SO WE'RE REALLY INTO whales these days. Maybe it has to do with the intense high-seas previews we saw for Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" when we went to see "Twilight" last week. Or it could have something to do with the fact that we're feeling more akin to them as 30 days of holiday overeating approaches. (Insert blubber joke here).
Whatever the reason, we're nerdily stoked about the Whales | Tohora exhibit at the National Geographic Museum's Explorer's Hall. A model whale heart! Giant skeletons! Videos of a sperm whale hunting giant squid! Man, oh, man this sounds like something that even Captain Ahab himself would get excited about.
» National Geographic Explorer's Hall, 1145 17th St. NW; through Jan. 18.; Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; free; 202-857-7588. (Farragut North)
Photo by Grisha Tsidulko/AFP/Getty Images
EQUINOX OWNER-CHEF Todd Gray proves that turkey is, well, for the birds with his apple cider-brined tofurkey.
The five-course vegetarian Thanksgiving tasting menu also includes chestnut soup; capalacci (large ravioli) gingered kabocha squash; mushroom, frisee and hazelnut salad; and vanilla bean carrot cake. It's offered all through Thanksgiving week, and we all know calories don't count for vegetables.
» Equinox, 818 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-331-8118. (Farragut North)
Written by Express contributor Stefanie Gans
Photo courtesy Equinox
WINSOME, BESPECTACLED LISA LOEB, the force behind the '90s hit "Stay," may be a girly sing-along superhero, but, like the rest of us, she was once a kid. A kid who went to summer camp, learned campfire songs and ate cafeteria food.
With the release of her second collection of children's music, "Camp Lisa," the singer-songwriter switches topics from grown-up love to the love of PB&J sandwiches. She also set up the Camp Lisa Foundation with SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Provide and Edge, Inc.) and will perform songs from "'Camp Lisa" at National Geographic on Saturday.
» EXPRESS: Have you ever made it through an interview without being asked about your glasses?
» LOEB: Actually, I'm working on an eyewear line, coming out next year. People are always asking me about glasses, and others can have the same ones I'm wearing, or ones that may fit their face better.
BILL BURR is a comedian whose jokes transcend racial issues to allow for honest introspection and insight, yadda yadda, but the fact is, Burr is just an outrageously funny guy.
Appearing Friday and Saturday at DC Improv, Burr brings material tested on Comedy Central, "Chappelle's Show" and HBO's "One-Night Stand."
» DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW; Fri. and Sat., Nov. 7 and 8, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., $22, 202-296-7008. (Farragut North)
Written by Express' Nathan Martin
Photo by Brian Friedman
WHAT DOES IT look like to live in a time obsessed with and afflicted by terror? That's the question driving "Wounded Cities," the latest exhibition from photographer Leo Rubinfien opened last weekend at Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Rubinfien traveled across the world to capture the psychological marks written onto the faces of a generation of people scarred by the threat of terrorism.
» Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. NW; through Feb. 16., 10-5 p.m., $6; 202-639-1700. (Farragut West)
Photo courtesy Corcoran Gallery of Art
A BAND'S POPULARITY goes in and out like the tide, but British outfit Hot Chip has been riding the wave for quite some time now. They sell out every time they're in town, and tonight's show is no exception. But, as I am prone to do, I must recommend that you get your paws on some tickets by any means necessary.
Hot Chip live is an epic affair — an exciting electropop spectacle that leads to some pretty severe cases of "So, I think I can dance." Find a pair of tickets online or find a friend with a spare and hit up this burning show at the 9:30 Club. Growing opens (read our interview with guitarist Kevin Doria here).
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Wed., Oct. 8, 7 p.m., sold out or whatever the Craigslist guy wants; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)
MIHO KANAYA USES beads and intricate weaving to create kimonos, accessories, folding screens and pictures. Kanaya's mesmerizing designs combine the traditional (maple leaves, animals, images of Buddha) with geometric shapes. One nine-foot-wide screen uses millions of beads to create its bucolic scene.
» Japan Information and Culture Center, 1155 21st St. NW; through Nov. 20, 202-238-6949. (Farragut North)
Photo Courtesy of Japan Information and Culture Center
HANS VAN MEEGEREN didn't grow rich off his own name. The master forger became wealthy because of Johannes Vermeer, the great 17th century Dutch painter.
Van Meegeren painted before and during World War II, ingeniously mixing science — the key ingredient in his paintings was plastic — skill, determination, psychological insight, cunning and vast reservoirs of bile to cheat his way to the top. After he was finally caught, he painted one final "Vermeer" in prison to demonstrate his style. Somewhat ironically, he was eventually was seen as a hero throughout Holland for swindling a galaxy of art snobs and the likes of Nazi swine Hermann Goering, even though van Meegeren had no problem befriending the Germans for his own benefit.
This is a great tale, and lauded author Edward Dolnick's new book, "The Forger's Spell," makes it even better. Subtitled "A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century," the work is an accessible, engrossing and erudite examination of art, commerce and history.
A recent e-mail from Dolnick discussed a particularly compelling aspect of Van Meegeren's career.
"Han van Meegeren was different from every forger I'd ever heard of," Dolnick wrote. "He made forgeries that didn't look at all like the real thing. ... Vermeer's men and women overflow with life. The people in Van Meegeren's fakes look like zombies, and they have raccoon eyes.
"The second surprise was that the people he fooled were experts, not novices," Dolnick continued. "The more people knew about art, the harder they fell for Van Meegeren's fakes. ... When one modern-day expert looked back at Van Meegeren's career, he called it 'literally incredible' that Van Meegeren got away with it. My goal was to explain that mystery. The trail led to forgers talking shop, magicians spilling their secrets and spymasters explaining the art of the double agent. We see what is in front of our eyes, sometimes. But we also see what we hope to see, or what we expect to see. It's the job of con men and swindlers to manipulate those expectations."
Dolnick will discuss the extraordinary career of Hans van Meegeren at the Corcoran on Sept. 24. Express asked him about Van Meegeren's talents, why scientific tests were never done on his paintings and what advice he could offer an aspiring forger.
Continue Reading "Artful Dodger: Edward Dolnick on 'The Forger's Spell'" »
HERE'S ONE WAY to avoid anxiety over the possibility of missing "Stress: Portrait of a Killer" (Wed., 8 p.m. on WETA): Watch it with the producers and Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky tonight at National Geographic Live! (7:30 p.m., 1600 M St. NW, Nglive.org). The special uses Sapolsky's work with baboons to show how the lowest-ranking individuals in society face the most stress — and its bevy of accompanying health woes.
» EXPRESS: Why study stress?
» SAPOLSKY: I think there are a lot of scientists interested in one disease, like Alzheimer's or colon cancer. I like that stress doesn't really cause diseases, but it leads to many.
» EXPRESS:What are all of the horrible things stress can do?
» SAPOLSKY: It affects depression, memory, sleep, mood. Most people value their sex lives. Immune suppression is much more vulnerable. Strokes aren't so much fun, either. It can raise your blood pressure, and there's gastrointestinal stuff.
» EXPRESS: What is stress exactly?
» SAPOLSKY: If you're a regular, boring animal, it's a response to an acute physical crisis — not wanting to be eaten. It's not until you get to smart species like us that you get the exact same changes in the body for psychological reasons.
Continue Reading "Stressing the Point: Robert Sapolsky Explains Your Anxiety" »
ARKANSAS GOVERNOR Mike Huckabee never really had a chance in the presidential primaries. But maybe that was just a warm-up.
Tonight, he'll compete in the Funniest Celebrity In Washington Contest at The Improv. His folksy humor was always a strong point in his stump speeches, so this might remembered as the night he abandoned politics for a more secure career: stand-up comedy.
I mean, really, which carries more glory: being the funniest celebrity in Washington or shaking hands and kissing babies on the campaign trail? I think we all know where Mike Huckabee would rather be.
» The Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW; 7 p.m., $200; 202-296-7008. (Farragut North)
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
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