Off List-MLK Memorial and...

Happy New year again everyone.

This was an off list item, but I have been wanting to visit the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial statue in DC.

I could make the dedication day and then it was closed down for awhile in the fall because as some of you may remember DC got double whammied with an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week.

In any case, since yesterday was the King holiday, I figured there was no better time to do it. So I posted a few pictures below.

Also--on the list, tonight is the night I take the test to try to knock off Item #20 which is to become a contestant on Jeopardy... wish me luck...

100 TTDBYD--Your City Edition

I came across two really great pages on Facebook (gotta love social networking...lol). One is DC 365 and the other is called Things to Do in DC Before you Die.

They both cover really cool things to do in and around the city--I believe 365 has fan pages for other cities as well.

I used both pages as sort of the jumping off point for a class video project. The goal of the project was a create a short video promo for an organization. I wrote a bucket list of sorts for DC of things that everyone should try to do in the city, whether visiting or whether you live here--

so here is a short version of "100 Things to Do in DC" (soundtrack is Welcome to DC by Mambo Sauce)

Reason #917 Why I (Sometimes) Like DC

I ventured out today to the Smithsonian Kite Fest and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. I shot this event last year and blogged about it but wasn't able to really gett any pics of the Cherry Blossoms because it was rainy.

This year the weather was a little chilly but still a great day for pictures. If you've never been--these two festivals coincide usually around the last week of March into the first week of April depending on peak bloom time for the blossoms. Here's what I shot.

Me being lazy on the side of the Potomac:

An artist painting the blossoms:

The Washington Monument through the trees



I love this pic...

Do Something Unique to Each Season...part 1

Well you can only do this is the winter...

This is what happens when you're snowed in for a week.

Notes from DC Carnival

Between the hot weather, the music and the sights and sounds...it almost felt like the islands...lol.

This is DC Carnival Weekend...

When Opportunity Meets Luck...

Yesterday it was announced that President Obama would be coming to speak at the university where I work. People who wanted to attend had to sign up for a lottery system. The only person on my entire floor who scored a ticket was....(drumroll please)...

I had great view of our President. Watch this morning's economic speech here.

Off the List- Reason #776 Why I (Sometimes) Like DC

Actually this is not quite "off list"...this goes along with the "Do Something Unique to Each Season"

Today I went to the Smithsonian Kite Festival. This happens once a year at the beginning of spring and coincides with the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival. If you've never been, Cherry Blossom Festival is a big deal in DC...there are only about 2-3 weeks out of the year where the blossoms are really nice to see.

Despite the drizzle we have going on I managed to get some really nice shots of some of the several hundred kites that were flying.

Off the List- Reason #512 Why I (Sometimes) Like DC

I decided I would take in some culture today. First I went to visit the Phillip's Collection--which is an amazing collection of art from Mattise, Picasso, Van Gogh... Today however was the last day of the showing of the Jacob Lawrence Migration Series.


It's a beautiful set of paintings depicting the migration of blacks from south to north. You can view the entire set at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, so it's rare to see it here.

After which, I hopped the train and headed to Chinatown to check out the Chinese New Year Parade



It was pretty cool. The weather was perfect...about 60.



I even had a (lol) celebrity sighting...I saw former Mayor Marion "the bitch set me up" Barry.

The only downer was they couldn't light the giant firecracker because...there was a gas leak. Leave it to DC to have a gas leak next to a 3 story tall incendiary device. Eh, well...

Item # 128 Take a picture with "The Awakening" (on the National Habor in DC)

I got a new camera just before the inauguration. Finally!! My original plan was to drive up to Baltimore and take some pictures. Unfortunately, it's a little too cold, so I elected instead to test the camera at the DC Waterfront and knock another item of my list in the progress.

This is the Awakening...


It's a 100 foot sculpture of a giant coming out of the ground. It used to sit over at Hains Point in DC until about 2 years ago when the artist sold it and last year it was moved over to the new waterfront.


I added it to the list because I have great memories as both a little kid and a teenager going over to Hains Point. I don't think I got a clear shot of it, but to give you some perspective on how big this actually is...the knee cap is actually worn smooth in the front because all the kids (including me) used to use it as a sliding board.






I think the new camera works pretty well. Maybe I'll take that trip to Baltimore next weekend.

Veni, Vidi, Vici

When Julius Caesar announced to the Senate his victory over Pharnaces he shouted the immortal words "I came-I saw-I conquered".

Today we did. Today is the day we thought we would NEVER see. Collective sigh of relief

So...to give you the first hand account of the parts you didn't see on t.v.

5:45am I'm up. Eye rubbing, teeth brushing, shower taking and out the door to meet up at the Metro Station. Traffic suspiciously clear (but I also live inside the beltway).

7:15 am Park cars and meet up to take very chilly walk to station...even with 3 layers of clothes. Weather 20 degrees.7:45ish stand in a very long line to get into the station. Mood: pretty jovial considering it was the ass crack of morning. Lots of Obama fever! My coffee hasn't kicked in yet.



8:45ish after waiting on freezing outdoor Metro platform, get on train. Smart enough to get on at the end of the line in the last car and secure a seat for the whole ride. (In my best Homer Simpson voice) Woo hoo!

9:00am on for the ride. Train is stuffed. I know what Twinkie filling feels like. Knew I should've left earlier. Wouldn't have helped. Spend the next 45 mins telling people at every stop they can't get on. Thankful I am not motion sick because the trains are carrying so much weight they're leaning harder than D4L.


10am finally make it. shock and awe. the line...the ticket holder line... is about 1 mile long (no exageration). settle in for a wait.
10:30 still waiting (but moving). Have a nice chat with a family from New Orleans.

11 ish Now I heard they were supposed to shut the gates down at 11:30...gettting antsy. See ticket holders walking in my directions saying the gates are closed. Closed my ass! Not going anywhere until I get "official" word. Dumb dumbs who fell for that ploy get out of line. Time to move.


11:15 ish get pretty far up to where the ticket entrance is. Police hold us up for a few to let the crowds go forward. Mood still upbeat. I actually have a ok view from where I am standing. Cops are doing a good job...can't even hate on them cause I can't imagine how jacked up their job must be today. Spot cops putting up barricades out of the corner of my eye...crowd suddenly shoves me to the left and then an open space...I'm on the other side.

11:30 as close as I am going to get. Not great but not bad. Glad I'm tall...I'm on a little bit of a downhill but have just enough of a straight line of sight to see the jumbo tron.







12:00ish become a living witness to history.

After that it pretty much becomes a blur. We left shortly after all of the speeches (I caught about 2/3 of Obama's speech on my video camera...which is mostly shots of the backs of peoples heads but you get a REALLY good idea of what it was like to stand in the middle of it all). Took a nice walk back to a less crowded Metro station and rode home. It pretty much was a choice of seeing the oath or watching the parade (you pretty much had to be there super super early to be on the parade side and they only let 350K in then they shut it down)...So after a pretty breezy ride back I got here just in time to watch the parade from the comfort of my nice warm living room. Current temperature 30, but 16 with the wind chill. Was hoping that typing it all up would help my fingers defrost...not even a little...LOL. But was it worth it???

Hell YES!!!!

I have never met so many nice people. I have never seen my city so crowded. EVER. I still can't quite feel my fingers. My feet hurt from all the walking/slash standing I did. But I have a new president. My president. Our president. And I'm pretty damn happy.

PS I have some video that I will post on youtube and then embed. It's the swearing in and about 2/3 of the speech (it's a large file so I'll have to compress it). Meanwhile I am going to go recoup.

Item #121 CHECK.