Smithsonian Museum of American History

We made a Sunday trip into the District of Columbia (free parking!) and visited the National Museum of American History (again, see here). There are lots of exhibits, more than a half-day visit can take in. We viewed some new stuff.

Outside

We were naturally drawn to the Food exhibit, subtitled "Transforming the American Table."

Who can resist?

By the entrance is a recreation of Julia Child's kitchen. She was a celebrity chef in the mid-1900s, with many books and a TV show boosting her fame. She brought French cooking to America.

Julia Child's kitchen

She even won an Emmy award!

One display has a Krispy Kreme donut machine, which seems like a valuable item to put on display without maximum security.

Donut maker on right

Fast food is also represented, including this display of various to-go cup tops and a Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru display. The description said that the first drive-thrus had warnings that a "disembodied voice" would talk to them. I remember the two-sided burger containers that kept "the hot side hot and the cold side cold." 

Fast food history

The back of the exhibit has information on beer and wine, including little bits about Prohibition.

Beer as history...sign me up!

Home brew stuff

Wine industry

Tools of the vineyard

Post-Prohibition 

A sign explained that this Berkeley Food Pyramid was a joke made when food pyramids were very popular.  

Definitely a California thing

The display of Mexican food included the first frozen margarita machine!

I'd rather have Mexican than Berkeley

Another item that I wouldn't mind taking home

We found a more interactive exhibit in SparkLab. It's aimed at younger visitors and activities include making a pinball machine, choosing a uniform, and building a city block.

My first pinball

Picking out clothes

Making a city block

Unstable sky scraper

Across the way is the Gallery of Numismatics, an exhibit on money.

The sort of place they should keep the donut and margarita machines

Coins have a long history, going back to at least the seventh century BC. Some coins are more creative than others. Ancient Roman coins were made in a building next to the Temple of Juno Moneta (a combination of the more famous goddess Juno with a local goddess named Moneta). The temple probably stored coins and raw materials for making coins, and "moneta" became a root for "monetary" and "money" in English. 

Coins of various realms

Chinese coins included knives!

When American coins were redesigned in 1905, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was one of the artists who created images to be used.

Saint-Gaudens at work

Women in American money

Some coins are definitely not pocket change, like this piece of currency from the Island of Yap in the Pacific Ocean.

A coin from the island of Yap

We went for a snack in the museum's cafe (serving Starbucks) that has a fun Jazz theme.

Warm beverages

A lot of the poster were painted by LeRoy Neiman, an American artist. He painted a large compilation of Jazz artists at the entrance of the cafe.

Neiman's Big Band

The top floor has a pop culture area that had lots of things I was excited about.

The droids and me

Cap's shield

Indiana Jones gear

Sign from M*A*S*H

Julie Newmar's Catwoman ears, necklace, and gloves

Julie Newmar as Catwoman!

The museum has a lot of other displays, so I am sure we will go back some day.

Book Review: Catwoman: When in Rome by J. Loeb et al.

Catwoman: When in Rome written by Jeph Loeb, art by Tim Sale, and colors by Dave Stewart

Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, travels to Rome with Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler, in tow. She wants to find out something very important to her--who her parents really are. She suspects she is the daughter of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, a top crime boss in Gotham City. Her investigation leads to a lot of other mafia (if there is such a thing) connections. She keeps having nightmares of Batman following her to Rome to "help" her. She really doesn't want help from the Dark Knight since she's dealing with enough problems for one plot line.

The mystery is intriguing. Selina is enough of a person (at least in this story) to hold her own as a lead. The conflicted nature of her character comes through. The art still has the dark and brooding style typical of Batman comics. She does appear scantily clad several times, so this particular story isn't for little kids. The narrative is good and Loeb has a great sense of how Selina/Catwoman talks. Another Loeb trademark shows up--a lot of other Batman characters are thrown in to the story to provide obstacles for Catwoman. She gets about what she deserves by the end.

Recommended for Batman and Catwoman fans.

Book Review: Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue?

Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue? written by various authors and illustrated by various artists

This collection of seven tales provides a scattershot view of Catwoman, the famous foe and friend (and romantic intersest) of Batman. Some of the stories feature their relationship, others just hint at or nod to it. She is an expert thief who often uses her skills for good causes but not in good ways. Her moral ambiguity is interesting and well presented. One story has her attacking a beauty products company because they use animals, especially cats, unethically in experiments. Her noble motivation is skewed by her operating outside of, and occasionally against, the law. Such behavior naturally brings the interest of Batman, who is debatably also acts outside of the law for noble motivations.

The art follows the style of Batman: The Animated Series, with its noir overtones and sharp contrasts. A lot of different authors and artists worked on this, it is surprising how tonally and visually united the set is. Though Catwoman is romantically interested in Batman, she is not drawn provocatively or graphically and readers see nothing more than a modest kiss, making this okay for kids to read. Batman is less interested in her (or less aware) and sticks to his code of honor. He's no perfect role model (something Catwoman points out more than once). They do make a fascinating pair.

Recommended.

Book Review: Batman: One Bad Day: Catwoman by G. Wilson et al.

Batman: One Bad Day: Catwoman: No Small Scores written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Jamie McKelvie, and letters by Clayton Cowles

Selina Kyle's latest burglary scheme is for a highly valuable pendant--a bird freed from a cage that was created after World War II by a world-renowned French jeweler. An auction house is starting bids at twenty thousand dollars. The pendant is even more valuable to Selina since it was her mother's. Her mom sold it to a pawnbroker who said it was a fake even though mom said it was given to her by her French mother. They only got two hundred dollars for it, barely enough for rent. So the heist has a little revenge in it too, though Selina thinks of it as getting back what's rightfully hers.

Like in The Riddler One Bad Day book, it's Selina that has the "One Bad Day," where the heist does not work out the way she wants to. Unlike The Riddler book, this story doesn't turn totally dark and pessimistic. The plot has some nice twists and pathos to it with a much brighter color pallette (though that is not much of an achievement).

Catwoman has often been an ambiguous figure--sometimes a straight-up villain, sometimes an ally to Batman, often a mixture of both. Her varying character is used to good advantage in the story, which is told from her perspective. The writer gives her a believable voice and the artist treats her with class, i.e. not like a sex object. She does have a bit of romantic distraction with Batman (naturally, he has to show up) but the scene does not have the tacky, exploitative depiction that happens with a lot of female comic book characters (or even in the Batman/Catwoman back catalog). 

Recommended--this is among the better Catwoman stories I've read.