Two Things Challenge: Native / Exotic

The National Museum of the American Indian:
America's homage to its native peoples

About the only thing truly, truly native in this town is the National Museum of the American Indian and its artifacts and exhibits. As none of us living in the United States can claim native status aside from the native tribes we displaced in the name of God, the King of England, the King of Spain, the King of France, exploration, religion, exploitation, or whatever other colonialist aspiration our ancestors might have had hundreds of years ago, my submission for Native is the NMAI.

In terms of exotic, I wanted to take pictures of the orchid exhibit this morning at the National Botanical Gardens, but they didn't open until 11:00 and I'd been up and out shooting cherry blossoms since 6:30 AM. I was cold and tired and wanted to get home to see the results of my photography. About the only Exotic thing in these parts is the Abyssinian cat that lives in my house. Abbies are a domesticated cat breed from Ethopia and are reportedly one of the oldest known breeds among cats.

I don't know if I'd call this cat "exotic" as much as I'd call him "lazy."
Being an Abyssinian makes him the former, but that's about it!

Usually abbies are sleek and trim, but this one is fat and happy. I'd be fat and happy, too, if my entire purpose in life was to loll around in the sun all day. Sheesh. (And yes, you've seen this cat before. He featured in the Two Things Challenge: Sun / Shadow. Just for the record: This is not my cat. It belongs to my housemate. I refer to it affectionately as The Dirty Bastard Cat.)

Side note: Technically speaking, Japanese cherry blossoms trees are exotic to the U.S. I suppose those could be my exotic entries for today, too!


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

2008 Cherry Blossom Festival: Contents

I've posted five entries of pictures from this year's Cherry Blossom Festival. You can continue scrolling down to see all of the entries. Or, if you don't want to look at the more than 25 pictures posted here, pick one of the links below and see what you want to see!

To see larger versions of each image, simply click on it.

To see a view of Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Air Force Memorial from across the Tidal Basin, click here.

To see the Washington Monument with cherry blossoms, click here.

To see the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin with cherry blossoms, click here and here.

To see close-ups of the cherry blossoms, click here.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at Washington, D.C.'s, loveliest time of the year.

2008 Cherry Blossoms: Arlington National Cemetery & The Air Force Memorial

The Tidal Basin with Cherry Blossoms in the foreground. In the center background is the Custis-Lee Mansion at Arlington National Cemetery. To the left of the mansion, you can catch a glimpse of the many headstones marking the graves of America's honored dead.


The Tidal Basin with Cherry Blossoms again in the foreground. In the right center background, the U.S. Air Force Memorial.


Copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

2008 Cherry Blossoms: The Washington Monument

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

2008 Cherry Blossoms: The Jefferson Memorial

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

2008 Cherry Blossoms: Just the Blossoms

Copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

BLOSSOMS!

Cherry blossoms in full bloom with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.
Spring has arrived in Washington!
(P.S. This photo is not an overlay. This is pure, dumb luck!)

I looked out my window yesterday evening and noticed we were about to have a gorgeous sunset. I literally ran to my room, grabbed my camera, tripod, keys, and a jacket and ran out the door. Jumped in my car and drove from upper NW to the Tidal Basin via Beach Drive and Rock Creek Parkway in about 10 minutes. (No mean feat, let me tell you! It usually takes 20.)

These are just four of the 114 pictures I took of the cherry blossoms, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Roosevelt Memorial, and a few sunset shots. Over the next few days, I'll post a few more pictures. I'm also going back tomorrow morning before sunrise to set up and take pictures of the blossoms and the Jefferson Memorial in the early morning light.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival signals the commencement of spring in Washington, D.C., as well as the arrival of trains, planes, automobiles, and busloads of tourists and high school touring groups from all over the United States and the world. More than a million people will pour into the city over the next two weeks to enjoy the blossoms and the festival.

In 1912, the Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki, presented 3,000 cherry trees as a gift to the peoples of the United States in an effort to strengthen relations between our two countries. (In 1915, the United States reciprocated and presented Japan with flowering dogwood trees.) The cherry trees where planted around the Tidal Basin and the first festival was held in 1935. All festivities were suspended in the 1940s while the U.S. and Japan were at war with each other.

