Welcome to Pink on St. Patrick’s Day

 Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! 

It’s been a long few days weeks months. I’m right now watching the Disney Channel Original Movie “Luck of the Irish” - a movie that kickstarted my interest in my heritage (I am not Irish, like at all). 

Lots of people were out dressed in green to celebrate St. Patrick banishing the pagans snakes from Ireland. Though there were also plenty of people out in their finest pink today too in the DC area.

It’s a beautiful day in the DMV. So beautiful in fact, the cherry blossoms are at Stage 5 in their bloom cycle (the stage before peak bloom). This is fairly early for the blossoms, though it might be becoming the new norm for the blossoms to peak in March instead of the historic April.

Thanks climate change.

And speaking of climate change, DC will soon need to cut down over 100 of the famous trees along the tidal basin because the land the trees are on is slowly sinking back into the swamp. This includes the infamous stumpy (which I do not have a picture of, but here’s a Washington Post article), a tree made famous by a Reddit meme. 

Yeah that’s right, DC is sinking into a swamp (it was built on one) and the city hopes to prevent further erosion by building a sea wall. The tidal basin floods daily and parts of the original walkway are now always underwater. 

Unfortunately, fully grown trees are too hard to uproot and plant. So, the city has to cut them down. I’m sure grafts of the old trees will be used to plant new trees once the project is complete. There are plans for the National Arboretum to take some clippings of old Stumpy, so there might be hope that the Child of Stumpy eventually comes to live on the Tidal Basin after the sea wall is complete.

In the meantime, the Cherry Blossoms are blooming. The Martin Luthor King Jr. (MLK) memorial looks particularly stunning while framed by the pink trees. People come from all over to see the trees and partake in the festival (which starts next week).

If you’re in the area or already planning on visiting the city, the best way to see the trees is to either park near Jefferson and walk through FDR memorial, towards MLK or fight for a space near FDR. You also can’t go wrong taking the metro to either Arlington National Cemetery (walk over the bridge and make a right at Lincoln), Foggy Bottom (walk past Lincoln), or from Smithsonian (walk towards MLK, then follow along the Tidal Basin and loop back along the 14th street bridge). Personally, I think the best trees are around and near the FDR memorial, plus you get a great view of MLK, Jefferson, and Washington.

I know I’ve been a bit sporadic with my blog posts. My personal life has been a bit of a mess and I recently learned some more tragic news this week. Thank you for still reading and checking up on me. I’ll try to restart my webcomic and food blog soon, I just have a few more things to do first before things settle down again.

Until next time.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome the Quest to See Leo Da Vinci's Work

Da Vinci was into Steampunk before it was cool...or even existed. 

There's a really cool exhibit at the Martin Luthor King Jr. Library in Washington DC going on right now. On display in the library's basement are 12 original sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci.

You know the guy who painted "The Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper". There's a fun conspiracy theory book and movie about the guy that came out nearly two decades ago (geez has it really been that long?). That Leonardo Da Vinci. 

It's the first time these drawings have ever been in the United States. 

This exhibit is short, only 90 days, and then the drawings have to go back to Italy and be placed in storage for three years. That's right, these drawings are super delicate and can only be out of storage every three years for a period of 90 days total. So if you want to see them in person, you've got to get to Washington DC by August 20th, 2023. 

Thankfully, like many things in DC, this exhibit is 100% free. Plenty of libraries offer special exhibits for anyone who wanders in - you don't need a library card to enter. The New York City Library had several special rooms (though I'd only ever seen one in use) for exhibits on different authors or works of literature. The Martin Luthor King Jr. Library is no exception. Included in the exhibits is one on Black Feminism and Go Go (which was invented in DC).

My journey to see the Leonardo Da Vinci started in June, when an article popped up on one of my social media feeds as something to do in DC. I was super excited! I'd recently come across several documentaries on Da Vinci, including some on him being a queer icon (this is actually historically plausible and there is evidence of it in court records - three guesses why). 

Already, Da Vinci was starting to sound punk...at least in the literary subgenre sense that my writer friends have cultivated. I don't know if the whole punk subculture would accept him as one of their own.

The next step in my journey was to actually go do the exhibit. I picked a really hot day during the July 4th extended holiday weekend. Not only had I hoped to see the exhibit, but there was a special showing of Da Vinci recreated works at the National Gallery of Art's Library. It seemed like the perfect way to spend the day.

Except that when I arrived at the library, it was closed. There was a problem with some of the internal workings at the library and they had to fix it quickly. Thus, I was foiled in the main part of my quest. 

But since this was a quest, that meant that there could (and would) be side quests. 

I headed over to the eastern building of the National Gallery of Art. It was about a 20 minute walk in the hot and steaming sun. Washington DC is built over a swamp and the summer climate reflects that. I was sweating enough to fill a bucket by the time I got to the museum and when I arrived, the main floor was filled with people. The first Saturday of the month is when the museum hosts an activity for patrons, but is mostly geared towards kids (not that that's ever stopped me from joining in). It wasn't Da Vinci related. The activity was drawing fireworks over a DC cityscape. 

My objective lay in a corner of the museum not easily seen from the entrance. In fact, despite having gone to this museum my whole life, I'd never been in this area or even knew about it. 

The library at the museum is small, but held enough room for a few fun experiments and games for kids to do that related to Da Vinci's scientific side of his work. One area had enlarged photos of different people from Da Vinci's work "The Last Supper". It surrounded a table filled with reference books explaining Da Vinci's paintings.

Another set of tables was set up with museum library employees with more books, but these books were a little different. I really should have taken some pictures because these books were all recreations of Da Vinci's personal journals and notebooks. Each were made to look like they might have just recently been held by the artist with ink spots, artificial aging, and and even finger prints. According to the librarian I spoke with, each was accurate to it's original. 

This is where I learned how steampunk Leonardo Da Vinci thought about his experimental drawings. There were tons of gears and pipes that look like sketches out of a patent from the Industrial Revolution or a Miyazaki movie (not all, but many of his movies have a steampunk aesthetic like Castle in the Sky, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Howl's Moving Castle). I was especially intrigued by his telescope designs that wouldn't be invented for another hundred years and the intricate geometric three dimensional like shapes he did as illustrations for a friend's book.

It was also here, that I learned more about Da Vinci's quirks such as his preference for mirror writing (where you can only read what is written by looking in a mirror) and had it confirmed that Da Vinci was indeed queer (the librarian went on a passionate speech about the subject and evidence available). Additionally, the fact that Da Vinci's drawings were so meticulous in a time when paper wasn't as plentiful as it is today. Even his sketches had a fine, confident ink stroke to them that I can only dream of having. 

Side quest complete, I spent the rest of the day exploring the (relatively) recently reopened eastern wing on the museum before going to the folklife festival on the Mall. My initial quest objective might not have been completed, but I still had a great day and learned a lot.

This week, I finally did make it to the Martin Luthor King Jr. Library. 

My friend and I were already planning a trip into the city to see the all female (cis and transgender women) and non-binary casting of 1776 (you can read about that experience here). My friend wasn't having the best week and I wanted to make it a fun time for her. 

Originally, I had hoped we'd go to the library before the play and have lunch in Chinatown. However, timing wasn't on our side and we ended up going straight to the Kennedy Center - a new side quest was unlocked, though it had nothing to do with Da Vinci. We ended up taking a free tour of the Kennedy Center (hey look another free thing to do in DC) and learning about the many donations and art pieces from other countries. Coincidently, Italy had the biggest contribution to the Kennedy Center with their donation of all of the white marble that makes up the building. 

One thing I've learned from all this is that Italy knows how to treat the arts.

