So this will be an interesting summer, I’d say…
June 24, 2008, 10:48 PM
I’m looking at what’s coming down the pike for this summer, and I can tell right now that this is going to be a great summer. First of all, look at Schumin Web! It’s all refreshed for the summer as we’ve gone “square” with this new background. No more fades here as it’s been for nearly four years. The color gradient is gone, and we’ve moved on to a pattern. Hopefully this will make things look a little more festive.
And then I’m going to be busy in July, with two Anon events – July 12 and July 19. By then I ought to have something really cool figured out for a costume, since here’s the thing – the “black bloc” look doesn’t seem to work at Anonymous events. When I hang out with the anarchists, yes – black bloc is the style. For Anonymous, it’s more like a masquerade ball, since many people really get into the dress of the event, and dress in wild outfits while including the all important mask (don’t want to get fair gamed, after all – or R2-45’d for that matter). And as I learned on June 14, the Guy Fawkes mask is too warm for the summer. However, we must admit – I had fun at Operation Sea Arrrgh with my Guy Fawkes mask and all:
Continue reading…Categories: Katie, Project Chanology, Schumin Web meta, Travel
What are you talking about? Coffee’s supposed to taste like sludge!
June 5, 2008, 10:50 PM
It’s funny… at work, the coffee drinkers have for the most part gone into two camps. There are the ones who would happily make it so strong that the spoon stands up, and those who like weak coffee.
I’m part of the “sludge” crowd. There is a dedicated group of us who gets to the Bunn-O-Matic in the morning and make strong coffee. Some people describe it as being like castor oil. I prefer the term “sludge”, myself. And if anyone asks why I like the coffee like sludge, I just smile. And not just a regular smile, either. It’s that kind of smile that’s so much so that it works muscles all down your neck and on your chest. The I’ve-had-too-much-caffeine smile. I love it.
Of course, I always cut myself off at noon. No more coffee past noon, which paves the way for a nap on Metro some evenings. Yesterday after work, I really must have been pooped – I fell asleep before Brookland-CUA, and next thing I knew, it was Glenmont. Usually, if I fall asleep on Metro, I briefly wake up around Fort Totten or Takoma, and then also around Forest Glen or Wheaton. Usually if it’s Wheaton, I end up staying awake to Glenmont, because I don’t see any point of nodding off again, being so close.
Categories: Food and drink, Myself, Project Chanology, WMATA, Work
And so for those wondering how my birthday went…
June 4, 2008, 2:07 PM
My birthday weekend went quite well, thank you. I spent my actual birthday at home, where I wrote a Wikipedia article about October Rebellion. Yes, that October Rebellion. I had a great time writing that article, though it’s not often that I’ll sit down and write a new article from scratch and go hunting for reliable sources and such.
Then the next day, Mom and Dad came to visit – just for the day. We went to downtown Silver Spring, where we had a birthday lunch at Austin Grill, a restaurant that serves Mexican food. As we were coming in, rain appeared to be imminent, and yet some people still wanted to be seated outside, and stayed outside, even as the rain started coming down. There was a very small overhang that these people ate under, and I presume they stayed dry for the most part.
At the restaurant, Mom committed what would be considered a major sin if you like to stay in the good graces of your companions. She told the server that it was my birthday. Now I admit that she didn’t mean to let that out in front of the waitstaff. It slipped out unintentionally. But you know how it is… if you say “birthday” to a server, next thing you know, you have ALL of them marching in clapping, and singing happy birthday to you. Once we realized Mom’s error, we flagged the server again about the birthday thing, and good news – Austin Grill doesn’t sing. Very good.
A belated reportback is better than no reportback at all, I suppose.
May 25, 2008, 5:29 PM
Hey, I’ve been busy. So sue me. But I must report back that Katie and I had a great time last weekend. We went all over the place, and had a great time.
However, it started out somewhat rough – Katie took the train up to DC, specifically the Cardinal. And it was late. According to AmtrakDelays.com, on May 16, the eastbound Cardinal, train #50, was an hour and 42 minutes late arriving in Staunton, where Katie got on. Then at Union Station, where I was waiting for her, the train managed to rack up another 44 minutes of delays, and thus ended up getting in at 8:21 PM. That would make it two hours and 26 minutes late. This thing was supposed to show up at 5:55 PM, which would have fit my schedule quite nicely. Leave work, take Metro to Union Station, wait a few minutes, get Katie, and then ride back to Glenmont. However, I found out about the Staunton delay from Katie well in advance, so no problems there. I compensated other places as far as that delay went, and ended up staying later at work, since there were a few things I needed to take care of anyway, and planned to arrive in time for the new delayed arrival. Okay.
So arriving at Union Station, I got in, and immediately checked the boards to see what the deal was. Another delay. Lovely. So I ended up just kind of wandering around Union Station for the next two hours, as I had nothing else to do. I was totally unprepared for a longer delay. However, I did have my iPod, and so at least I got to listen to Randi Rhodes (now on Nova M Radio!). And with headphones on was how I passed a good hour or so of that delay, as I went in and out of stores, seeing what amused me. I also managed to find a relatively quiet corner of the station to make a phone call, finding out about how things were going on the train from Katie. That quiet spot ended up being in a far corner of the parking garage, interestingly enough. But hey, it was nice out, so it worked. I got to watch train movements north of the station, and found out that the initial delay was due to weather, and then heavy rail traffic caused the delays closer in. Okay. Beyond the control of either one of us. What are you going to do, I suppose.
Categories: Activism, Amtrak, Arlington, Arundel Mills, Katie, Project Chanology, Security, Washington DC, Wikipedia
I can’t believe I bought one of those “V for Vendetta” masks…
May 17, 2008, 11:38 AM
I can’t believe it – I bought one of those “V for Vendetta” Guy Fawkes masks. One of these:
Yes, after having been to three of these things, I admit – I run with Anonymous, at least during their street protests. And with the next event having a “pirate” theme, I figured it was time to finally buy one of those things, since the V for Vendetta mask looks more pirate-like than anything I could come up with.
All I know is, it’s going to be so fun. I really enjoy myself at these Anonymous events. It’s a great cause, and these people are SO fun!
Categories: Project Chanology
“Operation Fail Game” appeared to be a success, and it’s weird to see my two protest crowds only blocks away from each other…
May 11, 2008, 11:41 AM
Saturday was the day that the DC chapter of Anonymous was putting on “Operation Fail Game”, the May protest against the Church of Scientology. The title of “Operation Fail Game” is a twist on Scientology’s “Fair Game” policy, where anyone opposing Scientology is considered fair game for harrassment by the Church.
Our protest was supposed to start around 11:00 at Dupont Circle, march up to the Hubbard House, and then go from there to our usual location in front of the Founding Church of Scientology at the intersection of 20th Street, R Street, and Connecticut Avenue NW.
That didn’t go according to plan, because when I got to Dupont Circle just after 11:00, the place was deserted. Where were all the Anons? I rode the Metro in from Wheaton with several other Anons, and so I knew I wasn’t going crazy. We all took an opportunity to mask up at this point, though, since the idea is to be anonymous, and arriving already masked up is considered somewhat important. One difference between masking up for Anonymous and for black bloc: I wear my glasses for Anonymous, but not for black bloc. Anonymous isn’t the kind of deal where I’m afraid that my glasses might get messed up, but black blocs have a much bigger potential to turn ugly. After everyone masked up, I basically took charge in figuring out what happened. I first called Isis. She was at the Hubbard House. Then I called Jeff. He was at the usual spot. Not being quite sure where the Hubbard House was, we ended up going to the usual spot, in front of the Church of Scientology building.
Categories: Project Chanology
The most disturbing thing about the whole thing was seeing the young child in the crowd wearing that t-shirt…
April 20, 2008, 8:35 PM
Many may have heard about the neo-Nazi group that marched down Constitution Avenue to the Capitol in Washington DC on April 19 as part of an anti-immigration march. I was there, along with all of my usual protest buddies, counter-protesting this march. Of course, I was half figuring that these Nazi whack-jobs wouldn’t even show up, a la July 4 last year, when we showed up ready for action, and they didn’t.
But show they did, and we were ready. We gathered at 14th and Constitution waiting for them, and things got interesting when two members of the Nazi group showed up near the Washington Monument. Three of our people were arrested after someone attacked the Nazis with a banner. Then things slowed down for a while. It ultimately picked up again when the Nazis got started. These white-supremacist nutjobs were outnumbered by police officers protecting them from us, and then we, counter-demonstrating them, also outnumbered them.
Marching to the Capitol, we marched outside the police lines, primarily on the sidewalk, attempting to drown out the Nazis’ message. When they got to the Capitol, they took the center part of the west lawn, and we were in the south part of it. While they gave their speeches, we played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream speech over a bullhorn. Hopefully we got our message across that racists are not welcome in our city.
Categories: Activism
And we’re back in business!
March 25, 2008, 10:43 PM
Yes, we’re back in business! The Vivitar 6200W waterproof camera has arrived, and I’ve fired off a few test shots. I hope you like looking at my kitchen:
Categories: Cameras, Project Chanology
I don’t think I have had this much fun in a long time…
March 23, 2008, 11:44 AM
I will tell you this: I had SO much fun on Saturday. And to think I was worried about what to expect.
The event I went to was a demonstration by Anonymous against the Church of Scientology, which was having a convention at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in DC. The protest was about the Church of Scientology’s practices and tax exempt status, with signs quoting L. Ron Hubbard as saying, “I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is!” as well as various signs relating to the organization’s tax-exempt status, as well as mentions of Xenu.net, the Web site of “Operation Clambake”.
Let me draw a distinction here – we were not protesting Scientology the religion. If people want to practice Scientology, that’s their business, and more power to them. Our beef was with the Church of Scientology organization, and its various practices. In other words, we took issue with organized religion and the abuses that follow in so many of its instances, but not the religion itself.
So here’s the story.
Categories: Project Chanology
Well, the Big Mavica era is over.
March 21, 2008, 12:22 AM
The era of Big Mavica has officially come to a close, as the screen is busted, wrecked due to water at the March 19 anti-war protest in DC. Due to the age of the equipment, I determined that a repair is not worthwhile. And the new camera is on order. The new camera is a Vivitar ViviCam 6200W, a 6.0 megapixel waterproof camera.
Well, that’s actually only half the story. This Vivitar will be my all-weather “hazard conditions” camera. This would be the one I’d take on the beach, to protests where showers are expected, and any other situations where I would expect the camera to take some abuse. In theory, this camera should be able to withstand a pepper spray to the face and keep on firing. Just don’t forget to wipe the lens. Isis, a photographer friend of mine, actually recommended this camera to me for bad-weather imagery. And I got a really good deal for it on Amazon.
After almost five and a half years, Big Mavica may very well be done for…
March 19, 2008, 5:38 PM
First of all, the “Funk the War” protest in downtown Washington, for which I took the day off at work, went very well. I got a lot of great photos, but it was really rainy. It rained. Hard.
Which brings me to point number two. Big Mavica took on water, as it’s done in the past, but this time, I think it might be a goner. It quit shooting photos, and the screen is all white. Something tells me that something might have shorted out in the camera. Hopefully once Big Mavica gets time to dry, it will be up and kicking again. And if not, well, it might be time to finally upgrade. After all, five years is a long time for electronic equipment. So if it’s to the point where I’m faced with sending it out for repair or just replacing it, I’m going to replace it, and retire Big Mavica.
And if this is the end for Big Mavica, at least it went out in a blaze of glory. In Part 3 of the Virginia Beach 2005 photo set, I said, “If I’m going to lose Big Mavica, it might as well be in the process of shooting a great photo set.” And when it comes to shooting a huge protest, I can’t think of a better time or place to lose it.
And the photo set won’t be toast, either. I can still recover everything that I had shot prior to the camera’s going out on me, and my friend Isis is going to help me fill out the remainder of the set.
So we’ll see what happens. Hopefully it won’t be the end of Big Mavica, but we’ll see…
Meanwhile, next Wednesday, the 19th, will be SO fun…
March 11, 2008, 6:41 PM
Wednesday, March 19, will be SO fun. I’m taking the day off at work, and I’m going to be participating in “Funk the War 3”, which is kind of like a dance party to various organizations involved in the Iraq War, in order to register our opposition to the war. It’s sponsored by DC Students for a Democratic Society, and so this will mark my first anti-war action of 2008. Good to get an election year off on the right foot when it comes to protests.
And if you’re wondering what Funk the War 3 will be like, here’s a movie about Funk the War 2, courtesy of DC SDS.
Funk the War 2: electric boogaloo Reportback from Daniel Meltzer on Vimeo.
So we’ll see what happens. Like I said, it should be fun. And now, to take the car over to Vienna for my trip to Stuarts Draft…
Categories: Anti-war
And the second day of the consulta went equally well.
January 28, 2008, 8:24 PM
The second day of the consulta went just as well as the first. We had a slightly smaller crowd, but it still worked. We couldn’t get into the Frederick Cultural Arts Center right off the bat on Sunday due to the fact that a church had services in there at 11:00, so we started out at the Frederick Coffee Company for the first hour and some. There, we discussed affinity groups, protest tactics, and even “protest fashion”, which was kind of like What Not To Wear: Black Bloc Edition.
Then we went over to an area about a block away from the Arts Center, and had lunch, courtesy of the local Food Not Bombs. There, they had a selection of vegan food, as well as what’s called freegan, meaning it’s stuff that was obtained for free after being cast off by the primary purchaser.
From there, we got into the Arts Center, and prepared for a workshop on police tactics. However, before that got going, while everyone was setting up, Jeff and Maddy had a chance to be wacky with a cart that was in there.
First Jeff pushed Maddy…
Day one of the “Unconventional Action” consulta went very well!
January 26, 2008, 9:39 PM
Day one of the “Unconventional Action” consulta in Frederick, Maryland went quite well, indeed. The main thrust for the consulta was to prepare for the protests outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, as somewhat indicated by the banner inside:
However, with Denver and St. Paul being out of range for many of us (I have neither the time nor the funds to go), it also worked well for things to apply in that hotbed of activism that’s right in our own backyard – our nation’s capital, Washington DC.
We discussed a lot of stuff, too, mostly related to protest tactics and community organizing. We started with discussion on how to combat gentrification (with handouts!), took a break, and then moved onto discussion about the logistics of the RNC and DNC. Bridges, hotels, locations of various buildings, perimeters, etc. Very interesting stuff. And lots of handouts! I like handouts.
Now let’s talk about this… for a very small amount of oil, you’re producing three times more greenhouse gases than conventional methods, and destroying one of our natural treasures? Um… NO!
January 16, 2008, 9:14 PM
After work today, I went to a small demonstration outside the Canadian Embassy at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 5th Street NW in DC. The demonstration was about the Athabasca Oil Sands, also known as the Alberta Tar Sands, on the occasion of the Premier of Alberta, Ed Stelmach, delivering a speech at the Canadian Embassy promoting the extraction of the oil from the Alberta Tar Sands. I quote from the press release handed out at the event:
The Canadian province of Alberta is in possession of a rare natural resource known as the Alberta Tar Sands, which can produce a very small amount of low-grade petroleum only after undergoing an extremely energy intensive and wasteful process. This process produces three times as many greenhouse gases as conventional oil production through extreme localized degradation, and is being referred to as the most environmentally destructive petroleum endeavor of all time. On his first visit to the U.S. the Canadian Embassy will host a talk by Ed Stelmach promoting the extraction and use of Alberta Tar Sands.
It was quite a festive event, too. RCDC was in attendance, as was my usual group of friends that I see at protests – Jeff, Luke, Maddy, and Olga. I also got to see Isis. And Brendan, a coworker of mine from Food & Water Watch, was also in attendance. Plus there were several people dressed in polar bear costumes, and a number of people played “O Canada” on kazoos as we protested Ed Stelmach’s visit to DC.
Categories: Activism