The Getting Clever Project

Police are now saying that two shooters killed four people and wounded perhaps ten others at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast DC. The Navy Yard is quite a big complex. The main gate is at the foot of 8th and M Streets, SE in the white building. If you've seen anything on TV, the bright blue "castle" is a former streetcar barn, now a charter school. It sits directly across from the main gates.



The actual shootings took place about three blocks to the right/west, inside the complex which is surrounded by brick walls. It's not easily accessible by outsiders.

Obviously there's still a lot to learn but my heart goes out to the families.

I had a fun weekend. Sister 9 and I went to the open house day for embassies in the District. We went to Australia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Japan. I always enjoy the day. There's usually dancing, food, and artworks to admire. Everyone pushes visitor information.

Australia was fun. They kept bringing snacks of cheese, lamb and beef, and Vegemite around. As you walked in, they had a Maori playing the didgeridoo. They had a number of Australian military representatives there and some photos from Afghanistan. On the way out they were offering lamingtons (sp?), little sponge cakes dipped in chocolate and coconut. Yummy!

( Australia )

I'd seen the outside of the Kazakhstan embassy during last year's 16th Street walking tour so I was keen to see the inside. Beautiful wood moldings and the ceilings had a raised plaster decoration of leaves. Very pretty. Many of the walls sported various edged weapons. There was also a display of jewelry and artworks.

( Kazakhstan )

On the way to the next place we passed the Peruvian flutists having a battle of the bands with Trinidad and Tobago drummers. Interesting combo. A little farther down the street the Chilean Embassy was piping music outside.

I also wanted to see the Indonesia Embassy as it had been owned by one of the richest families around when it was first built. Evelyn McLean owned the Hope Diamond for a while. The building was modeled after an Italian palazzo and has gorgeous woodwork. The inner courtyard rose four stories and was topped with lovely stained glass.

( Indonesia )

Sister 9 was keen to see the Japanese embassy. It was an interesting mix of tradition and techno. They had the best food - chicken, vanilla ice cream encased in a thin cake shell and freshly roasted edamame. They also had the creepiest exhibit, a room with two robots in it. One lifesized robot was extremely realistic. It blinked and changed expressions. The other was a robot baby. Not realistic but it could talk and move a little. It responded to your voice. It asked for a hug and when I did it hugged me back. Wild!

( Japan )

Across the street we spotted this rather odd sculpture on a house. It looked like someone was climbing the wall.



Next weekend the European Union embassies open their doors. We'll probably try that.

Here's my Haul of Presidents http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDQ33JS

For Inauguration Day, a local paper put together a list of sites associated with each president. I've added some thoughts and improvements. It might spark some ideas if you ever visit Washington DC. And really, I just had fun putting it all together.

This is amazing! One billion pixel picture of the inauguration audience. It is zoomable enough to tag people for Facebook http://tinyurl.com/apk4kv5 I had fun playing around with it and it is indeed clear enough to see people's faces pretty far back.

DC is dressing up and battening down for the Inauguration. They've installed temporary cell phone towers on the Mall to help with the expected massive tweeting and cellphone call volume. Along the parade route, they've started removing the newspaper boxes and sealing manhole covers. The Newseum is dressed up already.



On Sunday, they held a rehearsal for the parade. At the Capitol they played recorded music and practiced the introductions. The bands were absent, but they timed the parade and check security. It was a foggy morning.



( More This Way )

One nutty thing. For the past 15 months they've been resodding and repairing the grassy part of the Mall near the Capitol. The fences are coming down just in time for the inauguration. One part of the restored section will be protected, but another part will be opened up just in time to be trampled by the crowds. Dumb.

I had a wonderful time visiting the Mid City Artists Fall Open Studios. The weather was gorgeous - perfect for walking around. Some of the studios were in the artists' homes. In other places, the artists had clubbed together and rented joint space. They were all quite welcoming and patient with questions. I asked the artists to pick a piece to pose near for a photo. They very kindly indulged me.

( MidCity Fall Open Studios )

My knees were tired and my brain had a lot to absorb. I only made it to about half the studios. Fortunately, they do the open studios twice a year. I'll definitely do it again.

And just for fun - don't you just love this postbox?

Last week I went on several walking tours around DC, courtesy of DC Cultural Tourism. You know how much I like to share what's best about DC, so I'll be posting a few photos (as a preview for where I'll take you when you visit!).

Canal Park is being built atop part of the old Washington Canal, a waterway that once linked the Anacostia River to the canal that ran where Constitution Avenue is now. The new three-block long park reflects the old canal, but it's also one of DC's "greenest" building
projects. My hard-hat tour went behind the scenes at the park's rain and sculpture gardens, skating rink, performance venue, and restaurants were being assembled before our eyes. We were lucky enough to have the project's Executive Director Chris VanArsdale as our guide.

We started at the Capitol BID office where we could see some of the architect's drawings, look at a model, and also get an aerial view of the project.
( image-heavy, see more )

The rain garden will take rain and snow runoff and keep it from overloading the local sewer system. Three-quarters of the project is actually underground. These photos show the rain gardens under construction.

( almost done to just begun )

Chris told us of finding a ten-foot concrete berm running up L Street from the Navy Yard to who knows where. They decided to leave it alone and rerouted their pipes. There were also some rather odd solid concrete blocks that were eventually removed. Sounded very National Treasure to me.

This will be a skating rink and eatery in two months!
( Actually I took the tour because I wanted to wear a hardhat )