红酒·绿茶 / Red Wine & Green Tea / Vin Rouge et Thé Vert

We were shopping for used furniture and found a free sofa and loveseat. So I went there to check them out. They were too old so we didn't take them. The owner was quite nice, packing her stuff and sweating in a hot summer afternoon. Then she asked me if I liked classical music. I said yes. Then she gave me a box of cds saying they were her friend's leftover. I was very happy to find two DG recordings and loved them: One is a compilation of Spain-inspired music called "Bolero: Images of Spain" by Ravel, Chabrier, Rimsky-Korsakov and De Falla; The other is Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2 by Gil Shaham, violin and Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Pierre Boulez.

Orchid Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I walked out of the gallery, exhausted. So I had some food and drink and took a nice little nap on the grass. It was amazingly refreshing. Without too much time left, I entered my last destination, National Botanic Garden . The moment I entered the conservatory, I realized how much I liked plants better than animals. Those plants were exotic in both color and shape. For example, this unbelievable orchid. They had a section of rain forest plants with a very appropriate name: "Jungle". They also had a "Dessert" and an "Oasis' for that matter. I couldn't help taking pictures after pictures until my battery of the camera finally ran out.

Bodhisattva Figure from India Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Having said hello to my animal neighbors, I went to the Freer/Sackler Gallery , an awesome collection of Asian art. Both Buddhist and Islamic Asia were adequently represented. The quality of this gallery was excellent, like this one from India depicting a graceful female Bodhisattva. Besides, good museums always have good shops; Freer/Sackler is no exception.

Cheetah Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I love the Smithsonian Institution because it offers a great amount of museums and galleries with very high quality at the cost of free. As a (poor) student, nothing comes sweeter than that. So I decided last Saturday I should take more advantage of it when I still could. I got so excited in planning next day's trip that I couldn't sleep until about 3am. My first stop was the National Zoo , where the mother cheetah and the mother panda, Mei Xiang, had given birth recently. As a good neighbour, I felt I should say hello to those lovely families. However, it was hot and I arrived a little late, by their standard, to their home so I didn't get a warm welcome. In fact, they were all flagging, taking naps under shadows. I ended up taking a remote picture of the cheetah family: the pandas wouldn't even care to show their faces to me.

Mozart Piano Sonatas, played by Uchida , have been my treat to ears for months. Thanks to Steve! Unlike Beethoven, my love for Mozart's work was quite natural. His blissful spirit prevails via gorgeous melodies, demanding my full attention then I will be relaxed after it ends. I can't sleep in Beethoven's music; it makes me awake. I like to relax in Mozart's music.

Rumble Roses Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I've been waiting for this game for a long time: "Rumble Roses" , an all-female wrestling game featuring a mud pool where two chicks get very very dirty fighting.

March of the Penguins Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . "March of the Penguins" is the single movie you should not miss this year. What was amazing was not only the story itself, but how those National Geographic photographers caught it on tape. Told by Morgan Freeman, who has a painful but affirmative voice, a perfect choice. I've also got a poster of this film. :)