My Oyster

And this is Judith...

Klimt: Judith, originally uploaded by mullermala.

as captured by Gustav Klimt during his gold phase.

I am in Vienna this week for work. Tonight we had a reception at Belvedere Palace - which is beautiful in its own right - but which is a real treasure with the all the art it houses - including this painting.

After chowing down on some traditional Austrian cuisine, I was able to walk around the galleries and get to know Gustav. I am not all that familiar with Klimt - though you see his art on scarves and coffe cups and lots of things.

I felt very lucky tonight to have this unexpected gallery visit.

Happy Thanksgiving...

The Pumpkin Sea II, originally uploaded by Lisa-S.

I love the simplicity of this holiday.

No costumes. No gifts. No religious ceremonies and obligations. Just good food and time shared with loved ones.

Tonight we had Thanksgiving Dinner at Mike & Mira-su's house. It was delicious - the entire evening.

Eh, not so much...

Rosie's new LIVE variety show premiered tonight.

I "watched" it with my father. Quotations meaning that it was easy to multitask. I did some online banking, experimented with some new blog designs, and just about anything else I could think of to distract me from the 60 minute train wreck.

I knew things were gonna get bad when in the first 15 minutes of the show Conan O'brien got a pie in the face from Alec Baldwin.  Oy.  Vintage 1955?

Despite the fact that I am not a huge fan, I was actually hoping that Rosie's show would A) Breathe some new life into a very old TV show format; and B) Rehabilitate Rosie from the mean, angry, militant that she seems to have become over the past several years.

It did neither.

This is what cold looks like...

cold heathland sunrise above the fog, originally uploaded by mikE~510.

On Flickr. It is cold. cold. cold.

It probably isn't actually all that cold really. But it seems much too cold for this early in the winter. Even for up here in Maine.

Here are some other pics from flickr that made me shiver just looking at them...

Really Too Cold for Me, originally uploaded by altamons.

Cold Blue, originally uploaded by cricketthestar.

cold water, originally uploaded by johnivara.

Now that I can't get married...

 

...are you better off?

That was one of my favorite signs from today's DC protest of Prop 8. The gays are not happy.

Today we marched from the Capital to the White House to show our anger and disappointment with the November 4th banning of gay marriage in California under Proposition 8 there.

This is the first time in the history of this amazing country that we have actually taken away the rights of a single class of Americans.  And we did it by voting.

As exciting and historic as was the night of November 4th, the vote on Prop 8 stung. 

It really proved that despite the progress we have made as gays in this society - to the point of being almost trendy - we are still very much second class citizens in a country that is happy to keep us in our place.  We have great hopes and expectations of our new President.

Today there were marches in 300 US cities.  It was great to be out with my community and our supporters in Washington.

Here are some scenes from our march...

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Happy Birthday & Kooza...

The Cirque du Soleil show Kooza is now showing under the "grand chapiteau" at National Harbor - just south of Washington.

Jean and I went last night to celebrate my birthday. The show was, as are all Cirque shows, a real joy.  I really liked this one. Kooza tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

I am always amazed at how Cirque du Soleil is able to successfully mix together so many elements into one show.  There is a physical and athletic element, an artistic element, a dramatic element, a comedic element.  I think there is even usually a strong spiritual element.  And of course, my favorite part is the music.  Live music.

I will never pass up chance to see a Cirque.  Here I am last night...

 

And this is why I love Rock Creek Park...

When I decided to move from Mount Pleasant 1.5 years ago, I knew I did not want to be far from Rock Creek Park.

I had lived literally in the Park for several years and had become a power user.  I  was the Park a few times a week and I did not want to give that up.

I didn't.  I am still very close to the Park - literally and figuratively.

Today I went for a long ride through Rock Creek Park. It was beautiful. The leaves were past peak but still beautiful - both on the trees and the ground. Here is a little video I took while cycling - set to one of my favorite songs by Sigur Ros...

Election Update #6...Wow - Only in America...

Quite a night. Only in this country can this happen.

I think my favorite shot was of Jesse Jackson. Crying at Grant Park.

Election Update #5...This is how I am calling it...

Here are my picks - state by state.

Red - Closing at 6pm
Orange - Closing at 7pm
Yellow - Closing at 7:30
Sage - Closing at 8pm
Bright Green - Closing at 8:30
Light Blue - Closing at 9pm
Dark Blue - Closing at 10pm
Purple - Closing at 11pm
Plum - Closing at 12am
Lavender - Closing at 1am


Alabama   McCain  
Alaska    McCain
Arizona    McCain
Arkansas    McCain
California      Obama
Colorado   Obama
Connecticut   Obama   
Delaware    Obama

DC    Obama

Florida    Obama
Georgia    Obama
Hawaii    Obama
Idaho    McCain
Illinois     McCain
Indiana   Obama
Iowa    Obama
Kansas    McCain
Kentucky    McCain
Louisiana    McCain
Maine   Obama
Maryland    Obama
Massachusetts    Obama
Michigan    Obama
Minnesota    Obama
Mississippi    McCain
Missouri    Obama
Montana    Obama
Nebraska    McCain
Nevada   McCain
New Hampshire   Obama
New Jersey    Obama
New Mexico    Obama
New York    Obama
North Carolina    McCain
North Dakota    McCain
Ohio    Obama
Oklahoma    McCain
Oregon    Obama
Pennsylvania   Obama
Rhode Island    Obama
South Carolina    Obama
South Dakota  McCain
Tennessee      McCain
Texas    McCain
Utah    McCain
Vermont    Obama
Virginia    Obama
Washington    Obama
West Virginia    McCain
Wisconsin  Obama
Wyoming    McCain

Sister Suz is having a viewing party tonight. We are all betting to see who comes the closest. 

 

I hope we will all feel like winners by the end of the evening.

Election Update #4...Good Citizenship and Good Dental Hygiene Go Together...

And even better than the fact that I had a good checkup is the very good news that my dentist, from Beirut and a registered republican in Potomac (that's Maryland), voted for Obama.

He said he has been getting some grief from friends for supporting Obama, but that he had taken the time to go to the Obama website and learn about his policies.  He has even been correcting some of his friends on their misconceptions.

He also said he could handle a little wealth redistribution.  So could his friends.  He thinks if there is some more tax equity, it would probably even bring more patients to him.