Theme Day: Paths / Passages

Path to the parking lot

I missed this month's Theme Day--Paths/Passages--for City Daily Photo bloggers, so I'm posting a day late. This is a narrow alley way between a doggie day care and an empty retail/commercial space on the corner of Georgia and Missouri Avenues NW.

Happy belated Theme Day to everyone! To see how others interpreted this theme, click here.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Books

Reading : The Physicists by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt :
A play about the immorality of nuclear proliferation.

This month's City Daily Photo Blogger theme is Books. It's an understatement to say I have books. I have so many books, I don't have space enough for them. My library contains a broad range of fiction and non-fiction. I have books about World War II and literature by Swiss authors. I have texts on sociology of religion and biographies of religious leaders. I have the writings of Pope John Paul II and the rantings of Adolf Hitler. I read C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling.

Right now, I'm reading Hedrick Smith's The Russians and Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. After that, I'll probably read George Pelecanoes. In a week or two, I could be reading about folded and tilted rock in one of my geology texts or purusing a coffee table book about the National Gallery of Art. The possibilities are endless.

Just a small portion of the thousands of books I own.
You can never have too many books.

My only hang up? I wish I read faster than I do. Perhaps, if I spent less time in front the computer and more time behind a book, I would alleviate this problem! Books, as I opined last week, are the backbone of intelligent discourse and civilized living. They are the best gift we can give ourselves and our children.

To see how other bloggers around the world interpreted this month's theme, go here to view thumbnails of all the participants.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 10/08

Lines

Lines horizontal. Lines perpendicular. Lines diagonal.
But what are all these lines?!

Today is Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers! This month's theme is Lines. Can you guess what this is? Come back tomorrow and all will be revealed!

To see the results of this theme on other city blogs, click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Happy Theme Day, fellow CDP'ers!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Sister Cities

Memorial to the Victims of Communism

This month's City Daily Photo Theme is Sister Cities. CDPB suggested asking a friend in a sister city to take a picture for us to post on our blogs. Washington, D.C., has 12 sister cities and I'm sorry to say, I don't know anyone in any of these cities: Accra; Athens; Bangkok; Beijing; Brazzaville; Brussels; Chongqing; Dakar; Paris; Pretoria; Seoul; or Sunderland. Wanting to participate in this theme, I decided I could either take a picture of each country's embassy here in Washington or I could post a picture of Sister Cities International's global headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Both sounded boring, so I started thinking a little harder. I finally decided to focus on Beijing and Athens.

In the case of Beijing, I chose as my subject the Victims of Communism Memorial on New Jersey Avenue and G Street NW. Based on a statue called the Goddess of Democracy created by Chinese students during the Tienanmen Square protests of 1989, the purpose of the memorial is to teach "the history of communist tyranny...to future generations." The U.S. currently has no credibility in the world as a leader in solidly upholding democratic ideals and we certainly have little ground to stand on in calling out China and others on their lack of democracy.

Greek philosophy and architecture underpin the halls of our democracy

In the case of Athens, I photographed the U.S. Capitol with its iconic Greek architecture and the seat of our country's government. Our democratic ideals--when they aren't being trampled on by overly zealous politicians on both sides of the aisles--are founded in the philosophies and writings of many early Greek thinkers and a great deal of our architecture with its solid Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, pillars, and capitals are excellent examples of Greek influence in American life.

To visit other photo bloggers participating in this month's theme, click here.

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

Metal

Custom brass doorhandles on the Elizabeth Arden Day Spa & Salon

This month's City Daily Photo Blog theme is Metal. I was in D.C.'s Chevy Chase neighborhood yesterday afternoon to pick up purple food coloring at Sur La Table, (I made a purple velvet cake, for the record. But I digress...) and snapped a few pictures of various kinds of metal. These two pictures were my favorite. The first shows the door handles for the Elizabeth Arden Day Spa & Salon. I loved the bright red doors and the shiny, ornate brass handles and thought this was perfect for the theme!

Mall skylight...

The second one is the skylight in the mall across from the Mazza Galerie--one of only two shopping malls in the District. (The other is Georgetown Park Mall in Georgetown.) To see a few more photos, visit Standing Room Only.

To see more photos from this month's theme, click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Happy Theme Day, everyone!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08

No!

No Trespassing / No Traspasar : Construction Site : Columbia Heights

This month's City Daily Photo Blog Theme is No. As in, signs that communicate a boundary, border, law, or rule regarding expected behavior. To that end, this is a set of signs I found posted on a construction site in Columbia Heights. The neighborhood has a high concentration of Spanish-speaking residents and workers, hence the bilingual signage.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. This month, 169 photo bloggers from around the world are participating in theme day. To see them all, click on the previous link. Or, to pick and choose, cull through the links below.

American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by freefalling, Arradon, France by Alice, Ashton under Lyne, UK by Pennine, Aspen (CO), USA by IamMBB, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Avignon, France by Nathalie, Bandung, Indonesia by Harry Makertia, Barrow-in-Furness, UK by Enitharmon, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Belgrade, Serbia by Bibi, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Birmingham (AL), USA by VJ, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Brantford (ON), Canada by Nancy, Brighton, UK by Harvey, Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham, Bucaramanga, Colombia by Fernando, Bucharest, Romania by Malpraxis, Budapest, Hungary by agrajag, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Cavite, Philippines by Steven Que, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Château-Gontier, France by Laurent, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chennai, India by Shantaram, Chennai, India by Ram N, Chesapeake (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Christchurch, New Zealand by Michelle, Cincinnati, USA by Erik Laursen, Cleveland (OH), USA by iBlowfish, Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Corsicana (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Duluth (MN), USA by Sun Dog Press, Durban, South Africa by CrazyCow, East Gwillimbury, Canada by Your EG Tour Guide, Edinburgh, UK by Dido, Folkestone, UK by Piskie, Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA by Gigi, Gaia, Portugal by m+p, Geneva (IL), USA by Kelly, Grenoble, France by Bleeding Orange, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hampton (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Hanoi, Vietnam by Jérôme, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Gerald, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jerusalem, Israel by Esther, Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1, Knoxville (TN), USA by Knoxville Girl, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Lakewood (OH), USA by mouse, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, London, UK by Mo, London, UK by Ham, Lynchburg (VA), USA by Timothy, Mainz, Germany by JB, Melbourne, Australia by John, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Poly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Misawa, Japan by misawa mama, Monroe (GA), USA by Tanya, Monrovia (CA), USA by Keith, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Munich, Germany by Troy, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Delhi, India by Delhi Photo Diary, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by • Eliane •, Newcastle, Australia by Julia, Newport News (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Norfolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Ocean Township (NJ), USA by Josy, Oklahoma City (OK), USA by ananda.tashie, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Palos Verdes (CA), USA by tash, Paris, France by Eric, Pasadena (CA), USA by Petrea, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Petoskey (MI), USA by Christie, Phoenix (AZ), USA by Cheryl, Poplar Bluff (MO), USA by Tricia, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Portland (ME), USA by Corey, Portsmouth (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Posadas, Argentina by Lega, Pretoria, South Africa by Sam Ruth, Quincy (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Reykjavik, Iceland by Vírgíll, Riga, Latvia by , Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Rouen, France by Bbsato, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salem (OR), USA by jill, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by Eric, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by atc, San Antonio (TX), USA by Kramer, San Diego (CA), USA by Felicia, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, Santa Fe (NM), USA by Randem, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound, Sequim (WA), USA by Norma, Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Sharon (CT), USA by Jenny, Silver Spring (MD), USA by John, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, Springfield (IL), USA by Aubrey, Stanwood (WA), USA by MaryBeth, Stavanger, Norway by Tanty, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Stratford, Canada by Barb, Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC, Suffolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge, Sydney, Australia by Julie, Sydney, Australia by Ann, Székesfehérvár, Hungary by Teomo, Tamarindo, Costa Rica by David, Tel-Aviv, Israel by Olga, Tempe (AZ), USA by angie, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, Terrell (TX), USA by Bstexas, The Hague, Netherlands by Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Torun, Poland by Glenn, Toulouse, France by Julia, Trujillo, Peru by Giulianna, Turin, Italy by Livio, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Virginia Beach (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Washington (DC), USA by D.C. Confidential, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Williamsburg (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine,

Numbers

Numbers on a Metro bus stop sign

This month's theme for City Daily Photo bloggers is Numbers, so I scoured my archives to see if I could find anything with numbers in it that didn't include a shot of the front of my house. What I found was this picture of a Metro Bus sign. Metro, which is short for WMATA, which is the acronym for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, is the transportation system that serves the Washington Metropolitan Area with busses and subways.

I'm not a registered City Daily Photo participant, (even though I manage to post as little as one and as many as 20+ photos per entry per day.) The result of my non-participation is, I never know what the month's theme is until I look at the blogs of those who are registered.

To see a full list of participants in City Daily Photo, visit anyone of these excellent blogs: BostonScapes, Quincy Daily Photo, Chicago Daily Photo, Cheltenham Daily Photo, Paris Daily Photo, Köln-Journal, and Vienna Daily Photo. These are just a sample of the more-than-175 photo and city enthusiasts around the world who post pictures of the places they live and work on a daily basis!

Water

Even though I post a photo (or two or three)-a-day on D.C. Confidential, I'm not a registered City Daily Photo participant. As a result, I never know what the month's theme is until I look at the blogs of those who are registered. Coincidentally, though, I've managed to post a picture of a monthly theme twice now prior to the first of the month. Last month's theme was Mural/Graffiti and I posted this on February 26.


April's theme is Water. I think some of my pictures from the Cherry Blossom Festival over the last couple of days qualify, but I won't rehash those ones. Instead, I give you pictures of the waterfalls at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. When I was out on Friday photographing the blossoms, I walked back to my car through the FDR Memorial. In addition to the history it conveys, it also includes a number of water features. These are three of the waterfalls within the memorial. Enjoy!


To see a full list of participants in City Daily Photo, visit anyone of these excellent blogs: BostonScapes, Quincy Daily Photo, Chicago Daily Photo, Cheltenham Daily Photo, Paris Daily Photo, and Vienna Daily Photo. These are just a sample of the more-than-175 photo and city enthusiasts around the world who post pictures of the places they live and work on a daily basis!


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