By Don
…what you think it means.
Whose convenience would that be?, courtesy of Me
You’ll have to click through to read it, but this Pentagon City meter I stopped at yesterday in order to go into the Costco (I’d rather pay to park on the street than deal with that free nightmare of a parking lot) says the following:
4 MINUTES FOR EACH NICKEL
8 MINUTES FOR EACH DIME
20 MINUTES FOR EACH QUARTER
FOR CONVENIENCE $1.00 GIVES 30 MINUTES
I guess everyone needs a bailout plan.
By AcaciaO
They’ve done it again! Last night the Maryland Terps dominated Utah, 71-56, in the second round of NCAA play at the Comcast Center. Besides being a one-seed, having 10,000 screaming fans on your side can’t hurt. Oh, and not having lost a home game in 2 years ain’t bad either.
Senior standouts Marissa Coleman (above far left) and Kristi Toliver said goodbye to their home court last night. Coleman had a double-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and Toliver clocked in with 17 points. “Don’t forget my two rebounds,” she piped in in the post-game. Continue reading
By Katie
‘sidewalk hazards’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Love them, hate them, want to plow over them in the Metro, whatever your feeling is about tourists, I know one thing: HERE THEY COME! It’s about spring break time, and the cherry blossoms are about to burst into color, and we all know what happens to the city’s floodgates in spring. I hate to be the one to report it, but the influx of bumbley-directionally-challenged-overly-friendly-standing-on-the-left-side masses into our dear city has begun.
Metro Center has been noticeably more crowded, especially with the dreaded high school tour group clogging the platform and escalators. I hate accidentally walking straight into someone holding a map just because they randomly came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. I loathe trying to navigate around middle school students holding hands three across on the Metro platform. Don’t get me wrong, I love my city, and I’m happy to share it, but at this rate, we’re in for a long summer.
So I ask you – what are your tourist pet peeves, and where have you spotted the greatest number of them?
By Donna C.
photo courtesy of Herban Lifestyle
If you think naming a baby is hard, try naming a baby oil.
Local crafter Mary K. of Herban Lifestyle is trying to decide what to call her new organic baby oil, and she needs your help. Submit the winning entry, and she’ll give you a large gift set for your labor.
The oil will join her O-BALM-A lip balm, so the bar for cleverness is set high. Get creative!
There is some kind of comedy lull happening in April, but this Friday, there’s a cool show happening in the Improv Lounge. Chris White will be doing his 6th “I Take Requests” show- people submit requests via email, and within a few weeks, he has to turn them into jokes and perform them. Previous editions of the hour-long show have covered such topics as Blackberries, fish sticks, the color blue, and Newton’s Third Law. Get your tickets quick. Continue reading
By Donna C.
‘Reflection’
courtesy of ‘KitAy’
St. Patrick’s Day is over, but if you live in Arlington, your local stream may be green this week after all. Or red.
The county is conducting dye testing in Spout Run from now through Friday, and any streams in the drainage area may turn color. Consider yourself warned.
By AcaciaO
‘whitman’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’
Capitol Letters Writing Center–a non-profit organization which seeks to bring out the writer in all students in the district–was featured in this morning’s Daily Candy with a call for volunteers. Get involved and bring the joy of writing and poetry into the lives of area kids!
It sounds like a super sweet project. Despite being entirely overbooked in life, I think yours truly is going to check it out too. Teaching kids about the arts? What better goal is there?
By AcaciaO
‘Going for the Gold’
courtesy of ‘evoo73’
Before moving to DC, the last pool I frequented was that in my high school friend’s backyard. Though I took swimming lessons every summer day during my adolescence, in general “swimming” meant flopping around in water to cool off between tanning. Now I’ve come to embrace swimming as a really satisfying form of exercise thanks to my former collegiate swimmer roommate and DC’s free public swimming pools.
Swimming is my new favorite winter-months mode of exercise. I’m a little too cash-strapped (read: cheap) to pony up a gym membership and often find working out in a gym, with its mirrored walls and flourescent lighting, to be a bit soul-crushing. Running outside is great, and I’ve been so pleased to find that DC is really a Running City. However, in January, when it is pitch dark both when you wake up in the morning and get out of work at night and below freezing, it’s a little hard to motivate. Plus, running is an alone activity; Swimming at the DC pools makes me feel like I’m part of the community. Something about a group of people all breathing into the same water really fosters bonding, you know? Continue reading
By Don
‘Fluidity’
courtesy of ‘primplan’
No doubt inspired by Jenn’s article about her study at Saffron Dance and viewing of the Bellydance Superstars, the Washington Post ran a great profile this weekend of the brains midriff of Saffron Dance, Rachael Galoob Ortega. When shimming she goes by Saphira, and the WaPo’s article is an interesting view of an even more interesting person.
By Max
Guadalupe by Nestum23
One of the things I love about DC is that like many big cities, it’s full of diversity that can change within just a few short blocks. If you were to pop out of the Metro at the Smithsonian station on the Mall and start walking north, you’d first be surrounded by monuments and government buildings and experience what most tourists see. As you walked through downtown, you might see a little more color as you strolled by restaurants, chain stores, and street vendors. Eventually you would be in a more residential area full of rowhomes, parks, and people going about their daily lives. You’d likely notice the gay presence in Dupont, the conglomerate of colorful stores and bars along U street, and as you got to Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant you’d start to be enveloped in the Latino community. That’s what first came to mind when I saw this photo. The juxtaposition of a bikini babes calendar with the Virgin Mary (or Virgen de Guadalupe) is not an uncommon site as you walk past the storefronts in Mt P. You almost feel like you’re in another country.
This journey that you just went on, well, it takes place in less than an hour.
