A Very Patriotic Fourth

This weekend was crazy busy. Saturday morning I flew down to DC to visit my mom and aunt (who was visiting my mom, who just had surgery on her leg). My aunt Jenny is AWESOME, and when she talks about politics, she sounds just like Doug's mom. I also saw the garage where Deep Throat met Bob Woodward--the Post published the address last week, and I printed out Yahoo! nmaps and went there. It's in way downtown Rosslyn, and it took me awhile to a) find the address, and b) find the entrance to the garage. But I finally found it and parked there for a minute or two inside the car, staring inside the depths, imagining shadowy figures saying "follow the money" and such. I also drove to a couple of my old apartments to see what they looked like now--I miss the Courthouse Road apartment the most (Man, I loved living there--reasonable rent, walking distance to the Pentagon, a view of the Cemetery and the Cathedral). When I take the Shuttle out of National Airport, I can usually spot the old building, because it's a block up from the Navy Annex, and I can find my bearings from the Pentagon which is REALLY conspicuous from the air. A long time ago, I wondered aloud to Stuart why they'd built the Pentagon in such a recognizable shape--I joked they might as well have sprayed-painted "bomb here" on the roof. Which, unfortunately, what was happened.

Sunday afternoon I went into the District to see my new little nephew Sweet William (he is teeny tiny, with barely there eyebrows). Stuart and Karine's apartment is really nice--it's in SW, one block from Arena Stage with a great view of the Potomac River and Arlington House to the left (they have a balcony). Lovely place. Then I caught the 5:30 shuttle where Doug picked me up--we went back to my place, then back to his place and eventually saw War of the Worlds which was so depressing we immediately went for drinks afterward. It's good, but very depressing. Between that and The Handmaid's Tale which I'm currently rereading, I've been awash in apocalyptic fantasies lately.

Yesterday Paula and Jason had a bunch of us over for a lovely cookout in their lovely backyard. Nothing brings out the carnivore in me like a cookout--I LOVE dogs and burgers cooked over flames. Jason was very much in his element, strutting about like a new father, showing off his newly purchased Weber grill. Doug and I brought beer, cupcakes, crackers and dip (seafood and shrimp salad), and there were many other desserts as well, including a spangly red, white and blue cake with blueberries and strawberries! A bunch of people were there, including Chris, Duncan, Don and Alex, Seth and Rachel (whom I complimented on her rack--the tank she was wearing showed it off nicely), Marian and Paula's parents. Did I forget anyone? I'm thinking I forgot someone. We stuffed our faces and then stretched out on the grass in back (I LOVE that backyard), then we watched the fireworks on TV, with appropriate commentary.

I like this

From a review of War of the Worlds:

But there's also an intellectual coherence to the film. What seems to hold it together is the concentration on blood. This extends from the initial idea of Mars as the "Red Planet" to the blood ties between Ray and his kids that turn out to be what gives them strength. It turns out further that the invaders have come to Earth for, specifically, blood; they are vampires who need our plasma to live. When they are done with their prey, they leave a blood residue, and in one scene, a red landscape is seen stretching to horizon, as if all humanity had been rendered.

Spielberg is only marginally interested in what eventually overcomes the invaders. He cares more about human adhesion, the stuff that binds us together and that, it seems, makes us human to begin with, unlike the cold, distant intellects of Mars. The idea seems to be: That was something they couldn't relate to, and in the end, that, as much as anything, dooms them. Our blood was thicker than theirs.

I did notice all the red and figure it was about Mars, even though the movie never says that's where they're from. But it wasn't just a visual theme, but an emotional one as well. Neat.

Request

Dooes anyone have a thick mattress pad, the kind that looks like a soft egg carton? Or a thick pad of some kind (preferably double-bed size) to suggest a bed on stage?