Been riding the Metro trains around a lot lately. There's something about this time of year ... I ride the Metro more often during the changing seasons. This guy in the picture got off at the same stop I did, Eastern Market. He walked over to the area by the Marine Barracks on 8th and I Sts SE. It use to be a seedy neighborhood, now there's a new Starbucks.
Looking Through Metro Center
On the way home I panned this shot of the other metro headed in the opposite direction. I grabbed a transfer from the subway and used it on the bus. Usually the bus guy charges you 35 cents with a subway transfer. He let me go with just the transfer. Lucky because I didn't have any change.
Went to the zoo with my brother to check up on the animals. It looks like they are really taking care of them now. Why do they call them "Giant" Pandas? Were there once normal and small sized Pandas that were eaten by the giants? This is Mei-Xiang chomping on a bamboo stick. Her name means "beautiful fragrance" in Chinese.
The Sights We Could See, My Brother and Me
My brother Rog is in town this week from San Francisco. He has a few long meeting to attend. He is an engineer for the Environmental Protection Agency. He is in charge of keeping the drinking water safe on American Indian reservations on the West Coast. We could use more people like him in D.C. Our water has so much lead it could make any alchemist a fortune. I met up with him after my morning class and we walked all over like a couple of tourists. The Cherry Blossom Festival is a beautiful time of the year.
This weekend started Spring and the Cherry Blossom Festival here in D.C. However, the above picture is a tulip tree in the Capitol's front yard. The tulips bloom at the same time as the cherry blossoms and a larger and more colorful. Why don't they have a tulip fest? My friend Karl flew into town from Tampa Bay today to do some more training down at the Marine base in Quantico, Va. A group of us walked down to the National Mall from my friend's house on Capitol Hill. It was a fun walk because ... it just was. Good people create good times. They had the kite festival today down by the Smithsonian Castle. I had my wide-angle lens and no other equipment, less options and more finding good light. I felt like a jerk (more than usual) running around with my camera while my friends all waited for me to catch up.
I don't think anyone was hurt in this fire. There were four fire trucks and no ambulances. I was walking past 18th and New York Ave NW today after attending the wake of a bartender friend who died last weekend. Tommy didn't show up for work a couple days in a row. His boss went to check on him and found him lying on the couch. They believe he died peacefully.
Over the River and Through the Woods
I decided to take the quiet way home today, down past the zoo. Even there I caught a glimpse of a patrol car on Adams Mill Rd. taking the back way to Mt. Pleasant St., a reminder of the mayhem of weekends in D.C. Sometimes I get tired of living in the center of town, out-of-towners fill the streets with reckless driving and sidewalks with discourtesy.
Henrik is a photojournalism professor at the Corcoran College. Here he tries his best to to clear a "low" eight-foot doorway with a distinguishing balloon hat made for him by one of his students and my classmate, Arianne. Yes she has balloon skills. Tonight we had our 2nd Year Photojournalism Show in the Corcoran's White Walls Gallery. I showed up after all the fried chicken and cornbread was devoured. The show was still loads of fun. I kept thinking I was going to end up at the Senior Fine Arts opening up stairs but I never quite made it. When I arrived the show was slow, the pace steadily picked up as the night went on. I was glad to see my new "internet friends" Ari and Donovan at the show. I was also grateful for the critics and complements from well known visiting photographers, professors, strangers, as well as my friends and neighbors.
Academic Dean Sanctifies Alcohol at Opening
This is John the Dean of Academics "okaying" our beer at the opening tonight. Since not much of the Sophmore Class is "of age" those of us who were legal had to get special permission to drink alcohol during the opening. It wasn't too much of a hassle ... plus it's nice to feel special.
I went to a great show at the Black Cat tonight with my friends Jen and Ari. I finally got to see Tom Heinl(above), a crazy musician from Eugene, Oregon whom I missed while I was there last Christmas. We also heard the music of Clearlake and the Decemberists. This was one of the best shows I've ever seen, and most crowded. Too bad my friends Andrew and Maris are in Paris.
Brandon is a junior-year fine arts major at the Corcoran College. Occasionally I stop by his place and say hello to him on my walk home. He knows my beliefs are Amish when it comes to video games and he usually finishes up his game if he's playing when I get there. However, one of our mutual friends, Mike stopped by too and convinced me to play a fighting game against him. I won like 1 out of 5 games. (I don't believe my lack of skill is the actual reason I don't like video games.) Mike defended the games by saying, "We got school and no time to play sports ... gotta do something!" Brandon laughed, but agreed.
This is my friend Karl. He is a Marine down in Tampa Bay. I met him at the airport today. It was the first time I saw him in at least two years. At one time we both worked at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C. For a while we lived together in a trailer park. Later we moved out and upgraded to a brick house on the main drag of Jacksonville, N.C. When I got deployed he made sure all my things were okay. He took my car to storage and corresponded with my family about storage issues. We use to drive down to Florida together on leave. We went to the barber shop every week to get our hair cut. We drank Guiness together. I am really glad I got to see this guy again. He's probably headed to Iraq in a couple months. I remember back when his wife, and mother of his daughter, was just his girlfriend ... I even remember before that. We share the memories that make life worth living.
