An abbreviated”Jersey’s Finest” team consisting of Keith and myself w/Brigid as our lone cheerleader lost a hard fought bocce match last night in the 1st official game of the season. We were up against a seasoned 8 person team named “Off in the Shower”(w/clever beer cozies claiming that they cannot be beaten…). After a large points deficit in the first 3 rounds we came back to briefly carry the lead. Our lead was eventually eroded and we ended up losing 10 to 16. There was some ethically questionable score accounting taking place but we determined that since we had not played in a year and we were thoroughly out gunned it did not make sense to put up a big stink, that and it is only a rec/drinking bocce league so no reason to be “that guy”. The photo above is of Summer, our friends’ beautiful french bulldog, at our crab feast triathlon fundraiser last year in Rock Creek Park — the last time we had honed our bocce skills. We will try again next week, by the end of the season Jersey’s Finest will be a well oiled bocce machine.
Happy Friday, everyone. It’s looking like a gorgeous (hot maybe?) weekend is ahead! While Matt is off running an American Odyssey relay from Gettysburg to DC, through all odd hours of the night no less, I’ll be running amuck through the muddy shores of Lake Needwood in Rockville, while dressed as a Ninja Turtle. It’s true. You just can’t make these headlines up. There should be photos to prove it in a day or two
It’s a big parking lot for cars today, but this building was formerly the Uline Arena, named after Miguel “Uncle Mike” Uline. He built it in 1941 for his hockey team, the Washington Lions, and it seated about 7,000 people at capacity. Other events like ice skating, martial arts performances, ballet, circuses(!), and speeches were held here, too. Weeks before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a rally was held inside the arena to promote U.S. entry in World War II. But, perhaps most famously, it was where the Beatles played their first concert in the United States - February 11, 1964. I cannot even begin to picture what that must have looked and sounded like. Think the acoustics are decent!?!
It was renamed the Washington Coliseum in 1959, but I think most people still call it the Uline, and in fact I’ve never heard it called the Washington Coliseum by anyone around here… ? One more little tidbit - the photograph of Bob Dylan on the cover of his Greatest Hits album was taken at a concert at Washington Coliseum in ‘66. Hard to tell since it just looks like a hairy fro, but I’ll believe it.
Hopefully we’ll see some new development turn it into a cool new venue in the future. And maybe Sir Paul McCartney will come back and play.
Happy Earth Day, my fellow earthlings. Mmmm look at all the delicious greens at the Dupont Circle farmers market…
Well, it’s grey outside again this morning - the third day of rain and random thunderstorms in a row - but by this afternoon and especially tomorrow, the world should be sunny and green once again.
Last year this time, we were talkin’ plastic bags, riding bikes, and Delaware.
Well someone in the Shaw area decided to paint the side of their row-house all crazy-like. hehe! Not sure it’s what I would have gone with if I owned an end house and therefore a large, blank canvas at my disposal, but I do appreciate the “whimsicality” of it. Reminds me of Dr. Seuss in a way.
DC forecast: Strong Storms. Rain likely with scattered strong thunderstorms this afternoon. May produce large hail and strong winds Crappy weather got you down? Solution: carry around a giant sunflower with you
No cameras were allowed for Friday night’s show - Lily Allen at the 9:30 Club - but of course Matt snuck this picture anyways. It had been awhile since we’d been back there, and maybe it was my choice of show/musical taste, but I feel older and older every time I go there. Anyways, the show rocked, I love Lily Allen and her quirky lyrics, and I especially enjoyed her ability to dance around onstage in the tallest sparkly heels I’ve ever seen…. and, I even enjoyed the first band, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head even though I wasn’t that into their music on myspace, they weren’t too bad live.
Back when I was in high school and entrenched in the Delaware skateboarding scene I ran a little clothing company called DEfctv Ink. (Defective Incorporated). It was a lovely little affair that I thoroughly enjoyed. I made all the screens either by hand or through photo-emullsion and did all the screen printing by hand at my kitchen table. Through the couple years that I was doing it I probably made two hundred or so shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, etc. Most were sold direct to folks I knew or I would broker out the sales to friends from different high schools/neighborhoods (sell 10 shirts and I’ll give you one for free) and I got a few of them in up for sale in Switch, our local skate shop in Newark. I hope some of them are still around (outside of my closet anyway).
When I was home this past weekend I picked up the old box of screen printing materials and took it back to DC with me. I’m looking to start this back up and do a few limited run t-shirt designs just to get the ol’ creative juices flowing. My new venture will be called “Agon Inkorporated”. Agon is the Greek word meaning a contest, competition, or challenge and can relate to athletics, music, politics, debate, or literature. It embodies the spirit of competition.
Here are my 10 current iterations of design that I have been working on for the last week or so. I have a bunch of more ideas and will continue to work these out. I would appreciate any insight, suggestions, or criticism that you, the loyal juxtaexposed.com readership, might have to offer. This is my scientific market study about what works and what needs some help.
