Inauguration Day, in Brief

Got up before the sun. Got to the Metro. Waited past crowded trains. Kathryn got a banana peel thrown at her. Met some cool people when we finally got on the train. McPherson Square! Walked. Crowds. Thought we were going to the parade. Walked. Crowds. Ended up at the Washington Monument. Stood. Crowds. Smiles. Pictures of crowds. Got to know Team McPherson Square better. Colder. Waited. Crowds. People we like an didn't like filling up the Capitol steps.

INAUGURATION!

Smiles on all our faces. A pretty song. A pretty poem. Walked. Crowds. Dude with mega-phone telling us all to repent. O-BA-MA cheer drowning him out. Crowds. Team McPherson2 sticking together. Shuffling past the White House. Almost getting run over by a police officer. Walking again. Crowds. Finally made it to Pennsylvania Avenue. No room at the Parade! Oh well. Walk to Georgetown. Must find a bathroom. Then we'll find some lunch. Team McPherson2 walking over the Key Bridge to Rosslyn. Metro still too crowded, so keep walking all the way back to Courthouse.

Phew!

I'll post some pics later.

Day of Service and Honoring the Past

Our President-Elect had declared today a National Day of Service and so Kathryn and I had tried to sign-up like a month ago to participate in one of the service projects that are happening in the DC area today, but like many of the things she got us on the waiting list of 500 people. So needless to say our plans for today did not start out with us participating in any service projects. We were on our way to the National Archives and the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery and when the first was crowded beyond belief and the second wasn't open yet, I suggested that we walk over to the MLK Library to see what was going on there to see what was going on today. What we found was this:





We got to participate in a service project after all! Thanks to the Morehouse College fraternities to organized such a great project. We met some really nice people and got to participate a little bit in the Feeding America program. So many people had showed up (some from as far as California) that we were only needed for about an hour. We rotated through and let everyone else have a turn.



Going through musuems is nice, but this was WAY better!

We didn't stick around for too long though as the big entertainment was going to Josh Groben and after the concert yesterday I'd had my fill. So it was off to the Portrait Gallery which was finally open and saw the pictures of all the presidents. I think that the presidents who turned out to struggle the most with their time in office have the most unusual portraits.

Then we went to wait in the line at the National Archives to see those documents that are the most important to us in this country. Fortunately I was able to take a few pictures before so many people used their flash and all cameras were put away.

Very few things move me, but the phrase at the beginning of the Constitution really is so powerful to me.



On our way back we walked through the Mall to see what was happening and to see the set up for tomorrow. It is a crazy place already! And the worst part was when we walked by the MSNBC booth, who should be there, but my new best friend Josh Groben. we really need work on scheduling our events at different times.

Concert at Lincoln Memorial

Yesterday I went to probably the best concert I have ever had the pleasure of going to, even if Josh Groben was one of the performers.

Kathryn and I arrived at 9:30 in the morning and we could have gotten a bit closer than we were, but decided that we wanted to have a good view of the screens and from our vantage point we could still see the stage, although the performers looked like wee little bugs dancing about while their voices were broadcast across the front long.



I'd never heard 300,000 people singing the Star Spangled Banner before and it really was a moving sound. Definately worth the five hour wait to hear the concert and our President-Elect speak!

A Little While Longer...

The reason I haven't posted is because I've spent the last six weeks in Laos saving children from Malaria and because of my intese dedication to that cause...okay, so really I've just been too wrapped up in my own life to think about it.

I did spend one weekend in Louisville with William and Liahni to see thier nephew Nolan Chandler and the Cardinal Men play a great soccer game at University of Louisville. Go Cards! They are now ranked 11th in the nation and I'm sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that I attended one game this season. I'm always so impressed by the caliber and intensity that it takes to play at that level. All I can say is that I hope never to have run that much in my life. I understand why they get so sweaty.

