four years ago ...

... we were on the spot, celebrating President Obama's inauguration with a few thousand friends and family.

Second term around, we may be physically farther away, but we are there in spirit and enjoying the festivities. Best wishes to the President for the next four years!

four more years!

Congratulations, Mr. President!

baby's first rally

President Barack Obama has been on the "first bus," stumping through Florida the past few days, and we were lucky enough to score a ticket to go see him today. His speech was everything the crowd had waited (a long time, in the blistering heat) for. It was positive, humorous when talking about his opponent, and inspirational enough to fire up the crowd.

We got this T-shirt in DC, pre-Inauguration

For all the waiting we did with about 6,000 of our closest friends, and the scores of tired feet there must have been (it was standing room only), everyone seemed in good spirits from start to finish. The kid only got cranky when she feared she wouldn't be able to see over the heads of the crowd to see him. I was afraid of the same thing, but mostly it was the sea of iPhones and iPads that were blocking my view. But we found a good spot near one of the crowd dividers — she could climb up a bit to get a good view, and I could spy him through a gap in the crowd, too.

She doesn't remember that this is actually the third time she has seen him speak in public. When we lived in Washington we attended the Inauguration, and we also went to the We Are One Concert for the President, both held on the National Mall. She was only four at the time.

As we stood on the long, hot line (where happily, the Obama team handed out free bottles of water and made sure everyone was properly hydrated) I entertained myself by trying to capture all of the interesting T-shirts. It was a fun, if tiring day, and one I am very glad to have shared with my daughter. How lucky she is to have had the President come and speak in her back yard.

"the audacity of soap"

In Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher was on fire with his closing monologue last night. One of his main points was that the president coming on national television and telling us all to wash hands and stay home if we're sick may have actually had an effect. This week sure seemed a lot less pandemic-y. If this is the case, what else could our fearless leader have us do? Maher had some humorous, yet practical suggestions - stop eating junk, read a newspaper, etc. For this most practical and intelligent of presidents maybe he may do just that. C'mon Obama, tell America to eat an apple a day, bring back social niceties and stop and smell the roses, for starters.

bleghhh in advertising

What is all the fuss about Shepard Fairey and his use of a not-so-great photo to create some great, iconic, poster art? Artists have been working from photographs since there was photography. Check out Degas and Bonnard, to name a few. They didn't only work from photographs, but became accomplished photographers. It's not a big deal to work from a photographic source and the end result is not any less "art."

If you want to waste time pointing a finger at a blatant rip-off, look no further than the latest Pepsi campaign, which not only co-opts the Obama campaign's logo, but is now using it with the word "change" in its print ads. As if that is the change anyone needs. I've never been a fan of Coke's red-headed stepchild anyway, but they just guaranteed that this swill will not find a way into my home. Pass the Dr. Pepper...

love train

This is how I'm feeling these days...

already Obama's making things better

I got a free hot chocolate at the National Gallery Sculpture Garden cafe this afternoon.

I was standing in line for my hot chocolate and the server skipped me and started to take the next group's order.

"Excuse me," I said politely, "I think you skipped me."

"What do you want?"

"Hot chocolate, please." She then proceeded to wait on the others, getting them their sandwiches and taking their drink orders. The lady next to me had overheard my order and thought hot chocolate sounded good, too, so they ordered two hot chocolates with their food. The server started to pour the hot chocolates - two - and pass me by. Again.

"Excuse me, but I think you skipped me. Again."

She frowned and passed one of the hot chocolates to me. I advanced to the register where the young lady behind the counter said, "Don't worry, I've got you covered." I tried to pay, but she smiled and waved me ahead.

As I sat down with my free hot chocolate I figured that she was trying to make up for her surly coworker.

As I unbuttoned my coat, it also struck me - maybe it's the bling on my lapel?

And Obama closed Guantanamo today, too.

it's Washington, not Lincoln

The president most on the mind of our new Prez?


