Random Things about D.C.

I have been in the District now for almost two months (more than halfway done with my time here...wow). In that time, I have observed some things about the city and its inhabitants that are idiosyncratic. Every city does have their idiosyncrasies, but DC seems to have a lot, and a lot of "ticks" that are rather unique to it. Here is a list of some of the more prominent things I have noticed:

1. Charter schools. On my walks to and from work, and around the city generally, I tend to observe the scenery and world around me (sometimes at the expense of looking where I am going...whoops). I have noticed something strange: I haven't seen one "normal" public school. All of the non-private schools are some form of Charter school, which is really more like a quasi-private public school. I know that charter schools are becoming more of a (somewhat controversial) thing in cities --Chicago has several, whose ads are always gracing the insides of El cars-- but Chicago and most cities also still have their regular "neighborhood" public schools. In two months here, I have yet to see one regular public school. This is actually one of the first things I noticed when I got here. It's weird, and gets me wondering if DC is on some kind of program or policy where all of its public schools are now charter?

2. There are three types of people (well, professionals anyway) in DC: 1)lawyers, 2) consultants, or 3)consultants who want to become lawyers, and vice versa. Literally everyone I have run into in DC --whether coworkers, or people at "networking" events, or the time on the Metro I randomly ran into a girl I graduated high school, operates in one of those three categories. I guess there is also the odd doctor, because people get sick and need hospitals, but like everyone else is a lawyer or a consultant. Even people who are not actively practicing in those areas, have some kind of degree (JD for law, idk what for consulting) that is geared towards law or consulting. I guess this is not surprising, since DC's industry is government, and government is mostly lawyers, and what private sector there is, is geared toward supporting or catering to government. But I have never really been in a city with such a generally homogenous group of people.

Image courtesy of memegenerator

3. No one is from here. Kind of an addendum to the above, but very few people I have met are from DC, or even the immediate surrounding area. Again, this makes sense, because it is the nation's capital, where people come from all over the land under the federal government's jurisdiction to (in theory anyway) govern the country. In a lot of cities --particularly New York and Chicago-- you get a lot of people that were born, raised, and stayed in the city or immediate surrounding areas, and have never left. Or they left briefly and then came back. Of course DC is physically smaller and has fewer people than these cities, so it is natural that there would be fewer native DC-ites, but just how few there are is kind of surprising.

4. People here talk in code. Again because DC is ground zero for government business and (more to the point) bureaucracy, there are lots of departments of the government all over the city. There are also just a lot of agencies --public interest, NGOs, think tanks, etc. And much of the work that is done in DC, is codified in and carried out pursuant to federal statutes. What do all of these three things have in common? If you guessed, "You can essentially boil the names of those entities down to easy-sounding acronyms," you'd be right: FEC, FTC, CII, SEC, ACLU, FOIA. All important and prominent thins within the District, all will fun acronyms. And for the most part, people only refer to these things by their acronyms. But, for the uninitiated, it means they pretty much speak in code: when every noun in a sentence is some kind of acronym, the sentence has no meaning if you don't know the acronym. May as well be speaking ancient Greek. So yeah, that took some getting used to. I guess that is why they call DC "alphabet city."

Pretty much this

Back in D.C.

Well, I am back in DC. Have been since Friday evening. One reason I love the East Coast: It's like Europe -- in a few hours, you can be somewhere completely new, unlike in California (where I grew up), where five hours of driving in any one direction and... you're still in California. The Greyhound bus service is great for moving around the East Coast: cheap and easy. So I left Connecticut on Friday morning. Since I didn't really have a reason to rush back to DC, I decided to give myself a few hours in New York City (I had to make a connection there anyway to get the bus back to DC, so why not). I had hoped to meet up for lunch with some law school friends who are working as summer associates in NYC, but alas they have like, actual jobs right now, so they couldn't meet up. So it was just me.

I have to say, there is nothing quite like a day in the City to lift one's spirits. It was a perfect day, too: I got in around 11:00AM, and it was sunny out, slightly breezy, probably in the mid-70s and not humid. I inevitably ended up in Times Square again (because that is where the Port Authority bus terminal is and, let's face it, I always inevitably end up in Times Square when I am in New York, purposefully or not). Because, unless I am seeing theatre, Times Square is not my most favorite part of the city, I high-tailed it out, and walked north towards Central Park. I grabbed some lunch at a diner (it was "meh"), and then parked myself under the shade in Central Park, and proceeded to read my book. It was, in a word, delightful. I got to intermittently people-watch, which I always like to do in New York City. I would have liked to have walked around and explored more, but I was lugging a bunch of crap with me -- my heavy laptop case, my grocery bag of clothes, and my purse -- so walking around would have been both unpleasant and impractical. So I enjoyed the scenery and great weather instead. Central Park is like one of my favorite places in NYC anyway, so it was all good.

On my way to Central Park, I spotted The Soup Man, the restaurant that inspired the "no soup for you!" bit from Seinfeld

Central Park. How could you say "no" to this?

I love this town

New York City: always love to see you, always hate to have to leave you. I hope one day I can make it back, permanently.

Anyway, I am back in DC now. On Saturday, I went to a Washington Nationals game, against the Colorado Rockies. It was a sunny day, but holy hell was it hot. I had seats in the sun (naturally), so I even splurged and bought a Nationals baseball cap at the stadium so that my face wouldn't fry. Even then, about halfway through the game, I had to move into an empty seat in the shade, because I was starting to feel like I was getting heat sickness or something. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late, and while I didn't get heat stroke, the back of my neck and the tops of my shoulders got a bit cooked.

You know who else got cooked? The Nationals. I didn't get to the game until the top of the 3rd inning, and already the Rockies were up 3-0. Bad sign. The game ended up 7-1 Rockies; the Nationals only got their one home run in the 9th, and besides that, I can probably count on two hands the number of times a runner even got on base, through the whole game. It was kind of bad. The Nationals could neither hit, nor strike people out. The halves of innings where the Rockies were batting, probably lasted twice as long as the half of the inning where the Nationals were at bat. Too bad, so sad. Other than the heat and the outcome, though, it was fun to go to the game, and I am glad I went. You can do worse for $25.

Entering Nationals Park

Washington Nationals v. Colorado Rockies

Scoreboard. Not actually reflecting the sad state of the score of the game, however

In other news, I get to start my job tomorrow! Security finally came through. Won't be able to blog about the job, so this will be the last update on that front. But at least I can start, and this odyssey is over. Huzzah!

Escape from D.C.

On Tuesday of last week, I left D.C. The malaise and frustration of my job situation there (still not resolved) finally got to me, and I had to get out. Luckily, my boyfriend's family lives in Connecticut. Actually, it was my boyfriend's idea that I take time out from the District, as being there was driving me batty. His family very graciously let me crash with them. So I boarded a bus on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning I was in Connecticut.

Connecticut has been a much-needed break. I pretty much have hung out with his family, who have been very gracious; it has been really nice to be around people I know and like-- I had been kind of isolated in D.C. I even got to go to his cousin's high school graduation (which made me feel really old. One of the high school graduate speakers noted that in the year that the class of 2013 was born, The Lion King movie came out in theatres. Holy crap, I *remember* seeing The Lion King in theatres with my family. How am I that old. Also: high school kids look *young*. Growing up, they always looked older to me; now, they look like kids. Wow.). I also saw an interesting interpretation of the musical Cabaret at a local theatre in town. It was pretty good, but super intense. If you don't know the show is about, it basically chronicles the dying of the liberal, Weimar Republic in 1920s-Germany, and the rise of the Nazis, as told by characters who work at and are involved with a burlesque cabaret. It's already an intense show (the emcee character always freaked me out), but the show ended with a directors-choice tableau of a bunch of corpse-like figures in rags heading in lines into a door with hazy gas emanating from the opening. Yeah, it went there. It was a strong choice, but definitely not one required by the show. My thoughts at the end of the show were pretty much along the lines of, "well, that escalated quickly."

Below are some of my pictures from the ten days that I was here.

