MrMoonPie

2011-08-11T12:58:00.002-04:00

Mostly been facebooking recently, not keeping this blog updated. Big news, though--Tiffany has resigned from her job, effective September 9. The wedding business has been going so well that she's taking it full time. Been exploring accountants and office space and advertising and taxes and health insurance and all that, and decided that it's time. So, YAY!

2011-06-11T10:23:00.002-04:00

So many fun things to do today!

Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival, just a short walk from home, and free.

Tinner Hill Barbecue and Blues Festival--all the way out in Falls Church, but Metro accessible, and the whole COF-a-que gang is there, it sounds like, so there would be lots of folks I know.

Pride Parade is tonight, too, I've been invited to attend one of Tiffany's weddings down there, with the reception catered by Jose Andres.

But it's hot out there, and I've had a busy couple of weeks, with more coming up, and have a lot of stuff to do around the house, chores, but fun projects, too.

What to do?

2011-06-01T11:22:00.001-04:00

It's happened again! Someone contacted Tiffany about doing a wedding, only to find out he'd seen us before--here's his picture:

2011-03-29T10:56:00.000-04:00

This reminds me of this.

2011-02-17T13:56:00.004-05:00

Dreaming about festivals...

Our list from last year:

Shenandoah Riverside Fest
Hootenanny
Osyrusfest
Cecilfest
Mashout
Watermelon Park Bluegrass
Ubiquitopia
Billy Bean's
Sunshine Daydreams Music Park
Gathering of Guests and Ghosts

Hoping to head back to The Cove for Earth Day, if we can drum up enough interest. No organized thing, just a bunch of hippies. Been practicing guitar, tuning up my lasers, and thinking about a Rubens tube. Exciting!

2011-01-03T16:35:00.002-05:00

Looks like we had 27 people for our New Year's brunch, if I'm counting correctly. A full third of them are folks we've met in the last year, which is pretty cool; also in attendance was the DC friend I've known the longest. Several neighborhood folks, and several folks who trucked it in from the suburbs. Arrivals and departures were nicely staggered, so it never got too crowded, and there were just enough kids there to keep things lively, without anything getting out of hand. One guest stayed the night, which was a blast, as we stayed up and played guitar and ukulele into the wee hours.

Great way to start the year--if the party is any indication of the year to come, we should all be just fine.

2010-12-31T09:57:00.001-05:00

Man, been a hell of a year.

Of course, there’ve been the marriages. 52 since same-sex marriage became legal in DC, 8 on March 9, the first day ceremonies could be performed. Tiffany has stopped counting—somewhere over 65. This time last year, we had no idea this would happen, no idea at all. I mean, I’d done the one wedding several years ago, and there was the National Equality March, but, wow. Really, wow--a big lesson on how very quickly big things can happen.

But it’s been a good year otherwise, too. My daughter really blossomed into a beautiful, happy, healthy young woman, getting into crew and ukulele, blowing everyone away at Girls Rock Camp. Straight As, too, and a first boyfriend (who is, thankfully, history).

I’ve progressed musically, myself. The hippie camping trips we’ve attended (a half-dozen or so—lost count!) this year have given me ample opportunities to play in front of folks, and the folks I’ve played in front of have been great, very encouraging and enthusiastic. I’ve learned to play with a pick in the last few months, mainly because of audience demands for me to play louder. And we met a lot of great people in the process.

Happy New Year, everyone.

2010-10-03T22:43:00.001-04:00

I just got back from a camping weekend where people asked me to bring out my guitar. They complained that I wasn't playing loud enough. And they expressed disappointment when I put the guitar away.

Oh, and someone asked for my wine.

I've met some fine, fine folks.

2010-09-23T15:51:00.004-04:00

So, imagine you're a gay couple looking to get married. You understand it might be a bit difficult to find a liberal-minded officiant, but you get to work googling for a name, anyone that will do the deed. Imagine how very, very happy you'd be to find eviltiff's site, with that picture of us at the National Equality March right there on the home page, relieving your insecurities, knowing that this person won't be judging or discriminating against you. Imagine how happy you'd be.

Then imagine that you, yourself, were at the march, and remembered seeing that couple.

Now imagine if you, yourself, had taken a picture of the couple, and here you are, googling around for an officiant, and you find the site, with a picture very similar to the one you'd taken. Imagine how happy you'd be then.

This just happened. We get to make people that happy.

This photo must have been taken within seconds of another we've found--same reporter's bald head, same cell-phone guy in the background.

