13 October 2006 Friday's Photo of the Week

Washington Nationals New Baseball Stadium

Under Construction Photographic Exhibition

Sizzling Express . 4/M, SE WDC

13 October 2006 Friday's Photo of the Week

11 October, National Coming Out Day

The first National Coming Out Day was held on October 11, 1988. This date was chosen for the annual event in commemoration of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It also marks the anniversary of the first visit of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to Washington, D. C.

The theme for the 2006 NCOD is "Talk About It!". In celebration of the 2006 NCOD visit my Love Power photo monage of the 2006 Capital Pride Celebration.

Birthday Calendar regarding 5 October 1953

5 October 1953.

Your date of conception was on or about 12 January 1953 which was a Monday.

You were born on a Monday under the astrological sign Libra. Your Life path number is 6.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9. You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22. You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2434655.5. The golden number for 1953 is 16. The epact number for 1953 is 14. The year 1953 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/14/1953 and ending 2/2/1954.You were born in the Chinese year of the Snake.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Raven; your plant is Ivy.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Choiach, the fourth month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 26 Tishri 5714.

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 5 April 1953. The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 5 April 1953. The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 18 February 1953.

The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 24 May 1953. The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 31 May 1953.

The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Thursday, 10 September 1953. The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 31 March 1953.

The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 17 February 1953.

As of 10/10/2006 5:56:02 PM EDT You are 53 years old. You are 636 months old. You are 2,766 weeks old. You are 19,363 days old. You are 464,729 hours old. You are 27,883,796 minutes old. You are 1,673,027,762 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
Nikki Hilton (1983)
Paul Thomas (1980)
Kate Winslet (1975)
Grant Hill (1972)
Guy Pearce (1967)
Patrick Roy (1965)
Mario Lemieux (1965)
Bernie Mac (1957)
Bob Geldof (1954)
Karen Allen (1951)
Glynis Johns (1923)
Donald Pleasence (1919)
Allen Ludden (1917)
Larry Fine (1902)
Ray Kroc (1902)
Chester A. Arthur (1829)

Top songs of 1953
Vaya Con Dios by Les Paul & Mary Ford
Song from 'Moulin Rouge' by Percy Faith
Rags to Riches by Tony Bennett
The Doggie In the Window by Patti Page
You You You by Ames Brothers
I'm Walking Behind You by Eddie Fisher
Till I Waltz Again with You by Teresa Brewer
Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes by Perry Como
No Other Love by Perry Como
St. George and the Dragonet by Stan Freberg

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.57847358121331 years old. (You old hound dog, you!)

There are 360 days till your next birthdayon which your cake will have 54 candles. Those 54 candles produce 54 BTUs,or 13,608 calories of heat (that's only 13.6080 food Calories!) .You can boil 6.17 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1953 there were approximately 3.6 million births in the US. In 1953 the US population was approximately 150,697,361 people, 50.7 persons per square mile. In 1953 in the US there were approximately 1,667,231 marriages (11.1%) and 385,144 divorces (2.6%)In 1953 in the US there were approximately 1,452,000 deaths (9.6 per 1000)In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds. In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.In 1953 the population of Australia was approximately 8,902,686. In 1953 there were approximately 202,235 births in Australia.In 1953 in Australia there were approximately 70,640 marriages and 7,962 divorces. In 1953 in Australia there were approximately 80,188 deaths.Your birthstone is Tourmaline -->The Mystical properties of Tourmaline
Pink Tourmaline promotes female balance and protection. Green Toumaline promotes male balance.Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources) Opal, JasperYour birth tree is
Rowan, the Sensitivity Full of charm, cheerful, gifted, without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.

There are 76 days till Christmas 2006! There are 89 days till Orthodox Christmas! The moon's phase on the day you wereborn was waning crescent.

Storehouse Goes Out of Business

In the process of my 14th Street Windows Project on Columbus Day Monday, 9 October I'd observe that the Storehouse located at 1526 14th Street, NW, in the Logan Circle area of Washington DC is holding a going of business sale. After taking a few exterior shots I'd walk inside and inquire of the manager if I may take a few interior shots. Having introduced myself a few weeks before as a documentary photographer whose interest is to record the history of 14th Street which includes furnisher stores the staff remembered me and, therefore, were very cooperative.

While, for many years, I have photographed and recorded the exterior of stores in Washington DC and New York City this was the first time that I had approached a store manager inquring if I may engage in architectural interior photography. Which is a focus that I spoke recently of adding to my collection of ongoing themes. My first 14th Street Storehouse window images were taken on 4 January 2006 which according to an August 2004 Washington Post article was scheduled to have opened in the fall of 2004 but if my memory serves me correctly may have opened one year later, in the fall of 2005.

Storehouse Inc. began selling off $60 million worth of inventory Friday after attempts to sell the company or obtain new equity proved fruitless. The court-ordered bankruptcy liquidation was announced by Newton, Mass.-based Hudson Capital Partners LLC, a firm specializing in retail dispositions and asset recovery. Following the sale, which is expected to take several weeks, all of the Storehouse retail locations will be closed.

When taking this series of images I'd reflect on my 1 September 1995 Woodies Closing Sale photographs. As well as my Labor Day 2006 WDC Hechts and March 2005 Miami Burdine window display images which was on the eve of when each of these stores would transform into Macy's.

Fallan Fall, Flowers & African Imports Street Vendor @ 13th & F NW

Though, in the course of Street Photography, I had photographed street vendors since 1992 it was in June 2005 that I would embark an ongoing project that while capturing particular street vendors I would also conduct brief photo-interviews and in the process learn of and then shed light on their personal history.

My first expose, in June 2005, brought attention to Frank's Place on Capitol Hill and whose proprieter, Frank Lloyd, I had first photographed in November 1993.

Shortly after my first visit to the Sunday's Drum & Dance Circle in Malcolm X Park which took place in July 2006 I contemplated purchasing a drum. However, it was after my second visit to the Drum Circle on 20 August that I would observe that several street vendors exhibited drums and other such paraphernalia at their stands.

A few weeks ago when enroute to capture Skateboarders in Freedom Plaza I'd observe that the flower vendor at the corner of 13th a I inquired if he had other sizes he said that he sometimes will carry larger sizes but, at the time, he only had the one size.

It was then that I would vow that as a birthday gift to myself, I would return on 5 October and purchase a drum from the street vendor at 13th and F Street, NW, in downtown WDC.

Which is exactly what I would do. And since he still had only the one size at the price of $15 each, I'd purchase two. For starters. One is actually for Richard whose birthday is 11 October.

Before departing I'd inquire of the street vendor if I may photograph him and his stand. He said yes. His name is Fallen Fall.

Recently, in New York City, The Street Vendor Project released a study, Peddling Uphill (PDF), showing the difficulties street vendors have these days, given steep fines that are handed down for small infractions.

2006 DC Red Dress Run

Walking north, yesterday afternoon, on 18th Street from the Farragut West subway station I'd observe two men and one woman walking south, all three dressed in red dresses. Positioning my camera for several photos I'd inquire if they had just participated in the AIDS Walk Washington.

"O' no ..." the man in the center responded and would exlpain further, "We are from the DC Red Dress Run and we drink lots of beer when we run." When I asked if there is a website he said check for DC Hashing.

Hash House Harriers and Red Dress Runs have an interesting history.