Blaqk Audio

Saturday, September 8th 2007:

Yet another concert at the 9:30 club, this time we get to see Blaqk Audio, a collaboration by two members of AFI, Davey and Jade. With new wave/electronica music reminiscent of Depeche Mode, I was very excited to see how they would perform.

They did not disappoint. Davey's voice was beautiful and intense, and they even had a concert setup similar to Depeche Mode with video playing on the big screen behind. With just two members and no instruments other than their voices, keyboard and a synthesizer, it's quite a good thing frontman Davey has an awesome stage presence. Jade, even though elevated in the back, also exudes quite the presence as well.

I may have taken more photos, but the band requested that no photos be taken. I discreetly just took these three. Again, opted for the floor instead of the balcony to be more in the mix, but also to be able to dance around, which I was able to all the way in the back since there was room there. It was cool that I could still see them between the heads in front of me and move up a little if I wanted to. One of the best things about new bands - not-so-packed venues.



Here's the setlist, in no particular order. They sang practically all but maybe 2 songs off their new album, Cex Cells.

Between Breaths
Bitter for Sweet
Where Would You Like Them Left?
On a Friday
The Love Letter
Cities of Night
Again, Again and Again
Wake Up, Open The Door And Escape To The Sea - maybe?
Snuff on Digital
Semiotic Love - second to last song with lyrics projected on the screen behind them
Stiff Kittens - last song

They also did an awesome cover of Blur's "Girls and Boys" with both Davey and Jade singing. Where we were standing, I was the only one who knew all the words to that song, which was released in '93 - definitely a sign of my age.

Aside from the last two songs, which were posted on their myspace page, my two other favorite perfomances were "Between Breaths" (so mesmerizing, like being in a trance) and "Snuff on Digital"

Definitely looking forward to more of their work in the future.

Exploring DC

Sunday, September 2nd 2007:

Another day of exploration, this time in Washington, DC where we stumble upon some historic sites just wandering around, such as the Ford Theatre and the house where Lincoln died. Real coincidence since we were at Gettysburg the day before.



We also discover that the Bethesda Cinema Row has a sibling downtown, the E Street Cinema, with a Gifford's just next door as well.

This is a cool area known at the Navy Yard Memorial, with the globe designed on the concrete and bronze reliefs around the perimeter.


We decided to delve into more history by visiting the National Archives just across the street, which displays the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution for the public. We saw National Treasure with Nicholas Cage, so we had some idea of what to expect. But in the movie, the place was rather bright inside. Nope, in actuality, the lights have to be dim to reduce the amount of UV rays that will affect the non-archival paper and ink used for these extremely important documents.

The image on the left is more representative of what it looks like in the area of these historical documents. The right is more like what the movie portrays.


Anxiously waiting in line, with the security guard stressing that no flash or video light be used anywhere near the documents. She was very frustrated, because there were people who just didn't or weren't listening to her way back in the line.


The U.S. Constitution:


The Declaration of Independence:


The faded signatures:


The next group of visitors:


It's definitely unfortunate how faded and fragile these historic documents are, but I think it's amazing that we actually get to see them and be just inches from them.

We then venture into the new permanent collection called The Public Vaults, which taken from the website, "display at any given time about 1,100 records-originals or facsimiles of documents, photographs, maps, drawings, film or audio clips, allowing you to see the raw materials of our American democracy. Documents range from important treaties and legislation dealing with grave matters of state to snippets of the fascinating stories of individual citizens such as letters to the President and citations for military bravery."

Here are some photos of those items:





The space section...



Look at the end of entry #2


A fun interactive section, where you are given clues and have to guess what the item is




The best letter we saw there, at least from the few we read:


Because the weather outside was gorgeous, we ran through the exhibit relatively fast, but I plan to go back and look at this as well as other exhibits they have. It's so fascinating.

We walked across the street and relaxed in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and Ice Rink, which held a large fountain instead of a rink. That's the front of the National Archives on the right, with Brian's pretzel in the foreground. We also had a tuna wrap to help with the hunger.


The flower on my right side as we sat.


We did some more exploring, moving away from the mall, but found ourselves alone and amidst large government/institutional buildings. Not much around nor people around at all. Granted it was a holiday weekend, but it felt very foreign for being in a city.


We did walk to Dupont Circle where we finally got a neighborhood feel or at least some place with personality and with people. It was getting late, and my barely supported feet were getting tired, so after walking up the hill and back down again, Dupont Circle was as far as we got. Looks like a fun place worth visiting again...

and that concludes our DC exploration for that day.

