It’s not a real day in Washington unless someone’s evacuated from their office building or workplace because of a suspicious package left somewhere useful. When I worked downtown, it was a box of napkins dropped in the lobby that lead to our presence on the street for over an hour and a half in the middle of winter. Today’s suspicious package comes to us courtesy of the Union Station area, where the crowds were out on the streets near North Capitol, milling about as the package was ultimately revealed to be harmless.

It’s funny, now when I see a building blocked off and evacuated, I make the immediate assumption that nothing’s really wrong, but that someone dropped their box of napkins, or left their fedex box in the elevator by accident, or sent some a box of vibrators and forgot to remove the batteries.

The hyperbole surrounding this city’s proclivity to immediate high defense is wearing thin on me, and each and every evacuation “just to be safe” is proving to be something more and more banal and less likely to be a real terrorist attack and just a minor inconvenience peculiar to DC.

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I walked over to the Capitol tonight to check out what photographable stuff was going on in the area in the way of protest actions. Word was there’d be a big “State of Emergency” thingy, but when I got to the Grant Memorial, this is what I found:

I estimate about 25 people, some with signs, while on the Memorial steps someone in a Bush/Devil costume waved a plastic pitchfork as he (she?) pantomimed to live audio of the SOTU address. More photos here. I also got some pretty Capitol Dome pictures. Aren’t they pretty?

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photo courtesy of Arena Stage

Well, my darling girlfriend and I went to Arena Stage to try to get in to see Noises Off and discovered that they’re sold out though the end of the run. Shoot! I enjoyed the 1992 movie version and was looking forward to seeing the stage version. Guess I wasn’t the only one. Any reviews to share, readers?

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photo courtesy of Whitehouse.gov

“Do you know of any State of the Union Address drinking parties in the DC area?”

That flashed up on my IM yesterday afternoon. I assumed someone else here would posit on the matter, but I guess not.

So, for my cow orker who claims her “friend wants to know” – what’s a good location, if you’re into group viewing, any why? Drinking games? Good prices? Attentive & respectful atmosphere? Attentive & disdainful atmosphere?

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Tonight’s State of the Union Address is likely going to be a real barn burner.

Okay, you can stop laughing at me now. It’s going to be, like every other major political speech, filled with promises that won’t be kept, and outright lies on behalf of the politicians involved. What’s interesting about all of this, okay, not really interesting, but perhaps maybe intriguing, is what Mayor Fenty is up to.

He said as part of his campaign that he wouldn’t accept an invite from the President to view the State of the Union as a personal guest, part of his promise to fight for the rights of the District in Congress. Of course, not wanting to be snubbed, the President didn’t bother to invite Mayor Fenty to the address at all.

But he’s still going, as guest of new Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Interesting. I’m not sure what exactly this whole dance has accomplished, aside from “sending a message” to the President. What exactly is that message? “I want to hear what you have to say, but I won’t let you invite me yourself?”

I’m confused. I do support the Davis Bill to get DC a vote in the House of Representatives, and I furthermore support Steny Hoyer’s pledge to get the President to answer him one way or the other at the Democrat’s summit this weekend, but I’m not sure what this bullshit posturing has done, other than confuse the fuck out of me.

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WGMS isn’t classical anymore. At 3pm today they became George 104, which is candidly described as a steaming pile of shit in musical form. It’s “70’s and 80’s and whatever we feel like.” Think of it as Disco Stu’s iPod on shuffle. Yeah, I know, you just threw up in your mouth. They fired all the on-air personalities this afternoon, and they’ve donated their entire music library to WETA, who will ditch all of their NPR programming in exchange for classical music.

So much for the excellent Intersection program, made entirely of local content (think DCist + Metroblogging DC + Radio = Magically Delicious), which is apparently heading for the refuse pile, along with other local content. If you’re interested in NPR content (which I was rather enjoying) you’re going to be stuck depending on the unreliable, scandal-ridden WAMU.

Thanks a lot, Bonneville, for running off some great local content.

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This is probably the most photographed view of Washington DC, but Jeff Costlow has executed it beautifully. Just head over the your local book store, grab a calendar or photo book, and you’re likely to find it. This shot has it all: great composition, beautiful color, and the Potomac was like glass that day. One might say that the tree branch in the lower right should be cloned out, but it’s really a spectacular shot that just says “DC”.

I read today that Canon might be releasing some new DSLR’s in the next couple of months and yes, I’m dying in anticipation. My dream would be an upgraded 30D that is 12.8 megapixels, has a new image processor, and throw in a built-in sensor cleaner like the Digital Rebel XTi has just for fun. Oh, and charge less than $2K for it please!

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Michael Grass’ Express post about DC tourists not thinking much of our Chinatown starts off with a little link to Livejournaler matheatre’s disappointment at her DC visit last November, owing to the National Museum of American History being closed for renovations till 2008, thus denying her a look at Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

Sadly, she didn’t know about Treasures of American History at the National Air and Space Museum, the backup exhibit filling a spare gallery at NASM. Treasures includes the more popular artifacts from the NMAH collection not currently in storage or out traveling, including, yes, the ruby slippers.

I haven’t been to the exhibit myself, despite my home’s proximity to it, but I really should head down to Air and Space at some point, just to refill my space geek vibe tank.

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A footbridge to help pedestrians get to a Metro stop without having to cross the Capital Beltway or its exit ramps sounds like a great idea, right? Silver Spring surely thought so. That is, until the design of the footbridge put pedestrians under the Beltway, in the dark, out of view and out of earshot, and penned in by fences on both sides. Oh, that’s a GREAT idea.

I can’t decide what’s more alarming, that they built a footbridge that has become a magnet for armed robbers, or that they knew the design had these issues in advance and they built the thing anyway. We’re lucky so far that it has only been muggings (and two of them thwarted at that), but I personally don’t expect it to stay like that for long. Way to go, MoCo.

In the meantime, this seems like a good time as any to review a few basic self-defense tips for walking in dark and isolated areas:
– Turn off your portable music player so you can be more aware of your surroundings.
– Carry whatever type of self-defense implement that is legal and that you are confident in your ability to use.
– Ladies, I know we all hate to be the woman in a skirt and sneakers, but consider that high heels impede your ability to run or stay on your feet if you are attacked. Carry the cute shoes to change into, and wear the practical ones.

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There we were, at about six tonight, leaving Fairlington for Courthouse and some delectable steak. Sadly, VDOT was nowhere to be found. The closest thing we saw to a road crew was a single guy with a bucket of salted sand on 31st. St South, trying to help a stranded Metrobus get up the hill.

395? Disaster area. Average speed was approximately 30mph, with significant snow on the road, no sign of a plow or salt truck, and a lot of people skidding around on the exit and entrance ramps.

Rosslyn? Total write-off. Our friends said there were many stuck cars, including another Metrobus stuck at the Wilson/Lynn St area, causing all manner of delay. Again, no salt trucks to be seen, nary a plow or other vehicle.

It wasn’t until coming home through Ballston we saw our first treated road: Glebe Road had some salt treatment. Most of the other roads still had a fine patina of snow and slipperiness. How is it that VDOT and Arlington missed the entirety of the week’s forecasts calling for 1-2″ of snow on Sunday? Seriously guys, did you think they were kidding?

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It’s a freakin’ winter wonderland out there, including traffic tie-ups and my neighbor’s kids sledding down the hilled street we live on. I wish snow helped people have better judgment. We don’t live on a major thoroughfare but we do get our share of traffic. Kids + ice + cars + dusk = no kids. Come on, folks – let’s all be careful, take our time, don’t let the kids play in traffic any more than normal and try not to run over any kids whose idiot parents let them play in traffic. It’s just common courtesy and good common sense.

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When my cousin Mike told me about Eamonn’s Dublin Chipper, he did so in the same tone of voice that he uses to vehemently recommend his favorite beer or a great place to catch a pint. Something told me that he was absolutely right about the place, so my friend Jeff and I caught lunch there on Friday. How can I not love a place whose slogan is “Thanks Be To Cod”?

