell That to NPR

Be Prepared to Squirm: Here's a Photo Essay of a Buggy Day from DC Eater

Summer Film Series Takes Flight in Crystal City

What drive-ins were for suburban young couples and families in the 1950s and 60s, outdoor once-a-week theater experiences with names like screen on the green are for city dwellers of the 21st Century.

For much of the 3 summer months which began this week, open green areas in neighborhoods throughout the DC area are transformed into temporary urban walk-in versions of the now mostly departed drive-ins.

Utilizing giant collapsible screens and state of the art speakers, parks like those next to our Crystal City apartment complex become the place to be for an early evening picnic and a-start-at-dusk feature film.

Most of the neighborhoods show a series of films with a similar theme. This year's theme for Crystal Screen is In-Flight, which is especially appropriate since Crystal City is located just 1 Metro stop from Reagan National Airport and the sight of planes can be seen between the multi-story buildings during film screenings.

The Crystal Screen series began Monday with a showing of the classic 1980 comedy Airplane. It will conclude on August 25 with the showing of Snakes on a Plane with Samuel Jackson and a plane full of slithering costars.

Of course, Crystal City isn't the only neighborhood with a film series. Here is the list of this year's summer in the city weekly neighborhood films, including Screen on the Green on the National Mall.

Portraiture in the Time of TV's Mad Men

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

Hugh Hefner born 1926

Marisol Escobar (born 1930) 
Polychromed wood, 1966–67

In the world of television’s much-loved drama series, “Mad Men,” we enter the age of abstract expressionism. The artwork on the walls in Pete Campbell’s office, hanging in Don Draper’s dining room and dramatically staged behind Roger Sterling’s sofa all drive home the long-held conceit that at the height of the mid-century era, figurative painting, representational art and realism in all of its varieties was in steep decline.

The drips and sprays of a Jackson Pollack are born in an era defined by the Cold War, the uniformity of Levittowns,  and the cropped militaristic hairstyles and gray flannel suits of the “Organization Man.” And every week as the opening credits roll beneath that ominous melody, "Mad Men" viewers are treated to that chill tension of those times as they watch their favorite degenerates, the advertising pitch men of Madison Avenue, toss back their mid-day bourbons.

In the light of the fascination that TV audiences now have for that period, curators David C. Ward, Brandon Brame Fortune and Wendy Wick Reaves of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery have assembled a collection of artworks, depicting the human form and dating from 1945 to 1975, when the New York art world had declared, amidst the ascendency of expressionism, the death of portraiture.

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

Smithsonian National History Museum Turns 50

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 about the Smithsonian, many of which appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian

Undated rendering of Mall façade of Museum of History and Technology by architect Walker O. Cain (Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)

Fifty years ago, Smithsonian museums didn’t have quite the “wow!” factor they do today.

Artifacts were displayed “willy-nilly,” says Arthur Molella, director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. “A curator would type on a card and put it by the object,” and that was that.

The National Museum of American History, a museum as forward-looking as America itself, set the stage for widespread change.

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

Unease Over Race Still Prompted by Viewing August Wilson's Powerful 10-Play Cycle

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's website.

A scene from August Wilson's A Piano Lesson

Race relations news from the past few weeks: Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s bigotry eclipses his 15 seconds of folk hero fame as a federal grazing fee resister. The NBA playoffs nearly grind to a halt over plantation-style remarks by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The Supreme Court allows states to ban affirmative action in university admissions.

Meanwhile, Washington theater has stealthily begun reviving nearly half the works in August Wilson’s acclaimed “Decades Cycle” — 10 dramas chronicling black American life across the 20th century. With no planning or prior communication, four theaters just happen to be presenting four Wilson plays over a span of 10 months.

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

The Fab Faux @The Birchmere

Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback. Each Friday in the Flashback will will offer a post about some part of the historic past and its relationship to DC. Sometimes, we will write the entry. Others times, we will showcase articles that 1st 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. 

