How many sunsets do I have remaining from our balcony?
Today is the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But I'd much rather think of this day as the first day of the Ethiopian New Year and wish everyone መልካም አዲስ ዓመት - may the year 2013 bring you much happiness!
Let's start this new year off with a rant. A friend on Facebook shared this article by a Caitlin Johnstone. In it she appears to cast doubt on the extent of the persecution of the Uighur people in Xinjiang by the authoritarian government in Beijing, and tries to redirect attention away from China and towards the United States. Apparently she is either unaware of, or (more likely) chooses to ignore, other such inconvenient truths as Tibet; Arunachal Pradesh; the nine-dash line; China's militarization of disputed islands in the South China Sea; and, of course, Taiwan. In doing so, she may end up being this generation's Walter Duranty, the infamous Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who, for possibly ideological reasons, deliberately denied the existence of the tragic famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932-3 that resulted in the needless deaths of millions of Ukrainians. Anyone sharing similar doubts about China may want to have a look at this editorial from the Taipei Times.
What is it about progressives that they continually
On to better things. This morning for my weekly trek, instead of strolling along the Potomac as I've been doing for the last several months, I walked across the river instead. My goal was to reach the Washington National Cathedral, 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometers) on foot from our apartment building. The cathedral can be seen from our balcony - this was the view at around 0730 this morning:
Kung Fu Tea - the caloric bane of my existence. My tolerance for dairy products seems to be weakening as I get older, but I can't resist the siren call of a cold 奶茶. Curse you, Kung Fu, for only being 16 minutes on foot from our building!:
The history geek in me can't resist stopping to read the markers that I come across on my walks:
Public art:
Scenes from a pandemic - gym members having to ride their exercise bikes in the parking lot in order to comply with social distancing rules:
Gong Cha (gòng chá) 貢茶 is an international franchise that sells Taiwanese-style bubble tea, with its HQ in Kaohsiung 高雄. I stopped in on my way back from the cathedral, but as it was exactly at 1100, just as the store was opening, it was going to take 10 minutes to prepare the tea. I ended up buying drinks for my daughter and myself at, you guessed it, Kung Fu:
American flags were in evidence today:
Crossing the Potomac on the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge:
Looking towards Georgetown University:
The spires of the National Cathedral were just visible in the distance as I approached Georgetown from Rosslyn:
Now in the District of Columbia, I started walking up 35th St. NW, past homes that I could never dream of affording:
The Duke Ellington School of the Arts:
The residents of the District pay federal taxes, but do not have voting representatives in Congress. Taxation without representation, as DC car license plates like to remind. I agree, you need statehood:
Back when I lived in Taiwan, my blog was sort of known for its obsession with photographing signage using (or misusing, in many cases) the Japanese language. Here in the U.S., perhaps I should turn my attention to Chinese characters in action, like at this pretentious-looking tea establishment. The characters 愿茶 in Mandarin are actually read as yuànchá ("wish tea"?):
After 1 hour 39 minutes and 9004 steps I reached the cathedral. The church is closed due to COVD-19, but I wasn't planning on going inside anyway, as we had previously visited back in August 2012:
Mission accomplished, it was time to head back. The Alban Towers Apartments opened in 1929, and are a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture:
The area in front of the Russian Embassy has been renamed Boris Nemtsov Plaza, in honor of the murdered Russian dissident. Walter Duranty, er I mean Caitlin Johnstone would probably try to explain away his killing, or redirect your attention to American misdeeds, rather than address the issue head on. Why, Left, why?:
Rather than retrace my steps all the way back to the Key Bridge, I detoured soon after walking by the embassy. Cutting across the Whitehaven Parkway was a reminder that even in a densely-populated (at least by American standards) urban area like D.C., there's a surprising amount of green space:
Next I walked through the campus of Georgetown University:
I soon reached the Exorcist steps, where Father Karras tumbled to his death at the end of the 1973 movie, thus defeating the demon (Amber and I had paid a visit back in October 2018):
Back on the Key Bridge, walking toward Rosslyn:
The remnants of the old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath:
On the opposite side of the bridge could be seen the Watergate complex, the Washington Monument and the Kennedy Center:
I reached home after walking for 3 hours 53 minutes, accumulating 19,607 steps in the process. While it wasn't hot today (the high in the morning only reaching 25°C/77°F), the humidity level when I checked at the cathedral was a sweaty 85%!
In case you're wondering, I still don't have any definite news yet regarding a possible early return to Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ. Perhaps the next time I blog. Until then, I'll leave you with a few random photos, like this nighttime shot (an unsuccessful attempt at capturing the full moon)...:
..and these sunset scenes...:
..and this beer I enjoyed while having lunch with my daughter at the Silver Diner:
Hmm, maybe 漢字 can become my new thing (Shu-E thought both this sign, and the one above, were a little strange:
Until next time, don't let yourself dry out:
OMG, that's was a heck of a walk! From the length of your walks, it looks like you'll be burning more calories than you can take in with the tea.
ReplyDeleteAlas, the tea appears to be winning. The walks take place only once a week, but the teas are an almost daily occurrence!
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