And here’s the photo!
< 1 minute read
November 8, 2006, 10:21 PM
Here’s the photo of Cindy Sheehan and me:
There we are, right in front of the White House. Also notice the new camera bag strap on my shoulder, to replace the one that broke a little less than a month ago.
Looks like Virginia is the “Florida” of 2006…
3 minute read
November 8, 2006, 7:15 PM
First of all, just let me say that it was a very challenging ride home from Washington DC last night, because of medium-to-heavy rain for much of the drive home, and wet conditions for the remainder.
However, it was all made more bearable by listening to election result coverage all the way home. On the first half of the trip, I listened on WETA (90.9 FM), Washington’s local National Public Radio (NPR) station. There, instead of the usual BBC World Service feed that they run overnight, we got live election coverage from NPR. On the second half of the return trip, since I finally lose WETA completely at Woodstock, I did a little channel surfing on the radio to continue the live election coverage. For those wondering, I can pick up the local NPR station out of Harrisonburg (WMRA 90.7 FM) from at least as far as Front Royal, but they play classical music during off-times, rather than continuous news and talk like WETA does. And I’m not interested in hearing classical music when I’m trying to stay engaged to drive. I ultimately picked up 750 AM, which is WSB out of Atlanta. I listened to them from Woodstock to Harrisonburg, when I finally switched to WSVA (550 AM) out of Harrisonburg, after I realized that WSB was spending more time on local Atlanta elections that I have no interest in whatsoever, than the races for Congress.
The NPR coverage on WETA was EXCELLENT. They know what they’re doing on there. I quickly found out what was going on before I’d even completely cleared Vienna: the Democrats carried the House of Representatives, and the Senate was still undecided with six races, including those in Montana and Virginia, considered too close to call. As I followed the election coverage through my long, rainy ride home, they, along with WSB and WSVA, were able to call four of them. By the time I arrived home, Montana was still too close to call, but leaning for the Democratic candidate, and Virginia was on a razor-thin margin, flipping back and forth between Allen and Webb. I learned that Allen’s supporters had already gone home with confidence, and Webb’s campaign had already declared victory a little bit after that.
Continue reading…Categories: DC trips, National politics
I met Cindy Sheehan!
2 minute read
November 7, 2006, 8:06 PM
You may remember that previously, the closest that I got to Cindy Sheehan was at the anti-war rally that I photographed at Arlington Cemetery in Octrober 2004. You may recall that this photo was in there, showing a photo of Casey Sheehan. That was before she became a national figure with Camp Casey.
Now, I’ve met her. I even got someone to photograph us together. That will go up once I get home (I’m currently at Pentagon City). I was doing something I do often on my DC trips – walk from McPherson Square station to Lafayette Park, go past the White House, and then walk to Metro Center station. There was a whole bunch of anti-war activity going on this time, and much to my surprise, Cindy Sheehan was there. I was talking to a Code Pink person, and then I saw a familiar face. I said, “Are you who I think you are?” She replied, “Who do you think I am?” I said, “Cindy Sheehan?” It turned out to be her, and my reaction was just like when I met Dr. Ruth at JMU back in 2003. Lack of words for meeting a famous person.
She shook my hand, and I showed her the photo from that rally, which she remembered well. The impression I got from the handshake was that Cindy Sheehan had very soft hands, and surprisingly warm hands! But she was very friendly, and has just an awesome personality. She even described how a Park Police officer helped her pin a number of “Arrest Bush” pins to her shirt in preparation for a vigil in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Hopefully we’ll meet again.
And now, the zero hour is approaching. Ready, set, vote!
< 1 minute read
November 6, 2006, 11:00 PM
All right, folks, the polls open early in the morning, and close at 7:00 PM. It is time to make this person’s statement come true, and let the American people reclaim the House of Representatives and the Senate from Republican rule.
I voted a week and a half ago, on October 25. Therefore, my votes have long been cast. Now the rest of you must make your selections.
I make one suggestion: THINK BLUE.
Categories: National politics
Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging, pending appeal. My question becomes…
3 minute read
November 6, 2006, 10:37 PM
I read in the newspaper today that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity, and sentenced to death by hanging, pending an appeal.