In 1947, the D.C. Board of Trade and D.C. Commissioners resumed the festival as an act of reconciliation and it has continued to this day. Events include a parade, martial arts demonstrations, and the crowning of a Cherry Blossom Princess, among other activities. In 1965, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted an additional 3,800 trees from the Japanese.

Today, these trees have realized a full cycle of life when, in 1981, Japanese horticulturists took cuttings to replace trees destroyed in flooding in Japan. In 1999, a new generation of cuttings was planted from a tree in Japan reputed to be 1,500 years old!

To see larger versions of the thumbnails, click on them. And come back next week. There will be more! Photo thumbnail descriptions from top to bottom: Cherry trees in full bloom at the mouth of the Tidal Basin; pink clouds to match the pink blossoms: the Washington Monument from across the Tidal Basin; blossoms, tourists, and the Jefferson Memorial: our most popular and picturesque time of year!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

High Flying

Dulles International Airport (IAD):
One of D.C.'s three airports and the busiest of them all.
Taken at sunrise.

A longer exposure and slightly enhanced shot of IAD at sunrise.

Washington Dulles International Aiport (IAD) is one of three airports serving the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan corridor. In addition to Dulles, there is Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) near Baltimore and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on the Potomac River. The only advantage to picking up a friend from the airport who has flown a red-eye is the opportunity it afforded me to take pictures of one of D.C.'s most picturesque and architecturally stunning airports.

IAD is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (His grandfather and an uncle also served as Secretaries of State under Presidents Benjamin Harrison and Woodrow Wilson, respectively.) Dulles is credited with strengthening NATO, instigating the ANZUS treaty with Australia and New Zealand, and working closely with the CIA (under the directorship of his brother, Allen Welsh Dulles) to overthrow the democratically-elected governments of Iran and Guatemala. (In hindsight and in light of recent unrest in the world, probably not the best idea, eh?) He was also a pioneer of "mutually assured destruction"--a Cold War phrase for nuking the hell out of the enemy. In many respects, Dulles' diplomacy contributed to the heightened tensions of the Cold War. At one point, he told an interviewer, "The United States doesn't have friends, it has interests." Chilling, no?

But, this is about IAD. Located on land selected by President Eisenhower, the airport is 26 miles from Washington in now-suburban Virginia. It straddles the Loudoun and Fairfax County lines, but has a Washington, D.C., address. The building was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and gives the suggestion of flight with its swooping roof, expansive glass exteriors, and halogen lighting. The airport was dedicated in November 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. United Airlines is the airport's busiest carrier shuttling 61% of all travelers through its gates. In 2006 alone, more than 23 million passengers* traveled through IAD.

*Compared to BWI: 20.7 million and DCA: 18.5 million.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Hallowed

Fort Stevens: Washington's first line of defense during the Civil War

Battleground National Cemetery:
Hallowed ground for the 41 dead from the Battle of Fort Stevens

Located in the heart of urban D.C.,
this is the smallest military cemetery in the United States

A few months ago, I posted a picture of Fort Reno--one of the ring of forts that encircled the National Capital during the Civil War. It was at Fort Reno that Federal troops saw the approach of Confederate troops led by Gen. Jubal Early and alerted the garrison at Fort Stevens, four miles to the east.

On July 11 - 12, 1864, the troops of Fort Stevens engaged Early's troops and repelled their attack. On both days, President Lincoln rode up from his summer cottage at the Old Soldiers' Home to view the fighting. At one point, he came under fire and, whether true or apocryphal, was told, "Get down, you fool!" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. He is only the second president to come under fire, the first being James Madison during the War of 1812.

At the end of the fighting casualties stood this--Federals: 41, Confederates: 833. The Union dead are buried less than half a mile away from the fort in Battleground National Cemetery. Located on Georgia Avenue, the cemetery is tucked between residential housing and low-income apartments. It is the smallest military cemetery in the United States. If you're visiting D.C., a trip to Fort Stevens and the Battleground National Cemetery could be combined with a visit to Walter Reed, which is another three blocks to the north.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Scottish Rite Temple (Again?!)

