A Day at the Museums

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Every year I try to visit the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; this year was no different.  As we always do, Adrianna and I arrived hungry and enjoyed several of the different cultural food vendors.  With this year's festival, however, that was about all we did, as we found the entire festival quite small underwhelming, particularly in comparison to previous years; it seems as though the festival has been shrinking over the last few years, much to our disappointment, as we both look forward to attending each year.  The nearby waste bins reminded me of some fine art photography series I've seen done on trash.

We perused the entire grounds of the festival, and barely anything was going on - we saw two discussion panels, which the speakers seemed to be attempting humor that was falling flat on the gathered audiences, and there were no demonstrations taking place even at the scheduled times posted.  Disappointed, we decided to hit a few of the less trafficked museums.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

At the Hirshorn we saw parts of Yoko Ono's exhibits which were nearing their close, and Ai Weiwei's "Trace" exhibit of large LEGO portraits of political dissidents.  This of course was alongside some of Hirshorn's collection of rotating artifacts on display.

One piece that initially confused us was Reynier Leyva Novo's "5 Nights," which appear as different sized rectangles of black ink on the walls, each equal to the amount of ink used in writing five totalitarian leaders' manifestos; at the museum, we did not see a plaque explaining this, but we did notice the plaque underneath the largest rectangle labeled "Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf" and we incorrectly surmised that these were placeholders for an upcoming exhibit, one of which would be a painting by Adolf Hitler sharing the title of his infamous autobiography.  It wasn't until later that evening on the Hirshorn website that all was made clear; the conclusion we'd drawn earlier just didn't feel as though it added up, and had been bugging me for clarification and correction all day.

The detail and depth in Weiwei's repeating patterns is breathtaking, and a designer's delight.  Overtones of surveillance, oppression, suppression.  The rise of Twitter, resistance, transparency through opposition.  It's bleak and hopeful and applicable to the political state in many governments the whole-World over.  It is a modern illustration of a timeless struggle.

Weiwei's LEGO art was expansive and reminiscent of 8-bit art, eliciting thoughts of the digital age in which many of his subjects relied upon in their tasks.

National Museum of the American Indian

Next we decided to visit the nearby National Museum of the American Indian.  Adrianna is part Native American, so she's visited many times and is well versed in the exhibits and history.  I, on the other hand, had never been before, and my entire knowledge of Native American history is limited one learns in 4th grade; that is, to say, I admittedly have no significant knowledge of Native American history.  Our visit was rushed because they would be closing in less than two hours, and frankly this is a museum to fully absorb a whole day would be required; I will need to return to devote an entire day to give it the attention this museum requires and deserves.

At closing time we split a pastry in the cafeteria head off back to Virginia for dinner.

Air India at Washington Dulles International Airport

On a warm, drizzly Summer morning, Air India's inaugural flight between Delhi, India, and Washington, DC landed at Washington Dulles International Airport, greeted by a delegation from the Embassy of India, distinguished guests, and a crowd of media who gathered alongside the runway.  Upon landing, the 777-200LR was welcomed with a ceremonial water arch, and the aircraft blessed upon arriving to its gate.

Following refreshments, a press conference commenced with performances of Jana Gana Mana and The Star-Spangled Banner, national anthems of India and the United States, and a traditional Indian dance.  Speakers included Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ambassador of India to the United States His Excellency Navtej Sarna, Air India’s Chairman Ashwani Lohani, and representatives from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to include Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Margaret McKeough, and Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Jerome Davis.  After remarks from each of the speakers, a ceremonial cake cutting and exchange of gifts was enjoyed by the distinguished guests.

After the festivities, I made my way onto the ramp for one more aircraft walk around, and finally onto the runway to watch Air India’s flight depart Dulles for the first time on it’s new non-stop route back to Indira Gandhi International Airport.  Luckily the weather had cleared up during the press conference and the skies were now blue with heavy bands of clouds quickly moving across the horizon, creating additional dramatic effect for Air India’s first departure.

We don't believe in walls; 

we believe in bridges.

Terry McAuliffe, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia

2017 Virginia Gold Cup

This was my first time attending the Virginia Gold Cup despite years of being invited to it.  Unfortunately it rained all day; reportedly 2017 had the most dreadful weather for the event in recent years - usually it's sunny and comfortable.  The rain and mud didn't change how anyone dressed though; everyone in attendance still dressed dapper as ever... we were all just covered in mud doing it.  Women in their dresses and heels had mud splattered all the way up to their thighs.  Men bore the same stains, but instead needed extra Shout to launder their trousers later.  I'm pretty sure my brown shoes are ruined.

At the end of the event while walking to the car to leave, some guy came up and pushed me into a huge puddle of mud, and the splash of mud from my shoes splattered several of the girls he was with; the group then proceeded to curse and threaten me for it, despite the guy being the instigator.  The Virginia Gold Cup was two months ago as of writing this, and there is still mud on my camera from this incident.  That wasn't the only unsavory behavior spotted at the Gold Cup; immediately upon arriving, we witnessed two guys get in a fistfight and quickly get arrested.

Needless to say, I did not enjoy my first experience at the Virginia Gold Cup.  It was pretty miserable; the only redeeming part was the pictures I got out of it, which I am presenting here in black and white because I think they are more powerful and accurately portray the conditions that way.  Besides, I love black and white, but don't present most of my work in this format, so it's a nice departure.

The Retirement of Captain John Prater

This past Thursday, I was honored to help commemorate Captain John Prater's retirement, greeting him for his final flight arriving at Dulles from Paris.  Captain Prater began his aviation career in 1978, going on to be elected President of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in 2006.

Captain Prater has flown cargo and commercial airlines, including DC-8s, DC-10s, A300s, 727s, 757s, 767s, and 777s, but would retire flying the 787 Dreamliner.  I was on the runway's hold short to welcome him on his final landing and ceremonial water arch (which the high winds caught, misted, and totally drenched me for!).

Thanks to all the fine folks in Dulles OPS who were so helpful in coordinating the logistics of this event with me and ALPA - as always, it would never be possible without all your help.

Sterling Supercars: March 11th, 2017

Last minute I decided to swing by Ferrari / Maserati / Alfa Romeo of Washington in Sterling, Virginia for the Cars and Coffee that has been known as DC Exotics and more recently SterlingSupercars.  I've been to this Cars and Coffee once before; I don't frequent this one as often as others since it focuses exclusively on modern exotics, and other local car shows are more eclectic.  That being said, it's still a cool show to visit, and since it's sponsored by the (exotic) dealership, it's probably the most upscale cars and coffee event in the area.  Even if the focus is on Ferraris and Lamborghinis, being held at their dealerships, the atmosphere is just as welcoming as any other cars and coffee I've been to.

I showed up at the tail end of this show because I decided to go last minute, but there were still some cool rides there.  I even got to sit in a new Alfa Romeo Giulia.

After the show, I headed out to Sonic in Winchester for lunch, and we came across Dirt Farm Brewing by chance on the way back.  On a whim we dropped in to check out one of the local breweries we keep hearing about, and got flights.  I'm much more into wine than beer, and I only found one I liked.