But what I’d really like to know is, what will we be accomplishing by knocking Saddam off? Seriously, what is anyone proving by knocking him off? So a former dictator will be put to death. If anything, Saddam’s getting off easy. He will be dead, and therefore his problems will be over. It’s not going to get us out of Iraq any sooner, it’s not likely going to stop the insurgency, and it’s not going to solve the basic problems of the Iraqi people.
Now there are certain things that I’m not going to disagree with. I am certainly in agreement with those who say that Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who did horrible things to his own people, and allowed other bad things to happen to his people. I’ll give you that. I’ll also agree that he was something of a wacko. His conduct at his trial confirms his status as a wacko.
But why put him to death? As I mentioned above, I think that lets him off extremely easily, even if the death is by hanging, as compared to something somewhat more humane, relatively speaking, like lethal injection. Hanging just seems so primitive, in my opinion, even for a less-developed country.
Categories: National politics
Virginians: Vote NO to the marriage amendment!
3 minute read
November 3, 2006, 10:09 PM
This advertisement, which ran on page A8 of today’s issue of The News Leader, really burns me up:
Categories: State and local politics
A full view of a radical cheerleader outfit…
2 minute read
November 2, 2006, 3:58 AM
Categories: Halloween
Happy Halloween from your radical cheerleader friends!
2 minute read
October 31, 2006, 11:22 PM
First of all, here’s the costume:
As you can see, I had fun with this one. From the bottom up, I’m wearing my Chuck Taylors, black tights, black shorts (no cheerleader skirt for me!), a red shirt with the sleeves cut off, on which I wrote “RADICAL CHEER”, a black shirt underneath that, black arm things with netting and chains and zippers, a black bandanna around the neck, and a red hat.
Categories: Halloween
“Fire drills were my favorite subject in school…”
2 minute read
October 29, 2006, 12:24 AM
Okay, I’m slightly amused. I’ve launched my new Online Store today, having set all the new mods, and it’s definitely a change. Gone are most of the old designs. Goodbye “Chef Schumin”. Goodbye to the three “Photo” designs. Goodbye to the old “You know you’ve been thinking about fire alarms too much when” design. Goodbye calendars. And most notably, goodbye thongs. The little thong underwear that I’ve offered in the store for four years is officially gone for good.
Only two things were carried over from the old store. The design formerly known as “Traditional” remains as the sole entry in “Logo Apparel” and “Logo ‘Stuff'”. The other is the line of photo mousepads, which are going to get spiffed up a bit when they’re expanded in the future. Then there are some entirely new lines. I’ve started offering my own brand of slogan t-shirts, and new high-quality framed prints of selected photo features.
Categories: Schumin Web meta
A little preview of part of my radical cheerleader costume…
2 minute read
October 26, 2006, 12:10 AM
And here it is:
I basically took a Sharpie and wrote “RADICAL CHEER” on the front, with anarchy signs for the As. Then I took a seam ripper and a pair of scissors and cut the sleeves off the red shirt. Then I’m wearing a very light black t-shirt underneath it. So that’s part of the cheer costume.
Categories: Halloween
They say, “Vote early, vote often.” I did.
4 minute read
October 25, 2006, 5:56 PM
Today, I spent about an hour at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona, doing a bit of business with the local government, getting everything all squared away with everyone.
My goal was twofold. First of all, I was going to take care of the taxes on the Sable, and find out what the deal was with a $3.00-and-change late fee that was attached to the tax bill. It turns out that the late fee is related to a form that the county sends you at the first of the year. What they’re doing there is checking to make sure that you have the same vehicles that you had the last time you paid up. I did nothing with that form at the first of the year. I think I either trashed it, or it’s still sitting in a drawer somewhere. Either way, it seems that the 39-cent price of a stamp is well worth it if it saves me from having to pay more than seven times the amount in a late fee.
And then I also paid my personal property taxes on the Sable and bought a new county sticker. For 2007, the county stickers are orange. This is a change from the dark red 2005 sticker and the blue 2006 sticker. Since the old 2006 sticker was already loose in spots due to its being transferred to the new windshield in September, I just pulled it off with my hand, and affixed the new sticker. Bingo bango done.
Categories: Mercury Sable, State and local politics
An interesting ride home…
2 minute read
October 24, 2006, 10:02 PM
Well, I ended up going against what I said I was going to do in my last entry. I did take Route 1 up through Alexandria, but then plans changed in Arlington. First of all, I took a side trip into Pentagon City, mainly to prove to myself that I could get there by car. So I went over, and drove past the mall. I also discovered some of the space between Pentagon City and Crystal City, and took a fleeting look at a park near the mall.