After the play, my friend and I braved DC rush hour to visit the museum. The ladies at the National Art Gallery said that going after work was actually a great time to go, since there shouldn't be much of a wait to get in. We arrived and checked in right away. The lady at the desk waved us downstairs and the Italian representative checked us in.

The room with the 12 sketches was dark, with only the illuminated drawings. There was an interactive portion with QR codes that allowed you to listen to an explanation as well. I simply enjoyed looking at the sketches, especially the perpetual motion machine.

The perpetual motion machine in question.

Da Vinci was certainly a man ahead of his time. He had ideas for drills, indoor plumbing, and studies of fountains. His notes, in his famous mirror writing, were all over the pages - which were distinct from other people's notes which appeared as standard Italian writing. 

After viewing the drawings, my quest was complete. 

Or so I thought. 

As my friend and I were about the leave the exhibit, the Italian curator mentioned that there was a back room with a solar clock built based on Da Vinci's designs. It was a short, but no less cool final side quest. 

Dolce & Gabbana were one of the sponsors of the exhibit and therefore wanted to show off their watches. They had a few displays of their fancy wrist watches, but the really cool piece they provided was the tall solar clock. 

It wasn't moving when my friend and I saw it, but I could see how it would work. It included time keeping for seconds, minutes, and hours as any clock does, but also included the month and zodiac sun sign. 

The side quest was short, but rounded out my journey just in time to enjoy dinner in Chinatown (or at least what passes as Chinatown in DC). 

Though I might

If you'd like to see the exhibit, the Martin Luthor King Jr. Library is open 7 days a week, some days as late as 9:00PM. It's short enough for people to check if out after work and miss the worst of rush hour traffic. I learned a lot, including how steampunk Da Vinci was, which is why I think we can just call him Leo from now on. It's much more punk than the formal Leonardo. 

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Scary Blossom

 I am a local to the Washington DC area. I spent my formative years within reach of the heart of the city center. I know this city, it’s seasons and it’s moods. 

This past week was the start of our tourist season. Bus loads of sightseers and out of town visitors are swarming the city. Traffic is worse than usual and everyone is driving five miles under the speed limit.

It’s Cherry Blossom time y’all.

Otherwise known as “Scary Blossom”, the DC cherry blossoms at peak bloom are truly beautiful. However, the tourists make navigating the city nearly impossible - even worse than the forth of July and protest season. (Okay the 4th of July might be a bit of an exaggeration because the tourists are also insane, but Cherry Blossom is when the chaos begins).

No more is Washing DC for the locals to the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia tri-state area). Now, we’ll have bus loads of school children visiting our world famous (and mostly free) museums, monuments, and government buildings. Protests will kick up activity in about a month - though they are easier to navigate. No one will know where they’re going (not just the tourists, but the new construction will create new,  longer routes to get to work).

For an event that lasts about a week (depending on weather, wind, and temperature), the Cherry Blossoms are an important part of DC culture. The original Sakura trees were planted along the Tidal Bain in 1912. These trees were a gift of friendship from the People of Japan to the People of the United States because of a correspondence between First Lady Helen “Nellie” Taft and the then Mayor of Tokyo. The original 3,000+ trees are over 110 years old and one of the icons of the city.

We put these flowers on everything DC related - along with the Washington Monument and Capital Building. Coffee mugs, pins, patches, chocolate bars, and more have pink blossoms and white buildings on a blue sky background.

One of my paintings of the event.

And yes, they are beautiful.

Sakura or Cherry Blossoms are incredibly pretty. When their petals fall, it looks like pink snow swirling through the air. They are the unofficial signal spring has begun and that warmer weather is around the corner. 

And they let the residents of the Washington DC area know that tourists are coming.

It is worth it to see the DC Cherry Blossoms once in your life. The Tidal Basin is a lovely area and the trees frame the backdrop of many of the monuments. My favorite area to see them is around the FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) memorial all the way up to Jefferson. I haven’t done that walk in years, but it is beautiful on a clear day.

Another of my paintings of the Cherry Blossoms

However, I can’t stand the traffic and clusters of tourists standing in the middle of roads and pathways while they decide where to go. Parking is a nightmare and the metro is overcrowded at all times, not just peak rush hour.

I love DC. I love the Cherry Blossoms.

I don’t love the tourists.

But that’s part of the life being a resident of Washington DC.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to a Quick Word About DC Culture

Washington DC (really it’s just DC, only tourists call it Washington) gives the general appearance of stuffy suits, Greco-Roman buildings, and pompous politicians. 

But that’s only one part of DC. Despite what the media might have you think, DC isn’t just alphabet soup government buildings, lobbyists, and free museums (that’s right I said free). We do have culture. Go-go was created in DC in the 1970s, there’s tons of amazing street art once you walk five blocks north of the mall, and our food trucks (the ones that serve the federal workers and business people not the ones on the mall) are fantastic.

November isn’t a huge time for tourists. In fact, it’s the start of our slow season that goes until about mid-March. Though there’s still a lot to do during the holidays, we’re no LA or New York. Most of the people out and about are locals to the city and surrounding DMV area (DMV = DC, Maryland, and Virginia).

This weekend there was a large Día de los Muertos event on 3rd Street off the Mall and a Christmas Market at the Czech Embassy. More Christmas and other Holiday related events will start to go up in the coming weeks. My favorite is always the train display at the National Botanical Gardens. The main building is closed right now, but the outdoor gardens are free for everyone to walk through and they have a cool display set up with different farms around the world.

Speaking of Christmas, we have Christmas markets in different parts of the city. The big one that I’ve seen is located near the Portrait Gallery near our (admittedly tiny) Chinatown. Other markets can be found in Van Ness, Dupont, and the National Zoo.

I would never have known about the DC food trucks if I hadn’t worked in DC for a summer. My office was located near L’Enfant Plaza (about 3 or 4 blocks south of the Mall) and every day around 10:30am the  food trucks would be lined up waiting for everyone to file out for lunch. I had an app and everything that let me track which food truck would be where.

Speaking of DC food, soul food (including several vegan restaurants primarily located in the Shaw neighborhood) is popular in the city and, if you like seafood, the DC Wharf is a great place to try Chesapeake blue crabs. However, if you want to see where the politicians eat when they don’t stick to their cafeterias, check out the restaurants to the South East. Bullfeathers in particular is a known spot to see Lobbyists outside of K street.

Historically, our LGBTQ+ community was centered in Dupont circle. The High Heel Drag Queen Race continues to be held the Tuesday before Halloween. Unfortunately, gentrification has change a lot of Dupont - as well as many other parts of the city (*cough* South East *cough*) and a lot of the legacy LGBTQ+ community is having to move elsewhere.

Yeah, that’s one sad thing about DC: gentrification and corporatization. 

I mentioned earlier out tiny Chinatown. It used to be a lot bigger than one and a half streets with the rest taken up by the Capitol One Center and chains with Chinese letters on the buildings. However, the restaurants there are really good and they do host a lunar new year celebration. The arch is also very pretty to see - especially at night. Plus there’s a lot more street art in the Chinatown area that’s fun to spot.

Speaking of night time fun, DC has tons of nightclubs. As I said earlier, Dupont has historically been a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community and that includes their nightclubs. There’s also a fair few in the downtown area (though you might have to fight for space between the George Washington (GW) students in Foggy Bottom).

There’s also Georgetown if you want fancy shopping, food, and even more pretentious college students. Georgetown is pretty and does have a great selection of places to eat (Georgetown Cupcakes anyone?). But it is a pain to find parking and there’s limited public transit options.

