Two big items!

Tomorrow is opening night for I RAN Home (In America), an exhibit I curated with Isabella Hughes featuring three Iranian-American artists.  We aimed for a non-political, more culturally and aesthetically focused approach.  It looks awesome!  Don't miss it at The Fridge tomorrow night!

The other item is that one of our sponsors Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant is offering a chance at winning a $100 gift card and 2 tickets to the Redskins vs. Giants game if you become a fan of their Facebook page by November 27.  The catch?  The raffle doesn't happen until there are 1,000 fans... so invite your friends!

New Beginnings... Again

As the periods between posts have gotten longer and longer, so my life has been crazier and crazier.  Basically, I took what I thought to be a huge risk, which was, to leave my job... in the ARTS (ya know, one of the harder fields to feel steady in!).  I thought it was a risk because I like stability and security. Well, not those things really, just, having a plan.

But, I was able to leave because I realized that I did have a plan.  I just got into graduate school for the spring.  The plan is to attend.  If I want to attend, I'll have to make more money until then.  So I left, and I'm working part-time at a far more lucrative job, actually.  This was the main reason.  But, the other plan was to curate and work on some independent projects.  I've begun this immediately, in full force and have launched several exciting things set for very soon.  Stay tuned!

Taking the risk now, while I'm young, not yet.... married, and not toooo tied down, is the way to go.  Now is the time to experiment, dabble, and figure out what the heck I want to do.  Visual arts is not specific enough.  I need a function, an angle, a plan.  I think I'm getting there.

So, everything has been the right decision, as I knew all along, but was deathly afraid to concede in case it all turned right around on me.  No matter what happens with money, I know this was the right thing - career wise, for me to do.  I am so happy writing and being creative and working PR.  Though at times, I feel like I'm on call 24/7, I'm also challenged and... more importantly, completely free to conceive and produce my own vision, ideas and priorities.

And while I now, cannot wait to get married to Fiance, I can only hope that the wedding... and the finances somehow fall into place, and so, for now, planning activities are just a bit on pause.  I should, in the next two weeks, know exactly how we're doing to then begin to put down the rest of our deposits.

In the meantime, this blog is going to become increasingly unfocused, but still about my interests: i.e. contemporary art, curating, living green and of course, booze.

Science Men Can't Argue?

I sat at the bar tonight next to a guy who graduated from a very important university.  He was very proud of that fact and started talking to me about his research.  I'm always up for meeting smart, interesting people, so I went with it.  He talked about our society's lack of innovation and advancement.  The majority he says, is content with being able to pay the bills and never strives to move forward.  This is actually his research focus: how to connect education and the working world so that people have this urge to move forward and blaze new paths in their fields.  He is, of course, right.  I make the same complaint about artists who don't push forward in their work or performers who don't strive to know every part of their craft.

But, we could never come to a level of mutual understanding between our two relative viewpoints.  The man, for all his brilliance, could not express his argument.  He was, somewhat, against a philosophical discussion.  Despite it's abstractness and profundity, our discussion was analytical and statistically based (as per an MIT graduate).

I don't have a problem with citing statistics.  It's part of proving your point.  I do have a problem when you can't present your viewpoint methodically.  If anyone can follow a complex argument, I'd be one of 'em.  I spend my college career dissecting theoretical texts.  It's part of my make up.  Even my fights with my fiance are well-crafted arguments (which drives him nuts, because I can't end it until every point is well thought out!)  Point being, I may not be statistically driven, but I know what persuades people to your side.  What he spewed, did not.  All his brilliance, and I wasn't very much impacted by what he had to say, because he couldn't articulate it.  It took me about 15 minutes before I really GOT IT.  (I know you'd like to think this is because I'm not so quick, but trust me, that wasn't it.)

Thus, the importance of the humanities; of writing and speaking clearly -  especially regarding abstract entities which usually require the most finely crafted language.  Even though one may never have to speak about such things again in his/her lifetime, it makes for a damn good foundation so that when you do have to convince someone about your most passionate of beliefs, they can take notice.

