It’s a lovely Saturday, sunny with highs in the low 70s, perfect for a day out demonstrating. On the Pennsylvania Ave White House to Capitol stretch, we have ANSWER, and on the Mall between 7th and 10th Streets, we have Gathering of Eagles.

Who’s going? Take pictures.
Who’s avoiding? Watch the Metro advisories.

Washington Post Map of Protest and Counter-Protest, and Marc Fisher is posting live updates from both arenas of activism.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Local videoblogger Jill Foster, of Living with Geeks fame, has started a blog called Housewifery in which she documents her experiences getting the household stuff in order, such as health and finances, and offers tips for the rest of us who are negotiating similar challenges. In conjunction with the tips and references she provides, she also includes short videos with a humorous look at the issue. One of my favorites is here:

Come on – who DOESN’T eat M&Ms like that?

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… when you walk up to your gate at Washington National Airport. Whatever mystery fire this was off in the distance was put out pretty quickly.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Maybe my expectations were too high? You know the drill. You’re tired of the same old restaurants in your hood and when you hear a new one will be opening you think, “Nice! Can’t wait to try it! Maybe it’ll be good?” But in the back of your mind you prepare yourself to be disappointed because 3 of the last 5 new restaurants have been bad, and one of them was only so-so.

I guess Plum Blossom, located at 18th & Willard falls into the so-so category as I wasn’t impressed and am in no hurry to go back.

The decor? Very Ikea-ish. No paintings or photos on the wall, very drab, yellow lighting, and the little tables you sit at are made of Formica (would have been so much nicer if they were wood). As a tall guy I had trouble sitting on the tiny cube seats that are less than two feet off the ground, but that wasn’t a big deal.

The service? Well, it’s a new restaurant so you have to expect some jitters. Our waiter didn’t exactly know when to take empty dishes or glasses away and kept brushing up against me when he did so. I asked him what kind of beer they had (hoping for an Asahi or a Sapporo) and he said the list was on the menu. Whoops! No it wasn’t. They only have Amstel Light (like ‘sex on a boat’), Miller Light, and Heineken. Their wine list was pretty slim too. Overall the service was pretty decent but nothing to get excited about.

The food? Ah, the food. What really makes a restaurant worth its weight in soy sauce. I thought the sushi tasted good and wasn’t chewy or fishy tasting, but the pieces were cut too thick ($6 for two pieces). I ordered the small plate of Vienamese Beef ($10) and found it to be chewy and not very flavorful. Good thing I had my handy dish of soy sauce nearby to flavor it up. My friends weren’t very impressed with their dishes either, but one of them is always disappointed since she’s a vegan.

The good thing about my experience at Plum Blossom was the plethora of attractive women there, no doubt due to the feature on Daily Candy (does every woman in town get those e-mails?).

So if you feel like sushi and want to try some place new, go for it. If not, you won’t be missing out. Stick to Sushi Taro or better yet go to Oya.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Abrilon

Marc Fisher today has a column advocating for DC voting rights and representation. It’s worth a read if for no other reason that it doesn’t harp on the tiresome and misleading income tax point. While “taxation without representation” makes a nice soundbyte, I think it’s a little weak – we all pay for a lot of things that were decided against our personal interest and fund things we’ll never have use of, and at least in the case of the Senate, were chosen by a group of people of whom only 2% speak on our behalf. Include the House and you’ve got a 3 in 535, or 0.561% say in how 1/4 of your income is spent.

Instead he hits on several good reasons – and “because it’s the right thing to do” is certainly not the least of them – but saves what are, for my money, the best two for last. D.C. residents and armed forces members Darrell Lewis and Kevin Shea died in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, both conflicts ordered by the President after they were authorized by Congress… where they have no voting representation.

Given the whole point of this discussion, there’s nothing DC residents can do about the matter. However the rest of us who live outside the district and have representation can call our congresscritter and ask him or her to push the matter forward. DC Vote makes it easy for you to contract your representative or you can pick up the phone and call your senator.

Update: Thanks KC for the dead trout to the head – I had another bill open in THOMAS that Webb was a co-sponsor on and my wishful thinking and gnat’s attention span got the better of me, it seems. We VA folk need to call both our Senators.

Here in this area you don’t have to call Webb in VA or Mikulski in MD – they’re co-sponsors of the bill. Maryland residents need not call Mikulski – she’s a co-sponsor so her vote is pretty sure. Virginia residents should call John Warner at (202) 224-2023 and Jim Webb at (202) 224-4024. Marylanders should call Cardin at (202) 224-4524. The rest of you can find the phone numbers you need here.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Bells of Epiphany Church

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

This morning, I waited for Verizon in a building above the Church of the Epiphany. Built in 1844 on G street in Northwest, the church stands hidden between office buildings, its garden and carillon are its only imprint on the office landscape. Never have I marked time so closely than now, with the tones of Handel’s “I know that my Redeemer liveth” streaming from the bells at the quarter hour.