Welcome to DC.
By Tom Bridge
Alrighty, folks, we’re here for yet another week of 24 in DC. I think we’re headed outside again this week, so we’re excited to present yet another version of the live chat during the episode, and round-up after the fact! Here we go!
Continue reading
‘murky coffee, arlington’
courtesy of ‘tvol’
Twitter user @bamelzer informs us that badged Arlington County tax auditors just walked into Murky Coffee in Arlington and posted notice of auction of assets on the window for April 2, 2009. Murky has had its share of controversy, and this would be the second location that would fall to less-than-attentive management of tax obligations. I wonder what the auction value will be of Murky’s famed dickpunches?
By AcaciaO
‘Folger Shakespeare Library – This Will Seem Naught but a Midsummer Night’s Dream – 6-1-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
Full disclosure: Germaine Greer is pretty much my hero. And I plan on telling her so, if given the opportunity, when she lectures tonight at the Folger Shakespeare Library at their on-going series “Words on Will.” (I regrettably had to miss the last installment of the series, which featured Marjorie Gerber, author of “Shakespeare and Modern Culture.”)
The Australian-born scholar/feminist icon/journalist’s most recent work is “Shakespeare’s Wife,” an abnormally tempered – in comparison with previous scholars and bardologists – look at Anne Hathaway (no, not that one). Continue reading
Political satire. Comedy. Music. Charity. Hexagon has been putting on satirical musical theater performances in DC since 1955, and every year, a different local charity benefits from the proceeds of ticket sales. Due to my spaciness in getting this posted, tickets are now nearly sold out, but there are still seats available for several shows! You can still catch this year’s show, What So Proudly We Bailed, until April 3rd This year, the beneficiary is Rebuilding Together, which does low-cost home repairs for low-income DC area residents. So it’s a fun night out that helps your neighbors. What’s not to love.
By AcaciaO
‘Flags and Geese at Comcast’
courtesy of ‘blunck2’
Yesterday at the Comcast Center, the Terps continued to carry the torch for DC-area basketball in an 82-53 win over the Dartmouth Big Green. The 16th-seeded Dartmouth made it to the tournament by winning the Ivy League conference, but faced near-insurmountable odds coming up against Maryland, a strong contender for the Championship. And did I mention this was a home game for the Terps??
Perhaps the most hilarious part of the game, was a lone Big Green fan, sitting amongst a sea of red, who insisted upon heckling the Maryland players during time outs and free throws. However, this was not just any heckling — this was nerd heckling. The fan in question was reading aloud from passages from the Dr. Seuss book Yertle the Turtle.
By Tom Bridge
‘NPR Sign’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
It’s looking like it’s grim times at DC-based National Public Radio. A letter from NPR President Vivian Schiller indicates they’re looking at a $7M deficit this year (after a draw down from reserves), and an $8M deficit next year. Anyone over the VP level is forgoing retirement contributions and pay increases of any kind this year and next, and there’ll be a two-week furlough at the end of 2009. They’re eliminating 4 senior positions, two through attrition, and two others to be determined.
It’s tough all over DC, but to see the big media organizations hurt like the newspapers do, it’s definitely concerning.
‘DC Boats’
courtesy of ‘diskychick’
You may have heard by now, but on Wednesday morning, CBS/Paramount is going to commence to blow stuff up on the Potomac, north of the Key Bridge and Jack’s Boathouse. Don’t worry, all relevent law enforcement agencies have been alerted, including the twitchy Department of Homeland Security. And that’s good, because I have been promised a 20-30 foot fireball. So with a fireball that size, you ought to just be able to stand on the bridge and watch- which I recommend, if you’re conveniently located. The fun should take place between 9:30 AM and noon.
The explosion is a special-effects shot for a pilot called Washington Field, about the “elite” FBI Washington Field Office. IMDB lists the series’ director as Jon Cassar, who has directed more episodes of 24 than any other director, so if we’re very lucky, the main characters won’t know where the Washington Field Office is either.
UPDATE: Skunkgal has a list of the cast members. I note the presence of Gina Torres, who played the highly-underrated Zoe on the even more underrated Firefly.
By Ben H. Rome
They make a big deal about the cherry blossoms and spring here in DC, courtesy of quinnums
In case you had no doubt, spring is finally here in DC. Hope you all were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and the end of winter’s grasp. From the photos I saw in Flickr, there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the area, sampling everything from concerts to the circus to museums to the opening buds of the cherry blossoms.
Fair warning: we’ll be having a lot of cherry blossom photos over the next few weeks, since it is arguably one of the best times to photograph DC. And it never gets old.
Meantimes, enjoy the sampling of shots from our area photogs from this past weekend! Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
‘Bang!’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’
There’s a hard choice on the table. The Senate will be taking up the revised legislation that would grant the District a voting Representative in the House, but would do so only if we also accepted that all of the District’s gun laws would have to come off the books for good.
The decision puts DC in between a rock and a hard place, as representation that the city has long sought is within grasp, but comes at what could be a terrible price. So, it seems we’re stuck. Compromise one principle to get access to one we’ve been long after? Or stick to your guns (uh, or lack thereof) and keep the dream of true voting perception at arms length still. It seems a bit of a Foustian bargain for the city. What are our leaders saying?
Continue reading
‘Real Estate For Sale Signs’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Our friends at Washingtonian inform us that Iceland is having to sell its ambassador’s residence in Kalorama Heights (not to be confused with the embassy itself, which is at 15th and M) due to the global recession that collapsed Iceland’s financial industry. You can snap up the 10 bedroom, 5 bath Tudor (with staff quarters!) for just a hair over $5.5 million. A bargain, no doubt.
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