Today I left Florida and my family. It was a great last day there and an fun night back in D.C. The flight I got on was over-booked as usual. I boarded the plane only to find that they double-book the entire isle I was assigned to -- meaning someone was in my seat! While the stewardesses figured out the dilemma I stuffed my carry-ons into an overhead bin and walked to the back of the plane to use the restroom. When I came back out they had started to sort things around. I stood patiently in the isle while it seemed everyone else was taken care of first, and they were. Then they called me and said, "It's your lucky day." I was sitting in first class. I even ate the free first-class meal and had the genuine first class company of Fran. When I got my baggage my friend Katie picked me up from the airport. We went to the Russian bar, Maxim for Nigerian Night. Then we walked around this lively city. On my way back home through busy Adams-Morgan I talked to a couple friends who were driving by. The streets were packed. The clubs let-out and fights were brewing. I stopped by the Blue Room to say hi to Solomon (Solid-Man) and Susan. I meandered up the crowded street through fights and disorderly conduct. Spring Break is underway.
This is my nephew Hayden. He flew in from Oregon with my sister Gina yesterday. We probably spent two hours brushing and combing the horses today. But we were so busy with other things we never got to ride them. In the morning we'll be riding though. Me and him are a regular pair of cowboys down here in Florida. Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidd -- tending to the horses, playing cards (Uno) at sunset, and sometimes disagreeing with our mothers.
I went with my niece Becky and her husband Bill after my terrible karaoke hangover today. They are looking to trade their car in on a mini van. They just want more family-type room. While they went test-driving I watched their kid and my great-niece, Reba. I designated an island in the car lot as our play area. I chased her around. She chased me around. Then we all ate steak.
Never Keep a Gift Horse in Your House
This is my sister Patti putting one of her horses away. I forget what this ones name is. She gives things crazy names. Her beagle's name is Casper Addison. What kind of name is that for a dog? It looks like this horse is afraid of the camera, trying to hide behind Patti. I was thinking earlier about that phrase, "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." I was thinking that maybe it would bite at you or something. But when I really thought about it I figured it meant if someone gives you a horse don't look at it's teeth to see how old it is (because you tell the age of a horse by the wear of its teeth). Just take the thing, free horse. Be grateful, not critical of a gift. And sometimes Wee People hide in the mouths of gift horses to poke at your eyes.
Finally made it to see The Passion of the Christ. I went to see it with my sister Patti, my younger niece Carol, and here boyfriend Kevin. There were people crying in the theater after the lights came on. It was an emotional movie but seeing those people cry bothered me as much as an uncomfortable public display of affection. Kind of like when people are standing in front of you kissing and you're trying to look beyond them. In other news I sang Karaoke for the first time in my life at a little place in the swamp called Big Daddy's. My niece Taira and her boyfriend Johnny are there every Monday and Tuesday night. Aside from having a band Johnny has a Karaoke business. Singing in this picture is local hip-hop karaoke legend Booker. God bless Japan.
I will go just about anywhere with my family. Today I landed in Orlando after a very short flight from D.C. Little did I know only hours later I would be taking in a cultural piece of Americana that I am usually terrified of. My neice's boyfriend is a singer and gutarist in a counrty band called Ambush. Tonight me and My sister Patti went with Taira, my niece, to see Ambush play at the County Line Bar in Weirsdale. They were great musicians which always makes the experience more enjoyable. I had to drink rum and cokes though, the only kind of beer they sell down here is watered-down for the cowboys. Aaahhh, Central Florida, the Redneck State.
This is Will, Shauna, and Solomon just before they started mingling at the final Corcoran fine arts photography show of the year. I used my off-camera flash to illuminate the subjects and I hoped I would still capture the golden light of the sun. I love using my off camera flash. Nice sneakers Shauna.
I took this shot of my friend Lars with off-camera flash, using a flash cord I received in the mail today. I think it looks a little biblical. Well it looks about as biblical as the paintings Lars is doing for a Christian art show. He showed me a painting of a half-nude woman eating breakfast in bed. "If you read into it, it could be Christian," Lars said. I was surprised to hear him tell me he was entering paintings in a Christian art show. He's just not a real religious person, more spiritual ... you know what I mean. It's just that we hang out around the White House neighborhood and Christians have been getting a bad name around here from that George "W" guy. "I just want to get one of those under my belt," he said. "One of what," I asked. He was talking about the art show as if it were a notch in the Christian belt. Odd.
Some Ultimate Frisbee players do calisthenics in the Ellipse, the park between the Washington Monument and the White House. The team that was practicing was George Washington University's Hungry Hippos. They recently flew to Southern California to compete against teams from all over the United States. I even did my taxes today.
I was taking a shortcut through an alley by H St today and saw foam dropping to the ground. I looked up and there was a team of window washers rappelling down the building. I am afraid of heights but if I ever had the opportunity to wash windows on a tall building on a nice day I'd take it.
Ever since the recent uncovering of the "neglected animal problem" at the National Zoological Park and the resignation of the Zoo's president, I have considered it my duty to walk past and check up on the animals. Plus I like going to the zoo, it's only three blocks away. When I got there today I needed a coffee because it was a little colder than I thought. I decided to get a hamburger and fries too. I carried them around with me for a while until I got to the tiger. He was hungry too. I could tell because he was pacing by the zoo keeper door. I decided to eat my hamburger there, watching the tiger. I didn't want to spend too long there so I ate my fries on the way to the elephants and camels. The camel's hair and face reminded me of our sixteenth president Abraham Lincoln.
