Dancing Without Discrimination

Every year, when June turns into July, the Smithsonian Institution pitches massive tents on the National Mall to celebrate the folk heritage of three cultures during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  This year, the African-American, Latin-American and Welsh cultures are celebrated.

I went to the National Mall this afternoon, to enjoy this year's festival.  I ended up spending almost all of my time in the Latin-American section, enjoying the music and the dance.  In one of the tents, the dance floor caught my attention.  For about an hour, I admired the people twirling to the music.  Everyone was included.  Partners were chosen regardless of age, gender, size or race, regardless of physical or mental disabilities, regardless of dancing skills and abilities...  Two young boys were spinning together with great glee; senior couples were smiling at one another as they slowly circled the dance floor; two teenage girls, one of them in a wheelchair, displayed the most original dance moves of all; strangers were inviting each other to dance without shyness or reservation; and even, an elderly asian lady was spinning all by herself , laughing at the top of her lungs.  

No one was left out, no one was being laughed at or pointed at, and everyone was having a fantastic time.  This beautiful spectacle touched me deeply.

Gaston  

Small little bugs...

I crossed Liev Schreiber on the street today (one more celebrity to add to the list), and here are a few pics I took this morning, of little bugs skating on water:

Cloudy

It's been raining a lot around here lately, this was the sky from my balcony around 5pm today:

Which ones?

Today in Riga, there was a choice to hang out with the folks in picture number 1 or picture number 2.  Which ones would you choose?  Think about it and let me know. - Gaston

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Hi,

I visited the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens National Park today, right here in Washington DC.  Here are a few impressions of my day:

Bragging...

Popular personalities I have seen in Washington DC since I moved here a year ago:

Stevie Wonder (He was at the Apple shop in Arlington, VA last week.)

Toby McGuire (Spiderman himself!)

Nancy Pelosi 

Al Sharpton

Chris Dodd

Wyatt Cenac (from the John Stewart Show)

Soledad O'Brian (CNN)

Don Lemon (CNN)

Roland Martin (CNN)

Angela Merkel (she was here for some summit)

and probably tons of others too... let me think, I'll get back to you...

Gaston

A Latvian Dentist Tried to Kill Me

I have never been afraid of going to the dentist's, until I had to open my mouth for a dentist in Latvia. That experience has scarred me for ever. I went to a dentist here in the United States for the first time yesterday, and as I reclined in that chair, my body tensed all over. I feared parting my lips, and caught myself thinking: "Come on!! How old am I!!"

In Latvia, even the littlest cleaning was painful, bloody, gushingly bloody, and always left me feeling my teeth had not been fixed, but tampered with. I let them repair two teeth in Latvia, and then I halted the process, since I felt that this dentist was just making things worse. My bite has never been the same since, my teeth are misshapen, one tooth is so sharp it constantly rips and tears my tongue, and my gums are receding at an alarming rate. I did not have any of these problems before I sacrificed myself on the alter of Latvian dentistry less than 4 years ago.

The dentist here in the US confirmed my fears. The Latvian dentist completely ravaged my mouth and damaged my choppers. The fillings I have from my childhood in Canada are still perfectly functional, and the ones I got in Latvia just a few years ago are already faulty, chipped, and ruining my gums... Most of the work that was done in Latvia was not necessary and only damaged other teeth that were otherwise healthy. Now I have to get all the Latvian stuff repaired, removed or altered, and in addition, I need to go to a periodontist too to repair my mouth.

So, to all my friends in Latvia, or those who go to Latvia to get their teeth fixed, think twice, thrice, four time and five times, and then, don't do it! The person who totally destroyed my teeth was supposedly one of the best dentists in the country, and came highly recommended by everyone I consulted before choosing... Stick to North American dentistry, and keep your teeth!

And by the way, my experience at my American dentist's yesterday was completely painless and bloodless, without anaesthesia, even if they spent 90 minutes cleaning and exploring my mouth. Compare that to repeatedly spitting out mouth-fulls of blood in Latvia and being told: "Tas jau taču normāli ." (But that's only normal).

ARGH!!!! I should have never opened my mouth for these Latvian quacks! ARGH!!!!