Discovering Gettysburg

Friday, August 31st 2007

We head north for a journey back into American history, back to the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg. It will be my first time visiting where one of my favorite books when I was younger, The Killer Angels, took place, and Brian's fourth or fifth time.

The long weekend traffic didn't help us on what should have been a short drive up, as well as having to find a store due to my forgetting to bring a compact flash card(!) I love living in a city environment, but I love taking trips to the countryside where everything moves slower and at least seems more simple.

Pennsylvania welcomes us, taken at 7:30pm


I enjoy the scenic drive as Brian takes us through what we will see the next day, seeing many statues and stone structures, cannons and such on our route to the our hotel, the Best Western - Gettysburg Hotel in Lincoln Square.

After being truly undecided on where to eat dinner, we opt for a lively looking place right across the street from the hotel, The Pub & Restaurant, where we enjoy a cup of New England Clam Chowder, a Cajun Burger, a 16 oz. Porterhouse steak, and two Hoegaardens. Unfortunately we couldn't quite enjoy the experience as much as we would have liked since it seemed there was unnecessary air-conditioning blowing from two different directions right on us. Before our entrees arrived, Brian stopped by a store next door to pick up some maps and a $5 book on Gettysburg to help plan out our sightseeing tomorrow.

Definitely needing to walk off some of the food, we venture around the square as well as some side streets. We passed a tempting ice cream shop but decided to skip the dessert in exchange for not feeling gross afterwards. It was cool walking around and being little tidbits of historical info here and there, describing what the town was like back in the 1860's.

An interesting if not unusual statue, and the Lincoln Diner:


Saturday, September 1st 2007: Happy 1st Anniversary, Elmer & Hoong-San!

We stop by a convenience store on the intersection of Steinwehr Avenue and Taneytown Road where there are cute little stores selling Civil War paraphernalia and souvenirs.



This is where we had breakfast, The Avenue Restaurant:

some very tasty french toast and overeasy eggs, before we headed off to the National Park Visitor Center to see the historic 30-foot square electronic map, which has 625 individual lights that turn on and off with the audio presentation describing the Battle of Gettysburg. This is the last season that the 1963 map will be used, with a 25-minute film replacing it when the new museum and visitor center open in 2008. So definitely drop by to see this outdated but nostalgic piece of history before it goes.

The museum has a very extensive and impressive collection of artifacts from the battle itself, including bullets that collided in the air. They said that nearly 7 million bullets were fired by more than 160,000 infantrymen at Gettysburg.






We then walked across the street to the National Cemetery and where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address.


The start of our driving tour:

On our way to the Observation Tower
Our little Prius below

The battlefields below and Big Roung Top and Little Round Top






The infamous Devil's Den



Little Round Top behind us


If I had my sneakers on instead of my thin flip flops, I would have been all over these boulders...





Now on Little Round Top with Devil's Den in the background





General Meade...thank you General Meade.





The Pennsylvania Memorial
Cannons being fired in the distance







At High Water Mark (The Angle, Copse of Trees, and the Brian Barn), where Pickett's charge took place




Imagine, after a two-hour artillery bombardment, seeing 12,000 Confederates charging across the open field below. The stones in the photo are depicted in the painting.



After a busy morning and afternoon of sightseeing, we make our way to none other than KFC for what felt like a late lunch, around 2:45pm. We would have gone to the restaurant next door, but they were already removing the lunch buffet, getting ready for the dinner crowd, and we would have had to wait. Just couldn't wait.

Getting our greasy fill, we head over to Confederate Avenue, where the cannons were being fired earlier but looks like we missed the last firing. We did see some folks in Civil War costumes walking around.

Along this avenue, we saw just a few of the Confederate states' memorials, and they are markedly different from the Union's. This is Mississippi's rather violent portrayal of a Confederate beating a Union soldier.



And this is Louisiana's portraying victory (or rejoicement?) over a dead Union soldier.

Hmm...

More views of the battlefield. Love that poplar-like tree, and the opposite view of The Angle with people taking a tour in the center.


At Culp's Hill Observation Tower:



Making our way to the third and last observation tower


Views from the Oak Ridge Observation Tower:




Aah, what a beautiful day to soak up some history. It has been a long day, so off we go to the Gettysbrew Pub & Microbrewery for some sustenance.


Unfortunately, it had already closed for the season, and according to the sign, the owner is looking for a buyer, managing partner or merger. It looked like it hadn't been open for some time. And honestly, it is a bit far from the bustle of Gettysburg and on an isolated road to begin with.

So off we go back to the center of things and have some ice cream at Kilwin's Chocolate Fudge and Ice Cream Store back on Steinwehr Avenue.

We do some window shopping before driving back home.



Click on the map for more details on the area: