It's your birthday,

happy birthday to ya!

i was sure...

that Jarvis was gonna kill this c*nt, from the first look he gave him. imagine my disappointment. though a Wes Anderson/ Jarvis Cocker collaboration only raises my hopes even higher.

**hear Tow Waits show here on NPR.



see more here.

More Loved Lovers

Long live the Album!

here is one way to bring back the album; one forty nine minute track with over twenty songs sold for forty nine cents. i know i've spent sixteen bucks on cds i've liked a lot less. nice work, Mr Westerberg.

living trickster

" the Upskirt Shot of Christopher Columbus"

La luna Through Michelle's Telescope

Endangered Neighborhood Project: Clarendon, Virginia

We are lucky (not to be scattered all over), but to have correspondents all over the country contributing here. I propose an ongoing project, of which I offer exhibit A this evening-the Endangered Neighborhood Project. Living here in Northern Virginia for most of the last 32 years I've witnessed the loss of so much of our natural and cultural landscape. It's time to capture some of it before it is gone completely both here, and in Chicago, Baltimore, Denver, Raleigh, and Richmond. Corporate gentrification is decimating once vibrant neighborhoods, and massive condo complexes are covering blocks where communities once existed. While vertical living is certainly the green thing to do, particularly along major public transport corridors like my subject today, I can't help but feel a sense of loss at what I grew up knowing this area to be.

Clarendon is a long established part of Arlington County centered along Wilson and Clarendon boulevards. It has been a major commercial area for decades. As a kid I would spend Saturday mornings looking through the penny box for Orioles at Barnett's Baseball Cards on Wilson, and on several occasions I accompanied my grandmother to the oddly named Public Shoe Store, still open today.

Due to a metro stop and close proximity to DC this area is being rebuilt with high end apartments and condos. Everywhere highrises are emerging from the ruins of an old district. Barnes and Noble, Crate and Barrel and others have moved in and brought their homogeneity with them.

This afternoon I took the orange line to Clarendon and began wandering the length of Wilson and Clarendon. Within an hour I'd snapped 70 pictures and stopped for a slice of pizza and a coke in a little hole in the wall run by a Greek couple who argued boisterously in foreign tongue while soccer aired on the tv in the corner. If I'd had more time I'd have delved into the residential areas more. Today I offer you 25 images you won't soon be able to see in person, as it appears much of the area will be built over soon.

I hope you all will go out and capture what you can of your changing favorite spots too.



Wilson Blvd. across from the Metro stop. The Public Shoe Store is at left. This is the only shoestore in the Washington area where you can purchase Batman sneakers for your kids from 1989. Seriously, the have the Michael Keaton era shoes, still in original boxes. They have lots of them. A trip in here is like a return to my youth when my brother and I would snicker at my Grandmother shopping in this oddly titled shop.
This is a very new CVS. It's in a building from 1928. See the attempted closeup of the roof below.

This boarded up building on the same block as the shoe store screams Freemasonry. Today was the first time I'd ever noticed the evil eyes above the windows. Who knows what sort of sorcery was practiced by Arlington's business leaders in decades past...
The Clarendon Ballroom. A fine place to dance if you're into that.

Many buildings along upper Wilson are painted vibrantly, like shops in Sonora or Chihuahua.
It appears this whole block, minus the Hard Times Cafe is slated for destruction. HTC is a local chili chain that has the best footleg chili cheese dog this side of Texarkana.
This little shop has been here a long time. It isn't much wider than a closet.
Closed up forever.

Entrance way to the Public Shoe Store, unchanged since I was 5.

The center of town these days seems to be Whole Foods.
There are plenty of restaurants with outdoor seating, and the air in Clarendon smells like hunger.
This sign remains above a restaurant. I don't think they really do keys.
Closed for business.

Another cafe.

This puddle may be gone when you visit.
The end or beginning of Clarendon near the Courthouse Metro stop.
So which is it? Awesome building for a combination Subway-Indian joint.
Democracy.
This shot reminds me of Santa Fe. The weather and light were perfect this afternoon.

This is on the side of the Masonic Hall building.
When I was a kid this was a Little Tavern, an early DC area burger chain. Now it's run by the above mentioned Greeks who make a good slice of Pepperoni, and offer a place to read the City Paper for awhile. I recommend Goody's on Wilson Blvd, for a snack as you wander.
The shape of things to come.
Backside.
Old warehouse on Clarendon Boulevard.

So, there's a quick glimpse of my favorite corner of Northern Virginia. More to come later on Pictures From the Road or here.

They Wrote A Book About It, And Said It Was Like Ancient Rome...

At The Newark airport Hilton, a weary business traveler fiddles with his alarm clock.
The building where John Lennon last fiddled with his alarm clock.
This bridge is not for sale.
This bus in Soho may be available.

Christopher Columbus, American Indian hero.
Sometimes man made nature can be outstanding.
I went to New York seeking furtive, emaciated junkies and midnight cowboys, but found something odder-a turkey wandering in Central Park.
Back side of the Upper West Side
The Columbus Avenue station.