No updates of late, as I decided against taking my laptop on our weekend away to DC. It was great to get away from both New York and the internet from Friday through Monday.
Washington's very nice. The complete absence of tall buildings makes it very different from any other US city I've been to, as does the abundance of relatively historic buildings - lots of buildings with columns, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Senate along with a number of the government buildings and those lining the National Mall. Hopefully some nice photos to follow.
The weather was a little stifling, making the outdoor sites a little traumatic, but we managed to take in a few:
- Arlington National Cemetery was impressive and humbling. The JFK grave-site was quite beautiful (the design reminded me of Diana's memorial in Hyde Park, but JFK's put Diana's to shame big time), while the countless evenly spaced rows of military gravestones imbued nothing but respect
- The Lincoln Memorial is a great building, and the 19 foot high statue of Lincoln atop his chair is magnificent
- The Washington Memorial (obelisk) was soured somewhat by the building work going on all around, and my view is that it is outdone by its counterpart in Buenos Aires
- The World War II memorial midway between those of Washington and Lincoln is a wonderful piece of architecture, one that every visitor to Washington, DC should take time to see and experience.
We also took some time out for the National Museums of American History and Natural History. The former had some interesting stuff; the latter was somewhat disappointing, and I should vow never to go to another Natural History museum, unless we have kids - they're all much of a muchness, such is the very nature of history.
We stayed in the Watergate Hotel. The room was great, with a picturesque view over the Potomac River, although the building itself is a hideous eyesore.
There is a new TV advert out for the Hummer H3, with the slogan "Disappear". That's right: Disappear. I would find it hard to think of a car that it's more difficult to disappear in. I would have loved to be in the meeting in which the ad. agency presented this idea to the client. Maybe the fact that I'm 'blogging about it means that it has worked. Ben?
So many people have commented on the significance of the Stone Roses' Fools Gold. While I have to say that it's a good track, much less reference is made to their masterpiece I am the Resurrection. Thoughts on their relative merits? Any advance?
There was some email banter on Friday about the good ol' days of Reeves and Mortimer. Good days indeed they were. It reminded me of my hypothesis about the relative merits of comedy duos. Generally, I find that there is a member who has a balancing influence (generally of lesser comedic talent) while the other member carries the pair from a comedy perspective. Wise was the balancer, while Morecambe was the comedy genius; Reeves was the balancer, Mortimer the comedy genius. To a lesser degree, one could argue (and I would) that Dec is the comedy talent behind Ant and Dec. Maybe giving the latter the title of balancer is flattering - maybe they're just the hanger-on that comes along with the more talented individual. Not sure.
Yesterday, a repeat of the Simpsons episode was shown in which Marge's sister reveals that she is gay. The episode itself was funny, but I was more amused (and somewhat taken aback) by the warning that preceded the show: "This episode contains discussion of same-sex marriage. Parental discretion is advised." While some states have made the bold, correct move of recognising same-sex marriages from a legal perspective, it seems that children (or should I say parents) must still be warned about it. I find that laughable.
