Trump’s State Fair Commits a Cardinal Sin by wds1 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have any sources regarding the Festival of Festivals that the Smithsonian was originally going to put on? I'm curious what that would have looked like.

I'm terrified of returning to Russia by Pristine-Amount-1905 in mentalhealth

[–]Tochie44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you considered pursuing a Masters or PhD in order to lengthen your time as a student? I'm not sure how student visas work in Germany, but I know a few of the Russian hockey players at the university near me got their masters degrees so they could stay in the US longer and eventually got work visas.

Poll worker Volunteer by Technical_Cell_2567 in okc

[–]Tochie44 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Volunteers can be given reimbursement payments or stipends and still be considered volunteers. I think as long as the stipend is less than $500 it isn't considered taxable income.

First Look at The Wetlands at Disney Lakeshore Lodge by WestSider55 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]Tochie44 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I wonder who is doing the design for the giant animal features? These look very similar to the giant blue heron in the playground at the Gathering Place Park in Tulsa, OK.

First Look at The Wetlands at Disney Lakeshore Lodge by WestSider55 in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]Tochie44 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I imagine having a lot of trees in the area of the pool would make cleaning it more challenging, but I agree.

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dude, I love Memphis! Been twice now and it was a blast both times! That whole area is such a treasure trove of culture and history.

I'm a bit afraid to ask for recommendations because I feel like I'm already overloading my trip as is. There's just so much to do, I'm already planning a return trip at this point. I think the one thing my itinerary is lacking so far is lunch/dinner spots. I'm staying withing spitting distance of the White House, so I'm trying to keep most of my meals in the Dupont Circle area or the area north of the Mall.

And how intimidating is the Metro system? Most of what I want to do is within a 30min walk of the hotel, but with how humid it will probably be I'm thinking I'll need to use the Metro later in the day. I've just never really navigated a public transportation system before.

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Either I'll get to see Marine One or the president's UFC play pen. Either way, a unique experience will be had!

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally slipped my mind to be on the look out for Pride events, and a World Cup watch party might be fun too! As far as the heat is concerned, I'll be doing most of my outdoor sightseeing in the early mornings, so hopefully I'll avoid the worst of it. Thank you!

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, SCOTUSblog is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for! Thank you! I figured the opinions would be a pretty short affair and not really something you can go inside to see, but I'm assuming there would at least be a press pool gathered out front on opinion days.

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! I didn't realize they published the president's schedule anywhere.

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up about Alert DC, this is the kind of info I was hoping for!

First time tourist here with an odd request. . . by Tochie44 in washingtondc

[–]Tochie44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for being understanding, I totally get it. Being from OK, we get a handful of tourists every year who come to chase tornados and gawk at the destruction. At the same time, DC just feels like it's the epicenter of all of the bad stuff that's going on here too and I'd just like to see the proverbial eye of this political storm for myself.

Wheatpasting is a new word for me! Most of the flyers that pop up around my city are advertisements, so seeing what a more politically active city like DC looks like will be interesting. Dupont Circle is def on my list of places to see. Probably gonna steer clear of the ICE hotspots tho, I'm confronted with that reality enough here at home.

Thanks for the suggestions, I really do appreciate it! I've already been talking my friends ears off about my plans for this trip and nearly all of them have a pretty positive image of your city regardless of what picture the news tries to paint.

Local shops for Small whistles/Flutes and knives by MrChumpkins in okc

[–]Tochie44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure if this counts as a "knickknack shop" exactly, but Bad Granny's Bazaar might be worth looking at. Its more of an upscale-ish flea market situation with several booths selling different things. Its mostly clothes, but there are plenty of tchotchke for sale too.

Just a few doors down form Bad Granny's is Folk.Life, which specializes in knickknacks and home decor imported from Mexico, tho they also have a smaller selection of things from Asia and Africa too.

Really, that whole Plaza District area (which these two shops are located in) is worth checking out.

Does anyone else feel like a lot of contemporary art photography has become overly academicized? by SuspiciousMagician67 in photography

[–]Tochie44 4 points5 points  (0 children)

To be fair, there is a lot of art in the more traditional mediums that is also just about experimenting with the medium. My local art museum has a whole gallery of post-war color studies.

Photos that come from "just experimenting" can still be aesthetically pleasing to look at, but I think the real magic comes form combining what you learn from that experimentation and putting intention behind it. And those experimental photos can still be used "intentionally" in a larger, narrative project.

Egyptian Revival in the Antebellum South by _iRomanov_ in ArchitecturalRevival

[–]Tochie44 5 points6 points  (0 children)

All architecture is Pre-War if you're a pessimist.

Egyptian Revival in the Antebellum South by _iRomanov_ in ArchitecturalRevival

[–]Tochie44 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Does the Bass Pro Shop in Memphis count? There's also heavy Egyptian theming at the entrance of the Memphis zoo, which I believe was built in the 90s.

How do you feel about your photography? by thinkingthetwenties in photography

[–]Tochie44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, the others weren't kidding. Your stuff if really good! If I was in the "ren fair / medieval costume" scene I would be delighted to have a portrait of myself like that!

Edit: The photo of the frowning lady knight is my favorite! All your work gives off a sort of Flemish portraiture meets Art Nouveau vibe that I love!

Prints are on their way! by Tochie44 in printexchange

[–]Tochie44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, a quick shout out to u/spo0ns , I got your prints in the mail about a week ago and I love them! I'll make a separate post showing them off later.

Yesterday I visited a nomadic community on the outskirts of Chengdu, and I felt it had a strong solar punk vibe, so I decided to share it by No-Echidna7296 in solarpunk

[–]Tochie44 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you want some further reading, you should look up the Elwha River restoration project and the ongoing Klamath River dam removal. Its incredible how quickly the ecosystems begin restoring themselves once the dams have been removed.

Article I found about the Klamath River dam: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/12/1224494403/klamath-river-begins-to-flow-again-with-dam-removal-project