Welcome to Leap Day 2008! According to my readings on Yahoo!, we have Julius Ceasar and the ancient Romans to thank for introducing this extra day into our calendar, sometime around 46 B.C. It makes up for the extra six hours, nine minutes and 9.7 seconds it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun each year.
The photo is from the Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum. It opened just last November, and you should probably go check it out — it’s fun to watch kids, and adults too, walk and splash through the planes of water on the ground, while looking around to see if it’s ok…
Here’s another photo from somewhere in Mount Pleasant: a little smiley face on the side of a building. I chose to post this tonight because I’m happy that the Terps finally won a game.
It’s a little disconcerting if you look closely at the photo though… it looks like it was attacked with a hammer, after the smiley face was there. I guess someone was not happy.
Also, as a note to our loyal blog-reading friend(s) who are thinking of starting a parody “juxtablows” website, bad idea I say.
We were blessed with some idle time on this blistery February night and decided to visit, appropriately, Idle Time Books in Adams Morgan. Located at the north end of the strip, this is a pleasant break from the typical 18th St. bar scene. It’s a great place to check out if you don’t have a specific book in mind or are just looking to spend a bit of time. Coming here with a certain book in mind, particularly a new release, would probably be an exercise in futility. None the less, there is something very enjoyable about aimlessly perusing around a musty used bookstore searching for that “diamond in the rough”.
Idle Time Books is 3 stories tall and seemed to be in fairly good order as far as subject matter of the books. The lower floor is primarily fiction, art/architecture, children’s books, and vintage notecards. Moving up to the second floor (which is really more of a landing on the stairs) is a large section of biographies. Idle Time’s upper story is home to the non-fiction books that covered topics like: the Official Rules of Leisure Sports, Russian history in the mid 1700’s, Freudian psychology, Alaskan Tours, Models of the Contemporary City, and pretty much everything in between.
A good way to spend a few hours on a slow evening.
Last Saturday afternoon was spent mud-trudging through Rock Creek Park. We took a *secret* entrance to one of the trails: straight downhill behind our apartment and apparently right through what looked to be a deserted homeless-person shelter/setup… tarps strung-up on strings and a lean-to, old tires, and other broken things. This was also the site where Matt and I both managed to slip on the same patch of mudslide.
At the base of that hill is the Rock Creek Park Mounted Police training facility, basically a large building and lots of hay and horse-smelly things around. We also found a sign showing where the very first bridge was that crossed the river, though I forgot the date. It’s hard to picture the little structure that must have superceeded the now massive piers of the Taft Bridge. Wandred a bit away from that area, and that is where the photo above was snapped!
The Design Within Reach in Adams Morgan hosted the showing of the “champagne chairs” tonight with complementary bubbly and fine chocolate from Biagio. The Champagne Chair Contest is an annual event to make the best miniature chair using only the foil, label, cage and cork from no more than two Champagne bottles. Displayed in little 4″ Plexiglas cubes, the champagne chairs exhibited some pretty impressive craftsmanship. The DWR Staff winning pick (shown above) is made of what looks to be a ground cork/glue combo that has been meticulously and painstakingly sculpted into an elegant little chair.. The other chairs had a much more straight forward approach to using the cork. The popular-vote pick was this fun little chair.
Interesting/random little event with (miniature) furniture, bubbly, and chocolate. Doesn’t get much better.
Here is a little piece of artwork from someone’s front porch in the lovely neighborhood of Mount Pleasant. Maybe these are actually old computer monitors, and not TVs, but I like the idea of TVs better. The little gnome-man on top is a funny touch, but it bugs me that the rainbow colors are out of order, and no purple!!!!
Lori and I continued our weekly (or almost weekly) new restaurant excursion tonight. In the past, this has taken us to such local gems as Afghan Grill, Thaiphoon, and New Heights. Tonight’s trip took us to Mediterra in Woodley Park (when it is cold out you don’t want to stray too far from home). Overall impression of this Mediterranean restaurant = over-priced with sub-par service. The waitress was generally inattentive and was not able to bring our dishes out in the proper order, nor did she not bother check how I preferred my steak to be prepared (what I got was over done and rubbery). The Lamb Pita that we ordered came out on a French Baguette. To be fair, it was still good on a baguette. The Roman Pizza was smothered in oil and was actually quite good, if you like lots of oil. The layout and furnishing of Mediterra did not help its case. The space felt too wide open and under populated with tables/chairs and streaky painting on the walls. Half of the chairs in the restaurant were made of chintzy metal with a bronze finish. Mediterra has a decent drink menu and pretty extensive list of Mediterranean appetizers but I would not come back for more than drinks/appetizers.
I give it a 1 out of 5 and don’t see a return visit in the near future.
UPDATE: we passed the 1000 visitors mark, wooohooo!
Interface Multimedia was asked by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation to create a video showing the expansion plans for the National Museum of the Marine Corps. We were invited to attend a community outreach reception at the museum in Quantico, VA to promote the expansion. It is that giant metal and glass spire that looks like it is projecting out over I-95 as you come up to DC from the south, a very distinct form to be sure. The Museum was designed to reflect the shape of the famous flag raising at Iwo Jima and contains an enormous atrium with a number of full size planes, tanks, and helicopters. We were not able to see any of the immersive exhibits last night, but from what I understand they are the most impressive exhibits in the Museum. Other highlights of the museum include lifelike scenes from various moments in the Marines rich history complete with the metals won in the conflicts, the garments that were worn by the troops, and their weapons (including a lot of grisly trench knifes).
We expected that they would show the Interface video during the event, but unfortunately that did not happen. Luckily you loyal Juxtaexposed readers can watch the video on IFMM’s website here and view the remainder of the photos here.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a little bit of a drive from the District proper but it is well worth the trip if not only for the architecture.
Probably one of our favorite buildings to visit in DC (and creep on people from above) is the National Building Musem. Oh! and also the gift store is amazing, because honestly where else can you go and buy anything and know that I definitely want it!?! Ok, well I can think of others… DSW, apple.com, the cheese section of the grocery… but I have digressed. Anyways, check this place out when you can — even if you are not an archy-dork, the exhibits are pretty wide-ranging and interesting. Just look at the carpet pattern, you know it’s going to be good.
***Also, if you are in any way connected to events that happen here, please email me and let me know how you can get me on the list. I am very interested in attending some sort of VIP soiree here while wearing a prom dress. And if you can’t make that happen, a close second on my NBM wish list is being allowed to rollerblade undisturbed around The (carpeted) Great Hall. It could be after normal museum hours and that would be acceptable too.***
Here is our high-powered telescope point-and-shoot sans tripod photography of tonight’s lunar eclipse!
On the way up to the roofdeck at exactly 10pm:
Matt: Do we really need to go up there right this second? Is it going to start on time?
Me: I think the moon has been planning this moment for awhile, and probably will not be late.
So obv. it doesn’t show from the photo, but it was really eerie the way the moon turned shades of red and grey, so hopefully you got to see it for yourself. Honestly, this looks more like the sun.
Spent my “jaw is sore/swollen because I got two wisdom teeth yanked out” day off from work scanning in old pictures, eating delicious “Ciao Bella” sorbet that I picked up at Metro K Supermarket, and napping. Personal favorites that I dug up include a fire truck (or rather a truck on fire), my old cat Cassie, and my skateboarding pinnacle.
Zooming!!! car lights on Connecticutt Avenue near Dupont Circle. Had to wait for quite awhile for cars going in both directions to pass simultaneously… so it looks more chaotic than it normally is.
This little DC 173 mosaic is on the 9th St Tunnel going southbound under the National Mall. I can’t find any information online about the numbering of DC’s bridges and tunnels, but I’m sure there is some sort of system in place, because I have seen more of these markings on other infrastructre.
Philly Trip: It’s no DC (Elfreth’s Alley)
February 19th, 2008
In the spirit of President’s Day Weekend, or something, we made a last-minute car-ride north to Philadelphia, PA. It was a fun city walkabout, to City Hall and Love Park, Rittenhouse Square, Logan Square, etc etc… This photo was from Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest residential street in the country to be continuously occupied by residents. Walking down it was like taking a step back in time– the most interesting thing being the little mirrors attached to the upper level windows, so the ladies could sit and watch/spy/gossip on people at the front door. Brilliant! Check out the rest of the Philly photo set. They are good.
