Well, that’s what the American Society of Engineers said to Metro. A tunnel to Dulles may add a quarter billion dollars to the cost, but take up significantly less above-ground real estate. The 4-mile tunnel would take something like $4 Billion to make, and likely wouldn’t be completed in any of our readers’ lifetimes, but it would extend the Orange Line out to Dulles Airport by way of Tysons’ Corner. The whole run out to Dulles is roughly 23 miles and would parallel the Dulles Toll Road for the run to the Airport.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A while back, Wayan saw a fun ad for a local political campaign that showed up in our adfeed. Today I provide you with this ad straight from the league of whackjob spellers:

Varginia? Varginia?! For Real?!

Wow. This is silly. Spellcheck, people!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

For those of you who missed dj lil’e’s Right Round Mash-UP! at the Black Cat on Friday night, you can download many of her fantastic mashups here. Might I particularly recommend “Domo Arigato, Mr. Brightside.” It’s a personal favorite.

The party was awesome- people danced straight through until 2:15 AM- and a little birdie tells me that she’s planning a sequel…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In a stunning surprise, on a Heat Advisory day, the 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic stands are empty, as you can see here from a 4:30pm photo emailed to me by one of my supermodels.

Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks, CA is battling it out with South African Wesley Moodie in oppressive heat. You can follow along in the comfort of your air conditioned home on the ATP website.

Currently its Querry giving Moodie a good schooling.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, we’re down to the last few minutes of the MLB Trade Deadline, awaiting word of Soriano’s fate with the Nationals. Watch this space for an update.

Well, the deadline has come and gone, and no word of a trade involving Soriano. Looks like Jimmy Bowden couldn’t do it…

Update, 4:30 ESPN is saying they’ve received word from the Nationals that they will NOT be trading Alfonso Soriano. Please allow me to be one of the first to say “Wow, That’s Really Fucking Stupid.” Instead of trading for a bunch of prospects to rebuild the Nationals decimated farm-system, the Nats have opted to keep Soriano for 2 months. Instead of getting the rights to some young player for six years, Bowden has opted to keep Soriano as the ship is sinking.

Way to go, guys, that’s really fucking dumb.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today’s the last day of July, the last day of civilization in DC for a month. August’s hot, muggy, hazy, uncomfortable nastiness is upon us again. Congress is out of session, gone until the weather improves, or so the tradition says. Gone just in time for the Heat Wave of the Decade according to Capital Weather. My dashboard weather widget refuses to even put temperatures up for tomorrow and wednesday, instead just leaving the word “shitty” in anti-aliased serif text.

All the Pols have left. All the vacations happen now. The Hill is blissful quiet. Downtown even slows as the K St Lobby and Law firms empty their doors of everyone but the summer interns, all heading out of the district. But yet, we stay.

The dog days of summer are here.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Are you annoyed that annoying tourists others continue to stand in the Metrorail car doors during rush hour? Do you want them to know the door hogs are a public egress hazard?

How about this idea from Life Outta Context? To quote ’em:

Borrowing from New York’s plan to reduce intersection gridlock, the Metro should institute a “Don’t Block the Box” campaign.

Mark off subway car exits in bright and bold yellow. Give the announcer a new script that includes the admonishment DON’T BLOCK THE BOX said in her best uncompromising tone (more like your middle school vice principal).

Amen, brother. Play on drummer!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Yes, I warned you it was boot time in Columbia Heights, but you ignored me. You didn’t pay your two or more 30-day-old, unpaid parking tickets and you continued to park in the wrong zone too long.

Now you get what you deserve, das boot. Bright orange and solid steel, it will clasp your tire in a death grip until you follow the DMV boot rules:

• pay your outstanding tickets,
• another $50 for the boot/de-booting,
• and wait two hours post-payment to be de-booted.

Will that teach you, will you learn, will you finally accept that Columbia Heights doesn’t mess around with the boot?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, my Spanish may not be great but it’s good enough to get the joke in L.A. Story when they go on vacation at “Pollo de Mar,” Chicken of the Sea. So when we drove past “Crazy Chicken,” a seafood restaurant, I had to wonder. Irony? A transition in business direction? Or is the chicken there just that bad that they started just telling people it’s actually fish…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There comes a time in kitchen renovation when you just can’t take it anymore. The “temp kitchen” arrangement of juggling patchwork meals made with toaster oven, microwave, and the necessary yet horrifying “slop bucket” – yes, it’s 1890 again in your 1890’s house! That’s when the Delivery Drawer comes in handy.

(Of course, when you don’t have any cabinets or drawers, it’s really more of a Stack than a Drawer, but you get the drift.)

I think everyone must have a pile of take-out/delivery menus, and not just for renovating woes. In a busy city of busy people we all need to rely on the land of delivery food once in a while. Hell, I’ve known several people for whom “once in a while” somehow became “every night,” and they don’t have my excuse! So here’s a run-down of the top favorites in my Delivery Drawer (ah, Stack. Pile. Whatever!).

1) Yum’s, 14th & Wallach. Though various Chinese menus get stuck in my door in an attempt to wean us of the old reliable, nothing beats the fast/cheap/courteous Yum’s for Sunday dinner dumplings before Deadwood.

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

When you’re at a BBQ and a mean burro pinata is presented, what do you do?

Are you like WFY here and attempt to use the power of the Force to down paper mache? Or do you be like me and duel a burro with classic fencing moves including a vertical sword twirl? Maybe you go with Don and believe in overwhelming firepower and start swinging a tree stump.

The best part of the videos taken by Sweet over at Sour n’ Sweet? The visual proof of our utter inability (including Sweet) to do any pinata damage. That was left to the next generation of pinata bashers.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is the end result of a pinata orgy at the DC Metblogs BBQ.

Little kids pummeling a helpless burro to paper shards, no remorse, all kill lust.

Candy? They forgot about that when the pinata hit the ground. Mercy? Not for the helpless and paper mache.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is the good life: the DC Metblog BBQ and I am recruiting new supermodels.

What might you be doing instead? Mowing the lawn? Practing a xylophone?

Stop and join us at Fletchers Boat House.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

That you Clarence?

While I decry the outrageous prices at RFK Stadium ($6.50 for a Miller Lite!) the August 2006 issue of Washingtonian Magazine does illuminate the life of a RFK vendor.

In their One Mistake and You’ll Be Selling Soft Pretzels for $5 missive we learn that the 40,000 hot dogs sold annually at RFK are distributed by vendors who fight over who sells what under a strick pecking order determined by who sold the most from the last home stand.

The hawkers also work on commission, between 12 and 15 percent of the units (not the full value) of what they sell and the 60 hawkers make about $150 at each game.

In light of the $6.50 Miller Lite’s, I’m not surprised by this choice quote

“If it’s real hot out, I’m definitely selling water,” [Clarence Rucker] says. “But with hot dogs you can’t go wrong. Everyone comes to the baseball park to get a hot dog.”

Now just how much are those hot dogs? And are they really worth it?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, it’s that day, finally! Today is our 2nd Birthday Party out at Fletchers Boat House in Northwest. We’re bringing the fire and the food, you’re bringing the fun and good times. We’ll be kicking off around 1 but going well into the afternoon.

We hope to see you there! If you find yourself lost, or can’t find us in the park, drop me a call at 571.243.3135.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of
Tom Davis’ website

Maybe I just have “corruption fatigue” or something, but when I read this article on Virginia Representative Tom Davis’ apparent efforts to give people all the government they can afford I think “yeah?” I’m so jaded about this kind of thing now that when I read the line “But the congressman said that Upson did not have “unique access” to his office” I mentally fill in “this is an amount of access available to anyone out there with cash!”

To be marginally less cynical, I do almost wonder why the Post devoted so many inches to this story. Time has written about the ‘revolving door’ here in Washington with regards to lobbyists and the access that friends and former co-workers get in government. SourceWatch has a big list of those kind of industry-to-government and vice versa situations, and while they’re focused on people and jobs in the last decade, I think you’d be hard-pressed not to find the same thing going back much farther. From friends and co-workers to spouse is a short jump, though one that a person more concerned about appearance of objectivity probably shouldn’t be making…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Do you see this gill o’ treats and feel your stomach grumble? Wanna be @ a BBQ right now, with juice dribbling down your chin?

You’ll have to wait just 24 more hours for the foodie event of the summer, DC Metroblogging’s Second Anniversary BBQ Bash tomorrow at the cool, riverside Fletchers Boat house.

There, Tom will be grilling up a storm, while we all watch, drink, and provide never-ending commentary till he tosses one of us in the river.

If you think that’s gonna be me, don’t worry. I’ll have already gone for a swim or two by then.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The incomparable dj lil’e will be spinning her Right Round dance party tonight on the Black Cat’s main stage… with a twist.

This month’s theme is Mash-ups, and I know that e has been laboring for months to bring you the booty-shakingest mashes for your listening enjoyment. She’s been slaving away, listening to countless generic-rap-track-over-famous-guitar-riff mashes to find the best, the most creative, and the most danceable. She has also created several of her own special blends for our entertainment.

So come! It’s only $9 and it starts late so you can finish out your Friday night with some dancing to work off that Jumbo slice you’ll have eaten by then. Look for me- I’ll be the short chick who knows all the words and transitions to “my other car is a beatle.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Coming close on the heels of understanding the “scooterist” tag, we now have a new adjective for the stalkers fans of transit systems: “foamers.”

The Examiner reports that these foamers are even causing a little paranoia in transit officals. Luckily WMATA is not NYC’s MTA.

Unlike there, where MTA officials tried to ban photography on the subway, WMATA is downright welcoming of foamers. To quote the Examilner:

Metro officials said dozens of foamers regularly attend public events in hopes of getting a behind-the-scenes look at the system.

A recent walking/riding tour lead by Metro’s Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini drew more than 300 people. Officials said they expected a few dozen.

Oh and in case you are wondering, while I am no scooterist, I might be a closet foamer.

Thanks for the tip Live from the Third Rail!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

An absolutely epic video of Stephen Colbert with Eleanor Holmes Norton. You really, really have to watch this if you live around here.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs