Dinner: Huli Huli Chicken Thighs over Rice with braised Onions and Tomatoes

 

Iron Crow Theatre: Rent

 While I do see a lot of theatre, I also try to see something special over the final weekend of January--my birthday weekend.  It's not always easy to do.  The DMV theatre world lays low in January, a well deserved respite after the frenzy of productions staged during the Thanksgiving to New Years holiday window.

This year, I chose "Rent" staged by Iron Crow Theatre in Baltimore.  Iron Crow is a scrappy little theatre company with a performance space located in a 19th century office building adjacent to the Meyerhof Concert Hall--home to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  It's a juxtaposition mash-up of David/Oscar Madison versus Goliath/Felix Unger, if Oscar where the gay one.  Because Iron Crow is also pointedly and unashamedly QUEER.  It's slogan says it all: "A Queer Theatre for a Queer City".  As such, Iron Crow stages productions with a queer/outsider frame of reference, and "Rent" seemed like a perfect fit.

Immediately upon seeing the opening sequence, I was reminded just how important it is for Rent to be done by young people.  Of the 13 cast members, I think all but two were making their debut with Iron Crow.  Lots of fresh faces, fresh energy.  And all but one, Nicholas Miles, were in their mid-20's (or believably so).  And here in lies the rub.  Please don't misunderstand, Nicholas Miles is the Iron Crow Theatre's "resident artist".  He's been in everything I've seen there.  He's a very talented singer and I'm sure he knocks 'em dead with his Drag Queen performances.  What he is not; however, is 25...hell, he's not 35.  Surrounded by a younger, much more athletic cast, his inability to even attempt to dance--and as the character of Angel no less! was uncomfortably sad.  To compensate, he sashayed a lot...  And what's even more regrettable about this is that within the cast (because all five of the understudies were given ensemble roles) were five other actors who would have been superior in this role.  Watching him sashay among the others, and, in particular fawn over the character Tom Collins, was such an unnecessary distraction.

Of the rest of the cast, there was energy to spare.  Young actors excited to be part of something exciting and fun.  Stand outs include: Jeremy Allen Crawford as the neurotic Mark Cohen,  Jeremy brought a boundless dedication to the character, and his phone call impersonations of his mother throughout were moment of honest levity.  Carter Crosby played his HIV positive roommate, Roger Davis.  Besides looking like a 20-something Alec Baldwin, (the pre-"Homocide: Life on the Streets" years when he was too cute for words), Crosby had the vocals and the soulful glances of the tortured artist down pat.  His chemistry with Natalia Fyfe who played Mimi Marquez was also heartfelt and compelling.  Speaking of Natalia, she was a wonderful Mimi from dark candle to final death/not-dead-yet scene.  Finally, Breanne Sensenig, as Joanne Jefferson brought some of the finest vocals of the show along with wonderful comic timing.

Others were good, even very good, but struggled at times.  Undoubtedly the cutest member of the cast was Terrell Chambers who played the third "musketeer" Tom Collins.  An amazing voice and powerful energy. Unfortunately teamed up with the aforementioned Mr. Miles as a love interest, his portrayal suffered from trying to make something that felt creepy seem sincere.  His final number, the "I'll Cover You" reprise, was so over the top that it was borderline bizarre.  I blame this on the director.  Chambers should have had the less is more conversation.  The understudies where an amazing ensemble, and I want to highlight one: Sam Slottow.  Tremendous stage presence and my pic for Angel.  The show was that close to being truly special.

The sets deserve a shout out to Thomas Jenkeleit.  The sound design was a bit of nightmare in the space that has no intentional acoustical anything.  Ergo, even miked, the little ensemble often overplayed their role dominating the actor's best attempts to sing above the instrumentation.  As to lighting, the range of options is somewhat limited.  For example when more than two actors needed a spot, the rest where side-lit.  It was detracting and regrettable.  

Bottomline: I saw a show full of potential and did my best to ignore the flaws.  Overall, it's kinda an Iron Crow M.O.  

Members of the cast: Back row [L-R] Landon Black, Rachel Cahoon, Nicholas Miles, Terrell Chambers, Tyler White; Front row [L-R] Jeremy Allen Crawford, Sam Slottow, Natalia Fyfe, and Jessica Ramon

Carter Crosby as Roger, Jeremy Allen Crawford (background) as Mark

Nicholas Miles and Angel embraced by Terrell Chambers as Tom

Rachel Cahoon as Maureen

Breanne Sensenig as Joanne

A look at the amazing set by Thomas Jenkeleit

Dinner: Pasta with Bolognese Sauce and fresh Green Beans

 

Lego City Natural History Museum: Second Floor Grand Gallery

With the under frame in place, it's time to create the lattice upon with the second floor grand gallery will sit.  To do this, I use flat plates because they can create cross-tension that distribute the stresses.  The facing is white that will be seen, while I used light gray bricks for the hidden sections.

From the underside, you can see how the flat plates allow me to fit the nuances of the frame's levels which enhance the structural integrity without the need to use any peg bricks.

You can see it even better in this close up.

Snug as a bug in a rug!

Fits perfectly against the lower stairway plate.

Quite trip to the flat plate bin to obtain the initial flooring

A view of the stairs and rising baby Brachiosaurus exhibit look good!

Bird's Eye View--Love the proportions!  

More to come...

 

Crispy Tacos #3

 I don't know why I've never done this before.  It's even hard to believe that I've never seen a recipe like this until know--or paid attention to it!  It's a revelation.  Quick crisping flour taco in a not skillet.  Rocked my world. 

I discovered the idea in my #1 go to resource for new ideas, the NYTimes Cooking section.  The recipe there featured a filling of spiced potatoes and used corn taco shells.  I prefer flour.  They work just as well.  After two iterations of potato-based fillings--which were delicious!  I've branched out.

The filling here is made up of the following:

Ingredients:

• Re-fried Chipotle Beans
• Chopped Green Pepper
• Chopped Jalapeno Jepper
• Chopped Tomato
• Minced Garlic
• Shredded Colby Jack Cheese

Garnished with more fresh Tomato and chopped Cilantro

Winter Little Garden Zoo Sightings

 Sudden snowfalls bring out some of the animals most comfortable in the cold.

Snowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus

Polar Bears, Ursus maretimus

Rocky Mountain Goat, Oreamnos americanus

Musk Oxen, Ovibos moschatus

Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus

Lego City Natural History Museum: The Grand Staircase and Upper Stairway Foyer

 

Bird's Eye View

Grand Staircase Facade

The second floor platform with a blue tile format.  The white/black checker pattern signals transitional spaces throughout the museum.

This area of the floor is a modular piece on its own--free from exterior walls.

Lego City Natural History Museum: Setting in the First Floor Walls, etc.

 Next phase involved finishing floor tiles, building up walls, setting the dinosaur displays, beginning the lower support pillars for the holding up the second floor sections.  Some consideration was given to the right front gallery featuring creatures from the Pre-Cambrian Era Oceans.  

The main exhibit in the grand hall is the baby Brachiosaurus skeleton from the original set.

The Utahsaurus mother and brood are on the left with a baby Triceratops.

The Ankylosaurus nest is on the right

The Pre-Cambrien Ocean Gallery

The focus model is a large Ammonite.  I found one online and modeled mine after it without the benefit of plans.  It's a good model and this one is pretty close.

It's tentacles are the first thing to greet guests as they enter.  It rests on a wall of ancient ocean models with corals and other creatures.

The opposite corner has a giant model of a troglodyte. Beneath the window is a fossil of an ammonite to compare to the larger model.

Finally a trio of ancient mega-Jellyfish rise to the delight of visitors.

Saber-Tooth Tiger Gallery

The Pre-Cambrien Ocean Gallery predates the Dinosaurs in the same way that the Sabertooth Tiger Gallery postdates them.  Bookends to the Dinosaurs.

The Sabertooth Tiger is displayed in an autumn, mountainous diorama with a bone!

She fits on the outside wall of the left gallery.

In considering how to complete the gallery, the choices were limited by size.  The only other prehistoric mammal is a Woolly Mammoth, and it's too large to fit.  A Sabertooth skull came with the original set and would make a nice compliment to the diorama, however, it's not very big and wouldn't be the second focus.  That's when I looked back at my Mini-figure collection and knew the way the to go: Humans.  Cavefolk and their means to protect themselves from the Sabertooth.

The Cave couple with weapons of bone, fire, and a domesticated wolf.

They sit opposite the Sabertooth Tiger with foliage that seems to link them.

The Sabertooth Skull is on a platform near the entrance.

Lunch: Sunday Salad Celebration!

 

Lego City Natural History Museum: Displays

 As mentioned the theme in the main hall is Dinosaur Babies.  Here are two of the displays I've made thus far to fill the space.

The first is a Utahraptor mother with two of her young in search of a nest to steal eggs from.

The second is a hatchling Ankyosaur from a nest of eggs.

