I couldn’t get into the city early enough to make the Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran opening in Georgetown for “Wall Snatchers.” I did go in for the 9:30 post-opening event described thusly.

9:30 pm TONIGHT (February 23, after Opening Reception) – Projection artist fi5e will be projecting his “graffiti analysis” interactive video at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. (500 17th Street, NW)

Unfortunately the only thing going on in front of 500 17th last night was a visual demonstration that it takes three cruisers, four cops and about 40 minutes to do a traffic stop on what seemed to be a violation of driving while underage. At least I assume that’s the case, since near the end of the experience one cop left with the very young-looking man in the back seat of his cruiser and an older gentleman arrived and was allowed to move the car around the corner and park it.

Of course that doesn’t mean the car wasn’t tossed multiple times by each cop. Judging from all the talking the kid was doing nobody had ever directed him to Flex Your Rights or informed him of his right to remain silent and decline police searches. Since he still got taken away cuffed in the back of a police car he may have now learned that no matter what they tell you, flapping your gums and letting them search your vehicle isn’t going to get you released.

The actual event, once I walked all the way around the back of the Corcoran and found it, was great. I’ll be posting my review and photos of it – along with some of my interview with fi5e – shortly.

And if you’re wondering, yeah, I did think to myself “geez, I hope that’s not the artist…” when I saw the stop.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Just got this in my email and wanted to share it with you all- it comes just as Tom and I are clearing out the duplicates as we merge our media collections. After all, just how many copies of The Matrix does one geek couple need? I bet you guys have some DVDs hanging around that you’ll never watch again but might be just the thing for a hospital-bound sailor or Marine.

The Greater Washington Chapter of the Surface Navy Association is requesting contributions of recently released movies on DVD to be delivered to the Navy National Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, for the entertainment of Sailors and Marines who are recovering there from injuries received during their military service. Please send movies by March 9, 2006, to:

Surface Navy Association
Greater Washington Chapter
c/o Edward H. Lundquist, ABC
Anteon Corporation CSSO
1100 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20003

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you don’t know what it is… then the odds are slim you’ll care to learn. If you’re a blogger or content manager who works with Drupal or might want to, however, this might be worth your while. We’re moveable type folks here at Metblogs, but professionally I work with Drupal quite a bit. I think I’m gonna run out early to join this as a “work related networking activity” :).

If you want to meet with and talk to a few active members in the Drupal use and development community, they’ll be at Busboys and Poets tonight starting at 6:30p.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, if I were in DC, I might well be heading to DCist’s Unbuckled featuring The Hard Tomorrows, and Olivia Mancini & the Housemates, and DJ Leafblower. Tickets are only $6, and frankly, that’s way cheaper than going to a first run movie, and likely a helluva lot more entertaining. Get thee to DC9, which is at 1940 9th St., NW. Go.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Montgomery County is now suing the FDA to allow its residents to reimport drugs from Canada, cheaply. See, back in Ought Four, the County Council passed a resolution requesting that the county implement such a program, but after the FDA put the kibosh on doing it legally, Doug Duncan caved under the pressure of having to spent time in Federal PMITA Prison if he wanted it to really work. Now, he’s suing to make it legal. Good luck with that one, Doug. Of course, by the time the suit’s through, you’ll either be Governor of Maryland (hey, don’t laugh, it could happen) or he’ll be retired. Anyhow, nice work Doug.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It seems to be graffiti day here at Metblogs so who am I to resist? I found the website Pretty City some time ago and hadn’t gotten around to bringing it to your attention before now, but I look forward to a firestorm of disagreement about it. Pretty City would probably fall into the pro-Borf camp in the Point/Counterpoint story that WFY has linked. Their site name is subtitled “Street art in and around the nation’s capital” and their stated mission includes a desire “to foster more understanding/appreciation of these art forms.”

I’m of two minds on the matter and they’re pretty firmly opposed to each other. My inner cranky old man feels strongly that you’ve got no right to fuck up other people’s property and it’s hard for me as a person who believes in law and order to go against his position. My inner artist thinks that a diverse and styled environment is a much more pleasant one to live in. I live out in suburbia and sometimes it’s so dull and stripmall-y that I could scream. Looking at the picture above it’s hard to think the scribble and tacked-on stencil do anything but improve the look of the perfectly legal yet scruffy and unappealing door and peeling paint.

If you’re not too much in touch with your inner cranky old man and can resist the urge to scream “get off my lawn, you miscreants” for a few minutes then I strongly encourage you to look through their collection of posts & photos. They’re a great slice of city life and some, like the one linked above, are beautiful shots.

Edited to add: Mark Jenkins of Pretty City has kindly agreed to let us mirror the above picture here at MetBlogs and says “The photo you’re linking to shows work by artist Charles Steelman.” Thanks Mark!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So you tired of your job? Thinking you want a change. Better yet, a change that will make you good money? Well look no farther than the Official World MBA Tour!

The Tour provides an outstanding opportunity for wage slaves candidates to dream about research business schools and make informed education and career choices, whilst offering the business schools an ideal chance to meet a highly targeted audience of the world’s best young professionals.

The Tour will be invading the Metro Center Marriot tomorrow, and if you register now, you can save on the entry fee.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So, I know this cartoon stuff has gotten just bizarre, and that rioting and violence seem to be all the rage among the extremist population, but what about supporting Denmark? Slate Columnist Christopher Hitchens is putting together a Denmark Support Event at the embassy on Mass Ave this Friday at noon. If you have the inclination, check it out:

Please be outside the Embassy of Denmark, 3200 Whitehaven Street (off Massachusetts Avenue) between noon and 1 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 24. Quietness and calm are the necessities, plus cheerful conversation. Danish flags are good, or posters reading “Stand By Denmark” and any variation on this theme (such as “Buy Carlsberg/ Havarti/ Lego”) The response has been astonishing and I know that the Danes are appreciative. But they are an embassy and thus do not of course endorse or comment on any demonstration. Let us hope, however, to set a precedent for other cities and countries. Please pass on this message to friends and colleagues.

Because, well, if we’re not going to stand with them for speaking their mind, who is?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You know how this one goes, I assure you. Get in cab, tell the cabbie where you’re going, say a little prayer, and hope to God he’s not on his phone. Now Marc Fisher says that in Montgomery County, Barwood Cab is banning cellphone use by their cabbies during rides. Ayyyyy-men. I wish, wish, wish this was the case all over the area, but even though it’s illegal to talk on a handset, I see cabbies doing it constantly.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Like many a long-term DC resident, I have obnoxious seasonal allergies. I try hard not to whine all the time about it, but occasionally I succumb to some self-pity, like today when I went for a spot of lunchtime shopping to escape Dreary Day Syndrome.

Once upon a time, cosmetics salespeople sprayed you without warning as you wandered the aisles, momentarily blinded. You ended up leaving the department store smelling like the Botanical Gardens on Speed, and sneezing your head off as well. Then came Perfume Correctness, where they only delicately waved the little scent slips at you. Ah, what a genteel time, but apparently that epoch has ended….

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

Ask, and ye shall receive! Nationals Journal is back in action. Sadly, Barry Svrluga isn’t down in Viera yet, he’s in Turin, the lucky bastard, so daily reports from Panera Bread are highly unlikely. Matt Lee, though, is doing a bangup job. No word if he’ll become a Panera addict, too.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sometimes, just sometimes, moments in national politics are too good to ignore. Scott McClellan and David Gregory have had a spat this week, and of course, it’s definitely someone’s job to spoof it all in a way that only popular culture would do: turn it into an Oscar contending movie about gay cowboys in Wyoming.

SCOTT: Calm down, Dave, calm down!

DAVID (screaming): I’LL CALM DOWN WHEN I FEEL LIKE CALMING DOWN!

(DAVID swipes at the air with the bottle, clumsily. Alcohol sloshes over into the air, onto his hand. It shocks him from the moment. They stare at each other.

SCOTT crosses to him slowly, gently takes his hand. Tenderly, he dries it with his sleeve, holding DAVID’s eyes. DAVID is still, holding his breath. SCOTT takes the bottle, gently. DAVID’s hand drops. Their eyes remain held.)

Read the Rest. Rumor has it Rachel S., formerly of mediabistro is the auteur. If so, I owe her a drink, and she owes me the coffee I just sprayed across my monitor.

[Update] Thanks much to DCeiver who pointed out that Rachel has a blog. Read. Subscribe.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, this one’s just so bizarre it hurts. The Nationals’ name may be a trademark violation. See, Bygone Sports claims the Nationals name is theirs. MLB says, “um, dude, we talked about this. We had a deal.” Bygone Sports says, “We never settled on final terms. You told me we could talk about ponies.”

