Aztec Serpent sculpture, photographed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006. It may not be an Ekans, but it is a snake.Melvin Hazen TrailLake Elkhorn ArboretumFriends Gabe and Diana at Irvine Nature CenterPentagon MemorialUniversity of Maryland labyrinthSt. Francis with a bundle of wonder at the Franciscan MonasteryLabyrinth at Brookside GardensPalas por Pistolas by Pedro Reyes at Art Museum of the AmericasOutdoor classroom on Kingman IslandNational Law Enforcement Officers MemorialAlison Saar’s Sweeping Beauty at National Museum of Women in the Arts
Disney World, 1991. Photo by a parent or grandparent.Duncan at Deep Creek Lake State ParkDuncan at the Walk for PawsDuncan and Michael at Deep Creek Lake State ParkDuncan at Deep Creek Lake State ParkDuncan swimming at the now-closed dog beach at Quiet Waters ParkDuncan swimming at Patapsco Valley State ParkDuncan chasing a stick at Patapsco Valley State ParkNational Postal Museum. Me and Owney in 2010. Photograph by Kiah BerkeleyViriato by Joana Vasconcelos at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. My favorite piece in the Trove exhibitDog sculpture at Tudor PlaceDuncan on ThanksgivingDog; Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Colima; 2nd-3rd century; Baltimore Museum of ArtOut of all the presidential dogs featured at the Newseum, Gerald Ford’s Liberty looks most like my Duncan.Best FriendCandidate One: DuncanAt Shenandoah National ParkDuncan reading the interpretive labels at Antietam National BattlefieldMe and Duncan outside Worthington House at Monocacy National BattlefieldDuncan swimming at Quiet Waters Park
Seriously, what’s a word for “Throwback Thursday” that can be used on a Saturday or Sunday?
Toilet exhibit at the Hands-On Museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan (2005)Aztec Serpent sculpture, photographed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2006. It may not be an Ekans, but it is a snake.Poison Dart Frog at the National ZooBacteria population growth at the Koshland
Hand and birds outside Gateway to NOAA in Silver Spring, MDWork of art outside Building 10 on NIH campusNational Museum of Natural History, Butterfly PavilionDragonfly at United States Botanic GardenNational Museum of the American IndianBee at Washington National CathedralBird at the Smithsonian’s Folger Rose GardenKite Festival, 2010Dragonfly at Kenilworth Aquatic GardensSarah and JonClose-up of part of a plane
From the old location of the Meditation Museum, near the Silver Spring MetroHand and birds outside Gateway to NOAA in Silver Spring, MDNational Book Festival 2017 authors, with varying degrees of photo quality: Chris Bohjalian, Dava Sobel, Emma Donoghue, Dan Chaon, and Ha Jin. The ghostly image of Chaon is a metaphor for the creepiness of his writing.Since it is almost Halloween, here is a picture of Moo from Halloween 2012, when we were Alice in Wonderland characters. Moo was the Queen of Hearts.Most of the lights are Festa decorations in Fallo. The set of yellow lights under the top flower display is Civitaluparella, a nearby town on the top of a mountain. One afternoon my father ran up and down that mountain while I napped.Discover Stathmore: Sounds of Brazil, June 2014Jellyfish in the now-closed Invertebrate House at the National ZooLittle Free Library in DCI love this dog menorah!United States National ArboretumGadsby’s Tavern MuseumSt. Matthew’ Cathedral domeOne of these signs will be accessioned someday.Washington MonumentHouse of the TempleBurton Memorial TowerWashington MonumentKenilworth Aquatic GardensThe garden is behind the pavilion on Kingman IslandNational Museum of the American IndianDragonfly at United States Botanic GardenBee at Washington National CathedralNational Book FestivalSmithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley GardenBird at the Smithsonian’s Folger Rose GardenA bird…National Museum of African ArtYou can see both the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial at once in this photo, but Family Guide to Washington, D.C. encourages closely looking at each one individually.You can walk through this art at the HirshhornA young visitor at the Los Angeles Zoo tries to interest the flamingos in her flamingo toy.National Gallery of Art (Sculpture Garden)The Textile MuseumFlowers at Dumbarton OaksSewall-Belmont House, first floor hallwayWater for reusable bottlesWishing TreeGarwin and Anderson House, reflected in the shallow pool in the gardenDome at Sixth and I Historic SynagogueBacteria population growth at the Koshland
Earlier this month, I wrote a poem called “Them’s Fighting Words” which I am not going to share in full. But it reads in small part:
The world is not an oyster
But a giant cabinet of curiosities
Wounded in Action exhibit at the former location of the National Museum of Health and MedicineWorld War II Memorial, with Vigil for Justice taking place on the far side of the Reflecting PoolEllicott City Fire Station museumOne of these signs will be accessioned someday.Lorena Morales Vidal and Virginia M. Bouvier at United States Institute of Peace AIDS Memorial Quilt at Smithsonian Folklife FestivalFrederick Douglass proclaimed, “It is not light that we need, but fire,” advocating a more active fight for abolitionCivil War politics, in cat termsBas-relief at the Navy MemorialMe and Duncan outside Worthington House at Monocacy National Battlefield
It’s time for another hiatus from substantive posts. Here are some photos:
The annual Please Sit on the Art project is another reason to love Takoma.DNA model at the National Museum of Health and MedicineOne of these signs will be accessioned someday.National Museum of American HistoryRoger Williams in the US CapitolNational Museum of the United States NavyAnn Hutchinson in the Cox Corridors, altered by me for emphasis“I am a person”
President Lincoln’s Cottage was not the primary residence of Lincoln during his presidency, of course – that would be the White House. But the cottage, located on the grounds of what is today known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home, was a place of respite where Lincoln did some of his most consequential thinking and writing, including working on the Emancipation Proclamation.
When I visited in December 2012, there was minimal decoration for the holidays, but there were natural and human-made touches here and there. There were red berries among green leaves in the bushes outside; a poster advertising a New Year’s Day celebration because the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863; and wreaths and lights providing subtle adornment. And of course, there was a gift shop where visitors could do some holiday shopping.
President Lincoln’s Cottage, Washington, DC
One thing that stuck out to me during my visit to President Lincoln’s Cottage 13 years ago was the sale of fair-trade items in the gift shop, a direct and explicit tie to the Can You Walk Away? exhibit that addressed modern day human trafficking. The online gift shop includes a small selection of what’s available in the physical store, with a “fair trade package” advertised as one of the bundles you can purchase.
This holiday season, I have been engaging in way too much retail therapy, both for myself and in the form of gift giving to others (members of almost every living human generation, a very special baby not yet born, and critters representing five different non-human species). I’ve bought from Etsy shops (including a one-woman shop who got so overwhelmed with advent calendar orders that my cat’s and cat nibblings’ advent calendars did not arrive until several days into December; a company that seemed a little sus when they sent a succession of three defective bandanas in Amazon packaging but, to their credit, did both refund me and finally provided a good quality bandana in non-Amazon packaging; and countless small businesses and artisans whose creations turned out just fine).
I did holiday (and personal) shopping this year to support my Sunday Morning Activity, a local animal shelter, a homegrown indie bookstore, a neighborhood artist at an art fair, a museum in DC, and a coffee company that benefits cats. And then there were all the gifts and personal purchases that…did not fall in these categories. There were some much larger and ethically dubious companies, and even at least one outright scam (and counting? I’m still waiting to see how one order turns out…). I’ve made bids at an auction for a good cause and bids on eBay. I’ve had a delivery end up at Whole Foods rather than my home and a delivery that has been in my city for over two weeks yet hasn’t reached my residence yet. Basically, I’ve been shopping a lot, and the buys (and the experiences as buyer) have run the gamut. Of course, since it’s almost 2024, the buyer’s experience may well include arguing with a robot about how you want to talk to a human.
What would it mean to be a financially responsible buyer? What about an ethically responsible buyer? And with all this quantity and variety of consumption, can I really take the moral high ground for, say, refusing to give my business to a certain chicken fast food restaurant when you look at some of the other stores I’ve been patronizing?
In a past post, I wrote about efforts to have the gift shops of government-run museums sell goods exclusively made in America. Besides these gift shops and that at President Lincoln’s Cottage, some other museums that have made strides in the arena of ethical vending include:
Interpretation Hobbyist 