001.422 Tuf

It is beautiful outside today, so I went for a walk around the neighborhood and ended up at the Duncan Branch Library. Alexandria has a pretty good city library system, and the Duncan is a very nice local branch. It was renovated and expanded just recently, and has a decent collection on site.

Finding myself there without a particular plan, I decided to look for a book I just heard about recently, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte. They had a copy checked in, and interestingly enough it was the first book in the non-fiction stacks, on the very end of the top row of the first shelf.

I skimmed through the book, but did not check it out. I think I might prefer to have my own copy. It has been described as a "Strunk & White for graphics." Tufte lays out how graphics can be best used to convey complex information, while avoiding numerous common errors. He shows how graphs and charts are used to lie or made confusing with "chartjunk." And the text gives simple rules for conveying the most information with the least ink, eliminating confusion and errors. I would recommend anyone who regularly creates or reads graphs and charts, professionally or otherwise, to see if your library has a copy.

Doctor of Fine Arts

SAAM 2-9-08

I had some free time today, and decided to make the most of it and take a quick jaunt into the district. I went to one of my favorite museums, the combined Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.

They've completed the courtyard renovations since the last time I visited. It is a great public space - comfortable, lots of activity without being overly crowded. The two signature elements are the undulating glass canopy and the shallow pools. The pools are merely sheets of water, and are constantly in motion - pumped in on one end, flowing down a barely perceptible slope into a drain. Since it is barely a puddle, kids run through them constantly. It livens the place up quite a bit.

The entire museum has good exhibits, but the most popular single work today was the recently installed portrait (or is it portraits?) of Stephen Colbert. It is just outside the Hall of Presidents... in the antechamber of the restrooms. There's a photo in the album linked above. I walked by a few times, and there were never less than a dozen people crowding around for photos.

Bookshop

I've explained my love of libraries before, but truth be told I may like bookstores even more. I can't explain it any more than to say that while a library is fairly static, a bookstore is dynamic. Books flow through a bookstore, while they are archived in a library. I'm fond of both, but since I want to possess the books for myself, a bookshop might have a slight edge for me.

Having said that, there are good bookstores and bad. Having worked at a Barnes & Noble, I can tell you that many of them are not what I would call good bookstores. Books-a-Million is an awful, awful place. But some Borders are pretty good.

Independents are a gamble. It's where you will find the best bookstores, and the worst. The bad would be places like the used bookstore off of the main drag in Blacksburg, which had little beyond water-stained pulp novels. The good are places like Northshire Books, the local Olsson's chain around DC, and once upon a time, the bookstore my mom helped found, Deerleap Books.

The heart of a good bookstore is the selection. It doesn't have to be broad - you don't always want a warehouse. Just books chosen carefully, recommendations from an intelligent and well-read staff. Of course, it doesn't hurt if you have a nice place to put it all.

Few bookstores approach the aesthetic beauty of the great libraries like the British or the Library of Congress. But to finally come to a point, I just read about one that does. It is in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and is housed in converted church.


(It won an interior design award. To see more photos and information, read here and here)

It doesn't look cozy, but I think it would be a marvelous place to spend a few hours and pick up a few volumes. But only real classics of capital "L" Literature or great works of non-fiction. Buying the latest Oprah book here would seem wrong, somehow.

Arts & Sciences

For the first time in a few years I went to Art on the Avenue and actually bought some art. Nothing fancy, mind you, but art nevertheless.

After doing my chores and getting my mop chopped, I joined Sarah & Paul for the biggest party in Del Ray. There was some really nice work for sale - I especially liked some handmade photo montages and a few Asian-styled silk screens. But after some encouragement, I bought a print of a still life by a local artist. The full size original was done for the owner of the Nationals. It is called "Still life with Baseball." I think I will hang it in my office at work, which could use some decoration.

Of course, afterwards we had no choice but to go to Poblano, followed by custard. Today's flavor was pumpkin, which is like eating creamy, frozen pumpkin pie. Extremely good.

I am very pleased, on the whole, but especially with the print. I've always had a very weak sense of aesthetics; matching colors can be a challenge for me. But I really think this print will work nicely in the office, particularly since it isn't a nautical picture like most folks have. Not that those are bad - I'm a big fan, I've got at least a dozen at home. Variety is good, though. And it helped that Sarah and Paul, who are much more aesthetically gifted, agreed.

In other news, I am jealous of Steph. Her boat will be out on San Francisco Bay, just for the day on Monday, to work 1 buoy and watch the Blue Angels. That sounds like a pretty great day at the office.

