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Christmas in Washington
So I met Sister and Mom in Washington DC today, only since I had to take the commuter MTA bus in, I got there about two hours before any sane tourists do. I used the extra time to hike all the way down from the Smithsonian Metro station to the Lincoln Memorial for the first time in about fifteen years (*with* my backpack full of a whole weekend's stuff, thank you), so I think I earned the hiking stick medallion I bought myself at the memorial. (Google maps says the round trip is about three miles. Ahahaha.)
It was the most gorgeous December day imaginable, and it was quiet and empty, and I had forgetten just how beautiful the monuments end of the Mall can be, and I'd never been to the WWII memorial before and it is *amazing*, and I could probably stay there for about ten hours just taking bad photos from different angles.
So yeah, there's an approximate ton of pictures.
Then I met Sister at the National Art Gallery to see the Pompeii exhibit, which was really neat (and even cooler having just wandered around America's greek temples, though it had the odd side effect that I now ship Abraham Lincoln with Athena Parthenos.) But my favorite thing at the National Gallery has always been the shiny metal wall/ceiling in the underground walkway of the concourse, and OMG.
They have installed 40,000 white LEDs in it which are programmed to light up in semi-random patterns along the lines of cellular automata, and it is the most *gorgeous* thing I have *ever* seen period, and I could sit and watch it for *days*, OMG. It's only supposed to be up until next year sometime, so if you have any excuse to duck into the gallery, you should go and look at it while it's there.
Anyway, then we met Mom for the Realizing the Promise political forum, and then we drove to Colonial Williamsburg.
So. Uh. Have some America-themed Christmas music.
Maura Sullivan - Christmas Eve In Washington.mp3
Disturbingly catchy, unusually sincere, and somebody should vid it to X-files. (Or possibly Bones. Or both.)
Dr. Elmo - Christmas All Across The USA.mp3
This is buy the guy that did Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. Yes, they did eventually did a whole Christmas album. Yes, there's a reason only the first song caught on. This is the only other song on the album that isn't astonishingly bad. (Don't worry, I'll be sharing some of the astonishingly bad ones too.)
RX - Happy RXmas and a Whole Lotta Love.mp3
So, somewhere my sister got an album of dance remixes of President Bush talking, I have no idea why or where. They are the only way in which I can currently listen to his voice without attempting to puncture my own eardrums. They are clever and catchy. And this is the Christmas song. Enjoy for the Bush's last Christmas in the White house!
The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy for President.mp3
Okay, what I should really have here is some Capitol Steps Christmas, but they're surprisingly difficult to pirate, and all their legal downloads are time-sensitive and out of date. So have this, which is not technically a Christmas song, but it's in the series of songs of which "Snoopy's Christmas" is the best known. (They all sound largely the same anyway.)
It was the most gorgeous December day imaginable, and it was quiet and empty, and I had forgetten just how beautiful the monuments end of the Mall can be, and I'd never been to the WWII memorial before and it is *amazing*, and I could probably stay there for about ten hours just taking bad photos from different angles.
So yeah, there's an approximate ton of pictures.
Then I met Sister at the National Art Gallery to see the Pompeii exhibit, which was really neat (and even cooler having just wandered around America's greek temples, though it had the odd side effect that I now ship Abraham Lincoln with Athena Parthenos.) But my favorite thing at the National Gallery has always been the shiny metal wall/ceiling in the underground walkway of the concourse, and OMG.
They have installed 40,000 white LEDs in it which are programmed to light up in semi-random patterns along the lines of cellular automata, and it is the most *gorgeous* thing I have *ever* seen period, and I could sit and watch it for *days*, OMG. It's only supposed to be up until next year sometime, so if you have any excuse to duck into the gallery, you should go and look at it while it's there.
Anyway, then we met Mom for the Realizing the Promise political forum, and then we drove to Colonial Williamsburg.
So. Uh. Have some America-themed Christmas music.
Maura Sullivan - Christmas Eve In Washington.mp3
Disturbingly catchy, unusually sincere, and somebody should vid it to X-files. (Or possibly Bones. Or both.)
Dr. Elmo - Christmas All Across The USA.mp3
This is buy the guy that did Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. Yes, they did eventually did a whole Christmas album. Yes, there's a reason only the first song caught on. This is the only other song on the album that isn't astonishingly bad. (Don't worry, I'll be sharing some of the astonishingly bad ones too.)
RX - Happy RXmas and a Whole Lotta Love.mp3
So, somewhere my sister got an album of dance remixes of President Bush talking, I have no idea why or where. They are the only way in which I can currently listen to his voice without attempting to puncture my own eardrums. They are clever and catchy. And this is the Christmas song. Enjoy for the Bush's last Christmas in the White house!
The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy for President.mp3
Okay, what I should really have here is some Capitol Steps Christmas, but they're surprisingly difficult to pirate, and all their legal downloads are time-sensitive and out of date. So have this, which is not technically a Christmas song, but it's in the series of songs of which "Snoopy's Christmas" is the best known. (They all sound largely the same anyway.)