In honor of the DC Constitutional Convention, going on right now.
Tag Archives: washington dc
Ahoy! My latest design sketch, draft, or preliminary concept once again falls into the broad “civil planning” category.
I propose a new Smithsonian museum dedicated to the history of sail. Although this might seem like a niche subject, not only does the history of sailing cover the majority of human history and the majority of the Earth’s surface, but the United States was conceived and born through the power of sail. Such a huge chunk of our vocabulary is derived from the culture of sail that there are entire dictionaries devoted to etymologically nautical words and phrases, like Peter D. Jeans’s Ship to Shore: A Dictionary of Everyday Words and Phrases Derived from the Sea
In this proposal (really just a fun blog post) I’ll talk about why America’s early maritime history is important, and the interesting features such a museum could have, including graphic depictions.
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The Age of Jazz, nearly a century past now, is taking on a mystique not unlike the Feudal Age, the Age of Pirates, and the Old West. Like those myth-infused periods of the human past, it has taken on legend and glamor beyond mere historical fact.
And, just as we have Renaissance Faires, Pirate Festivals, and Old West dude ranches, it’s about time we had some themed events and sites celebrating the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. As an exercise in creating a Jazz Age-themed urban park, I chose a particularly self-contained block in Washington just north of historic U Street, famous in the history of jazz music and early 20th Century American culture, and re-imagined it as a sort of historical shopping mall and cultural center called “Villenoire.” Continue reading
I know the next week or so may be rather slow, so I want to publish a little update.
First of all, I am moving! Adams Morgan is a great neighborhood, but unfortunately great neighborhoods are not always blessed with great property managers, rational parking arrangements, or reasonable housing prices.
So, I’m off to the Waterfront, literally a couple blocks from where the sailboats dock, the Cantina Marina, the historic Maine Avenue Fish Market, Zanzibar, the Arena Stage, Hogate’s, and the Thomas Law House built in the 1780s.
It’s also very close (a 15 minute walk) to the National Mall. I can have lunch at NMAI‘s Mitsitam Café whenever I want! And, if you haven’t eaten there, go. Seriously. Venison loaf, chili short ribs, maple brined turkey, quinoa verde, bison chili, cherry dusted scallops, lobster whipped potatoes, roasted salmon, and drinks from juice to beer and wine. It’s absolutely the best food on the Mall.
I’m taking the move gradually during the overlap period. So far, I have moved 21 bankers boxes filled with books; I’m about halfway done with that part. The big stuff (mostly, as you might guess, shelves) will be moved on Monday, after which will be a week of organizing the new place and cleaning the old.
Also, as you can see, I’m trying out a new WordPress theme: Andreas09. I’m not too fond of the sans-serif font, but I like the clean hyperlinks and the more expansive layout. If I can figure out how to do Typekits, the fonts will be shifted to something more serify and old-fashioned.
Finally, I have been thinking of expanding outward from my Story Behind The Story posts. I have three writing advice blogs in the draft stage, tentatively (and humbly) titled “Advice From A Dude Who Hasn’t Even Been Published.” And, of course, I will get back into the fiction-writing habit as soon as the move is accomplished.
But, never fear: the Amalgam Poems and Archaic Definitions are front-loaded and ready to go!