Evening sky above 470 L'Enfant Plaza, Washington, D.C., 7:05PM April 19, 2016.
I work in this building (in the 490 L'Enfant Plaza part).
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Home at this late hour after a busy day -- both at work and subsequently at the gym.
My gym workout was OK, but I wasted time taking another one of those "Instinct" classes that wasn't nearly as good as the first time. The routines -- all burpees and "golden squats"(involving the use of a kettlebell) -- were difficult and, ultimately, ineffectual and the music was even worse than last time, which I didn't think possible.
I did my jog, some weightlifting, and a swim, as well.
Alley behind my apartment building that runs between the 1500 blocks of U and V Streets NW, Washington, D.C., 10:18AM April 20, 2016.
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Some bad news ...
When I came home from work, I stopped at the little market -- known as Best DC Supermarket -- on U Street located, like, a one minute walk from my building. As I mentioned recently, this little market -- where I go about two-thirds of the time for groceries, with the remaining third being at the Safeway on 17th Street -- is closing soon.
The closing sign on the door of Best DC Supermarket, Washington, D.C., April 20, 2016. Source image here. Photo possibly by Tim Regan.
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Today, there was a big bright green "closing sale" sign on the door (see image above) announcing the closing and another stating that most groceries were 50 percent off and a third indicating that wine and beer 30 percent off -- this in a place that never had a sale, ever.
The older Chinese lady who runs the place (and gives me occasional free stuff such as English muffins, cereal, bananas, and other things that about to reach their expiration date) told me the store was closing May 18th, but based on the fire sale look to the place today -- shelves already emptying out -- the joint will be bare by this weekend. A very local news blog article (when the pictures above and below came) states that the store will close May 2nd -- which seems more likely.
It's going to suck when the place is gone.
(The lady also owns a little bulldog that she once-in-a-while brings to the store. "Coco" sleeps about 23 hours a day.)
A wider street-level image of Best DC Supermarket also taken on April 20, 2016. Source image here. Photo possibly by Tim Regan.
The Northumberland is visible in the background. My building is to the left of the Northumberland, partially hidden by the tree on the right. The Wakefield Hall building is to the right of the Northumberland (just poking above the store). All three front onto New Hampshire Avenue, which runs at a diagonal to U Street.
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Now for some good news -OR- A New York State of Mind ...
Hillary Clinton gives her victory speech after winning the New York Democratic primary, April 19, 2016.
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There was very good news in Tuesday's New York Democratic and Republican presidential primaries as Hillary Clinton easily won -- although it pained CNN to no end to have to call the race for Hillary and a fuss was made that won by slightly less than a two-to-one margin over Bernie Sanders. In addition, Donald Trump won a lopsided victory on the Republican side -- and I'm also happy about that because Cruz is the worst of the worst, as far as I'm concerned.
Another image of Hillary along with Bill and Chelsea Clinton at her victory speech after winning the New York Democratic primary, April 19, 2016.
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Hillary won with 58.0% / 1,054,083 million votes while Sanders received 42.0% / 763,469. She won a projected 169 delegates to Sanders 106 and is now estimated to be at 1,903 delegates -- or 480 from the 2,383 magic number. (I'm unsure if this includes the super-delegates or not.)
2016 New York Democratic primary results for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders; Source: New York Times.
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2016 New York Democratic primary results by county; Source: New York Times.
True, she didn't win that many counties but she won where it mattered.
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On the Republican side, Donald Trump blew away that slimy reptile Ted Cruz, who came in third behind John Kasich. Trump received a whopping 60.4% / 524,932 votes while Kasich received 25.1% / 217,904 and the vile Cruz brought up the rear with 14.5% / 126,151. Delegate-wise in the much more brutal Republican winner-take-nearly-all system, Trump won 89 delegates, Kasich got 4, and Cruz got a big, fat ZERO.
2016 New York Republican primary results for Trump, Kasich, and Cruz; Source: New York Times.
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Trump is estimated to be at 845 delegates to Cruz's 559 and making a run for the 1,237 magic number. However, it's much trickier on the Republican side and the Cruz side has been busy trying to steal Trump's delegates both outright and in the event there is a contested convention.
2016 New York Republican primary results by county; Source: New York Times.
That's impressive. Interestingly, Trump failed to win in only one county -- and the one where he lives, namely New York County (i.e., the Borough of Manhattan). John Kasich won there.
Cruz won nothing -- and it wasn't even close. In places such as Staten Island (Richmond County), he didn't even break 10 percent (7.8% to Trump's 82.1%).
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Trump's victory speech also caused a big stir because he sounded for the first time like he really wants to be "presidential" instead of treating all of this like a night club fight on an MTV reality show.
Donald Trump speaks to supporters after his New York Republican primary victory, April 19, 2016.
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All the breathless chatter continues to be about whether there will be a contested Republican convention and if the anti-Trump forces can elevate Cruz -- a move that would likely cause mayhem at the convention on par with the 1968 Democratic convention debacle.
Apparently, the Koch Brothers and their billions are sitting out the Republican convention in Cleveland, believing it to be throwing away good money after bad.
Next Tuesday there are Democratic and Republican primaries in five more states -- Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Note that all five are either New England or Mid-Atlantic states.
That's a good thing.
The Nate Silver FiveThirtyEight.com forecast probabilities for Connecticut, Maryland, and Pennsylvania show Hillary and Trump as overwhelming favorites to win. (There is no polling for Delaware or Rhode Island.)
At this point, it is becoming mathematically impossible for Sanders to win -- and he and his supporters are getting more and more hysterical and conspiratorial about this. The Salon.com crowd must be going nuts. On the Republican side, it's still unclear what will happen, esp. if Trump doesn't do really well next Tuesday.
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Here is some more good news ...
The U.S. Treasury Department announced that instead of replacing Alexander Hamilton on the $10, that Native American genocidal, slave-owning, spiritual godfather of today's neo-confederate GOP, and all-around horrible, old fuck Andrew Jackson will be replaced on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman.
Yes, Harriet Tubman.
Exactly when this will occur is unclear -- a Huffington Post article headline blared that it would not be until 2030, but in this article, I find no reference to 2030.
Instead, as this comprehensive New York Times article explains, the designs will be unveiled in 2020 and then the redesigned currency will go into circulation "later in the decade."
This is how the Huffington Post pictured the design, although I highly doubt it will look anything like that.
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The changes are part of a series of changes that also include changes to the backs of the $10 to include five suffrage leaders Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Susan B. Anthony. On the reverse of the $5 bill, a redesign will keep the Lincoln Memorial but add Marian Anderson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yikes.
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Nice.
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The Treasury Department -- and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew himself -- deservedly caught a shit ton of flack for the original plan announced last June to replace Hamilton on the obverse of the $10 bill while keeping Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
Now if a Republican wins the presidency -- the worst by far being Ted "Slimy Reptile" Cruz -- this could all be undone before it even happens.
Here is the Treasury Department announcement along with some good pictures.
Remember in the weird TV sci-fi series Terra Nova 2149, the $1,000 bill featured none other than Barack Obama...
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In any event ...
Good riddance to bad rubbish on history's trash heap.
Old Hickory, indeed.
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Speaking of good news ...
Pearls Before Swine, April 20, 2016 (click on image for larger version):
Hullooo zeeba neighba!
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Changing subjects ...
The weather continues to be too dry although it cooled off and wasn't mid-80s Fahrenheit warm the past two days but rather about 70F for highs. Tonight is cool, breezy, clear, moonlit (or as much moonlight as you can get in the city).
Hopefully, there will be some rain Friday into Friday night. Next week looks a bit more promising for some rain.
OK, I think that's about all for now. For tomorrow, I have a dental appointment at 1050AM. I was supposed to have lunch with my mom at Union Station but it was postponed again.
I also have to finish up a significant assignment at work by Friday end-of-the-day, although I'm hoping I might be able to change that to by-first-thing Monday morning. It's not like anyone is going to look at it over the weekend.
I'm uncertain of when my next blog posting will be -- possibly tomorrow (Thursday) night or Friday night or, alternatively, not until Saturday.
--Regulus