One day, one of my boyfriend's aunts took me and boyfriend's kid sister to the beach. I had actually never been to the beach on the East Coast (save for Coney Island in New York, but even then I went for the rides, and didn't go to the beach). It was pretty much a perfect beach day -- sunny, a slight breeze, and warm. The water was still pretty cold, though -- too cold to go in much more than to my knees. But that was refreshing. And despite putting on 70-proof sunblock on three times in as many hours, I got a little well done on my shoulders. This is what you get for being of Scandinavian extraction -- a people who see the sun for maybe three months out of the year, and aren't built for, well, sun. Also known as, I be white (well now, my shoulders and arms are more of a pink/red color. Not that I will get a tan out of the deal). But otherwise, it was a perfectly gorgeous day, and the beach was lovely.

Beach at Rocky Neck State Park beach in Connecticut

I love the beach. A perfect sunny day

The other favorite thing that I did while in Connecticut, I actually did today. There is a small community farm in my boyfriend's hometown, so this morning and early afternoon, I walked over to the farm to see the animals. Animals always make me happier and lift my spirits when I am frustrated and feeling down (as I have been due to my job situation), so I thought it would do me good to go hang out there for a while. I stayed about an hour, and even got to pet a bunny! I took several photos of the cute animals.

Ain't nobody here but us chickens

There was even a rooster

Sheep! The sheep were my favorite. I want a sheep

They even had a black sheep (actually, they had two)

Llama. Didn't realize they were so big

Derp.

Alpaca. Herp Derp.

For a goose, this one was surprisingly chill. Didn't mind that I got within a couple feet of it to take the picture. Didn't even move

A Turkey. Looks like he survived the holidays unscathed

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy stayed home...

Considering how calm and generally happy being around animals makes me, sometimes I think I missed my calling. Ah well, such is life, as they say.

Because I can't put off reality forever (nor can I mooch forever), tomorrow I head back to D.C. The bus route I am taking stops in New York City, so I am giving myself several hours to hang out in the city. New York City is always good for the soul, so I think having some time to hang out there will help me feel better about things. Man, I miss New York City...

Art and Law

This weekend, I actually did things. Things worth writing about. On Sunday, after meeting some people for lunch, I headed over to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, which is near George Washington University in Foggy Bottom (it is located at 2700 F Street NW). They have a program at the Kennedy Center called the Millennium Stage, which showcases short performances every day at 6:00PM (you can check here for their schedule of performances).

View of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts

The performance I happened to see on Sunday ended up being something right up my alley (I hadn't really checked ahead or anything). It was a wind ensemble called the Fairfax Wind Symphony, performing selections from musicals! Including my all-time favorite musical, Les Miserables. It was a very nice event, and I thoroughly enjoyed the music. It was interesting to see how they arranged the music, both in terms of turning songs written for full orchestras into something that could be played by just wind instruments, and in terms of creating the arrangements so one song kind of flowed into another (they grouped the songs by what musical they were from, and created arrangements so what they played was really one piece comprised of pieces of the songs).

On Monday (I know, not technically the weekend. But since I am not working, it is basically the same thing), I actually got up early, and managed to get over to the Supreme Court of the United States (herein SCOTUS), in hopes of getting in to see the Justices render some opinions from the bench (and since there are several opinions in the pipeline that would be landmark cases, to see history). Apparently, though, not everyone who goes gets in to see the show -- it depends on seating capacity in the courtroom, which varies day by day due to a number of factors. After just barely getting in, (I was the first person they did not allow in to the courtroom after waiving in members of the public from the line. Then, at the last minute, they had more seats open up, so myself and a few others got to go)I saw them issue two opinions. Unfortunately, I actually don't remember their names. Also, I did not take a picture of the SCOTUS building because they are apparently working on cleaning the exterior marble, and so instead of the usual impressive facade, all that is there is a scrim with a print of the front of the building on it. Not exactly picturesque.

