|| 7/31/2009 || 2:52 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
Photos from the Summer Harvest Celebration at Whipple Farms
Last Sunday I was invited by Aman Ayoubi, owner of numerous DC restaurants, to attend the Summer Harvest Celebration at Whipple Farms in Rixeyville, Virginia. The biodynamic farm provides his restaurant, Local 16, with most of it’s fresh fruits & vegetables. The excursion featured wines from wines Virginia-based Boxwood Winery, beers from Peroni and Leinenkugel, tons of grilled meat (which I don’t eat), skeet shooting (I shot 2 out of 4), DJs, and one of my favorite local bands, SEE-I. I hope to be invited back sometime in the near future! But more importantly, I look forward to eating the vegetables at Local 16 and the next restaurants that Aman opens because I know exactly where the food is coming from. When it comes to sustainable agriculture and urban restaurants, this method of delivering organic food directly from the farm is the way to go.
I wasn’t planning on posting the few photos that I took while at the farm, but today I noticed that the popular website Brightest Young Things had posted an entry with photos by Liz Shen that I am in (above), so I decided to upload my photos (below) for this entry:
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|| 7/30/2009 || 12:32 pm || 1 Comment Rendered || ||
Neda, Haile Selassie, and Rootz
I took this photograph last week in the Green Room at the 18th Street Lounge. It features my gorgeous friend Neda, a tapestry of Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, and Rootz, one of the lead singers of the band SEE-I. What can I say? The photo made me smile.
|| 7/27/2009 || 7:11 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
Urban Rainbow #2
Today’s rainbow was taken about an hour ago from my back deck. If you look closely, you can see the start of a second rainbow in the upper left-hand corner. Like the previous rainbow photograph, I did some minor color correction to bring out the colors of the rainbow.
Related Rainbows:
|| 7/26/2009 || 10:53 am || + Render A Comment || ||
No Requests: a t-shirt for DJs who don’t like to be bothered
About a year ago I made this t-shirt for my DJ friend Will Griffin. The story behind the t-shirt is as follows: One Wednesday night way back when at the 18th Street Lounge, we were chatting outside while he was taking his break from DJing. He noted the number of times people had come up to him and asked if he had X song & if he would play it. I chuckled and said “Maybe you should get a shirt that says ‘No Requests’ so you can point to your shirt instead of vocally replying” and he said, “why don’t you make me one?” A couple months later I found the right font, a large image of ESL Music’s iconic Eero Saarinen Tulip chair, and ordered the custom t-shirt. A few months later I ordered a second one for the manager of the lounge who also DJs there, but I have yet to take a photo of him wearing it.
Although I don’t DJ anymore, if I were to DJ at a club, I’d probably order one for myself.
|| 7/24/2009 || 6:33 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
Urban Rainbow #1
I am starting a new series and posting photographs of rainbows that I happen to spot. Today’s rainbow was taken yesterday from my back deck after a rather hard downpour. I did some minor color correction to bring out the colors of the rainbow.
|| 7/23/2009 || 9:15 pm || 1 Comment Rendered || ||
[Found Maps] License Plate Maps of DC & Maryland at Artomatic 2009
On the last day of Artomatic 2009 I decided to traverse all 9 floors and come up with a Top 100 similar to the one I made last year. While I haven’t posted my Top 100 of Artomatic 2009 yet and frankly I am still debating on whether I’ll go through the task of coding it all, I did, however, find some maps by Ian Bird that I wasn’t expecting.
While there are already other people who make License Plate Maps, I like the nuanced detail of his maps (above). Unlike the other license plate map artists, I sincerely doubt they have made a map that cartographically shows each of the eight wards of Washington, DC as well as each county in the state of Maryland. No matter what, Ian Bird is definitely going into the Top 100 (if I ever post it).
Related Found Maps:
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|| 7/20/2009 || 8:39 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
A passive-agressive note to my Dear Neighbor in the English Basement
You’ve seen the website? This is my quasi-contribution. Its too bad the neighbor never followed up and contacted me. I just hope he doesn’t get mugged!
|| 7/18/2009 || 7:55 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
[FOUND MAP] Dear WMATA, is it called the Hirshhorn Gallery or Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden?
