Ginormous

This weekend I watched most of Nebraska's game against Texas, then hopped on the bus to Tyson's Corner. Yes, the bus. I know I always tell people not to take the bus. "Have you seen the people who ride the bus?" I ask. "They let anybody on the bus!" But Tyson's is so close, it's almost stupid for me not to get there somewhat regularly.

I went to see The Prestige, though I can't exactly say why. It was mostly good. The cast is really good in the top four, and solid everywhere else, so the acting is quite good. I like the overall story as well. It jumps back and forth a lot, so you have to figure out who is doing what and when, but that's okay. I'm not sure the writers did a good enough job of making sure that the audience knows what's going on at all times, but there's nothing wrong with making people think a little more than usual. I usually watch movies to escape from thinking too much, so I never experience movies like this the way the makers intend. When I start thinking about it, I stop paying attention, if that makes any sense. I got part of the "surprise" ending, but not the whole thing.

Now that I think about it, I had heard before going to see it that David Bowie was in the movie. I forgot all about him and didn't even remember him until I linked to the IMDB page just now. I think this means two things: a) He did a great job of playing his character and not David Bowie. Very serious, very "clipped" (that's the best word I can think of) and b) I really don't see David Bowie often enough to recognize him without unless I'm expecting it.

Went home to watch LSU beat Fresno State 38-6. LSU too fast, Fresno State not good enough at skill positions.

Sunday was fun. I went to the National Zoo to see the new Asia Trail, which was good. I'm particularly fond of the red panda. When I win the lottery and plant a huge forest of bamboo in my back yard, I'm going to import a few and let them go wild.

Lunch at Chipotle in Chinatown, then a short walk to the National Portrait Gallery. When you're in town, you might want to stop by. Pack a lunch and a new pair of shoes. That place is Ginormous. I was in there about three hours, and I'm not sure I saw everything. There are many very impressive pieces of art in there. I looked at a big portrait of Toni Morrison and thought, "That guy cheated. It looks too real. There's no way anybody can paint something that looks that real." Then I saw the entries in the Portrait Competition.

The winner is another painting that looks like a photograph. I'm not a huge painting afficianodo, but there are some things I like:

Frontier landscapes that people made when the West was being pioneered

Ships at sea with a storm on the way

Italian religious paintings with colors still bright after 400 years (or however long it's been)

Details. I really, really like little details that an artist can add to a painting that make it so much better. It's often a little thing or something most people wouldn't think about adding, but it will work so well that you can't imagine it any other way. The first prize winner is here:




So if you're in town, I encourage you all to go see the Portrait Gallery. They had it closed down for what seemed like several years. With all the stuff in there, I can see what took them so long. Well done.