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Art Bob D.C. Bob Uncategorized

Colombia comes to D.C.

Woodworker by Suffering the Benz
Woodworker, a photo by Suffering the Benz on Flickr.

We had several more great tastes of D.C. culture this weekend, starting with Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” on Saturday and culminating with an exhibit of Buddhist cave art today.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “Merchant” was awesome, setting the play in 1920s New York City’s Lower East Side. Great production. On Sunday, we checked out a 3D exhibit of Buddhist cave art from China at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery. We also took the opportunity to browse the permanent collections at the Sackler and Freer galleries, which are connected by an underground walkway.

And there’s always something going on on the National Mall. Before visiting the Sackler, we stopped for West African food at a booth at the Folklife Festival on the National Mall. Afterward, we drifted around the various booths highlighting Colombian artisans, including the woodworker in the photo above.

What an amazing place to call home …

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Assorted Bob Books D.C. Bob

Imagine a world with no Macbeth

The First FolioThe New York Times recently had a good story on the Folger Library’sFame, Fortune & Theft: The Shakespeare First Folio.” In addition to prompting me to add the exhibit to my to-do list, the story made my head spin with the following paragraph:

“If it weren’t for the First Folio, there would be no extant copies of ‘The Tempest,’ ‘Julius Caesar,’ ‘Macbeth,’ ‘Twelfth Night’ ‘As You Like It’ or ‘The Winter’s Tale.’ All the world wouldn’t be a stage; no countrymen would lend anyone their ears; and life wouldn’t be a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing.”

Wow. Imagine the cultural gap we would have suffered had the First Folio not been published and preserved. And then start wondering what cultural gems were lost when they weren’t afforded the same treatment …

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Assorted Bob Movie Bob Zombie Bob

Stop trying to be so respectable

Slate starts series on how to fix horror flicks: Part I: Stop trying to be so respectable. http://t.co/Azi98NZ