you should be here now

Its patio party time right now in DC. Where are you? Outside and drunk?

You should be!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Kanko

If you’re planning on coming out to peep at the blossoms this weekend you might want to make it Saturday rather than Sunday. As early as 7am on Sunday there’s going to be a good amount of street closing and parking prohibited in preperation for the Cherry Blossom 10 mile run. Among the closings and restrictions will be Independence Avenue, Rock Creek Parkway, Ohio Drive and Memorial Bridge. The route map for the run can be found here, but you can be sure an area around that will also be highly congested if not closed off. You can try to get before the closings for spaces at Hanes Point or the like, but volunteers will be arriving as early as 6am. (they have a 6 am too?)

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

No, really, seriously, it’s a great day to be an Oriole.

Anna Benson caught her husband Kris cheating on her. That’s the reason for the divorce.

Oh, damn I wish I was a ballboy in Baltimore…

What’s bad for Kris Benson could be good for new teammates Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora and the rest of the O’s. Anna Benson once vowed to sleep with every one of her husband’s teammates if she caught him in the sack with another woman. “I told him, ‘Cheat on me all you want.’ If you get caught, I’m going to [have sex with] everybody on your entire team,” she told Howard Stern on his radio show in 2004. “Everyone would get a turn.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Cynthia McKinney may be in an awful lot of trouble for striking that police officer early in the week. See, the Capitol Police are putting out a warrant for her arrest now. She could be facing a felony count for assaulting an officer. All because Rep. McKinney left her pin at home. McKinney has said she regrets the incident but I’m pretty sure she hasn’t apologized, because the original incident according to Lloyd Grove was:

Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s “original” statement about her run-in with a Capitol Hill officer said, “It is… a shame that while I conduct the country’s business, I have to stop and call the police to tell them that I’ve changed my hairstyle so that I’m not harassed at work.”

And those guys at Wonkette have figured out that she cannot be arrested while Congress is sitting…

Oh the crazy controversies…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

patio party day

It is Friday. It is a beautiful spring day. It is patio party time!

Make your plans now, experience says places with patios will be packed by 5:01pm. Us here at Metroblogging DC are headed to the 17th Street strip. There, patio bars are aplenty.

I should know, I have patio party time there often.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of -bartimaeus-

C’mon Gurus, you’re my go-to source for so many things, where’s your annual outdoor bar listings? We’ve known for days that the weather was going to be wicked awesome and you give me… sports bars? Yeah yeah, I’m happy about GMU too, but that’s tomorrow’s beer! Am I going to have to rely on the lame list on the AOL city guide? The Reef? Carpool? Cantina Marina would beat either of those, and that’s just off the top of my head.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo from the 2005 debut

Then you had better practice your moves today, because auditions to be a Redskins cheerleader start tomorrow. The requirements are deceptively simple for what’s gotta be a hard (if not the most mentally stimulating) job – be 18, in good health (ahem), have your own transportation, a high school diploma or GED and be either in school full-time, employed at least part-time, or “have a family.”

Don’t count on the gig to pay for those implants, though – the $75 per game they pay doesn’t stretch far. It’s probably not a good way to get close to that player you’ve had the hots for either. Officially at least, fraternization is forbidden and violating that rule will get you canned.

As far as the rest of us, April 8th is the day to pencil into your day planner. That’s the final day of auditions, which are open to the public and at the Tyson’s Corner Center. Don’t forget your bib.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Back when the Orioles traded for Anna, er, Kris Benson in January, I predicted either a complete nutjob, or the happiest Orioles clubhouse ever. Well, turns out the whole thing’s a wash, as Anna Benson filed for divorce. However, this does mean that all of Baltimore now actually has a pretty solid chance with Anna, especially if you’re a ballboy.

Wait, you haven’t seen Anna yet? Pity.

The O’s are in town tonight at RFK, and tickets are still available if you’re interested.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You, Me, EKG

Today I went for my annual physical, and as you can see, even got an EKG. While discussing my adventuress with alcohol and wounds from dancing with toro El Tamarindo my doctor, Dr. Bruce S Rashbaum, said I have a heart murmur. I was stressing about it until he told me to chill and said I am HIV-free.

Discussing my joy to be virus clean, Dr. Rashbaum took an odd tangent. He said that HIV today is not like it was 10 years ago. Now it’s more a chronic disease than a killer, diabetes not a death sentence. Wait, check that.

He said that if he had to pick between the two, HIV would be easier to manage and live with than diabetes. That somehow a blood sugar deficiency is worse than an immune deficiency.

Now that is a novel statement, what with all the sex = death hype that HIV gets in this town. Might Dr. Rashbaum be on to something here, or should I be worried about that murmur more than he let on?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

candid cvs camera

The next time you enter the CVS at 15th and K streets, be sure to smile as your on camera.

