Sorry A Cappella

What I Blame:

• myself
• the microphone
  
• the echo/Y generation
  
• books

What Happened:

This weekend AG & I went to see an elite DC U's A Cappella show (rhymes w/ Orange Brown).

First, it was pretty strange of us to attend a university singing show (Express Night Out events weren't enticing, so I slummed it & looked to the U site & we decided to try some free undergrad singing!)

It was VERY ENTERTAINING & very lame.

While the beat-boxing was excellent, the student solos were intriguingly pathetic. No one put their mouth to the microphone. It was passive singing, on pitch. It was like someone who could juggle a soccer ball, as sort of a skill, but couldn't figure out that the point was to move the ball toward the goal.

The room was tiny w/ a stage the size of a kitchen (held an audience of 110), yet the voices hardly went past the 3rd row (you could hear them, but you couldn't FEEL them.) The sound system was sub-par, but that wasn't the reason their gig-presence had the affect of someone practicing in the corner.

It was a series of soloists blandly mimicking the lyrics to A.Morrisette, Hanson, Death Cab & Obama campaign songs, in a nice "I memorized these words for my 'choir team'" sort of way.... w/ a weird 10 person entourage of humming-finger-snapping 18 year-olds as backup. Is this normal for the East? (When I visited Duke one weekend, most buildings I saw had a "circle of standing ppl" gathered in practice, which I was told was the "A Capella rave.")

I mention books and the Y generation, because this was the downfall of the Fall concert, I think. These students were too smart to be good singers. Secondly, they grew up in a "team-achiever" generation & didn't know how to punch a solo-performance.

What I appreciated:

• thinking about Andy Bernard
• the guy in the hockey jersey who sang an awful solo but broke stereotypes
• Miami's amazing A Capella choir, probs fueled by our lack of presence as a"world power political" feeder
  
• DC free events

Why did I write about this? I have no idea. I do know I will be attending the next Orange Brown singing show, because 1/2-ass talent by some of the most elite minds in the nation was wonderful.

Newseum & Map of Press Freedoms

Yesterday I finally visited the Newseum, a brand new DC museum whose facade brandishes the First Amendment 6 stories high & whose content I'm sure you can surmise.

It's high-tech (you can create your own newscast to take home) & not free ($20), but outstanding... as it is a place to view (1) a wall of 60+ of the day's front pages; (2) ALL of the Pulitzer prize photos; & (3) montages of famous historical events & debates, sorted by decade & allowing for the viewer to select her desired database of video-clips, though everyone - including myself - keep uploading the summary of the 2008 election.

One floor is dedicated to the First Amendment. An entire wall displays a world map, tri-color-coded as to each country's press freedom. (see above). I was entirely surprised to see that 1/3+ of the world does not have free press (the purple countries). I'm naive. Maybe I've thought about these countries' limitations on freedom in other contexts, but seeing this map was startling. (code: green is free press; yellow is partly free; purple is not free).

Interactive Press Freedoms map online.

The exhibit on 9/11 was the most memorable. Along with more three-dimensional tributes, the museum has a set-off room to view a 12 min video of the footage from the day's events. It's told in a chronological format, so that the viewer watches the destruction in the timeline as it happened - using the best video footage in the nation that documented the event. powerful and haunting. It makes you really re-live the day's events, undesirable as this is.

There's also a faux Berlin wall, a sappy but enjoyable orientation video showcasing how news covers "love, hate, war, peace" & an exhibit on journalism ethics.

Newseum

Sailing the Schooner Virginia

I never imagined law school would lead to attending a "Downrigging Festival," but surprise (!), working for a conservation firm leads to all sorts of outdoors adventures.

This weekend I sailed the Schooner Virginia, at an event celebrating something about old boats (hey, I'm from Missouri; I don't know boat-speak).

We sailed from Chestertown, MD, on the East side of the Chesapeake Bay.


My firm worked on the first water Nat'l Trail (i.e. like Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail), and they've created the John Smith Nat'l Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail. It traces 3000 miles of historic routes taken by John Smith from 1607-1608 in Chesapeake Bay. Link: http://www.nps.gov/cajo/ The Sultana was John Smith's boat. A recreated boat sailed in the festival.

Map for John Smith Nat'l Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail

More photos from sailing:



Sultana (above)

Dear East Coast, Your Fall Is Somewhat Very Disappointing

I always, always considered the #1 reason to move East was the Fall.

Unfortunately, I have spent my October reminiscing about the beautiful foliage in KC, OH, & CO because the Fall in VA has been a hot mess. Boring earth tones & everything being arrogantly green too long because of the prolonged warm weather. A pathetic display of death. Nothing POPS. No cherry red oaks, no electric oranges or yellows.

And I *tried* to find the Fall. I went to Harper's Ferry, WV (where I could see WV, VA, and MD at the same time); Gettysburg, PA (there's a ski resort in So. PA; get your passes now!); Shenandoah Nat'l Park (apple festival & Shenandoah skyline drive); and Chestertown, MD (there's a bookstore called "Idiot's Books.")

The most salient thing I observed was not the Fall colors but the non-diversity at the apple festival. There were about 10,000 ppl there. All 10,000 were white.

Here's some photos of WV, VA, MD:

Harper's Ferry Nat'l Park, WV


Harper's Ferry Nat'l Park, MD side.
Harper's Ferry is the confluence of the Potomac & Shenandoah Rivers. I have no idea which river this is.

Shenandoah Nat'l Park, Skyline Drive

Apple Harvest Festival, Graves Mountain, VA