party clearing house porn

If you are at a Pakistani Tea Party and wanna clear the house, just invite your neighbor who remodelled his crappy building into a yuppie dream.

The whole group moaned non-stop with visions of hard granite counter tops, supple round lights, voyeuristic wide open windows, and pure exposed brick lust.

Saturday afternoon house porn at its best.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you missed your crack at the LoC sale earlier this month then here’s another shot at some low-cost reading material for you. Turning the Page has extended their Carpe Librum sale event to benefit DC public schools through the 19th of the month. Personally I think maybe they ought to update their website with this information, however the duct-tape modification on the sign in the window gets the point across well enough…

The location is on 7th, just a block north of Fado and RDF in Chinatown. Not that I discovered this event because I was dragging my booze & food-stuffed self back to darling girlfriend’s car or anything….

900 7th Street, NW
Monday through Friday: 10 am to 7 pm.
Saturday: 11 am to 6 pm.
Sunday: 11 am to 5 pm.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Policeweek.org

It’s Police Week in DC, starting yesterday. Think Fleet Week but without the sissy crisp white uniforms. Among the events happening:

The Candlelight Vigil, 8pm Saturday, at the 400 block of E Street, NW.

The Honor Guard Competition, 8:30am (ack!) Sunday, at John Marshall Plaza (Pennsylvania Ave & 4th Street, NW).

The Emerald Society & Pipe Band March and Service, starts at 6:00pm sharp Sunday from New Jersey Avenue & F Street, NW. No details on the route.

Capping things off will be the 25th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on the West Front of the United States Capitol at Noon Monday.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This morning I was running late (yes, as usual) and was a bit distracted by allergy-head fog when I got to my bus stop. There was a gentleman already sitting at the stop, drinking a soda.

The unspoken etiquette at my neighborhood bus stop is to always greet people with a smile and a “good morning” when you join them in the mutual hell of waiting for the bus. So I did just that, even though he had a look about him that was not quite friendly.

He glared at me, very deliberately turned his back and loudly spat.

Nice. This is an attitude not unknown to me – it usually happens when I walk past the little convenience store on 11th just before U. There’s always a bunch of guys loitering there who love to show their disdain by spitting loudly as you pass by, sometimes with commentary about neighborhood intruders.

As I was tired and groggy my street sense was off, so my reaction to his hostile spitting was unfortunately to giggle. At this he stood up slowly, crumpled his soda can, and tossed it to the ground in front of me, with a backward “what are you going to do about it, bitch?” glance as he sauntered away.

I picked up the can and threw it away with a sigh.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Can I get a hot dog Sunday?

It’s a nice Friday afternoon, and you’ve just had lunch. Now your sweet tooth is kicking in and you’re wondering what’s around McPherson Square. Maybe the new Hershey’s Premium Ice Cream Store might temp your taste buds?

Before you get the wrong impression, Hershey’s Premium Ice Cream is not from that Hershey family. This Hershey family started Hershey Premium Ice Cream in 1894 and is no relation to the Hershey Food Corporation family.

Then the Hershey Premium Ice Cream is tasty, is cold, and it’s good, but at $3.09 for a small cup, not cheap. Me, I think I’ll stick with the Ben & Jerry’s to-go cup sale at Safeway.

Last but not least, if you’re still hungry for real food after lunch, the Hershey Premium Ice Cream store also sells… hot dogs! No word if they serve hot dogs with ice cream and chocolate syrup like a banana split.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While driving up Duke street today to go test-drive a new junker (anyone got a sub-$1500 van they wanna sell?) I passed Landmark Mall, where there’s a big ol’ circus tent set up in the parking lot with a giant banner proclaiming “HOT TUBS!” I thought it might just be my brain rebelling over low coffee intake, but no – the Landmark marquee by the entrance backed them up – Hot Tub sale through Sunday, Location: Parking lot.

Are there a lot of gypsy-like hot tub vendors roaming the world, plying their wares? Are there a lot of potential customers sitting around thinking to themselves, “You know, I could really go for a hot tub, but I’m not comfortable spending a few thousand bucks at a fixed location like a pool store. If only there was a slightly more mobile place I could unload this dough, preferably somewhere with a kind of fly-by-night kind feel.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Here’s a question for the ladies:

If you are out with a 28 year old Georgetown University law student, in his brand new silver 2006 Infiniti G35, and he took you for a record 126 mile per hour spin on the George Washington Memorial Parkway at 4 in the morning, would you be impressed? Would you think him more sexy and virile? Would you want to get frisky in the back seat – right there?