Valley (of the Kings) Girl

Interesting news out of Egypt this week. Archaeologists from that august institution, The Discovery Channel, have found the long-lost mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, one of the few female Pharoahs. It is particularly interesting, because one of the the finest buildings of antiquity is her mortuary temple Djeser-Djeseru at Deir el-Bahri (seen to the right, photo courtesy Wikipedia), where her body isn't buried.

I'm a sucker for the old tales of Howard Carter stumbling into the tomb of Tutankhamen, and the misdirection angle makes this even more intriguing. There is evidence that Hatshepsut's stepson, Thutmose III, attempted to destroy all records of her, including removing statues from her temple, deleting her from official histories, even chipping her images out of hieroglyphics. Blended families are challenging, even when you are a God-King.

Regardless, it is a fascinating discovery. And the location the mummy was found may shed some evidence on the presumed actions of Thutmose III. It also gives me an excuse to put up a picture of Djeser-Djeseru, one of my favorite buildings. A grand stepped series of colonnades, set into the side of a stark sandstone cliff. Very cool.

Expertise

I like to think I know a little bit about some things. I'm not an expert about much of anything, just enough to be dangerous. But one of my chief pleasures is learning more, especially from people who are experts. And it is doubly enjoyable when they are passionate about the subject.

I bring this up because I recently had three very enjoyable conversations along these lines. The first was part of my ongoing rowing education courtesy Steph, Aaron, and Sarah. Aaron and Steph have explained technique and the various positions in the boat (stroke, "engine room," etc). Sarah has been teaching me about how they start, training methods, and coxing (which she did for the first time recently). I'm not a rower and don't imagine I'll ever find myself in a shell, but they make it interesting. Probably because all three of them clearly love rowing.

This past weekend, Chris was visiting while he was at a professional conference. He gave me a copy of the most recent Architectural Record. It had very interesting articles and gorgeous photos of the church of Saint-Pierre de Firminy by Le Corbusier, the refurbishment of Griffith Observatory, and other significant buildings. But what really got Chris going was the bit about the opening of Glass House. I'm not fluent in the design arts, so he had to teach my why Glass House was just an inferior rip-off of Mies Van der Rohe's Farnsworth House. In Chris's opinion, Farnsworth is "otherworldly" and a consistent expression of Van der Rohe's ideology and architectural ideals, while Glass House is the unwieldy marriage of the otherworldliness of Van der Rohe and the site-specificity and engagement of a Frank Lloyd Wright design. It was very cool to hear him hold forth.

And yesterday, I skipped out of work to have lunch with Sarah and Heidi, who is in town for a few days. She talked at length about her trip to China, how to find work in the pastry and 4-Star restaurant businesses, and Alexander Hamilton. I've always found Heidi to be much more culturally literate than myself, more traveled and with excellent taste. So I pay attention and try to pick up a few things. We talked about her visit to the National Portrait Gallery, and then about Hamilton. This was a bit more in my wheelhouse, but she just finished the latest big biography on him, and taught me a few things. So now I'm looking forward to getting that off my "to-read" shelf soon.

I am interested in all of these topics, in of themselves. But even more, I am interested in these people, and that includes their hobbies, interests, and passions. So I really enjoyed all of these conversations. They remind me how broad the world is.

Conspicuous Consumption

I caved in to my appetites this past weekend and bought myself a new tv. It is obscene. Soon, I'll have the HD channels turned on. I already have the DVD and the computer running through it. The picture on the right? It looks life size to me as I write this. Well, not really.

To buy such an unnecessary luxury item, you have got to be working, you dig? Dollar dollar bill, you all. Actually, the big meeting I mentioned before went off really well on Wednesday. The higher-ups seemed satisfied, though I foresee trouble in the future. These are only going to get harder, and we've already got some people picking up some bad habits.

Turning aside from work and play, I was reading some ancient Roman proverbs the other day. I'm not one to believe that ancient texts are superior or "the old books are the best books," but I do believe that every book has at least some value. So it's best to be familiar with all books, not just the ones that are on the NYT Bestseller List right now. And I came across one that I particularly liked. "Cacoethes scribendi." It is by Juvenal, and means "the bad habit of writing." Consider that there was a time when getting me to write was like pulling teeth. I have not learned to be a good writer, but I have learned to enjoy it. And to make it a habit. I ascribe this change to my 4th & 5th grade teacher Mrs. Pierce. She made us all write in journals every day, and she would read them over the weekend and give us feedback. She was very encouraging, no matter what I wrote. I often think of her when I write for myself, and the quote brought still more memories of her and what she taught me. So, I say, take Mrs. Pierce's advice, and write something every day. It will make your brain bigger, and other good things.

