I’m in Washington DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, a celebration of  the spring season and commemoration of friendship between Tokyo and Washington.  The Japanese cherry blossoms, known as “sakura” in Japan, were first given to the United States in March of 1912.   The annual festival has been held every year when the trees in Potomac Park bloom since 1935, with a brief suspension during the second world war.  Nowadays its a great excuse to eat sushi, drink sake, fly kites, play rugby, sing, dance, and even have a parade.  The weather has been  less than ideal and I’m dragging my sorry ass around with the flu, but I snapped a few pictures of the cherry blossoms to share.  Continue reading this post…

Trinity Church, the resting place of Alexander Hamilton, stands in darkness over Wall Street yesterday.

Cliff diving on Calculated Risk.  Major indexes all down.

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Clever and Creative Billboard Advertising: From toxel.

The Big Picture Blog’s roundup:  2008, The Year In Photographs Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Urban Decay: From Smashing Magazine.

I hate to even say anything bad about this guy.  He doesn’t deserve it.  As far as I can tell, he’s good to everyone, and he loves his fans more than any musician evar.  However, I’ve got to say one negative (there were many positives) about last night’s Andrew WK concert:  he needs his band!

Don’t get me wrong; the solo act is pretty energetic.  On his solo tour, Andrew just has a synthesizer and some pre-recorded backup with him.  Its still one huge party, and Andrew WK’s attitude and personality are really what make the show.  But I’ve seen him twice now, and the sound and the energy were really much more powerful when he had a band behind him.  He lets as many people that will fit on stage with him and everyone feels like they’re part of the show.  The last time I saw  him, I remember I could barely keep from knocking into the fretboard of the guitar player, and this time I wished that he was still there.

Don’t let this stop you from seeing Andrew WK.  These shows are really an experience.  Everyone should go at least once.  He draws a variety of age groups and he captivates the crowd with his many words of encouragement.  He is so dogmatic about postivity and freedom, it gets to be almost preachy.  Even if you’re not into all the feel-good PMA, his music makes you feel good, and you can’t help but enjoy being a part of an uber awesome party super party.

A classic restroom limerick.  I know some people who should really take this advice:

bye bye, Benny's

View from my front door.