June 30, 2004
Campfire
Our campfire at Deep Creek. It seems like I used to be around campfires on a fairly regular basis. In my earliest memories, my family heated our house in large part with a fire in the fireplace. Later, when I was in junior high school I used to go snow camping and the fire was a really really big deal. Later still, any kind of camping meant a campfire. Now it's been, oh, possibly 4-5 years since I've been camping. I really think that should change, and not just because campfires are cool.
BTW, this is the last Deep Creek picture I'll post, I swear.
June 29, 2004
Clementine
Clementine, one of the sweetest dogs you'll ever meet. She was adopted not too long ago by one of the attorneys in the office where I'm interning this summer. Clementine and her brother, Winston (who you can see a bit in the background), were left alone for at least four days in their apartment while their owner was in jail; the guy didn't call anyone or tell anyone anything about them to make sure they got fed or walked or anything. The neighbors finally called animal control, and they took Clementine and Winston into protective custody. The irresponsible owner didn't do anything to reclaim them, so they went up for adoption and have now found a wonderful home. Don't you just love happy endings?
June 28, 2004
Muddy Creek Falls
Muddy Creek Falls, the largest waterfall at Swallow Falls State Park. A sign near the falls reads:
Muddy Creek Falls: Measuring 52 feet, these are the highest falls in Maryland. Cranesville Swamp, composed of brackish water, is the source of Muddy Creek. A water driven sawmill was in operation at the brink of the falls.
See, you learn something every day, don't you?
June 27, 2004
Lichen
Strange lichen (or something similar) grows on a fallen tree in the NW Maryland forest in Swallow Falls State Park. The above photo is a little blurry b/c I didn't use a flash. The photo at right was with a flash, and has a completely diffferent effect. Someday I'll get a little tripod, or monopod, or something, so the non-flash photos may be less blurry. The trouble is: How often will I have the tripod with me when I want to take a photo like this? I'm thinking not all that often. We'll see.
The Swallow Falls pictures will end soon. I promise. Working all day every day means I don't have as many chances as I'd like to get good photos every day, so I've been stretching out photos of a few places/events. This isn't really what I had in mind when I started this little project, so I hope to not have to rely on this sort of thing too much in the future.
June 26, 2004
Precariousness
A huge slab of rock appears balanced on crumbling columns of rock supports along the trail at Swallow Falls State Park. The big top rock was so big it was hard to get a good picture, but trust me, this situation does not look like it can last long.
June 25, 2004
Marriage on the Rocks
A couple gets married on the rocks above one of the falls in Swallow Falls State Park, MD. I wonder if they thought about the potential symbolism of a marriage "on the rocks." Oh well. It really was a pretty place for a wedding. And maybe they weren't actually doing the ceremony here; this may have been just pictures. I didn't ask.
June 24, 2004
Bear
A stuffed bear at the visitor's center for Muddy Creek Falls in NW Maryland (near Deep Creek Lake). The sign below the bear reads:
Good advice.
June 23, 2004
Deep Creek Cabin
A cabin on Deep Creek Lake. Our office rented three "cabins" like this, but this was the one closest to the water. The "cabins" were like mini-mansions, with everything you could possibly want to stay for a day or a week or a month—including hot tubs, saunas, pool tables, air hockey, entertainment centers stocked with videos, etc. I spent most of my time in one called "Dreamer's Nest," but they were all great places.
June 22, 2004
Deep Creek Lake
Northwest Maryland's Deep Creek Lake on a cool June Saturday. The lake area was the site of my summer internship's "retreat" two weekends ago. The weather may have been cool, but it was beautiful and great to get away. Good times were had by all.
June 21, 2004
June 20, 2004
Real World Adams Morgan?
The building that was purportedly going to house the next installment of "The Real World." Now MTV says the building might house some other "reality" show, "but not TRW." Whateva. Maggie Moos (down there on the street level of this building) is a great place for ice cream mixups, regardless of what MTV does with its loft upstairs.
June 19, 2004
Play Dead
Sisu does her new trick. Randomly, she sometimes has a lot of trouble doing this on command; meanwhile, she'll sometimes lay like this on her own when she's just hanging out. I fear she's not the smartest dog, but we love her anyway.
