I'm up already.

Back when it was a true novelty to see a telephone on an airplane, I remember that the phones on Delta were all explicitly labeled "public phone," so people would know that they were there to be used by anyone. On one flight from Chicago to somewhere, the previous person in my seat had scratched out the 'l' from the label, and I was left with three and half hours to contemplate the meaning of a "pubic phone."

I never did come to terms with what that meant, and it really has nothing to do with these pictures below other than to say that I really enjoy public art. Not that I like all pieces of public artwork, far from it. It's more that I really like the idea that we are willing to use public funds to pay artists to create (often) huge pieces of art for everyone to see and enjoy (or see and despise).

When public art happens to involve a giant metal man arising from the earth and is built on a scale that allows small children to climb into its open mouth, well then all the better.

Secrets.

Walking towards GW last week, half of the street was blocked off by several police cars. Two fire trucks were out and a hazmat unit was unloading stuff from their van. I walked over to one of the police on the perimeter to ask what was going on.

Police Lady: We're not able to release that information at this time.

Me: You know, saying that doesn't really make any of us feel safer about what's going on.

Police Lady: Well, how do you think it makes me feel?

Me: I really have no idea.



I walked away feeling very confused. I guess that was better than feeling frightened.

Full Bloom.

We made a short visit to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens last weekend. I've posted about the gardens before, but this time we figured we see what they looked like in a different season.

And as you might expect for a tropical garden, there's a lot more going on in the summertime. Waterlilies, lotuses and a variety of other aquatic plants abound.






Kenilworth is a bit hard to get to, but is worth the extra effort. If you keep an eye out, you can even see a bit of animal life too.

Like the State Fair, but not as good.

Of course, the other great thing about going to the boardwalk in Rehoboth are all of the midway rides and games. Who doesn't love winning a piece of stuffed junk by catapulting a rubber frog into a bucket?

These caterpillars were part of some game that involved magnets on the end of fishing poles. I don't really know what it was about because I was too busy being totally freaked out by the creepy faces on the caterpillars.



And how about I throw in a hackneyed picture of the merry-go-round just for fun too. Remember, just because you've seen a picture done a hundred times already doesn't mean you can't do it too.

Bedazzled.

Today I bumped into a young guy wearing a heavy gold chain necklace with a name in huge letters on it. What was the name you ask? It wasn't THUGLIFE or GANGSTA or even MAURICE. No, in huge raised letters his necklace said MARKTWAIN.

I really liked this and it got me to thinking, what kind of bad-ass name would I want on my huge gold chain? THOMASPYNCHON? Or perhaps STEVECOLL?

No, my gangster author name would have everyone trembling in fear. My necklace would say, DR.SUESS.

The Insides.

It's bad enough being stuck on a Metro car on a hot day during afternoon rush hour when the air-conditioning isn't running. It's even worse when the train you're on suddenly makes a loud clacking noise and then comes to stop.

We sat just feet away from the Metro Center stop, sweating and waiting to move forward. When at last we did, it was only to pull into the station and then be informed that we needed to exit the train.

We crowded the platform while other rush-hour commuters added to the mass of people. I watched through the train windows while a maintenance guy pulled up one of the seats and adjusted something with the brakes. Finally, the train groaned and left the station.

At least I got to see what the brake systems look like.

Syntax.

I work in DC, which means that on occasion I am witness to wonderful exchanges like the following:



"Didn't you say that their memo was completely wrong?"

"No, what I said was that it didn't accurately reflect the reality that we live in."




I guess it's nice to have something to aspire to.

Beach Learning.

We came across this ray that had washed up on the beach. It was a good chance to impart a brief bit of my marine animal knowledge that I picked up while living in Micronesia and from summers spent with my grandparents in Florida.

We decided pretty quickly that this guy's name was Ray Ray.

Solitary.

We drove out to the Delaware shore this weekend with the hopes of defying the weather and spending some time on the beach. It ended up staying rainy and windy but we still had a lot of fun exploring the beaches. These big towers are part of the WWII Coastal Defense System that guarded against potential U-boat attacks.

I know, I was thinking the same thing, "Why would the German's bother attacking Delaware?" I guess this was the main entry to Philadelphia's ship building industry. Guarding the boardwalk at Rehoboth from the Luftwaffe was more of a secondary objective.

Anyway, the towers were pretty cool and reminded me of the coastal defense against the Japanese out in California.

Trends.

Wow, mustaches are so back in style that even buildings are starting to get them. I guess I should look into one for myself.

Halved.

It's a bit hard to see, but I really liked the symmetry and swirls of white in the pink fruit.

Context: nonexsistent.

I've been in a training class for the past few weeks and today we had a speaker who introduced his topic by telling us,

"I grew up in Franco's Spain, a dark place where people had moles on their faces."

In what parallel universe is that not a non sequitur?





I suppose maybe one where I attend work related trainings that involve lectures about Fascist Spain's dermatological disorders? In fact, I'm pretty sure that was a subplot that I read in a Pynchon novel.

Playing with Food.

I don't know why, but I was so pleased today when I noticed that my toast accidentally turned into modern art. Cream cheese and pumpkin butter on the right, cream cheese and black currant on the left.

We are so bourgeoisie.

Dust Up.

In the past month of work I've heard the word, "Kerfuffle," used four times. This is four times more than I've ever heard it used in serious conversation. My job makes me laugh.

Buried.

There are a few things that I know for certain: When you come across a giant stone snake half-buried in the ground, it is very important that you walk across its back.