DCentric

Author Kate Masur, reading from "An Example for All the Land: Emancipation and the Struggle for Equality in Washington, DC"

Today, Kate Masur, Assistant Professor of History at Northwestern University, read from her new book, An Example for All the Land: Emancipation and the Struggle for Equality in Washington, DC at the National Portrait Gallery (hat tip to the City Paper for letting us know about this event).

After the reading, Masur took questions from the standing-room-only crowd. As she quoted from the Reconstruction-era diary entry of a racist white Washingtonian, I was startled by how over a century later, similar sentiments could be found in the comments sections of local blogs and newspapers. Masur said she wanted to “illuminate the larger picture of dynamism in Washington” via the stories in her book. She also reflected on how once slavery was “resolved”, many local white Republicans cared more about business than equality.

When Masur mentioned that An Example for All the Land –the first examination of Washington during Reconstruction in over five decades– explored why D.C. became a hub for black education and an African American middle class, the crowd buzzed with interest.

One attendee, Barbara Burger of Washington, D.C., enjoyed the presentation. Burger explained, “I’m a native Washingtonian. My family has been here since 1880. I’m very interested in any studies that explore the African American situation. I’m very happy to see she’s taken it upon herself to write a book and do research that will hopefully have an effect on the perceptions of this city.”

Next week on DCentric: an interview with Professor Masur, and more about her book.

Robert Burdock

If you’re interested in literature, film or South Asian culture, you would probably enjoy the South Asian Literary and Theater Arts Festival (SALTAF), which is happening tomorrow — I love it because it’s an event which is unique to D.C. (and it’s FREE):

This year’s festival will feature panel discussions, readings, and film screenings by internationally acclaimed writers and artists. The literary panel will feature poet Pireeni Sundaralingam, editor of the first anthology of contemporary South Asian poetry, Indivisible; award-winning writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of One Amazing Thing; and writer and artist Naeem Mohaiemen, whose work has been featured in galleries around the world. The non-fiction/journalism panel includes Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of the acclaimed Imperial Life in the Emerald City and National Editor at the Washington Post, and writer and activist Canyon Sam, author of The Sky Train.

Date : Saturday, November 13, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. |
Location : Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW |
Metro : Smithsonian or Federal Triangle

Smithsonian's National Zoo

I would like to volunteer for the next swim test, thanks.

Details:

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s 8-week-old lion cubs took a swim test in the moat at the Great Cats Exhibit. The cubs– 3 females and 1 male– were born August 30 and 31 to 5-year-old mother, Shera, and 5-year-old father, Luke.

I love D.C.

Laura Padgett

National Portrait Gallery

One of the reasons why I feel lucky to live in D.C. is because there are so many neat things going on, many of which cost nothing to attend; here’s an example of a free event, for tonight.

Skip rush hour, and join us for “Portraits After 5″ at the National Portrait Gallery. This happy hour event combines art and music with a contemporary twist.

The NPG will have a photobooth, a DJ, an artist “projecting” images and of course, an exhibit to explore– this time it’s “Americans Now“, and it focuses on celebrity and fame. Peep images of LL Cool J, Toni Morrison, Le Bron, Martha Stewart and more, while you debate whether they’ll still be famous in a century. If nothing else, it will help you avoid traffic. 8th and F Streets NW, from 5-8 pm.

Smithsonian's National Zoo

This gray afternoon calls for something bright and cute, don’t you think? How about a Black-Footed Ferret Kit? Yup, that’s what Ferret babies are called: “kits”. This kit’s pic is from our National Zoo’s Flickr stream. Here’s another interesting,  zoo-related fact– 25 years ago, they were almost extinct:

The Zoo has been breeding black-footed ferrets, one of North America’s rarest mammals, for more than 20 years to bring them back from the brink of extinction. In 1985, only 18 of these small mammals remained. Zoo scientists have played a key role in boosting the ferret population through innovative artificial insemination techniques and by developing ways to ease reintroductions into the wild. Now, more than 800 ferrets live in the wild, and hundreds more live at breeding facilities, including at the Zoo’s Front Royal campus.

Smithsonian's National Zoo

This cub is a half-sibling to the three newest arrivals.

We posted about baby lions three weeks ago– and now there are even more! I can’t wait until “late fall or early winter”; that’s when the cubs go public at our lovely, free zoo.

The birth of three more lion cubs at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo this morning has contributed to the growth of the Zoo’s lion pride over the past three weeks and has brought the total number of cubs to seven so far. The Zoo’s six-year-old lion Nababiep gave birth to the three newest cubs three weeks after her sister, five-year-old Shera, gave birth to four cubs.

This news is extra nice; Nababiep is the lion who gave birth to a cub last May, only to have it die of pneumonia two days later, after a bit of straw lodged in its lung. The Zoo investigated alternative bedding alternatives after the incident. It’s nice to know that the fuzzy baby lion pictured above is sleeping safely– near three new playmates, as of today.

Smithsonian

The National Zoo's Shera, after giving birth.

Huzzah! There are new baby animals at the National Zoo. Last night, four lion cubs were born to first-time mother Shera. They arrived between 10:30 pm and 2:30 am.

This is especially wonderful for the Zoo and its fans because of the tragic loss of the last lion cub which was born there in May– who shared a father, Luke, with the current babies. Born to Shera’s sister, Nababiep, the single cub died after just 48 hours when a straw awn from its bedding became lodged in his lung. The Zoo has instituted changes, since then:

“Since the unfortunate death of Naba’s cub, we’ve investigated various alternative bedding options,” said Rebecca Stites, a lion and tiger keeper. “The use of bedding is imperative as it protects the cubs from trauma during the first fragile weeks of their lives. We’ve provided Shera and her cubs with shavings and soft hay with as few awns as possible.”

Good to know. The Zoo says the cubs will be visible to the public by late Fall. For those of us still suffering from Tai-Shan withdrawal, this news is delightful.

John Mueller/Extra Medium

Kermit the Frog at The Smithsonian

Today, a beloved, internationally-recognized icon moved to the Smithsonian. What many of you may not know is that he was born right here in Washington, D.C. Via the AP:

The original Kermit the Frog, his body created with an old dull-green coat and his eyes made of pingpong balls, has returned home to the nation’s capital, where the puppet got his start.

The first Kermit creation from Jim Henson’s Muppet’s collection appeared in 1955 on the early TV show “Sam and Friends,” produced at Washington’s WRC-TV. Henson’s widow Jane Henson on Wednesday donated 10 characters from the show to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

As part of “Sam and Friends–which aired on NBC-4– Kermit and his plush co-stars would appear for five minutes every evening, after the local news. More on the show, from Wiki:

Early in its run the show mostly featured the puppets lip-synching to popular songs of the day (if the song was by a female performer, the puppet would wear a wig while singing). Later, formal sketches were drawn up, many spoofing well-known television shows at the time, including Sam and Friends’ lead-in show in the Washington market, The Huntley-Brinkley Report.

A popular early sketch that would be used often in subsequent Henson productions was “Inchworm”, in which a character, often Kermit, would nibble on what looked like a worm, but would ultimately turn out to be the tongue or nose of a monster, who would devour him.

Another little-known fact? Kermit, or “Kermie”, as Miss Piggy would say, was initially more of a lizard than a frog. The ruffle around his neck was added to make him more frog-like (don’t all frogs have ruffled necks?); it also conveniently camouflaged a seam. The coat Kermit was made from had belonged to Henson’s Mother; she had thrown it away. I’m not sure if a discarded piece of outerwear has ever achieved more.