Mostly Holiday Stuff
I’ve been in rather a blur of social activity since I got back. But let’s do first things first.
Celebrity Death Watch: Robert Clary was an actor, best known for playing Corporal LeBeau on Hogan’s Heroes, though he got his start in the musical revue “New Faces of 1952.” Carol Leigh was an activist who focused on sex workers. Fred Brooks wrote the book The Mythical Man-Month. Greg Bear and Ray Nelson were science fiction writers. June Campbell was the fashion reporter who created the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Jay Pasachoff was an astronomer who is believed to have seen more solar eclipses than anyone else. Jean-Marie Straub was a film director. Wilko Johnson played guitar for Dr. Feelgood. Ray Oldenburg studied urban sociology and popularized the term “third place.” Bernadette Mayer was a poet. Sheila Vogel-Coupe was the oldest sex worker in the United Kingdom and had apparently started her career as an escort at the age of 81. Louise Tobin was a jazz singer. Christine McVie was a keyboardist and singer, as well as songwriter, for Fleetwood Mac.
Gaylord Perry was a pitcher, primarily for the San Francisco Giants. Quentin Oliver Lee was an operatic baritone, best known for playing the time role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. Dominique Lapierre wrote Is Paris Burning? Dick Enthoven owned Nando’s. Bob McGrath played the human character Bob Johnson on Sesame Street. Jim Stewart cofounded Stax Records. Jay Goldberg was a lawyer who represented a lot of famous people, including Donald Trump, Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger, and Bono. Roddy Jackson was a rockabilly performer. Lee Lorenz was a cartoonist and editor for The New Yorker. Jean-Louis Bourgeois was an expert on mud brick architecture and worked both in the American southwest and in Djenne, Mali. Ruth Madoc played Fruma Sarah in the 1971 film version of Fiddler o the Roof. Herbert Deutsch co-invented the Moog Synthesizer. Grant Wahl was a sports journalist. Paul Silas played basketball for the Boston Celtics and the Seattle SuperSonics before going on to coach for the Charlotte Hornets. Georgia Holt was an actress and singer best known as the mother of Cher. Dame Beryl Grey was a ballerina. Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa claimed to be the last remaining Hawaiian royal princess. Frances Hesselbein was the CEO of the Girl Scouts starting in the mid-1970’s and changed their focus away from homemaker type activities, Wolf Erlbruch wrote German children’s books. Stuart Margolin was an actor, best known for playing Angel Martin in The Rockford Files. Curt Simmons was a pitcher, primarily for the Phillies. Steven “tWitch” Boss was a dancer and actor. Belinda Douglas-Scot-Montagu was commissioned to work on an embroidery for the 900th anniversary of the New Forest. Dino Danelli played drums for The Rascals.
Ned Rorem was a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. I have to admit that I knew his name mostly from crossword puzzles. But he earned me 27 ghoul pool points (15 for his position on my list, plus 12 for uniqueness).
Irene Cara was a singer and actress, best known for the song “Flashdance … What a Feeling.”
Kirstie Alley was an actress, best known for playing Rebecca Howe on Cheers.
Joseph Kromelis was a homeless man and sometime street vendor in Chicago who was known as “Walking Man.” He was the victim of an arson attack while he slept under a bridge in May 2022. People suck.
FlyerTalk Dinner: Last Friday night, I went out to dinner with a few friends from FlyerTalk at Open Road in Rosslyn. The food and beer were both very good and the service was okay. (I had the Tropic Thunder IPA and their tacos.) The prices were a bit on the high side, though we got the happy hour prices on the drinks and the entrees were big enough for two meals. Overall, I’d recommend it and I’d be happy to try their Merrifield location (which is closer to my house, though the Rosslyn one is right across the street from the metro, so is reasonably convenient). I should also note that Rosslyn looks to have been cleaned up quite a bit since the last time I was there, which was ages ago.
Chocolate Tasting: Last Saturday, Cindy and I went to a chocolate tasting at River-Sea Chocolates in Chantilly. The place was a little hard to find, since their sign is not visible from the parking lot. But we did figure it out and were in plenty of time. We watched a few videos about chocolate growing, processing, and shipping, then tasted 5 different chocolates. The first two were dark chocolates - one from Thailand, one from Brazil. While they had similar cacao percentages, they tasted very different. Then there were two milk chocolates - one plain and one one with salted caramel. Finally, there was a white chocolate with gingerbread spices. The Thailand and the salted caramel milk chocolate were my favorites. We also got a little tour of their factory, seeing all the machines.
