benmurray / washington d.c.

Morgan and Jamie

Morgan and Jamie were kind of enough to ask me to help celebrate their engagement by photographing their “monumental” trek through Washington.  We started at the Capitol Building for some obligatory skipping and jumping.  We continued the adventure by traversing the length of the mall, the reflecting pool and fending off the tourist hoards at the Lincoln Memorial.

After a brief costume change we progressed to Georgetown for a stroll down the C&O Canal and then to the waterfront for drinks with friends.   They really wanted something casual and candid – I think it worked out pretty well!

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David Brooks on Sarah Palin

From an online discussion yesterday with Gail Collins:

She is not going to be the leader of any party and doesn’t seem to be inclined in that direction.

The Sarah Palin phenomenon is a media psychodrama and nothing more. It gives people on each side an excuse to vent about personality traits they despise, but it has nothing to do with government.

She is in 2010 what Jerry Falwell was from the mid-1990s until his death — a conservative cartoon inflated by media. Evangelicals used to say that Falwell had three main constituency groups — ABC, CBS and NBC.

Source: New York Times via Andrew Sullivan

I’m moving to London

I’m pretty excited.  In September, I will move to London to begin a master’s program at the London School of Economics.  The year-long program, MSc Politics & Communication, addresses the changing relationship between politics, the media and global communications.  What interests me the most is the impact of technology and the Internet on political discourse and citizen engagement.

Leaving DC after 7 years won’t be easy.  I love my friends here and have enjoyed the collegiate and professional life.  Transitioning from my nice apartment to a tiny dorm room may also have its challenges.  But, it’s time for an adventure and I’m thrilled to take it in Europe.

September may seem a litte far off, but I figure it will come rather quickly.  I will continue in my current job through much of June before taking some time off for all that “personal exploration” stuff, to master my skills at eBay and Craigslist, to travel home for a big family reunion, and, of course, to start studying.  I will also try to find some source of income so my roommate doesn’t kick me out.

As for after LSE, I’m not there yet.  Right now, I’m just focusing on this Visa…

Photo: MSH* on Flickr

Cherry Blossoms

What began as a routine errands trip turned into a little tourism jaunt to the tidal basin to take this year’s requisite cherry blossom photos.  They’re not in full bloom yet, but they’re on their way.  More enjoyable was the annual kite festival that kicks off the two week National Cherry Blossom Festival each year.  The air around the Washington Monument was filled with hundreds of kites trying to avoid or fight each other.

I feel like it’s required of any amateur photographer to spend at least three hours getting the “perfect” photo of these Sakura blossoms at every angle imaginable.  Not one to miss out on the fun, I took a fair shot (even though they look a little sad in this snap).  Take a look.

Photo Experiments

Joined up with the fine folks at Brightest Young Things and photographed an event at Wonderland Ballroom last week.  Read the story and see the photos.

A note from SXSW

Amid all the announcements, hype and “location wars”, this is my favorite observation from this year’s SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, TX.  From CNN:

These aren’t your father’s CEOs

If there was a pinstripe suit in Austin this week, we didn’t see it.

The movers and shakers of the online world are young, casual and come at business from a different angle than their Wall Street forbearers (a fact not lost on SXSW Web Awards host Doug Benson, who joked that acceptance speeches would all be short because the winners weren’t used to being out of their basements).

But there’s nothing like seeing tech’s youthful leaders for yourself — and all in one place.

Once you’ve watched a company founder tossing fuzzy dice into a crowd of screaming fans or doing the backstroke on the floor of the Hilton lobby at 2 a.m., you won’t think of “CEO” the same way ever again.

I love graphics

Even if they’re a little misleading.

Chart: Obama for America
Data: U.S. Department of Labor

It snowed a little

It snowed a bit in Washington this week.  Two storms, nicknamed ‘snowmageddon’ and ‘snoverkill’, shut down the government, schools and universities for about six days.  It was good fun for a time.  Now we get to dig out…or just skip.

See photos.

Leave no trace – Avoid the gotcha text

Tiger Woods. Kwame Kilpatrick. Mark Foley. John Ensign. Jim Gibbons. They’ve all given us reason to reconsider how we communicate with others online and via text message. Those chats aren’t as private as we all thought and the misunderstanding is bringing down some big names.

Many of these stupid mistakes are the result of a failure to understand where these messages go, who sees them and how long they sit around on servers for retrieval. Here are a few tips to securing your conversations and some common pitfalls in leaked communications.

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An International Network of Computers

I intended to post this a while ago, but was reminded of it at an event this week with Mr. Brokaw. He describes the “international network of computers.” Gates tells him we’re a long way away from having a thin, portable display that acts as a book. A classic piece of history and wonderment at a technology with an impact even they couldn’t properly foresee.