August 31, 2005
True Revolutionaries
A section of the bulletin-board kiosk thingy around the corner of 18th and Columbia in Adams Morgan. The caption below the ripped image of Che Guevara reads:
Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.
A nice thought sitting next to the Young Democratic Socialists “capitalist lie” that the poor deserve to be poor. Did the YDS put up the Che, or was this just some coincidental synergy of, um, love?
August 30, 2005
Safeway
Staring at my cart while waiting in line at the swamped Safeway in Adams Morgan. The small shot at the right gives a glimpse of the crowds in line to checkout. I learned that Saturday afternoon is probably the worst time of the week to go shopping at this store.
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PIWIT: Hankins Photography has a gorgeous shot of the mountains in Norway today, as well as a shot titled “New Orleans Rainstorm,” which is kind of ironic considering the hurricane that plowed by there yesterday (Katrina).
Closer to home, Drew McDermott offers cool shots of Metro Doors, the scene Under Pentagon City, Metro Escalators 4, and this shot of the Hirshhorn museum. McDermott had ACL reconstruction surgery a month ago but he seems to be recovering nicely. He also just posted his 500th photo on his site—Congratulations, Drew!
Also close to my current home, D.C. In B&W has some really terrific shots of the D.C. area. For some reason I especially like the two most recent photos— D.C. Encampment and World's Best Coffee.
Farther away, anothertimes has a sweet shot of a U2 show and a great reflection self-portrait with an interesting city backdrop (somewhere in Spain, I think). Also, doesn't this make you want to go to the beach?
Finally today, Learn Ignorance features a shot taken in Eastern Wyoming just before the tornado a few weeks ago that did damage there. Scenes like that are the scenes of my childhood and youth. Not that tornadoes were ever common in Wyoming, but the prairie and sky can look like that any time a storm is blowing in. It so makes me long to be back there!
August 29, 2005
3L Books
Outside Washington Law bookstore at about 19th and I streets. This is basically where I try to buy my books for school except when they don't have them, which is sadly pretty often because they have such a tiny space and no room for excess inventory. I went to get my books the other day and they had absolutely nothing I needed. Of course, this year it's looking like I'll have only one class that really requires books, so it's not really a big deal. Hooray for not having to spend $500 on books this semester!!
August 28, 2005
August 27, 2005
I Am Talking to This Flower
A bright orange late-summer posie in our landlord's garden. My mom calls all flowers “posies” unless she knows their real name, so since I don't know the name of this flower, it's a posie.
August 26, 2005
Mazda 3
A new Mazda 3 parked in the neighborhood looks an awful lot like our new Cobalt, doesn't it? I think the designers were drawing from the same playbook, and I think that book came straight from BMW. Am I on crack? Maybe, but if you look at the most recent crop of Beemers you'll see a lot of similar lines to these cars.
Anyway, I like the rear end on the Cobalt better than the Mazda 3, but the 3's front end (the overhang in front of the front wheels) is shorter and therefore better. The three also manages to look both sleeker and beefier at the same time. I'm not sure how or why, but the Cobalt looks a little more toyish or immature in comparison. Adding insult to injury, Automobile Magazine gives the 3 more props than the Cobalt. But at the end of it all, the Cobalt has one thing the 3 just can't match: The Cobalt comes in orange, and that makes all the difference!
August 25, 2005
August 24, 2005
Standpipe Sprinkler
Newish brass fittings adorn the exterior of a building along 20th near K St. Does this sort of thing replace the more traditional fire hydrant?
August 23, 2005
Borf Is Good For Your Lungs
Some marker graffiti left over from when Borf was on the loose—before he was arrested. As mentioned before, Google has lots to say about Borf, and Flickr has a Borf gallery with more than 150 photos.
August 22, 2005
e-Keys
My new eKeys 37-key keyboard. I bought it so that I can learn to play the piano and have more fun w/Garageband. The music teacher software is Windows-only, which means I have to drag out the icky old Dell to lean my lessons. The keys are also pretty small for big fat fingers like mine. However, the lessons work well and I've learned a bit already. Beware! I may soon know enough to torture you with my own compositions!
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PIWIT: I just caught up with some recent archives at digital obscura and I highly recommend you visit for some truly great shots. For example, today's photo is a cool study in depth of focus and something I don't think I could do w/my camera. This shot of Adams Morgan captures a sweet reflection, and this July Self-Portrait is just cool—subtle, understated, and probably because I'm familiar w/the location it evokes Washington D.C. for me. Very nice.
August 21, 2005
Hob Nobs
A terrific biscuit from the U.K., Hob Nobs are oatmeal cookies covered w/a nice layer of chocolate. I first had them years ago when I was in Finland and now I can buy them at a local market. Mmmm!
August 20, 2005
Rosemary's Thyme
Rosemary's Thyme restaurant at 18th and S. Possibly the best French toast in town (according to L.) and some great Turkish specialties, too.
August 19, 2005
August 18, 2005
Tiny Little Flowers
Tiny little flowers with big beautiful color. Times like this I wish I had a macro lens ten times more powerful.
