30 December 2008- out and about near the offfice

2008.12.30

This is Mount Vernon Park in the neighborhood of Mount Vernon.

This lovely church sits right on the square.

This was one of the first monuments to George Washington in America.
Something my dad pointed out to me, and is featured is John Waters' movie "Pecker", is that when viewing ol' George from about a block away, it looks a little bit like he's having a bit of a wank. "Father of our country" indeed! ;-)

Detail on the base of the monument. You can actually climb stairs inside to the top.

Statuary in the park.

Lafayette on his horse. The pretty church, seen above, is in the background.

More pretty statuary on the park.

This here is George Peabody. The Peabody Academy of music, located adjascent to the square, is named for this guy.
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/788

Thought this small statue says it all "Order". The one on the opposite side of the fence says "Force". (I prefer order to force myself).

Alas, these trees and wreaths have met their inevitable timely fate.

As I was on my way to the little supermarket a block from work, I saw that my friend Tom's motorbike workshop was open- I could see his garage door was up, so I stopped in to say hello. I've known Tom since 1987! He used to be partners in a scene shop and gave me my second job out of university. We spent years working on movies together. He dated one of my closest friends for a number of years like 10-12 years ago, and we all met up in Thailand and spent a lovely week and a half at Had Yao beach on Ko Phangan, in 1998.
The bike he's standing behind- well, parts of it date back to when I first met him- I rode on the back at age 22, as a matter of fact.

Obligatory Maryland flag hanging above.

Tom mostly works on vintage BMW motorbikes. The shop was filled with them. He owns 11 of them (!!!), the rest belong to friends and clients.

Cool old sidecar.

Groovy vintage racing sidecar.

His workshop contains everything including the kitchen sink! ;-)

A wacky vintage motorcycling shot he had on his wall. Look- they pulled the wheels off the sidecar.

Wiring diagram.

Still life with helmets. Yes, it looked like this when I walked in, I did not "art direct" this tabletop at all! ;-)

More stuff on Tom's wall. (annotated)

Various moto frames hanging from Tom's ceiling.

Yesterday I had to go into work- but since I had been putting in so many extended hours recently, the idea was to go in, get done what needed doing, and then leave.

So- I managed to leave before the sun went down, wonder of wonders, so I thought I'd take a few shots around the 'hood where I work. We'll be moving offices to a different part of town at the end of February, so want to capture what I can of this historic neighborhood while I can.