NYPL

At some point, I just dumped my entire list of "books I wanna read but don't want to buy" into the New York Public Library "bring-it-to-me" scheme.

The local branch is just a few blocks away.

Better yet, you can just keep dumping things into the queue, and they keep bringing them. Alas, the queue can only be 15 long, and you can only have 30 out at a time.

So what? I'm having the time of my life. I think I finished 2.5 books today.

Let's not forget the important part. They bring it to you!!!

2005 Fess Parker Syrah

OK, I'm totally going to some hell reserved for wine defilers, but the Fess Parker Syrah is better chilled than at room temp. Go figure.

The Wire

I'm totally addicted. I'm still watching Season One (don't own a TV.)

This is really good stuff, and those that know me know that I don't particularly care for TV (not having owned one for about 20 years at this point.)

I've tossed all the seasons onto my Netflix queue. (More when I resurface.)

The White Spider

My friend Ben lent me this classic mountaineering book by Heinrich Harrer, which chronicles successful and unsuccessful ascents of the North Face of the Eiger, in Switzerland. This is a truly fantastic book, razor sharp, brilliantly analytical, incredibly diplomatic, and distilled from what seem to be vast amounts of research into the subject as well as first-hand knowledge. I enjoyed it immensely, and would recommend it whether you're interested in mountaineering or not.

Wine night wines

Hosted another wine night last night. This time the stats were a little more reasonable: 7 bottles finished, 7 unfinished, and a couple left over. Whites had more of a showing this time. Memorable wines for me:

* 2005 Cambria Syrah
* 2004 Blair Fox Syrah
* 2006 Erbaluce di Caluso -- a semidry white that Rob and Kathryn brought over
* 2005 Dashe Zin outshone the 2006 Coppola Red Label Zin in my opinion
* 2005 Liberty School Cab Sauv needs to be tried again...

Asian Art

The Freer-Sackler Galleries, a pair of musuems that are internally connected by a quirk of fate (and contract law.) Housing mostly Asian art or Asian-inspired art.

The Freer contains the largest collection of Whistler paintings (him of "Whistler's Mom" fame) including the Peacock Room he designed for Frederick Leyland. The latter is not to be missed. If there's only one thing you can do in DC, you should go see this room.

As for why there are two museums and not one, Mr. Freer decreed that neither his collection be broken up nor outside pieces dilute his collection so when Mr. Sackler donated his large collection, even though the Freer was the logical space for it, they decided to construct a second museum on the side, and hook them up. (For all practical purposes they are one museum.)

Also not to be missed is the entrance to the Sackler, a masterpiece of architecture, particularly when viewed from the bottom of the structure.

As for all that Asian art itself, you have to go see it to believe it. No amount of words can do it justice.

National Air & Space Museum

You'd think I'd love it? Especially me who's been a space geek since I was four or so.

However, the whole place is strangely disappointing. It's like a big ad for NASA or the military.

The only worthwhile stuff there is watching how cramped Apollo 11 was. They really flew to the moon in the human equivalent of a sardine can. Really!

Bonus points to the losers for giving the most lame stupid description of Bernoulli's Principle ever. This is supposed to be educational?