This is one of those convex/concave illusions, from Mount Vernon - it was a historical weekend!

president Rocko Bama

That's what my daughter calls him.We headed down on the buspast the National Guardand various souvenir shopping opportunitiesjoined the crowd heading towards its destinationon the chilly National Mallwatched history happen on the jumbotronlistened to a great speechdealt with a not-so-great exit strategy (security clenched when Barack and Michelle decided to stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue)on the way home it was the march of the penguins, I mean Obamafansand much, much later Mexican chocolate with the Obama puppet

yes we did...

...attend the We Are One concert with about 500,000 of our close personal friends, neighbors and allies.

More to come...

more Mall action

...still trying to figure out how to see any of this...


Koons sculpture (my daughter has dubbed him "Tin Man," but we're not in Oz anymore) contemplating the MSNBC courtesy/VIP trailers across from the Hirshhorn.

getting ready for Tuesday...

It takes a lot of work to get the nation's capital ready for an inauguration. At least it does this time around. I was here for the last two ones, but don't remember such hullabaloo.

Out with the old...

Don't even think about parking there...
A sea of port-a-potties encircle the Mall and its museums...So many, many gates and barriers...Lots of merchandise...Even the buildings are excited...God bless us, everyone.

the only question is...

...will they last until Tuesday?

2008, what a year...

some highlights:

1. The new year actually started for me on November 5 OBAMA! Nuff said.
2. My daughter decided she still loves Shrek and began to agonize over how many of her very many boyfriends she could actually marry (she's two months short of five)
3. We are all going broke (a lowlight, sigh).
4. I visited New York three times, after an eight-year gap. Don't know about you, but I'm impressed.
5. My iPhone.
6. I started blogging and am still at it.

hippy knew jeer. xoxoxo e

The Beaux-arts Ball, Paris, c. 1925. Grandmère is dressed as Marie Antoinette, seated, second row, far right.

gonna keep on tryin', 'til I reach the highest ground

Bush has been trying to put some sweeping, terrible legislation in his final hours as head honcho. Luckily, Obama is watching and plans to stop the madness.

Makes you wonder what exactly is going on with W. He has already pissed away most of his "legacy." Anyone remember his plans for social security? Is he just trying to put the last nail in his presidential coffin?


Powers keep on lyin'
While your people keep on dyin'
World keep on turnin'
Cause it wont be too long

I'm so darn glad he let me try it again
Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin
I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then
Gonna keep on tryin'
'Til I reach the highest ground

we were on a break

We were talking today about how maybe the Clinton administration was just a break from Bush 1 to Bush 2. Interesting idea. Think about it. We even extended the reigns of Bush squared to a distorted continuation of the Reagan era. Yikes. No wonder we're in such a mess at present. Makes this new Obama presidency more of a breath of fresh air than ever.

my mom's purse...

...is full of all sorts of things, most of them hard to get a hold of. Her credit cards are kept in a plastic sleeve secured by a rubber band. Her too-small wallet is separate, with a change purse that is difficult to get into. Today at Target we bought her a new wallet, with places for cash, cards, and coins, all in one convenient package. We'll see how it flies.

My mom's brain these days is a bit like her purse. A word that she knows is there, can sometimes be difficult to access. I don't think Target has anything for this. We'll see how it goes.

I hope our new Prez is ready and able to deal with this aging boomer population, each with his or her unique long-term care needs.

A great movie that deals with aging parents is Albert Brooks's Mother. Four words: Cheese in the Freezer. Brilliant.

Author's note: November was NaBloPoMo, national blog posting month, and I made it (after starting on 11/2)! My own additional challenge, if you were following, was to include Obama in some way in each post. I'm not sure I will be able to keep up with the daily posting, but I'll sure try.

the artist formerly known as prince

Last night we were watching the American Music Awards on television. My daughter enjoyed bouncing around to the mostly insipid performances, while I struggled with having to accept that what was on display was the current state of music. Except it wasn't.

Most of the performances were lame Madonna-MTV-video-staged rip-offs. And either the sound system was completely out of wack, or most of the performers couldn't sing in tune live, from Coldplay to the Disney Jonas brats. I'm afraid I tend towards the latter, as Miley Cyrus and Beyonce sounded fine.

