theparkerfamily.org

Author: evancparker

  • wine in the woods

    [Photo]
    DSCN5734, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    Explore the Photo Set:
    Wine in the Woods, Columbia, Maryland

  • wow, we really are married …

    [Photo]
    facebook, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    funny that it hasn’t sunk in before now, with the life insurance policy, the joint bank accounts, the house, the mortgage, all the name change paperwork she filed, and (not to mention) that whole ceremony/reception/honeymoon thing, but …

    … it turns out we really are married.

    what made me realize this was, tonight, when i noticed the lady sparkler’s name change application to “facebook” had finally been accepted (they hand-review each name change to limit fraud).

    funny that i lobbied her to *keep* her old name, and have so far kept up my boycott by continuing to scream “Spindler!” at her, regardless. she’s been unswayed, however, and i guess if facebook sees us as mr. and mrs. parker, who’s to argue?

  • day of amusement

    [Photo]
    0510082012.jpg, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    the lady sparkler and i went down to williamsburg, to visit my parents … and we spend Saturday at busch gardens europe, which (if you are from out of town) is pretty easily the best reason to visit the ‘burg.

    spindler hadn’t been to an amusement park in 10 years, and i am pretty sure it had been 8 for me. we hit all five roller coasters — and then some — and had a blast. as for the picture, it’s pretty obvious to say that you had a good weekend if you are smiling on the “teacups.”

  • spring has (preliminarily and tentatively) sprung

    [Photo]
    panda-porn, pt I, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    i have to lead with the panda-porn, well, just because … but this is actually only the third best thing we saw while we soaked up spring in our backyard (a.k.a. the national zoo).

    in second place, we saw a river otter do 50+ flip turns in the five minutes we were watching. he just kept going and going. i’m thinking maybe we need to put in for a bigger pool for him … maybe something Olympic sized.

    the pièce de résistance was seeing an orangutan actually use the so-called “o-line” around and above the Zoo. now, i have been coming here rather steadily since moving to D.C. eleven years ago, but i have never seen any animal actually using those cables they have strung above the sidewalks near the ape house. today? there they were … and they even dropped poo on the tourists.

    truly, a perfect day.

    Explore the Photo Set:
    National Zoo, Washington, D.C.

  • fresh paint in the living room

    [Photo]
    fresh paint in the living room, originally uploaded by [ecpark].
    it’s officially spring, because the lady sparkler and i got the urge to start painting things, “recycling” anything that isn’t walking, and then rearranging what’s left.

    first up was paint: the lady sparkler found a green that she loved in the pottery barn paint collection … which we dutifully poached and had the d.c. home depot match for $20/gallon less.

    while we were painting, we put the couch under the windows to get it out of the way … and then liked it so much that we kept it there. during move-in last summer, we weren’t terribly happy with how we had the living room, and this setup is much, much better.

    in other news … we took two massive loads of stuff to good will, including about a third of our books (we sold another 40 online). you wouldn’t believe how big the second bedroom looks now 🙂

  • finally, wedding photos …

    [Photo]
    i know these have been a long, long time coming … but we finally uploaded all of the wedding photos. (that’d be the “royal we” for those of us enjoying the notion of the lady sparkler, a mac, and 700+ digital photos).

    we just uploaded the images to flickr, so hopefully they will be easy to navigate. also, as you are browsing through … if you see a photo you like just click through to the individual image page and you can either download the high-res image file for yourself (the “all sizes” button) or buy a print to be shipped to you by one of flickr’s partners (the “prints & more” button).

    i know that i am required by marital law to say this but, even after six months of hindsight we had such an incredible time at the wedding, and i think the pictures do a great job of capturing that. food, friends, family, honeymoon. ah, perfection.

    poke around, and let us know what you think.

    p.s. we have to give serious props to Sarah Voisin who did all the photography. we couldn’t be happier …

    Explore the Photo Set:
    Spindler/Parker Wedding, Washington, DC

  • earth day 2008: done, done aaaaand done

    happy arbor day!

    well, i made my goal to plant 200 trees thanks in large part to a late flurry of my former hippie co-workers. (former => co-workers, they are all still hippies.)

    a big thank you to everyone who donated … you helped a great cause that i truly believe in, and have helped me do something (personal fund raising) i have never, ever done before.

    with that in mind, i gotta say … these last 3 weeks have really changed my world view on how to raise money.

    first, i have a new found respect for the people I know who raise lots of money for hikes, walks and such. it isn’t easy to sell your friends and family on a cause, even one you love … and I was only looking for $200. i can’t imagine fund raising for a $3,000 walk.

    second, as someone who does online fundraising for a living, i’ve been to tons of conferences where people sell this type of “friends-asking-friends” as the future of modern american online fundraising. all i can say is “hooey.” or “pthbthbthbthbt.” or some other onomatopoeia of your choice.

    to begin with, it’s *hard.* a lot of people (me!) don’t like to ask for money. writing just four blog entries pitching the cause was excruciating. also, there is a very vocal group who *really* don’t like to be asked for money, either. (granted i run with a snarky lot, but still …)

    imho, the benefit of doing this sort of campaign is the way it can energize an organization’s base, and as a great way to spread it’s message to new people. it’s hard to believe that some day organizations will get the bulk of their funding from a process that is so draining for half the personality-types on the planet.

    but all this is water under the bridge … 15 *great* people steped up and give their hard earned moolah to plant trees in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. hopefully, we’ve helped jump start the Plant a Billion campaign, which has — in just three weeks — raised enough to funds to plant 276,080 trees.

    p.s. the “chevy” widget above isn’t actually green-washing (entirely?) … the nature conservancy get $1 to plant a tree each time someone grabs the widget for their web site or social network page. you’d think that would be better highlighted somewhere …

    p.p.s. now, i return you to your regularly scheduled blog without substance.

  • this could be a post about earth day, but wait … it actually *IS* a post about earth day

    One dollar, one tree, one planet.

    it’s been a long run up to earth day — work, work, work — so, much like at the wedding, y’all are going to have to make due with the loosely-affiliated ramblings of a distracted man.

    (stream of conscious, #1)

    happy earth day! speaking of which …

    (stream of conscious, #2)

    i want to say a very special thank you to those who have donated to support my Plant a Billion Trees campaign so far. speaking of which …

    (stream of conscious, #3)

    i just realized i have no way of finding out who you are unless you tell me. so, if you donated feel free to toot your own horn in the comments. speaking of which …

    (stream of conscious, #4)

    easily my favorite comment so far:

    aight, aight, I planted some damn trees. ya happy now?

    this morning, i was a *weeeeee* bit down because i’m not likely to make my self imposed deadline of 200 trees by earth day, but this comment — and the obviously righteous and noble passion for conservation that pours from each syllable — has inspired me to push on. speaking of which …

    (stream of conscious, #5)

    great news! I have decided to extend my personal campaign for Plant a Billion Trees through Arbor Day. you obviously wanted more of my great posts on the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and i obviously don’t want to fail horribly on my first attempt at direct fund raising. speaking of which …

    (stream of conscious, #6)

    arbor day is this Friday, so you have three more days to help me plant 200 trees. then, it’s a whole lot more snarkiness, and a whole lot less convincing you to support a worthy cause. speaking of which …

    (stream of conscious, #7)

    I love you guys … 🙂

  • This could be a post about Kathleen Edwards @ the Birchmere

    [Photo]
    0414082140.jpg, originally uploaded by [ecpark].

    … but, alas, i am still 139 trees short of my goal to plant 200 trees in brazil’s atlantic rainforest by earth day.

    so instead, let me show you a little clip about the rainforests of brazil. did you know that they are home to over 1/3rd of brazil’s plant and animal species?

    tropical birds, pink and gray river dolphins, manatees, spider monkeys and jaguars all find their home here, alongside brazil’s ancient indigenous communities who have lived in these forests for hundreds of years.

    donate $10 to the plant a billion trees campaign, and you can be a part of the solution for brazil *and* for climate change … people like you have raised almost 200,000 trees worth in just the last two weeks!

  • kathleen edwards @ the birchmere

    kathleen-edwards-live-041408
    great concert. favorite parts? hard to pick them out, but:

    1. at one point, she was rocking her guitar so hard, it came unplugged, and she didn’t notice until her husband plugged it back in after a couple minutes;
    2. she forgot to pee before the show started, so darted off during a guitar solo, took care of business, and ran back;
    3. she confessed a celebrity crush on hockey enforcer Marty McSorley, and described all the things she would do to him if he agreed to help her with the video of one of her songs.

    SET LIST: mercury · in state · what are you waiting for · asking for flowers · run · copied keys · i make the dough, you get the glory · 12 bellvue · alicia ross · i can’t give you up · buffalo · six oclock news · summer long · good things · oil man’s war · the cheapest key · goodnight, california · back to me