7/05/2004

Two Big Pains in the Neck


I went to the National Zoo today. I am trying to get a photo that I promised an agency for a text book. They need a photo of two giraffes "necking," that is wrapping their necks around each other to test one anothers' strength. People sometimes mistake it for affection, which it might be when they are young. For adult giraffes, necking is doing battle. The photo I'm trying to take is for a college-level text from McGraw-Hill called Understanding Human Sexuality. Tuesday morning I will be through the Zoo's gates shortly after 6am. Jenny, one of the animal keepers at the zoo told me that the giraffes "neck" anytime they feel rambunctious. Hopefully they'll be a little more active in the coolness of the early morning.

"Smoke-In" Myth Alive, Not Well


Beginning in the late 60s every Fourth of July, people sometimes calling themselves hippies and yippies have gathered near the White House to protest the prohibition of Marijuana. They gather in Lafayette Park around noon to demonstrate and there for a variety of different reasons and causes all relating to the legalization of Marijuana. I heard that sometimes close to a thousand protestors show up. This year about 30 people showed up in the pouring rain, some with shirts from past rallies during the 80s. At 3pm the small crowd set off for the concert site. They didn't actually have the permit to march, but the application for the permit was present. They shouted protest chants like, "Bush is a Dope, Pot is an Herb!" It was hard to believe that this Mounted Park Police lead a parade of 30 people right down Constitution Ave. "Who's Road?!" "Our Road!" "Who's Rights?!" "Our Rights!" "Who's Horse?!" "Our Horse!"