I did manage to get a picture of the Chief Justice John Marshall statute inside, however

The first opinion found that federal prosecutors cannot retroactively increase a convicted prisoner's sentence based on the federal sentencing guidelines, as the Court found that this would amount to ex post facto application of law and punishment. 6-3 decision, with I believe Thomas, Scalia and Alito in dissent.

The second opinion had to do with raisin growers in California, the 5th Amendment, and some obscure agricultural statute from the New Deal era. From what I could gather, it sounds like the Court found that raisin growers can raise constitutional arguments to enforcement of terms of the statute in front of the agency in charge of enforcing the statute. Unanimous decision.

If you are interested in seeing the SCOTUS, check their court calendar for more information. Here is their calendar for the October 2013 term.

View of Congress from the Supreme Court building

After finishing at the SCOTUS, I went across the street to the Library of Congress, because it is an epic and gorgeous building, and took photos. They really do not "do" subtlety in DC, do they?

The Library of Congress

The gorgeous interior of mosaic epicness

Finally, I went down to Alexandria, VA, again, to pick up the painted pottery that I created a few weeks ago. Behold my epic masterpiece...

Ta-da!

Link Round-up: Nice Things

There seems to be a lot of negativity in the world these days, and a lot going around to make people feel down. From violence and turbulence, to a non-existant job market while the loans stack up, sometimes (or often) it can be difficult to keep a positive disposition. Often when I am feeling frustrated (which seems to be, for me anyway, the most prominent negative emotion to surface lately), I go online to try to find distraction, and something reaffirm my faith in the world. So I am instituting a new feature to the blog, that will pop up from time to time: Link Round-up. Link Round-up will be a collection of five links to "things" found around the internet, with a mostly-positive theme attached to them (things that are funny, things that are cray-cray, etc.). Tonight's round-up are things that are "nice," as in things that when I saw them, I went "hey, that's really cool/nice." Without further ado:

Nice Things

1. Finding out that my friend Kathryn was selected as poet of the month. She also has a blog, which you can check out here.

2. Brazil using superheroes to fight pediatric cancer.

3. Ten year old owning it on America's Got Talent.

4. Finland starting new mothers out on the right foot.

5. Separated pets being reunited with their owners after the Oklahoma tornado.

On Kangaroos and Happiness

My languishing while I wait to start work has engendered a bit of insomnia on my part (not so much insomnia, more like I have nothing to wake up for, so I wake up later and thus go to bed later. It is a vicious cycle). So I have taken to YouTube as part of my late-night hanging out.

Last night I found myself on YouTube, watching a two-part, very good BBC documentary (side note: BBC always has consistently quality programming. Like seriously, why do they get Doctor Who and we get Keeping Up with the Kardashians? There is more quality programming on two BBC channels than the whole of American television. But I digress) about this hardcore, rugged Australian man who cares for and rehabilitates orphaned kangaroos at his sanctuary in the middle-of-no where outback. The two-part series was entitled Kangaroo Dundee, and aired on BBC a couple months ago, apparently. The man, Chris Barnes, lives in a literal shack (no electricity, a glorified Bunsen burner as his stove) on his land, where he cares for "'roos" for a living. Ever since the show aired, the guy has been getting thousands of dollars worth of donations, plus ten marriage proposals from random British women (and it is not hard to see why: six feet, seven inches tall, pretty attractive, rugged Australian man with a cool accent. Plus he tenderly cares for cute baby 'roos for a living, and is totally --and adorably-- devoted to them. It's like the perfect chick-attracting formula). The show was endearing to watch, sometimes made you laugh, sometimes cry. But it was just so heartwarming to see someone give his all to help helpless creatures, and to see the kind of happiness such a simple living caring for these animals brought to this man.

