Anyone planning on making the trip? I've started looking for airfare and hotel accommodations and Jess and I have already decided driving is the way to go. :lol
Getting a hotel room will be fun!
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Anyone planning on making the trip? I've started looking for airfare and hotel accommodations and Jess and I have already decided driving is the way to go. :lol
Getting a hotel room will be fun!
I'd ask william shatner for some help. Bid low and don't be a pansy. I can't go because of work.
You won't get shit through Priceline. Those hotel rooms will not only go at full price, they'll go at raised rates and will completely sell out.
Why be there in person? It will be broadcast on every cable TV channel and every radio frequency because it is the most significant event in human history.
I think, even if you don't have any electronic means of receiving the signal; if you close your eyes; it will appear in a vision.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarrinS
Not the inauguration, but me and the family are driving over the week of Thanksgiving. Rates are CHEAP that week; got us a Suite. Gonna see some Smithsonian.
not that far to drive. Pennsylvania right?Quote:
Originally Posted by 101A
I'm obviously going to get my 666 and bar code tattoos before the rest of you.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarrinS
Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
You and your friends post-innauguration.
http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2006-10/26004979.gif
Been there, done that.Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
Got mine early at the crackety-ass cracka reeducation camp.
http://www.tattooblog.org/images/bar-code-tattoo_49.jpg
Yeah but mine will be cooler and more artistic.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarrinS
I'm just going to buy the T-Shirt and say I was there like the majority will do. Just like Woodstock. :lol
But it would be awesome to be there.
Yeah, three and half hours.Quote:
Originally Posted by clambake
It's amazing, coming from SA - I live within 500 miles of HALF the population of the United States.
NYC, Philly, Boston, DC, Niagara Falls - Cleveland, Michigan - Pittsburgh - it is really cool.
500 miles from Central Texas?
El Paso, Ok City, etc. etc.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
http://www.shipmentoffail.com/wp-con...attoo_fail.jpg
i spent a month in el paso one day.Quote:
Originally Posted by 101A
Quote:
Originally Posted by 101A
Yeah man, its ridiculous how close things are in the East compared to Texas and the West in general.
500 miles doesn't even get you to El Paso from SA. Leaves you out in the middle of BFE.
ahahahahahahahaQuote:
Originally Posted by DarrinS
Just made reservations. Hope my tatoo comes out better than that chicks face. Sheesh.
in loving memory? i guess that chic's dead...so it might not be too bad of a tat afterall...:wakeup
Cool that your going to the inauguration!
but stay away from grassy knolls and book depositories...
Dude I'm just worried about staying warm. January in DC is not going to be fun. Maybe I'll be able to peg a protester with a snowball though.
I'm going. Flying in on the Sunday before. Already requested tickets and praying we get some.Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
It's going to be a historic event for sure but I'd bet the Inaugural Address will be a snoozer. Obama will go with the same message we've heard ever since he wrapped this ish up a couple weeks ago. Basically he'll talk about how hard his job will be and to not have great expectations for a swift turnaround. He'll then mix in some politicking for 2012 re-election and then end the speech saying either "yes we can", "change" or "hope".
I'd consider going if I thought he was going to unleash a world class speech like he's capable of giving but he's going to go the safe political route and try to sedate the ardent Obama backers.
Must have been a busy day.Quote:
Originally Posted by clambake
Or a slow month.
Leaving early tomorrow morning and I'm so damn excited. Should be in the lower 30s which is actually warm compared to what I've been in this weekend (how fucked up is that?). I'll try to keep a picture blog in here through the day.
If Obama was white he would just be another guy enjoy the rush.Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
Have a great time, and fuck all you Replubican whining bitches.
:tu That would be awesome if feasible. Have fun man.Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
I'm in DC now with a bunch of kids from my school as well as many other high school kids from the nation. It's pretty cool. We get to tour around and everything. Today, we had the concert to attend, and it was amazing!
With the economy weak and growing weaker, banks in trouble and joblessness rising, Obama's team was careful to warn against any expectation that he would be a miracle worker once in office. "I think it's fair to say that it's going to take not months but years to really turn this around," said David Axelrod, a political strategist expected to have White House space mere paces from the Oval Office.
trying to make it sound ok if he can not get it going in the right direction it is no this fault
WHAT A LOSER HE SAID HE COULD FIX IT
FIX IT AND QUITE LOWERING WHAT YOU SAID YOU COULD DO TO GET ELLECTED
What does ellected mean? Is that Spanish?
I think I might quite drinking.
