This weekend was the Smithsonian Kite Festival, one of the opening events of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This year’s theme was the art and history of Chinese kites. Two weeks ago we went to the National Air and Space Museum and watched a kite master build a dragon kite, saw some indoor flying demonstrations, and joined a horde of children making their own kites.
When I was a kid we often went to Muir Beach in Marin County (SF Bay Area) to fly a kite. I do not recall ever having a problem flying there and I guess that is because it was always freezing and windy. The biggest problem was the wind breaking the sticks and having to bring duct tape. Being an expert in kite repair in my youth, when I bought a new kite a few months ago I knew I was ready to move up to the pros.
We arrived at the National Mall on Saturday around 11am to find a couple thousand kids and their parents flying all sorts of kites. There was not much of a breeze, but every ladybug, My Little Pony, and butterfly flew well. My stunt kite did not. Twice it lurched up, did some sort of quick death spiral, and crashed down. I think we all privately realized that I should have started with a one-string kite these children are all professionals.
The answer is probably to find a large empty field for practice, and private shame, but the only ones I can think of are at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center annex and Bolling Air Force Base. Something tells me the MPs will not appreciate the idea of me taking down Marine One but I suppose I can ask (if I can fly my kite).
By next year I’ll be ready to set a single line unicorn aloft. It will be magical.
It was the first very nice day out in a while, so Citrus and I made the most of it. We headed to the National Mall to see if we could see the live butterfly exhibit at the Smithsonian, but the line wrapped around the block with tourists visiting on spring break. I am not sure how she would have responded to flying bugs anyway since a few weeks ago she was distressed when we put a small butterfly ‘tattoo’ on her arm. I am sure more than one kid has reacted by stomping on everything in site. (Maybe our little girl could be a YouTube star after all!)
We walked to the National Aquarium stopping first to go to the top of the Old Post Office Building. It is is a great way to get a good view of Washington DC without waiting in line for hours at the Washington Monument. Citrus was not particularly impressed, although she did notice the Ben and Jerry’s in the Food Court (”a cow!”).
Before lunch we spotted a high school band from Wisconsin setting up to play at the Navy Memorial. They were enjoying the 71-degree weather; apparently Wisconsin has had a record-breaking 100 inches of snow. They played a variety of songs and as we were getting closer to look at the instruments, she looked up at me and exclaimed “That’s Anchor’s Aweigh!” She is two and half years old.
In the afternoon we went to a local park in Maryland and rode the miniature train and a carousel that was built in 1910 and used to be located on the National Mall. We galloped to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.
In my haste to hide eggs and a chocolate bunny this morning, I forgot to put out some Peeps for discovery. Probably a good thing a) because Citrus had enough sugar with the chocolate and b) I was harshly accused of eating the bunny’s face. Our food had a face, and it was tasty.
Once again the Washington Post has had brilliant entries in its annual Peeps diorama contest. 800 entries, here is a slideshow of the top finalists. Maybe we should enter next year.
Publicity stunt or oversensitivity at Customs? In any case, I suspect his entry form is entertaining.
When we were kids my brother and I always got a large Easter basket with chocolate bunnies, Peeps, and a box of Manishewitz matzos.
I attended a presentation on Tuesday by Alan Andreasen, a guru in the field of social marketing – how to get people to change their behaviors in order to improve their personal welfare and promote positive social change. Whether the goal is to get people to eat healthier, undergo preventive medical screenings, or save for retirement, many nonprofits spend a lot of time and money only to discover that no one is heeding their advice.
Professor Andreasen says that because nonprofit staff believe so much in their work, they often have a hard time accepting that the problem may be on their end and not with their audience. To paraphrase closely,
If you find yourself lamenting “If only we could get these people to wake up, they would understand how good this is for them,” then you are the problem.
As in the private sector, the customer is always right and your failure to sway them may very well be because you have not taken the time to listen to your audience and understand what motivates them.
On the same day as I heard Alan Andreasen speak, I found out that events were planned in Washington DC to mark the five-year anniversary of the war. My first thought was that I might be interested in taking Citrus to a simple vigil on the National Mall to reflect on the past five years. Two thirds of Americans want the troops home, so I assumed that there might be an opportunity for the country to unite in remembrance of those who have died and those who are serving overseas. While wood is the appropriate gift for a five year anniversary, I was hoping for something other than a bonfire.
