Chinese New Year celebration at Gallery Place

Sorry for few updates today. I had a busy work day. I’ve also recently been working on the albums on Washington Photo Journal. Today I have a new one.

Washington Photo Journal: Images from the Chinese New Year celebration at Gallery Place in Washington, D.C., Sunday February 1, 2009.

Enjoy!

Obama says what many of us from snow areas think

Those of us from snowy areas (I grew up at the southern tip of the Ohio “snow belt”) are amazed how DC closes down at  the hint of inclement weather.

The president, joking with reporters before a meeting he’s having right now with business leaders at the White House, said he was amazed this morning to hear that his daughters’ school (the private Sidwell Friends) is closed today because of icy streets and sidewalks in the nation’s capital.

“My children’s school was canceled today, because of what … some ice?”

via Obama is amused that his daughters’ school closed today – The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency.

Shepard Fairey Obama Portrait unveiled and installed in the National Portrait Gallery — Washington Photo Journal

Washington Photo Journal – Shepard Fairey Obama Portrait “Hope” unveiled and installed in the National Portrait Gallery

A personal note to everyone who came to DC for the inauguration, especially if you didn’t make it to the Mall

My group’s plan was to meet at the Shaw Metro Station at eight.
“The train is broken down on the tracks,” came the call.
“The platform is packed. We Better Walk.”

We walked down 7th street, passing signs that said,
“A Bus will be along every 10 minutes on Inauguration day”
But they neglected to mention buses would all be full.

A sea of people in the DC streets the morning of the inauguration

We emerged in the Capital, downtown, truly in a sea of people.
No one knowing what was happening, but following the crowds
Hoping to finally land in a place to witness History.

A report of a water-main Break on Seventh
“Entrances Every Three Blocks” they say.
But no one in those lines is moving either.

“Eighteenth and H! Eighteenth and H!”
One cop repeats to anyone looking for the Mall.
The Mall was full by seven we heard. Now it’s nearly ten.

A river of bundled pilgrims flowed around every corner,
And like an overflowing river, there was no hope of containment
We were fluid, escaping through every street and around every bus blockade

We made it to 18th, and down to the Mall.
We walked over the hill at the Washington Monument and hit a wall of people
We made it finally to 14th, but they said no one was going to get through.
So we retreated and settled near the base of the Monument.

The air was bitter cold and
The changing wind contained harsh reality
There was no transportation
But you came.

You were millions who believed in hope.
They told you it would be a “nightmare”
And anti-American preachers prayed for rain
But you came.

You woke before dawn, dressed your children
Loaded your cameras, and left your warm homes
Uncertain of the day, but determined to be part of it
That is why you came

Do not be sad if you came to the Capital but didn’t make it to the Mall.
Because your story is the most important one
You are living proof how America, in one of her most difficult moments,
Rejected fear, cynicism, empire, and oppression
For Hope, Belief, Common Good, and Liberty

Doug Mills/The New York Times

In our eagerness to embrace this new attitude and new Time
Our Capital City was bursting at the seams with restless Humanity
That only stopped for one brief moment while one young man put his hand in the air
Swearing himself to be our protector, and our servant.

Your pilgrimage to a patch of grass may have been cut short
And you may have ducked into a hotel or bar on the District city streets.
But where you settled only expands the reach of the importance of that day

Your wild tale of how you got there
Or how you made it only so far
Will go down in History.

And Generations from now when we look at that overflowing day in Washington
We will remember how we came together as One people. Full of hope. Full of promise.
And wherever we stood at that moment, we will remember when our country
Embraced a new day.

Public in LGBT embattled town invited to home viewings of “Prayers for Bobby”

Sigourney Weaver marches with P-FLAG in "Prayers for Bobby"

Parents in Kalamazoo, MI, whose city commission was recently pressured into repealing a gay rights ordinance, are inviting the public into their homes to watch Prayers for Bobby.

In “Prayers,” to premiere at 9 p.m. Saturday on Lifetime, (Sigourney) Weaver plays Mary Griffith, a devoutly religious woman whose son Bobby (Ryan Kelley, “Smallville”) reveals he’s gay. She tries to help him become heterosexual through prayer. After Bobby commits suicide, Mary questions her religious beliefs and becomes a gay-rights advocate.

“I just felt it was very important to make this movie, because I felt it was a story to save lives and to open minds,” said Weaver, 59, during a phone interview. “I love stories that are about something more than the people in them. It seems to me what’s begun to happen is that television is more interested in those stories sometimes more than studios are because studios are trying to make a lot of money. Television takes more risks.”

…Western Michigan University student Adam Taylor, 20, was an extra in “Prayers.” Taylor is the director of Kalamazoo-based Project Light, a resource of the Kalamazoo Gay/Lesbian Resource Center. Founded in January 2008, Project Light provides an educational forum on the mental health of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered (GLBT) youths.

“One in three gay, lesbian or bisexual youth between the ages of 14 and 24 contemplate, plan, attempt or complete suicide. One in two transgendered youth do (the same),” Taylor said. “About 83 percent of transgendered youth will attempt suicide in their lifetimes, which is 20 times higher — not 20 percent, but 20 times higher — than the standard population of their heterosexual peers. It’s not nationally proven, but it is definitely in one of the highest categories when dealing with suicide.”

