Yikes! I just had the strangest experience coming home on P Street from the coffee shop. I had just crossed 15th and was walking under some of the trees that line the street when there was a noise from the branches above me. I thought it might be a squirrel, but then there was this big crash about 3 feet behind me. I looked around and still vibrating on the ground exactly where I had stepped one second before was a large tree branch about 7 feet long with a diameter of 4 to 6 inches. One single step slower and it would have come down right on my head. There were several people walking on the street and I immediately heard all these exclamations of surprise and relief. One guy said "don't even bother buying a lottery ticket, you just used up all your luck for the year". I started walking again and by the end of the block, my adrenalin was going crazy realizing what had just nearly happened. I'm still jittery. Wow, it is a good day.

A friend directed me to this historical video and I'm extremely glad he did. I'm also happy to find out that people recorded this stuff, saved it, and placed it on the Internet where it can have a second life.

The scene: a 1969 senate hearing on whether or not to cut the funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by half from $20 million. Fred Rogers is asked to speak. Enjoy.

I went and saw a play last night by a newish theater company in DC called Taffety Punk. The performance was a new work titled "Let X" and was a clever exercise in deconstructing a play. It reminded me a bit of Pirandello's "Six Characters In Search of an Author" with some Beckett and Stoppard thrown in. The performance space was fairly small but the production made very good use of the odd configuration. Overall, it was well acted and well written -- I had a good time and enjoyed myself. A few weeks ago I went to a party/fundraiser for Taffety Punk held by a friend of mine where I got to meet some of the cast and the author. I like what they are trying to do for DC theater and I hope they are successful.

Speaking of Beckett, this article from the Onion is hilarious.