February 28, 2005
GW Law Revue
The cast of the 2005 GW Law Revue strikes a pose. The show, which ran last Saturday at the Lisner Auditorium on the GW campus, was called “Springtime for Transgrud,” after Roger Transgrud who is currently serving as interim dean of the law school. The show was hilarious at times, a little cringeworthy at others (as in, “oh my gosh, I can't beleive they just said or did that!”). But overall, a phenomenal effort from a huge and talented cast. Congratulations everyone, on a great show!
Note: The photo blows, I know, but that's what you get from the cheap seats in the dark.
February 27, 2005
Bolt Cheater
A rubberband holds down the action button on this PS2 controller so that someone can collect as many bolts as possible in “Ratchet and Clank.” The bolts are the game's currency, allowing you to buy weapons to defeat your enemies, and after spending hours and hours and hours trying to defeat the final “boss,” I decided to look for help. I found it in the form of a cheat that allows Ratchet to collect as many bolts as you want; you just have to stand in the right place and hold down this button. I left it on overnight and the next morning when I had nearly 400k bolts, I bought the big weapon (the RYNO) and defeated the final boss with ease. This was last weekend, which is why the paper that's due tomorrow is still not done.
There's a reason the PS2 was collecting dust for the last 18 months: Once you start, it's hard to stop.
February 26, 2005
February 25, 2005
Death of Meyerhold
A poster for “The Death of Meyerhold,” a play L. took me to for V-day. The show was a the Studio Theatre, upstairs in the fourth floor's open theatre (where the stage is not elevated but the audience sits on risers). It's an interesting space and allows every seat to be a great seat because you're very close to the action no matter where you are. The space was especially great for this production in which part of the point was to illustrate the unusual interactive nature of Meyerhold's acting method. The play tells the life story of Meyerhold, a late 19th-early 20th century Russian director who called his acting method “grotesque realism” for its exaggerated nature and for the fact that it attempted to emphasize its own role as performance. The space made it easy and intimate for the actors to break the “4th wall” and speak directly to the audience, and the actors were also continually running up and down the short aisles, so the “wall” between audience and performance was less a wall than an idea, which was very cool. In all, it was a great performance. For more, read the WaPo review. Here's another rave from the San Francisco performance. It really was a great show.
February 24, 2005
Capitalist Lie #1
A provocative sign pasted in Adams Morgan. Don't you just love this city?
(I don't believe it, either, by the way. I'd go to a meeting, but another trick of capitalism is to keep would-be revolutionaries so busy they don't have time to attend meetings. Excuse? Um, yeah, probably.)
February 23, 2005
Not Free Parking
A flyer pasted on an Adams Morgan lightpost advertises parking spots in the neighborhood for $230/month. This blows my mind. I couldn't even afford a car payment of $230/month, let alone parking. Another reminder of why the metro rules. Of course, you don't have to pay for parking around here; there's lots of free street parking, you just have to drive around for a long time to get a spot.
Apropos of nothing except that it's fun and photo-based, if you haven't seen Goggle Dog, you really should. Scroll immediately to the bottom of the page and read up. You'll laugh.
Other great photoblogs recently seen: nyclondon.com black and white photography, Shutter at the Thought, and photogene (another D.C. photoblog).
February 22, 2005
Tracks
A dog's paw print in the mud. The warmer spring-like weather D.C. has had recently (alternating with cold and biting winds) has thawed the ground and created a great environment for preserving footprints from all kinds of feet. It reminds of my first winter and spring w/Sisu when I was pulling my hair out over the amount of mud she tracked into the house on a daily basis.
Speaking of Sisu, isn't she cute? I have a few shots of her in this type of late afternoon sunshine which brings out the red and gold tones in her coat. She's such a sweetie.
February 21, 2005
Farragut Square
Looking up Connecticut Avenue from the middle of Farragut Square near dusk. Apropos of nothing, Farragut Square was where I happened to be in October 2002 when I called LSAC and learned my LSAT score. That was also the day I first visited GULC and GW. Little did I know then that I would one day pass right by this park on a daily basis as part of my commute. It looks much different to me today than it did then.
February 20, 2005
Hubcap Detritus
The remains of a few hubcaps along the side of the Duke Ellington Bridge on Calvert St. in NW D.C. About a week or so ago there was a collection of about five plastic hubcaps gathered along this stretch of Calvert; I assume that was because there was an especially bad set of potholes and bumps that was causing the hubcaps to fly off as people drove by. (It amazes me how people seem to not even try to avoid obvious potholes or even to slow down for them; it's like they think their cars are built like tanks or something. Of course, maybe they just don't see them.) Anyway, one day the hubcaps were all piled up neatly along the side of the road, then the wind came up very strong and the next thing I saw were just these shreds; I assume the hubcaps had blown into traffic, were crushed and broken, and then these bits ended up blowing here.
Hubcaps are funny things. I think originally they served the purpose of actually covering the hubs of a vehicle, helping to protect the bearings and whatnot. Now they're just decorative, and made of plastic, and often very stupid looking. I do like the spinners, though. (You also have to love that URL: hubcapnation.com.)
February 19, 2005
Winter Spring Sunset
The sun lights up the clouds as it sets over northwest D.C. Generally I’ve found it difficult to really capture the beauty of sunrise and sunset with a camera. While a shot like this shows some of the color that was in the sky, it doesn’t put it in the appropriate context, which is that of a grand vista. (Maybe I should have tried to take a panorama, but I didn’t think of that at the time.)
The thumbnail at right shows more of the context from which the above photo was taken—I was standing on the railing of the Duke Ellington Bridge, looking westish toward the Taft Bridge. I’ll try to remember to take another shot like this once the leaves return to the trees—the view is very different then.
By the way, yesterday was the first day I noticed buds on some trees around here. Spring is already on its way!
February 18, 2005
Looking Up
A view from the escalators heading up to the platform at the Braddock metro station. I took another one where you couldn't see any of the windows at the top there and instead it was just a blur of light. Was that the better picture? I don't know. I do know the DC Metro system provides some really incredible views like this if you're looking. There's a beauty to the symmetry of everything—the geometric forms, the distinctive tiles on the floors, the curved surfaces of the stations. I met someone recently who has lived here for years and never ever takes the metro; hates it. She drives. Everywhere. Her excuse is that she grew up in a place w/out public transportation so she's just not used to it. Hmph. I grew up in places w/out public transportation and that only makes me love it more. True, the bus system intimidates me, but the metro? Love. It.
Oh, and I also love these perspective shots of the the signposts telling you where each line goes (see thumbnail above). I don't know why; I just like these pics. Maybe I'll collect a whole set. I still need to make it over to the new New York Ave. station...
February 17, 2005
No Dogs
A self-explanatory but notably graphic sign seen near the Braddock Street metro station in Alexandria, Virginia.
February 16, 2005
Gallery Place Station
A light sculpture graces one end of the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro station. I really like this sculpture—it brightens up the cavernous station very nicely. I know the DC Metro needs a lot more than better art (like more lines and trains and more money for maintenance), but just about every station could also benefit from a sculpture along these lines, as well.
For a look at how awesome Metro could but never will be, see Metro Dreaming from DCist.
February 15, 2005
Aloo Mutter
A pot of freshly-made aloo mutter bubbles on the stove. As promised, I made this from Route 79's recipe. it was pretty good, and a whole lot of food—we ate it throughout last week. I think next time I might add more potatoes, or perhaps garbanzos. But I think ultimately I'll keep looking for a better aloo mutter recipe, one that more closely matches the way this dish is made at my favorite Indian restaurants. Don't get me wrong; this was very yummy! I'd just like to try another recipe or two to see if I can find whatever the ingredient is that makes this dish my favorite.
February 14, 2005
V-day Yesteryear
Two valentines from sometime around mid-20th Century. We found these in a box of my grandparents' old things when I was home for the holidays, but I've already forgotten whether they were valentines from my grandparents' youth, or from my mom's youth. They were cute either way.
The heart beneath the boy valentine says; “When you look at me in that tone of voice my heart does such funny things.” 
The little sign at the girl's knees says: “I'll play 'second fiddle' to no one, Valentine.” And in her arms she's holding a fiddle. Get it? The fiddle is actually movable and the girl's eyes move with it. (I think; it's sad how short my memory is for details like this. I'd make an awful witness in court.)
So have a swell v-day everyone. For those who see this as a dark day, I'll suggest that the bright side is this: It's another excuse to eat lots of colorfully packaged chocolates, even if you do buy them for yourself!
February 13, 2005
Hearts for Sale
A card and gift shop near the Woodley Park Metro attempts to draw in the love-dove crowds to buy hallmark holiday wares. I like this shop; there are lots of cool things inside (most of which I'd probably never buy, but they're fun to look at). The manufactured holiday of v-day is also fine, except that it has become some sort of guantlet-running period for too many people who are not partnered and feel especially at this time of year that maybe they should be. Speaking of which, I'm surprised legislatures all over the country aren't trying to pass bills that say “Valentine's Day is between a man and a woman.” I mean, they seem really happy to legislate love in the context of marriage, so why not v-day?
Oh, and sort of in the spirit of this perspective on v-day, here are last year's ideas for the holiday, one of which will work just as well this year. Unfortunately, youyesyou seems to have gone the way of the dodo...
February 12, 2005
Topless Mini
A convertible mini cruising around town during last week's beautifully spring-like weather. Cool car, nice color.
February 11, 2005
Rock Creek Tunnel
A view inside the tunnel along Rock Creek Parkway near the National Zoo. During the warmer months, people using the multi-use bike/walk/run path that parallels much of Rock Creek Parkway (which L, Sisu, and I were when I took this photo) you'll be able to avoid this tunnel by taking a side path that's been built for that purpose. However, that path is closed during the winter for some reason, forcing bikers/walkers/runners to go through this tunnel on the tiny narrow sidewalk along one side. That's not a very fun thing to do, but I do think the picture is cool.
February 10, 2005
River of Lights
A line of cars snakes its way along Rock Creek Parkway at the latter end of a recent rush hour. I took this picture from the William Taft Bridge; the row of lights along the top of the image are on the Duke Ellington Bridge. With the wonderful warm weather we've been experiencing for the past week, it's been nice to get out and walk around as much as possible, taking in the sights and sounds of what seems suddenly like spring. I'm sure it will get freezing cold again soon, but I'll enjoy the warm weather while it's here.
February 09, 2005
Leak
Water leaks from a massive pipe that was recently installed on the sidewalk of the Duke Ellington Bridge. I assume it's just leaking water, but I have no idea. The little thumbnail at right shows a view down the link of the pipe not long after it was installed, which I think was in December or so. This pipe is huge, ugly, and takes up about 6 feet of sidewalk along one side of the bridge. This means that where the Duke Ellington Bridge was formerly a nice, almost picturesque place to take a stroll, it now has taken on something of an industrial character. Not cool. Plus the pipe leaks. I hope the pipe is just a temporary thing; I kind of prefer the guts of the city (water and sewer pipes, for example) to remain safely hidden from view, thanks.
February 08, 2005
Farragut North Friday
Ranks of tired commuters wait for the red line at the Farragut North station last Friday at around 5:45 p.m. If you look at the left edge of this image you'll see people boarding a train. If I could have snapped this 30 seconds sooner you would have seen the left side of the platform almost as packed as the right—it was a veritable sea of people. Unfortunately, I didn't get the camera out in time to capture that. The red line is so overloaded at rush hour it's not even funny. Last Friday I had to wait three trains before I could squeeze on, and even then I was packed in like a sardine. Ah, city life. Still, it beats the heck out of driving.
Oh, note the digital clocks above the people on the platform. Those are the metro's status displays and are supposed to tell you when the next train is coming. Obviously, these displays are telling metro riders very little at this point. Although Metro is supposedly implementing a new display that looks like this and actually works, for some reason the displays have reverted to their old, much less useful status. What's up with that?
February 07, 2005
Dedicated to Art
Renwick Gallery on Pennsylvania Ave and 17th Streets. Although you can't really see it in this photo, the motto carved into the top of this building is “Dedicated to Art.” I found this funny since this building is basically right across the street from the White House, whose current occupant has never displayed any dedication to or interest in art, as far as I know. And it's not just the current occupant; the U.S. generally displays a sad level of support and appreciation for art, in my opinion. But whatever. This looks like a cool building and maybe I'll have time to stop in someday and see what's inside. According to its website:
The building is also a movie start—it apparently appeared in the movie “Dave.”The Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery collects, exhibits, studies, and preserves American crafts and decorative arts from the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries. Housed in a historic architectural landmark across the street from the White House, the Renwick features one-of-a-kind pieces created from clay, fiber, glass, metal, and wood.
February 06, 2005
White House Backyard
A view of the White House from Pennsylvania Ave. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be the front or the back of the building; it's the less “pretty” or ornate side, but it also has what appears to be the “front” door, so I just can't tell. At any rate, this is probably the less-photographed side of the building, except for on tv—it seems the spot for reporters to stand when they do “live from the White House” blips is on the west end of the back yard here. If you look closely at the thumbnail picture, you can actually see a reporter speaking into a microphone/camera amid that array of lights and reflectors and whatever else the tv peeps need to do their business. The tv equipment has become a permanent fixture there. What surprises me is that they don't build some sort of enclosure for it; the enclosure could have a big glass wall reporters could stand in front of so they could still get the “live from the White House” view w/out freezing to death.
February 05, 2005
Reviewing Stand Deconstruction
The VIP reviewing stand from last month's inauguration stands in a state of partial disassembly. I took this photo last Tuesday because I was surprised to see that this thing was still standing. I was also interested in how it was built because it just seems so crazy and excessive and wasteful to me to put up a really substantial structure like this if it's really only going to be used for a few hours. I wondered if it was built in some unusual way to allow it to go up and come down quickly, but from what I could see when I took this photo that's not the case. The structure is based on iron girders, all the wood looks real (rather than, say a skeleton covered with sheets of plastic or something), and it basically looks like it was constructed like a permanent building would be. That's obviously not true, since it has no real foundation (it's just sitting on the concrete and asphalt of Pennsylvania Ave.), but otherwise, this thing was built to last. Maybe that's why it's taking so long to disassemble it. Or maybe it's taking a long time because they're tying to preserve the materials for reuse elsewhere. Wouldn't that be a great idea?
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Date/Time: 2005:02:01 15:34:47
Focal length: 7.4mm (35mm equiv.: 37mm)
Exposure time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
Aperture: f/6.3
February 04, 2005
Rolling Rock Bike
A funky bike with Rolling Rock beer logos all over it. The downtube says “Rolling Rock” and “33,” while the chain guard says “Latrobe Brewing Co, Latrobe PA.” This has been parked on Calvert Ave. in front of Sherry's liquor store during the last week or so, making me think perhaps it was or is some promotional item connected with that store. Whatever the case, the funky tilt of the handlebars, the full painted metal fenders, and the unusual frame design make this one crazy bike. Oh, and if you want to learn more about that “33,” here's all you could ever want to know and more.
February 03, 2005
Barley Soup
A steaming hot bowl of barley soup topped with fresh chopped parsley. I made this soup last Sunday thanks to the recipe and inspiration from Famous P. in the comments here. Although I had expressed a preference for a vegetarian recipe, I decided to simply follow the recipe and we weren't disappointed; even L. liked it! I think next time I'd add about 2 more potatoes and maybe double the barley just to bulk it up even more. As Famous P. predicted, the soup thickened as it cooled and tasted even better a day or two after it was made. I highly recommend this recipe if you like barley soup; it's very easy to make, especially if you have a food processor to chop all those onions, carrots, and celery!
Next up on the Ambivalent Cooking Show: Aloo Mutter from Route 79's cooking tips, which were pointed out by Raquel. I love aloo mutter and every time I have it at an Indian restaurant I think, “I should learn how to make this at home.” Now that I have the recipe, I just need to find the time....
February 02, 2005
Snow Master
A zen master snowman meditates in what I believe is Walter Pierce Park off of Adams Mill Road in Adams Morgan (according to this list of unstaffed DC parks). You may or may not be able to tell from the thumbnail at right, but this was a very meditative snowman, eyes closed, long beard, arms folded in contemplation, staff in hand. It was almost a work of art. It's kind of hard to get the detail because the sun was very low behind the snowman, so it was tough to get much more than a silhouette. Later, I realized I should have capitalized on that and tried to make this even more of a silhouette on purpose. Next time.
I took this picture last weekend after our “big snow” (exif info below). I saw two other snowpeople later that evening and planned to get a picture the next morning, but when I went out the next day both of the figures had been smashed to bits. It was sad. Why would you want to smash an innocent snowman to bits? Oh, yeah, because you can, I guess.
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Camera model: Canon PowerShot S400
Date/Time: 2005:01:30 15:59:49
Resolution: 640 x 480
Flash used: No
Focal length: 7.4mm (35mm equiv.: 37mm)
CCD width: 7.11mm
Exposure time: 0.0020 s (1/500)
Aperture: f/6.3
Metering Mode: matrix
Jpeg process : Baseline
February 01, 2005
New Paper