Which brings me to my main point: I have noticed something in watching a lot of animal videos and animal mini-documentaries on YouTube (did I mention I have a lot of time to kill right now). Namely, it seems like the people that work with these animals, which often entails giving up a lot of the "creature comforts" that those of us living in modern society have come to expect, seem to be a lot happier and a lot more fulfilled in what they are doing than the people who stay in the hubs of modern society, and pursue jobs and careers that allow them to try to keep up with all the "creature comforts" of that aforementioned society. "Kangaroo Dundee" doesn't have an easy life: he lives alone in the outback (a place, as Cracked.com likes to remind us, whose pass time seems to be devising ways to kill us), battling the elements (mostly for his 'roos, not himself), and has basically forgone most of what makes modern living "easy" (and hygienic). And yet watching the documentary, I could tell that he has found a peace and a satisfaction in his life that is very rarely seen. He seems to be "living" a lot more than a lot of people. I wonder that, in eschewing a traditional modern life, and in devoting himself to these animals, he has discovered something that all of us stuck in the endless cycles of job-bills-money-relationships-commitments-"having things" --the "treadmill" that you often hear modern society compared to-- are missing. And maybe can never have while we run the treadmill. Perhaps there is something to be said for the "simple life." Perhaps we really don't need all of this "stuff" -- and all of the things we are told we need to do to obtain said "stuff" -- that we are told we need.

I am not stupid. I know that I have been fully acclimated to the pace and standards of the modern Western society. I would probably freak out at not having electricity or a real stove. But then I remember being a kid -- and I mean a young kid, prior to middle school -- I always liked going out into the wilderness, or playing in the creek beds in the hills near my childhood home. Mud and dirt and all of that didn't bother me as much, and I think I was more tolerant of less-nice conditions. Over time, that became less and less true. I imagine this might be true for a lot of people. I wonder if, in this transformation as we grow up and adaptation to modern expectations, we don't lose something. I think most people would give an arm or a leg to be as contented as the guy in the Kangaroo Dundee documentary appears to be. May we all be as happy and fulfilled as Kangaroo Dundee.

Also, you should visit his website, and if you have the means, totally donate to his cause. Because, adorable kangaroos.

Book Review: The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear

Still not working, I have spent a lot of my down time reading. Before leaving for DC I packed a recent acquisition with me, The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. I had seen it in a used bookstore in Berkeley, CA, but the store was cash only and I had no cash on me. So i made a mental note of the book, and bought it online. Given the large amount of free time I have, even though it is roughly 700 pages, I have finished it.

As a side-note, reading for pleasure is such a welcome change. I don't know how long it has been since I have really read for pleasure, either due to time constraints or "reading burnout" from 90% of my out-of-class work being reading material. It is really nice to just read a great story. So I am grateful to this book for letting me rediscover the simple pleasure of just reading a story.

The Review:

The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear is a novel written by German author Walter Moers. If I had to describe the book in one word, it would be: delightful. This novel is essentially a children's story for adults. I imagine that children would like it as well, but it also should appeal to any adults who still retain child-like wonder at a good story.

My copy of The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear

Part fantasy, part adventure story, the novel tells the tale of Bluebear, a blue bear who lives on the mythical continent of Zamonia. It tells the story of the first half of his life -- or rather, the first 13.5 of his 27 lives as a Bluebear (as all Bluebears have 27 lives). A "life" in the story is essentially a chapter in the novel, each chapter describing a distinct time, in a distinct place, where Bluebear got into a distinct adventure. The reader follows Bluebear as he goes through all of these stages of the first 13.5 periods in his life, from adventure to adventure.

This is not a profound novel in the way that something by an author like Kafka or Cormac McCarthy is "profound." It does not to aspire to pretensions of being the next great work of literature. But in its own unassuming way, it is, because the author gives over completely to a world of uninhibited imagination. And he is able to do so through compelling storytelling such that the reader cares about the characters, even though they are wacky and fantastical, such as the blob-like alien Gelatine Prince Qwerty from the 2364th dimension. I have read a lot of books and novels and short stories; I tend to be kind of an at-arms-length reader, so I often don't get personally invested in (or react to) the characters any more than a standard reader would in order to enjoy the story. That being said, in all those stories and books, I have rarely had such a palpable dislike or outright hostility towards a character, than I had towards one of the main villains in the novel, a equally fantastical and not-at-all-real Trogolotroll. I think that the fact that the author can elicit such emotion and response from readers to characters who, by their basic external descriptions, are patently absurd, is a testament to the compelling strength and effectiveness of Moers' storytelling, plot and character development. The novel succeeds because while it maintains an almost childlike creativity in putting the world of Zamonia to paper, it manages to realistically convey experiences and emotional responses to those experiences that the adult reader would recognize from our own world. As a law student who spends her days in the mire of the very real reality of everyday life, of always looking at the world through the lens of the completely logical and sound, escaping to this world of gleeful non-logic and zaniness, was a welcome and much-needed break. As a law student or lawyer, you sometimes get moments where you can be creative (think of defenses like "the Twinkie defense"), but don't often get moments where you can imagine. I thank this book for allowing me to do so.

Other reviewers of the book (on Amazon.com) have said that the novel is stylistically and structurally similar to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and that if the reader enjoys Hitcherhiker's, he or she will enjoy Bluebear. Having never read Hitchhiker's, I cannot attest to the validity of this statement. But, I can say that if you are an adult who enjoys stories that celebrate imagination, that give over to the fun of storytelling, while all the while retaining something fundamentally and recognizably "human" in the experiences it relates, then you will enjoy this novel.

The novel is, as I said, a bit over 700 pages, but is actually a pretty quick read. The language is not complicated, and it is quick-paced. It is also interspersed with equally delightful illustrations of the characters and Zamonian landscape, which cuts down on the actual word-length of the novel.

Example of Moers' whimsical illustrations. From page 276

Overall, I would give the book 8.5/10.

Memorial Day Weekend

I have been super lazy about posting this week, so for that I apologize. Today's post relates to last weekend, actually. Last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, which if you couldn't guess, is kind of a big deal. So I decided that, if I was going to do touristy things, like see monuments, I might as well do it on the weekend when the monuments are going to be going all out -- decorations, commemorations, etc. The following will be a chronicle of what I did and saw that weekend, mostly in picture form with some commentary.

Saturday:

On Saturday during the day, I did the monument tour. Having looked up "things to do in DC on Memorial Day weekend, I found that a lot of the war memorials would be decorated with special memorial ribbons and flowers, and that at the memorials for wars for which there are still living veterans (read: WWII, Korea, Vietnam), there would be little ceremonies. So I walked around. I managed to catch the tail-end of the WWII Memorial's service for those KIA and the few (now very old-- hard to think that the "greatest generation," and WWII are so on their way out, and in a few years very few will be left) veterans who were in attendance. I was fortunate to catch the national anthem singing and flag-unfurling. Here are some of the pictures from the various memorials:

Memorial gathering at the WWII Memorial on the National Mall

Example of the memorial flowers that were being laid at all the war memorials. I wonder who paid for/sponsored these individual flower bouquets, and how

WWI Memorial in the distance

Memorial wreath set in the WWI Memorial. I have always felt kind of bad for the WWI Memorial/veterans. Compared to the epicness and pomp and circumstance given to the other war memorials, it always feels kind of lonely and forgotten. I guess it makes sense, since the other war memorials commemorate wars in which people still living fought, and WWI for us Americans was not as much a colossal part of our history as it is in say, Europe, but it still always struck me as a little forlorn and sad. I guess that is what happens when there is no one left around to advocate so much for its remembrance

Entering this Korean War Memorial, I saw that someone had set this picture of (who I assume is/was) a Korean War veterans, from French-speaking Canada (I always forget that, more than say Vietnam, Korea was a U.N. effort. I guess that explains why the U.N. logo is all over the memorial, and the names of pretty much every major western power, plus a few from Asia). From the picture: "Gerald Ferlotte. 1928-2009. Royal 22nd Regiment of Canada. Tu nous manque Papa [We miss you Papa. French speaking skills for the win]."