June 18, 2004
Gas Pump
A gas pump registers the high price of filling a car's tank. I took this picture a week or two ago, and I don't drive enough to know whether $2.129/gallon is considered a "high" price to pay for gas these days. While I understand complaints about high gas prices, I also understand Americans still pay much less than do people in other countries. Rather than worrying about the price of gas, shouldn't we simply try to move to more economical vehicles, alternative sources of fuel, and trying to make our lifestyles less wasteful and more efficient in terms of natural resources? Oops. Sorry. I was being silly again.
June 17, 2004
Flat Tire
A BMW cruises down a Silver Spring street, apparently oblivious to the fact that its right front tire is flat. I know this is a lame picture, but I took it because it captured a weird moment where I could see someone having a problem who didn't seem to know they were having a problem, and while I sort of wanted to let the driver know he was driving on a flat tire, I couldn't really do that because we were both stuck in heavy traffic. At the same time, I figured anyone who could race around on a flat tire like this guy was and not know it deserves what they get. Of course, I hope the flat tire didn't cause an accident, but doesn't it seem problematic that a driver could be so out of touch with his/her vehicle that he/she doesn't even realize when a tire is flat? Maybe not. But the point of this picture is that it begins to capture one of the cliched ironies of city living—the fact that we can be surrounded by people at all times, and yet still be alone.
June 16, 2004
Panda Donkey
One of Washington's Pandamania Pandas sits beside a painted donkey left over from 2002's "Party Animals" exhibit. This picture was taken on 16th street near Harvard Ave. For more on the Pandas, check out the Washington Post's Interactive Panda map. It's still a work in progress, but it will show you where all 150 pandas are supposed to be located and it has pictures and artist details of many of the downtown locations. This site also promises to update with more panda pics soon. My favorite so far is the "Panda Melon" by artist Anthea Zeltzman and located at 21st and Pennsylvania Ave.
June 15, 2004
Incoming
A plane comes in for landing at Washington National Airport. This picture (and the one at right) was taken from Gravelly Point park, along the Mt. Vernon Trail. These aren't great pics; perhaps I'll try again for something more like this the next time I'm there.
Watching planes take off and land here makes it very clear why some people considered closing National Airport permanently after September 11, 2001—the normal landing route of the planes takes them basically seconds from impact with lots of possible terrorist "targets" in D.C. and Virginia. But that's probably true of lots of city airports, isn't it?
June 14, 2004
Alexandria City Hall
City Hall, Old Town Alexandria, VA. I took this pic the other day after biking to Alexandria for the first time on the Mt. Vernon trail.
June 13, 2004
Old Postal Tower
Old Post Office Tower. This is supposed to give you one of the best views of downtown D.C. I can't confirm that because somehow I never arrive when the tower itself is open. You can bet you'll see pics of the view if I ever do make it up there...
June 12, 2004
Harry's
Harry's bar and restaurant, downtown D.C. If you're looking for a little bit of small-town cheap restaurant with great burgers, Harry's is your place:
Decor is strictly seventies, or, probably more precisely, fifties updated in the seventies. Walking into Harry's can be a trip; it reminds me so much of so many midwestern "family" restaurants I found myself forgetting I was in the middle of D.C. But then, the flashy ESPN Sports Zone is right across the street so the illusion of small-town America only goes so far.
If you're looking for dinner and a movie, Harry's is half a block from E Street Cinema, "an eight-screen luxury movie theatre specializing in first-run independent and foreign language films, documentary features and classic revivals." We saw "Supersize Me" there a couple of weeks ago, and may be returning later next week for the opening of "Control Room." Oh, and "Fahrenheit 9/11" opens the 25th. We're so there. Who needs blockbusters like "The Day After Tomorrow" or whatever, when you've got great movies like this?
June 11, 2004
Ulu
Ulu "blade, block, and bowl cutting combination." This was a generous gift from my sister after her recent visit to D.C. It makes chopping fun, and looks cool, too.
