Trees

My childhood reading of Greek mythology and the Narnia books has meant trees are always magical to me. I love them in the winter, when no leaves obscure the beauty and remarkable uniqueness of their shape--each branch drawing a different line against the sky, gnarly, delicate, twiggy, smooth and reaching for the heavens. So Spring is bittersweet, bringing a future of rustling bushy green blobs.



But Washington, D.C. offers such a feast of spring attire, I thought I'd share. Sure, you've likely heard of the Cherry Blossoms, but D.C. is a citywide feast of flowering trees. Here are a few favorites in my neighborhood: I don't know what kind this is at 3236 N St NW--it has little snowball blossoms.



I love this Weeping Cherry at 3053 P St NW.



Here it is again with its companion Tulip tree. The house is a lovely frame.



The Tulip tree is beautiful against the gray stone of the Lutheran Church on Wisconsin Avenue and Volta Place.



This little Weeping Cherry is very elegant at 3201 P St NW.



I don't know what this red blossoming tree is at 3025 P St. NW, but it is bushy and enthusiastic. It kind of clashes with the painted red brick behind it, though. I fantasize about painting its companion house a dark cream...



Another Tulip tree by St John's Church on O St and Potomac NW. Technically they're called a Tulip Magnolia and are a hybrid. When they lose their petals, the sidewalks can get a bit slimey.



Yes, this ebullient row of Apple (maybe) borders the Georgetown Safeway Parking Lot. No one told them they should be dressing down for the environment.



Here is an alley beside 1235 Potomac St NW that started me off on this post. Just to remind us that "beauty is its own excuse for being" (Emerson) and that trees don't need a proper setting or occasion, they just do their job wherever they are. And I appreciate that.

- Information on the Google Settlement

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Author's Guild launched a lawsuit against Google. Below is some background and information that might impact you.

Authors need to be notified about the Google Litigation Settlement Agreement. In October 2008, AAP announced that a Settlement Agreement had been reached which, upon court approval, would resolve the two pending Google Book Search copyright infringement lawsuits – a class action suit brought against Google by the Authors Guild, and a separate suit brought against Google by five AAP members supported by AAP.

Because it resolves a class action lawsuit, the Settlement Agreement, if approved, will affect the rights of all book authors, book publishers and other persons – both inside and outside the United States – who own a U.S. copyright interest in books or certain other copyrighted works that Google, without permission, has scanned or may scan and display. It is important that such “class members” receive timely notice of the Settlement Agreement so they may exercise their rights and options, including whether to opt out of the settlement or, if not, claim their books.

With AAP, the Authors Guild and Google are coordinating notice efforts to ensure that their combined actions will satisfy the class action legal requirement to provide “the best notice practicable under the circumstances, including individual notice to all members who can be identified through reasonable effort.” This is an effort to provide direct notice of the Settlement Agreement to authors and direct them to the official settlement website at http://www.googlebooksettlement.com.

Please pass this on to anyone you feel might be impacted or interested.

Thanks for your help.

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