The Nationals then shook their head, and took them straight to court. The final verdict is due on 3 April, which just happens to be opening day.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Awesome shirt

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Tonight, Tiffany and I, and our friends Lisa and Ian, headed for the Four Courts to have a little Pub Quiz action. Usually, we finished in the top ten, so it’s a good time, and who can beat a half price burger before 7pm? No one. That’s who.

So, we thought there were going to be seven of us tonight, we grabbed two of the smaller tables and held down the fort. Jackie and her friend bailed, Ori and Dan never showed, just leaving four of us, and two pads of pub quiz. Right then. Two teams it was.

The guy next to us, though, took the cake as he whined about movies shot well before his birth (and, admittedly, my own birth), in his fancy Busted Tee and hipster self-loathing. Of course, he was no match for the power of Dewey Cheatham & Howe (third place tonight) or Chronic (What?!) cles of Narnia (first place).

Tonight, I salute you, Mr. wearer of the terribly ironic t-shirt given your pub quiz score. Your worthy.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sure, it’s Presidents’ Day, but that didn’t stop the DC-Based Council of Foundations from meeting about all the hullaballoo surrounding the Getty Trust, which is accused of some serious malfeasance in land deals and a few other matters. In the art world, this is the equivalent of near death. Should the Council of Foundations find the Getty Trust in violation of their by-laws, they could kick Getty to the curb, which would be a major loss of revenue and connections for the Trust, not to mention the black eye it would give the Trust.

Yikes. Guess you shouldn’t have bought that moldy house for your new executive director, or given your head a monstrously lavish salary, or excavated looted artwork in Italy. Next time, think twice on those calls…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

February is the month of Aquarii and Pisceans, of eccentrics and artists, madness and frivolity. So why not celebrate with some of the best February babies out there and let your inner demons roar?

This Wednesday, February 22 the divine DJ Medusa and the ultra-fashionable DJ Strange are having an all-Depeche Mode night at the atmospheric Blue Room, and we at DCMB invite all you February babies to join us in toasting our birthdays. Not just the lovely Medusa (pictured, please wish her a happy b’day, gifts of cloves accepted!), but Wayan and myself had birthdays this month, and I’m sure there are plenty more of you out there. I know I’m not content with just having one day – it has to be an entire month of birthday! So come on down to Adams Morgan for a mid-week lounge – what better way to celebrate the moody brilliance of February than with Depeche Mode?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Every once in a while someone in this town will say something so monumentally stupid that it takes a few days of staring at it to make any sense of it whatsoever, and Richard Cohen’s column last Thursday is one of them. In his column he asserts that no one really ever needs Algebra, it’s just something we force on kids to “make them smarter,” only Cohen says:

You will never need to know algebra. I have never once used it and never once even rued that I could not use it. You will never need to know — never mind want to know — how many boys it will take to mow a lawn if one of them quits halfway and two more show up later — or something like that. Most of math can now be done by a computer or a calculator. On the other hand, no computer can write a column or even a thank-you note — or reason even a little bit. If, say, the school asked you for another year of English or, God forbid, history, so that you actually had to know something about your world, I would be on its side. But algebra? Please.

Oh. My. God.

Please tell me you’re kidding? Seriously? More below the cut.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

Hey everyone, welcome to the brand spanking new Metroblogging DC. As you can tell, things are fairly different around here. Thanks to hard work from Jason Defillippo and Sean Bonner, we have this beautiful new look. Over the next few hours, we’re rolling it out to all 42 cities in the Metroblogging network. You can see that at the foot of each entry is a new set of little widgets, each of which have a cool purpose. Some you’re familiar with (IM, Email, Comments), and some of them are new (Technorati Cosmos, Tags, Categories, and a new Options menu.) but it’s still the same great Metroblog.

Be sure to check out the very swanky options list, especially if you’re fond of services like del.icio.us or Digg or many of the other great link aggregation services.

Comments? Thoughts? Complaints? Something not working like you think it should? Drop us a comment and let us know.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Man. Imagine calling 911 when your house is on fire, and having two brigades show up to put out the fire, only to get involved in a serious brawl, causing first and second degree burns. There just aren’t words for things like this. Nothing like a good fireman’s brawl…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I work for one of those crazy businesses in DC that doesn’t follow the Federal Government holiday schedule, so I will be slaving away downtown. However, if you’re free tomorrow, there’s a parade in Alexandria, and also a celebration at Mount Vernon complete with…hoecakes?

Hoecakes?

What’s a hoecake? Well, it’s a cornmeal cake that’s baked or fried on a griddle. Apparently the first Dubya liked his with butter and honey. Chow down!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs