I felt the need to go for a walk on Sunday afternoon and the two options I came up with were to go see the flood damage in Rock Creek Park or visit the Smithsonian Folklife festival on the Mall. I think maybe I should have gone and looked at the damage. I've been to the festival every year since they had this wonderful Silk Road presentation a few years ago and I keep forgetting that that year was an aberration. It wasn't bad this time, just the usual: very hot, dusty, and sort of boring. This year added a particular disjointedness. The subjects were Alberta, basket making, Latino music from Chicago, and New Orleans food. Huh?? The Silk Road was great because the progression from east to west on the Mall mirrored the Road itself and its cultures. Here there were no connections at all between the sections which seemed small and isolated. The basket making section was actually interesting, but that was about it. At least it was a good and tiring walk.