You can also check out Adams Morgan for their colorful art community. In the 1960s, Adams Morgan was the home of the (then) “radical left” and colorful Victorian homes. They have a cultural trail that you can walk through the neighborhood. It was where my child self most wanted to live.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Olde Town Alexandria. Though not technically part of DC, prior to the civil war they did fit nicely into the originally designed square for the city. The history of why they broke apart is not something I will be explaining now (but it had a lot to do with slavery), but it’s hard to leave them out of DC culture. Olde Town Alexandria also has a great food scene, but the coolest thing is the old Torpedo Factory that was turned into an artist enclave. The only downside is that the area tends to flood with even just a suggestion of heavy rain. Pentagon City has been built up a lot since I was a kid (plus Amazon is moving in *boo hiss*), but they’ve managed to keep their parks in great condition. Crystal City has somehow managed to keep its street art and food scene in tact. The best part of Crystal City is 23rd Street off Eads Street. That’s where all the restaurants and bars are.

Bethesda would be the Maryland equivalent. They also have great restaurants. Honestly, I sometimes am unsure where DC ends and Bethesda begins because there is so much overlap.

So next time you plan a trip to DC, try going in our off season. There’s still plenty to do and free monuments and museums to see. We’re not all politicians or political activists. DC has culture - it’s just off the beaten path.

I’m also sure that people from DC might read this post and tell me I forgot about including x, y, and/or z. They’re most likely right. This post is a “quick word” about DC culture and there’s a lot there that I didn’t cover. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to Rememberance

September 11th 2001 started out as an ordinary day for me, but it didn't end that way. It's been 15 years since the attack. Over 2000 people lost there lives that day. Many of the first respondents have gotten sick and passed away because of the toxic dust and ash that entered the atmosphere.

Many people on social media sites have been posting about where they were or what they were doing when they either heard about or saw the live footage of the attacks. I remember being at school and having no idea what was going on. Which in all honest, was probably a good decision for the school to make.

My friends and I could guess that something was happening. Our teachers were on edge and there were a lot of early dismissals. We started with a class full of students and ended the day with maybe a third or a fourth still present. I am 100% sure that if someone had told me while at school what was going on, I would not have taken it well.

I didn't go home that day. Instead my mom had me go home with a friend. This friend's dad worked in the Pentagon and their family hadn't been able to get a hold of him all day. Thankfully they eventually did hear from him. Many families weren't as lucky.

There are a lot of things that I remember that happened in the days right after 9/11. I remember we didn't have school for a few days and that phone reception (both land line and cell phone) was unreliable. My mom, sister, and I stayed with my friend's family until classes started again. The news was constantly showing footage of the crash sites and missing people. Even though our parents tried to shield us from it, we caught glimpses of the news anyway.

It was scary, confusing, and difficult to process. I remember feeling a lot of confusing emotions and taking a lot of time to understand what had happened.

In the days after the attack, I went with my girl scout troupe to a hotel near the Pentagon to give out water and food to the families who were there. The hotel was the headquarters for the victims and families. When we arrived, my friends and I were swarmed by foreign press asking us tons of questions. It was very intimidating. Later we were thanked by the admiral (or general? I don't exactly remember their title, but they were very important) who was in charge. He was notifying and consoling the victims families. It felt good to help out, even a little bit.

As time went on, more and more security measures were put in place. Airports had a lot more metal detectors and restrictions. There were a lot more security personal in Washington DC. Places where I used to be able to just walk right in, suddenly had guards and metal detectors everywhere. I was a lot more aware of my surroundings.

September 11th 2001 was a major turning point in my life. I still remember a time when things were a bit more laid back (for lack of a better term). A lot of sudden changes happened and I was faced with emotions I had never experienced before.

There are many days were I wonder what our world would have been like if the terrorist attack had never happened. There are other days where I wonder what it would have been like if I had been older in 2001. Then there are the days where I wonder if something like that will happen again?

9/11 had a major impact on my life and I don't think I'll ever be able to forget.

Thank you for reading.