Earlier this month when I was returning home from Artomatic, I snapped this photograph in the Navy Yard Metro station. I found it interesting that the cartographers at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority decided to use Hirshhorn Gallery instead of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. I could tell the map was somewhat current, but how current is the usage of Gallery vs. Museum and Sculpture Garden? I did some google searches and my general conclusion is that its commonly & mistakenly called Hirshhorn Gallery, but does that mean WMATA should too?
Related Found Maps:
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|| 7/16/2009 || 6:57 pm || 3 Comments Rendered || ||
Growing a Jaloro plant on my back deck – Part One
Photo taken on June 1st, 2009
Back in February I sprouted a yellow jalapeno plant (Capsicum annuum) known as the Jaloro (sometimes spelled Jalaro) in my window and began growing the pepper plant indoors. Around late April I moved the plant outdoors. This series of photos documents the growth of the plant. I am told it produces decent yields and the peppers turn from yellow, to orange, and to red when maturing. According to numerous sources on-line, the cultivar was developed by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and is disease Resistant to 6 types of pepper viruses.
Related Entries:
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Growing a Jaloro plant on my back deck – Part One
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Growing a Jaloro plant on my back deck – Part Two
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Growing a Jaloro plant on my back deck – Part Three
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Growing a Jaloro plant on my back deck – Part Four
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Growing a Jaloro plant on my back deck – Part Five
|| 7/9/2009 || 6:22 pm || 1 Comment Rendered || ||
[Found Map] Topographic window sign at Current Lounge & Sushi Restaurant
The other day I was walking by Current Lounge & Sushi Restaurant in Washington, DC and noticed that they were using contour lines as a visual design element on their window signs. On topographic maps, contour lines represent the vertical elevation change. The closer the contour lines are together on the map, the steeper the incline. Conversely, the more distance between contour lines, the flatter the topography.
In theory, the contour lines on the Current Lounge & Sushi Restaurant are supposed to represent the height of the three main area codes in the DC area- 202 (Washington, DC), 301 (Southern Maryland), and 703 (Northern Virginia), however, after looking over these “maps,” I don’t think the elevations are correctly shown. Check out the rest of the photos below:
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|| 7/6/2009 || 12:30 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
Unique Maps of Iraq in the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC
Back in May I attended the Passport DC Open House event. 30 embassies opened their doors to the public and I chose to check out the Embassy of Iraq. While inside I came across these two unique maps.
|| 7/4/2009 || 7:00 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
Happy 4th of July, but remember…
The residents of Washington, DC are still second-class citizens who are denied the same representation in Congress that all other Americans enjoy. Today we celebrate the American independence from British tyranny, but there are still Americans struggling to overcome the tyranny of the 535 members of Congress…. I figured this photograph would ensure you are kept abreast of this continued human rights violation.
Photograph taken on Sunday May 31st, 2009 at the Coolout on the rooftop of the Beacon Hotel in Washington, DC
|| 7/3/2009 || 9:38 am || 2 Comments Rendered || ||
[Closing Today] Photocartographies: Tattered Fragments of the Map
For the last month I’ve had two maps on display in Los Angeles at the exhibition Photocartographies: Tattered Fragments of the Map and today the exhibition closes. I wish I would have budgeted some money to attend the opening in May, but thankfully photographer and participating artist Noah Beil attended the opening and took some photos that I have republished here. Click on any of them to be see the rest of the photos from the exhibition.
A big thank you goes to curators
Adam Katz and
Brian Rosa for organizing the exhibition and for Noah Beil for letting me republish his photos here. The
commemorative artwork and the
book of essays from the exhibition are still available.
|| 7/18/2009 || 7:55 pm || + Render A Comment || ||
[FOUND MAP] Dear WMATA, is it called the Hirshhorn Gallery or Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden?
Earlier this month when I was returning home from Artomatic, I snapped this photograph in the Navy Yard Metro station. I found it interesting that the cartographers at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority decided to use Hirshhorn Gallery instead of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. I could tell the map was somewhat current, but how current is the usage of Gallery vs. Museum and Sculpture Garden? I did some google searches and my general conclusion is that its commonly & mistakenly called Hirshhorn Gallery, but does that mean WMATA should too?
Related Found Maps:
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