Korean War Memorial with memorial flowers and wreaths laid about

Memorial wreath commissioned/paid/sent (?) by a group of South Koreans in thanks for our veterans' and KIA's efforts in ensuring that South Korea =/= North Korea today. The wreath reads: "We remember you forever. With [? Word is partially obscured] people of the Republic of Korea. Presented by Class of 1963, College of Commerce, Seoul National University." Unfortunately, I cannot read Korean so I do not know what the script in Korean says

View of the line at the Vietnam War Memorial. For all its length, it moved pretty quickly

Memorial wreaths sponsored and laid by various Vietnam veterans groups

So apparently every Memorial Day Weekend for like the last 20 or something years, something called "Rolling Thunder" happens. I had read about it online, that "Rolling Thunder" was going to sponsor a bunch of events in the District over the weekend, but I didn't pay much attention to what it is Rolling Thunder is or does. This last weekend, I found out who they are and what they do.

This

Apparently, "Rolling Thunder" is a group of Vietnam-era veterans (and their spouses/allies) who also happen to be massive, Harley-Davidson-type bikers. Specifically, it is a biker club for Vietnam veterans and friends, whose mission it is, is to raise awareness of and pressure politicians/the military on the issue of military troops who are still POWs and MIA, and whose cases have not been resolved/bodies not been recovered, etc. So every Memorial Day Weekend, they host a huge (and I mean huge) biker rally in DC, to bring awareness to the POW/MIA cause, and to remember those who served in and/or were killed in Vietnam (and by extension, other wars generally, although their focus seems to be Vietnam). You can learn more about their group and what they do on their website. So basically, for the weekend, DC was taken over by hundreds of aging, Vietnam veteran, leather-clad biker dudes, often with long hair. I did not know that the aging patriotic biker veteran was a demographic, but by the showing in DC, apparently it is. The whole of Constitution Avenue (the street that runs along the north edge of the National Mall) from about the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial was just strewn with hundreds of motorcycles. I have not seen so much black leather all in one place before, complete with very "'Merica"-type patches, a smattering of Jesus-y patches, and several "Jane Fonda is a traitorous bitch" patches (to be fair, if what I have read about some of the things she did in her more radical youth are true, then I can't really disagree with that assessment. Since Vietnam and all that craziness was well before my time, however, all I know is hearsay and what I hear on the internet, so I will reserve judgment as to the validity of these statements). It was definitely a glimpse into a different world.

Sunday:

Sunday I did not do much during the day; the big event was the annual Memorial Day concert on the Capitol lawn, which was an evening event put on by PBS. I like outdoor concerts, and the lineup (of both singers and hosts) had sufficient "name-recognition" appeal, that I thought, "hey why not?" The gates opened at 5:00PM, and the event started at 8:00PM. So, starting about about 3:30, I hung around the reflecting pool of the Capitol, waiting for the gates to open. I figured that if I did that, I could keep an eye on the line area, and get in line when it started to form, to ensure a good seat, since it was open grass seating. The highlight of waiting for the gate to open/to get in line, was seeing a Mama duck herd her 8 little ducklings all along the reflecting pool. It was kind of adorable, so see the poor put-upon Mama duck try to keep everyone together. They as a group made a lap around the reflecting pool, all the while getting much attention from the patrons milling around. I did not take a picture because I did not want to scare the baby ducklings, but trust me when I say that it was adorable.

The concert itself was very good, and surprisingly moving. It was basically about honoring fallen soldiers and veterans who have served. Interspersed with thematic music (one song of which was "Bring Him Home" from the musical Les Miserables, sung by the guy currently playing Jean Valjean on Broadway. It was a fitting piece for the part of the event honoring current military personnel, and it didn't hurt that it is one of my favorite songs from my favorite musical. And he nailed it.) were little vignettes that told soldiers' stories. One particularly poignant story involved an Afghanistan veteran's battle with PTSD after his tour, and ultimately his succumbing to the depression. The man's widow and children were in attendance, and I must admit I even got a little misty. Same for a vignette honoring Charles Durning, a well-known Hollywood actor who passed away this last year. Apparently prior to Hollywood, he served in WWII, and was quite decorated, having being with the first landing party on Omaha Beach at D-Day, as well as having liberated a concentration camp. Apparently in the past he had been a speaker at the concert, so they played video clips of past years where he described his experiences at D-Day and liberating the camp. He described in pretty stark detail, so it was definitely humbling and saddening to hear. I was also really happy to see that they specifically called some Korean War veterans on stage for recognition. For a long time, Korea was the "forgotten war," shoved between WWII and Vietnam, so veterans from Korea often didn't get as much recognition, attention or help as veterans from those other wars. It is nice to see them finally getting their due. As he does every year, Gary Sinise acted as co-host of the concert. Ever since playing Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, I guess he has really gotten into the cause of wounded veterans, and does a lot of charitable work for them, including playing for them through his Lt. Dan Band. The concert is one of the things he is really involved with. Gary Sinise is a class act, both as an actor and a person.