Make with the Art

Today is Art on the Avenue in Del Ray. From Bellefonte to Hume, Mount Vernon Avenue is closed to traffic and filled with food, paintings, sculpture, and jewelry. It's a big event of the neighborhood, with thousands of people from all over the area coming to visit.

I took a walk through the whole of the festival, taking the time to get myself an outstanding chopped barbecue pork sandwich from the Rockland's booth. I also stopped by the Dairy Godmother for a brownie sundae. The weather was not ideal for eating frozen custard, with breeze, overcast skies, and temperatures in the 50's. But it's been a while, and the brownie sundae is totally worth getting a little chilly.

I was tempted to buy one of the really neat photo collages at one of the booths, but art is expensive. I'd much rather try to make something myself, though I'm not so sure I'd hang anything of my own up in my house. Chris and Ryan have a knack for creative pursuits that I lack. I did recently make a self-portrait made to look like something by Lichtenstein, but it's kind of amateurish. I included it with a few pictures from the festival here.

The festival is more than just art and food. There are a lot of community organizations trying to recruit or raise awareness, two or three massage/yoga businesses with booths, and lots of music. I listened to a little bit of the Irish Breakfast Band, which included a class of girls who were learning Irish step dancing. It was nice, and went well with the grey, damp weather.

The one purchase I did make was from a silk-screen artist. She had a number of t-shirts; the famous picture of Che Guevara, some other kind of kitschy stuff. But I got the one shown above. Hail to the King!

Paintings, Scupture, Music, Buildings

I hit the culture trifecta today.

First thing, I got outside before it got too hot and muggy and cleaned up the yard; mowing, weed-whacking, etc. I had been letting some of the fast-growing "weeds" along the fence to grow all summer. One was so big, it was like some Pleistocene-era tree. I had to cut it down with the saw on my Leatherman. Fun.

While I finished up mowing, Steph & Aaron called and invited me to join them for brunch at Fireflies. It was excellent, and they had some excellent stories from some of their recent hijinx. They have almost perfected the tandem-storytelling technique that so many couples use. Keep practicing, kids. If you know them, ask about Aaron and the forks, and Steph's concussion.

After brunch, I finished my laundry and Metroed into D.C. to visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. I spent about 2 hours in the museums, mostly in the Modernist and Contemporary sections, my personal favorite styles. I took many pictures, but since flash photography is not allowed, many of the pictures came out bit blurry - I think the 'exposure' time must be longer. Regardless, I got some shots of some of my favorites, but I urge any and everyone to go see it for themselves - there's a lot more, and these photos don't even do these few pieces justice.

There were a few pieces that I especially liked. The Adoration of Saint Joan of Arc by William Fosdick is really something; it's made of fire-etched wood, and is quite striking. Carved in the bottom in French is "My last wishes, my last thoughts, are for my God, my Country, and my King." In the modern gallery, Untitled by Larry Bell is made of panels of smoked glass; it changes appearance from every angle, going from reflective to transparent and back again. Megatron Matrix is a media installation by Nam June Paik, made of grid of monitors and speakers playing old rock music, with images of flags, Olympic Sports, news telecasts, and raster graphics of ducks. It's insane, and hypnotic. Bird in Space by Liz Lerner is an amazing piece made of small rope woven together to make a large, 3D web evocative of a bird in flight. I'd have taken a picture, but it's small white line with white walls behind - it barely shows up.

At 3:00, I went into the basement auditorium for a concert by a classical trio associated with the Smithsonian. They play on instruments from the Museum's collection: a recently restored Steinway piano from the 1940's, a violin from Paris made in the 1770's, and a violincello from Milan made in the 1750's. It was a very nice concert, featuring Trio in C Major (Hob. XV: 27) by Joseph Haydn, Trio in E-flat Major (Op. 70, No. 2) by Ludwig von Beethoven, and Trio in D Minor (Op. 49) by Felix Mendelssohn. I don't have a very good ear for music in general, and classical music especially. I find I like almost all smaller pieces (chamber muic, trios and duets, etc.), but find that larger works (symphonies, operas) are pretty hit-or-miss; some I love, others I can't warm up to.

After the concert, I took a short walk outside to quickly photograph the outside of the Museum, which was originally the United States Patent Office. You can still see busts of great, early inventors like Franklin or Fulton in the lobbies. Walt Whitman thought it was the finest looking building in Washington, and it has hosted many Inaugural Balls, including Lincoln's. And right

across the street, and only 130 years later, is the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library, designed by the great architect Mies van der Rohe. The two buildings are very different, but both are masterful.