Thanks

Just wanted to send a big Thank You out to LiLu at DC Blogs for picking humble ol' me and my weekend pictures of Eastern Market (below) for her blog round up on Tuesday. Also, she showed very good taste in her choice of pictures for the section header. I offered her the picture below (also shot at Eastern Market on Saturday), which I call "Hey, nice boots..." but she decided to go a different direction. Probably for the best.

Again, many, many thanks LiLu.

Also, to Famous DC for its mention Wednesday of my Eastern Market pics. I'd especially like to thank whomever it was that chose the link address: famousdc.com/2010/04/21/incredible-photography-eastern-market/. I really like the part about "incredible-photography."

Did I mention I was humble?

A trip to the Market, Eastern Market that is

Yes, yes, I know, this is kinda-sorta turning into photo blog. But, in my defense, I've been taking a lot of pictures lately (as my computer keeps telling me when it notifies me I'm running out of back-up space), and I like putting them up here.

The first bunch are from my walk around Eastern Market on Saturday. The weather was nice, cool but clear and, as long as you kept moving, not too, too cold. Perfect for a day of rummaging around through other peoples' junk looking for that overlooked treasure.

One thing I did notice about this set of pictures is I spent a lot of time looking either up or down. Very few of the shots (that I liked) were shot on the straight and level. And, in some cases, they're shot from a very low perspective.

Did anyone see my magic carpet? I know I parked it around here somewhere...

For some reason, this thing just creeped me out. The dress is nice, but is it really that exciting?

I liked this frog, but I didn't like it $119 worth.

Colors, reflections, what more could you ask for?

If you look very, very, very close, you can see me. Sorta.

Someone looks like they're not enjoying Eastern Market as much as everyone else. Perhaps it's because his legs are so much shorter?

A skilled pair of hands. I was back on Sunday as well, walking around with a friend, and the artist was still working on this same panel.

Ditto for the kid above.

This photo and the next are of artist Jackson Collins. Painting is by no means a neat endeavor. Oh, and his pictures are pretty good as well.

And now on to the next set. While I was waiting for Metro, I decided to play around a bit with some pictures. All I can say is god bless digital. The ability to look at the picture right after you take it is, in a term, life-changing. Being able to make adjustments on the fly to shutter speed and aperture makes picture taking so much more enjoyable.

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Anyway, as you can see, this set of pics (Eastern Market and L'Enfant Plaza) the exposures are kinda long, about a half second. Next time I try this I'm definitely using my monopod to stabilize the shots, but these didn't turn out so bad. Also, it's kinda interesting, when a train is coming into the station, how still people stand. And for that I'm thankful.

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At Eastern Market

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If you look between the girl in the middle and the guy on the right in the picture below, you can still see the ghostly image of the "Eastern Market" sign through the windows of the train. Cool.

At L'Enfant

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Hope everyone's week is off to a good start.

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs...

So I'm back from NYC. OK, I've been back for almost a week, but with work and all I haven't been able to get around to posting my pictures.

As you can see, I was staying right on Times Square at 45th and Broadway. Pretty sweet digs. Anyway, for this small-town D.C. boy, the first thing that struck me was all the signs. You can't escape them.

Also, Holy Swarm of People, Batman! It was like a never ending Cherry Blossom Festival. Everyone just wandering this way and that, no particular destination and, like myself, looking up all the time. You couldn't help it. Even if you tried.

Here's one I found interesting. The guy was advertising "the ultimate stimulus" package. I don't know if he was talking about his own or the condoms and I didn't ask.

This one kinda made me want to laugh. A giant J-Date sign that threw up the pictures of couples it had matched. Kind of like a giant electronic shadchen.

I also thought this was a pretty interesting idea. On top of one of the ticket brokers' box office, they've built a kind of grand stand. You can just sit there on the red-lit steps and watch the whole world go by. The statue there is of Father Francis P. Duffy who served with the "Fighting Irish" of the 69th New York in World War I.

For anyone who doesn't know, parts of Broadway have been closed to traffic and are now a pedestrian mall. I kind of like it. A very town square kind of feel. You can just go out there, grab a table if one's available and lounge away.

As the son of an engineer, a man who worked on many of the buildings and bridges (no kidding, one of his first jobs out of college) in NYC, I find buildings and bridges very interesting. More so because, even though I love the classical design of much of Washington, we don't have anything like this:

Here's a close up on the windows, pretty cool:

This is a nearby building. I really like the shapes and what they did with the glass:

Again, a close up:
One more sign picture. At least he's honest.

I saw this guy twice, once in Times Square on Sunday night and again the next day down by Penn Station. Apparently the weed doesn't impair his mobility.

Start spreading the news...

Live from NYC it's the Foggy Dew.

Yep, in the Big Apple for a little work thing, but it's been forever and a day since I've been here - last time I spent the night in the 212 was, I think, October 2002. But that's neither here nor there...well, it is here but you know what I mean.

Impressions so far: People in NYC have just as much a clue about walking as D.C. folks. Notice I didn't say New Yorkers, just the people in the city. They could be tourists just as much as the folks who walk around Washington four abreast on a sidewalk that would be lucky to hold three of them. Also, they seem to walk slower. Don't know why I think that, but it could be because while I was hauling a computer bag and a one-suiter, it seemed like everyone else was c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g.

The streets of NYC seem to always be in the shade, I'm guessing it has something to do with the buildings looming on all sides. I sometime hear complaints about how D.C. is a low city with no majestic buildings, but the streets get sun throughout the day.

We definitely need more high(er)-speed trains here in the good ol' U.S. of A. I took the Acela up here. While my actual time on the train was longer than it would have been on a plane, those Amtrak ads don't lie. It was so, so, soooo much more relaxing. D.C. to Boston is probably the longest route a high-speed train makes sense, unless you can get a train going 300 mph non-stop from D.C. to LA in 10 or 12 hours. I'd probably do that too.

Oh, and first impression of the city coming out of Penn Station: Some guy walking right up to me and asking, "Can I have a minute of your time?" What the Hell? Was I wearing a sign? Probably wasn't that hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure I don't exude a "Random strangers are welcome to walk up to me" vibe.

I'm heading out to find something to eat. I've heard there might be a place or two around where I am on Broadway that makes a decent meal.

More on the great NYC adventure later.

Did you ever wonder...

Did you ever stop and think, "I wonder what's inside an iPad?" Well, me neither, mainly since they've only been out for four days, but we're about to find out...

Yanno? If I was a wasteful type of person that'd almost be worth $500, (plus another $400 for the blender*). What other ingenious ways can you suggest to send an iPad to the great recycling bin in the sky?

Not to say I don't want one. In fact, I think iPads look like just about the coolest thing since, well, Linda Hamilton winning "Best Female Performance with a Gun" for Terminator 2 at the MTV Movie Awards, but I don't need one.

Especially since Steve Jobs is probably going to come out with an even better one in six months. Maybe I'll break down and get that one.

*Make sure you check out the other "Will it Blend" episodes like "Laser Pointer" and "iPhone 3G".

Intentional advertising?

Has anyone heard about the spat up in Baltimore about Under Armour* painting its "UA" logo on Federal Hill? Yeah, neither did I until I glanced at a local headlines link. Anyways, here a link to the story so you can read it yourself.

The funny thing I found was how the article was laid out on the B-more Sun's Web Page. Here's a screen shot of the page (when I read it, don't know if it's still there):

Soooo...does anyone think it's strange an article about Under Armour (a huge local Baltimore company, btw) getting spanked by uptight locals has not one, but two Under Armour ads surrounding it on the page. I wonder what side the Sun's advertising bread is buttered on?

*Full disclosure: I love Under Armour. If they made suits for work, I think I'd buy them.

** Oh, and GO TO HELL DOOK!! I hope and pray you get your collective, self-centered, privileged, Jersey Shore asses kicked tonight in Indy. Alas, on this I fear my prayers will fall on deaf ears. But hope springs eternal. As Khan Noonien Singh stated so well: "From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hates' sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Sing to the hand

Anyone seen this yet? The Voices of Washington, Washington Complaint Choir? It's pretty funny, but it must be the "winter version" since I didn't hear any snarky comments about tourists invading the city.



It's a continuation of the original Helsinki Complaints Choir which started the trend and, as all things go, is still the best.



Click here for more lovely YouTube complaint choir clips.