I also liked that their products are ethically sourced. For example, they check that the beans are all grown organically and that no child labor is involved. They even ship their beans by sailboats, to prevent the environmental impact of containerized cargo ships.
I bought several chocolate bars (as did Cindy) and highly recommend this place to people who like good chocolate. I thought I knew a lot about chocolate, but I did learn more and I will definitely be shopping there again.
Voices Swap: Last Saturday night was the monthly Voices in the Glen story swap. I got there late, because I had taken a nap and forgotten to turn on my alarm clock. At least I was on time to hear Margaret tell Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” which is always a delight. I told a very brief version of La Segua, a Costa Rican horror story, in honor of my recent vacation.
Loser Brunch: Sunday was a Loser brunch at Lena’s in Alexandria. We had three tables full of people, scattered throughout the venue, which was slightly awkward, but we were able to get up and mingle. I got a margarita pizza (very good) and a drink called a Venus de Milo, which had campari, white peach, proseco, and grenadine, and was very tasty. Service was slow and there were some mistakes, but it was very busy, so it was forgivable.
This is rather burying the lede, but some of you already know that the WaPo killed the Style Invitational (along with the Sunday Magazine section and some other stuff). What you may not know is that Pat (the Empress) and her predecessor (Gene Weingarten, aka the Czar) are giving it a new life (alas, without prizes) on substack. They are hoping to get people to pay $5 a month or $50 a year, but you can sign up to read for free if you just want to read. Go to The Gene Pool and join.
Cookie Exchange and Dinner: I did a holiday cookie exchange with a bunch of puzzle folks again this year. We simplified things by having centralized receiving points for each city with multiple participants. The DC folks met up on Monday night to have dinner at Rasika West End (good Indian food) and distribute cookies. There was also lively conversation involved. By the way, my contribution was maple cinnamon stars, which are basically ordinary sugar cookies with cinnamon and maple extract added, cut into star shapes and decorated with gold sprinkles. Here’s a picture:
Also, I met up briefly today (Sunday the 18th) with the guy who received our cookies from the out of towners to get the rest of the ones he had. We still have one person who hasn’t done his share yet.
Post Office: I mailed off the rest of my cookies on Tuesday morning. The Merrifield Post Office is very efficient and it didn’t take long. I didn’t think I’d need another post office trip, but I discovered that some of the holiday cards I had required extra postage, so I made another excursion on Friday morning, this time to the Oakton Post Office because I had a couple of other errands to run in that direction. Things were slower there, since it’s much smaller and has fewer people working. Still, it gave me an opportunity to do my good deed for the month, since I always have a baggie full of pens and pencils in my pocketbook and was able to lend a pen to two people who needed to fill out customs forms. Note to self: check the box next time I buy cards to make sure they just require normal postage.
MIT Club of DC Holiday Party: Wednesday night was the MIT Club of DC holiday party, which was at a law office in Georgetown. The food (heavy hors d’oeuvres) was pretty tasty, but the drink assortment was weird, with lots of wine, sodas, and a bottle of Ketel One vodka. (I stuck to ginger ale, by the way.) I had lots of interesting conversation, some with people I knew before (e.g. someone I used to work with) and some with people I hadn’t met before. The possibility of a storytelling event for the club got mentioned.
TCC Webinar: Today there was a Travelers’ Century Club virtual explorations seminar about festivals. There were three speakers, who covered Guerewol in Niger, Naadam in Mongolia, and Punakha Drubchan in Bhutan. I’ve been to Naadam in Tuva (and the so-called “little” Naadam in Mongolia, which paled in comparison), but both the other two looked interesting. There was also good conversation in the breakout room for the Gurewol Festival afterwards.
Condo Association Holiday Party: Tonight was the annual condo association holiday party. There was fairly good attendance. I sampled several of the hot hors d’oeuvres including some very nice cheese puffs. And I had a glass of wine. I talked with a few neighbors but didn’t stay for long. I went back up to my condo and lit my Chanukah candles and now I am about to play board games over zoom.
Chanukah: I lit the first candle tonight. Chappy Chanukah!
Celebrity Death Watch: Robert Clary was an actor, best known for playing Corporal LeBeau on Hogan’s Heroes, though he got his start in the musical revue “New Faces of 1952.” Carol Leigh was an activist who focused on sex workers. Fred Brooks wrote the book The Mythical Man-Month. Greg Bear and Ray Nelson were science fiction writers. June Campbell was the fashion reporter who created the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Jay Pasachoff was an astronomer who is believed to have seen more solar eclipses than anyone else. Jean-Marie Straub was a film director. Wilko Johnson played guitar for Dr. Feelgood. Ray Oldenburg studied urban sociology and popularized the term “third place.” Bernadette Mayer was a poet. Sheila Vogel-Coupe was the oldest sex worker in the United Kingdom and had apparently started her career as an escort at the age of 81. Louise Tobin was a jazz singer. Christine McVie was a keyboardist and singer, as well as songwriter, for Fleetwood Mac.
Gaylord Perry was a pitcher, primarily for the San Francisco Giants. Quentin Oliver Lee was an operatic baritone, best known for playing the time role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. Dominique Lapierre wrote Is Paris Burning? Dick Enthoven owned Nando’s. Bob McGrath played the human character Bob Johnson on Sesame Street. Jim Stewart cofounded Stax Records. Jay Goldberg was a lawyer who represented a lot of famous people, including Donald Trump, Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger, and Bono. Roddy Jackson was a rockabilly performer. Lee Lorenz was a cartoonist and editor for The New Yorker. Jean-Louis Bourgeois was an expert on mud brick architecture and worked both in the American southwest and in Djenne, Mali. Ruth Madoc played Fruma Sarah in the 1971 film version of Fiddler o the Roof. Herbert Deutsch co-invented the Moog Synthesizer. Grant Wahl was a sports journalist. Paul Silas played basketball for the Boston Celtics and the Seattle SuperSonics before going on to coach for the Charlotte Hornets. Georgia Holt was an actress and singer best known as the mother of Cher. Dame Beryl Grey was a ballerina. Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa claimed to be the last remaining Hawaiian royal princess. Frances Hesselbein was the CEO of the Girl Scouts starting in the mid-1970’s and changed their focus away from homemaker type activities, Wolf Erlbruch wrote German children’s books. Stuart Margolin was an actor, best known for playing Angel Martin in The Rockford Files. Curt Simmons was a pitcher, primarily for the Phillies. Steven “tWitch” Boss was a dancer and actor. Belinda Douglas-Scot-Montagu was commissioned to work on an embroidery for the 900th anniversary of the New Forest. Dino Danelli played drums for The Rascals.
Ned Rorem was a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. I have to admit that I knew his name mostly from crossword puzzles. But he earned me 27 ghoul pool points (15 for his position on my list, plus 12 for uniqueness).
Irene Cara was a singer and actress, best known for the song “Flashdance … What a Feeling.”
Kirstie Alley was an actress, best known for playing Rebecca Howe on Cheers.
Joseph Kromelis was a homeless man and sometime street vendor in Chicago who was known as “Walking Man.” He was the victim of an arson attack while he slept under a bridge in May 2022. People suck.
FlyerTalk Dinner: Last Friday night, I went out to dinner with a few friends from FlyerTalk at Open Road in Rosslyn. The food and beer were both very good and the service was okay. (I had the Tropic Thunder IPA and their tacos.) The prices were a bit on the high side, though we got the happy hour prices on the drinks and the entrees were big enough for two meals. Overall, I’d recommend it and I’d be happy to try their Merrifield location (which is closer to my house, though the Rosslyn one is right across the street from the metro, so is reasonably convenient). I should also note that Rosslyn looks to have been cleaned up quite a bit since the last time I was there, which was ages ago.
Chocolate Tasting: Last Saturday, Cindy and I went to a chocolate tasting at River-Sea Chocolates in Chantilly. The place was a little hard to find, since their sign is not visible from the parking lot. But we did figure it out and were in plenty of time. We watched a few videos about chocolate growing, processing, and shipping, then tasted 5 different chocolates. The first two were dark chocolates - one from Thailand, one from Brazil. While they had similar cacao percentages, they tasted very different. Then there were two milk chocolates - one plain and one one with salted caramel. Finally, there was a white chocolate with gingerbread spices. The Thailand and the salted caramel milk chocolate were my favorites. We also got a little tour of their factory, seeing all the machines.
I also liked that their products are ethically sourced. For example, they check that the beans are all grown organically and that no child labor is involved. They even ship their beans by sailboats, to prevent the environmental impact of containerized cargo ships.
I bought several chocolate bars (as did Cindy) and highly recommend this place to people who like good chocolate. I thought I knew a lot about chocolate, but I did learn more and I will definitely be shopping there again.
Voices Swap: Last Saturday night was the monthly Voices in the Glen story swap. I got there late, because I had taken a nap and forgotten to turn on my alarm clock. At least I was on time to hear Margaret tell Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” which is always a delight. I told a very brief version of La Segua, a Costa Rican horror story, in honor of my recent vacation.
Loser Brunch: Sunday was a Loser brunch at Lena’s in Alexandria. We had three tables full of people, scattered throughout the venue, which was slightly awkward, but we were able to get up and mingle. I got a margarita pizza (very good) and a drink called a Venus de Milo, which had campari, white peach, proseco, and grenadine, and was very tasty. Service was slow and there were some mistakes, but it was very busy, so it was forgivable.
This is rather burying the lede, but some of you already know that the WaPo killed the Style Invitational (along with the Sunday Magazine section and some other stuff). What you may not know is that Pat (the Empress) and her predecessor (Gene Weingarten, aka the Czar) are giving it a new life (alas, without prizes) on substack. They are hoping to get people to pay $5 a month or $50 a year, but you can sign up to read for free if you just want to read. Go to The Gene Pool and join.
Cookie Exchange and Dinner: I did a holiday cookie exchange with a bunch of puzzle folks again this year. We simplified things by having centralized receiving points for each city with multiple participants. The DC folks met up on Monday night to have dinner at Rasika West End (good Indian food) and distribute cookies. There was also lively conversation involved. By the way, my contribution was maple cinnamon stars, which are basically ordinary sugar cookies with cinnamon and maple extract added, cut into star shapes and decorated with gold sprinkles. Here’s a picture:
Also, I met up briefly today (Sunday the 18th) with the guy who received our cookies from the out of towners to get the rest of the ones he had. We still have one person who hasn’t done his share yet.
Post Office: I mailed off the rest of my cookies on Tuesday morning. The Merrifield Post Office is very efficient and it didn’t take long. I didn’t think I’d need another post office trip, but I discovered that some of the holiday cards I had required extra postage, so I made another excursion on Friday morning, this time to the Oakton Post Office because I had a couple of other errands to run in that direction. Things were slower there, since it’s much smaller and has fewer people working. Still, it gave me an opportunity to do my good deed for the month, since I always have a baggie full of pens and pencils in my pocketbook and was able to lend a pen to two people who needed to fill out customs forms. Note to self: check the box next time I buy cards to make sure they just require normal postage.
MIT Club of DC Holiday Party: Wednesday night was the MIT Club of DC holiday party, which was at a law office in Georgetown. The food (heavy hors d’oeuvres) was pretty tasty, but the drink assortment was weird, with lots of wine, sodas, and a bottle of Ketel One vodka. (I stuck to ginger ale, by the way.) I had lots of interesting conversation, some with people I knew before (e.g. someone I used to work with) and some with people I hadn’t met before. The possibility of a storytelling event for the club got mentioned.
TCC Webinar: Today there was a Travelers’ Century Club virtual explorations seminar about festivals. There were three speakers, who covered Guerewol in Niger, Naadam in Mongolia, and Punakha Drubchan in Bhutan. I’ve been to Naadam in Tuva (and the so-called “little” Naadam in Mongolia, which paled in comparison), but both the other two looked interesting. There was also good conversation in the breakout room for the Gurewol Festival afterwards.
Condo Association Holiday Party: Tonight was the annual condo association holiday party. There was fairly good attendance. I sampled several of the hot hors d’oeuvres including some very nice cheese puffs. And I had a glass of wine. I talked with a few neighbors but didn’t stay for long. I went back up to my condo and lit my Chanukah candles and now I am about to play board games over zoom.
Chanukah: I lit the first candle tonight. Chappy Chanukah!