If a posh ambiance and uber hip environment is important to you in your selection of dining establishment please heed my advice and do not go to Crisfield’s. If damn good seafood and old school Silver Spring character (whatever that means) is then it is a place for you. Crisfield’s has been a Silver Spring institution since 1945 and serves wholesome, down to earth seafood with love and a little bit of grit. Located just south of the WMATA tracks overpass on Georgia Ave, Crisfield’s will leave you fat and happy without doing too much damage to the wallet. For dinner I’d recommend the Crisfield Special, it is a crabby buttery dish of goodness served in an aluminum pan shaped like it’s aforementioned crustacean. Delish.
Also, they serve beer in little tiny glasses and have a signed picture of Jon Voight on the wall.
I laugh everytime I walk past this sign on Kalorama Rd, NW. The woman with the perfectly coiffed hair, the man in a sharp blazer, the child with the really tiny head. What happened to the normal walking sign people? you know, the ones with the big dot heads and no feet or necks? hmm, I wonder if they use the same sign in any SE neighborhoods?
…post Valentine’s Day Chocolate hangover is in full effect.
Everyone with a sweet tooth: do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars (though you may need it) and go directly to Biagio Fine Chocolate. This fine little independent chocolate shop is located in the Dupont/Adams Morgan/U Street area on 18th St. a little way north of Lauriol Plaza down in an english basement storefront. According to their website they are having a sale on all V-Day chocolate.
I was like a little kid in a candy store (obviously). The staff is very attentive and knowledgeable about the myriad of chocolate varieties that they have. The flavors range from cinnamon, to banana mate, to pineapple pepper, to wasabi, to scotch, to bacon. That’s right they have BACON FLAVORED CHOCOLATE.
Here is a link to a youtube video of my buddy from growing up Willy Akers . Willy stuck with it when everyone else fell off, rumor is he might have a pro board coming out soon from 5Boro (that’s him on the entry page). Sick.
Today’s photo, in honor of Valentine’s Day, is a pretty-pretty-princess flower of love. *sigh* I was playing with my camera’s micro function while visiting the National Arboretum off of New York Ave in NE DC. The extensive gardens, National Bonsai Museum, Asian exhibits, and koi fish pond all make for cute places to take a date. This is also where the National Capital Columns were relocated. The place is huge! You need more than one trip to cover it all. Check out the rest of the photos : Matt’s Flickr page
I took this photo last year. I was standing on Constitution Ave. on the back side of the National Gallery of Art, waiting for Matt to run by me on the morning of the National Marathon. The mist and grey dreariness remind me of today’s weather: pretty much crummy.
It’s Voting Day in the District! Our neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland are heading to the polls as well, making it the first time ever that the entire Potomac region is voting on the same day.
I myself voted first thing this morning, and I was definitely one, if not the, first Republican to visiting my polling place that morning. They didn’t even have the yellow ballots out yet. I would have to guess, from the talk I overheard while in line, that most folks were Obama supporters. Still, it was the Hillary’s that had the most electioneerers with signs in my face on the way in… I thought this photo that I took last summer had a very patriotic “GO DC!” feel to it.
On my way to work every day I sit at the intersection of 16th St. and Columbia Rd. NW and look at this church while I wait for a green light. There is always a flock of birds covering the top dome. And today there was also a bus in the way of my photo.
…Coming to your DC sidewalks. Apparently sidewalk closures around construction sites are no longer legal in the District. That means lots more of these creepy covered walkways where people can hide and jump out at you.
Very neat exhibit at the Kennedy Center. Especially if you like polka dots, you will not be let down. There is also an eerily realistic robot woman there (last picture on the right). The audience is allowed to ask her questions at the microphone, and she was able to answer most of them correctly. Except when someone asked where she lived, and she went on and on about something about breathing oxygen. The other photos are of a colorful textile exhibit and a Tadao Ando installation (RUBBISH RUBBISH) about waste and the future. Link to the exhibit website.
HEY! check the gallery page — the format has a new world map thingy and the CHINA photo gallery is up.. leave me comments if things don’t seem to be working… like if you don’t see any popups… i was trying to mess with Javascript. it has been the bane of my existence for awhile now.
