We have a full flight today, originally uploaded by smays.
I’m surprised I don’t see more photos like this. Given how fucked up air travel has become, it’s probably a good way to get tossed from the plane.
You can’t see them in this size image, but I’ve annotated the photo to point out a couple of strange expressions.
The National Air and Space Museum was one of the more interesting places we visited in Washington. The original Wright Brothers plane, the Apollo 11 command module… a lot of history. Would take days to see it all.
During the cab ride back to the hotel, we struck up a conversation with the driver and asked about celebrities-he-has-driven. His list included: Telly Savalas, Senator James Lugar and the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Best tipper? Telly. Gave the guy a $50 on an 8 dollar fare. Worst? Jesse stiffed the guy. Not a penny. Our driver still can’t believe it. About 4 our of 10 fares do not tip. Amazing.
Our friend –and DC local– Dianne took us to a hole-in-the-wall BBQ spot that was pretty damned good. Then a stroll in Georgetown. Somehow not as sexy as it seems in all the spy novels.
It’s been a good trip but we’re both ready to see our dawgs, deal with our dead refrigerator and get a cup of Rocket Fuel.
Barb and I will try to do a little sight-seeing while in D.C. The International Spy Museum is on our short list. Claims to be the the only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to espionage.
“The Museum features the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever placed on public display. Many of these objects are being seen by the public for the first time. These artifacts illuminate the work of famous spies and pivotal espionage actions as well as help bring to life the strategies and techniques of the men and women behind some of the most secretive espionage missions in world history.”
One of her conference events will be held at the Newseum so we might get to see some of that. And hope to make it to Britishink, where Paul Roe (Fez #30) wields the needle.
Okay, I’m officially converted to iMovie 09. Able to do everything I needed to or wanted to with this little project. And I love the themes. A fun touch. The trick is lots of brief shots.
I’m not having any luck uploading inauguration photos to flickr. Think there might be thousands of folks trying to do the same thing all at once? I’ll get ours posted eventually but here are a few to tide you over. Starting with Barb in front of the Capitol on Sunday…
…and this lovely shot of smays.com in the wee hours of Tuesday.
And, finally, one of my favorites. Barb asked this Marine soldier if she could take his photo and he graciously said yes. At the last minute she ordered me to get in the picture. I can’t remember why I grabbed his arm and we’ll never know what he thought about it.
Thanks to Nancy for sharing this photo of Sheryl Crow (and her momma and daddy) with our new president. I’m guessing this was taken before or after the opening ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. Is that Jamie Fox in the background.
The arrow indicates where Barb and I were. #1 is where O was sworn in and #2 the nearest Jumbotron. We had about 2 square feet on which to stand. Latest crowd estimate 1.8 million.
Inauguration Day ended like it began. Standing in the dark, bitter cold in a crush of people. We arrived at the Metro station at 4 a.m. and there were already 50 or 60 people waiting for the station to open.
It’s difficult to describe how crowded the Metro cars were. Very much like the video of Japanese train “car stuffers” cramming people into the already full cars. I must say, however, most folks were pretty friendly and patient.
We reached our security gate (about half a mile from the Capitol?) around 5 a.m. and there was a crowd of a couple of hundred people waiting for the security check-in which didn’t happen until about 9 a.m. Four very long hours, with the bone-chilling cold creeping into your feed and up your legs.
Once through security we hobbled to a standing area about 100 yards from the Capitol steps where our new president was sworn in. We could see President Obama or the others except on the the Jumbotrons, the closest of which was about 40 or 50 yards away. Another 2.5 hour wait. Temp in the upper teens. And crowded.
Just in front of us was a large area filled with row upon row of folding chairs. The cheap seats but better than no seat at all. This is where we saw some celebrities: Chris Tucker; Bruce Springsteen; Spike Lee; Al Franken. I was impressed that these folks were willing sit in the cold with the rest of us.
Behind us, stretching out along the National Mall, all the way to the Washington Monument, was the sea of people you saw on TV, waving flags.
By the time the oath of office was administered, we had been standing in line and fighting for our live son the Metro, for 8 hours. All but 30 or 45 minutes in the cold.
After the ceremony, The million+ people had to go someplace. The streets and sidewalks near the Capital were packed, so we decided to skip the parade and go back to base camp. To say the Metro was crowded doesn’t begin to describe the scene.
After a nap and some food we got in our party clothes and headed down tot he convention center where several of the inaugural balls were being held. Sheryl Crow did a nice set and a little late the new VP and Mrs. showed, which we mistakenly assumed meant Obama wouldn’t make it. We knew cabs would be scarce but after more than an hour in the freezing cold, we gave up and called our friend Dianne (out of a dead sleep). Trooper that she is, she fought the traffic and closed off streets to come down and rescue us. (There will be a small shrine in our basement)
So was our Inauguration Adventure fun? Not by any objective measure. It was… and experience. Like WWII. An important moment in time of which we can say we participated. Would I do it again, knowing what I know now? Doubtful. But that’s true of much in life.
I’ll be processing photos and video for days and will post anything that I think you might find interesting.
I have no idea what it was like at previous inaugurations, but everywhere I look, in every face, there’s a real sense of joy and excitement. And these look like people who –like smays.com– never felt like their vote made much of a difference, but do now.
My cynical (“Realistic! Realistic!”) friends tell me I am niave (nice word for chump) to believe/hope Obama is anything more than another smooth talking pol. Once in office, it’ll be business as usual. Well, there’s bunch of chumps everywhere I look. These are the true believers. They think (know?) they can knock on doors and organize and vote and, in time, change things.
Before the Net, you could sway these masses with well placed media buys. I’m thinking that might be changing (have changed). MSM has their own problems and the Net can take a politician down as fast as it can lift her up.
But the people on these cold streets aren’t thinking about that. They see a new day and they’re pumped. They BELIEVE they are part of something big and important and it’s gonna be hard to persuade them otherwise. [Inauguration 2009 flickr images]
Hotel where the MO Dem's had their party reports no found cameras but promised to call. Perhaps it fell out on the cab ride home. Whatever, I really don't feel bad about losing the camera, I have more. But it's a shame the video will never be shared. Nothing earth shattering but man that guy could dance.
If I ever find someone's camera with stills or video on it, you can bet I'll post to flickr and YouTube. Be nice if someone does that with mine. Beyond that, I like to imagine someone taking a great photo or capturing some amazing video with the little Casio. I posted on this somewhere up stream. Finding a camera and trying to solve some mystery using only the images it contains. If anyone stumbles across that post, send me a link.
This reminds me that the camera is a passive thing. Being in the right place, in the right hands, at the right time… that's what makes a great photograph.
And haven't people left cameras in public places with instructions to take some photos and then leave the camera for someone else in a different location? But that would only be fun if the photos were shared. So, if the person who found the Casio Exilim on the evening of January 18, 2009, in Washington D.C. is reading this. Enjoy the camera. Keep it or pass it along to someone else. But post the pix and video online where we all have a chance of find it. Tag the files with "smays.com"