ambivalent images

Baseball Kerfuffle

A sign demands we stop the $440 million stadium giveaway! Opponents of the mayor's new baseball stadium plan have been rather successful throwing a monkey wrench in the plans to bring the Expos to D.C. I'll be keeping an eye on dcist for updates on the ongoing baseball controversy.

t-i-r-e-d spells it

Sisu squints as she resists waking from her nap. This is what I'm feeling like today after being up most of the night working on a paper that's due later today. The rush is on; it's due in 11 hours. Will The Procrastinator come through in the clinch? Stay tuned, for the next exciting episode!

Lost Express

An Express newspaper stand sits abandoned against the back fence of the National Zoo. L. and I spotted this about two weeks ago, just sitting all by itself, lost and lonely. The door of this particular paper box was adorned with the striking “American Psycho” sticker pictured at right. Could that have anything to do with its appearance in this remote location? We passed by this location last night; the Express box is no longer marooned there.

Chinatown Gate

Chinatown Gate in downtown D.C. I can't remember where this is, exactly, but it's something like 7th and H St.

Metro Ball

A red ball sculpture and part of its red rays at the Gallery Place metro station. Some stations have murals, some have little sculptures at entrances and exits, most seem to have nothing much, but maybe I haven't been paying attention.

Thanksgiving Cabbage

A decorative cabbage still looking quite healthy in a local flowerbed. At right is its purplish friend from the same flowerbed. This morning it's like a balmy 50-60 degrees outside, sunny, with an intermittent breeze. Most all the leaves are off the trees so it feels like it should be more wintery out there. Still, it's nice to not have to deal with the cold, yet. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Rusty Pumpkin

Rusty pumpkin in a nearby yard. The thumbnail at right is a closeup of the bright red-orange bush behind the rusty pumpkin. I keep taking pictures of trees on fire, by which I mean trees that still have their leaves where those leaves are bright red or orange or yellow. Right now these trees just jump out at you because most of the trees have lost all their leaves and recently the skies have been gray and drab, so these things just pop and scream “look at me! look at me!” But how many pictures can you have of flowers and pretty trees? I mean, at some point, enough is enough, right?

Looking Up at DCA

Looking straight up at the ceiling at Washington National Airport (DCA). The exposed and yellow-painted girders and high ceilings make for quite a site. The thumbnail at right gives more perspective on the whole thing. L. flew out from here the other day for Thanksgiving, so I just went along to see her off and snap pictures. Someday I will not be a student and will be able to take vacations like other people. Someday. Of course, there's tradeoffs. I may have to “work” through Thanksgiving (paper due next Monday), but then I get almost a month off between semesters. That will be hard to give up when I'm no longer a student.

Microfiche

Microfiche reader at the Library of Congress where I was recently doing some research into the legislative history of small claims court caps. I took this picture with the “camera” in my phone, an LG VX6000 (service through Verizon). The phone camera has been incredibly disappointing b/c all of the photos look like the above. The thing is, my mom and sister have the same phone (I think), yet all the pics they take with their phones look much much better. I also once found an online gallery of pics supposedly taken with this phone (I can't find it now), and all the photos there looked pretty good, too—much better than the above. So do I have a defective camera in my phone? I have the resolution and quality both set to “high,” but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Perhaps I'll need to make use of that warranty....

Screw

This is not a screw. The fact that I am now 8,000 words behind in my NaNo novel has some relation to a screw, or being screwed, but since I 'm currently balancing that task with a 30-page paper due a week from tomorrow, everything is basically all screwed up. Maybe if I work really hard I can get it all nailed down. Why do we screw things up if we don't nail them down? If we nail them down, we can't screw them up, so I guess that makes sense.

Calvert & Connecticut

The Chipotle at the corner of Calvert & Connecticut, with the Marilyn Monroe Mural peering out above. The thumbnail at right is the same shot from across the street so you can get a bit more perspective. Chipotle needs little explanation—it's McDonald's foray into mexican food (and its burritos are super-yummy, if possibly very bad for you). The Marilyn Mural is a different story. Apparently it was “[c]ommissioned in 1981 by Roi Barnard of Salon Roi, and painted by John Bailey. ”A bronze plaque was installed at 2604 Connecticut Avenue naming the artist.“ Good to know...

Gallery Place Cinema

The marquee and concession stand at Gallery Place's new movie house. L. and I saw the new Bridget Jones there last week and found both the theatre and the movie mostly pleasing. Although critics seem to have decided Bridget just isn't as good this time around, I enjoyed the second movie almost more than the first b/c Bridget's foibles were all the more frustrating (and endearing) in light of the fact that she'd supposedly learned and grown so much in the first picture. She's an easy character to care about, plus she's refreshing in her candid approach to the world. She needs new friends, and she needs to stop listening so much to what they say, but... Oh, and one of the main conflicts in the new movie is a class conflict, which is fun, and interesting, because movies don't address such things often. As for the theater, it's fine—your standard new multiplex. This one's a little different in that the ticket booth is on the ground floor (pic at right), but the concession stand and screens are all two floors up. The first and second floors seem incomplete and empty at this point, but it looks like they're going to hold mall-like retailers, so this place will soon be something of a one stop entertainment and consumer mecca. The best thing about that is that it's so accessible—exit the metro at Gallery Place and walk one block and you're there. I have a feeling Georgetown's multiplex is going to see a serious drop in business; it's not metro accessible, and it seems like every time we go there a cab gets into the picture at one point or another. I'd rather stick to the metro any day, and I'll bet I'm not alone.

Metro Center Station

Metro Center Station from the Red Line level, which is the level you enter on; the orange and blue lines run below. I would never claim that D.C.'s metro is the nicest or most architecturally interesting subway system I've ever seen, but it still is very cool. I've complained before that it's dark and drab and echoey and whatever, but there is still a certain grandeur in all that concrete. What's the best subway in the world? The variables could be aesthetics, engineering prowess, or reliability or utility. My hazy memories of the St. Petersburg subway are that it was technically awesome just because of its size and complexity and the incredible depth of many of its tunnels. And I know I've been on a subway somewhere where all the stations were lined with colorful tile and very bright. What about the London tube? Is that a subway system to wax poetic about? Readers of the BBC News weighed in with their thoughts on some of the world's subway systems in 1991 (scroll down), and here are some system maps at scale, along with links to the actual systems. The NYC subway has a cool page with links and pics of lots of other subway systems, and Urban Rail offers even more; you can find lots of system maps and images here.Oh, and here's a list of the largest subway systems in the world by ridership.

Umbrella

The corpse of an umbrella abandoned on the street, probably after being overwhelmed by the nasty wind and rain that inundated D.C. last week. That's part of fall/winter in D.C., I guess. The umbrella has not yet been made that can withstand these driving rains (at least not that I have seen). L. and I have about six umbrellas, at lest four of which are partially destroyed after being turned inside out by the wind on some rainy day past.

Chris Baty

Chris Baty (pronounced “bait-ee”), NaNoWriMo founder, signs books at the Barnes & Noble in downtown D.C. I wrote here about seeing him and listening to him speak. No surprise: He seems like a terrific guy. I want to be him! Buy his book! Donate to NaNoWriMo! Support cool people doing cool things in the world! ! ! ! I am not an exclamation point! ! ! !

First Frost

A slightly frosty/dewy leaf on the morning of our first frost, which was last week. When I took this, I hadn't seen this frosty grass photo at Ten Years of My Life, but it's a much better shot. I'm sure it won't be long before we have a nice thick frost here in D.C., too.

Chaipuccino!

A steaming hot cup of Tryst's chaipuccino, a delicious mix of chai tea and cappuccino. Of course, like all Tryst's coffee drinks, it comes with two little animal crackers, just because. If there is still anyone out there who is not familiar with chai tea, it is an Indian “blend of freshly ground spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves, added to a boiling pot of loose leaf tea and milk to make a hot, delicious, satisfying beverage.” Add some cappuccino in there for an extra zing! (Here's a recipe for making a cappuccino-like drink at home in your blender; haven't tried it, but it sounds good to me.)

---

Pics I Wish I'd Taken: Probably anything by Drew McDermott, who takes great, mostly B&W photos of the D.C. metro and other D.C. sites and events. Lots of shots of other things, too. Elsewhere, isn't this a serendipitous picture? Do you think the woman was posing, or was this purely an accident?

Enter Tryst

These overstuffed chairs are the door pull handles on the entrance to Tryst, the D.C. coffeehouse. Ok, perhaps I exaggerate, but it's definitely the Adams Morgan coffeehouse! And while it's almost too precious for mere mortals, it's touches like this that make you see why people love the place. It's the anti-Starbucks, since at the megachain (which apparently plans to open four shops a day in 2005) you'll find the same door pulls, chairs, tile, paint, shelves . . . everything in every single store across the country. Generic, mass-produced, and created for one thing and one thing only: to make money for Starbucks. Tryst and independent shops like it are different. They're filled with found furniture, the walls are decorated with ever-changing art by local artists, the menus are unique, varied, interesting, experimental. Oh, and the door pulls rock. Oh, and one more thing: Wireless Internet access is completely free and open to anyone at Tryst, while at Starbucks you'll have to register and pay some crazy fees if you want to surf or check your email with your coffee. Again, Starbucks is doing everything it can to make a buck, while Tryst is doing anything it can to make Tryst a cool place to hang out. And yeah, that will help Tryst make a buck, but...

No riots Yet

This is a poster that went up around the Adams Morgan neighborhood after the election last week. I haven't seen any riots yet. The counter-inaugural protests should be interesting. I was all set to go get arrested at the inauguration (yeah, ok, I mean I thought about it), but then I started thinking that's maybe not the place. I mean, the evidence seems to be that this joker was more or less fairly elected, so making a big scene at his inaugural is going to do what? Anger those who voted for him maybe, confirm in their minds that they made the right decision, make Dems look like sore losers, etc. It just doesn't seem good. Other things could damage this administration more than protests, like if it squanders the opportunity now for middle east peace, or continues its head-in-the-sand environmental policies. See, hope does die last, doesn't it? Tech question: So obviously this shot is not great. W/out flash it was too dark and blurry, w/flash it was washed out and glarey. So I held my finger over the flash a little, causing the shadow at the top of the photo. I kind of liked it at first, but my question is: Is there a good way to diffuse a built-in flash, to reduce the glare but give the light? Can you hold a piece of thin fabric in front of the flash or something?

Veteran's Day 2004

The wall of the Korean War Memorial in D.C., featuring the ghostly etchings of fallen soldiers, the reflections of the ghost soldiers in front of the wall, and the reflections of my parents. I took this picture last spring, along with pictures of the the Vietnam War Memorial and the latest and greatest WWII Memorial. Will we one day have a memorial for the Iraq War? In honor of Veteran's Day, Naked Furniture has an extensive list of ways you can help out the troops now serving in Iraq.

Thanks, TiVo!

The TiVo remote control that helps us make sure we don't miss any must-see tv. True, there's not much that falls into that category, but I sure enjoy The Daily Show, I have a weakness for Survivor, and The Amazing Race is starting again next week, so there's the short list. Of course, the TiVo to-do list also includes NOW w/Bill Moyers on PBS, Bill Maher on HBO, the West Wing, and often something on Sunday nights from HBO (Sopranos or Six Feet Under when they're in season). Yeah, I watch too much tv. Originally I thought TiVo would reduce the amount of tv I consumed b/c it would allow me only to watch those things I really wanted to see, and to watch them when it was convenient. However, after nearly a year w/TiVo I can say it has increased my tv-watching quite a bit, b/c instead of just missing shows when I forgot about them or was busy w/other things, now I have to make time for them later—on weekends or whatever. Do you watch tv, but wish you didn't? I do. I spent my life from about 18-27 w/out a tv at all, then someone gave me a little 12“ on which I watched VHS tapes, and then one thing led to another until today I'm a junkie w/a habit I feel I should give up, but.... But hey, my desire to watch less tv is probably just my east coast, blue state elitism and obviously there's this mandate that says I just need to get over it. Yeah. Is there any Nascar on tonight?

Best Bib

Sisu models a baby bib that would be perfect for the labor activist baby in your life. I found this bib at the National Labor College where I attended the Peggy Browning Fund's Sixth Annual National Law Students Workers' Rights Conference a couple of weeks ago. It was a great conference, by the way. If you're a law student, I highly recommend it. If you're not a law student, it's one of the few things I've experienced that might make you want to become one.

