By Wayan
If you are out and walking about this morning, beware of the sidewalks. This one looks clean, right? Well that sheen of ice on top will bust your ass.
Better to walk on the deep snow as your weight will break through the ice and give you a solid grip. So wear boots today and take your time.
By Ben H. Rome
‘The Three Servicemen Statue, sculpted by Frederick Hart’ courtesy of ‘cliff1066’
Tonight at the International Spy Museum is a visit to our nation’s past, as we look ahead to our future.
As the East and West battled for dominance in the Cold War, the fate of Vietnam was a matter of enormous importance. In the 1950s, the U.S. Saigon Military Mission (SMM) was created to respond to this situation with dual purposes: a covert CIA and an overt military aid mission. Under the command of Colonel Edward G. Lansdale, the legendary covert political action operative, the SMM was preparing stay-behind agents for both North and South Vietnam, should the North succeed. At Lansdale’s side was Rufus Phillips, an Airborne Infantry Officer detailed back to the CIA. For his role as the sole adviser to two major Vietnamese army pacification operations, Phillips was awarded the CIA’s Intelligence Medal of Merit. He later joined the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Saigon Mission to lead its counterinsurgency efforts. In this wide-ranging discussion, Phillips, the author of Why Vietnam Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned, will describe his wartime experiences in Vietnam, how the SMM operated, the renowned Lansdale, the extraordinary North Vietnamese spy Pham Xuan An, and the real lessons of Vietnam and their applicability today.
Rufus took a few moments to answer a couple of questions about his latest book – Saigon Stories – giving you a taste of tonight’s discussion.
By Katie
Bebo Trattoria
Originally uploaded by Samer Farha
My Dad was in town for a conference recently, staying in Crystal City. I thought Bebo Trattoria would be a delicious place to take him, I have loved Roberto Donna’s crispy pizza and savory pastas in the past. We were ushered into our seats and then promptly forgotten about, waiting more than 15 minutes with not so much as a nod from a waiter. I caught the attention of person who appeared to be the manager and even motioned to the table, and he waved me away.
So we got up and left. It’s rare that I’ll just up and bail on a place, sometimes good food is worth suffering bad service, but having NO SERVICE whatsoever made me pretty angry, so mad that I left. Other tables around us had seemingly no waiter either, though few of them chose to walk out. Some got up and found the manager, and loudly demanded service, others just sat quietly and waited. Everyone had a different reaction to the lack of wait staff.
That got me to wondering – what bad restaurant behaviors make your blood boil? I know we all have a different tolerance of service, and different things that send us over the edge. What experiences make you inclined to leave no tip, or to even walk out of a place? How bad does it have to get for you to make a statement, and what happened when you did?
By Tom Bridge
‘Washington Library of Congress Madison gebouw’
courtesy of ‘DymphieH’
Living in the District blogger Farrelly has just tweeted that there’s a fire at the Madison Building at the Library of Congress. We’re trying to track down information, but if you know anything please let us know in the comments?
Update: Many Thanks to Sam Masten at LOC for his update: “The Madison Building has been evacuated because there was a fire in a trash can on the Ground floor which may have been set. Because of the weather outside people are going to be directed to come into the Jefferson and Adams so be prepared.”
By Tom Bridge
G Street and 13th
Originally uploaded by tbridge
The Post has a roundup of school closings for today, and all I can come up with is a little bit of, “Really? You closed for this?! Kids today.” Fortunately, DC, Alexandria, and Arlington saw the mere dusting we had at 7am and said, “Dammit kids, you’re going to school today!”
I swear, some counties will close their schools if the weatherman does the snow dance on the nightly news.
By Max
REYNOLDS, J., PERFORMING ACROBATIC AND BALANCING ACTS ON HIGH CORNICE ABOVE 9TH STREET, N.W. by Harris & Ewing
For some of us, our daily lives are one big balancing act. We have demanding jobs, families, pets, social calendars, and hobbies that seem to suck every last nanosecond out of the day. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that none of your hobbies include balancing on your dining room furniture hundreds of feet above the ground with no safety net in sight. Your safety net is likely in the form of a 401(k) or an IRA. Hey, how’s that working out for you by the way?