My sister's on the inauguration committee on the military side, she has a prime DC apartment that the gov. is paying for and she offered me a ticket and a chance to stay with her i said no
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinnie_Johnson
Is half white good enough?
Yes but it's his half Black side that makes him a Rock Star.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heath Ledger
I think the half-Black side keeps him down. After all, how many half-Blacks are rock stars....?Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinnie_Johnson
Slash from Guns-N-Roses
Lenny Kravitz
Prince
Ben Harper
Jimi Hendrix
Maybe toss in Tony Parker for his attempt at French rap.
Not too many........
:lol....very good prediction.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarrinS
I can't escape the coverage of this event at any time of day on any regular cable channel...and forget the news networks. I swear they should just declare this inaguration day (not any other...just this one) a federal holiday and be done with it. The hype around this week's events has been absolutely rediculous.
Everyone I work with is taking off to take it in or to go in person, so work will be absolutely pointless tomorrow I'm sure.
I'm just disappointed that Manny is not giving the money for his trip to Jesus.
WTF?? Do... not.... compute.... :smchode:Quote:
Originally Posted by ducks
He said unequivocally that he could fix it? The same way McCain unequivocally said HE COULD FIND BIN LADEN?Quote:
Originally Posted by ducks
Well, it's not the same way as the ladder was actually recorded many times being said by McCain.
rofl
Manny you gotta be kidding me.
BTW, the cel phone lines are going to be so jammed, you might not be able to keep posting pics.
Currently we're at our hotel in Martinsburg, WV. We initially chose this spot because it was on the MARC line that goes right into union station and figured we could take an hour train ride in and not have any hassle at all. Unfortunately, I never thought to check to buy early tickets for the line and by the time I checked last week they were sold out
Well, thats not really a big deal but now we have to drive to a Metro station in Maryland which is about an hour away then take the subway into town which is about another 40 minute ride. Still, none of that seems too bad at all.
However, they're opening the parking lots at these stations at 4 and expect them to fill really fast. We really need to get a spot, so we're leaving here at 3 or so and heading down. I can't sleep because its way too early for me (I'm a night person and usually stay up till about the time I'm supposed to get up) so in all likelyhood I'll pull the all nighter.
Anyway, I if I can get internet access I should be able to easily upload early morning pics but I doubt it will be possible much through the rest of the day.
You did not put Parker on that list :lmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Peabody
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Peabody
How could you leave out Phil Lynnot?
Manny-
I hope you have a great and safe trip. I look forward to hearing about it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/inauguration_rdp
That is a really neat tradition.Quote:
Bush — following tradition — left a note for Obama in the top drawer of his desk in the Oval Office.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said the theme of the message — which Bush wrote on Monday — was similar to what he has said since election night: that Obama is about to begin a "fabulous new chapter" in the United States, and that he wishes him well.
That one too. :)Quote:
Culminating four days of celebration, the nation's 56th inauguration day began for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden with a traditional morning worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House.
That also.Quote:
By custom, Obama and his wife, and Biden and his wife, Jill, went directly from church to the White House for coffee with Bush and his wife, Laura. Michelle Obama brought a gift for the outgoing first lady in a white box decorated with a red ribbon.
on the note: "My absolute failure and suck-age is responsible for your victory."
You better be wearing that paraphernalia.
Say hi to your celebrity politician for me.
who? arnold?Quote:
Originally Posted by FreeMason
Question: The actual swearing in takes place at 11 am Texas time, right?
Whoooohooo!! I hope I get a t-shirt!! :lol
amazing.......Bush sitting there.........clueless to the embarrassment he should feel.
This speech is pretty bad, actually. Glad I'm not freezing my ass off in that crowded cess pool.
I wish I was baked for this poem.
Is it on now? Unfortunately, I can't see the greatest event in human history because, like yesterday, I'm at work. I'm sure the DVD's will be on sale soon.
For the real die hard Obamamaniacs, there will be a box set, complete with Kleenex and a bottle of Jerkins.
It's on and that was the worst poem I've ever heard.
He's reading poetry?Quote:
Originally Posted by DisgruntledLionFan#54,927
No, Elizabeth Alexander, I think, and her delivery was brutal.
No. Elizabeth Alexander, whoever she is, just did.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarrinS
For those of you that missed it, Obama waved his hand over the crowd after he was done talking and everyone burst into flames. Then he parted their burnt dead corpses like Moses parted the Red Sea and walked on air through the passage. Amazing, simply amazing.
Manny will still be happy that he kept him warm.
i decided to sleep in today. best sleep-in of my life :tu
I thought it was neither terrible nor distinctly great. Subdued, sober and right down the middle.Quote:
Originally Posted by doobs
Us usual his delivery was solid, and his speech had its moments. Chacun a son gout.
I can't imagine dealing with the traffic in DC today.
I can see the live feed from work but could not here it because our computer has no speakers.
I did not see President Obama sworn in live but am sure there will be plenty of recap coverage all day.
I definitely wouldn't say it was a terrible. Just forgettable and bad. I'm a little disappointed because this was supposed to be an inauguration of unique historical importance. I expected more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winehole23
Kind of weird seeing Cheney being rolled out in a wheelchair since he seemed practically indestructible for eight years. Maybe they cut off his supply of sacrificial virgins after he handed over the keys to the WH.
I'm glad I had the opportunity to visit Washington two years ago so I can really appreciate how enormous crowd that is there today!
Looking forward to your report Manny.
Congratulation America on your 44th president! Now give the man a chance to realize at least some of his promises.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slomo
I'm hoping hes the most successfull president we've ever had as a country.
For many it definitely is: I just saw Juan Williams crying on TV.Quote:
Originally Posted by doobs
I doubt the importance of the moment hinges on the speech.
I'm not saying it does. Perhaps a poor choice of words on my part, because the moment is important regardless of what Obama says or does. Heck, this inauguration would have been a big deal if Obama had gotten up there and sang "peanut butter jelly time!"Quote:
Originally Posted by Winehole23
I'm still disappointed.
honestly ive never liked any of his speeches, but he has a statuesque delivery.
Yeah and it got me choked up as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winehole23
I mean, I can't fathom, the significance to african americans this must be.
The speech he gave last March that dealt with race honestly took me aback and really really moved me honestly.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reckoning
I have to say the LOL moment of the day was W and Obama giving each other like a bro hug right before W got on the plane :lol
Looked sincere to me. They might actually like each other. It's a pretty small club.Quote:
Originally Posted by EricB
Yeah that was LOLable. I coulda sworn I saw W give Obama a dap . . .Quote:
Originally Posted by EricB
So damn tired. Was absolutely amazing. Will post more later.
DLF, You helped keep me warm. Thanks. ;lol
Just want to point out that he's talking about cold weather gear and not me personally.
President Obama is showing what an Inaguaration Ball should be. Barack On!!
Quick Notes
-We were nearly as close as you could get without a ticket. Crowd size seemed extremely impressive from our vantage point but in that aspect it was imited
-emotions ran high in the crowd as expected. While the poem didn't kill the crowd since it was already breaking up after Obama's speech, it was awful and sure didn't keep it together.
-DC is ugly in the Winter. Sorry, but I figure most of the NE is really ugly during that time.
-Got a shit ton of pictures but will take time to review them and filter out the crap. Plus a lot is not inauguration stuff but just plain DC stuff.
-It was awesome. Awesome awesome awesome.
el
oh
el
DC isn't part of NE. It actually sits on a swampQuote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
Suuuuuuuuuuuure.Quote:
Originally Posted by DisgruntledLionFan#54,927
So ended up sleeping about 2 hours or so that night. Got up at 3 and drove into the furthest subway station in MD. There were already lines for parking at 4am and there were a lot of people steaming into the station at that cold early hour. It was pretty cool to see.
On the train it grew more and more crowded until we got downtown but at no point was it oppressive by any means. There was plenty of space to stand when all the seats filled up and the stations were crowded but not overly so. There was a West African on our train who sang much of the trip in. It was pretty funny and pretty much reflected the overall mood.
The police force was rather impressive. They were out in huge force and supplemented by the national guard. We witnessed several convoys of Virginia and Maryland guard troops in Humvees setting up.
Got off the train just north of the White House and walked straight down to the Mall. The Washington Monument and Capitol building both looked pretty awesome in the dark. The set ups were incredibly elaborate for every facet of what was being done. There were huge jumbotrons at regular intervals all the way from the capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial. There were huge groups of porta potties set up along the mall as well and large scale tent cities for first aid, media, and vendor sales at regular intervals along the mall as well. There were a lot of vendors simply walking the streets of DC as well (I bought an Obama beanie for 5 bucks).
At the early hour the crowd seemed large, but from the ground it was always hard to get a feel for how large it actually was. Everything as far as getting into the mall and walking through it at that early hour (at this point about 5-6am) ran extremely smoothly and was extremely well orchastrated.
We walked arround just taking things in for awhile since we still had a long ass time to kill and standing still simply meant you got way too cold way too fast. We ended up speaking to a few people here and there and found the crowd a good mix of people who came in from out of town and locals.
Later we noticed that there was space in our section of the mall but there was obviously a crowd up torwards the front of the section behind us. They were staggering the amount of people into each section to keep everything flowing smoothly and they did an excellent job of this. This is why you see open spaces on the satellite photographs and then more groups as you move down the mall away from the capitol. We ended up getting as close as you could get without a ticket and our view as excellent since we could see both the capitol and a jumbo tron. The sound setup was nice, but for whatever reason it was never in sync with the video display and always suffered from a delay. The sound was always in perfect sync with what was going but the video seemed to suffer a 2-3 second delay. I figured this was simply due to the setup and it was nto a big deal as we went on.
Prior to the event (there was a lot of waiting here and much of the time prior to the actual ceremony starting was spent simply freezing your ass off and waiting) They replayed the concert from Sunday on the jumbotrons. There was a lot of sining along. When the actual ceremony started time started to go fast and the last hour of the ceremony really did feel like a snapshot in time.
Its hard for me to give you a detailed account of what happend at every turrn, because I got pretty caught up in the event. I know that the cheering was deafening at the moment of the swear in and the amount of flag waving at that point was always incredible. People threw confetiti up and it was all out jubilation. Throughout the address several portions resonated with the crowd and drew more deafening cheering. It was simply an incredibly enthusiastic crowd and it was a great feeling to be a part of it. The air was cold and many people stood there for as long as 6 hours and were in incredible spirits through the entire event. There was a good deal of Bush bashing, but over that I felt a great deal of joy around based not on Bush at all but entirely on Obama. I think thats important to note.
When the address was overr, there seemed to be a long delay before they introduced the poem. The crowd began to look for ways out and when the poet was finally introduced no one really cared. They came for Obama and once he was done it seemed they were as well. I didn't really pay attention to the poem at that time (mercifully) nor the prayer which followed. I did listen to both later and I really enjoyed the prayer but god that poem was horrible and the recital was even worse.
As smooth as entry to the Mall was, our exit was nothing short of chaotic. The entrance involved a million plus people coming in at staggered intervals and the exit involved a million plus people leaving through limited open exits. Leaving the area aboard a metro was not going to be an easy feat so while we were hungry and cold we decided the best use of our time at that point was simply going to the monuments to kill time.
We went to all the major monuments near the mall and gave the situation more than four hours to clear up. As we made our way to a metro station at that point, we noticed it was still shut down and they were only letting in limited amounts of people at a time to avoid over crowding these underground stations. I have to tip my hat to the people running everything, because while there was a lot of waiting involved there was not a single arrest and I never felt I was in an unsafe situation. I think the crowds handled themselves incredibly well and the police, guard, and other organizations running everything did a fantastic job. It was simply unbelievable how efficiently everything seemed to run.
It was a pretty great experience for me. I knew going in the speech was going to have an incredibly tough time meeting expectations. You're always wanting that timeless line to come and I honestly can't say that I know whether there was one in this speech. I do know there were many lines that resonated strongly with me on a fundamental policy level and that made me quite happy.
Just a pretty awesome experience. I'm glad I went.
Oh - I have a lot of pictures to upload and I'll post them as well, but its going to take awhile.
i hope you have one of cheney.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures007.jpg
Lines of cars waiting to get into the parking lot for the Metro station in Shady Grove at about 4am that morning. Pretty crazy amount of vehicles right at the start.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures008.jpg
I have no idea how to use my camera at night so this picture kinda sucks. National Guard like this were all over the place downtown. This is maybe 2 blocks from the White House.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures009.jpg
Washington Monument as we walked up to the Mall at 5am or so.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures010.jpg
Walking up the Mall.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures011.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures012.jpg
They had setups like this all up and down the mall - it was pretty awesome.
Manny,
Nice photos.
By the way, it was on TV for free and the weather in S.A. was very nice that day.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures013.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures014.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures015.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures016.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures017.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures018.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures019.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures020.jpg
Best photo, IMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MannyIsGod
That's awesome Manny. Great experience I bet. Worth the trouble and then some
These were taken right after Obama was sworn in.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures039.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures040.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures042.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures044.jpg
:lol
The all important MSNBC crew
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures045.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures046.jpg
And of course, goodbye President Bush.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures047.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...ictures048.jpg
a witness to an incredible piece of history.
congrats manny.
you guys took the redline into downtown, that is my commute to and from work everyday :spin
Awesome :tu
Where were the port-a-potties?
cool pics! didn't catch the inauguration...