2010-09-20T22:41:00.002-04:00

I'm just thinking about all the amazing folks I've met over the past year. I've played my ukulele and guitar for and with some great people, shared my wine and breakfast and lasers, gotten in return generous helpings of kindness and tasty treats and a new ankle bracelet that perfectly matches the one from Hawaii and so, so many good vibes.

More to come.

2010-08-18T10:42:00.007-04:00

Our Marriage Was Once Illegal, Too, II

We made another sign and took it to The Big Commit, organized by Freedom To Marry to counter the hateful rhetoric of the National Organization for Marriage. The counter-protest at Freedom Plaza was, of course, much more well attended than the protest at the Capitol.

2010-08-17T15:08:00.001-04:00

Yessir, that's my baby!

2010-08-17T12:00:00.001-04:00

Jinx!

2010-08-13T16:05:00.002-04:00

Google AdSense FAIL:

2010-08-10T17:50:00.000-04:00

Tiffany has a website! How odd is it that marriagedc.com was still available?

2010-08-09T09:53:00.001-04:00

Girls Rock! DC! Yay!

Showcase is Saturday the 14th, 11 am, 9:30 Club. It's the hippest scene in town.

2010-07-23T19:16:00.001-04:00

I just performed my 50th wedding.

2010-06-20T13:52:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

You're the best dad ever. I love popping balloons with lasers with you, ukulele/guitar duets, making our amazing sand castles...the list goes on. I think it's so awesome that even though you have a job, bills, and other adult responsibilities, you don't let it keep you from having fun, from getting in touch with the kid inside. You're just so fun and always prepared with a hug. Thanks for always being there. I love you!
Love,
Maisie
(your little girl)

*got something in my eye. Allergies, maybe...sniff*

2010-06-14T14:10:00.001-04:00

Had a great time hanging out with cool folks at OsyrusFest this past weekend. Great music and amazing light show, though it all ran too late for me to pull out my lasers for more than a minute or two. Ah, well, next festival.

2010-06-09T19:02:00.004-04:00

Amanda Hess, the Washington CityPaper blogger who's written about me before, has a long article about same-sex marriage in the print edition this week. She has some nice things to say about me in the last several paragraphs of the article. Take a look!

2010-05-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

Follow up post on the Washington Citypaper blog!

2010-05-18T17:42:00.005-04:00

So, wedding #44 was on the Newseum terrace, with a Spaceballs theme (and costumes!), seating for 30 guests, catering by Wolfgang Puck, and an oh-so-fabuloso view. #45 was guerilla-style on the Botanic Garden steps after closing time, with 10 very happy family members in attendance.

Both were amazing.

2010-04-29T12:32:00.003-04:00

Just got a thank-you gift from a lovely couple whose wedding I performed last month on the steps of the Surpreme Court, hand-made, just for me. Fantastic:

2010-04-23T22:21:00.002-04:00

What an evening.

Metroed up to Tenleytown for a wedding. Been together 28 years, nice ceremony in a friend's house, champagne, nice thank-you gift, then on my way. Ran into Fil, then Michael G. while on my way to Whole Foods for a few things. Decided to splurge on a cab, couldn't catch one, got on Metro.

Noticed I was in Bethesda.

Grump grump got off the train, was trying to decide if I go outside and try to catch a cab or wait for the damned train going the opposite direction or WHAT, then heard screaming down the platform. Went to investigate. Found a woman on one knee, proposing to her girlfriend. Offered services, exchanged info.

And, really, the rest is just not as interesting.

2010-04-22T16:58:00.002-04:00

Teaching my daughter "Here Comes the Sun" on ukulele at Guitar Center (and her picking it up on, like, the third time through) last night will rank as a top experience in my life. She'll be 15 in two months, heading off to college soon, but, dang, when she was sitting there, watching me intently, following my lead, she was my girl.

*sigh*

2010-04-14T07:50:00.003-04:00

6 years ago today, eviltiff and I (and the LittleMissMoonPie) took a short trip across the river to Arlington.

2010-04-09T22:31:00.002-04:00

Today marks one month since same-sex marriages could be performed in DC.

I've married 29 couples since then.

29! 58 happy people!

8 couples on the first day. One at the Arboretum that got busted up by the cops (but not before the papers got signed). I've been on the rooftop of the Interior Department, in the DC City Council offices, on random street corners and park benches, at the DC courthouse, on the Capitol grounds, in restaurants and at a Starbucks and on the steps of the Supreme Court (literally, on those steps). Today's, one month after the first, at the Botanic Gardens, was amazing.

As they all have been. All 29. Each one. So many happy, lovely, in-love people. I feel so amazingly lucky to be a part of it all.

2010-04-01T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well, lookee there...

