(District Stone SE9 is that dark block in the middle of the image, which took three tries to visit. It was not much different for the people who placed them all. In 1789, President George Washington gave personal orders to erect forty stones to mark the boundary of the intended capital city that would be […]

(This was the first attempt at documenting a neat little adventure in Washington, DC. The watercolor is by a good friend and by permission). We enjoyed the warmest temperature of this day right at dawn. The darkness blended with departing night in petulant clouds hanging low over the west wing of Big Pink. There were […]

Visitors march past Yoshino cherry blossoms near the Tidal Basin on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard) Memorandum for the Director, Naval Intelligence The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. “May I take this opportunity of commending your officer for his efforts in this matter; without the knowledge of the French language, he was able […]

Third day of Spring? OK. We are prepared to deal with it. The Banks? Some of them seem to be failing. It isn’t the Fall of the West, or at least not exactly. China’s President Xi is visiting Moscow to establish a new global order. It is curiously inverted from the one we used to […]

(The decor? Joel owned the place for nearly twenty years. He used it as the executive suite for his business, suitable for hosting guests for as many days as the business took. He is a Texan by birth, and the place exudes a certain ‘oughties look. In fact, it looks a little like the Willow […]

We slacked on the critical Meteorologic update. Fervent apologies. Stage Five went down on Saturday. There is a distinct pale-pinkish blush of bloom around the Tidal Basin. It lends a pale blooming cherubic and sanguine flush. Full-bloom may have been affected in duration, but the local weather-guesser claims we hit Stage Six on Thursday and […]

07 April 1979 The Ruth’s Café Collision Derby1979 Abroad on Japan’s Kanto Plain Editor’s Note: On this morning in the pre-Spring of 2023, the President of China is talking to the Czar of Russia about how to effectively end the American Century. Accordingly, we thought this little slice of life would show how some people […]

Momma told her 1st how it’s gonna be She gave her burn-out love to me I wanna live all night-n-day Life lites not fade away My lites’re bigger than a Cadillac’s They shine brightest when I’m home-driving back Since my love for life’s gotta be real Loving feeling for life not fade away Momma done […]

(Shanghai metered child ride, 1998. Photo Socotra) There was some controversy about the image this morning. We were going for something that conveys whimsy. There had been a brief discussion about her when it surfaced. It had been in an old directory buried two or three levels down in the little box that serves our […]