Photographing Arlington's Parks

Stairway to the Sunset

This week, I began a mission to photograph all of the nature parks in Arlington, Virginia over a period of a year. The plan, in addition to getting a lot of exercise, is to use the photographs to create merchandise and raise money for the upkeep of the county's parks. I expect to take between 5,000 and 10,000 photographs, as there are over 1,110 acres of parkland in Arlington. Pictured here is a trail in Potomac Overlook Park at sunset.

Khmu Culture

Khmu culture is traditionally passed down by the recital of stories around evening fires. The story-telling sessions involve the sharing of silver pipes (originally opium, but now predominately tobacco). Some Khmu are heavily tattooed for both decorative and religeous reasons. In Laos, Khmu are reputed for practicing magic, and some families still engage in the casting of spells and telling of fortunes. According to the animistic practices of the Khmu, reverence is offered to the house spirit Rroi gang. Villagers believe that a Khmu house, village, and its surroundings are integrated with the spirits of the land, and so houses and villages are considered holy or ritualized spaces. Typically, entire Khmu villages are enclosed in fences with three or four gates which separate the Khmu from their graineries and barns. Altars are placed outside the perimeter to ward off fires and storms. In the past, each Khmu family was believed to be under the protection of a totem such as a boar or an eagle who had originally helped an ancestor and would continue to protect the family. Traditional Khmu homes had two rooms, one for unmarried girls and one for the rest of the family. Roofs of houses covered with wooden tiles or thatch. Khmu cemeteries are traditionally divided into four sections; one for natural deaths, one for accidental deaths, one for children, and one for those who died away from home. The Khmu do not generally believe in rebirth. Traditional Khmu animism puts emphasis on the concept of taboo, as villagers believe that violations of taboo result in vengance of spirits. Forbidden activities include touching the altars or the amulets representing the house's spirit, birth ceremonies for children born feet-first, and entering a house without permission.

Sexual Harassment at # 35 in Pop Punk

Weekends With Dan's song "Sexual Harassment" is up to # 35 on Soundclick's Pop Punk chart, and is now the 5th song (out of 6) on Weekends With Dan's "Big Sexy Single" to chart. The band's first release "Anna Rexia" climbed to # 2 on the Pop Punk chart and reached # 6 on the broader Alternative genre chart. The acoustic "no meds remix" of "Anna Rexia" reached a maximum chart position of # 72. An earlier version of "Anna Rexia" also charted on GarageBand.com and MP3Charts.com in 2005. The "Ballad of Raggedy Andy" maxed out at # 42 on the Pop Punk chart, while "Ooh-ah (Wrinkles & Dimples)" made it to # 95. "Moon Over Miami" is the only song on the CD that has not yet charted.

Super Bowl Predictions

For this coming Sunday, the Giants have a 33% chance of beating Green Bay. Patriots should beat the Chargers with a predicted score of about 35 to 21. (Note that in the regular season week 2, Green Bay beat the Giants 35 to 13 and the Patriots beat the Chargers 38 to 14.)

Super Bowl odds:
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Green Bay 38%
Patriots 37%
Giants 13%
Chargers 12%