I imagine that perhapse if I worked here, it might get tiresome after while, but for today, it is welcome austerity. A reminder of the analog in the midst of digita. The feeling of a retreat within the noise and the hustle. It’s why we build parks, set to simulate the natural and to preserve the original state in an idealized way, I suppose. Remind ourselves that we are but building The Machine in a Garden.

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I got this from a list I am on with other emergency response folks. Come on to the meeting and hear what experts have to say on the topic.

Are you ready? Come hear what local experts and county officials have to say about preparing for and surviving a pandemic flu outbreak in Arlington.
7 to 8:30 pm this Thursday (13 September)
County Board Room, 2100 Clarendon Boulevard

Me, I am not too worried about this topic because I figure the weak will be weeded out without much effort on my part. Plus, you have to die from something, right?

One of the benefits of being young and healthy and working with children is that I am immune to darned near everything. Here’s to wishing you and yours good health as we head into the flu season.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Your calamari favorite?

Who makes the best calamari in Washington DC?

This is the question my Betrothed Butterbean and I debate whenever we see calamari on the appetizer menu of a DC restaurant. In fact, it’s become somewhat of a quest for us.

Now we’ve tried calamari from the Boulevard Woodgrill to Lauriol Plaza, but without much success. It seems that cooks in DC don’t know what makes good calamari.

We both look for soft, tender, melt-in-your mouth rings of squid covered in a light bread crust, hopefully with a touch of spice. The accompanying sauce should be tomato-based and accentuate the calamari, but past that, I like to be surprised.

And surprisingly enough, I say that the best calamari in DC is at…

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

Cranes at dawn

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

I don’t know how people live so close to the flight line as they do in Rosslyn. It’s just never made sense to me why someone would choose to live beneath the noise of a planes engine at full throttle as it scorches into the clear blue sky. But there I was at just after 7 this morning picking up some keys for a client.

I stood outside on the brisk air, the first sign of Autumn’s arrival, in the shadow of these two cranes, wondering how soon I’d see the skeletal steel of yet another densepacked space in Rosslyn. Give me the bucolic Fairlington, any day.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wayan’s DC Photos

This is the impressive wine rack at Vidalia, a walk-in closet of fermented grapes that call to me.

In fact, this specific wine bar stockroom calls to me every day from 5-7pm. That’s when talented sommeliers pour free samples for the interested public to try.

They also present unique appetizer samples that compliment each wine, impressing even jaded gourmands with their flavor combinations.

My recommendation is to get there early, say 5:01pm, and bring friends. The sommeliers will be overwhelmed with free sample moochers by 6pm, and while the wine is good, it’s not worth the standing-room-only wait.

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Jonny’s crane style is strong.
Photo by Carl Weaver

Jonny Goldstein, DC’s very own videoblogging guru and all-around good guy, has a weekly talk show at jonnygoldstein.com, in which he discusses technology, politics and social issues. It’s always a good time and he has excellent, insightful guests.

This week on Jonny’s Par-tay are Jay Dedman and Kathryn Velvel Jones. This is sure to be a fun, exciting show, and I recommend you all check it out if you have any interest in online video.

Where to watch: jonnygoldstein.com
When to watch: Weds, 12 Sep, 9PM-10:05 EST
What you need to watch: A computer connected to broadband
Interactivity: Chat questions and comments in the live chatroom during the show. It’s a par-tay, and you’re so invited.

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image courtesy of Jonathan Padget

No, not the cruddy movie sequel – a return to The Blue Lagoon: The Musical, which I reviewed here back in August. The musical’s creator, Jonathan Padget, has posted the full show to YouTube in 11 parts.

The set is dark enough that you might be tempted to just listen rather than watch the dim video, but you’d be missing out on quite a bit of giggle-inducing props, not to mention Kathleen Mason and Matthew McGloin. McGloin’s dead-on portrayals of a horny teen boy cheezily posing is worth the dim lighting all by itself, but you for-sure can’t miss the visuals in episode 7 when they Em and Dick portray their first… um… swim in the lagoon.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

From a listing in the Craigslist Free Stuff section:

Baby Donkey for to good home (sic)

Can you resist this little guy? I wonder how long I could hide him from my lovely wife. I think he would be a fine house pet except for the whole crapping everywhere thing.

Have you ever owned a donkey? How do you care for one? Will he eat my cat?

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Taxi Meter

Originally uploaded by gr33ndata.

Forgive the dreadful pun, but it seems apt in the face of the DC Taxicab Commission’s decision not to make a recommendation to Mayor Adrian Fenty with regard to choosing between the meters and the zone system.

Personally, I think Meters are the only way to go. I want to be charged for how far I go, not some cockamamie map system that divides DC into arbitrary distances from the Capitol that only really exist to exist to benefit the congresscritters. Of course, the compromise seems to be to have all cabs fitted with GPS Meters that work within the zone system, but even that is a bullshit copout.

