February 7th, 2024
UD was the first visitor to the West Wing of the National Gallery today.

She’s become addicted to the luxury/intensity of having the history of art to herself. She stays for an hour and a half or so, until other people dare to show up and share the goods.

I swear there’s almost no one there at ten AM on a cold weekday, so you just sashay about with an idiotic smile on your face as one unbelievable gallery after another beckons you. You hum Bach’s Cello #1 and the paintings hum back. Their lifeblood is bright red. They are right at you.

Even deathly pale their lifeblood is bright.

It’s you, the copyist, and the echoing halls.

Outside, UD takes heart from the writing on the side of the Archives.

Permanency. YES!

Although just in case I’m keeping a few of these pennies in my pocket.

February 5th, 2024
Post-India, Post-Italy, UD heads downtown…

… to her own private DC.

Winner and Still Champeen. Visits to the Archives always bring tears to UD‘s eyes, despite a certain amount of scoffing from Mr UD. (“Do they have benches where you can kneel in front of the documents?” he asked on my return.)

Imagine this scene in the insanely crowded Uffizi! Impossibile.

I’ll have the same quality of art as the Uffizi, free of charge, with one after another gallery to myself, please.

All topped off with a Teaism chai, and ginger scones.

February 1st, 2024
Snapshots from ‘thesda, Status Central.
  1. From the promotional literature for new assisted living apartments a mile away from Les UDs.

McCaffery and Solera Senior Living have partnered to co-develop The Modena Reserve at Kensington, a 135-unit luxury independent, assisted living and memory care community. Located in the high barrier to entry town of Kensington, Maryland, and adjacent to the historic Kensington train station offering direct access to Washington D.C….

2. UD had a consult this morning with a pulmonologist. Faithful readers know UD has episodic bronchitis. She hasn’t had any trouble for months, but she decided as a precaution to talk to a specialist. Here’s a bit of conversation from him.

When I joined this practice ten years ago, I thought the partners wanted me because of my impressive education. Harvard College, Hopkins med school, Harvard internships… But when I made partner they told me ‘Franklin, we hired you to be our shabbos goy.

December 22nd, 2023
And now for UD’s annual slog up the coast.

The sun throngs her window (I stole “throngs” from Philip Larkin); her wee nuclear family sits directly to her left on the train. Extended family insists on living in Boston, so the Polish-ish Christmas must happen there.

You know if you read this blog that UD dislikes grubby old Boston, and slogging to that city in the dead of winter seems especially stupid. But.

I listen to Julia Lezhneva for much of the trip, which also features blueberry muffins and, this year, a book about India. After New Year’s in Venice, Les UDs fly to Rajasthan.

December 16th, 2023
‘[Romanesco Italia Fractal Broccoli is] an Italian heirloom with stunning, apple-green heads that are superbly flavored. Its fractal form is a fascinating logarithmic Fibonacci spiral.’

And it was featured today in Garrett Park’s outdoor market.

Somehow reminds UD, who used to snorkel a lot, of coral reefs in Cozumel.

December 14th, 2023
La Kid hung out with Oprah last night.

Or, uh, not exactly...

But after unveiling her National Portrait Gallery portrait, Oprah had dinner at the same place La Kid booked for her office Xmas gathering. So La Kid gazed at her a lot.

October 26th, 2023
The spicy aroma of UD’s fall-blooming Osmanthus…

… is pretty overwhelming.

October 23rd, 2023
As if UD’s high school in Bethesda…

… is any exception.

October 22nd, 2023
View from UD’s open front door…

… in mid-October late afternoon sunlight.

October 18th, 2023
UD’s INSANE zebra…

… grass.

The tallest panicles are eight feet — measured against six-foot Mr UD.

October 1st, 2023
La Kid turns…

… 33.

September 29th, 2023
We four little kids used to giggle as our ancient (he was probably 60) Grampa Joe Rapoport padded around his Baltimore apartment sipping borscht, wheezing, and muttering OY…

… when he got bronchitis.

Today UD can report that, having picked up bronchitis on a recent trip to Vermont, she is doing exactly the same thing.

September 7th, 2023
I love the way you stare at me.
September 6th, 2023
How did he escape? Why wasn’t he in handcuffs? Why was he in the hospital?

Lots of questions about the very dangerous man who somehow escaped police custody at George Washington University Hospital and has now put the whole campus in lockdown/shelter in place.

September 4th, 2023
Pretty soon the commentary on things like this will be “Good news. It wasn’t a mass shooting.”

A post-football-game brawl in UD‘s Bethesda between between fans of the two high school teams (it’s not clear if players were involved) really failed to rise to prevailing American standards. The brawl featured UD‘s high school (Walter Johnson) and its traditional rival (Bethesda Chevy Chase), and managed only this much beyond the usual thefts and punches:

[T]he principals [of both schools] wrote that there has been mention on social media that a student may have been in possession of a weapon. 

And hey that might not even have been a gun…

*******************

Anyone who, like UD, follows the national trend of shootings during as well as after high school football games knows that ‘thesdan culture is way behind football mad/gun mad Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, South LA, Baltimore, and other hot spots. These places kill people during/after football! And it’s becoming a routine part of game day! ‘thesda’s just taking baby steps and UD‘s thinking it’s the parents’ fault for not having enough guns lying around the house for an easy grab when you get home pissed off cuz you lost.

**********************

Vey, vey, the grownups say; what can be done?

Well, as you probably know, lots has already been done. Look at professional soccer if you wanna know where we’re headed. Massive fights and carnage means that in some places games are played in empty stadiums. It means police state level security, including elaborate surveillance of/barring of known trouble makers. It also means 100% young male audiences, as women, older men, and children flee screaming from the violence, which is to say that the very worst demographic has now been isolated in stadiums and thus you’re practically guaranteed violence.

Of course Europe doesn’t have all our guns. In Europe they have to content themselves with beating the shit out of each other and burning cars. Here we see what our firepower superiority implies: Forget fighting. Just go ahead and massacre the other team.

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