But when the Pussycat Dolls hit the stage all I could think of was Prince and his revolving door of babes through the years that sang or danced their way through his performances and videos. At least the Prince girls were trashy and fun. The Dolls were neither dolls nor fun. Just loud, fast and trashy.

And what ever happened to the Purple One? Well, appparently he has ditched Minneappolis for L.A. and is proseltyzing door-to-door. A recent interview with The New Yorker proves that Prince is just as strange and mysterious as always. But not necessarily in a good, crazy rock star way. The description of his "pad" versus the religiosity of his sound bytes doesn't mesh at all. I'm not sure our new president (or anyone in Washington, Democrat or Republican) would understand Prince's take on politics. Sigh.



At least we'll always have Raspberry Beret (insert you favorite tune here.) I'm not sure how he reconciles songs like Gett Off or Cream with his belief system. Of course he does have purple thrones, platform flip flops and a hot tub. God bless him, he's a dinosaur.

ho ho ho?

One of the local radio stations started playing Xmas music - all day, all the time, last Friday. What? It's not even Thanksgiving yet.

I understand the retail impulse to start inundating us with Santa merchandise right after Halloween. I hate that, but can dismiss it as crass, greedy and unavoidable. But if you start playing the holiday tunes before it's even Thanksgiving, that's just too much. How can anyone even try to contemplate what they might be thankful for if they are already being forced to worry about if they can afford to get everyone (anyone) presents this year?

I'm impatient for January 20 and our new president, but I can even wait for that. Isn't anticipation half the fun of most of the really good things in life?

I love the Ray Charles rendition of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, but I can wait until November 28 or even later to hear it. Tis the season, sigh...

remembering buffy

All the buzz a new vampire flick is getting made me think about Buffy and how she is truly missed. I didn't start watching the show regularly until the famous, mostly silent, "Hush" episode, and came in through the back door, sort of - I watched Angel first.

The Buffyverse, as the fictional world created by Joss Whedon is called, was full of great characters, lots of Brit-inspired wit, pop culture references and good old teenage angst, which most of the time made for great TV and has led to comic books, endless fanfic and hopes for a reappearance of one (or any) of the characters in some form.

What really took the show above and beyond the average fantasy (or any genre) television show was the gradual reveal of the show's mythology, which deepened (much like the hellmouth) and grew over the course of the series. Also taking a pithy, simple metaphor like "high school is hell" and literally and creatively bringing it to undead life. But especially great was the dialogue:

Buffy: "Cordelia, your mouth is open, sound is coming from it. This is never good."

Buffy: "I haven't processed everything yet. My brain isn't really functioning on the higher levels. It's pretty much fire bad; tree pretty"

Spike: "If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock"

Spike: "We like to talk big... vampires do. "I'm going to destroy the world." That's just tough-guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I _like_ this world. You've got...dog racing, Manchester united. And you've got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real... passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Good-bye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester-bloody-Square."

Xander: "You are one crazy troll! I'm not choosing between my girlfriend and my best friend. That's insane troll logic."

Giles: Demons after money? Whatever happened to the still beating heart of a virgin. No one has any standards any more"

Angel; "She made me feel like a human being. That's not the kind of thing you just forgive"

Cordelia: Oh please. I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was cancelled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker."

Willow: "Well, I like you. You're nice, and you're funny, and you don't smoke. Yeah, okay, werewolf, but...that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month, I'm not much fun to be around either"

I was standing on line at the grocery store the other day and one of the grab and go items was a "Spike" dvd, a compilation of some of the best Buffy episodes to feature that zany vamp. I'm not sure whether I would just prefer to revisit the show via dvd, or to actually see some of these characters again in new adventures. I do know that in Buffy, it was mostly a whitebread world. Angel tried to remedy that a little with the character of Gunn. If Whedon were ever to resurrect Buffy he would need to reflect the Obamaverse.