This is what abstract, somewhat intangibly valuable studies give us - studies like art, philosophy, music, literature, etc. etc.  They also give us an ability to relate emotionally.  This man was so out of touch with reality, yet he was talking about all the problems of our society.   The man couldn't argue.  He couldn't relate to anything other than the factual points of his research.  The man just couldn't be profound.

Do you know what he said to me when he left the bar?  "I'm sorry, and I hope I didn't ruin your dinner.  All I care about is that, so I talk about it too much."

Too bad I couldn't catch his enthusiasm.  I was a ready and willing participant.

Real Housewives and Local Art?

Ads of the following variation have been popping up on Craigslist over the past few days:

REALITY SHOW NEEDS ARTWORK TO BE FEATURED ON SHOW (Washington, DC )

---

Reply to:comm-jkuku-1195681782@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}
Date: 2009-05-29, 6:21PM EDT


Popular reality show needs artwork by local artists for display on show. This opportunity would be great exposure for hip, up and coming artists looking to get there name out there. All artwork will be borrowed for a short period and returned to artist when we are done. Please send photos of artwork and your contact information.



Could it be Real Housewives?

If it is, the real question is - how are they going to feature this work? Are the housewives going to pretend they're really into the local art scene, supporting emerging artists? Because that's who's going to answer this ad - emerging artists. Where are they planting this stuff?

And despite my apparent contempt for this show, I actually love Bravo in every way, shape and form. And, although they may be "planting" this work and creating "fake" environments (or I could even wrong, and they're actually doing something completely different and admirable), at least they're making an effort to show local art, whatever the motive.

Home sweet home

The move - the reason for lack of writing - is over!

I'm back to dirty, crazed city living... and Columbia Heights couldn't be a better choice.... fighting the weather to walk to metro, hole-in-the-wall bars, surrounded by all kinds of Latin delights within walking distance, cat calls from the endless stream of latinos, random white people crawling out of the woodwork (from where?), shady Chinese places, and dun dun DUN.... the ability to eat anywhere at [almost] anytime!

My first exercise of this power was Taqueria Distrito Federal. MMMM! While I tried a few different tacos, which were all lip-smacking good, I have to say, I've never had such great quesadillas in all my life, and for cheap.

This is such an abbreviated explanation of how happy I am to have all of these things back in my life again. Yes, I MISSED them.

I love you DC.

Moving to Columbia Heights!

FINALLY I'm moving back to DC - in 9 days!!

If you're looking for a great 1 br in NoVA, you should e-mail me [barbarabrianablog@gmail.com] because we're renting out our place, and it's a GREAT deal.  It's also got brand new appliances and kitchen cabinets.

The move has come at a time when we'd been talking about a lot of big, semi-life changing decisions already.  More on those to come.

Many communities are forcing out the same young professionals they hope to attract

We're renting out my fiance's first ever home purchase and moving (probably into DC - I'm

finally going back!). We have a very specific price point we're looking for, and every time I find a great one, what do I read - "No pets" or even worse (in my head), "Cats allowed. Dogs allowed less than 25 pounds."

Essentially, don't own a "large" dog (large is considered 30 pounds or more, which is crazy

because my dog is a friggin runt compared to the others at the

dog park) unless you're going to own a house - a house that is NOT a condo that has rules. Do you know how great a percent of the population this cuts off? No wonder there are so many dogs in shelters.

I don't understand why they don't just ask for a pet deposit. If they do destroy something, there's insurance. I spoke to a private renter / dog-owner who wouldn't let me rent because I owned a dog! I had sent pictures to give an idea of Bella's less-than-large size. She said she looked very sweet [see picture], and then told me no. Even pet owners are discriminatory!

How many other young professional, innocent couples are facing this? - couples who contribute a lot to their living communities just by being there. We're in high demand ya know! We make communities hip, trendy, the place to be, just by existing. It's a disgusting but true fact. Dumbasses.

The reason we're moving is directly related to this: We received a letter from the Board of the Directors of the Condo Association stating that they were just informed that we own a dog over the 2-pet combined weight limit of 30 pounds.

Admittedly, we didn't bother to check the rule before we got our dog, so we are totally to blame. HOWEVER, we have now had the dog over a year, and she has been over the 30 pound weight limit the entire time (35-40 pounds). Just NOW, someone decides to report us?

When you think about how many dog owners around here don't pick up their dog's shit, and how conscientious we are about making sure our dog doesn't bother our neighbors, it all doesn't make much sense. We pretty much keep to ourselves. We're not even here enough to bother people. And everyone, the whole time, has known about our dog, loved our dog and been generally, kind about our dog.

So ya gotta wonder - what gives?

We have thirty days to get rid of her, or we will be fined up to $900. And then they can just start fining us again.

You know what's interesting? We are some of the only young professionals in this community. We enhance this community a great deal, and none of that matters because we have a 40 pound dog.

GOD DAMMIT.

Gordon Biersch is NOT a hockey spot

Apparently, Gordon Biersch is NOT a hockey spot with great happy hour deals, but Bar Louie and Ella's are! I'm not knocking Ella's because it's a cozy, intimate place with decent happy hour deals. This is exactly why it's NOT a hockey bar (besides the happy hour).

BUT, Bar Louie??? There's no problem citing Bar Louie for some extra article beef... but to recommend it over and above other spots -- beer spots at that? specialty beer spots at THAT? Ya know, that high alcohol content, guzzle-worthy beverage that hockey fans adore? Not cocktails and sangria! A Caps fan reading this article might be led to believe there are no such establishments around the Verizon Center unless they're somewhat divey or they serve the frilly stuff. Not only does Gordon Biersch have everything a hockey fan wants, but it's where all those "in the know," congregate before and after games. The place is wall to wall Caps jerseys.

Could this article be more ignorant and incomprehensive? Comment author "Brett" points out that both the PS7 and Bar Louie happy hours are listed incorrectly to boot.

Yes, that's my comment under the article - the one that isn't Brett's. I tried to appear unbiased, but clearly I am. My disappointment though, stems less from my bias than my realization that the Washingtonian Googled "happy hour" AND "verizon center." How is that helpful? I can do that myself and don't need your highly insightful article for a cool-new-spot find.

By the way, Gordon Biersch's happy hour deals are as follows (4-7pm):

$4 draft beers
$5 specialty cocktails
$5 appetizers

and a wine special I will not pretend to know (I think it's $2 off per glass), unlike the Washingtonian.

Edit: Props to the Washingtonian for one thing - it does allow people like me and Brett to comment and fix its mistakes publicly.

The Wedding Blog to Beat

I've just found the best wedding blog I have yet and quite possibly ever will see. There are so many DIY projects on all the blogs out there, but man are they frou frou! The posts on OnceWed are ones I can actually relate to - modern, cool, interesting. Thank you!

Seeing the Centerpiece...

Over the weekend, fiance and I went to Ikea to browse for decor items that might inspire our centerpieces. We had the basic concept, but not really an idea of how everything would come together.

What resulted was the takeover of the fabric table, much to my chagrin (Fiance was allll over it). Many people stared. The ultimate result, I'll admit, was well worth making up our minds.

The candles are standing on upside down martini glasses, which will be much more visible when we have shorter plants (these just happened to be on hand).
We want to have as many candles as possible, so the circle of shorter candles (maybe black and white, as above, or maybe just white), will encircle the centerpieces, at least on the larger tables. We hated that single candle in the middle, and it makes the martini glass less noticeable, which is why we ended up adding more larger candles, as in the first image.

Check out all our props in the background. We really did take over the fabric "department."

We ended up purchasing the white pots for $.49 each! The original price was over twice that, so we couldn't pass up the chance. Plus, their simplicity makes them easy to mess with later on, if we decide we want them to be more decorative or even a different color. We also bought 36 martini glasses (6 pack @ $4.99 e.), which we reasoned, could be used for actual glassware if we changed our minds about the centerpieces.

After all, it's a year away, and I'm way too fickle.