Scottish Rite Temple: Human progress; liberty of thought;
freedom of conscience; and the guarantee of equal rights--
the cause, wish, mission, and goals of the Freemasons

2800 16th Street NW is the location for the Scottish Rite Temple in D.C....

Whoa! Wait a minute. Haven't we seen a Scottish Rite building already on 16th Street? Yep, we have. The previous building--Scottish Rite 33' Supreme Council--is the national headquarters for the Scottish Rite in the U.S. This building is, as best I can ascertain, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.

There are two lines of Freemasonry: Scottish Rite and York Rite. In the former, members must profess a belief in a divine being. As a result, Scottish Rite Masons represent a broad range of religions among their members. I'm told that in Springfield, Virginia, a Scottish Rite lodge has inducted a Sikh into its ranks. The Scottish Rite consists of 33 degrees, while the York Rite has 12. In the former, the story of the rite extends back into the Old Testament of the Bible and the building of King Solomon's Temple.

In the York Rite, members are required to confess a belief in God and Jesus Christ. Members of this rite also make up the Knights Templar, the Knights of Malta, and several other knightly orders. The story of the York Rite incorporates the New Testament of the Bible and is specifically Christian in its focus. (Update on 03.27.08: Please see a correction in the comment section of this entry regarding the York Rite. My thanks to Just A Mason for clarification.)

In the U.S., Freemasons are heavily engaged in charitable work in their communities. According to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Masons spend over $2 million per day in philanthropy. A lot of their philanthropic activity is embodied in groups like the Shriners--those dudes in the funny hats driving clown cars in parades and civic events all over the country.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08

Bibliophile

Whatever your interest, you're sure to find a book
that covers it at the Friends of the Library Bookstore

Borders Books & Music it ain't, but if you want to take your time browsing,
pull up a chair and enjoy your finds

Tucked into the basement of the Wheaton Regional Library in Wheaton, Maryland, is a cavernous corner devoted to the selling and donation of books--young and old.

Within its narrow walkways and high shelves you can find everything from a 1920 printing of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn as part of a collection of works by various writers to copies of National Geographic book series, from case bound copies of William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full. There are encyclopedia sets and special collections, children's books and Reader's Digest condensed volumes. There are mystery/thriller and trashy romances, history and poli-sci, cook books and career manuals, travel guides and map books, language primers and textbooks. You name a genre or an author and you're likely to find something you'll be happy with.

But here's the best part: the prices. You can pick up a box of books and still spend less than $20. Most case bound books are $1.00. The paperbacks are $1.50 - $2.00 (haven't quite figured out why these are more than the case bound.) All of the books are in relatively good condition, which is important if you have hang ups about grimy, I-don't-know-who's-sneezed-in-it books like I do.

If you love books, but you don't always love the hole buying books can put in your budget, check out the Friend's Bookstore at the Wheaton Regional Library. And if you have books you don't want to throw away (perish the thought!) or you don't want to give to Goodwill, you can donate your tomes to the bookstore. It's tax deductible, by the way.

11701 Georgia Avenue (cross street is Arcola)
Wheaton, MD
T: (240) 777-0688

Hours:
Mon-Thurs 10.00A-8.30P
Friday 10.00A-4.30P
Saturday 9:00A-4:30P
Sunday 1:00P-4:30P

http://www.folmc.org


P.S. If you're like me and you have books by the bazillions, you should check out this blog. (The name is a shock and misread initially, but look at it again and you'll notice it's a play on words. I promise it's legit and isn't some lewd, inappropriate site.)


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08
Text copyright: On Rush Hour in D.C.--my firstborn blog ever

Fascinating Artifacts

Walter Reed Army Hospital--the original building.
Behind it is the newer Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

One of more than 15 display cases chronicling the history and development
of the microscope--the pathologist's best friend.

Death mask and hand casts of President Abraham Lincoln,
as well as artifacts related to his assassination.

Last week, I posted a bit about prosthetics and the young men and women who rehabilitate at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This week, I wanted to show you a little more from the National Museum of Health and Medicine at WRAMC. The museum was founded in 1862 "to study and improve medical conditions during the American Civil War." As I mentioned previously, the museum is open to the public and houses exhibits not only on advances in medicine as a result of breakthroughs on the field of war and post-war care, but also historical artifacts from pivotal moments in American history.

For example, there is a display case that contains the bullet from the gun of John Wilkes Booth that killed President Abraham Lincoln, as well as Mr. Lincoln's death mask and casts of his hands at the time he died. There is the shattered leg bone of General Daniel E. Sickles who was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg. Legend has it that after the war, Gen. Sickles would ride up to Walter Reed to visit his leg. Sickles was also the first person to employ an insanity defense during his trial for the murder of Francis Scott Key's son, Philip Barton Key. He was acquitted. The museum also features more then 15 cases detailing the evolution of the microscope--an important tool in the diagnosis of disease and evaluation of criminal evidence.

If you're looking for something unusual to see in D.C., the museum at Walter Reed is a definite must-see! Please note: Flash photography is not allowed in the museum, so make sure you take a tripod along if you're going to take pictures. And, if you're interested in venturing a little further afield, take a Saturday or Sunday and drive up to Philadelphia for the day and visit the Mutter Museum.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Two Things Challenge: Dead / Alive

Daffodils: a sure sign spring has arrived

This week's Two Things Challenge was Dead / Alive, which seems quite appropriate for the time of year--fall in the southern hemisphere and spring in the northern hemisphere. It's Easter Sunday, which also seemed apropos.

The daffodils of spring rise out of the fallen leaves of autumn

One of the things I love about spring are the daffodils. The other night, I went out to the Container Store on Wisconsin Avenue. The quickest way to that part of the city is via Military Road. These daffodils were part of a large greenway of buttery yellow floors just begging to be photographed. So, I obliged. On my way back to the car, I stumble on the second bunch all by it self in the midst of fall's leaves: a perfect representation of Dead / Alive!

Happy Easter, friends!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Trinity Religious Temple Church

Trinity Religious Temple Church

Trinity Religious Temple Church (2024 16th St NW) is nestled between several rowhouses on a block of the same shortly after you cross over U Street. Unless you're driving slowly down 16th or on foot, you'll totally miss it. The building is a bit run down and the day I photographed it, the oil man was there delivering a tank of kerosene. Aside from what I observed on the outside, I don't know anything nor could I find any information on the interwebs about this church.

My guess is, it's a break-off of a larger denomination, probably a bit pentecostal or charistmatic in its worship, and very specific in its dogma. But that's just a guess. Aside from the oil man, I've never actually seen anyone go in or come out of this building, so it's all a bit of a mystery really. But then, isn't religion in general?

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08

Legislative

The United States Capitol Building

This is the front of the U.S. Capitol building, though you can't really tell that because of the backlighting. Not only that, but there's a big, ugly, 10' high security wall around the perimeter while they're finishing construction on a multi-bajillion dollar underground visitor's center (there will be no returning monies on this project), so this is a nice way to show you the Capitol without showing all the crappy security walls.

I'm not going to give a lot of information about the Capitol in this entry, because I want better pictures to go with the information. Currently, I'm on Blossom Watch 2008 and as soon as the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin pop, I'll be heading downtown to take photos. When I do, I'll also shoot better photos of the Capitol and provide interesting facts and figures then.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Prosthetic

Display of earlier prosthetics for leg and hand amputees

High-tech, titanium C-leg:
the latest and greatest in leg prostheses for amputees

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. In addition to the nearly 4,000 U.S. servicemen and women, as well as countless Iraqi citizens, who have died in Iraq, nearly 30,000 service personnel have been wounded. Many of these young men and women find themselves in Washington, D.C., as in-patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Recently, the Washington Post ran an investigative series that looked at the care provided to these wounded men and women. It was equal parts uplifting and discouraging and resulted in hearings on Capitol Hill regarding the appalling state of conditions.

On the campus of Walter Reed is a unique museum run by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology that includes some really interesting artifacts depicting war and advances in medicine. I'll be featuring a few more posts about the museum in the next week or so. Today's entry features the museums exhibit on prosthetics, or artificial limbs. The advances in technology are simply astonishing and today's amputees are finding greater mobility and comfort, despite their life-altering wounds.

