contest for new hope diamond setting

I read here that to celebrate the Smithsonian's 50th anniversary of the acquisition of the Hope Diamond, the museum is placing the diamond in a new setting. You can vote online and choose between three setting options (voting ends September 7th).

The diamond then will be placed in the winning setting and displayed until the end of the year. In late 2010, the Hope Diamond will go back to its original Harry Winston setting.

Pretty fun contest, huh? I voted for this setting on the right. Which one did you vote for?

S family vacation

My family and my aunt's family came to visit us last week. It was the first time I've ever been hostess for more than a few people, but things went rather smoothly (for the most part). We had the most people in the house during Sunday dinner - we made food for sixteen people that night!

Although the vacation was not terribly exciting at every single moment (see A's picture below), we had fun visiting with each other (and even had a nice time visiting distant relatives that most people had never met - GASP!). Here is a slew of photographs from the week:

L got to be a puppeteer in the Muppet exhibition at the EMP. Her Muppet is the blue one, which is supposed to be Kurt Cobain (the Muppet on her right was based off of Jimi Hendrix). L wasn't the most masterful puppeteer - this is the only photograph where "Kurt Cobain" doesn't look like he has a hangover.

Earlier this summer, L asked to have a surprise party for her birthday. Luckily, she never guessed that we would have a party for her at the RB house. So, she actually was surprised about the surprise party that she requested, which was good.

Watching L open her presents

This is what E looks like when she's not on Facebook.

The birthday girl was toted around on multiple canoe rides

My brother C shows of his canoeing skills...

...and his newfound magic trick skills.

Apparently, my brother A prefers to study for his math final while on vacation.

My sister C and Aunt B

Zel, Sam, and L

Milo was loathe to leave the fun and go home

maybe later

During a dinner party last night, J commented (during two unrelated conversations) about professions that he would like do to "in [his] next life." J always thought that it would be fun to be a luthier, and part of him still wishes that he was an architect.

His comments got me thinking about the jobs and hobbies that I always wanted to pursue (but opted otherwise):

• Professional singing - I always wanted to be a classical singer or a jazz singer. Or maybe both.
  

• Dancing - I tried to teach myself ballet when I was about eleven. I even started a ballet "studio" and made my sister C and other girls in the neighborhood take classes from me. (I was horrible at choreographing their routines.) Too bad I'm too awkward and stiff to be a graceful dancer.
  

• Paleontology/archaeology/geology - Unfortunately, I'm not good enough at chemistry and/or math to do well in any of these professions. Ancient art history is as close to archaeology as I can get...but I still think it would be fun to go on a dig.
  

What would you want to be in your next life?

EMP, UW, and arboretum

Since we are cheapskates (not out of principle but necessity), we decided that the only way we could visit the EMP (Seattle's rock and roll museum) was if we went on their free admission night (the first Thursday of every month). We were happy that we got inside before the lines started to extend outside the museum and wrap around the block. It was fun to go around, but it's hard to really enjoy exhibitions when there are SO. MANY. PEOPLE. I felt like we were swept around in a massive current of museum-goer bodies. Luckily, we ebbed and flowed right past the guitar sculpture in the middle, and we were able to swim against the current long enough to take some pictures (although you can see a better picture of the sculpture here):

I know this picture is fuzzy, but I think you can see the different colors of the instruments better in this photo

The fountain at the Seattle Center (outside the EMP)

Sam wasn't too excited to see the Space Needle for the first time. He cared more about making propeller noises and mimicking the airplanes flying overhead.

I'm still working on my preparing my article for publication. Right now I'm trying to get copyright approval for all of the images that I want to include with my text. Unfortunately, I didn't write down the caption information for a picture that I used in my thesis, and I had to go to the UW library for 30 seconds to verify the information in a book. (Word to the wise: write down all of your image sources in extreme detail!) It was a little inconvenient, but we planned a day trip around the errand and spent time in the arboretum near campus.

Knowledge feels so tangible and exciting when I'm walking around college campuses. I love it. I also love cool libraries like the one at UW:

J and Sam standing outside one of the UW libraries. Who wouldn't want to study inside a Neo-Gothic building like this one?

And who wouldn't want to walk around a college campus that has a Neo-Gothic building right next to Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk? I think that's an awesome juxtaposition.

At the arboretum

There were tons of lily flowers and lily pads. J thought that the flowers looked like hard boiled eggs scattered across the water surface.

This is what Sam thought of our day trip to UW

And this is what Sam looks like when he anticipates the camera flash

jerry lewis sings opera

If anyone ever says that it isn't physically-draining to sing (or to lip sync!), you can show them this clip. One of my favorite parts is at 1:33 when Jerry jumps back in the song with the phrase, "One kiss..." I also love the climax, when Jerry keeps doubling over from physical exertion. Hey, I totally can relate. Singing can really take it out of you.

Thanks for showing me this clip, C.

another famous sister

I got to spend this past weekend in California with my sister V. While there we joked about how, as family members, we like to promote each other's musical projects. My dad is probably the biggest promoter of V's band and my sister C's singing skills. He likes to listen to V's band, The Mollies, while working in the operating room at the hospital. It seems like a lot of the other surgeons are starting to dig The Mollies' sound.

I already posted a clip of C singing on this blog, but I realized that as of yet I have not promoted V's band. So, it's my turn to be proud of my sister. Here's a music video of "Float My Boat," one of my favorite songs on The Mollies' latest album. V is the blonde, and my cousin BJ is the brunette.



I think that the band's sound and aesthetic is really fun. The lyrics of their songs are quite clever, too. You can listen more to The Mollies on their MySpace page.

if handel and hendrix were neighbors

If you took out the 200+ years that passed between George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix, the two musicians would have been next-door neighbors in London. In 1723 Handel moved into 25 Brook Street (and lived at that residence until his death), and Jimi Hendrix lived at 23 Brook Street in 1968-69 for a few months before he died.

Currently, the Handel House museum is located in both 23 and 25 Brook Street. About a decade ago, there arose a controversy when it was proposed that a plaque be placed at 23 Brook Street to commemorate the time Hendrix lived at that residence. You can read more about the controversy on this post. Currently there are plaques to commemorate the respective residences of both musicians.

Wouldn't it have been interesting if these two musicians were next-door neighbors? Apparently a someone else had the same idea; in 1997 there was a play that was based on the idea if Hendrix and Handel met.

It's too bad that a couple of centuries separate these two artists. I like the thought of Jimi walking next door to ask George for a cup of sugar.