1) Sicko

It started off with a viewing of Sicko, Michael Moore’s new film, which I’ve started to write about but will go into more deeply as I think more about the core issues and where I feel I can make an impact on the end goal of improving health care in this country.

2) iPhone

It turns out a workmate skipped the movie to wait in line for the much anticipated iPhone. I briefly got to play with the phone. The pure pleasure of navigating through the interface definitely lives up to the hype. I found multiple times I would start asking “how do I…”, but I could always figure it out before finishing the sentence. Darn Apple for being so intuitive! The screen is beautiful and the finger interactions are great. The typing was a bit tough, not sure if I just needed more time with it. I’m still going to wait for the next generation before getting one.

3) All You Can Eat Crabs

Next was All You Can Eat Crabs at Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse. For three hours we were tearing apart the bodies of crabs, scavenging for the delectible crab meat, and mending our crab shell injuries in butter. I think the picture of the remains speaks for itself. Tim’s is a really awesome crabhouse right by the Potomic river where you can dig your feet in the sand while you feast on crabs and other good stuff. Highly recommended.

4) Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard was freakin ridiculous and hilarious. A fun summer action flick.

5) Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Finally, the Folklife Festival was a lot of fun. It’s a huge festival on the national mall that explores a few parts of the world each year. This year it was Virginia, the Mekong River, and Ireland. Great food across the board and really good performances. The most interesting presentation was this one on tea. I had no concept of how in depth the world of tea was. I learned how certain types of tea are actually aged for long times like wine to develop their taste. These teas are actually aged longer and are sometimes more costly than expensive wines. He went through all the subtleties of serving tea to bring out all the nuances of these high grade teas. Things like pouring boiling water over all the cups and pots before to get them hot to keep the tea hotter, using clay pots to build flavor over time, slurping to aerate the tea and get more flavor out, etc.