This weekend The Fab Faux are playing 2 shows of Beatles tunes at The Birchmere. Tonight, they will perform the Beatles' 1st LP Meet the Beatles in its entirety. Tomorrow, they will offer A Hard Day's NIght. Here is an article about the last appearance of the Fab Faux at the popular Virginia club.

The Fab Faux have the hardest job in the history of rock and roll and they pull it off damn well. All rock bands want to be like the Beatles; these guys have the nerve to BE the Beatles. Amazingly, they're so good at it you learn new things about the originals.

                                                                                            --- Dave Marsh

      Legendary rock critic and Sirius XM radio host

Can a copy be as good as (or, in some cases, even better than) an original? That is a question for the ages in the arts and nowhere in the arts is that question bigger than in music, especially in rock with its reworked cover versions and tribute bands.

Which leads us to an examination of the relationship between the Beatles and the Fab Faux(a takeoff on one of the original Beatles nicknames, the Fab Four). Of course, you know who the Beatles are. But who are the Fab Faux? Well, they are 5 of the best New York City-based session musicians in music today. If you watch late-night TV you are probably familiar with at least 2 of them. Bass player Will Lee has spent 2 decades as the nightly bassist on The Late Show with David Letterman. Guitarist Jimmy Vivino is the musical director for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. They are joined by drummer Rich Pagano, keyboardist Jack Petruzelli, and guitarist Frank Agnello. Individually, the five have performed with a series of stars that reads like a list from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. James Brown. Aretha Franklin. Ray Charles. Diana Ross. The Bee Gees. Carly Simon. Billy Joel. Steely Dan. Ray Davies. Levon Helm. Mick Jagger.

Sixteen years ago, Vivino and Lee kicked around the idea of forming a band to recreate the Beatles sound as they rode up an elevator together in a New York City building. Since that day, The Fab Faux, acknowledged by almost all major rock critics to be the greatest Beatles band ever not named the Beatles, has grown from a quickly tossed-off idea to a sometimes touring band that has headlined the annual International Beatles Festival in Liverpool 4 times.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in The Prices Do DC in May of 2013, click here.

Maya Angelou Honored @National Portrait Gallery

A portrait of the great writer Maya Angelou, who died this week, has been installed in the National Portrait Gallery.

The portrait, painted by Bulgarian-born, Atlanta-based artist Ross Rossin, is an oil-on-canvas painting and was completed in 2013 in honor of Angelou’s 86th birthday.

The painting will be on view until June 12.

In collaboration with Smithsonian colleagues from the National Museum of African Art, the Portrait Gallery hosted an event on April 5, in which both museums paid tribute to Angelou, one of the most revered poets in the United States. 

Angelou, whose eighty-sixth birthday was April 4—the day before—commented on what she considered was one of her great achievements over eight decades—patience. “You can only have patience if you have courage,” she stated, adding that “Reverend [Martin Luther] King had great patience.”

During the event at the McEvoy Auditorium in the Donald W. Reynolds Center, a portrait of Angelou by Atlanta-based artist Ross Rossin was unveiled. Assisting Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet and NMAfA director Johnnetta Cole in the unveiling was Angelou’s friend and protégé Oprah Winfrey. Guests in attendance included actress Cicely Tyson, activist Julian Bond, and former ambassador Andrew Young.

To continue reading Angelou's thoughts at the time of the ceremony about her life, which 1st appeared in the Face to Face blog of the Portrait Gallery, click here. 

The Legend of YouTube

John Legend headlined the YouTube free show

There is no question that YouTube has had a tremendous impact on many aspects of our lives. And nowhere is that impact more noticeable than in the music industry. YouTube videos now accompany the release of every major artist on every record label.

But YouTube also allows artists to bypass the recording industry altogether and deliver their creations directly to viewers. Sometimes, those self produced videos become viral, allowing the artist to achieve almost overnight success.

Last night, the Kennedy Center hosted a YouTube Live OnStage concert to celebrate 9 years of video making.