Then, returning to Route 1, I drove up until just short of the 14th Street Bridge. There, the road forks, with the right fork going to the 14th Street Bridge, and the left fork going to Rosslyn. I took the left fork, and found Wilson Boulevard. From here, I was basically following the Orange Line, station for station. I saw Rosslyn’s buildings (though I didn’t see Rosslyn Center), and continued past the Court House, Clarendon, and Virginia Square-GMU stations. There, I saw a sign for I-66, and turned, and headed into Ballston. I took Fairfax Drive past the IHOP restaurant, past the Hilton and Ballston Metro Center, and past the Metro station entrances. Then, a couple of blocks later, Fairfax Drive turns into the on-ramp for I-66.
The new strap is taking some getting used to, but it works…
2 minute read
October 23, 2006, 8:19 PM
Hello from Pentagon City on my Richmond-to-DC trip, where I started from home, drove to Richmond via I-64, and took the driving tour through downtown Richmond, which is best described as the good, the bad, and the ugly – very ugly. I don’t call Richmond the “armpit of the state” for nothing.
Then I swung up I-95 to Fredericksburg, where I explored around a bit. One of these days, I will figure out something to photograph while I’m there. Then from there, I continued to Woodbridge, where I visited Potomac Mills. Very quiet place this time around, with my visit occurring on a Monday afternoon. Then I drove up US 1 a bit, and caught the Metro at Huntington. I visited my friend Tristan, and then went around a bit on the Metro, ending up here at Pentagon City.
So fun stuff. From here, I’m going to railfan over to Franconia-Springfield, then double back to King Street and ride back to Huntington, where the Sable is parked. Then leaving Huntington, I’m going to take US 1 to the 14th Street Bridge, and then drive into Washington. I don’t know what my route will be there yet. Then from there, I’m going to take I-66 to US 29, take 29 to Charlottesville, then catch I-64 again to go back home.
Sometimes, the way I set up a shot is amusing…
2 minute read
October 22, 2006, 1:02 AM
I’m looking at the photo feature I’m running right now, described as “Headlights illuminate a sign marking the Buena Vista overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.” What I find amusing is how I used practically everything I had with me except for the Blistex that I keep in my camera bag in order to get this shot. Seriously. Even the Sable got into the act. Where do you think the headlights that illuminated the sign came from? Sa-a-a-a-a-able…
I was actually trying to get a nice long-exposure shot of the sign, which is how this all came about. The sun was down enough to where the shot would come out dark, but light enough to where it would be blue. So I fiddled with things, and also, since I was parked right in front of the sign, I fiddled with my headlights to get things how I wanted. In the shot I ultimately used, I timed things. I set the camera up at an eight-second exposure, and then using the remote, unlocked my doors (which makes the headlights come on) with two seconds to go. I used other exposures and length of time with the headlights on as well, but that’s the one that looked the way I liked.
I also had some fun taking some long-exposure shots of the Sable while I was up there in the dark, with the tripod all set up. I reached into the car and hit the switch for the interior and door lights. Then I fired off a few long-exposure shots of that. Thus we have the Sable, an island of light in the midst of darkness…
Categories: Blue Ridge Parkway, Photography
I got my strap, and I got a battery for the Lappy…
< 1 minute read
October 21, 2006, 6:21 PM
My strap and the Lappy’s battery came on the same day. First of all, thank you to everyone who made suggestions regarding both items.
Interestingly, Mom intercepted the package for the strap before I got home, and was wondering about the fact that I’d ordered from a scuba company. After all, I’ve never expressed an interest in scuba diving, nor have I even so much as mentioned it in passage. And then Mom sees this package, a nondescript brown box, addressed to me, with “scuba.com” as the return address. So it caught her interest. And so I explained the whole story, as I already explained to you here, ending with, “And no, I’m not planning on taking up scuba diving.”
I still find it amusing, though, that the only place where I could find a replacement strap was through a scuba place. Of all places, a scuba place. That just doesn’t make sense, but I’m like, sure. At least I got a new strap. And the bag rides like two inches higher with the new strap than it used to, and I have no problem with that. So all is well on that front.
And meanwhile, we scored a direct hit with the Lappy’s battery. We got an exact replacement, and it snapped right in, and now it’s charging peacefully.
So once again, all is well!