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.
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!"
The Latino/Western clothing store on Mt Pleasant St called El West, has recently started carrying metal, gas-powered, $600 accessories called "pocket-bikes." Pocket-bikes are one of the newest trends in personal mobility. They are currently unregulated by the Department of Transportation in the District. A recent City Paper article responded to the trend and spoke of upcoming city registrations and regulations for all low-powered cycles. I guess until that happens local dealers like El West are going to sell a whole lot of these pint-sized crotch rockets. As I walked up to the shop another happy customer zoomed off the sidewalk and down the street on his new purchase. I don't think I'd be comfortable riding one, but I like seeing these little motorcycles. They are reminiscent of the partial lawlessness of the old "Wild West."
These guys are replacing the lead water pipes on Kilbourne Pl NW in Mount Pleasant. The construction is a block up Kilbourne from where I live. The DC water authorities were still nice enough to give me a free Brita pitcher even though it wasn't my turn to receive one. Brita filters are suppose to filter out over 99 percent of lead from water. This feature is helpful in DC where all our water is leady.
Two weeks ago Goldie's Italian Pizza opened up on G St NW. His place was doing awesome business. Everyone in the neighborhood was a critic, with many good and bad reviews. Yesterday, a new Quizno's sandwich shop opened right next to Goldie's and the owner was outside at the door inviting people in for pizza. Some people thought that might be humiliating until I mentioned that Jimmy the owner of the successful Xchange Saloon invites his customers in from the door daily. I think Quizno's is the first time I've seen a door greeter on G St in a costume.
This is Rocky. He owns the barber shop in the bottom of the office building at 17th and G Sts NW. He is in the middle of remodeling the shop. He is one of the older residents of the block, complete with regular customers. I'm not a regular customer but I stop in and say "Hi" at least once a week. I cut my own hair. Buzz, buzz ... it's gone.
I went to the Watergate Safeway today. It's the supermarket in the bottom of the historic Watergate Hotel. I never ended up buying anything because the line was so long. I don't know how its frequent shoppers like Condi Rice and Ben Stein can stand waiting in those long lines.
I have been doing a lot of fun assignments lately for Photo Edit Inc. Most of the photos are for text books. One of the assignments I'm doing now is photos of small business owners for a college text called Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. An assignments I have been working on for the past couple days has been the inside of toaster and microwave ovens for a college math book. Before I left Andrew and Maris's place I went to photograph the inside of their microwave and found warmed asparagus. A forgotten part of an already eaten dinner.
My friend M.E. Sprengelmeyer gets a thumbs-up review from a passer-by who has just sat through Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 911. Even though I had drank my entire slush and ate my box on Raisinettes just waiting in line, I thought the movie was great. I wish I could have participated in the making of it. In a way I did. My friend Sprengelmeyer also had a hand in reporting from both Afghanistan and Iraq for Scripps Howard News Service. We both liked the movie a lot. I was impressed by Michael Moore and not annoyed by his monolog. I thought it was better than Bowling for Columbine from an entertainment standpoint. My friend Sprengelmeyer might disagree with me. He was also a reporter for the Denver Rocky Mountain News during the Columbine incident.
This is my friend Andrew's xylephone. This is a mallet from France.
