Monthly Archives: October 2008

Travel
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We Love to Travel – But Our Luggage Didn’t Make It

Luggage Pile, courtesy of Sundazed/Creative Commons 2.0 It’s no secret that our luggage doesn’t always agree with our travel plans.  I realized this when I considered how many times my luggage has decided to go somewhere else, misses the flight, or just returns home.  It would seem that my luggage has it’s own travel plans on a regular basis. If you travel by air, and everyone does sooner or later, it’s important to realize that there are ways to keep your luggage with you.  It’s pretty simple to do, and it can save you a lot of suffering when you get to your destination. This week, I’ll talk about domestic travel and ways to keep things under control.  Next post I’ll get in to international travel, which makes domestic travel look like a cake walk. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Normal people live here, too.


The palette of the Apotheosis of Washington
Originally uploaded by karthikkito

One of my least-favorite memes in national politics is this idea of Washington as haven for out-of-touch, effete big-city types who need some newcomer, usually the convenient choice of the underdog political candidate whatever their political party, to come give them what-for.
Len Downie stuck up for DC a few days ago, and Slate.com’s Anne Applebaum debunks this scurrilous accusation by pointing out what should be obvious- Congress and the President, by definition, are “outsiders.” The only person in Congress actually FROM Washington is DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and she doesn’t even get a vote.

I object when DC gets smeared by politicians too lazy to make a real argument (or who assume the American voter is too stupid to understand one) and instead try to score points by impugning the reality-awareness of an entire major city. I further reject the larger idea that people who choose to make their homes in urban centers are inherently less valuable to the country than people who choose to make their homes in rural areas and small towns, but that’s a rant for another day, and another blog.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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Penang Burns Again

Penang at 19th & M caught fire on Saturday afternoon, damaging the Chipotle downstairs, and Porters and Starbucks right next door. As I drove by this afternoon, Several of the upstairs windows had been knocked out and covered by plywood.

The fire started in the kitchen, and spread through the ventilation ducts, causing over 100 firefighters to rush to the scene.

Both Chipotle & Penang are closed, and will be for a bit, but Starbucks had people outside this afternoon, and the doors were open at Porters.

Penn Quarter
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We Love Arts: The Way of the World

Photo courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

WRLDRHSL_120 resized courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

My darling fiancée and I took in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Way of the World on Sunday evening, which we both enjoyed – her more so than myself. Perhaps this is somewhat of a reflection of the fact that she’s lately been taking in the 90210 retread and I…. um, haven’t.

If you thought Melrose Place, Susan Lucci, and Rob Reiner invented the romantic potboiler then I have a three hundred year old news flash for you. Congeve’s play practically demands a diagram to figure out who’s attached to who via marriage, love, conspiracy or some combination thereof. I don’t dispute being a bear of very little brain, but my difficulty in keeping track of the plethora of M-names in the play and all their interconnection did somewhat strain my appreciation.

It didn’t limit my enjoyment of the bright spots of the production, however, two of whom are pictured above. I enjoyed Floyd King in particular, who is wonderfully fun and foppish and who manages to convince you he’s rolling his eyes even from several hundred feet away. My only grump would be with Andrew Long, who I find very pleasant until he gets a little shouty. It’s something about his vocal delivery when he’s playing agtiated that has managed to take me out of the moment in Major Barbara, Julius Caesar, and now this. Perhaps it’s just me.

The sets in the Lansburgh for this production are just stunning, but the costumes makes it look shabby.  STC always has lovely costuming but this is a step above. Every outfit is impeccable, colorful, and lush. The sets are classy and particularly bright; everything seems to be a blonde wood that practically glows. The only tragedy is that we get to enjoy the adorable Chocolate House – the front of which swings open like a huge Barbie’s Restoration-era Playset – for only one act.

While the production as a whole didn’t gel for me, there’s a lot to reccomend it.

The Way of the World at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre
September 30th through November 16th, 2008
450 7th St, NW
Washington, DC  20004

Technology, The Daily Feed
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Vault Life! (Fallout 3 in DC)

How awesome is it that we have Vault-themed ads for Fallout 3 on the Metro?

Vault Life!

For those not in the know, Fallout is a series of turn-based adventure/role-play games set in the barren wasteland of a post-apocalyptic anarchy, where you play a survivor newly emerged from an isolated subterranean bunker called The Vault. DC-focused trailer video and images after the jump.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Who Uses Forex Anymore?

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

This blurry photo of a Travelex currency exchange office at Dulles Airport makes me wonder:

Who uses foreign exchange bureaus anymore?

With the global spread of ATM machines and debit/credit cards, there is not a need for travelers to change money in transit. Just grab it on arrival at the destination airport. Its way faster and cheaper than forex.

Trust me, I know how to travel international.

Essential DC, Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

The Pillars @ The National Arboretum by citron_smurf.