---

Pic I Wish I'd Taken: Rainbow over Grand Canyon

Neighborhood Colors

A view up S Street NW from Connecticut Ave. last week. This scene caught my eye as I was biking by because it was such a vibrant fall scene. The picture doesn't really capture it, but it was cool to see such a colorful tree-lined city street. At right is a picture of a tree a few houses up from us in our neighborhood. Again, it was a very very vibrant red and just popped out of its surroundings saying, “Look at me! I'm on fire with fall!” But such things are not always easy to capture on film, at least not for me. Still, you get the fall idea, right? All these leaves are actually gone now, blown off in recent days of high winds, rain, and colder temperatures. Now the ground is covered by spotty blankets of mostly brown leaves. Fall is almost over in D.C., I think.

Facade

A large scaffold supports only the facade of an old building after the rest was inentionally destroyed, apparently to make way for the construction of a new building that will be fronted by the old facade. Um, why? I've seen this kind of thing all over D.C. and I just don't get it. If the front of the building is worth saving, isn't the whole building worth saving? And what's so great about a facade like this, anyway? You can nearly always tell that the rest of the building is new, so it's obvious that this is just a fake front. I assume the goal is to retain something from the past, to give the city a sort of patina of historical appreciation or something. I don't know. I mean, I really don't care, but it seems a lot of trouble to go to for what's really pretty small gain. And just to be different, the building I work in on K Street has entirely modern, angular, sheet metal sort of facade, behind which is a building built probably in the early 20th century. Everything inside is at least 50 years old, and much of it is much older, but the exterior front looks like it was built in the last 10-20 years. What does it say about a city that so many exteriors are fake or deceptive, concealing secrets?

Building Museum Building

The National Building Museum building on 5th Street in D.C. (near Judiciary Square). The National Law Enforcement Memorial is in the foreground.

Mental Illness?

A poster that appeared on the GW campus about two weeks ago. The LaRouche campaign, which seems surprisingly vital here in D.C., became increasingly bizarre in the final weeks of the campaign. Supporters also set up a table at the Farragut North metro stop with big signs saying “Bush = Hitler” and that sort of thing, all the while encouraging people to vote for Kerry. I have to wonder if this type of rhetoric actually helped Bush. Not that it matters in D.C.; this place was going to vote for Kerry no matter what. Was there any evidence of a LaRouche campaign anywhere else in the country?

Doctor Doctor

Sticker on a downtown D.C. parking meter. I started seeing these in several places last week and took a picture thinking that about now I'd be able to say that at least Bush is no longer part of the equation. Oops. But see, here' s a silver lining from the election: Bush is a symptom, and when you're trying to diagnoses a disease, it's nice to have such clear indicators because they eliminate any doubt about the diagnosis and make treatment that much easier. Still, I've yet to hear about a good way to get more people to take the red pill.

Election Day

A Kerry Edwards sign outside a Philly polling place. I spent the afternoon at this polling station, which was the Happy Hollow Rec Center near the corner of Logan and Wayner. If you're familiar w/Philly, maybe that means something to you, but I was pretty lost all day long. The “election protection” was not difficult work in Philadelphia yesterday, as you can see from the thumbnail—we were jumping rope with the locals to pass the time. The DNC had hired or appointed (I don't know if they were paid) good poll watchers at every location I visited or heard about; they were attorneys familiar w/election law and they seemed to be working vigilantly to ensure that all who were registered and eligible could vote. That's what we were there for, so we were kind of redundant. The republican poll watchers were an interesting contrast. Most were clueless about why they were even there or what they were supposed to be doing; they were just average people who were getting paid $200 to be there all day and they didn't seem to know or care why. Most seemed to support Kerry, as did the Arlen Specter staffers at most polls. (Specter is a moderate Republican from Philly.) So it was interesting, to say the least. Terrific to see the election process up close and to help in small ways. In the first polling place I worked yesterday, the election judge was clueless and harried and she drew on our “expertise” many times to resolve questions about provisional ballots and correct polling locations. There were no challenged votes that I heard about. Some of the election protection volunteers said that some voters thanked them just for being there b/c the voters felt that our presence alone was reassuring and was preventing many problems. We'll never know, but it was good to be ready to help if help was needed. I can't talk about the outcome. Maybe tomorrow. Kerry did win PA, Yay.

Sisu Hopes

Sisu hopes the election produces regime change in the U.S.

R2D2 is Voting for Kerry

R2D2 is voting for Kerry! He (or she, or it) hopes you will, too!

---

Welcome a new photoblog by a friend of a friend: Plattitudes.