Thursday, June 30, 2005

American Mosaic

Today I ambled over to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival during lunch break, because its themes seemed particularly intriguing, especially the 'Food Culture USA' exhibitions, although some of the other ones, such as the focus on the country of Oman, were also fascinating.

Oddly enough, there was not much of a crowd around the ornately decorated Pakistani truck. (And with a nod to local sights, with its painted panels of the Washington Monument, the Capitol, etc.) Just as oddly, there was a healthy crowd surrounding the camels (presumably from Oman) and plenty of questions from the audience about the beasts, who were chilling on the grass (and on their knees) in the middle of the National Mall. The speaker felt a need to debunk myths about the critters' legendary moodiness, saying that they weren't as ornery as people make them out to be, considering that they carry heavy loads, in the baking sun.

The Qurayat Ensemble's performance at the Mangan Stage was a hit, with an enthusiastic crowd with many children. As good as the drumming and its music sounded, I was impressed, and nervous, to see that jiggling sword moving not too far from some of its audience members!

Over to the side, craftsmen from Oman were building a boat with intense, graceful concentration. Nearby, women from that country were demonstrating how they made baskets, with some on display. I was impressed with some of the smaller baskets, which were positively tiny. (And made me wonder what they are used for.)

I wandered over to a tent where local chef Roberto Donna was speaking about how he sources his products, and on how much easier it is to find good-quality foods, particularly herbs, in this country these days, as opposed to twenty years ago. He was in good spirits, considering the heat, but then again he's used to working in a hot environment. When Emeril Lagasse spoke later, there was too large a crowd around the tent to see him, so I left.

The food exhibition tents were fascinating, but I only had time to see a few, such as the woman who was speaking, and showing, the various cooking salts used by chefs. (But the pink-looking one whose other mineral is sulphuric acid looks suspicious to me...) The nice people over at the Honest Tea stand had a few gorgeous potted tea shrubs (camellia sinensis) growing (as well as complimentary bags of tea), and some dried teas on display. I'm now tempted to buy some of that company's chai, as its blend seems to have a higher amount of the (admittedly pricey) herb cardamom than most other chai blends. (Once you smell cardamom wafting through the air, you will understand the attraction.) I saw a tent for the Slow Food movement, but, ironically, I didn't have time to stop there. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take in the sights, smells, and sounds at the other exhibits, which featured foods from Latin America and southeast Asia. Moreover, it was getting hot (in) there, and taking off my clothes was not an option, so I headed back to work.

As multicultural as the crowds are that attend the festival, I was struck by the apparently high percentage of folk of African descent who live in Oman (if the exhibitioners who appear at the festival are representative of their country). I probably would not have particularly noticed, had there not been some flap over racial attitudes in another country, Mexico, whose government has recently issued stamps which feature racist caricatures from the 1940s. It makes me wonder if the people of Oman have to put up with similar foolishness back home.

Friday, June 24, 2005

The Little Guy Gets Hit, Yet Again...

For most people, Supreme Court decisions are a yawn, a minor blip in the day, if that. Yesterday's decision in Kelo v. City of New London was different in that, potentially, every homeowner who is not wealthy and politically well-connected could be faced with losing his or her home if developers with an economic development scheme manage to convince local officials to back their plans. The citizens of the town of New London who refused to give up their homes have lost this round, as they have refused "just compensation" for their homes. (I have a sinking feeling that the proposed compensation was not in the ballpark of fair market value, but I quibble.)

Attorney Andrew Cohen of CBS News said that the ruling "practically invited citizens who don't want to see this land-grab happen again to change their laws in order to prevent"(it). Hmm...

D.C.city officials are rejoicing at the ruling [free regi. req'd], as it will facilitate its plans for a new baseball stadium, which currently require that some homes and businesses in part of SE be destroyed to make way, all for a "public purpose," not merely a pesky "public use" that you were taught in civics class was necessary for government to seize homeowner land, that inconvenient concept of eminent domain.

Scott G. Bullock, an attorney for the organization that represented the New London homeowners, the Institute of Justice, said that the fight against eminent domain abuse would continue in the state supreme courts, as the decision does confirm that states can decide, and restrict, just what constitutes a "public purpose."

This ruling suddenly made me wonder how the development at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill would be affected, if at all. Could some Prince George's homeowners in that area be "asked" to leave in the name of economic development?

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It's that season. Yes, good old summertime is also prime crime time [free regi. req'd]. Be careful out there, and look out for your neighbors as well.

Friday, June 10, 2005

A Summer Pleasure...

The farmer's market is one of summer's great pleasures. OK, that's a slight exaggeration, 'cause it's great to shop at one even during the fall. Yet, there's something special about going at this time of year, when it's hot, and there are lots of people milling about, but you don't mind the crowd, even though it's sweltering. I mean, how many times in the summer can you, say, not be near a swimming pool or the beach (or, even in the shade), and there still be lots of people peacefully hanging out?

Anyhow, I did leave the market with fruit in hand, some nice strawberries. Reid's Orchards has the best fruit, and I am anticipating luscious apricots from these folks in three weeks or so. (For some reason, the fruit from this farm is particularly tasty compared to other local farms--maybe it's the terroir.)

Also, the herb guy was there, and he even had what I wanted--lemon balm plants. He told me that they were almost impossible to overwater (yay!), but would need some fertilizer in a few weeks. If I don't forget that fact, maybe the plants stand a chance at survival.