What a crazy little mushroom, just hanging out in Rock Creek Park. It definitely looks poisonous, but I am not much of a fungus expert, so I’ll probably never know. An orange mushroom Flickr search lands some really cool pictures though.
This picture makes me think of depression era dust bowl farm houses that have been beaten and worn by the relentless weather around them. Fortunately, I did not have to take a trip in time/space to get the shot as it is actually a carriage house in Dupont Circle. I love that the shutters are so worn that the paint and upper layers of wood have been wiped away exposing the warmer colored wood core underneath. The only portion of the shutter spared the beating looks to be the upper third which has gained some protection from the overhanging eave. Sloppy painting on the mullions and scrawny vines that cling to the wooden lap siding are fitting for this desperate scene. That being said, a steady rain must sound amazing as its drops pelt the tired tin roof.
Happy Belated Easter! Forgive us for being a little behind in posts as of late. We spent the weekend in Delaware and Maryland — eating multiple Easter dinners, attending church, going on a egg hunt that ended in Rita’s gift certificates(!!), oh and adopting/transplanting my high-school pet, an orange kitty named Moe, back to DC with us. Her named has since been translated to Moesha, and hopefully she will soon be acclimated to the cushy indoor life and maybe catching our new resident mouse for us. It will be a big shock from the fields and barns of glorious Howard County, but I made it, mostly un-traumatized, and she will too. Just need to hope she takes to the litter box now, or at least Matt’s side of the closet.
another from the unintentional faces file
April 8th, 2009
We have documented our love of unintentional faces before. I found this smirking face in an alley on the side of an old auto repair shop around Mt. Vernon Triangle. The old epoxy made a face that reminds me of a typical TV bad guy/criminal/thief with the creepy full-face ski mask. Considering the sketchiness of this alley it might not be too far fetched of an image!
The Cherry Blossom 10 miler went off with out a hitch this morning. Some 12,000 or so runners plus associated friends and family, along with a huge contingent of volunteers (thank you!) descended upon the National Mall this morning. The gun went off at 7:40a and the first bunch of runners were done 45 minutes later. That is a break neck 4:36 pace! While Lori and I didn’t go quiiiiite that fast we both got personal records (1:45 and 1:11, respectively) so that is a win in my book.
A good rite of spring indeed.
…here are the photos I snapped mid run with my GoPro Digital Hero wrist camera. They get strangely distorted but it is still fun to take photos mid race.
We have stated before that the National Building Museum is one of our favorite places in DC not only for its ever so interesting exhibits and award winning gift shop but for its stunning grand hall. Today the NBM hosted the race packet pickup for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. This was the first year that they held the pickup at the NBM and it was a pleasant change having to trek over to a hotel in Crystal City (and subsequently getting lost in the underground tunnels). The hall was very busy, and t-shirt hander outers were working at a frenetic pace but I was able to get in and grab my packet (and Lori’s and Mark’s and Annabelle’s) relatively quickly. I came back by about an hour later and there was a line literally wrapping the entire block so I dodged a bullet. Hopefully the organizers will be happy with how the NBM worked to host the event and keep it in DC instead of sending it back over the river.
Just wrapped up our carbo-loading dinner and am ready to go!
Busy weekend in DC. Lots of Cherry Blossom festivities (including the 10 miler on Sunday that we are doing), a bunch of sports stuff (Nat’s pre-season opener), and a bunch of concerts. Through all this it is important to remember that the Final Four is on Saturday and it is your duty as an American to place yourself in front of a TV with a plethora of beverages (see above, doesn’t you love the soft light inviting you into average/below average beer heaven?) and watch the games. Though admittedly it matters quite a bit less to me as I have no chance, zero, zip, of winning any money in my pools. Ohs well.
On the way to work today I got the coveted back seat of the rear car on the metro. This is probably not cared about by most commuting folk but I like it because it allows me to pass the time by taking fun photos as we pull away from metro stations. This one is the view exiting Judiciary Square headed towards Union Station. Also, it kind of reminds me of sitting in the back of those old station wagons that had the seat pointed backwards (which allowed you to make faces and incite road rage on the drivers behind you).
moment you’ve been waiting your whole life for
April 1st, 2009
…Juxtaexposed.com is now on Twitter! That’s right, you can now eat, drink, sleep, and breathe the blog you love the most. It’s easy, click here to follow us - http://twitter.com/Juxtaexposed
… Time for tourists, cherry blossoms, blah, blah blah, blah. If you are looking for more than that, now here is something truly great: instructions for How To Throw An April Fool’s Party . Thanks ehow.com, for 5 steps to the lamest party ever. And also thanks for the whoopee cushion “how-to” photo. We all forgot how that worked. That’s not all, here’s how to avoid getting fooled, including #1 “Remember what day it is at all times” and my favorite #6, “Stay home and avoid contact with others if all else fails. Don’t answer the door or phone if someone calls and stay off the Internet and away from email. If you completely avoid people for the day, there’s no way you can be fooled.” ….Best website ever.
