Month: April 2014
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Henry IV, parts 1 and 2 (Shakespeare Theatre)
The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC has been putting on Henry IV, parts 1 and 2 these past few weeks. We took our kids to see both performances, and here are our collective family thoughts. For those unfamiliar with the plays, Henry IV has deposed (and probably killed) his cousin, Richard II and ascended the…
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Awesome Con 2014
Because Jim and I are awesome parents, we took the kids to Awesome Con at the Washington Convention Center on Sunday, April 20. This was an interesting sociological event. Awesome Con is unlike Star Trek conventions, which are dedicated to one show (more or less) and are totally obsessed by that one narrative (not that…
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Book Review: The Last Lion, Volume 3 by William Manchester & Paul Reid
The Last Lion 3: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-65 by William R. Manchester My rating: 4 of 5 stars William Manchester wrote the first two volumes of his planned Winston Churchill biography (The Last Lion: Visions of Glory and The Last Lion: Alone) before suffering several strokes that resulted in his inability…
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Children’s Ball 2014
The Children’s Ball, a fundraiser to benefit the Children’s National Medical Center, was held on Friday, April 11 at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, DC. The Ball was co-chaired by Yousef and Abeer Al-Otaiba (the UAE Ambassador and his wife) and Amy and Bret Baier. There were over 900 people in attendance with a lengthy waitlist…
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Spring Break in the United Arab Emirates
The UAE might come across as a strange choice for a spring break destination, but we chose it for several reasons. First, it’s a warm climate destination and after the winter we’ve had, none of us had any desire to go somewhere cold. Second, we thought it would be a good experience for the kids. …
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Be Our Guest restaurant (Disneyworld)
One of the newest restaurants in the Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld is the Be Our Guest restaurant, located in the Beast’s castle in the new part of Fantasyland. We were lucky enough to get a dinner reservation due to a cancellation when we were last there in March. Dinner was quite the spectacular evening. To…
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Book review: A Play of Piety by Margaret Frazer
A Play of Piety by Margaret Frazer My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s impossible to review this book without the context of the previous five in the series (A Play of Isaac, A Play of Dux Moraud, A Play of Knaves, A Play of Lords, and A Play of Treachery), not to mention the…
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Movie review: Captain Phillips
I know, I know, Captain Phillips has been out for months. But getting to a movie theatre takes an immense amount of effort for me (you actually have to show up at a certain place at a certain time and sit in the dark for 2 hours). Reserved seating helps some, though. This time, I…
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Book review: Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich My rating: 3 of 5 stars I really like this series. The main characters are well-rounded and often goofily humorous, the dialogue is crisp and witty, and the plots are well paced. It’s a perfect beach read (or, as I like to say, excellent mind candy). Sizzling Sixteen is no…