Jaybird's Jottings

Clarification

Quick note:

I was just re-reading my post and I wanted to clarify something I said:

"All posts lead to the greatest Meet Up of fans in the history of baseball."

I meant the convention in general.  This one will be great in its own way, as they all are.

By the way, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  Roberta and I want to thank the Burts in Silver Spring for hosting us.  They are a wonderful family, very warm and generous people.

Thanks guys, means a lot to us...

 

 

SABR39: Helpful Info and Links

The SABR Convention in D.C. is still a ways off, but as a resident of Washington, I hope it's not too early to start passing along some information that will help those attending.   I decided to start a series of posts that will provide links and comments.   To lift the lid on the planning season, here's a lineup's worth of websites and blogs.  

Cultural Tourism DC

This site provides a Points of Interest map for downtown.   One thing to keep in mind is that the hotel is at 14th and E Street, so there are also places off the map to the left such as the White House and The Mall below.  

Also, depending on who you talk to, there are different names for the area where the convention hotel is.  The older name is Downtown which is also a broader area.    The Penn Quarter is a newer name.   A brief explanation of this is provided in an interview the Penn Quarter Living blog had with Washingtonian.com. 

Not for Tourists, Washington

Ok, so not everybody will have time to head outside and hoist a few beers or sample DC's excellent food scene.   For those who do, this fantastic site will help you find everything near the hotel except the nearest lobbyist.  

Note:  The way they break down DC classifies that part of of the city as National Mall. 

Facebook

Chapter member Mark Pattison has set up an event page for the convention at Facebook.  Get a jump on matching faces with names.   All posts lead to the greatest Meet Up of fans in the history of baseball….

DC Metro

Washington is served by three airports, Dulles, BWI and Reagan National.    There are public transportation options from Dulles and BWI, but I am not as familiar with them.  Their website has that info.

Metro is just a ground ball away from Reagan National.  Hop on either the Blue Line in the direction of Largo Town Center or the Yellow Line to Fort Totten or Mount Vernon.   If you forget those or don't have time to look at the maps in the station (Hurry the train is coming!), just remember you want the trains on the track closest to the airport.  

As far as which is the quicker option, that's actually an interesting question.   If you take the Blue Line, it's a bit longer, but you won't have to change trains.   And if the Blue Line train comes before a Yellow Line train, that's a factor.

If you take the Yellow Line, it's closer in terms of distance and a more direct route.  But this way requires changing trains at L'Efant Plaza, which can be tricky for first-timers. 

As far as which station is closer to the hotel, McPherson Square, Metro Center, and Federal Triangle are all about three blocks away.   

Street Maps

Google has now street mapped D.C.    Have fun looking around. 

Traffic Cams

The good news for those driving?   Well, the Springfield Mixing Bowl project has been completed and has made that situation a ton better.   And in a couple of weekends, the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge, one of the worse bottlenecks in the country, is set to have its capacity increase from six to ten lanes with wide shoulders. 

The bad news?   Hey, this is Washington so there's still plenty of choke points.  And you are headed for downtown. 

Having said that, the Sunday getaway shouldn't be bad.  

Weather

One stop weather shopping from the geeks at Capitol Weather Gang.

And who knows?  Maybe they'll even explain the difference between scattered thunderstorms and isolated thunderstorms.

Blogs

DCist gives the late-ist on the City, specializing in "tidbits of political and cultural arcana."   And if you want information and photos on Nationals Park, don't miss JDLand. 

Another one of my favorites, one that has some great photo-blogging, is WeLoveDC.

We hope you do too...

Previous Links

Penn Quarter Blog

 

Souvenirs

Souvenirs are going to be a hot item for the Inauguration, a momento of the day the good ship America set sail for a new course.   Anything Obama is selling well, of course, as noted by The Washington Post's David Segal this morning. 

Savvy shoppers will browse and buy on-line, but then again, there's nothing like going to a store and trying the hat on.    That's where Emily Groves of Not for Tourists (Oh yes it is!) provides some help for stores in the DC area that have some items.   Her look at Presidential Candidate accessories is not exactly what we want at this point, but the information is still a good starting point.

She starts off with the street vendors and then lists some of the stores where you can find the merchandise.   I went and checked out the three locations she mentions in Old Town Alexandria.   

Old Town Trading Post
128 King Street

With McCain t-shirts, life-sized McCain, Palin and Bush cut-outs, a huge and varied assortment of anti-Obama and anti-"Billary" items, and many "Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Democrat" items featured at Alexandria's "Old Town Trading Post" (128 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 739-8877), it is not too difficult to guess which candidate the store owner supports. Do pop in if your beliefs are conservative, but do also expect to be conservative with your photo-taking: the owner makes it clear that photos with the life-sized John, Sarah and George are not allowed.