Does it call to ya, Drew?

What about after the U.S. Park Police arrested him and took him a Park Police station? Would he still be cool then? And would you stick around long enough to drive his car to the police station?

While I have no clue if Drew Hoffman’s woman thinks he’s a hottie after he was sentenced to 12 days in jail and a year on probation yesterday, she apparently did be a sport and drive his car to the police station after his Speed Racer stint.

Drew, if she still talks to you, that’s one cool chick. If she doesn’t, mind sending her my way?

She’ll be happy to know I top out at 8 miles an hour on foot or 25 miles per hour on my bicycle, and have no chance at Drew’s GW Parkway record in the back seat of a taxi.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Google has a fresh new plaything for your enjoyment, Google Trends.

Put in two search terms, say “Democrats, Republicans” and you’ll get feedback on which one is more popular. While its fun to match up “Washington DC, New York City” or “DC, MD, VA“, the read eye opener comes when you get specific.

Who do you think is more popular: Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan? What about cross-town rivals Georgetown University, George Washington University, and Howard University?

Why don’t you go check yourself.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, really – this is how you want to promote Metro? By invoking the idea – however accurate – that you’re an unreliable form of transportation? That you’re SO unreliable that people have funny words for it? Unbelievable. Whoever greenlighted this should be shot.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

…Joey Eischen and Mike Stanton.

The Nats have had a really tough season, they’ve got a whole 3 wins at home, and even on the road (where they’re doing better), they can’t seem to catch a break. They won the opening game of the series on the wings of their offense, homering multiple times off the seemingly hapless Reds pitching. They came back against all odds on Wednesday night to tie the game at six against the Reds in the 9th, only to have Mike Stanton give up 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose it.

Tonight, the Nats, er, I’m sorry, Joey Eischen, wasted Zach Day’s amazing 1-run, 7-inning start, when he gave up a 3 run homer in the 11th inning tonight.

So, Mr. Lerner, can we work on getting some relief pitching? Our offense seems to be hitting on all cylinders, it just seems that we can’t pitch our way out of a jam in the late innings.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

An Open Station

While WMATA feels more responsive now that we actually have a Metro rider as the Interim General Manager, and they are rolling out cool new features like a mobile Trip Planner, shops and stores in Metrorail stations, and gasp! performance artists on Metro property, WMATA takes one step back for every two steps forward.

Today’s step back? The WashPost reports that select Metrorail stations will be closed every weekend for the rest of the year for maintenance. It’s not like Metrorail’s weekend maintenance is new, I never take Metrorail on the weekend because of the delays, but closing whole stations?

I guess WMATA is ending the charade that Metrorail is an all-purpose urban transport system. With this, they might as well actualize their covert thinking – that Metrorail is only a Monday-Friday in/out commuter transport system – and operate Metrorail from 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday, closed on weekends and Federal holidays.

Then they’d have plenty of time for their needed maintenance.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

That sound you hear this morning isn’t traffic, or the birds chirping or even today’s impending thunderstorms brewing, but rather the sound of Mark Plotkin rejoicing. This morning, Shadow Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton and Representative Tom Davis (R Vienna) will be announcing a bill on the floor of the house that, if passed, would grant DC a real honest-to-God vote in the United States House of Representatives, and also add another representative from the state of Utah as part of the process.

This would certainly be a step forward in recognizing the unique position of the District as home to 550,000 people, who have no representation in the US Congress, and I heartily endorse the measure, but is this enough? This will take away the argument that DC lacks representation in Congress, and could potentially leave us with just a single vote in the House, wielding precious little power in the face of a body that holds final say over the laws and budget of the District.

Is this a good compromise?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Chateau Kefraya, my Spanish Fly

Last night was half-price wine night at Meze, a Mediterranean restaurant on 18th Street with an open patio and long wine list. By the time I met my friends there, they were several bottles to the wind.

They were just finishing a $32 $16 bottle from Bekka Valley’s Chateau Kefraya, which interestingly enough, I drank myself silly at during my Lebanon escapade last December.

While I did discover that its Beer Pong – not Beirut, never in Lebanon did I hear hotties giving great quotes like these from last night:

“If I’m gonna do a threesome, it will be with another girl, not two guys. Because, you know, a girl will make you happy.”

or

“I would do one with a girl friend, someone I know like you, but the guy would need to be random. Oh waiter..”

Yeah, I would highly recommend taking a few girls to Meze‘s half-price wine night on a beautiful summer evening. Who knows what could happen!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So there is a woman seeking donations for a boob job on DC Craigslist. While Wonkette got all excited, I say she’s out of luck.

First, it’s not original or even all that engaging. Michele of giveboobs.com did it the best and most famously way back in 2002 and now there is a whole Google Directory of websites for it.

All brains – no boobs

Then, according to Wired, copy cats aren’t doing so well in following in her footsteps. Seems we’re bucks for boobs out. Oh, that is unless you count Babes for Boobs. That’s still going strong – $4,680 last month and way more than the 2005 Babes for Boobs sale.

Last but not least, with deep insights like this:

I hope to one day soon be a leading broadcast journalist, but feel that my small chest is holding me back.

or

I know this surgery will increase my chances three-fold on top of my education, experience and talent.

I think she might need more than a C-cup upgrade to beat out Christiane Amanpour.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This is a new one on me – in twenty years of driving I’ve never seen a car with two license plates before. Then again I grew up about nine hours from any border that you’d find cars on the other side of. Is this common?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Tom mentioned the kerfuffle and a comment about Jane Fernandez’s characterization that that the issue revolves around her not being “deaf enough,” a description that the FSSA strongly denounces.

The reality is that we can’t be sure what the prime mover is for all the protesters just because they disavow this explanation. In all probability there’s almost as many motivations as their are actors in this play. If you’re interested in peering into the battle as it’s being waged around the net and drawing your own conclusions, however, there’s a number of places you can check out.

The Gallaudet Faculty Staff Student Alumni website is sparse, but not a bad place to start.

Local deaf resource DeafDC has a blog that has had many posts on the issue. Their contributors range from supporters of the protest to ambivalent to completely disinterested. One of their writers, Adam Stone, fairly elequently explains why he thinks that this protest is doomed to failure and his belief that this protest may be about Fernandes but is the result of much more.

Ridor, otherwise known as Ricky Taylor, is a fairly prolific blogger on the issue and not a subtle voice. He’s been very much in the protester camp and his posts are filled with links to other people’s writings and news.

Lastly I include this link to Protest Comics because I should not be the only person to suffer. All I can say is that if it’s not funny or clever maybe its a protest illustration. Seriously.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today was a sad day. The day that saw the death of my faithful SmarTrip card.

“Who cares?” you may shrug dismissively. Ah, but this was the Special Edition Commemorative Card Celebrating Metro’s Anniversary in Sleek Shiny Silver! I got it in 2001, and it has served me well, raising eyebrows from the metro to the metrobus, as it’s metallic gleam outshone all others.

But today it cracked, breaking the delicate balance of electonic information contained therein and forcing me to get a replacement card, which looks like everyone else’s. Sigh. I suppose I should be happy that something from WMATA actually lasted five years…

However, the real lesson of my nostalgia-soaked entry is this: Register your SmarTrip card. That way when you need to buy a replacement, you won’t lose the money remaining on your old one.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Yesterday, the faculty of Gallaudet University voted no confidence in the University administration’s choice to succeed the presidency of the university. Students are holding daily protests in front of the campus’ administration building in protest of their choice for President, Jane Fernandes. The issue at the heart of this is that Fernandes is not “deaf enough” to lead the University at this time, because she did not learn to use ASL until she was in her 20s.

It appears, though, that the student body is going to attempt to hold the University hostage until such time as the search is reopened, given the statements of students like Anthony Mowl:

“Jane Fernandes must resign as president of Gallaudet University. We will not accept anything less.”

With the faculty unwilling to cross the students, and the students holding the administration’s feet to the fire, despite the fact that Ms. Fernandes was the provost there for six years, one has to wonder how the University will take this sort of reaction from the students, and worse, their own faculty.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, while we’re on a car personalization kick today I’ll share with you this picture I snapped in Crystal City some time ago. Kudos to you, Toyota driver, for taking a car exactly as seriously as it warrants – not at all.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

dc bee suckers

All you signing up for DC Bee, I hate to confirm that the game is rigged. Home now I looked up the word given.

Websters says that “recusancy” starts with “r e c u s” which is where the wanna-be DC Bee ring leaders cut off the Metblog spell champ mid-word.

Cheating like that does not happen at Wonderland Trivia Night.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs