If you’ve walked in and around Capitol Hill, you’ve seen them, but you probably had no idea what they were. 6-foot tall brown curvy posts of some sort, typically with a empty, see-through round frame up top. What are those and what purpose do they serve? They’re police and fire call boxes, and in recent years, they’ve become the object of community art projects in the area.

The boxes were installed in the mid-1800s, but the creation of 911 gave them their final shove toward obsolescence. Because they are too bulky and troublesome to remove, they’ve remained– ugly and purposeless shells. In 2000, Art on Call was born — a call to artists to re-purpose the boxes. Cultural Tourism DC and the Commission on the Arts and Humanities have paired up to fund grants for the boxes, working with local neighborhood organizations.

Currently the Capitol Hill Northeast Neighborhood Association is calling for project proposals for five call boxes, as is the Trinidad Neighborhood Association. Artists from those neighborhoods are encouraged to submit projects.

Wizard of Oz
courtesy of ep_jhu

Crystal City represent! Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, the gay bar that my darling wife descibes as looking “as if South Beach threw up,” (she means it with love) won the Tina Turner award for best float in the Capital Pride Parade[pdf]. Congrats to Freddys and their partner in this venture, the Crystal City BID (which is clearly working hard and seems like it’s been everywhere this year).

A few more pictures here and here, though curiously the tin man always seems to be the center of attention. Wonder why? Maybe they should have done a float about the other OZ.

‘Corcoran Gallery of Art’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

This Saturday the Corcoran Museum will open its anticipated exhibit, William Eggleston: Democratic Camera. The exhibit a retrospective which brings together 150 photographs of the influential Eggleston, a pioneer of color photography and artist of the familiar. The show will also feature many of the images which put Eggleston on the map with his 1976 solo show at the MoMa. And the appeal of Corcoran’s free Summer Saturdays pretty much makes this decision for you. Take your dad, make it a Father’s Day with one of the fathers of photography as we know it today.

‘practice balls’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

For those of you who are into political metaphors turning not-so-metaphorical, Congress will be playing its annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park. Tickets are $10 and ticket proceeds benefit the Washington Literacy Council and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. The Republicans are defending their title, and the Democrats will be trying to take ONE MORE THING from them (seriously guys, the White House, Congress, and upcoming SCOTUS nominations aren’t enough? You have to kick a party when it’s down?).

Hey, at least THIS bad DC baseball benefits charity.

The AP has a whole set of video captured yesterday here in DC as a group of Iranians, and Iranian-Americans, protested the results of the contested election on the streets of DC yesterday. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s happened in Iran, whether or not the election’s been wholesale stolen, whether it’s been altered slightly, or whether this is the will of the people. It’s hard to get definitive information out of a closed society with a state-run media where the will of the Ayatollah is law. It certainly looks very suspect, and the demonstrations in Tehran, and other cities in Iran, and all the activity on Twitter certainly make it look like something peculiar as hell has happened.

‘From Capital Pride Parade’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

The DC Board of Elections & Ethics has rejected the proposed referendum on whether or not DC can recognize gay marriage as a violation of DC’s Human Rights Act. Furthermore, the City Paper reports, the board’s order rejecting the referendum specifically points out that it was Marion Barry’s amendments to the referendum regulations way back in 1978 that forbid referendums and ballot initiatives from being used to interfere with civil and human rights. Marion Barry, who is against gay marriage because he is “a politician who is moral.”

Go read the whole order.

‘Brickskeller’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

Last week I read an article by Baltimore Sun beer blogger (lucky bastard) Rob Kasper, in which he waxed poetic about Baltimore’s overwhelmingly superior beer culture at the expense of our “wino” city.  I wanted to cry foul via a devilishly constructed response, but knowing nothing of Baltimore’s beer culture, I shied away.  All weekend, thoughts of DC’s Belgian revolution, our several breweries and the amount of my income that goes to expensive craft beers swirled in my head.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that DC has an admirable beer scene.  It’s not the best in the nation, but we’re not, as Mr. Kasper asserts, a “wine city.”

Fortunately, Orr Shtuhl of the Washington City Paper had the stones to defend DC’s honor.  He’s writing a 2 part article on our city’s beer scene and I couldn’t be happier.  I see this city as being a beer city; perhaps not wholly and completely, but we have our share of connoisseurs and they open great establishments.  What are your thoughts?  Beer town or wine town?

‘Vrouwelijke bokskampioen / Female boxing champion’
courtesy of ‘Nationaal Archief’

Did they have that nonsense up here? The local rock station used to host that event when I was growing up in Miami and I was happy not to have thought of it till now. Unfortunately this event seems to have dredged up all kinds of nonsense from my brain. Like “she’s not much of a wrestler, but you should see her box.” My apologies – I’ve been killing these brain cells with alcohol so long they aren’t very reliable.

My dain bramage aside, this is not a subject that I find humorous: Women boxing. Publicist Cha Ross-Estes dropped a press release on us about the All Female Amateur Boxing series that kicks off this Saturday at Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland. Fight Lady wants to bring exposure to a sport they hope will be added to the Olympics, preferably in 2012. They’ve got a point: it’s the one category without a female analog in the competition.

If  you’ve never female boxing, let me assure you: it’s no faux-lesbianism titillation. Female boxing is every bit the same sport as “regular” boxing. If it lacks the same intensity – which I’m not sure you can really claim – it’s only because the pool of competitors is smaller.

If you enjoy light to middleweight boxing matches with men and can put aside your preconceptions you should give it a try, you can start by checking this boxing clothing line. I was dragged to a match some years ago and was quite surprised by what I saw.

‘Fiber Optic Cable’
courtesy of ‘slgckgc’

Seems like a slow day here in DC-land, at least for us, so I thought I’d highlight this bit that Bruce Schneier’s monthly e-newsletter included: A Washington Post piece from May 31st with one of the most implausible stories you’re likely to see in mainstream media. The story is recounted in the first few paragraphs and claims, implausibly, that “within moments” of a fiber being cut that a car-load of supposed-spooks pulled up. It’s not till the end of the piece that it’s revealed that this supposed incident is from 2000.

Putting aside the wisdom of retelling an nine year-old uncorroborated story, this fails the sniff test on several levels. Moments? It takes me five minutes to make it to the drug store less than a mile from my house. How did they know where the cut was? Why would a construction crew pay any attention to a car-load of suits who refuse to show ID? If the cable is already cut what was the point of them coming? If it’s such a supah-sekret why was AT&T making the repairs?

WaPo ombudsman wrote a piece in Sunday’s paper talking about some of the defects staffers fear might come about after this recent buyout offer. “An editor expressed fears of “an overall loss of polish and professionalism.” If you’re recounting inanities like this in a supposedly serious article, you don’t need to worry about a loss there.

‘Bolt Bus and Astroturf’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

In pursuit of the cheapest way to get to New York, I’ve found myself trapped on a Chinatown bus one too many times with a non-English speaker driving erratically up I-95 who makes unannounced stops on the side of the road.  Not exactly luxury travel, but you get what you pay for!

We’ve all seen the BoltBus, Megabus, and DC2NY buses around town, offering a new type of service with wireless internet, electrical outlets, and generally more upscale conditions for just $40 round trip.  Now Bloomberg tells us that these buses are attracting a new clientele that typically wouldn’t touch a Chinatown bus with a ten foot pole.  The article points out that many business travelers are considering the bus as an alternative to flying in order to cut down on costs.  Sure, the ride may take a bit longer, but once you factor in airport travel/security time and the lack of internet on airplanes, the bus seems like a pretty good option.