I'm pleased to say I saw one of those metal car emblems yesterday -- like the Jesus fish -- except it was for the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It took me a minute to figure out what FSM stood for so I didn't get a camera phone photo, but it was definitely there in the wild. Hooray for his noodly appendage!

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the very best dinner party I've ever been to. For drooling purposes I'm putting in a photo (slightly blurry) of the menu I kept as a souvenir. Philippa and Dave were the hosts and dozen or so of us were treated to an incredible meal prepared by a professional chef as well as the company of 2 special guests. First was Shawn Westfall, an instructor from the DC Improv comedy club and school. He took all of us through a few fun improvisational exercises that culminated in some hilarious skits made up on the spot by small groups of us during breaks in dinner. The other guest was painter Adam Stennett, whose work "Thirteen Fish and Two Mice" our hosts just purchased for their collection (you can see it on his website). It is a spectacular painting in person (6 feet square) and it was great to hear him talk a bit about the piece and then have dinner with him. Both Adam and the painting were featured in Esquire magazine in May (along with some very expensive clothes he didn't get to keep).

The other guests were fascinating people as well: a playwright whose production I saw in May, a yoga instructor, a marriage therapist, a TV executive, etc. I can't say enough good things about the evening -- every detail was perfect and I left very full of great food, champagne, wine, and conversation.

For those who always wondered, this photo shows what the top 1/3rd of the fireworks on the National Mall look like from my condo window. I figure that statistically, practically everyone in the world has a worse view (except for those people on the tall building in front of me, of course).

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.