Out is the year of the pig (my year!) and in with the year of the rat. We didn’t make it to Chinatown for the celebration of the new year, because I had to watch LOST! So I decided to post a previous night shot from Chinatown taken with the Holga camera…
Walter C. Pierce Park : a triptych
February 6th, 2008
Took a late-evening venture out just now — since the temperature is still in the upper 60s — and meandered over to Walter C. Pierce Park. The clouds were rolling by pretty fast and low and the sky was a *really* strange pinkish-red… in hindsight an indication of the rain that hurried us back home… but not before Matt snapped a few great shots of the park area:
The first picture is of a mural in the park, which, according to www.culturaltourismdc.org, was a tribute painted for two kids that were murdered in Adams Morgan. [Check out how different it looks in the summer at DC Daily Photo...]
Second photo = self-explanatory, but you can also see what I meant about the crazy pink sky!
Third pic is looking through the fence towards the playground area.
I had one more roll from the Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim developed by my good friends at the Tenley CVS Pharmacy Photo Center. Now a subsequent rant about the drugstore hoodlums. This is a lovely little place that irregardless of the time of day is overrun with kids from the surrounding schools (both public and private). At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur, don’t these frickin’ kids ever actually attend class? They are always just hanging around the entrance to the store making you weave in and out just to get to the front door. God forbid you need to ask them to move so you can get through or happen to bump into someone…
So, to the kids constantly outside of the Tenley CVS: Go to class! Stopping trying to bum cigarettes! Leave a clear path on the sidewalk so people can get through with out inconveniencing you!
sports review sunday: Terps win, Caps on Tap, and Super Bowl thoughts
February 4th, 2008
This was a glorious sports-oriented weekend. Noontime Saturday was spent watching the Maryland Terrapins (narrow) win over Georgia Tech.
We then took part in the Caps on Tap Bar Tour. For $30, it included a ticket to the Capitals vs. Thrashers evening game and discounted beers at 7 local bars for the six hours before the game. Not a bad little deal! Made the rounds to R.F.Ds,Lucky Strike, and my personal favorite, Rocket Bar, before the game. Turns out that the nosebleed seats were not too bad, but unfortunately not so for the game, which ended in an uneventful 0-2 loss for the Caps. Not even a score from the Caps Alex Ovechkin, who was named the NHLs #1 Star of the month for January. Most disappointing to me was not being able to score a free Mr. Potato Head, which was the giveaway promotion for Kids Night at the Verizon Center – I think you had to be under 14 years old…
And on the subject of sports, I wanted to add that I was pleased about the Giants winning the Super Bowl because who doesn’t love a good ruiner.
After a rather tasty dinner at El Tamarindo (reasonably priced and large portioned El Salvidorian food, open til’ 5am on the weekend!) we finally got around to stopping into the little wine shop at the bottom of 18th St. De Vinos is a small, independently owned wine and beer shop with an impressive selection and a helpful and well-informed staff. There was an extensive selection small craft brews available in 6 packs and single large bottles. I certainly know where I’ll be getting birthday gifts this next year for friends.
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My selection was the White Rascal from Avery out of Boulder, Colorado. WR is billed at a Belgian-Style Wheat Ale that is unfiltered and sports an ABV of 5.6%. WR is an extremely drinkable wit beer with a nice balance of citrus and spices. The label artgrabbed my initial interest, the devil character reminds me of the distinctive old French liqour advertisments. Pouring into a standard pint glass produced a somewhat hazy light yellow body with a crisp white head that dissipated quickly. Not a huge standout over all but very crisp and refreshing.
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Overall: 3.75 (of 5)
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Now to run down to the Dupont Farmers Market to pick up some supplies for Super Bowl Food Party. Bacon wrapped something….mmmmm….bacon.
Instead of all this sideways rain, I would like to request a rainbow today. I just ventured out for lunch with an umbrella and a hood, but what I really could have used was a protective body bubble because now I am soaked.
I took this photo awhile back using my phone camera. It was actually kind of funny, because I was walking across the Taft bridge with my head down… and before I saw the rainbow, I first noticed all the people on the bridge were stopped, with cameras out if they had them, looking east at the colorful arc. It only lasted for a few seconds, and then everyone continued walking on.