In the Main Hall there will be six additional Exhibits:

• A baby Triceratops
• A baby Tyrannosaurus Rex
• An insect trapped in amber
• A coprolite sample (dinosaur poop!)
• A Micropachycephalosaurus
• A skeleton of an infant Brachiosaurus

Lego City Natural History Museum: The Great Work Has Begun!

 You know that I am a Lego Maniac.  Infected by an older cousin in 1968.  I have the bona fides and the bricks to prove it!  Half of my basement is consumed by my Lego City, images from which I have shared here before.  

While I love everything Lego, I must admit that their modular buildings are a special favorite.  They inspire the latent architect in me.  They jive with my special gifted-ness.  And, they are just so dog gone fun to create.  I have all of the sets (in some instances multiple copies) since the very first Hotel and French Cafe.  That one came out over 10 years ago now, and by comparison to the latest ones, it's crude.  No interior details, a relatively simple, straightforward design with a few exterior flares.

When they come out I sometimes build them as is and add them to my Lego City, but more often than not I tweak them to fit and make sense in my existing layout.  For example, I double the size of the fire house and opened up the interiors to create a Fire Fighters Museum in the wake of my already existing and satisfying Modern Fire Station.  When they set out the bank, I completely intermingled it with my existing creation to the point that if both had their atoms scramble in a transporter accident on the USS Voyager, it wouldn't be any easier to separate their parts, while you can see the presence and influence of both.

Enter the latest modular building: The Museum of Natural History.  I have long imagine a museum of major scale in my Lego City, but I was inhibited by how daunting a proper construction would be.  The Lego offering is lovely, but lacking.  It has sparks of ideas that are amazing on a scale unworthy of the concept.  Granted, to do this one right would completely put it beyond any remotely reasonable price point.  It is a limitation that belongs to Lego, but not to me.

Living in the DMV, I have lots of museums to consider when conceptualizing mine.  The National Museum of Natural History, the Museum of American History, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space.  Add to that regional museums like the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh, the Natural History Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and overseas, the British Museum in London, in particular.  

Looking at Lego model's classic design, and thinking about modern adaptations I've seen in other museums, I began to formulate some possibilities.  One in particular was the use of glass domes to open up the interiors to the exterior world.  Anticipating this, I also purchased a couple of Lego Friends sets with large clear dome pieces (the Botanical Garden and the Igloo Adventure).  The Botanical Garden set proved very helpful in creating my exterior front courtyard.

 The Lego set has a foot print of 1536 pegs (six - 16 x 16 squares). I gave myself a footprint of 4096 pegs, or sixteen 16 x 16 squares.  The possibilities that a footprint over two-and-a-half times larger presents is amazing.  The Lego set is effectively two-stories tall.  I envision a structure three stories tall.  In doing so, I am also expanding the possibilities for exhibitions.  In my version the ground floor is Pre-history.  The main space is for dinosaurs with a current exhibition feature Dinosaur Babies.  The right wing will feature Precambrian creatures from the prehistoric oceans, while the left wing will feature early mammals with a focus on the Saber-toothed Tiger.  

The second floor will have both geology and ancient cultures.  I'm thinking a mix of Rome, Meso American, Japanese and Scandinavia.  The third floor with be about the universe, our solar system, human exploration and the evolution of human understanding.  All of this is subject to change with time.  So it's a squishy blueprint for now.

The base is divided into two separable sections, and each of the floors above that will be divided into three for a total of 8 modular constructions with at least three more on the roof.  All of this is resting in my head.  Here are some images from the initial work on the ground floor.  I will probably be working on this for the next several months.

I used two dark grey large base-plates in the front and two large tan ones in the back.  The idea of an inviting entrance was important to me, hence the courtyard design.

The purchase of the Lego Friends Botanical Garden set gave me ready access to bricks sufficient to create the serenity pond and fountain and unique flora like the tree.

Here, I have detached the back half to show the design of the main halls dual staircase.  Inspired by Moorish medieval examples.

The main floor tile design was limited in scope by the bricks I had, and so I framed it in white.

Then I set out to complete the space with a design that was symmetrical.

Behind the grand stairs above is a public restroom complete with sink, two toilets in private stalls and storage space for toilet paper!  Below is the back entrance/emergency exit with the office of the chief field paleontologist.  The office has a desk with a microscope, work table with fossils and storage for samples.

A bird's eye view of the work to date.  The blue tiles in the lower right wing are my first exploration of possibilities for the Precambrian Ocean displays.  I'm imagining something complimentary in shades of Green for the upper left wing.