Here are some pictures of the concert, which admittedly could be better. Unfortunately, while I had a good seat, we were still pretty far back as they had a separate section for veterans and family right in front of the stage (as it should be).

Walking to the event at Capitol Hill, I caught a glimpse of the "Rolling Thunder" ride that the group does around the Mall, which apparently happened on Sunday

View of the Capitol from the reflecting pool

It was a full house, all the way back to and up the steps of the Capitol

Concert stage just prior to start

Gary Sinise and his co-host, Joe Mantegna

American Idol winner Candice Glover singing the national anthem

Jessica Sanchez, from Glee also performed

Colin Powell also spoke. I couldn't get a good shot of him, so here he his on the jumbotron

Actor Ed Harris also gave a good speech at the event

Korean War veterans being honored at the concert (they are in blue coats)

Capitol and crowd, a-washed in light during the concert

In all, it was a really good concert, full of talented singers (and the National Symphony Orchestra on accompaniment). It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go, so I am glad I went. The weather that day was mid-70s, totally clear skies, and low humidity, so you pretty much could not have asked for a more perfect concert-going day. I think the concert, even though some may think it a little hokey because of the hardcore patriotism, was a great event, and the highlight of my weekend (and stay here thus far). It was also what my dad would call a "cross-cultural experience," given that the event was a haven for, shall we say, the type of people that one does not often find in the "blue" cities and states in which I have lived. But I guess it takes all kinds.

Monday:

Monday, which was actual Memorial Day, I went to the DC Memorial Day parade. I didn't take any pictures because I was kind of in a bad spot, plus people's heads were all in the way. So while I was able to see, it was not a situation conducive to good pictures, and I think I was a little burned out by trying to get good shots while jostling between peoples' heads at the concert. Basically, the parade was your pretty standard parade: a lot of high school marching bands from around the country, playing a smattering of contemporary and patriotic music. I always wonder how the bands get selected to play, because you could definitely see a range, both in terms of geography, but also in terms of the demographics of the bands and their respective ability to pay for flashy (or not) instruments and costumes. But generally speaking, for high school bands, they were pretty good. Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna were present as well, in a float as honorary grand marshals. In between the bands, they had people dressed up representing pretty much every war the Americans have fought (Revolutionary,1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, our current wars), plus specialized groups representing different veteran groups or time periods (veteran groups for Japanese WWII veterans, Philippine veterans, Native American veterans; plus things like the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution), some boy scout troops, etc. It was a little awkward when it got to the Civil War, since it was a civil war, so all veterans of that war were technically American, so they had people dressing up as and people in affinity groups for both the North and the South. But, history is history, and it takes two sides to tango. But it is always a little strange (given where I am from) to see people flying flags with the stars and bars.

Mostly, I enjoyed the parade. There were a few people around me who were, for lack of a better term, assholes; I won't get into it, but people need to a) mind their own business and b) be respectful of those around them (by that I mean, don't scream babbling, incoherent, annoying nonsense into the ears of those around you). Which several people were not. I would have enjoyed the event more but for those assholes, but I tried not to let it ruin my experience. Note to world: don't be assholes.

That pretty much sums up Memorial Day Weekend 2013, highlight of DC 2013 so far. I still haven't been cleared to work, so I have just been kind of hanging out. Hopefully that will end soon.

Grand Army of the Republic (Civil War/Union side) memorial near Archives metro, with memorial flowers