2010-03-30T11:40:00.001-04:00

For those of you following along at home, I'm now up to 26 weddings, over the last 20 days. Incredible!

2010-03-16T15:08:00.002-04:00

[insert obvious circus-in-DC joke here]

I just had this conversation 5 times:

Me: Look, elephants!
Tourist: Huh?
Me: Elephants!
Tourist: Elephants?
Me: Look!
Tourist: Elephants!

2010-03-15T15:30:00.002-04:00

We don't care, because we don't have to

Do you know it now costs $6 to reroute a UPS package? Oh, online, it costs only $4. But last time I tried that, the change order got lost, and the package was returned to the shipper. UPS was absolutely no help then--I went back and forth with them for days, trying to get them to route the package back to me, since they were at fault. It was one of the most frustrating customer service experiences I've ever had.

Gah. Reminds me of the time a few years ago when UPS tried a one-attempt-then-return shipping option. That didn't seem to last long, thankfully. I wish I could just let them leave a package on my doorstep, but I'm not confident that it'd be there when I got home.

The moral? Please use USPS if at all possible, or send things to eviltiff's office. I really wish UPS wasn't too big to boycott.

2010-03-11T12:41:00.005-05:00

Link dump of articles about me:

Anything missing?

2010-03-10T09:22:00.003-05:00

Carmen and Aster were the first couple I wed yesterday, at 9:30 at the Moultrie courthouse here in DC.

Seven other couples followed. Some wanted only my administrative signature; after all, they were already married, and I was just making it legal. Others had readings, or vows, or family and co-workers in attendance. One was at DC's city council building, attended by three council members, and one was on the rooftop of the Department of the Interior, with music and video. The last was at my home, with my lovely wife as witness. My friend Roy tagged along and took lots of pictures, which I'll post as soon as I can.

It was an exhausting but fulfilling and wonderful day. Thanks to all who helped make it happen.

2010-03-05T13:47:00.004-05:00

Whew, what an interesting week!

So, things went viral, and I'm now signed up to do 15 weddings in the next few weeks, 7 on Tuesday, the first day same-sex couples can get married in DC. One wedding will be in the office of David Catania, the city councilman who sponsored the legislation making it all possible. I'm told there will be a news crew waiting outside afterwards.

An interesting detail is that I'll be performing a marriage in the Trinidad neighborhood, one block away from where the Loving family lived after they got kicked out of Virginia for marrying across racial lines. They were, of course, the inspiration for the sign that got all this started.

2010-03-01T13:08:00.009-05:00

DC gay marriage begins tomorrow Wednesday!

DC will begin accepting marriage license applications from all beginning on ~~Tuesday, March 2~~ Wednesday, March 3. They've released the gender-neutral application. As with all DC marriages, couples must indicate their officiant (or opt for a civil ceremony) at the time of application. There's a 3-day waiting period before the license can be picked up, and a longer wait for civil ceremonies, due to scheduling issues.

Going by the example of California (and other municipalities), it seems like a good idea for folks to get hitched as quickly as possible, to minimize the effects of any future revocation. Regular readers know that I went through the trouble to get registered to perform weddings in DC, and actually hitched our friends Jim and Angela in August 2007.

But how do I let folks know I want to help (pro bono, of course)? I've considered going down to the courthouse ~~tomorrow~~ Wednesday and handing out cards, but that might look sketchy. eviltiff and I got some fleeting fame in the community due to the sign we carried at October's National Equality March--any way to leverage that?

Update: Me in the Washington CityPaper.

Update: I'm working with a couple to try to be (at least one of) the first out of the gates on Tuesday, the 9th.

Update: Two couples now!

Update: Three now, with possible TV coverage!

Update 3/3/10: Seven, with TV coverage confirmed.

2010-01-29T10:05:00.001-05:00

One of the most bizarre things I've seen in a long, long time--Timothy Dalton and Mae West singing "Love Will Keep Us Together."

Oh, you heard me; you just don't believe what you heard. That's right, Timothy Dalton (age 32) and Mae West (age 85) singing a Captain and Tennille song.

2009-12-28T11:42:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve at National Cathedral! We asked the right person, and got to sit in the choir, right behind the altar and bishop and under the organ pipes. Sweet.

2009-12-20T17:13:00.001-05:00

Jeremiah Frei-Pearson of Western Queens for Marriage Equality and Marriage Equality New York found some use for our sign after the DC March for Equality in October 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSQxwLzwlH0

2009-10-21T14:16:00.000-04:00

And now someone's started a facebook page about us (well, kind of about us).