These guys did not have their hours posted and the door was locked when I went on Monday morning at 1015 am.   I did see more elephants than donkeys, but they did have a few Obama items in the window.


America!
113 King Street

But fear not! If you travel just a bit further down Alexandria's King Street, you are welcome to snap away with both of your Republican and Democrat friends at the non-partisan shop, "America!" (113 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 http://america-store.stores.yahoo.net/), which has store locations all over the greater D.C. area, including in Pentagon City, at Reagan National and Dulles Airports and at Union Station.

I had a great experience here.  The manager was friendly and they have an excellent selection of items for the President-Elect, Dems and D.C., as well as the coveted cut-out that greets you.

La Muse
108 North Patrick

These handbags can be found at Alexandria's lively La Muse gift shop (108 N Patrick Street Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 683-1696, http://www.shoplamuse.net/). Costing around eight times the amount of an Obama t-shirt from a tourist stand, these bags are meant to make a statement.

The parking is tricky but the manager and her two dogs are very friendly and this is a fun place to browse with unique, handmade gifts.  The  Obama bags can be bought on-line at her website.

 

 

John Stauffer's Giants

"I was especially drawn to Douglass.  I loved the way he wrote, I yearned to have something of his undaunted courage, and, strange as it may seem now, I wanted to be like him.  After all, here was a slave-a total outsider-who stood up to the meanness around him at the risk of losing his life, and who found in books a way to "give tongue to his thoughts," as he put it.  A few years later, I realized that Lincoln too, had been an outsider, escaping the fighting and drinking of his backwoods communities through literature.  They learned how to use words as weapons, and I desperately wanted a dependable weapon."  - John Stauffer, GIANTS: How The Book Came Into Being.

Every once in a while the stars align for a book reader.   You spot a book that piques your interest, read the rave reviews, start reading the book and can't put it down, realize the greater importance of the subject, listen to the author on a talk show and then go see him or her at the local book store.   The author is engaging and is a great speaker, and doesn't just read from the book.  Instead, they do exactly what you want, explaining what prompted the book, providing a sketch of the bigger themes and then concluding with how the book ties into a current event.

I can't think the last time that happened for me, and I'm not certain it has ever happened before Tuesday night.   But all that finally did come together earlier this week with John Stauffer's new book, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. 

The experience started out with my ritual of reading the Post's Book World on Sunday, and checking out the author appearances.  I hadn't had much luck in the past few months, but there was an entry for Stauffer's book.  Quite frankly, I had not heard of him but with all that is going on with Obama and Lincoln, and my burning desire to learn more about Frederic Douglass, I knew I had to check it out.  

Stauffer was on The Diane Rehm Show on Tuesday morning.   Sometimes when I listed to Diane interview authors, I worry about the spoiler talk.  But listening to Stauffer, it just whet my appetite even more.   That night I met my good friend Don at Comet's Pizza and then we walked over to Politics and Prose.   It's regarded as the best bookstore in Washington although its future as a brick and mortar is uncertain.  I talked with one of the co-owners.   The book buyers and audiences keep coming, but she expressed concern over any new owners and whether or not they would maintain P&P's approach.

By 7, all the chairs were full.   Stauffer got a nice introduction and then laid out what he would say.   No reading from the book - yea!   He gave an outline of the book and then concluded with the parallels with President Obama who is a great orator.  

Stauffer's book is a can't put down.   Douglass' story is so incredible, with the pain and suffering he endured, both physical and mental.   The reader will learn just how great a man he was, and thus see Lincoln in a new light, and then decide how they feel about Stauffer's claim that Douglass and Lincoln "are the two pre-eminent self-made men in American history."

Either way, these two men were indeed Giants.  

Inauguration Night

This coming January 20th promises to be one of the most remarkable days our country has ever seen.  People from all across our land as well as others will make the trip of a lifetime to the National Mall. 

Later in the evening, D.C. will celebrate in ways it has never seen.  The balls, parties and entertainment events will not only toast the day and the week, but the many months of hard work on the campaign trail.

While we wait to see how Inauguration Night shapes up, let's take a look at a brief history of the previous festivities.  Sources are Democracy's Big Day by Jim Bendat and Presidential Inaugurations by Paul F. Boller Jr.  The latter provided the bulk of the information.

The first official ball came in 1809 for our fourth President James Madison.   George Washington had danced the minuet at his ball, but it was a private affair.    The popularity of the pomp and circumstance led to a continuing tradition of hosting elaborate balls.  They became so popular that three gala events were held in 1841 for William Henry Harrison. 

Depending on the desires of the President, the grandeur of the evening has waxed and waned through the years.  In 1913, Woodrow Wilson ushered in an era of no frills or no big event at all.   During the Great Depression, a more solemn approach prevailed.    In 1949, President Truman brought back the revelry.  He also welcomed blacks to the official ball and emphasized a theme of integration.  

In 1965, President Johnson's inauguration drew a record estimated crowd of 1.2M.   Five official balls were held, as well as a bunch of Texas-sized hoe-downs.   A decade later President Carter re-introduced the everyday people approach before giving way to President Reagan who brought back booze, glamour and expensive gowns.   First Bubba Bill Clinton threw a record 13 balls in 1993, and an estimated 75,000 blue hats danced the night away. 

For President-Elect Obama, the committee will have to balance the mood of the country with the need to accommodate a multi-million crowd.   The committee is just getting going so it's uncertain as to the exact plans.

I'll go out on a limb and predict you won't see a lot of minuets…   



  

Get the Balls Rolling

The Post's Inauguration Watch Blog provides an update some Inauguration Balls. 

If you can't afford or get a ticket, take some comfort in something Reliable Source has to say:

Prediction: This will be the first inauguration when the unofficial parties have more buzz and more pull than the official inaugural balls.

Oprah's in the house, but do we file that one under Expensive-Impossible-to-Get Ticket or Unofficial Party?

Hey man, check that cynicism at the door.  Where ever it is, we gonna' party like it's 2009!

Inaugural History

As anticipation continues to build towards Inauguration Day, I decided to check out what the historians have to say about the big day.   A  handful of books have been written on the subject, with two coming in recent years.   The most up-to-date is Jim Bendat's Democracy's Big Day, the third edition published this year.  The other is Paul F. Boller Jr's Presidential Inaugurations with a print date of 2001.   In his book, Boller notes that between 1893 and 1971, six authors covered the subject matter.  

Both books have colorful covers.  Bendat goes with pins while Boller's shows carictures.   Those readers who insist  on footnotes will want Boller's book.   On the other hand, only Bendat lists his sources separately and includes a handy-dandy chart that lists for each President, the age, party, site, sworn-in by, weather (incomplete), number of inaugural balls, and notable aspects. 

Bendat has the smaller book with chapters on the ceremony, parade, balls and the nine times the inauguration was not one with the ordinary circumstances.   Boller's book covers those topics as well as receptions, the day before and several others.  His book has no photos while Bendat's features a good number of non-glossies.   Bendat also does a noteworthy job with the captions, explaining for instance that "most Presidential Inaugurations between 1829 and 1977 took place on the Capitol East Portico."

Each book contains interesting tidbits.  If you're trying to get tickets to the Inauguration Swearing-In, you might find some humor in what happened in 1825.   With demand exceeding supply for John Quincy Adams's inauguration, fistfights broke out.

Party crashers will have to work hard to top what occurred four years later for Andrew Jackson's party.   Seen as a man of the common people, he hosted an open house at the White House.   A mob scene ensued with all kinds of damage to the furnishings, china and carpets.   After the President was whisked away, party goers took the party outside, drinking and eating.

It looks like you can't go wrong with either of these books.  They both get excellent reviews.  For what it's worth, I bought the Bendat book at the National Museum of American History's bookstore yesterday.  

Additional Reading

Library of Congress Collection

"a collection of approximately 400 items or 2,000 digital files relating to inaugurations from George Washington's in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001. This presentation includes diaries and letters of presidents and of those who witnessed inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, broadsides, inaugural tickets and programs, prints, photographs, and sheet music."

The First Puppy

Something lighter today, a couple of photo sets from the Post.

Presidential Pets

What type of dog?

Penn Quarter Living

The Penn Quarter in downtown D.C. is, arguably, the city's best neighborhood.  It's got an enviable location, a handful of Metro stations, and a great concentration of places to eat, shop and be entertained. 

Of course, what's a great place these days without great blog coverage?

No problem.  That would be Penn Quarter Living, who recently sat down with Washingtonian Magazine's Blogger Beat.   It's a good read for anyone interested in that part of DC, and if you're going to the SABR convention next summer, it's a good preview.  The JW Marriott, the convention hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, is located on the western portion of the Penn Quarter.  

Grand Re-Opening of NMAH

The Post had a front-page piece yesterday on today's Grand Re-Opening of the National Museum of American History.

Among the items are President-elect Obama's picture in the Presidential Gallery and the Greensboro lunch counter, which has been given a "prominent place."   Also "a gallery that will preview what the National Museum of African American History and Culture will explore."

Politicos will enjoy "signs and buttons collected from the presidential campaigns in Iowa and New Hampshire in January."

As reported by the Washington Post Express, exhibits in the coming year include:

"First Ladies at the Smithsonian" slated for December, with dresses, china and knickknacks galore. Then in January, the museum is joining the Smithsonian Institution in celebrating the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, and will show some 60 objects from the president's life, including the top hat he wore on the fateful night at Ford's Theatre.