'I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.'

That's a quote from the famous American writer Edgar Allan Poe, who will be getting a proper, long overdue funeral this Sunday in Baltimore. During his life, one of the cities that Poe lived in was Philadelphia. Over the summer, I had a chance to visit a house he shared with his wife and mother-in-law in Philadelphia 1843 to 1844. That building is now known as the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site.

The above mural is a portrait of him, and it's painted on the side of a nearby apartment complex (Sidenote: Philadelphia has awesome murals all over the city, thanks to the Mural Arts Program. I took pictures of murals whenever I had a chance, though my pictures represent just a tiny sample of the over 3,000 public artworks. Maybe I should do a post about Philly murals someday). Here's a better look at the text on the Poe mural:


When you first enter the building (for free), you're not entering the actual Poe house because the historical site is made up of two small houses, the original and a neighboring one. There's an optional short video you can watch to learn more about Poe's life. Then you can take a self-guided tour during which you then enter the actual Poe house.

What's interesting about this place is that rather than being renovated and having furniture there to set the scenes, the house is basically bare empty and you can definitely see the wear and tear. There are paintings and signs in the rooms to suggest the original purpose of each area, such as the one below:


It was a little eerie going around the house in general because it's so empty. Plus, I was the only one wandering around, so it was quiet -- too quiet.

My digital camera is relatively old and sometimes it distorts colors (over-saturation, pink clouds, etc.). Sometimes that can be a good thing in the case of this picture of a raven sculpture in the house's yard (I didn't mess with the colors; my camera did):


Poe wrote his famous poem, "The Raven," in this Philadelphia house, as well the short story, "The Black Cat." A U.S. National Park Service employee told me that the basement may have served as inspiration for the one that's in a critical scene in the story. The basement was definitely a little creepy. It took time before I felt comfortable enough to venture further into the basement. Pictures can't fully capture that feeling; it's all about the mood and atmosphere of the room.

All in all, the Poe house provided a place to learn more about the writer in what's left of one of his houses. After all of the hardships that he had gone through, such as alcoholism, the death of his wife, and his own unfortunate death, it's great that Poe has had so many fans over the years, and he'll get his proper due Sunday. Rest in peace.

Shakespeare + shoes

My previous post reminded me of a window display for the boutique Shoe Woo at Union Station in Washington D.C. (the most impressive train station I've visited so far).

Suffolk in William Shakespeare's "Henry VI, Part 1" speaks this line in Act 5, Scene 3:
"She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd;
she is a woman, therefore to be won."

'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'

Earlier this evening, I watched "Forrest Gump" with at least 11 other people. While I've seen this film many times before, this opportunity was a chance to look at it from a different perspective.

It had been years since the last time I had seen it, so it was kind of comforting to watch something familiar. Also, some of the other people had never seen this film before, and many of them are international students, so it was cool to share that experience with them and sort of see it through their eyes, which is basically what this movie is all about: seeing life through the eyes of one unique man, one unique life. Though events have been re-imagined in this film, it's a good conversation starter for those who are unfamiliar with U.S. history.

One of my favorite moments in this movie takes place at the Washington Monument, which I got to see from afar when I spent this past summer on the East Coast. This photo came from a weekend trip to Washington D.C. with my younger sister when she flew from our home state of California to visit me.

One weekend was definitely not enough time to spend in D.C. For instance, we didn't have a chance to get up close to the Monument, nor did we see the Lincoln Memorial or any of the different war memorials. Plus, there's more to D.C. than museums, monuments, and memorials . This is all the more reason why I should return someday!