2009-10-15T17:30:00.002-04:00

Our marriage is still illegal in Louisiana, I guess.

2009-10-11T15:41:00.055-04:00

Our marriage was once illegal, too!

We just had our picture taken about 1000 times--for real. At times, there were as many as 30 people in a semi-circle in front of us taking pics, and lots of folks had their pictures taken with us. Lots of handshakes and "WOOO!"s too. Much fun.

The response has been incredible. Tweetings and re-tweetings, massive google hits, lots of blog mentions, too. We're gathering all the pictures we can find and putting them here; newer shots are at the top.

Here's what we've found so far:

Ours:

2009-10-09T13:10:00.002-04:00

After all these years, the internet still has the power to fascinate me.

I just got a shout-out from a DJ in Egypt. My old friend Itzel is on the air there, and we're chatting on IM. This fascinates me, blows me away--a DJ in Egypt just gave a shout out to "mrmoonpie," and I listened to it, live. I mean, how freaking cool is that?

2009-09-22T14:13:00.003-04:00

I jammed!

One of the moderators of Metafilter (cortex, a.k.a. Josh) was going to be in town, and there was a good bit of discussion about how to mark the occasion. Typically, we have meetups at a bar somewhere, but my friend and neighbor Roy revealed that Josh would be staying with him, and offered his home as the meetup venue.

I've been gradually easing myself into playing (guitar and ukulele) out in public. There was Wickerman, where I played for a few strangers, casually, around the campfire. I played for a few more folks with my friend Peter at Cofaque; we exchanged a set-list of sorts beforehand, so we knew what we'd be playing, but it, too, was pretty casual.

Josh is an accomplished musician, and a helluva nice guy, so I thought the gathering at Roy's would be a good opportunity to take another step. I announced to Metafilter that I'd be bringing my guitar and two ukes, and encouraged others to do so as well. That alone was a pretty big deal for me, making a public commitment like that. A few folks sounded interested, and as the day grew closer, I got pretty excited, and nervous--there'd be 30 or so folks there, and my stage fright and fear of failure really started kicking in.

Sunday night, I carried my instruments over to Roy's, and one other person brought a guitar and banjo. I left them in the house, though, while everyone gathered outside, not wanting to be pushy, you know? But then after a while, the loving and supportive eviltiff decided I needed a push, and pulled out the instruments herself. Oooookayyyy--now I'm on the spot!

And it was great. Me, Josh, his brother, and two other guys took turns calling out songs, and trying to keep up. Everyone was perfectly cooperative about keeping things at the level of the most novice player in the group (me), and allowed me to make most of the suggestions. When someone mentioned Dylan, I suggested "Blowing in the Wind." When Cash came up, we did "Folsom Prison Blues." And Josh's brother did a great Kermit to accompany eviltiff's Elmo, and Josh picked out a banjo part, as I led "Rainbow Connection" on the resonator uke. We even played a few songs I didn't know. Folks gathered around, some sitting on the ground at our feet, watching, a real audience, some people I'd met once or twice, but some real, actual strangers, too, just raptly listening to the group (and me!) play music for them. And applauding after every song. I messed up a few times, even completely lost the song and stopped playing for a half-measure or so when I was the only one playing, but no one seemed to notice or care.

(I'm tearing up just remembering it--I had people applauding my playing)

It got late, and Roy has neighbors, so we had to quit. My fingers ached all day yesterday, and are still a little sore. But it was a huge step forward in my evolution as a player, and I'm thankful to all who helped it happen.

2009-09-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

Whoa! Lookee there--I'm thanked by Ronald Paulson.

2009-08-19T08:21:00.000-04:00

Google books has put back issues of Popular Science online. Cool huh? What's cooler is that I found the article about a renovation my dad did, complete with his picture.

2009-08-17T10:06:00.005-04:00

The Majestix!

Oh my, oh my--Majestix reviewed on DCist!

2009-08-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

My daughter's show listed on the 9:30 Club site.

2009-08-06T09:32:00.001-04:00

Ridiculously stereotypical cable-guy experience Monday. A week or so ago, we got fed up with digital over-the-air issues, and signed up for a Comcast cable installation. By a happy coincidence, we were able to schedule installation for Monday, which we'd already taken off to recover from (the very awesome) COF-a-que. Sometime between 2 and 5, they said.

Well, of course, 5:00 came and went, with no appearance by the cable guy. eviltiff called around 5:15, and was told they'd call back shortly with an ETA. Then…nothing, no call, no attempt to reschedule, nothing. So, what, they expect us to call and reschedule and take another day off, hoping that maybe they'll come? eviltiff pointed out that they do schedule Saturday appointments, but I say no thanks. If this is how they treat us before we're even customers, no thanks.

Update: So, they called back Thursday, telling us they'd be out Friday between 5 and 8 pm. I was pretty calm and conversational as I told them why we were cancelling the service call--I never heard a single "sorry" or any attempt to win me back.

2009-08-03T15:07:00.000-04:00

2009-07-02T16:13:00.002-04:00

The LittleMissMoonPie rocks so hard she got a blister on her strumming thumb. You see, she's getting ready for Girls Rock! DC camp, and her show at the 9:30 Club, just like last year.

Rock on, LittleMissMoonPie!

2009-06-22T10:47:00.002-04:00

Busy couple of days…

Wednesday, had the usual dinner with the LittleMissMoonpie.
Thursday, we went to a fundraiser at The Pug on H Street. Pretty cool place, with a good mix of folks, from cops to Hill types (plus free cheesy poofs!). Afterwards, we explored the new H Street Country Club. Really great place—excellent, trippy décor, good drinks, and fabulous food. Highly recommend the place.
Friday, we hit Artomatic for a belly-dance/drag king show. Not many places, especially in DC, where one can see a woman dressed as Jesus lip-synching to Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt.”
Saturday, dropped in at little Debbie’s one-year open house and caught up with friends. Saturday night, Artomatic again for a Metafilter meetup.
Sunday, my second Father’s Day outing, this time to the always-fabulous Bombay Bistro, then to Frying Pan Farm Park.

Whew. Maybe we’ll stay home a few days.

2009-06-11T17:47:00.000-04:00

And now I really am happy--Screen on the Green is back!

2009-06-11T16:18:00.000-04:00

Holy crap! I'm one of the happiest people ever! (permalink)

2009-06-03T12:29:00.000-04:00

Well, look, it does still exist.

2009-06-03T11:17:00.001-04:00

So that's why my latest batch of wine tastes like bandaids!

2009-05-27T08:27:00.003-04:00

Wickerman was a roaring success. We gave out 3 cases of wine, I played my ukulele in front of strangers, one of whom danced, and my spinning-laser-pointer thingie was successful WAY beyond my expectations. We were located in an excellent site, such that lots of people happened by and were drawn in by our hospitality (and free wine, and relatively dry shelter)--just lots of casual encounters and chats and such, so we talked to way more folks than we did last year.

As we were leaving, I was thanked for "bringing the awesome." Much fun.

2009-05-19T10:21:00.004-04:00

Some fun last night. eviltiff surprised a prowler in our back yard, just as he was approaching our unlocked door. She yelled, he fled, cops came. Yup, time to install some outdoor lighting.

In more pleasant news, I uplodaed a bunch of garden and metalwork pictures to flickr. Enjoy!

Next up--Wickerman. We're taking 5 cases of homemade wine to give out, and I've publically committed to playing guitar and ukulele in front of people who aren't my relatives for the first time. I've been practicing so much that my fingertips are bruised, so I'm taking a few days off to recuperate.

2009-05-01T14:53:00.002-04:00

Impulse buy!

I hadn't even heard of resonator ukuleles before this morning's MetaFilter post. I've been playing guitar for 6 years now, and had never had gear lust. but, man-o-man...

So I googled around, found that House of Musical Traditions had one in stock, slightly damaged and thus discounted, and was on the Red line. And now...HAVE!

2009-04-30T15:51:00.000-04:00

I know how to pick out the best parts of the Congressional Record.

2009-04-15T15:48:00.002-04:00

Had a great anniversary weekend!

Friday, met up with some MetaFilter friends at Domku for some yummy food and drinks. Saturday, slept late, then headed out towards Washington, VA, hitting a winery or two along the way (seriously--VA white wine is good stuff. VA red? Not so much).

After checking in to the lovely Foster Harris House, we dressed for dinner and headed over to the Inn at Little Washington, two blocks away, for a fabulous dinner, after which we passed out.

Sunday, we had a great breakfast at our B&B, then went west to Skyline Drive, where we did a nice waterfall hike (not my pictures!) before winding our way back to the B&B, stopping in at the Griffin Tavern for dinner.

Monday was another great breakfast and the trip home. We had our first lettuce harvest for dinner, which was great. Then Tuesday was the Segway tour! So much fun zooming around the Capitol, and they didn't even make us wear FBI shirts or fanny packs.

And now--back at work. Poo. At least I was able to give a Library tour to a visiting MetaFilterian.

2009-04-11T18:00:00.002-04:00

eviltiff and I are at the Foster-Harris House in Washington, VA, right now, in the room pictured. Tonight--dinner at the Inn at Little Washington. Yes, you may envy us.