When I traveled to Rome a few years ago, I was awestruck by the ancient ruins that are scattered throughout the modern city.  “Oh look, there’s a quaint little restaurant, a place to rent scooters, aaaand some excavated pillars that date back to several hundred years before Christ?”  Neato.

You don’t see that much, if at all, here in the United States.  It’s more like, “Oh look, there’s a California Pizza Kitchen, a Starbucks, aaaand a big hole in the ground where an office building from the 1970’s used to be.”  Lame.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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JetBlue’s Crazy Fares


JetBlue Sunset
Originally uploaded by tbridge

Jetblue is doing a Happy Jetting Happy Hour out in Reston tomorrow from 3:30 til 6:30 at Reston Town Center’s pavilion. They’ll be doing super special deals for last minute getaways in October to New York, Florida (four cities) and California (three cities) at their ticket bar. In the wake of their eBay fare auctions, they’re trying some other unique events.

Hey guys, awesome idea, but maybe do it on Freedom Plaza next time? Or up on Dupont Circle?

The Daily Feed
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Dunkin Donuts Saves our Planet

Protected wildlife

Thanks, Double D, for protecting this plant, which is such a necessary part of our ecosystem. Its decorative fronds are clearly loved and cared for and the green foliage fits in well among all the pink and orange. The tension barriers add a nice touch as well.

Found at Dunkin Donuts on Lee Hwy.

Food and Drink, The DC 100
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DC Omnivore 100: #77, Hostess Fruit Pies

Fruit Pies

Welcome to yet another review of the 100 foods an omnivore in DC should partake of. Read the full list.

Hostess fruit pies? Now, Hostess cupcakes, yes. Twinkies, certainly. But fruit pies, you say? I’d never heard of such a thing. Of course, this is not surprising, because I grew up in a household full of whole grains, fresh fruits, low-fat, and no sugar. I ate cheerios and grape nuts while the rest of you folks chowed down on coco puffs and fruit loops. In fact, my first birthday cake was not a cake at all, it was a rice cake with peanut butter, no lie. (My parents had cake, traitors.) (Hi, Mom and Dad!) So when I looked at the Omnivores 100 list, made my picks and saw Hostess Fruit Pies, I thought, “well, there’s a way to make up for lost time.”
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Commie Country? Is this 1954?


The Communists were never fans of tricks or treats
Originally uploaded by billypalooza

Apparently, if you’re Joe McCain, it’s still 1954. Senator McCarthy is still hard at work with the House Unamerican Activities Committee and it’s still totally cool to hate on the Communists. Joe McCain, brother to Senator John McCain, had a slip of the tongue at an event this weekend and referred to Arlington and Alexandria as “Commie Country”.

Yeah.

I mean, I guess I could understand. Except that the County Council lowered property tax rates last year, which is something those darned reds would never have done. Maybe if they’d forbidden private enterprise within the country limits. Or religion. Or free speech.

But this? Just silly.

Media, The District
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Len Downie Loves DC, Too

nova
nova by PhillieFan99

Been a rough week on the Hill, and for those who live there. The rescue/bailout/whatever-it’s-called has left America wondering what good could possibly remain in her Capitol. The pandering & the pork, the self-congratulation over the oversight of the demise of commercial lending, it leaves America with a bitter taste in her mouth.

But then comes Len Downie Jr, former editor of the Post, with an editorial to prop us back up again, despite what all the media says. A taste:

For all its partisanship and jockeying for power and influence, Washington’s culture — with roots in the New Deal, World War II, Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and the Reagan Revolution — is receptive to new ideas and new people. It is steadily refreshed by idealistic young professionals who come here to work and learn for low wages in the backrooms of power. And it readily assimilates waves of older hands who arrive with each new administration and member of Congress, and then stay in the public arena here.

“The truth is that many newcomers stay forever, secretly at home in the city everyone loves to hate,” [Marjorie] Williams has written. “As each administration departs, it leaves behind a layer of flotsam on the shore — lobbyists, lawyers, public relations people — all too smitten or too connected to ever move away. The city happily absorbs its quadrennial infusions of new blood. But Washington always does more to change its newcomers than the newcomers do to change it.”

Thank you, Mr. Downie. We needed that.

History, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Union Station at 100

Union Station: 1921 (via Shorpy)

Today (Sat 4 Oct 2008) marks the 100th anniversary of DC’s Union Station, and also the 20th year since its reopening as a mixed retail and transport hub. Union Station and Amtrak will be celebrating with exhibits, memorabilia, and tours of historic train cars and locomotives.

More from Post’s Get There blog, DCist, and USA Today. Via Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space we get a link to Now Arriving Washington: Union Station and Life in the Nation’s Capital, an extensive dissertation in progress, with a wonderfully voluminous history section.

So be there. Bring cameras.

Monumental
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Monumental: The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

Photo courtesy of Me

Pentagon 911 Memorial

You don’t need me to tell you about the history of this memorial. If you’re old enough to read this then you have some memories of the day that necessitated it. I don’t know that this town has ever put up a site paying homage to lives lost so recently; the opening ceremony was just last month, 7 years to the day after American Airlines flight 77 slammed into the side of the Pentagon. The same side where this park sits.

Nothing unusual about that; a short drive out into Virginia on 66 will take you to locations where pivotal battles in our history occurred. What is unusual is that at the Pentagon, business goes on just as it did on September 10th, 2001. Except now the world’s largest office building – where picture taking is banned even in the parking lot – now has a tourist attraction on its grounds.

Going there, you get the clear feeling that they’re not sure how to deal with that fact. Continue reading →

Business and Money
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The Dog-Eat-Dog World of the Job Hunt

It’s tough out there right now. Businesses are being bought out by each other, taken over, pillaged, and people are getting laid off all over. Here in the DC area we have the shelter of government, so we don’t feel it as deeply as some other areas do. However, it’s still a tough time. In this time of employment upheaval, I wanted to share a story about how I came to find a new job not so long ago and would love to hear your recommendations on that score as well.

I recently did a job search. Actually, not that recently. My current employer reads this blog, so I should emphasize that I mean recent in terms of my total of 23 years in the workforce. I found a job almost three months ago and it has worked out great.

However, when I was starting my search, I consulted a friend who used to be in the recruiting world and she gave me some great advice. She told me to not jump too quickly into a new job. As much as I hated working for a short-sighted company whose regular business practices included such great things as emailing customers’ credit card information instead of getting a secure system, I should cool my heels. Ignore the disrespect, inflated egos, nonsensical marketing plans, and bad, inflexible corporate culture. “You already have a job you hate,” she said. “Why not search for a job you love?”
Continue reading →

Petworth, The Daily Feed
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Tomato Crop Check: Still Red?

Mine are still red - yours?

Mine are still red - yours?

While this cold snap may make you think its winter already, I’m still enjoying the fruits of summer. Specifically, my amazing tomato garden. The green orbs of spring are still cranking out red globs of love apples ready for my enjoyment. And that’s even after Don raided my garden last Saturday.

So let’s hear it DC – you still in the red, ripe, and delicious too? Or did my Mexican sunflowers shade my tomatoes from the summer heat, giving me an extended harvest, perfect timing as I spent August in Africa.

The Daily Feed
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Running into the Mayor


Fenty and Puck
Originally uploaded by M.V. Jantzen

I’ve never met the mayor of a large city.

Sure, I’ve run bodily into Newt Gingrich on I St, but I’ve never met the mayor. So, imagine my surprise when I looked up from my coffee this morning and there was Mayor Fenty on the sidewalk in front of Peregrine Espresso on the Hill. In a dashing suit and a hat much like the on in the photo above (it was more of a stylish grey-green tweed, I think) there he was, right in front. I waved, he waved back and nodded.

So, I really haven’t met the Mayor, but having not really gotten the chance to introduce myself. But there he was, big as life, out and about in the city.

I was hoping to see the sweet little Smart Car that he drives, but at the end of it, he got into the driver’s seat of a black Lincoln Navigator and drove off. What happened to the sweet little ride, Mr. Mayor?

All Politics is Local
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We Love Voting: Get Registered

Photo courtesy of Glynnis Ritchie

Let the people vote!, courtesy of Glynnis Ritchie

Yep, you guessed it: this is the first in a series of pesky posts about voting. You’re somewhat fortunate that I am the writer who volunteered for this. Personally, I am just as happy if the apathetic stay home and don’t vote – if the direction of the country isn’t important enough to you that you’ll sacrifice an hour then I’m perfectly happy to make the decisions for you. So you’ll get no over-long over-earnest entreats here.

That said, I don’t think there’s any reason to make it hard – if you want a say in the direction of the nation you help pay for it shouldn’t be a huge challenge to figure out what the hell to do. Happily, Google agrees with me and has built a nice app on top of their maps application. At this stage it’s a way to find out how to register in your area and what the deadlines are, but down the road it’ll have polling place information.

I’ll summarize it for our area: hurry your ass up. D.C. and Virginia have till the 6th – Monday. Maryland has another week and a day – Tuesday the 14th is your drop-dead date there. In every case you can submit the application by mail or turn it in to a location by hand. Alternately, go to the nearest metro stop – the registration teams are out in force and it doesn’t matter if you intend to vote for their candidate.

Go get it done, and I’ll see you back here next week with some early voting info. It’s the Amazon age, baby – why should any of us ever wait in line again?

The Daily Feed
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The Results That Matter

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

No matter which bar you were in tonight, or who you were rooting for, there is only one result that matters:

Did you win at Palin Bingo?

Sadly, being the only Washingtonian in San Francisco did not help me. Hopefully, in a room of political junkies, you did better.