Green is gold

NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

- Robert Frost

I went outside for a little bit yesterday to try and capture some spring green.

[flickr : Spring Green/slideshow]

Labels: Photography, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 12:05 PM | |

I have now seen a win and a loss at Nationals Park

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- My dad treated several of us to the Nats vs. Braves game. It was his first visit to Nationals Park. Though the game was delayed for an hour by a rain delay we still had a good time. The poor performance of the home nine in all areas of the game did not diminish our good time either, nor did the precocious kid from Richmond who was rooting for the Braves -- I gave as good as I got. My father said, "I need to go to more ballgames with you."

A few other things:

• I still haven't heard "Bustin' Loose" at Nationals Park yet. :(
  
  
• Sweet Caroline was not played!
  
  
• "Heart" would have been quite appropriate.
  
  
• I had two half-smokes, all the way. SOOOOOOOO good. The lines still need more efficiency though.
  
  
• Once again, Metro worked well.
  
  
• John Lannan had a rough outing, but he also had some defensive mistakes behind him.
  
  
• Jason Bergmann failed to cover home plate -- my dad wondered if Bergmann knew he had to field too. The young thrower was sent down to Columbus for re-education.
  
  
• Pitching coach Randy St. Claire has his hands full.
  
  
• The clock was way off.
  
  
• Replays are on the HD screen now.
  
  
• Can't anybody play this here game?!
  
  
• I love the new ballpark and in about two years, when the neighborhood grows around it, I think more people will too.

[flickr : Nationals vs. Braves, 4.12.2008/slideshow]

Nats Keep Skidding, Demote Bergmann - The Post
Nats lose, make changes - The Wash. Times
Nats struggling to find offense - The Free Lance-Star
Francoeur has 2 homers, 7 RBIs in win - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Club Expects To Activate Peņa Today - The Post
Lannan amiss on game plan, pitch location - The Wash. Times

Washington Nationals, Nats, Jason Bergmann, John Lannan, Atlanta Braves

Labels: Nats/MLB 2008, Photography, The District

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posted by WFY @ 10:25 AM | |

Or the Big11Ten.

# posted by  WFY : Sunday, April 13, 2008 5:23:00 PM  

The New Newseum

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Since I am a "special friend" of the Newseum, I was able to get free preview tickets to the new museum. Erica, Fritz, dl004d (another media stuides major -- I'm not alone!) and Grand Marnier came along as well. Back when the Newseum was in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Va., I went to original Newseum, which closed in late 2001/early 2002, several times over the years. In fact, when I worked in Rosslyn I parked in a garage at the old Newseum.

The beginning starts of our visit was a little awkward.. Newseum guides recommended we start on the lower level, past the Berlin Wall and into the "holding center" to wait for the next showing of the 4D movie. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Several panels of the wall and a death tower are on display. The wall is not much more than a giant Jersey barrier with graffiti on one side, the barbed wire is all missing.

After moving on into the holding center, 4D glasses (stylish!) are given out and a video about "getting it right" is played. The 4D movie about the power of the media in America is quite good, both for the technology and the message. It is also unintentionally funny in the beginning.

From there, we took the elevator to the sixth floor. They have an outdoor observation area that details the history of Pennsylvania Ave. and provides excellent views. The view of the Capitol building would be absolutely perfect, but for the fact there are maple leaf flags all over the adjacent building, an embassy, across the corner. It is a harsh reminder of Canadian domination on American life. The sixth floor also includes digital versions of today's newspapers.

Moving down to the fifth floor we checked out the history gallery. Newspapers in clear display drawers are heavily featured as well as other artifacts from news gathering. This area is significantly bigger than the previous Newseum -- you could spend all day right there. One disappointment though - the FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD Daily News was not featured. How can you skip that if you are having a gallery of famous newspaper fronts? I skipped the books gallery - next time I'll check it out. I recall there being an exhibit about Edward R. Murrow on that floor as well.

The fourth floor features a 9/11 exhibit with a TV antenna from the World Trade Center, a time line of events and newspaper front pages. Photography is prohibited, which was fine with me. Having felt my office building shake when the Pentagon was attacked, I don't need to have reminders of that day. Also on the fourth floor was an exhibit on the First Amendment, which was quite interesting. We were reminded that burping is not covered by the First Amendment.

The third floor featured the Journalists Memorial and (if I recall correctly) the bombed out remains of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles Datsun. He was killed in the 1970s while investigating mafia. World news is also explored on this floor. I found the color-coded Press Freedom map of most interest.

Since being "On TV" was not of any interest to me, the third floor was skipped. You can do a newscast there with assorted backdrops. It did not seem very well organized.

The second floor is the Hall of News with a large screen featuring still photographs of major news events and a ticker that uses mixed-case letters instead of all capitals, which pleased dl004d. A satellite and news helicopter hang at this level.

Interactivity is a big part of the Newseum experience. There are touchscreen monitors all over the place. There is a downside to this though, the touch screens provide many opportunities to see bad news like the Challenger explosion or several different assassinations. It gets to be a bit much.

Despite spending over four hours in the Newseum, we really just skimmed it. It would probably take several days to see everything there. Also, we stopped by "The Food Section" a cafeteria with Wolfgang Puck food. The prices were high, but the quality was fairly good. On that level there is the first satellite news truck as well as a small exhibit on comics.

Overall, all were quite pleased with the new Newseum. I am sure I will go back sometime, but at $20 admission, it will probably be a while. Even at that price though, the Newseum is a good value if you can devote a day to spending in it.

[flickr : Newseum sneak preview/slideshow]

Newseum, museum, dc, Washington, media

Labels: Arts and Culture, BeltwayLand, History, Media, Photography, The District

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posted by WFY @ 12:27 PM | |

I'm as serious as a 5 on 3 powerplay. Watch this video and see what I'm talking about.

# posted by  WFY : Thursday, April 17, 2008 2:40:00 PM  

Opening Night photos

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- My Opening Night photostream. I really look forward to getting their on a sunny day sometime soon.

[flickr : Cherry Blossoms at Dawn, 3.29.08 set/slideshow]

Labels: Nats/MLB 2008, Photography

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posted by WFY @ 9:02 PM | |

2008 Cherry Blossoms

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Yesterday, instead of blogging at dawn, I was down around the Tidal Basin taking photographs. I had never gotten up to see the Cherry Blossoms that early and I was glad that I did, despite the chill.

Later in the day, I went the Newseum for an early-bird preview. I'll have more to say about that in the middle of the week.

[flickr : Cherry Blossoms at Dawn, 3.29.08 set/slideshow]

cherry blossoms, dc, Washington, Tidal Basin

Labels: BeltwayLand, Photography, The District

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posted by WFY @ 10:22 AM | |

Crocuses, crocusi?

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- As much as I like winter ( even though it wasn't much of a winter), I'm ready for spring. Seeing Erica's inaugural crocuses come up is certainly a welcome sight.

[flickr : my photos tagged with crocuses/slideshow]

crocuses, flowers, spring

Labels: BeltwayLand, Photography, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 12:53 PM | |

The Awakening

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On the final full day of its tenure at Hains Point, East Potomac Park, I visited The Awakening, a famous sculpture by J. Seward Johnson. After over 27 years in this location, the sculpture is being moved to the National Harbor development in Prince George's County, Md.

Hains Point won't be the same without The Awakening. I visited or pedaled by it many times. It will be very odd, if not unsettling, to see that part of Hains Point empty the next time I bike through there. At least it isn't going far, though I wonder if we'll have to pay to park at National Harbor to see it when it is installed there.

[flickr : The Awakening set/slideshow]

PREVIOUSLY:
Awakening moving next week
Grounds for Sculpture

The Awakening, sculpture, J. Seward Johnson, dc, Hains Point, East Potomac Park, National Harbor

Labels: Arts and Culture, BeltwayLand, Photography, The District

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posted by WFY @ 9:29 PM | |

Up close: Hawk and its prey

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- On Sunday, I was going to take photographs of my dirty car when I noticed a hawk several yards in front of me attacking a squirrel. The two went at it for about three minutes before the hawk pinned the squirrel down and suffocated it.

My brother, who arrived in the parking lot not long after I did, thinks it was a red tail hawk, a.k.a. chicken hawk.

The hawk wound up dragging the squirrel around for a while. I got bored and went out to complete the original task. Later, when I was in the parking lot again, the squirrel was in the grass, but the hawk had left.

That was easily the closest I had ever gotten to a big raptor. It isn't the only wild life around our complex either -- we've seen a doe and her fawn several times between Van Dorn Street and I-395.

[flickr : Hawk kills squirrel set/slideshow]

Labels: BeltwayLand, Photography, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 12:07 PM | |

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Star Wars exhibit reaches Philly this weekend

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, a traveling exhibit, is setting up shop in Franklin Institute in Philadelphia this weekend. Two years ago, during our Jaunary 2006 trip to Boston, we saw it at the Museum of Science. My brief review of the exhibit:

...has lots of models and costumes from the entire saga. The "science" of Star Wars galaxy is explained and compared with contemporary science from this galaxy. In some ways, we are not far off from things in the Star Wars universe, but sadly lightsaber technology remains elusive. Also, the Millennium Falcon is worth doing too. Sadly, we were not allowed to take any photos inside the Falcon.

The Inky preview is critical of the "science" part of the exhibit which is a reasonable assessment, but not many people are there for the science anyway.

Both Erica and I really enjoyed the exhibit, more so than the one the Smithsonian had in the late 1990s. Since Philly is less than three hours up I-95 from D.C. so you can make a day-trip out of the visit. If you want to make a weekend out of it gophila.com has a package.

I recommend buying tickets in advance though to avoid the lines, particularly for the Falcon simulator which is a separate admission.

The exhibit runs until May 2009.

[flickr : my photos tagged with starwars/slideshow]

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, Frankin Institute, Philadelphia

Labels: Arts and Culture, Movies, Northeast Corridor, Pennsylvania, Photography, Star Wars, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 6:00 AM | |

Curly W's

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- I wonder if the Nationals would have still have gone with the curly W cap insignia. Walgreen's had a presence here then. It has been pointed out several times that the W's look very similar. Comparing them side by side, they don't look that much alike though, do they?

By the way, I love the curly W and hope it is always the Nats primary cap logo.

Walgreens, Washington Nationals

Labels: BeltwayLand, Nats/MLB 2008, Photography, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 12:13 PM | |

Jamey Turner and his glass harp

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- For as long as I have been going to Old Town, Jamey Turner has been setting up his glass harp and performing. Somewhere there is a photo of my brother and I "helping" him when we were kids. I think the NE corner of The Strand & King Street is his usual location.

The music he makes is beautiful; I am glad he makes the more world a more wonderful place.

[flickr : my photos tagged with glassharp/slideshow]

Jamey Turner, glass harp, Alexandria, Virginia

Labels: BeltwayLand, Music, Photography, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 12:04 PM | |

I love this guy. He's one of the best things about an afternoon in Old Town Alexandria on a summer day.

# posted by  kristen23 : Tuesday, February 05, 2008 1:18:00 PM  

Library of Congress discovers flickr

The Library of Congress has opened up a flickr account and has already uploaded 3,100 photos. Good move LOC.

Library of Congress Blog

My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven

Flickr Followup

Labels: History, Photography

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posted by WFY @ 12:15 PM | |

Farewell, San Francisco

Nearly three weeks after the fact, over 600 photographs and a couple dozen blog posts later, I'm going to "say goodbye" to the city by the bay. We had a great trip out there and thank David for hosting us.

Be sure to check out Erica's [flickr : set from San Francisco/slideshow]

My entire San Francisco flickr collection

Labels: Best of WWN, Photography, San Francisco, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:05 PM | |

Muir Woods and the Bohemian Grove

MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- On day 3 of our San Francisco trip, David drove us out to