Taylor, who is openly gay, said he tried to commit suicide at 16 when “dealing with my sexual-orientation issues.”

Public invited to viewings of film about gay issues – Kalamazoo News

How to Tell Whether You Are Celebrating Mid-Atlantic Leather or the Inauguration

It used to be that if you were part of the leather community, you lived it. You lived in a leather neighborhood, went to the leather bar, had leather sex, hosted leather parties, joined leather clubs. Nowadays a lot of the gays in this city live a suit-and-tie lawyerly governmental type life on the surface, while experiencing leather at home in their closets (like McCain’s chief of staff’s closet with the sling) or during special weekends like MAL, where they get to come out and parade in their finest gear.

This being the case, it may be confusing to remember just which cocktail party you are attending at any given moment, especially if the hit of poppers you just did leaves you light-headed. In that case you should just hand the little brown bottle back to the senator and try chatting up Ariana Huffington at the corner bar.

How to tell whether you are celebrating Mid-Atlantic Leather or the Inauguration.

If you’re wearing a tux from an expensive cow, you are at MAL.
If you’re wearing a tux by an expensive designer, you are at the Inauguration.

If you wait in line for a coach, which all look the same, you are at an Inaugural Ball.
If you wait in line for a coat, which all look the same, you are at Leather Cocktails.

If you will be the next leader of the free world, you are the center of attention at the Inauguration.
If you will be in the next line at the free clinic, you are the center of attention at MAL.

MAL Leather Puppy

If you brought a 21-year-old puppy, you are at MAL.
If you brought a 21-week-old puppy, you are Joe Biden.

If Larry Barat is directing the media, you are at MAL.
If Larry Craig is deceiving the media, you are at the Inauguration.

If your hotel is full of hungry tourists looking to whip up something to eat, you are at the Inauguration.
If your hotel is full of horny tourists looking to whip someone, you are at MAL.

If you shop for souvenir T-shirts, you are at the Inauguration.
If you shop for souvenir J-Lube, you are at MAL.

If Mike Rogers is there taking notes, you are at the Inauguration.
If Mike Rogers is there taking notes, you may also be at MAL.

If a bunch of white men are losing their jocks, it’s MAL.
If a bunch of white men are losing their jobs, it’s the Inauguration.

If you are solemnizing, you are at the Inauguration.
If you are sodomizing, you are at MAL.

And finally, this simple rule:

If you fist bump a friend, you’re at the Inauguration.
If you fist a friend, you’re at MAL.

Leather Weekend and the Inauguration

ABC contacted me about using a photo for this article, but they decided to go with the MAL website screenacapture instead.

Thousands of tourists pouring into Washington, D.C. for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration will be sharing the nation’s capital with a few thousand predominantly gay leather fetishists, in town for their annual convention.

ABC News: Before Obama, DC Welcomes Leather Fetishists.

LOL @ DCist

More inauguration news from DCist.

You won’t be able to stand under an umbrella in the case of rain, either — those are banned from the Mall for the inauguration. If it’s rainy and windy, it’s up to President-elect Barack Obama to keep us warm.

Morning Roundup: Presidents Past, Present, and Pretend – DCist: Washington DC News, Food, Arts & Events.

Bullneck Reviews Life in Washington DC

Bullneck offers a review of life in Washington, D.C.upon his second anniversary of living in what he calls the “Federal City.”

(O)ne spot of brightness is the next plus to DC: it’s Youthful Population. Through a combo of university clusters here, a job market geared toward entry-level government or contracting types, and the continued population boom, DC has one of the highest percentages of folks aged 18-29 amongst US cities. In this sense I feel completely amongst my peers, and the city has an increasingly energetic vibe with a forward-looking bent.

Another pro, and it’s a big one for me, is the cluster of Cops here. I don’t need to go into explaining this one other than to say that whereas NYC is perhaps the only city which can even compete with the Federal City for more police visibility, it just plain doesn’t match up with the variety that DC offers through a combo of Federal and local agencies and the annual locus of police events here every May.

Con: Crime. However, despite the amount of police agencies and visibility here, DC remains heavily-affected by crime, especially violent crime. There are areas of the District and region I just plain don’t step foot into. I’ve never not felt ’safe’ here, but there’s a sense that crime is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Read the whole thing.

Fenty Again Says Bars Open All Night Inauguration Weekend

The residents of the District are beginning to sense just what a circus this whole weekend is going to be. With the bars open all night during inauguration weekend, DC will be like Mardi Gras but without drunk people flashing body parts for plastic beads.

Mayor Fenty: I Will Sign Law to Extend Bar Hours

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) reiterated his intention to sign the legislation approved by the D.C. Council last week that would allow bars and nightclubs to serve alcohol until 5 a.m. and stay open all night from Jan. 17-21. This despite the objections of Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Bob Bennett, along with the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, who’ve sent protest letters to the mayor and other city leaders.

Stock Up for the Inauguration “Nightmare”

Washington Times – D.C. ‘nightmare’ looms for inauguration

Area business and government leaders warned Monday that the District is not prepared to handle the record crowds expected to converge on the capital for Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration.

At a briefing organized by the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the leaders expressed concern that the District will be overwhelmed by the influx and that visitors will find shortfalls in everything from milk and bread to parking for an estimated 10,000 buses. Even cell phone reception could be hampered by a lack of transmission towers.