I'm tryin' to tell you somethin' 'bout my life

[urth]

Boobs always make me feel better.

Ha! I have a date with the Mirren on Monday nite -- her Oscar-nommed The Last Station (she plays Tolstoy's wife) opened in SF this week.

BTW, here's a quote from Roger Ebert's review:

"Some women are simply sexy forever. Helen Mirren is a woman like that. She's 64. As she enters her 70s, we'll begin to develop a fondness for sexy septuagenarians".

and speaking of cougars: here's Kathryn Bigelow who's 58 and seriously HAWT:

Zoinks! I had no idea--I'd guessed she was mid-40s. And she doesn't appear to have had work done. At least she doesn't have the telltale puffy lips or paralyzed brow.

(Btw, I didn't mean to modify Mike's original post above--thought I clicked the "quote" button and obviously missed the mark. Mea culpa.

[Lightnin' Rod]

Zoinks! I had no idea--I'd guessed she was mid-40s. And she doesn't appear to have had work done. At least she doesn't have the telltale puffy lips or paralyzed brow.

I'm sorry but if she's 58 and looks like that, she's had work done.  Very very good work.

[princessofcairo]

Zoinks! I had no idea--I'd guessed she was mid-40s. And she doesn't appear to have had work done. At least she doesn't have the telltale puffy lips or paralyzed brow.

I'm sorry but if she's 58 and looks like that, she's had work done.  Very very good work.

I don't know. I'll chance it's the real deal (with a close-up):

[Alicat]

Zoinks! I had no idea--I'd guessed she was mid-40s. And she doesn't appear to have had work done. At least she doesn't have the telltale puffy lips or paralyzed brow.

I'm sorry but if she's 58 and looks like that, she's had work done.  Very very good work.

I don't know. I'll chance it's the real deal (with a close-up):

That's one smooth forehead and tight neck. I wish I looked that good now and I'm many years her junior. I agree with the hawt.

[RGMike]

This coulda been in the "I didn't know that" thread, I suppose, but... WTF is the difference between regular "FedEx" and "FedEx Home Delivery"? On the rare occasions I've gotten a delivery from FedEx and they've missed me, I've gone to the FedEx place about 5 mins from my house to pick up the package.  So the other day I had a missed delivery and I called to say i was going to pick up in person... and apparently because it was "FedEx Home Delivery", a separate company (?), *their* pickup place is way the hell in South SF *and* unlike regular FedEx (which is open until 8:30) FEHD is only open 8-4 Tues thru Sat. I asked if the package could be transferred and they said no. Honestly, WTF?

[ggould]

This coulda been in the "I didn't know that" thread, I suppose, but... WTF is the difference between regular "FedEx" and "FedEx Home Delivery"? On the rare occasions I've gotten a delivery from FedEx and they've missed me, I've gone to the FedEx place about 5 mins from my house to pick up the package.  So the other day I had a missed delivery and I called to say i was going to pick up in person... and apparently because it was "FedEx Home Delivery", a separate company (?), *their* pickup place is way the hell in South SF *and* unlike regular FedEx (which is open until 8:30) FEHD is only open 8-4 Tues thru Sat. I asked if the package could be transferred and they said no. Honestly, WTF?

Not sure if FedEx Home Delivery is the same as FedEx Ground, which used to be a separate company, which I thought was real incompetent.  They were locally owned, so sometimes the luck of the draw gave you idiots for delivery drivers.

[RGMike]

This coulda been in the "I didn't know that" thread, I suppose, but... WTF is the difference between regular "FedEx" and "FedEx Home Delivery"? On the rare occasions I've gotten a delivery from FedEx and they've missed me, I've gone to the FedEx place about 5 mins from my house to pick up the package.  So the other day I had a missed delivery and I called to say i was going to pick up in person... and apparently because it was "FedEx Home Delivery", a separate company (?), *their* pickup place is way the hell in South SF *and* unlike regular FedEx (which is open until 8:30) FEHD is only open 8-4 Tues thru Sat. I asked if the package could be transferred and they said no. Honestly, WTF?

