As Keith and I were keeping with the Sunday tradition, we were watching 60 Minutes. (I think it was the off season for the NFL.) During this episode, they featured a profile on Ai Weiwei. He's a contemporary artist, who often finds himself at odds with the Chinese government. He's unique in that he doesn't have one focused medium. His work includes sculpture, installations, and photography all of which has a message that has social, political, and cultural criticism.

When I learned his work was being featured in an exhibit in Washington, DC just a few blocks from our place at the Hishhorn, I knew there was no way I was going to miss it. Without football on Sunday, Keith and I walked down to take in the exhibit. I think it's probably safe to say that I enjoyed it much more than Keith and was able to see his message in his work.

Here's a few of the pieces I enjoyed. And let's be honest, even more where I was able to get a pretty good picture without everyone in the way.

Sunday afternoon as I drove out of the District it occurred to me that perhaps Keith and I should have fled town. Traffic was back up for almost a mile at our exit off 395 and the overwhelming majority of the streets near our apartment were blocked and not allowing traffic or parking. Our street, which is normally quiet and offers numerous parking options, looked like a parking lot.

Keith and I contemplated making our way up to the Capitol grounds to check out the festivities for all of maybe five minutes. As wonderful as the idea sounds in your mind, we know it would be absolute chaos and far from enjoyable. Obama's second inauguration wasn't as cold as his first. And no, the crowds were not as big. But yes, history took place no more than 5 blocks away from our apartment and we watched it on TV from the comfort of our couch.

I've taken a recent interest in learning the origins of cocktails...what makes them unique to a specific city, how the separate components came to be included and how they came to be known by a certain name. Today I bring you the Ward 8, a proper Boston cocktail. I won't bore you with the history. If you would like that I suggest you mosey over to Imbibe's article on that.

I selected this as the first cocktail of 2013 because it uses fresh citrus juices and it is citrus season. Bringing together the bursts of summer with the spiciness of a rye is a win. I agree with the Imbibe article in this is "light, lively and ridiculously easy to drink." I would have to say almost too easy to drink.