Monthly Archives: January 2009

Inaugupocalypse, The Daily Feed
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Cellular Phone Networks Going Down

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

While the major phone carriers are doing their best to support record cell phone traffic, I’ve already noticed that voice and data services are degrading by the minute.

Last night, AT&T’s data network for the iPhone was down, even up in Petworth. Some text messages were going out, but delayed by minutes to hours. Multimedia messages were held in queue until late in the night.

Today you’ll be lucky to get a cell phone call out. All my attempts are failing – I only get a fast busy signal at home. I figure the Mall is pretty much a black hole of lost communication attempts.

Next up in the Inaugupocalypse, children, spouses, and entire families lost for days on the Mall due to non-functional mobile phones.

Entertainment, Music, The Features
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Concert: Middle Distance Runner


Middle Distance Runner by dcjasmine

I have a confession to make: I have a crush on Middle Distance Runner. I went to see them a few months back at Iota, and since that time I found myself wondering when I could see them again. Their catchy songs, sweet style, and talented band members make for a winning combination, if I do say so myself. Dear Middle Distance Runner, do you like me back? Please check yes or no.

MDR is a local band that has been around since 1995. They may have started out as an excuse to play Led Zeppelin covers, but since deciding to take themselves seriously, they seem to have really hit the right note. They’ve even had some commercial success with songs in HBO and Harley-Davidson commercials.  Continue reading →

Downtown, Inaugupocalypse, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Ikea Masters Chintzy

Photo courtesy of
‘Ikea Metro Ad’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

We caught these ads last night at Gallery Place, and this big banner was part of a series of ads hawking bookcases and dressers and a big ol’ sale down at Ikea. I admire the timeliness of the ad, but I’ve got to ask: Did y’all really want to commercialize the Inauguration in such a way? Kinda creepy to use the peaceful transfer of power of a nation to sell cheap ass furniture.

But that’s just me, I guess.

Inaugupocalypse, The Daily Feed
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Inauguration Tickets on Raffle

Photo courtesy of
‘Teddy wants to go!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

The folks at Bold Progressives want you to know that there are some tickets you just shouldn’t have to buy. They’ll be raffling off Inauguration tickets this week, all you have to do is enter. Why free? Well, I’ll let them explain: “Because the inauguration shouldn’t only be enjoyed by those with tons of money. Everyday progressives who worked hard to elect Obama deserve a chance to enjoy the inauguration.”

So there you go. No ticket yet? Sign up!

Got a spare ticket that you can’t use? Get in touch with them, they’re looking for more tickets to add to their stack.

Special Events, The Features, The Mall
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Inaugupocalypse: Staying Warm on the Mall

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Bringing you the first-hand report of how to keep warm while at Inaugural festivities is friend-of-WLDC Lisa King, local adventurer and accomplished funmonger.

Now that I’m home and warm again after the We Are One concert on the National Mall yesterday, I have a few tips to share with anyone braving other events this week – particularly if you’re planning on watching the Parade or joining the crowd on the Mall to watch the swearing in. 

While it was definitely warmer yesterday than the day before, it was by no means balmy. Here’s what I wore (layers are inside to out):
Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Live Blog – Moby @ The 9:30 Club

Breakin' Beats Breakin' the Club

D.C. begins it’s musical revelry for the Inauguration of Barack Obama on Sunday with both concerts for the masses but also in smaller venues. Tonight, or this morning if you take it that way, Moby is now on stage at the 9:30 Club with a sold out show expected to end at 4:30am this morning. This is the first such event at the club to push past the normal D.C. curfew for alcohol and noise. If you can still get a ticket, it’s one of the most intimate and loose events of the next two days of celebration.

At approximately 1:32am, Moby “broke” the club. The entire club’s power supply tripped and sent revelers into a chant of “yes we can” as attempts to restore the life back to the club continued. At least the bar servers were still able to dispense alcohol in the bottle format to keep the “mob”-y at bay.

Continue reading →

Inaugupocalypse, The Daily Feed
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Sunday in DC



Originally uploaded by erin m

I was sad this morning when I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to go to the show on the Mall this afternoon. I was deeply moved by the music selections, though, which I heard on the radio. Starting off with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man was a brave and daring choice. I’m watching the concert on HBO this evening, late, and seeing everyone down at the show, I’m proud of this city, and its ability to handle a large crowd like we did today. Tuesday will only be like Sunday, but more so, surely, and there’s a possibility that things won’t go as planned, but today was a decent rehearsal.

We left our car at Pentagon City around 5 to head up to Petworth to meet visiting Our PDX blogger Brett, and had a crush of people on the yellow and green lines coming from the concert, but everyone was really in good spirits, and were behaving themselves. Sure, there’s a bit more standing to the left on the escalators than we’d all like, but what can you do? Our trip back down to the Improv was just as smooth, as was our trip back to Pentagon City I was deeply impressed by Metro’s staff, who were everywhere, visible and polite, and working to keep things going.

It was incredible to me to see such a packed city on a Sunday night, but I was pleased at how happy everyone seemed. Welcome, everyone, we’re glad you’re here. Hope you have a good time.

The Daily Feed
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National Wholesale Liquidators Going out of Business


Sale
Originally uploaded by carlweaver

Yes, the store where you get close-out deals from other stores that were going out of business is going out of business. Everything is for sale, including the store fixtures and cases of SPAM. If they are selling off the cases of SPAM, you know it’s all over for them. Need a gondola rack, a bunch of shitty Roy Acuff or Stryper cassette tapes or a $2 paint brush? This is the place to go.

When I went today, the cashier said, “$20.61, please.” I swiped my card, signed the receipt and she said, “That will be one penny.”

“What? I just paid with a credit card. How do I owe money?”

“One penny, please.” The fellow behind me spotted me the copper, so I guess I owe him one. Should have gotten his name.

However, I recommend you to hop over to here to gather more information on legal counselling and also contact the best law firm near you.

Don’t expect great bargains but definitely expect the same poor service you are used to from that place. National Wholesale Liquidators is in the Eden Center at Seven Corners in Falls Church. Tell them Carl sent you.

Downtown, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The Mall
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Smiles Abound Pre-Concert

3006941468_fae9b7a75d_mAt mid day, I ventured downtown near the White House, and was surprised to experience a pleasant drive despite the 2pm We Are One concert.  The streets were well manned with DC police officers and additional crowd support units.  Even navigating Farragut Square, aka “The Vortex of Doom” was easy and delayless.

Another pleasantry was the overall vibe coming from everyone, working or attending the concert.  Everyone was smiling, laughing and almost dare I say it skipping.  They were of course bundled up, but I have no doubt that the cold was the last thing on their minds.

Inaugupocalypse, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Who Is Gonna Brave This Cold?

damn-cold

So for all the Inaugural hype, let’s have a serious answer: are you really gonna brave this cold for politics?

I mean really, folks, its gonna be freezing at best. Then there are the crowds, the security lines, and after the long walk from wherever, just to stand on the mall and catch a chill, is it worth it? Yes, its historic, but so was November 4th. And January 21.

Besides, all you’re really gonna see of Barak Obama is a Jumbotron. The same you’d see from the warmth of your own home. Or what I’ll be seeing from mine.

Inaugupocalypse, The Daily Feed
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Obama Arrives at Union Station


Photo by cruffo

The Obama Express has arrived! Union Station was a circus tonight — thousands of people clogging the Grand Hall and concourse hoping to catch a glimpse of the president-elect at the end of his whistle-stop tour, with memorabilia vendors hawking their wares at every corner. Sadly, as indicated on Union Station’s website, the arrival was not meant to be a public event. The president-elect and all his travelling companions boarded their motorcade directly from the platform area, skipping over the concourse and heading straight for Blair House.

More photos of the Union Station madness at GreasyGuide.com.

The Daily Feed
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Pity for Tuesday IAD Passengers

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

For those hardy DC residents who are flying into Dulles Airport on Tuesday, a whole other level of transportation madness awaits them in the taxi line. Talking with the Washington Flyer cabbie tonight, I learned that Dulles cabs will only take passengers to the Falls Church Metro.

Even though taxis are allowed on 66, the hacks are scared of getting trapped in the moving security cordons and overall gridlock that’s bound to plague the District. So Washington Flyer, as an organization, has told them to stay out of the District.

One more way that Inauguration Day is becoming Escape from New York day.

The Daily Feed
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Are You Safe DC?


Are you safe DC?
Originally uploaded by tbridge

I love cool apps for the iPhone that are out there for our city. The Post’s Going Out Guide, or Open Table or some of the others I’ve played with.

But then I saw Are You Safe DC?. I don’t know quite what to think about this one. Sure, having the crime statistics for your current location can be nice if you’re in an unfamiliar part of the city. And, I applaud the use of open data formats to track and geolocate a specific location, but couldn’t this be taken way too far?

This could be awesome, or it could be used to justify all manner of lame and petty behavior of people to not go into neighborhoods they see as “too dangerous” or “too crime-ridden.” No word on price or availability yet, but with the specific mention of the Inauguration in the page, I’d hope it’s out before Sunday’s concert starts the festivities.

The Daily Feed
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A Cold IAD People Mover

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

Tonight’s trip from Terminal C to the Main Terminal of Dulles Airport made popsicles out of tired passengers.

The people mover heater could not compete with Mother Nature’s icy breath, so we all saw our breath instead. And I’ve never seen a people mover empty so fast.

The Daily Feed
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Welcome Tourists!


CCTV warning
Originally uploaded by seanbonner

Judging by the Twitterstream, there are a ton of tourists already in DC for the Inaugural, including a number of decently internet famous folks. We’d like to send a special welcome out to Metroblogging‘s own Sean Bonner, who’s here from LA for the Inauguration. Thanks for stopping by, Sean, hope you have a great time in our town this week.

Business and Money, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Penny For Your Thoughts

spaceballspaceball1

ArtFromM

by flickr user ArtFromM

Over the last week or two, I’ve been noticing a surprising amount of pennies on the streets of DC.  They lie on the cold pavement, waiting for some DCer to take .4 seconds out of their day to bend down, pick them up and put them to use.

While I agree pennies can be annoyingly heavy, and have a habit of multiply like bunnies in your pocket, WE ARE IN A RECESSION PEOPLE!  Is carrying around that one penny really that hard?

If you can tolerate carrying, OMG say just 5 pennies, you can buy a piece of Bazooka Joe gum, read the accompanying comic, and laugh your winter recession blues away.  Or if you hang on to 25 pennies, you can upgrade to a pack of Juicy Fruit.  And for hoarding 100 pennies, you can get a McChicken sandwich from McDonald’s.

So save let’s try to save the pennies and reap the rewards.