June 10, 2004
Non-Iron
A "non-iron" shirt from Brooks Brothers. At around $45/shirt (on sale!), these things are insanely expensive, but they do sort of mostly work. You still have to remove them from the dryer as soon as the cycle ends, but unless you're a no-wrinkle freak, you'll probably be pretty happy with wearing these shirts w/out ironing. That's worth a lot. Thanks to a tip from SCM, I see L.L. Bean also offers a variety of "wrinkle-resistant" shirts for much less (~$32) than Brooks Brothers charges ($65!). Perhaps I'll try a few of those next.
June 09, 2004
June 08, 2004
Cicada!
A Cicada crawls through the grass in Rock Creek Park. They're mostly gone now, but they really were everywhere for a couple of weeks, especially in parks. Rock Creek Park was just a big Cicada roar for a while. Very eery sound. Kids love the things, but I'm not to crazy about any bug that's so big I can actually hear it making its way through the grass.
June 07, 2004
Smoothie
A picturesque and very tasty smoothie from the magic smoothie machine at the Casa de Chipotle Chic.
June 06, 2004
We Won't Forget
A truck parked on a Dupont neighborhood street attempts to send a message. It struck me as a little surreal. What, exactly, are we not going to forget, I wonder. I mean, I see there's a picture of a New York skyline with the World Trade Center towers still standing, so perhaps we're not going to forget the towers. Or perhaps we're not going to forget how the towers were taken down, or the people who died in the towers' collapse, or the apparently endless "war" that has followed. Perhaps we're not going to forget that Americans use more of the world's natural resources per capita (including oil) than any other people on the planet. Nah, why would we want to remember that when we're driving our big truck down the road? Sorry, but painting vague declarations like "we won't forget" on the side of a truck just doesn't do much for me.
There are many things we shouldn't forget, but we do forget them because it's convenient to do so. Ronald Reagan died yesterday and suddenly everyone remembers what a nice, funny man he was. That's great, but why do we so quickly forget his contributions to the destruction of organized labor? Iran-Contra? The dismantling of mental health care in the U.S.? The huge deficits he generated? The shifting of the tax burden to the working poor and middle class? The fact that his administration armed Saddam Hussein and encouraged the growth of "militant Islam" in a short-sighted ploy to combat the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union? We won't forget, unless forgetting is easier.
June 05, 2004
Who Me?
A little dog wrestles with a bigger dog at National Geographic's Dog Day Afternoon (see yesterday's pic for more about this). This little dog was climbing all over the bigger dog, biting the big dog's head and having a grand old time. For the most part, the big dog just hung out and tolerated it, but he fought back enough to keep things interesting for the little one. I wish I had taken a movie, but all I got was a couple of shots like this (see right; click to expand).
If dogs weren't such headcases, would we love them so much?
June 04, 2004
Rescue Dogs
Two members of the Montgomery Country Fire and Rescue team rest in the sun at National Geographic's "Dog Day Afternoon," a sort of dog carnival held to mark the opening of Geographic's new exhibit, "Wolf to Woof: The Evolution of Dogs." These dogs have mad skillz, some of which were on display as they showed how they could point firefighters to where people might be trapped in burning buildings or elsewhere, how they can be stopped in their tracks with the correct wave of a handler's arm, and more.
June 03, 2004
A bird in hand...
Sculpture outside the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—part of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, if you have to know*) on East-West Highway in Silver Spring, MD. Is it "corporate art" if it's sitting outside a government agency? And is corporate art somehow intrinsically less valuable than non-corporate art?
* Why are oceans and atmosphere a part of the Dept. of Commerce? Oh yeah, everything is about money.
June 02, 2004
Brushstroke
"Brushstroke," by Roy Lichtenstein, in front of the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the Mall in D.C. According to this article about the sculpture's dedication:
I love Lichtenstein, so I was happily surprised to find this piece as a permanent installation. About a year ago, the Corcoran Museum of Art featured another huge Lichtenstein sculpture (another brushstroke, I think) outside on the corner of its block, but it's since been replaced by other exhibits. The National Gallery also has several paintings that are usually on display on the lower level of the East Building.
June 01, 2004
Mailboxes
Composite photo of Japanese (left) and Finnish (right) mailboxes on display at the National Postal Museum. It may sound strange, and I don't really understand why, but the different mailboxes from around the world were one of the highlights of the museum for me. They're just cool. None are as massive as the standard American blue mailbox, and all seem to have their own unique character. A little insight into a different culture?