Wow.

Please allow me to repeat that, because it bears repeating: Wow. It was very definitely the best fish & chips I’ve had on this side of the Atlantic, and quite possibly the best fish & chips, period. It’s a tiny little place, so be prepared to do the take-away thing as there are maybe 20 seats in the whole place. The ambience, though, is one of reverence for the product. These are folks who take seriously their craft of making good fish and chips. You can order by the piece, and the fries are not to be missed.

Best of all? It’s open late on the weeknights and weekends, so feel free to go out for a night on the town and then hit it up at midnight when you’re feeling the need for something to offset all the beer. Oh, and the best part? They have deepfried Snickers bars. Thanks be to Eamonn’s!

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I can count on one hand — and with only two fingers on that hand — the number of times I’ve seen snow downtown this winter, and on no hands how many inches we’ve gotten out of those flakes. Well, that may be about to change, with CapitalWeather’s crystal ball showing a 70% chance of accumulating snow starting tomorrow afternoon into Monday morning. Sure, it might be just an inch, but still: snow! I’ve long held that winter cold is just not worth it if you don’t get at least an inch to make the city look pretty at least once through the season.

This may also mean bread and milk panic shortages, a 70% chance of snowball fights, and a slightly hellish Monday morning commute, especially if the snow turns to frozen rain and tops off the snow layer with a nice sheen of smooth ice. At least you’re not these poor drivers in Portland.

Weather-obsessives like myself can watch the snow approach on the NWS Northeast radar loop.

Update from CapitalWeather: Season’s First Snow to Strike with Light Accumulations. Remember, a 70% chance of snow still means a 30% chance of fizzle, which we’ve seen happen before.

Super Mega Snow Update: OMG SNOW.

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I just watched last night’s Best Week Ever on VH1. Jeffrey Calrson as Zarf’s previously online-only callout has now made it to national tv. Nice!

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You may have heard it yesterday but it’s in all the print media today: Almost a year overdue, Art Buchwald has finally succumbed to his cancer kidney failure. He may not have been the only person ever booted out of a hospice for failure to die in a timely fashion but he’s certainly the first one I ever heard of it happening to. Okay, they didn’t ask him to leave but I think that’s the kind of hyperbole he’d be okay with. After all, he said “Since I hadn’t had any practice dying, I had to learn the hard way.”

I wasn’t a huge fan of his columns but I appreciated his wit and self-deprication. His NYT obit is filled with little gems, like his reaction to having one of his columns called “Unadulterated rot” by Eisenhower press secretary James C. Hagerty: He said that he had “been known to write adulterated rot” but never “unadulterated rot.” Wayan would probably appreciate his comments about bicycling. “Americans are broad-minded people. They’ll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn’t drive, there is something wrong with him.”

As far as why I feel compelled to add my voice to the thousands talking about his passing, it’s not because he was a real Washingtonian: someone who wasn’t born here, but came and found it difficult to leave. Art Buchwald really came onto my radar for the simple reason that he talked openly and calmly about death, without prevarication. I think he’d be tickled to know that there was at least one person who he had to get a terminal disease to attract as a fan.

Death eventually comes to us all, at least so far, but we are mostly reluctant to talk about it or face it. It’s as sure as sundown, but without the certainty of that sunrise coming afterwards we’re not as willing to accept it. When a Buchwald or a Tim Leary or a Warren Zevon comes along and speaks plainly about the unknown I think they enrich us all. Buchwald took an hour out to talk to Diane Rehm on WAMU almost a year ago when he decided to enter hospice care, another hour from the hospice when he was about 3 months overdue on his projected three weeks to live and most recently in November after he’d finished another book. I heard the November show and I’ll go back and give the other two a listen. He’s not someone who will drive you to side-splitting laughter but I don’t think I’ve ever read his column without cracking at least one smile. Thanks, Art, for bringing some smiles to us while heading for the undiscovered country – it makes me a little calmer about my eventual departure as well, and reminds us all that we’ve got no control over that eventual destination but we can choose the route we take along the way.

Avedon Carol said it well: So thanks, Art – for that, and for refusing to go glumly into that good night.

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…a beautiful “postcard” shot of the Capitol! Andertho has done it again here with this early morning shot of the hornet’s nest. I’m guessing that since this photo was taken on January 1st, he was either walking home from a raging party, or was able to get up early due to an uneventful New Year’s Eve.

Overall I think this is a great photo, my only critiques being that it seems slightly off center and slightly overexposed (parts of the dome are pure white). Most digital cameras have a feature that will show you the overexposed areas of your shot by making them blink on your LCD after you’ve taken the shot – a great feature that you won’t get with film!

On a side note, I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a Canon 5D, which is arguable one of the top three best digital SLR’s made by Canon. Pricey, yes, but full of professional features (12.8 megapixels, full frame sensor, and a more rugged build than most other cameras). If money grew on trees I would already be the owner of the Canon 1Ds Mark II, but alas, it doesn’t.

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The weekend is almost upon us, rearing its happy head. Already friends are congregating online, busy whipping up plans – “Where to go, what to do?” Well, let me inspire you with the tale of last weekend’s return to the Atlas District.

Fast becoming my favorite nightlife destination, I first wrote about the burgeoning H Street NE cluster last summer. It continues to evolve, but one of the main things I’m noticing is the crowd – multigenerational, lowkey – I’m purposefully not calling it a “scene,” because so far it’s managed to maintain a blissfully unpretentious edge. I’m doubtful that will change anytime soon. My theory is that it exists because you have to really plan a night out in the Atlas District. It isn’t particularly close to anything else, so transportation has to be worked out in advance, preferably with a DD as end-of-night cabs can be a real bother to get. Because of this, the people who are going really want to go there and have a commitment to having fun and hanging out, as opposed to a “see-and-be-seen” attitude. Not to mention the grit, which thankfully frightens away any frat/bachelorette element.

Take last Saturday, for example. Friends of mine dj’d an all-Bowie night at the Rock & Roll Hotel. I wasn’t sure what to expect, frankly. Would people really get into dancing to the Thin White Duke all night long? Or would it be a night of crazily costumed glamsters posing along the walls?

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A Worthy Call: Ben’s

In thinking about Logan Circle or U Street, would you ever say “New life comes to once-gritty capital streets?

If not, don’t be too shocked, as I never thought that either. I see both areas as “challenged” or maybe “transitional” but never “once gritty”. Georgetown was “once gritty”, but Logan and U? Not so swank as to have the polite “once gritty” as a past tense suggesting they are clean and safe.

Now, that’s not to say I find either as dangerous places that I fear not tread. On the contrary, I spend much time in both and send my Mom on errands in either without question. But the CNN crowd might have a different anxiety level than you or I.

Why? Their recommendation of Busboys and Poets, the ultimate in Yuppie/Buppie over-sincerity. Yes, its a nice place, and the food is good, but don’t you find the populace to be a mite too earnest to be real?

Or even better, CNN’s recommendation of Viridian, that they so helpfully note has “dinner for two $64”. Whoa! At that price, I should be in Georgetown with general social-climber attitude that gives nosebleeds at 50 meters, not urban U Street.

No matter, I am sure that CNN meant well, and they might just attract a tourist or two with the article, but I only wish they would’ve gone past the flash or glam or famous and looked at other neighborhood loves.

Who will join me in a shout out to the New Vegas Lounge or The Caribe?

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Fark.com now has FarkTV. One of their first topics? The Gallaudet University crisis this Fall. Gotta see this one to believe it. Nicely done, Fark.

Enjoy.

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NASA Image of the Day for 17 January 2007: A Capital City. Washington, DC as photographed from the International Space Station as it flew over us in May, 2006. Sure, it’s probably a view you can get with a few taps into Google Maps, but still, pretty amazing. And what’s that big white thing on the Mall?

(View it at full resolution without labels.)

More NASA images in the gallery.

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