Not sure if FedEx Home Delivery is the same as FedEx Ground, which used to be a separate company, which I thought was real incompetent.  They were locally owned, so sometimes the luck of the draw gave you idiots for delivery drivers.

addendum: even though I spoke to 2 different FedEx HomeDelivery folks on the phone Monday and made it clear I wanted to pick up in person, they made a 2nd delivery attempt yesterday and luckily my neighbor intercepted them and pretended to be me. But seriously, if people aren't at home to receive a package between 8 and 4... doesn't it stand to reason that they're also unavailable to drive to SSF to pick up between those hours? Why not be open when your customers can actually, y'know, access you?

[Lightnin' Rod]

So, I'm planning a trip to Washington DC for the last week of April (do we have a travel thread?).  Youse guys are all well travelled, so I'm soliciting advice -- especially where to stay.  I'm going all by my lonesome, using up an airline credit that needs to be used by early May.

I plan on being in city for 3 full days, with travel days around those.  Want to see all the monuments, the Smithsonian, etc., and want a hotel somewhere relatively central, but hopefully not ridiculously expensive.

Any ideas?

[urth]

So, I'm planning a trip to Washington DC for the last week of April (do we have a travel thread?).  Youse guys are all well travelled, so I'm soliciting advice -- especially where to stay.  I'm going all by my lonesome, using up an airline credit that needs to be used by early May.

I plan on being in city for 3 full days, with travel days around those.  Want to see all the monuments, the Smithsonian, etc., and want a hotel somewhere relatively central, but hopefully not ridiculously expensive.

Any ideas?

We just went last Thanksgiving, but we stayed with family so I can't make any suggestions on lodging. However, their metro system works pretty well, so you might consider staying someplace outside the district and taking the train in each day--maybe Alexandria VA or Silver Spring MD? Might be a little cheaper--I know rooms in DC proper are pretty pricey.

If you want to visit the White House, contact your congressman NOW and see if they can get you on a tour. You can only get in via your legislator, and they book up way ahead but there are always cancellations. Of course, the week we were there, they weren't doing tours as they were decorating for the holidays. Sheesh.

And take comfortable walking shoes. DC is an easy town to walk in--it's fairly flat--but just getting up and down the mall from one Smithsonian branch to another is a schlep.

Also, if you're flying out of Dulles and you have a couple of hours to kill, check out the branch of the Air and Space Museum that is open out near the airport. It's HUGE and that's where they have the Space Shuttle, Concorde, and a number of other famous airplanes, and there's a shuttle to and from Dulles. The one on the Mall is great too--every space capsule you could name, and a very cool Wright Bros. exhibit. I recommend both, just expect to see a lot of kids at the one on the mall. The newer one was remarkably quiet.

[RGMike]

So, I'm planning a trip to Washington DC for the last week of April (do we have a travel thread?).  Youse guys are all well travelled, so I'm soliciting advice -- especially where to stay.  I'm going all by my lonesome, using up an airline credit that needs to be used by early May.

I plan on being in city for 3 full days, with travel days around those.  Want to see all the monuments, the Smithsonian, etc., and want a hotel somewhere relatively central, but hopefully not ridiculously expensive.

Any ideas?

We just went last Thanksgiving, but we stayed with family so I can't make any suggestions on lodging. However, their metro system works pretty well, so you might consider staying someplace outside the district and taking the train in each day--maybe Alexandria VA or Silver Spring MD? Might be a little cheaper--I know rooms in DC proper are pretty pricey.

If you want to visit the White House, contact your congressman NOW and see if they can get you on a tour. You can only get in via your legislator, and they book up way ahead but there are always cancellations. Of course, the week we were there, they weren't doing tours as they were decorating for the holidays. Sheesh.

And take comfortable walking shoes. DC is an easy town to walk in--it's fairly flat--but just getting up and down the mall from one Smithsonian branch to another is a schlep.

Also, if you're flying out of Dulles and you have a couple of hours to kill, check out the branch of the Air and Space Museum that is open out near the airport. It's HUGE and that's where they have the Space Shuttle, Concorde, and a number of other famous airplanes, and there's a shuttle to and from Dulles. The one on the Mall is great too--every space capsule you could name, and a very cool Wright Bros. exhibit. I recommend both, just expect to see a lot of kids at the one on the mall. The newer one was remarkably quiet.

I concur with urth -- you can spend a week at the Smithsonian alone. Take the "DC Ducks" tour -- it's an amphibious vehicle that turns from a sightseeing bus into a boat. I hear the Spy Museum and the tour of the US Mint are both cool. And despite the similar systems, it's NOT true that BART tickets work on the Metro. Alarms go off. Very embarrassing.

[urth]

So, I'm planning a trip to Washington DC for the last week of April (do we have a travel thread?).  Youse guys are all well travelled, so I'm soliciting advice -- especially where to stay.  I'm going all by my lonesome, using up an airline credit that needs to be used by early May.

I plan on being in city for 3 full days, with travel days around those.  Want to see all the monuments, the Smithsonian, etc., and want a hotel somewhere relatively central, but hopefully not ridiculously expensive.

Any ideas?

We just went last Thanksgiving, but we stayed with family so I can't make any suggestions on lodging. However, their metro system works pretty well, so you might consider staying someplace outside the district and taking the train in each day--maybe Alexandria VA or Silver Spring MD? Might be a little cheaper--I know rooms in DC proper are pretty pricey.

If you want to visit the White House, contact your congressman NOW and see if they can get you on a tour. You can only get in via your legislator, and they book up way ahead but there are always cancellations. Of course, the week we were there, they weren't doing tours as they were decorating for the holidays. Sheesh.

And take comfortable walking shoes. DC is an easy town to walk in--it's fairly flat--but just getting up and down the mall from one Smithsonian branch to another is a schlep.

Also, if you're flying out of Dulles and you have a couple of hours to kill, check out the branch of the Air and Space Museum that is open out near the airport. It's HUGE and that's where they have the Space Shuttle, Concorde, and a number of other famous airplanes, and there's a shuttle to and from Dulles. The one on the Mall is great too--every space capsule you could name, and a very cool Wright Bros. exhibit. I recommend both, just expect to see a lot of kids at the one on the mall. The newer one was remarkably quiet.

Forgot to mention that your congressman can also get you on a tour of the Capitol building (VERY worth the time--and free), and if you talk to the right person, they can get you onto the floor of the House or Senate. Make sure they at least set you up with passes to the gallery of both houses.

And if you're into art, the National Gallery of Art (not to be confused with the National Portrait Gallery) is really good--art from all periods, including the only Da Vinci in North America.

We enjoyed most of the Smithsonian Museums we went to, except for the American History Museum. I'd expected it to be more expansive in its Popular Culture section, and it turned out to be pretty spare. A couple of sports artifacts, Archie Bunker's chair from All In The Family, and one or two other things. Meh. Had it not been for Julia Child's kitchen (rebuilt in its entirety with all the original pieces), I'd have been completely disappointed.

[mshray]

our close friends out here in the east bay, the dad is a Jr. High teacher & he leads an annual 5 day trip to DC, been doing it for years.  They always see one or the other of the Smithsonians, but only thing that he makes the kids visit every single year is the Holocaust Museum.

[Lightnin' Rod]

our close friends out here in the east bay, the dad is a Jr. High teacher & he leads an annual 5 day trip to DC, been doing it for years.  They always see one or the other of the Smithsonians, but only thing that he makes the kids visit every single year is the Holocaust Museum.

Thanks for the tips, guys.  I'm thinking I need to squeeze in another day or two.  Lot's to see. 

[urth]

our close friends out here in the east bay, the dad is a Jr. High teacher & he leads an annual 5 day trip to DC, been doing it for years.  They always see one or the other of the Smithsonians, but only thing that he makes the kids visit every single year is the Holocaust Museum.

Thanks for the tips, guys.  I'm thinking I need to squeeze in another day or two.  Lot's to see. 

Check out the Kennedy Center schedule too. They have all sorts of stuff pretty much every day of the week, incl. a free concert every evening at 6pm on the Millennium Stage. And there are free shuttles from the Foggy Bottom Metro station every 15 minutes for most of the day.

http://www.kennedy-center.org/index.cfm

[Alicat]

You all have an amazing amount of great knowledge. I want to go to DC now.