2009-04-07T14:05:00.002-04:00

Two phrases I need to use next time I'm at an art museum:

"abstract expressionist bukkake"
"surrealism isn't my cup of fur"

2009-03-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

The circus parade is coming!

2009-03-09T12:13:00.001-04:00

Washington Psychotronic Film Society is back, now at the Warehouse theater. Hope this venue lasts longer than the last.

2009-03-06T12:30:00.002-05:00

So, I loaded a bunch of new music on my computer, and, while I was at it, I copied all of my 13-year-old daughter's music, too, which explains why, every now and then, as I'm listening to my stuff on shuffle, I occasionally have a what-the-fuck-is-this-crap moment. I mean, I've downloaded a lot of weird stuff through the ages. There's Wesley Willis and Shooby Taylor and several odd mixtapes and novelty songs and such. And she has some good stuff, too, Queen and Squeeze and David Bowie, and some kooky, fun things, like Tom Jones and ABBA. But every now and then, I come across a Mika or a Maroon 5 or Mariah Carey, and it takes me a moment to remember why the hell I have it.

2009-02-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

Just so I don't forget to tell eviltiff about it...

2009-02-12T14:50:00.001-05:00

Wanna see what I looked like in kindergarten?

2009-02-06T11:50:00.002-05:00

Man, I've found the site of the next MetaFilter meetup. The last one was pretty great, but putt-putt!?! Man.

2009-02-01T17:34:00.002-05:00

So our 5th wedding anniversary is coming up, and we've been waffling about what to do--take a trip? Make some kind of big purchase? Nah--how about a night and dinner at Inn at Little Washington? Gonna be fancy.

2009-01-29T13:20:00.000-05:00

Quote of the day: "She don't need to eat no puddin' wit' all 'em hips!"

2009-01-19T21:58:00.002-05:00

Mannnnn....DC was wild today. We met a bunch of MetaFilter folks at the American Art Museum courtyard--I've never seen so many people in DC before. Crazy. The meetup was much fun. Saw Gary Dourdan trying to be all Hollywood, and that guy who was on Seinfeld ~~that one time~~ those two times, but the best was when I pointed out Ian McKellen. Ian McKellen. SIR Ian McKellen? GANDALF! Oh, yes, I brought my new, fancy camera, but didn't bring a BATTERY! Damnit.

Lars, too, was spotted, though I didn't see him. Crowded like crazy down there. Tomorrow will be more so, for sure.

But so damned GOOD.

2009-01-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

Oh, man, am I ready for Tuesday.

You know, I went down to the White House November 4 (well, I guess it was November 5, technically). The excitement, the awe, the elation, was overwhelming then. What's overwhelming X 10?

So we had this big plan with friends who live nearby--we were all going to walk down together, and, since there's no checkpoints on the Mall, we were going to take flasks and thermoses and chairs and such. And then...got the phone call today from my brother that he scored us tickets. So we lose the party stuff, but we get close. Man-oh-man, we have tickets.

This is going to be overwhelming.

2009-01-13T14:18:00.001-05:00

My (pre)inauguration photos are up!

2009-01-13T10:01:00.001-05:00

Finally got my Halloween pictures uploaded:

2009-01-07T11:52:00.002-05:00

You know that feeling when you go to the cafeteria at work to get a salad, then you see there's fried fish today, too, and, man, it smells good, but you're really just there to get a salad, but, again, that fish is smelling really good, so you get a small piece, and get the salad, too, because you know that's not going to be enough fish to fill you up, and, besides, you should really get a salad, then you get back to your desk, and you eat the fish first, and, yeah, it tastes as good as it smelled, and then you look at your salad, but what you really want is more fish, but you know you shouldn't, because it's all fatty and salty, but, wow, that's what makes it so good, right, so then you eat your salad, and it's good, for a salad, but you still want to go back and get another piece of fish?

You know that feeling? I'm having it right now.

2009-01-05T14:57:00.001-05:00

Well, crap--the WPFS has been kicked out of The Meeting Place. I'd say we should all boycott the bar, but it's not like I know anyone who's ever gone there for any other purpose than to see the WPFS.

2008-12-31T11:42:00.002-05:00

Man, first the Washington Psychotronic Film Society moves back to DC, then Blob's Park reopens?!? Indeed, times are good.

2008-12-22T15:52:00.001-05:00

I got an Ecosphere for Christmas! Man, I've always wanted one of these, and now I'm at the office watching the little shrimps happily jetting around their little world. Way cool. Thanks, Mom!