We also learned about the Derby--Southern style. Thank goodenss I went to the museum so I know how to properly bet on the ponies next time I'm at the track. We spent most of our time coming up with names for our horses. I think mine would have to be something about shoes, maybe like Pair of Heels or Stilletos or something like that.

We did eat at this totally fun place called Lynn's Paradise Cafe where I ate part of two of the greatest blueberry pancakes ever put on plates before me. I think William enjoyed his meal too as he said he wanted to lick the sauce off his plate if he could have.

For me though the best part was when we went to 5th street. It really wasn't that much fun down there (it was late and I was tired and it was much cooler up on Bardstown Rd and more localish--as in fewer out of towners) and everyone was so drunk by the time we got there that no one was cool to talk to. But on the way in I got carded. It's been a while since that happened. In fact last time I went to a club about a year ago, I tried to show ID, but they just waved me through. Then, I was a bit put off. Now, I was happy to get carded. Let me just bask in that for a moment more...

The last two days I've spent on the couch trying to recover from being sick. I hate getting sick. But it does let me catch up on the television time; and with the new fall shows ahveing started, the DVR does get quite full. I was very happy to see one of my favorite actors back on Ugly Betty this week! Thank you Freddy Rodriguez for making me feel better on a Thrusday night when I was ready to die. If Gio and Betty aren't going to get together this season (what's going to happen with the neighbor across the hall?) I'll be more than happy to help out!

Paris on the Side

After my jaunt down to Springfield, I was thinking about some of my other travels that I've taken over the last few years and reviewing some of my pictures and home movies. That lead me to the following video of the Eiffel Tower that I took on a trip to Paris a couple of years ago. Sadly, it hasn't been doctored at all. I'm really that stupid to make my videos look like they're falling down.

Geek-out in Land of Lincoln Day 2

Today was all Abe all the time! In case we got lost, we had these helpful signs to get us back on track to the sights. Of course we could only go to Lincoln sights and Springfield is only made of one-way streets, so we had to go in circles. I even began to wonder at some points if Springfield ever had any other politicians in it. Oh, yeah…it did, but many of them have ended up in prison.

I love the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. I was geek-tastic for the three and a half hours that we spent there. Of course the best part for me though was the gift shop. Forget the moving words of Lincoln and the totally awesome hologram presentations when I can buy a cheap Lincoln head! Presents for those who couldn’t come with me.

We also went to the Lincoln home. I have once piece of advice. Even if you tremble with excitement at the prospect of visiting historical sites or plan a three hour detour into Pennsylvania to visit Gettysburg for the fourth time, if you’re offered a special presentation at the National Park site at the Lincoln Home before going through the house…RUN. Seriously, I got out my cell phone I was so bored and sent text messages instead. Yawn!

But then we went to the cemetery. Of course it poured and it was under construction, so I don’t have any pictures, just lovely memories of the tomb. So I leave you with a song.

Geek-out in Land of Lincoln Day 1

I have taken a little trip this weekend to the state capital in the Land of Lincoln. Every once in a while I feel the urge to totally geek out over my love all things historical about Civil War history. So, I’m planning a totally Abe-gasmic visit to all the sites here in Springfield. I mean this is where his awesome career started, so everything should be all about Lincoln. My license plates have always told me that it is his land (on a side note, not I was shocked to find out that Illinois is the only state that seems to have dedicated the entire state to one person via car registration, not even England does that for the Queen). Only, when I got to the state capital, I was a little confused as to exactly who’s land I live in. Certainly it started out just fine. I mean we have the great young Abe to greet us as we come up step to the entrance:



And I even get the nice picture of the Little Giant, Stephen Douglas that Lincoln famously debated up and down the state in the 1858 senate race. Sorry, just a Geek-out moment.



Then I saw all the other statues around the building. How did Illinois do without a poor replica of the Liberty Bell?



Wait, I know! We should celebrate the white man’s dominance and superiority of the native peoples of the state by erecting a condescending and inaccurate portrayal of someone that is unidentified.



But then here’s a collection of random parts of statues that I like to think are well-intentioned, but poorly executed tributes to state heroes who just aren’t as cool as good old Honest Abe.

Shy John Palmer


Some Awesome Chair Griffens


Everett Dirksen got something on his pants!


I just hope that tomorrow I get to Geek-out a bit more about Abe and and a bit less about Everett Dirksen's pants.

Chicago 2016

For the last couple of years the Mayor (around these parts that title refers to Mayor Daly even if you don’t live in Chicago proper) has launched his campaign to bring the Summer Olympics to Chicago. I’ve followed some of the media coverage for it and have even popped over to the official website http://www.chicago2016.org/ to see what they have to present.

Now, I am probably one of the biggest proponents of telling people of how great a city Chicago is and why everyone should come for a visit, but I wouldn’t even drive the 42 miles from my house based on the information that is provided on the videos. Here’s the most recent one from YouTube:



Where’s the mention of the culture of the city? Why does it only mention the diversity in passing? What about the neighborhoods?

Some of the cities that Chicago is competing against (Madrid and Rio de Janeiro) both present themselves as fun cosmopolitan cities. Chicago branded itself as having huge parks?! I love the parks and I think the lakefront is a fantastic feature of the city, but why make that the way to brand ourselves? We are an international city and we want to host an international event so why don’t we recognize the fact that we have much more to offer than just the lakefront and its amenities. That was fine for the USOC, but we need to let the rest of the world know what Chicago is about: the diversity of its people, the neighborhoods, the culture of the museums, the theater, the festivals, and yes even the parks.

Where am I exactly?

When I went and visted my sister in Salt Lake a couple of weeks ago, she told me that we were going to a fund raiser in Peru. Now, I lived in Utah and I had never heard of Peru, UT but I was just going to go with what she said. When we got out there and actually got in the car to go to the dinner, imagine my suprise when we only drove a few blocks to East High. It was a dinner and silent auction for http://eagle-condor.org/ and we also got to enjoy the talents of some authentic Peruvian dancers. I even got some pictures.

When I got home I showed my pictures to some of my co-workers who asked where I was over the weekend as I said that I was in Salt Lake City. You see they all thought that because the pictures were taken at East High from High School Musical that I had gone to Peru, via New Mexico, via Salt Lake. All in all, it was a very busy weekend.

Have Terror, Will Travel...

Every time I fly on a plane, I reflect on how exactly my life has been affected by all of the changes that have come into the world since September 11, 2001. It can be just the little things like being dehydrated after a flight or knowing that the government is more interested in reading my emails.

Sometimes though, the terrorism threats feel very real and they hit close to home. What follows is a story as I related it to friends and family in an email in July 2004.

"I just wanted to notify you all of a very dangerous situation that occurred to me last week while doing my daily commute home from work. Because of security risks that have been happening, all commuter trains have been on a heightened state of alert and so many of the passengers and railroad personnel have done an excellent job of making sure of our safety. Before you go on, I just want to ensure you of it's truthfulness and that it really did happen to me.
"Last Friday evening, a bomb scare shut down the commuter rail line that runs from Chicago to the western suburbs because of a suspicious package that was on the 4:44 train. We were stuck on our train in the train yard for 30 minutes and then were forced to walk the last half mile to our cars. Others had to wait more than an hour for buses to get to their train station during rush hour and then sit on a bus to get home. The fire department sent out the bomb squad, the immediate area of the station was evacuated, and all emergency personnel were put on alert. "The immediate area around the package was quarantined and stabilized, but the package itself began to move. After and exhaustive attempt to defuse the situation without putting any of the brave personnel in uniform in any undue rink, the suspect package was found to contain a hamster.
"Just so you know, I was neither hurt nor terrorized during this incident. I was actually rather amused.
"P.S. The hamster found a very happy home with one of the fire fighters."

Despite the lightness of that incident, I know that in many ways the order of things post 9/11 is very different than it was before that day. Like so many social changes that happen, most of them didn’t occur right after the terror attacks happened in 2001 but it was a more gradual shift so that we could become more used to the idea.

I didn’t fly after 9/11 for six weeks, but at that time we still had National Guard personnel manning the security checkpoints at airports with automatic weapon. That was uncomfortable. That has since changed. When I went to the Louvre in 2006, the military presence at the entrance there was also heavily armed and I imagine they could use their weapons just as easily as those who were at the US airports in 2001. But there it didn’t feel as out of place because as an American, the threat of terrorism has always felt like a faraway or foreign problem. Every once in a while we have moments like the great hamster episode that remind us that even here we are vulnerable, but I’m not ready yet to allow the automatic weapons to patrol the grounds around the Museum Campus just yet.

My First Offering...

Yesterday I finished Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass in the His Dark Materials trilogy. When I bought the book I wasn’t expecting very much to be honest, but as the movie is coming out later this year and as a general rule I like to read the book before I watch the movie, I picked up The Golden Compass a couple of months ago. Back to the book…I had a business trip the last two days (more about that in a bit) and I took it to read. It was far more than I expected to find.

Brief plot synopsis is that a young girl Lyra Belaqua lives in an alternate version of late Victorian Earth where the Church rules all and where the United States doesn’t exist, but many technologies of that era are coming in to common use. She’s been raised by the scholars at Jordan Collage at Oxford University where her uncle Lord Asriel has left her while he does his exploring in the Artic. He returns with fantastic proof of Dust and convinces Oxford to sponsor another expedition just as roomers of a dark threat begins to threaten Lyra.

I found the story engrossing and the narrative really kept a really good pace the entire time and I genuinely found the characters engaging and sympathetic. But what is the real driving force behind at least this first book (haven’t even looked that the other two yet) is the concepts that form the frame-work in which the story is set. Pullman set up Lyra’s world as an alternate Earth to our own that we live in and by the end, I was expecting to hear of strange invaders from the Arctic. I loved the subtlety that the book uses. I know it was written for a young adult audience, but it really is about consequences for everyone and choices that we all make in our lives. Unfortunately we don’t have alternate worlds to relive our lives, but we just have to make the most out of the ones we currently do have and try to live the live we’ve got the best we can.

So I promised to say something about my business trip. It’s not so much about my trip as it is about where I stayed. I was at a large chain business class hotel where they put me on a “Quiet Floor.” When I got off the elevator they even had a sign that told me so. It even had the following words:
The hotel promises that the following will not be staying on your floor
· Tour groups
· Bands
· Circus animals
Now as far as needing my sleep, I really appreciated the first two. But when I got to the third line, my thought was, “I’ve stayed at this hotel before and not been on a quiet floor. Was there a chance I was sleeping next to a tiger?” Seriously! I had no idea that circus animals actually stay IN the hotel. Don’t they have like—trailers or something. I mean even the “celebrities” on Dancing with the Stars get one and they’re almost the same, right? So next time I stay at a hotel, I’m for sure going to ask about their circus animal policy when I check in. Cause I sure as heck don’t want any camels crashing through the walls in the middle of the night.

That makes me wonder about what sort of things people really bring into hotels that they would never bring into their own homes. I did watch Welcome to the Parker on Brovo and I know people will do things like have really drunk ping-pong tournaments and ruin Gene Autry's house, but I’m not really the adventurous type in that way at all because I’m usually way too tired by the time I get back to my room because all my adventures usually happen outside of the hotel room.

Why would someone really need to bring their 500 pound gorilla with them on a business trip? Would the baby elephant really need to stay on the pull-out couch and watch the television all night? Do the dancing poodles really need to have access to the mini-bar? Okay, for the last one, I’d had to give it a definite yes because even this bitch needs a kings size Snicker's bar at 2 am sometimes.