CAPS 2008
the competition is heating up with the weather. as of march 22, we have found skunk cabbage, dandelion, birdseye speedwell, purple deadnettle, bittercress, chickweed, colt's foot, henbit, watercress, periwinkle, spring beauty, lesser celandine, common blue violet, snowdrop and moss phlox.

destinations
so I didn't know there were casts of rodin's thinker throughout the world, with the original in paris. it'd be fun to plan a trip with stops at the copies:
ASIA - Japan, Kyoto; Indonesia; Israel, Tel Aviv.
EUROPE - Belgium; Denmark; France (original); Netherlands; Turkey; UK; Vatican.
NORTH AMERICA - Kansas City; Mexico City; Baltimore; Cleveland; NYC; Detroit; Philadelphia; Louisville; Goldendale, Washington; San Francisco; Stanford, California; Pasadena, California.
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne.
SOUTH AMERICA - Buenos Aires.

national parks
I thought I was pretty well-traveled in the park scene. turns out there are 58 proper national parks and I've only been to three (smoky mountains, shenandoah and mammoth cave). lots more to see...

oscar event
the amc oscar viewing event was all I hoped it could be. all five best-picture nominees played back to back with trivia in between and unlimited popcorn. I had only seen one of the films (no country for old men). "michael clayton" was first - it was ok, but not really nominee quality and definitely not deserving of supp. actress awards for tilda swinton. "there will be blood" was next. long (an epic after all) and interesting and most deserving for daniel day-lewis as best actor. "atonement" was third. not really my thing, so I left about an hour in and walked the dog and picked up burritos for dinner. "juno" was fourth and wonderfully quirky. the laughs didn't stop and cross all ages in the theater. "no country" was last and as great as the first time I saw it.

goodbye snow
people have trouble understanding how I can cheer for snow in the forecast then be happy when 60-degree days roll around. I just want the weather to match the season. it's supposed to snow in winter. now it's spring, and I want to go outside and play. easy as that.

scrabble
I'm more than half-way through "wordfreak," a book about the underbelly of the scrabble tournament world. it's very interesting and way ahead of my play. I don't see any wordlist memorizing in my future. it does make me want to play more than I do though. are you up for a game?

pool prize
so I won the oscar pool of two, no money wagered of course. first prize is a trip to the movies. I had planned to save my winnings for "the monkey wrench gang," an adaptation of edward abbey's book that I have been reading off and on since 1998. but, it seems it won't be finished in 2008. but chuck palahniuk's next book into movie (after "fight club") will be in theaters this fall - "choke" - should be a good one.

wild goose chase
training is underway for the metric century next month at blackwater. and the babes are riding more regularly again, so it's easier to get out there and ride.

kayak
I have big plans for paddling all around it in my big red kayak, as soon as I get a rack for the car. I found a great deal on craigslist, with paddle and vest included.

sackler/freer/ripley
checked out new-to-us galleries downtown. near the smithsonian castle, these mostly underground art spots are pretty interesting. they were exhibiting asian painted screens when we were there.

microclimate?
hiked sugarloaf with clare this week. was surprised how far behind the greenery was there. no wildflowers in sight, except for early-stage skunk cabbage.