The free concert was headlined by John Legend, who performed a half-dozen-song mini-set for the wildly appreciative crowd, which filled the concert hall and overflowed into the huge hall where they watched the show on giant screens usually employed during the daily Millennium Stage shows.

Legend, who closed the 2-hour performance was the obvious star, but the crowd demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm for several other artists who came to public view and popularity through YouTube.

Here are some videos of the night's performances:

Post Modern Jukebox "Medley"

"Clouds" by Zach Solech performed by members of the Playing for Change band

"Gimme Shelter" by The Playing for Change Band

"Beyond the Veil" by Lindsey Stirling

"You and I" by John Legend

John Legend w/Lindsey Stirling "All of Me"

A Prices Do DC Extra Track

YouTube sensation Lindsey Stirling

YouTube threw itself a big birthday bash at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday to celebrate nine years of making crazy online videos. The show featured singer John Legend, as well as several successful dance and music artists who got their start on the video-sharing site.

Ahead of the show, violinist Lindsey Stirling chatted with The Switch's Hayley Tsukayama to talk about her career, her fans and how using YouTube gave her a way to break into a tough industry. Stirling, who first came onto the national stage in 2010 by reaching the quarter-finals of "America's Got Talent," now has 4.8 million subscribers on YouTube and just released a new album, "Shatter Me."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

To read the interview with Stirling, which 1st appeared in The Washington Post, click here.

For Those Who Served and Died or Are Still Missing

On this Memorial Day, The Prices Do DC offers thanks to all the veterans who served and gave their lives for this country. Here we have 2 posts about honoring them. First, a look at the bikers who participate in the annual Rolling Thunder in DC. Then, the story behind trying to secure a lasting memorial for World War I soldiers.

Independence Day has fireworks, Christmas has carolers, but the soundtrack to Memorial Day features the thunder of a half-million roaring motorcycles.

This weekend is the 27th annual Rolling Thunder event, an enormous rally that brings motorcycle riders from across the country to the D.C. area, where they cruise around the Mall to raise awareness for veterans, prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action.

“This isn’t a ride. This is a demonstration,” said Rolling Thunder national spokeswoman Nancy Regg. “This is not a biker event. There’s no picnic at the end, It’s to show the government that we’re still here, we want answers, and we want our veterans taken care of.”

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

Members of Congress are pursuing a plan that at long last would establish a national monument to the veterans of World War I in Washington, D.C.

The proposal would rededicate a federal park near the White House as a national World War I memorial and address complaints that veterans of all the 20th century’s major conflicts have been suitably honored in the nation’s capital except for those who fought in “the Great War.”

Organizers hope to redesignate Pershing Park and dedicate a memorial by Nov. 11, 2018, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, which marks the end of hostilities on the Western Front of the war, which began in 1914.

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

Boeing to Help Air & Space Museum Makeover to Soar

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

Since the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened in 1976, its entrance, filled with famous aircraft and artifacts, has remained largely unchanged. 

But the “Milestones of Flight” gallery is about to receive a major overhaul thanks to a $30 million donation from Boeing, the largest single corporate gift the Smithsonian has ever received. The renovation is set to begin this month and will take two years to complete, opening in 2016 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Air and Space Museum and the 100th anniversary of Boeing.

The first extensive renovation of the grand hall will kick off years of change for Washington’s most popular museum in need of an updated design to match a broadening educational mission.

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

National Harbor Trying to Be a Fun Alternative to Historic DC

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's website.

While visitors to the nation's capital usually head to the monuments and museums, a new attraction uses the Potomac River to draw visitors downstream to a growing destination in Maryland.

A mini-city called National Harbor has risen over the past eight years on a long-empty site. The village of shops, hotels, restaurants and public art was built between the river and the East Coast artery of Interstate 95. Its features are inspired, in part, by those of great cities, such as Rome's Spanish Steps and Barcelona's pedestrian mall La Rambla.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in 4 NBC Washington, click here.