Every so often, DCist.com has a Touch-Up DC Contest where you are supposed to use some Photoshop fun to enhance a DC monument, street, or scene. This was one of my submissions from last week–my photoshop work on one of Matt’s photos. Can anyone (not living in DC) guess what’s fake here?
5″ Rattail. yes. Surf sign hand signal. yes. This picture speaks for itself.
Although on doing a little Google search on “surf hand sign” I learned a few things. One, Ronaldinho is often known to make this hand gesture after scoring a goal. Is this a common soccer thing or did this guy in the picture just like Ronaldinho? Two, it’s called a Shaka Sign and according to Wikipedia can mean “hang loose,” “alright,” “cool,” or “smooth.” It’s often associated with Hawaii and the surfing community. Who knew!
I’ve seen this truck a couple of times in the last 2-3 years while driving around the city. In the past the timing was never right, I’d catch a bad light cycle, or be stuck behind someone going a solid 15 mph as the truck would zip down the road, or the truck would turn right when I really needed to go straight, and I was never able to actually read the message in it entirety. The truck had always made me laugh, particularly the signature – so very clever, and intrigued me a bit so you can imagine how pleasant a surprise it was to find the once elusive truck parked over near Metro Center. I don’t know anything about the driver/owner of the vehicle, I don’t know if it is associated with any business (there was a street vendor set up to the side of the truck), and I don’t know what the motive was for the paint job in the first place but I like it.
Hmmm, so I stuck 3 pictures together… can you guess what is going on here? because I’m still not sure.
It started with Matt “OMG I’m craving a burrito let’s go to Chipotle.” So we get our food, and we’re sitting there at the corner of Calvert and Connecticut Ave. and that guy goes flyyyying by the window on springy feet. And then across the intersection, and into the turn lanes, and back around, arms flailing everywhere. He had a little sign saying you could try the springy stilt feet for 10 minutes for free. I’m not sure what the actual rates were, but come on, he barely looked like he was in control of those things, and I assume he owns them and uses them frequently. Then I pictured myself, or better yet, Matt with those things strapped on. I’m sure he would be well over 9 feet tall. And spring-loaded. Awesome.
But seriously, what a silly thing to sell on a street corner. I picture it being bettered suited to a wide open plaza area with 8-inches of padding on the ground, but still then only slightly less dangerous. Not to sound like a scaredy-pants, but they look hard to use and easy to embarrass yourself with. Would you try them?
I love this photo. It’s like the person on the left is yelling at you NO PARKING! I like the shadow patterns on the fence.
Since 8 is my lucky number, I consider today the coolest and most potentially lucky day of my life. And it will never come around again. Until 2088, when it will be even more cooler/lucky. Strangely enough, I just had to sit and consider if I could live long enough to see that day. That’s a weird thing to think about, and I guess it’s a stretch — I’d be 105 years old — but who knows, it’s not entirely out of the question.
Anyways, assuming today is the only 08-08-08 of my life, I’m thinking I should buy some lotto tickets or something, and hopefully I will have more luck than whoever discarded these un-winning tickets in a tree-stump trash can.
Eight has been my lucky number ever since kindergarten, and I specifically remember the day. We were on some sort of farm field trip and it was time to go home. This was back in the day when everyone’s parents had those station wagons that you could sit facing backwards in… you know, and look out the back window and it was so so awesome to be going backwards. Anyways, Mrs. Peggy was driving the three of us home – me, Charles, and Tammy, and we all wanted to sit in the back seats. But there were only two seats, so she told us all to guess a number between 1 and 10. So I guessed 8, and lucky me! that was the number. Woo! I got to sit facing backwards. Ever since then, it’s always been my favorite number… true story!
And as an added bonus the Olympics start tonight (!!!!) at 8pm. YAY!
Totally unrelated to this bizarre-o picture that Matt took, but I did set a new land-speed world record today in the category of my bike-to-work commute from Woodley Park to Silver Bling–first time on the new bike– at 33 minutes and 17 seconds. Usually takes me 38-42 minutes depending on how many cars/dump trucks/homeless people/squirrels get in my way up 16th Street. Thank you very much to my new bike!
Someone made donuts in this parking lot. I bet it was fun.