Of the 14 events planned in Washington DC this week, nearly all involved civil disobedience. My daughter is good at going limp and throwing a tantrum, but I just didn’t see the point of blocking the IRS, yelling at the American Petroleum Institute offices, or harassing the wonks at the American Enterprise Institute. I strongly believe that rabblerousing is an important American tradition, but isn’t the point of civil disobedience generally to create a spectacle so that you can deliver a message through the media? Given that we have had five years to digest the facts of the war, what was the message the public needs to hear?
According to the Washington Post, the protest at the IRS began with a rallying cry of “Wake Up, America!“
The message was wrong and it showed.
Only about 200-300 people participated citywide. Reporter Dana Milbank noted that at the IRS, there was an average of 6 people for each of the 21 organizations that sponsored the event. In five years, the primary anti-war organizations have not been able to connect with people beyond the usual suspects. That is a disgrace and United For Peace and Justice organizers ought to just fold up shop.
Are people really apathetic? I don’t think so. The polls show that people are more concerned about the economy than the war, not entirely surprising given that the war has not affected most people as directly and our president has never called on the American people to do anything. As one infantry officer points out, when he returned from Baghdad, Janet Jackson’s exposed breast was the top news. I think that all of the presidential candidates are happy to talk about the economy instead of the war, but they are kidding themselves if they think the war is no longer as important.
Staging a “death march” in front of a recruiter’s office or doing techy and trendy flashmobs attract a handful anarchists or hipsters, two groups that struggle mightily to prove they are not part of the masses. That’s not a challenge — that is high school cliques redux. Building a true movement from all walks of life and sending a strong message to our leaders is much harder. May we not have another five years to do it.
The Washington Post is reporting that the cost of a new fleet of Marine One helicopters has nearly doubled, to about $400 million each.
It is essentially a military style combat helicopter supposedly intended for use as a surveillance platform and for large crowd control missions. With powerful armament, stealth technology that allows it to fly virtually undetected, and other accoutrements (such as infrared scanners, powerful microphones and cameras, and a U-Matic VCR), it appears to be a formidable tool in the war on terror.
Just kidding. I only changed about six words of a description of the 1983 movie, Blue Thunder. Makes you wonder how much Lockheed Martin is charging taxpayers for press packages when the documentation is already out there! Still, the Post does not say if the new Marine One can do a 360-degree loop. How much would that be worth?
On the cheaper end of military spending, one Halloween Harvest Parade on base, we discovered that our daughter had been turned into a helicopter and paraded around as part of a fleet of Future Pilots of America, complete with a uniform shirt. Note her propeller. The motto on her shirt, Flying High, probably needs some refining before it is suitable for a president. Though maybe that depends on the president.
Monday at base day care: “On March the 17th we will wear green for Green Day. Our activities will include singing, discussing things that are green and painting with green paint.” Citrus is…a punk rocker!
Citrus recently saw her first episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. She liked the trolley and did not like “the man” (Lady Elaine Fairchild). For bedtime tonight I tried to sing “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” but she stopped me and requested Petula Clark.
When I was four I wrote a letter to Mr. Rogers and was annoyed when I got a typewritten postcard in response. I thought it was a generic letter. Now, 35 years later I see that I was wrong.
Fred Rogers died in 2003, but maybe Citrus can email Petula instead.
Yesterday we made “old banana” bread. Citrus was not interested in eating it, probably because it did not have frosting. But she did enjoy making it.
We stay home two days each week. Between the cake decorating and the other baking, by the time she is four maybe we can go into business. Who wouldn’t buy a nice little cake if a toddler rang their doorbell? I can hang back on the sidewalk and count the loot.
Yesterday I was reading a little history about public support for World War II. It is remarkable how engaged people were in the war effort. At one point, home Victory Gardens produced 40 percent of the vegetables consumed in the United States!
During World War II, the Army had a contract with Warner Brothers to produce short educational cartoons for the troops. Featuring Private Snafu, “The Home Front” (1943) seems utopian when illustrating the war effort back home.
Contrast this to today where, at the national level, all I can think of is the Treasury Department issuing patriotic savings bonds in December 2001 at the same time we were being urged to spend money to make America stronger. If anything, the war has divided the country when it could have pulled us together in some positive ways.
Imagine if the country had been called to serve in a common effort, such as reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Maybe this is only plausible in hindsight but a national conservation effort could have tied nicely into today’s anti-global warming campaigns. Strange bedfellows, but all Americans united. Could it have happened?
As for Private Snafu, he was created by Frank Capra. Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel wrote several episodes and Mel Blanc provided his Bugs Bunny voice. As noted on Wikipedia, the cartoons were risque for the time and many of the other have racist depictions (by today’s standards) of Japanese and Germans.