Thanks to NCinDC for this great find from the Library of Congress. John “Jammie” Reynolds appears to be the Evil Knievel of his day, risking his life for the pure joy of an adrenaline rush. The above shot (circa 1917) features the daredevil atop the Lansburgh Building here in DC. You can see what appears to be the National Museum of Natural History in the background which had only been established ten years before. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to take a time machine back to those days when things were more simple, exciting, and free. You won’t catch anyone bungee jumping off of the Washington Monument these days without ending up behind bars or in a loony bin.
By the way, be sure to check out the super sized version of this photo. Do you suppose there’s any chance of the man on the right helping if things tip in the wrong direction?
By Ben H. Rome
Snow in Springfield
Originally uploaded by Ghost_Bear
As I’m sure many of you commuters have already noted, it’s snowing. Depending on the forecast you listen to, we’re looking at 1-3 inches today, evolving into an icy wintry mix by afternoon rush.
Please drive extra-safe today. We all want to get somewhere, and driving like you think you know what you’re doing when you really, really don’t isn’t going to help the people around you, especially if you slide off the road and cause a fender-bender. Be patient and if possible, just ride Metro instead.
By Tom Bridge
‘jack bauer action figure’
courtesy of ‘tyger_lyllie’
And now we’re back for yet another week in the 24-straganza here at We Love DC. There are several active threads in DC, and we’ll start with the FBI at the FBI HQ which is magically neither at Judiciary Square or at 9th & E.
1:03pm
There’s an awful lot of grousing at the FBI this week. Janis and Billy Walsh are giving a lot of lip to the agent in charge, who responds by giving them a nice little smackdown inside their weird corporate cube.
1:06pm
The Yellow Van is headed through some magical construction wasteland near to DC with Jack and Tony and the Prime Minister & his Wife.
They’re somewhere with a really big hanger. This is the kind of space that’s only available on, say, an Air Force Base. But it doesn’t look like Andrews, and that’s pretty much the only place around that’s got a warehouse space this big. Continue reading
By Don
Well the Washington Post can keep flogging that election day paper and selling inauguration day printed blog entries messages to Obama if they want to be unimaginative. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, on the other hand, knows that it’s foolish to sell one day’s worth of paper when you can sell an aggregation of eight year’s worth! Coffee table book “W” – not a novelization of this film – will contain a selection of the Washington Times‘ unbiased reporting from the Bush Presidency, described thusly:
this compelling coffee table styled book about an extraordinary president in turbulent times. “W” is packed with gripping pictures and stories
Way to show your impartiality, WT.
By Tom Bridge
‘(139/365) :: Say goodbye to 2008’
courtesy of ‘chispita_666’
I went to lunch today at one of my usual spots, and sat down at the bar across the corner from a guy that arrived just before me. He was an older gentleman of indeterminant age, and I watched as Zach poured his drink. It was a pint glass, filled half with ice, and then filled three quarters full or so with rail vodka.
And then I watched the old man drink it in about two to three minutes.
I’m going to repeat that, because it bears repeating. This guy drank about 10oz of vodka. In two to three minutes. Apparently, he’s a regular. Comes in two to three times a day. Always kinda shambles out, looking sober as a judge. Despite having had what amounts to seven shots.
And then I figured: My God. He can’t be alone in this town. Whew. And that’s when I picked up my jaw.
By Tom Bridge
Today, The District of Columbia takes its rightful place with the rest of the 50 states, with a Brand New Quarter that hits the streets today. You can get rolls of them at mint quality via the link above, or also get whole bags of them via the Mint for a slight markup. You can also choose which mint they’ll come from (Philadelphia or Denver) which is great for all you numismatists out there.
I’m headed to the bank here shortly, I’ll see if I can do a little better than line drawing.
By Rebecca
Pocky Flavors by Pocky-Love-Club
Growing up my best friend Kano was half Japanese, and one of the best parts of going over to her house besides playing NES, eating homemade sushi and getting to watch rated R movies, was an endless supply of Pocky. After dinner her mom would hand us our own personal box and we’d go off and watch “The Crying Game” or “Blue Steel”. Really appropriate for 10 year olds. I think I was scarred for life. Moving on. Continue reading
By brownpau
As of today, South Carolina, Las Vegas, and the United Arab Emirates have all gotten more snow than Washington, DC this winter. The city has seen a few flurries and even a dusting or two in the suburbs, but our total accumulation so far has been pretty much zero. That might be about to change, however, with this winter weather watch.
