New House of Representatives by Gender

Applying the genders of the representatives to the same map.  I do not try to make the districts within a state fit into the location of the actual districts.  To do so in may states is just not possible given 1) crazy r, and 2) the tightly compacted districts in the large urban areas like New, York and Los Angeles among others.  The results, I think demonstrate that for all the celebration over the large number of women elected, we are still not there yet.

New House of Representatives by Party

I love to make graphics, and frankly I've never been satisfied with the maps of the congressional districts as they are drawn.   They distort the sense of the representation because so many of the urban (smaller) districts are in the hands of the Democrats and they just don't show like a big red Montana or Wyoming, right?  So this is a partial response to that.  Here I have subdivided the states with more than one representative into the number of districts corresponding to their delegation and of roughly equal size within the state.  It's still doesn't address the imbalance of the big, sparsely populated states, but it does something else that is interesting.  It shows which states have the densest populations.  Like New Jersey!  Good golly.

So now that the dust has settled and all the disputed seats have been certified and called, this is what things look like.

Walters Art Museum: Medieval Europe and Middle East

One floor up and you find a similar set of galleries covering the next great epoch of history: the Middle Ages.  The way in which the rooms are formed of irregular geometric shapes and how they seem to wrap around one another and open in odd ways to one another gives you a wonderful sense of being the bowels of the castle or cathedral, even catacombs.  The works are predominantly Christian, although there are some works from the Muslim world, as well. 

Tomb Relief of Pierre de Bauffremont

Flemish

after 1453

Exterior of the Altarpiece with Saints Lawrence and Leonard

Spanish

circa 1450

Mourner

Netherlandish

circa 1450

The Annunciation, circa 1515 - 1520

Jean Bellegambe (Flemish)

active 1504-1534

Portrait of King Louis XII of France in Prayer, 1500-1510

Jean Perreal (French), 

circa 1455 - 1530

Tabernacle Door

French

circa 1500

Let All Creation Praise Him

Russian

17th Century (An exception to the Middle Ages time frame)

Virgin and Child

French

1290 - 1310

Man Throwing a Stone

German

circa 1520

The Prophets Habbakuk and Joel

French

Cathedral of Soissons

1200 - 1223

Walters Art Museum: Antiquities Collections: Assyria, Egypt, Greece & Rome

Let's continue highlights from my recent visit to the Walters Art Museum at the beginning.  The beginning of the collection vis a vis chronology of their holdings.  This takes us to the lower floor of the 1974 annex section of the building.  The grand foyer greets you with a pair of monumental Egyptian sculptures and an entrance meant to conjure the feeling of an ancient temple.  And it's fair to say that you are indeed entering a temple, a sanctuary of classic art.

While there are some absolutely lovely examples of Assyrian and Babylonian art along side of the example from Egypt, the bulk of the collection is Greek and Roman.  Over two dozen marble statuary, pottery, dished, works in bronze, gold, glass, urns, jewelry, sarcophagus--objects of beauty and wonder spanning more than a millenium of history and cultural evolution.

Relief with Winged Genius

Assyrian

885-859 BCE

Contemporary Trunk with Miniature Greek Symposium model

 Black-Figure Plate

Greek

600 BCE

Head of the Doryphoros

Roman

450 - 400 BCE

Red-Figure Volute Krater

South Italian

340 - 330 BCE

Torso of an Emperor in Armor

Roman

14 - 68 CE

Portrait of a Man

Roman

230 - 240 

Urn with Lid

Roman

50 - 100 CE

A dimly lit gallery with a dollhouse-like temple and a collection of mini-bronze gods within.

Hermaphroditus

Roman

1st Century, CE

Arena Stage: Anything Goes

I would like to think that when I've seen a shitty show I say so.  That's not going to be a problem here!  What an incredible production.  From start to finish, they had us in the palms of their tap dancing hands.  I had the good fortune of having selected a third row seat and they gave me the perfect vantage point from which to fully enjoy the show.

Once again, I had never seen this one before, so while the songs were all very familiar, the plot and dialogue were fresh.  And what a witty script!  Time and again, I joined my fellow theater goers in rounds of spontaneous laughter.  The direction was dynamic.  The theater is relatively small and every production is by design in the round.  As such, you feel very much a part of the action.  The sets also take on a different dynamic, they must be small and mobile, and even with the use of hydraulics to raise and lower a central platform they can't be too complicated.  Within these specs, they were absolutely perfect.  Likewise the costumes.  The promotional photos show some of the female actors in costumes that were not used in the final production.  The actual costume choices were more feminine and actually I would say elegant.  The choreography was spot on, and the actors dancing chops were up to the challenge and then some.  Most especially, the lead, Corbin Bleu, was mesmerizingly talented in his physicality and flare all delivered as easily as you or I would cross a street.  Coupled with Soara-Joye Ross' Reno Sweeney, the show belonged to the two of them.  The standard in dance that Corbin set was matched in the arena of vocals by Soara-Joy.  The supporting cast was often the source of humor in a musical that is as much about high jinx and storyline.  Every one of them had their moment and shone brilliantly in the limelight.  Though clearly the leader of this pack was Stephen Derosa in the role of Moonface Martin.  I know I just gave rave reviews to Keegan's production of "As You Like It", so I can't really say that I don't remember the last time I had so much fun at a musical--BUT, if possible, this one was even more enjoyable.  It's also been a long time since I was part of an audience that was as intune to the show as this one was.  Playing right up until Christmas Eve, go--you'll only regret it, if you don't.

Walters Art Museum: Art of the Americas

There are two relatively small galleries dedicated to the display of art from the fallen civilizations of the greater Mesoamerica.  Though slight in quantity, the objects located here are wonderfully representatively of the beauty and variety of artistic expression of these vanquished cultures.

Snuff Tray

Jama-Coaque culture, Ecuador (300 BCE - 600 CE)

Maize Deity

Aztec culture, Mexico (1400 - 1521)

Earflares

Moche culture, Peru (400 - 600)

Dancing Figure with Whistle

Colima culture, Western Mexico (300 BCE - 200 CE)

Urn with Jaguars and Skulls

Maya culture, Guatemala (600 - 900)