August 17, 2005
August 16, 2005
Scaffolding II
A complex matrix of scaffolding between an existing building and a new one that popped up on what I think is J street just off of Pennsylvania and 18th. I say “popped up” because it was only last winter that they started building (if I remember correctly) and it already looks nearly complete. Apparently this building is the future home of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale, and Dorr, LLP (click small pic at right to see the sign). Would this be more evidence that law firms make a lot of money?
August 15, 2005
Mourn : Honor III
The regularly-updated display of the number of U.S. soldiers killed and wounded so far in Iraq. Previously in this series:
See also:- Combat death toll in Iraq hits record high in August. This headline refers only to Guard and Reserve troops; the highest number of total U.S. troops killed in a single month was 137 in November, 2004.
- U.S. & Coalition Casualties to put faces and names to the dead.
- Iraq Body Count
August 14, 2005
August 13, 2005
18th Street NW
Some of the interesting architecture in the Dupont neighborhood (near 18th and S). I was trying to capture the series of peaks and spires and little details jutting into the air atop the line of houses. Scenes like this are available all around D.C, which is one of the things that makes it a neat city.
August 12, 2005
Chikin Rooteen
An ad on a Chick-fil-A bag encouraging you to eat more chikin. Our fast food consumption is pretty low, but we generally make an exception for Chick-fil-A. Mmm... chikin. I guess it's sort of a wacky Christian company. For example, they close on Sundays because they believe you shouldn't work on that day and there's this:
So there you go.
August 11, 2005
Andale
Andale mexican restaurant at 7th and D in downtown D.C. Our book club met here last night to talk about “Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D. Scottish Public Health Officer” (Harcourt) by Alasdair Gray. I haven't finished the book but I've read enough to highly recommend it. If you read blurbs or reviews it might sound pretty unlikely for a good read, but trust me—it's an excellent book!
Oh, Andale was good, too. Way way way too expensive for a law student (I just had an appetizer and a coke), but tasty. Great tortilla chips!
Any suggestions for D.C. area places to meet mid-week evenings for a book discussion? It would be nice to find someplace a bit quiet where we can talk, but that has either good food or drink or both, and which doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Oh, we need to be able to seat 4-6, too. That seems like a pretty tall order for this city, but I admit I'm not the most familiar w/all the little hideaways...
August 10, 2005
Bye-Bye L227
Locker L227 at GW Law. This was my locker last year and I had to clean it out last week to make room for a new occupant. Lockers are sort of assigned by class level so that 1Ls get the fourth floor (they're young and can run all those stairs a dozen times a day), 2Ls get the third floor (we're getting older and more out of shape), and 3Ls get the second floor (we're lazy and tired). I'm looking forward to occupying a 2nd floor locker this year. It's sort of like I'm falling out of law school, from top to bottom, locker-wise.
August 09, 2005
August 08, 2005
August 07, 2005
August 06, 2005
Late Cicadas
Dead cicadas on the back of a truck. Are they dead or just having sex? I was really shocked the other day when I was walking down the sidewalk and I heard this smack! as these guys hit the back of a truck. It seems they'd just fallen out of a tree and then they just sat there. Did the fall kill them? And why are they here? Wasn't last year supposed to be the big cicada year? What a bummer that would be -- you wait in the ground for 10 years or whatever for the big year when you're supposed to come out and then you pop out and realize that all your friends came out and died last year and you're a year late so you're basically all alone. Sad.
;-)
August 05, 2005
Wood-Boring Dust
Sawdust from a wood-boring bee on our landlord's porch. At the top of the photo you can see the hole that's the source of all this sawdust. I just saw this bee one day and the next day I saw the sawdust and the next day he seemed to be all gone. These things are scary! I had an infestation in the eaves of my house when I lived in Illinois and I'm sure if I hadn't called an exterminator quickly they could have basically eaten the whole house. They go through wood so fast you can actually watch the sawdust fall in a steady stream from where they're boring into the wood. Can you imagine what it would feel like if they got mad and decided to go to work boring into you?
August 04, 2005
Powerbook Detritus
A Powerbook box sits atop a barrel of sand in the Kalorama neighborhood. I have this thing with the boxes my computers come in and that thing is: I save them. I still have the original box from the computer I bought in 2002 because I still have the computer. This is dumb, I know, but I always have this idea that I'll pass my computers on to someone else—either by sale or gift—and that they'll want the box. Nevermind that that computer from 2002 doesn't really work anymore; I still have both the computer and the box.
So what's the story with this box? I envision someone picking up a Powerbook at the Apple store. Then perhaps they got on the train and took the computer and whatever else they wanted to save out of the box. Then they were walking home with their new computer and just had too much to carry so they ditched the box.
Who knows?
August 03, 2005
Escalator Guts
The inner workings of an escalator at the King Street metro station in Alexandria are on display as the escalator gets refurbished.
August 02, 2005
August 01, 2005
Swatches
A display of watches at the Swatch store in Pentagon City mall. I probably just haven't been paying attention but this seemed like the first swatch sales place I've seen in a long time. I remember in the '80s when Swatch was all the rage and only the cool kids had them and, of course, I wanted one. The funny thing was, by the time I even knew what a Swatch was, the fad had probably already peaked and mostly passed. So by the time I wanted one, it wasn't cool anymore. That's my fashion life.
Who wears a Swatch today? Do you?