While cameras in stores is not new, and cameras in stores connected to TV is 1980s, cameras in stores connected to 20 inch flat panels is very 2006.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I spend a good amount of time at my darling girlfriend’s home in the Pentagon City area and we’re always on the lookout for good places to eat that would be a pleasant walking distance. We both like to walk and are employed in situations where the car-free DC movement isn’t doable for us.

So we were pleased when the 23rd street assortment expanded by one. Cantina Mexican looked like it could be anywhere between heaven and hell, so we dawdled a bit on going there. The call of the margarita was too much to resist one day in February, so off we went. We’re glad we did.

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

sidewalk mopeds

This is the scene outside of 901 15th street right now and I am not sure how I feel about mopeds on the sidewalk.

On the one hand I am so anti-car that I celebrate any transportation alternative, especially one so walker friendly.

On the other hand thanks for taking up bike rack space with your pollution producers.

Which hand do you count?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

What do you call a nightmare that happens during the day? Daymares? I really got nothing here, other than it could best be described as trying to get a parking space anywhere near the Mall right now. I had a good business lunch in Clarendon and figured I’d celebrate by going to see the cherries after that. I drove. Critical error in judgment, for sure, with all the transit options, but I figured it would be the best way to keep my mobility after I was done.

Yeah, not so much. 14th Street was jammed up, Constitution was jammed up. Independence was a lurking horror. Parking was nowhere to be found and there’s no way I was going to pay a garage to hold my car for just a quick hour or two of flower gazing. I settled for just driving around the tidal basin and enjoying the sights, before swerving back across the river. Looks like it’ll have to wait until the weekend.

Is there super secret rockstar parking down by the Mall I just don’t know about? Or a cheap garage? Or should I just stick to the transit system?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

clean now

I have to hand it to DC’s Graffiti Patrol. Two days after I called in about Verizon’s sidewalk graffiti, they power washed it away.

And yes, I know the graffiti is chalk not paint, and it will wear off in time, but why should we stand by and allow Verizon to get its “visual imprints” with this vandalism?

I ask you, dear Metblog reader, to join me in calling in every Verizon graffiti to the DC Graffiti Patrol, and erase this visual pollution from our sidewalks.

If I had a Verizon account, I’d cancel it based on this alone. Luckily, I already know that Verizon sucks and wouldn’t use them if you paid me.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ever since 9/11 there’s been a huge amount of concern about the readiness of the DC area in case of another attack. With disparate and disjointed emergency response systems across eight counties and the District, you’d think that we’d have enough people to make sure that there was a plan.

You’d Be Wrong.

There is no plan. Six months ago, there was supposed to be a plan, developed by Homeland Security. There’s still no plan. Of course, why it would take them nearly 4 years to put together a plan after the attack, I’m not entirely sure, but I’d imagine that we might have had a plan even in 2 years.

Sadly. No plan.

There are some response plans, sure, but no overarching strategic plan that’s part of that process. Congress was pretty well pissy. I’d have the same response.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Last night, I took it upon myself to check out the new watering hole on Georgia Avenue at Petworth that folks are talking about: Temperance Hall.

With a swank old-school decor (velvet wallpaper!) and a damn fine drink selection (good beers and rye), the atmosphere was first rate. The service however, was slower than molasses. Luckily Manager Dan here had the great idea to jump out and help the newbie & slammed server get back to speed.

While we waited for our drinks, a pool challenge was thrown down. I was game till cash came out. It seems there’s a hustler or two at the lone pool table in the back and I’m way too Scratch Fats to compete for a Jackson.

Darpino will be pleased to note that the music selection was first rate and eclectic. Not sure if it was jukebox or owner selected, but a good night is when I sing Prince’s Little Red Corvette on my walk home.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I couldn’t make this kind of stuff up. Apparently Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) circumvented security at her office building, as people who are elected to the Congress frequently do, except she wasn’t wearing her insignia as a member of Congress, and as a result the Capitol Police pursued her down the hallway. When the officer caught up to Rep McKinney, McKinney assaulted the officer, punching him in the chest. No word on whether charges will be filed, but I’d bet this will be the tempest in the teapot for the day. Just look, Wonkette’s all over it like white on rice.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Is Metroblogging DC’s RSS feed not enough for you? Well, then, welcome the new All Cities Feed which will give you all of Metroblogging in one easy to read RSS feed for your syndication pleasure. With 44 cities circling the globe, you can pick up a lot on the world in just one place. Give it a go.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

We’re getting reports that MPD officers are giving out jaywalking tickets downtown today so please be careful while you’re out and about elsewhere in the city, as DC is clearly wasting its resources downtown, which means that you may find yourself mugged while a cop is giving out a ticket for walking improperly.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

cherry blossom alert

I do not know about the Mall, but it is peak cherry blossom time in Mt. Pleasant. Trees like this one are a riot of color in my hood. Better yet, I am wearing a T-shirt sans coat this morning.

Whoo hoo! Spring is here!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs