Commuters crowded into a dark Orange Line train.
(DarkTrn.jpg uploaded by brownpau.)
Osage.jpg
Once upon a time I thought these were some kind of brainlike fungi, but then I saw one fall from a tree by the Capitol and found out that they’re called Osage-oranges.
DanTrek.jpg
Dan (known to some as insomnyuk on Metafilter) came over to DC for the weekend, so I showed him around NASM and took him on the simulators. Here he is with a Federation starship.
(DanTrek.jpg uploaded by brownpau.)
Caturday!
Pandora’s new favorite spot lately: in the way. She’s taken to stretching out right in the bedroom doorway so we have to either step over her or give her a gentle foot nudge.
(Okay, I admit it, I didn’t actually post this on Saturday, I just moved the post date back 24 hours to make it a proper “Caturday” post.)
Schlumbergera Flower
I got this Schlumbergera truncata — popularly known as a “Christmas Cactus” — from a Filipina neighbor who moved out of the building and left the plant with me and Amy. Last week we noticed a little red bud on the tip of a low-hanging leaf, which has now bloomed into a decent flower:
Glorietta Bombing
There was a mall bombing in Metro Manila on Friday afternoon. Eight deaths, lots of injuries. Initial reports that it was a propane tank explosion have been updated — a deliberate TNT or C4 explosive device is now the likely culprit. Update: Now eleven deaths, dubious claims of responsibility via text message, and “accident, no, C-4, no, accident, no, C-4, no, accident…”
The blast was in Glorietta, a major Ayala shopping mall in the Makati Business District, near EDSA. I used to go to that mall all the time (since shopping malls are what pass for recreational public space in Makati) and I often passed through it on my way home to work. I still go there whenever I visit Manila on holiday. Probably not the next visit, though.
More on this from others in the Philippines, links added as I find them:
- Inquirer special section and BBC News story.
- MLQ3 has links and updates
- Noelle was nearby and has a video and photos.
- Disneycute was right there and got some photos of the devastation.
- Recording from local tabloid TV shows a cameraphone video from inside Glorietta.
- Full raw video from a witness.
- GMA News has eyewitness interviews with survivors.
- Cameraphone video of the chaos right after the blast.
- Ganns was saved by lunch with his mom.
- Speculation from Trix, who has written about Jemaah Islamiyah.
- Pinoyexchange thread.
<cynical mode=”sarcastic”>
How could this have happened? They have two security guards for men and women at every entrance thoroughly passing a wand over every bag!!!
</cynical>
OrngCrwd.jpg
Orange Line train at Rosslyn, 7pm. Doors have just opened, no one is getting off, platform is just as crowded.
(OrngCrwd.jpg uploaded by brownpau.)
Random Signage
You may notice from my photostream that I like to get shots of random signage every now and then. Here’s a few from last weekend:
Note the tiger.
Lotion with FM Radio
This bottle of moisturizer was sitting behind a locked glass door at CVS. Free Mini FM radio with your lotion! I’m curious as to what PR/Marketing exec thought that one up. “I know! We’ll offer free cheap FM radios with our lotions! Of course that’ll be prone to shoplifting, so they’ll have to be locked behind glass doors! That’ll really boost sales! Wow, FM radios!” Maybe I should buy one of these lotions and try out the radio as a re-kick-off for Cheap and Tiny.
Canal Photog Swarm
For some reason there’s about a dozen photographers with DSLRs swarming around the Georgetowner canal boat, taking photos of it. I’m wondering if it’s related to the school bus just now unloading its cargo of middle school field trippers nearby — camera-savvy helicopter parents trying to capture every single moment and detail?