Latest statement from NWS has us starting with mostly snow late tonight or early Tuesday morning, transitioning to freezing rain late Tuesday afternoon and evening, then changing to just rain on Wednesday. So things will gradually go from fluffy and picturesque to messy, wet, and slippery. I also estimate a 65% chance of longer grocery lines for milk, bread, and toilet paper.
By Ben H. Rome
2008 01 18 – 0327-0332 – Washington DC – Tidal Basin, courtesy of thisisbossi
This past weekend started out giving us hope for spring before diving back down again to…winter weather advisories for the week. However, metro area residents were out enjoying a variety of events across the region. From Chinese dancing to zoo animals to monster truck rallies, here’s a snapshot of what you all were up to…
Remember, when you take photos of our area, drop them into our photo group!
By Katie
‘matchbox sliders’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’
People who regularly follow my posts here on WLDC may be wondering why I haven’t posted on Restaurant Week yet. Well, it’s because I’m selfish.
There, at least I admitted it. I wanted to make sure my mouth got to feast on deliciousness before I made my recommendations to you, blogosphere so ya’ll wouldn’t take my reservations. Get it? I’m competitive when it comes to MY FAVORITE WEEK(S) OF THE YEAR. I live for RW. I do.
I don’t listen to the haters who say places serve nasty food or you get bad service. Sure, I’ve had my share of that, namely the blah meal I got at Bistro Bis one time, or the crap service at the late Restaurant K by Alison Swope where the waiter actually told my table to eat their greens. But when you hit gold, you REALLY hit gold with RW. You can get more bang for your buck than Spitzer at the Mayflower. So where am I dining this RW? I’ll tell you… now that I’ve got all my reservations secured. Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
In the center of Stanton Square in Northeast, stands Revolutionary War Hero and native son of Rhode Island Nathanael Greene. His controversial advice (including burning New York City to the ground as part of a retreat in 1776, which, to me, sounds like the wisdom of the sages) won him favor with General Washington, and his management of the supply chain of the Continental Army won him the post of Quartermaster General. Before the end of the War he’d serve as the head of West Point, and then Commander of the Southern Army.
Greene would lead the American Retreat across the Dan River, forcing General Cornwallis to make mistakes as he chased the retreating light horse. Greene’s beleaguered force would win the race to the Dan, taking all the boats across the river, leaving none for Cornwallis, and the American forces escaped into Virginia. Some say that Greene was second only to Washington himself in military ability and prowess, and did more for the Continental Army than many others who would go on to claim greater fame. Continue reading
By Don
‘Irony (b/w)’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Writer and activist Adam Green brought to our attention his article about the now-infamous screwups that kept masses of ticketed people out of viewing areas for the swearing-in ceremony. Green asks a fairly reasonable question – is there going to be any accountability for the people whose poor performance created this situation? – but I cannot get fully behind the question.
Not because I don’t think people should be accountable, but because I think it’s somewhat akin to asking “why didn’t shaving a crop circle into my cat’s fur turn out well?” The first answer this question should get is “why would you want to do that anyway?” Bottlenecks and slowdowns in our city have become de rigueur even when we’re not dealing with an extra couple million people, and it’s time to take a new look at how we handle security and what we expect from it.
If you don’t look at one more word of what I have to day, at least take a moment to look at this interview with Bruce Schneier about the ways Mall security was and was not going to resemble Airport security and some thoughts on the matter. Continue reading
By Don
‘Inauguration’
courtesy of ‘RSchley’
FotoWeekDC has kicked off another contest and the theme is nice and simple.
Take that amazing image during Inauguration week, or find one you have already shot that captures the spirit of the Presidential Campaign, and the Election.
You’ve got till March 15 to enter though entrance fees go op steadily.
By Katie
So the Balls have (mostly) come and gone, but I think it’s still worth sharing advice of what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I wouldn’t do again when it comes to Inaugural Balls. Continue reading
By jasmine
‘Exit Clov’
courtesy of ‘mockstar’
DC band Exit Clov, most notable (to me, anyway) for the haunting sound of their twin lead singers, has released a free track on their website. The song is called “My Country’s At War” and serves as a reminder of the ongoing war in Iraq, lest we get too swept up in all the Inauguration festivities. Merci, Exit Clov, for keeping our heads in the right place.