This exhibit, and other fascinating artifacts and information, can be found at the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed. The museum is open to the public. To visit, you'll need a government-issued I.D. The guard at the main gate will issue you a temporary parking pass and instructions for finding the museum on the grounds of this military hospital.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Universalist National Memorial Church

Universalist National Memorial Church--
"a liberal Christian church in the heart of the City"

The Universalist National Memorial Church (1810 16th Street NW) is "the national representative of the Universalist Church of America." The church is a merger of the Universalist faith and the Unitarians. It is located kitty-corner from the Scottish Rite 33' Supreme Council building. (In fact, I stood on the steps of the aforementioned to take this picture.)

Universalists worshiped in Washington, D.C., prior to the Civil War, but did not officially organize themselves until 1869. The church constructed and moved into this building in 1930. Designed by Francis H. Allen and Charles Collens, it reflects Romanesque architecture from the English, French, and Italian traditions. Allen and Collens were also the architects for the Riverside Church in New York and the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 2/08

Supreme

The Supreme Court of the United States

There are three branches of government in the United States: The Executive (Presidential), the Legislative (Congress), and the Judicial (Supreme Court). The U.S. Constitution provides that "the judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." (Article 3, Section 1) This building houses the Judicial Branch of government and is the seat of The Supreme Court of the United States.

Prior to being seated in this building, the Supreme Court handed down decisions for 146 years in spaces that were not their own. The court first sat in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City, America's first federal capital. When the national capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the court met in Independence Hall and then in City Hall. In 1800, when the capital finally moved to Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court convened in space provided by Congress in the Capitol Building. For about 20 years, they met in a dozen different rooms in the Capitol. At one point, after the British burned Washington in 1814, they met in a house. From 1819-1926, they continued to convene in the Capitol (you can see the Old Supreme Court and the Old Senate Chamber in the Capitol, when you visit there.)

In 1929, Chief Justice and former U.S. President William Howard Taft prevailed on Congress to appropriate funding for the court to construct a permanent home. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the building. Construction commenced in 1932 and was completed in 1935. The building cost less than $9.47 million to build and came in under budget, including furnishings. At the end of the project, $94,000 in unused funding was returned to the U.S. Treasury.

The court has had 17 Chief Justices in its history, beginning with John Jay of New York. The current Chief Justice is the youthful John G. Roberts, Jr. of Maryland. The longest serving Chief Justice to date was John Marshall of Virginia. He served from 1801-1835. The shortest was John Rutledge of South Carolina who served for four months; he was the second Chief Justice of the United States and was a recess appointment. His nomination was rejected by the Senate on the specious grounds that he was mentally ill. The court has had two female associate justices--Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and two black associate justices--Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas. The rest have all been white men (not a lot of diversity going on on the court, sadly.)

One final fact: the only U.S. President to appoint a full court during his terms in office was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He appointed one Chief Justice--Harlan Stone Fiske of New York (1941-1946) and eight associate justices: Hugo Lafayette Black (Louisiana, 1937-1971); Stanley Forman Reed (Kentucky, 1938-1957); Felix Frankfurter (Massachusetts, 1939-1962); William Orville Douglas (Connecticut, 1939-1975); Frank Murphy (Michigan, 1940-1949); James Francis Byrnes (South Carolina, 1941-1942); Robert Houghwout Jackson (New York, 1941-1954); and Wiley Blount Rutledge (Iowa, 1943-1949.)


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08

Fiery

Clouds on fire

MPD Dispatch Tower and Moon at Sunset

Silhouetted tree and sunset clouds

Last night, I looked out the window and realized we were about to have a really great sunset. When you live in an urban setting, it's often a challenge to find a vantage point that will allow you to capture nature's fireworks. Still, I managed. I literally ran out to the car, jumped in, and sped off to Fort Stevens Park--about five blocks from where I live. On the way, I managed to get off a few shots of the sun setting the clouds on fire. When I arrived at Fort Stevens, I happened to look behind and noticed not only was the sun making the clouds a lovely pink-orange color, but the moon was up. Here are a few shots of Sunday's sunset.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08