2008-12-11T11:35:00.001-05:00

You might have to be a product of the 80s to think this is funny, but I certainly do: Bleed the World.

2008-12-05T15:34:00.004-05:00

Lots done in the last week! About 1000 miles driven, dozens (yup, literally) of relatives visited, two cases of wine bought, and fantastic food eaten.

First, drove to Charlotte for Thanksgiving. Had the typical T-day experience--too much turkey and ham, tripping over 14 kids under the age of 10 at one point. Had a nice lunch with an old highschool pal and her family, and bought a new guitar, which I've since restrung twice.

Saturday, we drove to Roanoke, VA, to visit more relatives, then took a short hop to Harmony Hill Bed and Breakfast in Arrington, VA. Nice place--gas fireplace in the room, very quiet, and friendly folks all around. We'd planned to spend Sunday cruising up to Charlottesville, hitting some wineries and seeing the sights, but it was cold and rainy, so after breakfast we went back to bed until hunger awoke us at 2. We headed out to the Lovingston Cafe, where we had a prefectly dreadful lunch, then hit the Mountain Cove Winery, where we tasted some very good, dry fruit wines. I also had my first taste of Norton grape wine, and wasn't particularly impressed. We then visited Rebec Winery, where we tasted (and bought) a fascinating Bulgarian herbed wine. In lieu of dinner, we stopped by the Food Lion for cheese, bread, and fruit, and had an in-room picnic. Not a bad day.

Monday, we found that many wineries (and a distillery, actually) are closed on Monday. We did hit Barboursville, though, and had a long, thorough tasting of their offerings, something like 18 in all. They clearly deserve their reputation as one of the best (perhaps the best) wineries in Virginia. I had a good time talking to the tasting guy about home winemaking--I've done it more than he has, but he gets grapes (and advice) right from the source.

Then home! Yay!

The other highlight of the week was my first attempt at making tortas ahogadas. In October, I had my first taste of the Mexican "drowned" sandwich, and I was in love. I googled around for a few recipes, and ended up using a blend of several--dried chiles, vinegar, black sesame seeds, garlic, oregano, a little cumin, onions, and probably a pinch of this and that thrown in somewhere. I marinated some cheap pork chops in Mojo, which we buy by the gallon, and grilled them quickly before chopping them up and adding them to the sauce (not a completely authentic recipe, but it worked). I then poured the whole mess over some split crusty baguettes, and I must say it was fan-damn-tastic.

2008-11-20T09:18:00.001-05:00

Oh, man, I think I just clinched Father of the Year--I bought opening-night Twilight tickets.

2008-11-14T09:49:00.001-05:00

A shocking display by President Bush.

2008-11-12T09:44:00.000-05:00

Sticker sales have slowed to a trickle. Yesterday, I hit the 900 mark; that translates to $697 in commission, $660 of which I've already donated. The Obama campaign is still collecting to cover debts, so I'll go ahead and give them another $50, I suppose. This certainly has been fun--thanks to all who bought stickers (or, of course, who pitched in in other ways). Very much looking forward to January 20!

2008-11-10T19:44:00.002-05:00

Went shopping at my favorite liquor store tonight, Schneider's of Capitol Hill. Old Overolt rye, Lecompte 5-year-old calvados, Juniper Green organic gin, and 12-year-old Zaya Gran Reserva rum. When I got home, I compared the Zaya to the 13-year-old Plantation Barbados that I already have, and was reminded why I didn't get Zaya last time--man, is it sweet. Both the Plantation and the Zaya are smooth and flavorful and sweet, but the Zaya is a bit too much. It's described as a Cuban-style rum, and that description is apt, since it tastes a lot like the genuinely-Cuban Ron Varadero Anejo I brought back from the Dominican Republic.

2008-11-09T18:29:00.001-05:00

Oh, man, the WPFS website has been updated with details about the new location and schedule. The first two weeks will bring us Dolemite and Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Life is good.

2008-11-06T09:47:00.002-05:00

A special prize goes to the first person to find me in one of the many photos of the celebration at Lafayette Park. After watching the returns at Madhatter, I walked down to see what was going on at the White House, and, man, it was a scene. None of my crappy cell-phone pictures turned out, but I know I showed up in someone else's. I was there around 1:30 to 2:00, I'd say (good thing I had already taken Wednesday off).

2008-11-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

We voted!

Polls opened at 7:00, so we thought we'd beat the rush and get there at 6:45. When we got there, there were about 75 people in line; at 7:00, there were another 75 behind us. Things were moving along pretty well, so we voted at 7:45. When we got out, I saw that there were 200 or so lined up--glad we went when we did.

2008-10-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

The Washington Psychotronic Film Society is moving back to DC! Near Metro! Oh good lord I'm happy about this.

2008-10-22T14:10:00.001-04:00

Settling up--822 That One stickers sold, $619 in commissions. Again, I rounded my donation up, to take care of near-future sales, and because I figure they need the money now more than later. I only wish I could design a for-profit item that would get this much attention!

2008-10-22T11:30:00.002-04:00

New sticker:

2008-10-17T10:09:00.001-04:00

The most disturbing Sarah Palin parody I've seen thus far: La Pequeña Sarah Palin

2008-10-17T09:59:00.000-04:00

Oh, sweet--free Obama t-shirt if I donate today. So I kicked in another $60. Sales appear to be leveling off.

2008-10-15T09:45:00.003-04:00

My stickers came! Really impressed with cafepress' quality, yet again. I only wish I'd ordered more. I'm gonna freak if I ever spot one in the wild, as I did with one of my t-shirts.

2008-10-14T08:18:00.000-04:00

OK, settled up so far.

619 sold, $470 in profits. I rounded up the donation check to take care of the next few sales, but I'll settle up again in a week or so. If sales continue after the election, I suppose I'll give to the DNC.

2008-10-12T11:01:00.006-04:00

Whoa--so I've been tracking my bumper sticker sales below, and things seem to have been levelling off. However, I just noticed that a cafepress search for that one reveals that my humble little creation rotates in and out of the featured products in the results list. Right now, it's the second sticker listed, but it was #1 a few minutes ago. Crazy. Wonder what this will do for sales?

2008-10-11T19:44:00.000-04:00

OMG! Unicode snowman! ☃

2008-10-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

I made a bumper sticker!

I'll donate 100% of the profits to the campaign. Get yours before no one understands the reference anymore!

Update: Can you believe I've sold 35 in 2 1/2 hours? And I haven't even bought one yet.

Update: Thursday at 8 am--230 sold! That's $216 to the Obama campaign so far.

Update: Friday--now up to 370.

Update: Sunday--480 sold, for $381 in commission. I don't get my check until sometime after the end of the month, which will be, of course, too late, so mid-week or so I'll go ahead and donate the (anticipated) proceeds. This is fun!

2008-10-06T10:08:00.004-04:00

Wow, busy week!

Record traffic at work, which caused some problems initially, but everything was smooth by the end of the week. Still, we gathered some really impressive stats.

In the midst of all that, I and some friends attended a Macallan scotch tasting. I do tend to go for the smoky stuff ("liquid campfire," as one guy described it), but the mostly-unpeated Macallans were nice.

Saturday was eviltiff's birthday, so we started with red velvet cake in bed. We then went and got the now-famous fish pedicure. Crazy! Little fishies nibbling at our toes! eviltiff (and our friend Salina, who joined us there) got the full pedicure, but I just had the fishies, so, to kill some time, I crossed the highway and found El Buen Gusto, a fantastic little Mexican restaurant, where I had an excellent torta ahogada (spicy!) and watched Live and Let Die dubbed in Spanish. Much fun.

Later, we had dinner at Co Co. Sala. Excellent food, good service. We arrived early, but were seated immediately. I had noted on my opentable reservation that it was eviltiff's birthday, and one of the courses came out with a single candle, but, thankfully, no singing! I would have liked a little more attentiveness to my drink situation--I would have ordered probably one more drink, and definitely coffee, but I never really got the chance. Other than that, the food was very good, well timed and artfully presented by knowledgable staff. Not a place to go with a hearty appetite, but not terribly expensive, either, so we walked away satisfied. Sweeeet! I mean, everything we had, with one or two exceptions, was really, really sweet, but that's to be expected at a chocolate-themed restaurant. I had a nice port with some of the courses, and it matched perfectly.

Sunday morning was spent trying to get eviltiff's scooter started, to no avail. Some internet research convinced us that we should ditch the thing and start over with a name-brand model, so eviltiff is working on that today. Sunday afternoon, we went out to the Roosevelt Center in Greenbelt for a little Fall music festival. Good thing, too, since we constituted an appreciable percentage of the audience. Still, it was a funky little place, and we had some good food at the New Deal Cafe and heard some good tunes.

2008-09-25T11:57:00.003-04:00

It really inspires confidence in the Library of Congress police force when I find a fully-loaded ammo clip sitting on the bathroom sink. That's some fine police work there, Lou.

2008-09-05T15:31:00.002-04:00

Just another boring day on Capitol Hill. This went down right across the street from my office, at an intersection I cross every day. Fun!