Posts in: dmv

The only antidote to today’s torturous start is the fact that spring has finally arrived in the only way that counts (sorry, equinox pedants).

A closeup photo of snowdrops in bloom under a clear blue sky.

This is a sculpture of a single translucent disk and some cleverly positioned spotlights. Made in 1969 by Robert Irwin and now at the Hirshhorn Museum in DC, it reminded me, of all things, of a Reddit thread.

A geometric light fixture on a wall creates overlapping circular shadows in a pattern.
A mural featuring a shelf with small items and a text-heavy, artistic background incorporating a poem and various phrases.

We went to the Hirshhorn Museum to see their Basquiat X Banksy exhibit, stayed for this magnificently decorated room by Laurie Anderson. She spent more than two weeks working 10-hour days to paint it in 2021, when she was 74 years old, and you can see the experience seep through the walls.

A monochrome illustration depicts a devilish figure with horns alongside a man in a hat and sunglasses, surrounded by expressive, handwritten phrases.A chalk drawing on a black wall and floor depicts a scene with two animals in a boat accompanied by text.A black and white artwork features handwritten text suggesting a tiny clock should be at the end of each sentence to show how long it took to write.A black and white mural features abstract artwork with phrases like WHAT WAR IS THIS? and LIKE HONORE DE BALZAC SAID FAME IS THE SUNSHINE OF THE DEAD, surrounded by various figures and elements.

It warms my heart that Nikola Tesla has a whole shelf for himself at the National Archives gift shop. Thomas Edison? Nowhere in sight. It seems like only yesterday that Matthew Inman felt the need to publish a whole screed on why Tesla was the alpha geek but no, it was 2012, and his campaign bore fruit.

A gift shop shelf featuring Nikola Tesla merchandise, including a “Who Was Nikola Tesla?” book, a pair of Tesla socks, a Tesla plushie, and a statue of Tesla holding a glow-in-the-dark light bulb.

From our visit to the US Capitol: a Corn-inthian column decorating the old entrance.

Close up shot of the top of a Corinthian column with ears of corn instead of the usual ornaments.

A quick trip to the Library of Congress. I could spend all day just staring at this ceiling.

A richly decorated coffered ceiling featuring intricate patterns, colorful murals, and ornate columns is viewed from directly below.

❄️ A bit of a thaw yesterday, and various artifacts of bygone eras encased in ice for decades begin to emerge.

A Washington Redskins straw hat lays forgotten on the iced over metro train tracks.

❄️ And so comes February, the worst month of the year for those of us in the northern hemisphere. This one will be particularly horrendous for residents of DC and the surrounding suburbs as we deal with snowcrete — DCPS schools are still on a 2-hour delay, but hey at least they’re open!

❄️ Fortunately, our snow shoe quest was successful enough for the kids to be able to spend some time outside every day since Sunday. They even built a snowman with the hard, frozen white mass that passes as snow, so now I have a stalker looking at me through this window. Not at all unnerving!

A small snowman with stick arms stands in a snowy area near a brick border and bare trees.