The Post quotes a cabbie: “We have here a commission that’s very confused, and it’s very sad,” said Abdulkarin Ahmad, a cabdriver.

Well, it’s good to know that the commission is just as confused as most of the cabbies.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Some people try to forget the tragic day of September 11, 2001 while others will always remember. No matter who you are or what you believe in, you will no doubt have a memory of that day etched in your mind. More than anything, it was a day that defined many things in our world.

In the days and months after the attack, our country pulled together and became united as one. Bickering subsided and people embraced each other as fellow Americans. Patriotism was reborn, and I remember people selling American flags on the street corners of L.A. for $10 showing that capitalism runs deep. George W. Bush stood with firefighters at Ground Zero showing strength and courage, perhaps the pinnacle of his career as president. People wore FDNY hats and t-shirts and donated millions to show support for those who lost their lives. America was reminiscent of times past.

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

It’s September 11th, again. It kinda snuck up on me. I didn’t think about it all yesterday, it was just another day. I think we’re getting to the point where we can commemorate the events of September 11th, 2001, without having to spend all day dwelling on it. As my friend Jeff wrote this morning:

Eventually we’re going to have to get over 9/11.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. I’m not telling you to get over 9/11 the event. If you’re one of those people who’s still recovering from the trauma of that day, then man, you’ve got my support. Really. I was hit awfully hard by 9/11 even though I didn’t lose anybody close to me. I can only imagine how much worse it would be if I’d known somebody who died, or if I’d witnessed the tragedy with my own eyes. I’m the last person to trivialize the emotional impact of an event like that.

But sooner or later, we’re going to have to get over 9/11 the day. Sooner or later, it’s going to have to go back to being just another day.

We are going to have to get past the day, in order to heal. The lives that were lost that day were significant, they were folks just like you or me, going to their jobs and about their lives, and they were plucked from us by selfish bastards who felt their (admittedly bullshit) cause was more important than those lives. But we have to move on. We cannot dwell in sorrow, but rather we must push forward in their memory.

I’ll be glad when the 11th day in September is a just like the 10th or like the 12th.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I often wonder about the last moments of the passengers on Flight 93, diverted from San Francisco by hijackers aiming for Washington DC six years ago today.

I wonder in quiet moments before each of my flights, or in quiet panic whenever we make abrupt course changes, mid-flight. I wonder about all the “ifs” of that day that are unique yet common fears to anyone who flies.

But when I saw this headstone in Santa Clara, I started to wonder about a whole other set of people’s moments: the families of Flight 93.

To be David and Cathy, who buried their daughter Nicole just as she turned 21. To have that unimaginable pain and loss in such a public forum. The most personal and devastating mourning, a parent losing a child, now a national remembrance.

And now a personal one too. I cried when I saw her grave. I cry now typing this. I will cry again when I read this live.

For Nicole. For David and Cathy. For every 9/11 family.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wayan’s DC Photos

Good luck this morning if your commute involves 19th Street downtown.

The DC fire department has closed off the street due to what is rumoured to be a gas leak at a restaurant between L and M streets.

A moment of humor came to the traffic jam when the Fire Chief tried to get to the scene via 19th street southbound but was blocked by total gridlock.

Of course you might not find that funny if you are on the 19th street parking lot right about now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I was going to let it go. I wasn’t going to dignify the purchase of a butt-ass ugly purse for an ungodly sum of money with a blog post. But the more I think about it, the more I have to wonder who the hell spends more than I make in a year on a purse that’s not even attractive, but which is made of leftover scraps of other (mostly) butt-ass ugly purses?

Some woman in DC with more money than brains, that’s who.

At least the bag is pretty big, so there’s no mistaking it as this anonymous burner-of-cash carries it around. Be sure to point and laugh.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

No, I’m not a Redskins Fan riding high on an overtime victory, I’m a 49ers fan trying to figure out if my boys have a shot at a return to former glory. Chances are, we’ll just go 8-8, and maybe make the playoffs, but my barber back home in California seems to think they may find themselves in the playoffs. Me, I just wonder where I can catch a game in a friendly environment. Seems to me that since I kicked DirecTV to the curb last year, I get my rare Monday night game and the occasional game out of market. So, where’s the 49ers bar in DC? I know Grevey’s in Falls Church is the Bills Bar for DC. The Pour House on Capitol Hill is the Steelers Nation home in DC. But where can my Red and Gold get their game face on?

In related news, it turns out, DC is low on the tailgating list, probably thanks to some asinine tailgating policies at FedEx field. We barely outranked Green Bay, WI, whose outside tailgating temperature is probably barely above 20°F most Sundays after the middle of October. Instead, we’re left in the shadow of Charm City to the north, laughing at DC’s paltry 12th rank, while they took home the number 1. What is it about the Baltimore Ravens that just makes them a Tailgating Wonder? Well, according to the study, it’s income spent on TV products, so maybe I’m okay with all of that…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs