Look at the calender – we’re in December already which means its 30 days or less to Smoke Free DC!

Ah, to say goodbye to the stale smoke-filled air of your favorite dive.

Particulate that the Surgeon General himself says:”is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults.”

Stink that once gone, may reveal other odors. No matter, those new smells at least don’t kill. And come January, bars and clubs will be a whole new thrill.

Now I can wear styling clothes, fancy threads that need not smoke-smell killing dry cleaning after one use. I can breathe deeply the perfume of a passing supermodel.

I can live large at my own risk – not worried that my bar-top neighbour will kill my lungs. No it is just me killing my brain cells and damning my liver – not yours or you to mine.

Get ready to rejoice DC, this is what our New Year will bring; Smoke Free DC!!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

What better task to accomplish early on a Sunday than an Ikea run?

Do not say “sleeping in” or “bloody mary brunch”. Those are for lazy people.

Those that take shopping seriously start before Ikea even opens. Armed with a list and new ideas from the showrooms, its buying time at 10am sharp.

Done by noon, this is the right way to Ikea.

Update: Even Ikea agrees – get your shop on at 10am!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

How is this for a traffic jam – a limo jam at the White House this afternoon around 2pm.

I don’t know what was up, but it wasn’t Presidental. No cops, no Suburbans full of Secret Service, not a flashing light to be seen.

Nor were these black limos seen long. Each drove a different direction as they left, all absorbed into a limo concentration that suggested something big just went down.

Were you cool enough to be in the know?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sheesh, what’s wrong with you Capitol Hill residents? A beautiful blue-sky clear day and you’re almost all at home. How do I know? Because there’s not a single @#$%^&*(*&^%$ parking space within 5 blocks of Eastern Market. Yeah yeah, blah blah metro blah blah public transport. My keister – even if 50% use public transport (and I’ll eat my warm knit hat if it’s that high a usage) the other half would have driven somewhere – and given me somewhere to park my behemoth extended-body Ford E250 (lovingly nicknamed “big red”) once I’ve unloaded all our mirrors at the market.

All of you failing to conduct your lives in ways that are convenient for me are hereby on notice. I do appreciate your fun little street garden decorations though

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m a sucker for patterns, what can I say? Whether they’re man made or a product of nature, they always make for interesting photography. Flickrite LR_DC has taken what most train travelers would have passed by without notice and turned it into a black and white masterpiece. I love the symmetry, the patterns within patterns, as well as the underlying simplicity of this photograph. The exposure is dead on so as not to overexpose the skylights. My only critique would be to sharpen up the lines with Photoshop, and maybe not crop the bottom edges, but otherwise I love it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Only in Washington DC would you have this cultural mash up: a Chinese bellydancer at a Benin fundraiser.

No, I do not know why there was a bellydancer at a Benin fundraiser, the two do not have anything in common that I know of.

Nor do I know why the bellydancer, usually associated with Mediterranean peoples, was Asian.

But when asked by a Russian friend how this mash up could happen, I knew there was only one answer:

“Welcome to DC!”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ewww, that’s not what I meant. Stop smirking, you perv.

No, I mean the Capitol Weather Snow Lover’s Crystal Ball! Tom linked to their advisories earlier but made no comment of this stalwart feature’s return.

courtesy of Capitol Weather

Now you already know that I loves me some Capitol Weather, but the Snow Lover’s Crystal Ball has to be my second-favorite little highlight on the site (right behind the wonderful confidence meter). I don’t know where y’all hail from, but I grew up in a town where it has snowed once.

Once.

Let me assure you that there was no accumulation. So having lived in a more northern climate for only five years, I still get a goofy smile when the snow starts falling. The return of Cap Weather’s snow predictor means it’s that time again and just the sight of that indicator of the possibility is enough to bring a smile to my face.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, the weather advisories are out for today, and in essence, they say “Batten down the hatches, it’s about to get insane outside.” Specifically the text I received says: Please secure loose items and watch for flying debris. So, when you’re out this afternoon, don’t even bother with the umbrella unless it’s made of cast iron, it’ll just become a projectile in the storm. Thunderstorms, high winds, flying debris, it’s all part of the forecast for today.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

How did this shoe come to be here, at the corner of Connecticut and R Streets NW? Why was it there late on a Thursday night?

Did it fall off on a sprint for the 42 Bus? Was it removed to beat an offender? Is this the fate of a blister-maker?

What do you think happened? How do you envision its arrival on this traffic cone? The comments section awaits.

Best answer wins a Metroblogging Japan T-Shirt because we’re not cool enough yet to have pure DC swag.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Marion Shepilov Barry, Wayan would have you know.

Love this gift or hate it, you can put its inclusion in this list all on me. Our illustrious Cap’n Tom suggested replacements on several occasions but I pushed for keeping him in. It’s not out of some great love for MSB, lord knows, but my belief that some gifts pain the giver as much as they enrich the recipient.

To explain my reasoning for wanting MSB to be in our 7 gifts, let me tell you a story from about a decade ago when I was still living in Miami and my father had taken a job in New Orleans. Every time I spoke to him he’d ask me what fun was going on with the Miami political scene. I finally asked him, “Why do you keep asking about the Miami politics? New Orleans practically invented government corruption. I’d think you’d have better material there.” My father strongly disagreed, and said something on the order of “Watching New Orleans corruption is no fun compared to Miami. Here they’re actually good at it.”

That’s Barry’s primary appeal to me. His scandals aren’t dull stories of influence peddling or shunning firms that don’t have the right makeup of political party allegiances; they’re hotel rooms, drugs and “bitch set me up.” I’ve been here in the DC area just under five years but if you’d come to me on the day I got here and asked me to say the first phrase than came to mind when you said “Marion Barry” that would have been exactly what I’d said: “Bitch set me up.”

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

On its own that might not make the list but the fact that the hits keep on coming raises it to Art. Barry brings us the thrill of the train wreck where the sound of screeching metal never seems to fade. He’s the energizer bunny of political tomfoolery, and that longevity has made him a national figure rather than just a local one. Do you expect to see Mark Foley back in Congress in two years? No, and nobody’s even made a move to put him in jail at this point as far as I know. Barry went up the river and within 2 years, BAM, he’s back running for city council. And winning. Two years later, mayor again. That’s the gift that keeps on giving, folks. Leno and Letterman ought to send him royalty checks.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

Leonardo DaVinci could be considered to be the very first technologist. Inventor, artist, and visionary are amongst his titles. Over 500 years ago, he painted Adoration of the Magi in Scopeto, near Florence. The nine foot by eight foot fresco painting is truly a wonder to behold. So, what’s this got to do with DC? Well, some of the study drawings that DaVinci made are being made available to the public at the Library of Congress next Thursday and Friday. It’s open to the public, so you don’t have to have an Ultimate Library Card. The exhibition is in the Northwest Pavilion of the Jefferson Building and runs from 10 to 5 each day.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

"White Workers Emergency Action" Flyer on the Metro

Originally uploaded by brownpau.

DC Blogger brownpau sent me this flyer today, which was placed on every one of the seats of a Red Line train in Union Station the other day, preaching all manner of anti-immigrant hate. What’s weirdest? The group that’s passing them out traces back to a group in Wisconsin, linked to Stormfront and some other NeoHitlerian Cultists.

Hey Crazy Cultists, if you don’t like it here, I highly encourage you to leave. DC is only going to be more diverse, not less, and if that makes you uncomfortable, then, well, you have two choices: Adapt or Depart.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

When the sign for the Metro station points down some random two-lane road, you can’t even see the station from the main road, and there isn’t a sidewalk along either road.

Thankfully there is a crosswalk and cars actually stop for pedestrians as they cross the road. At first, I was hesitant to trust Maryland drivers, but then it became clear.

Another way to tell you are in the suburbs is that cars will actually stop for you as you cross the street to the West Hyattsville Metro station.

In DC, I think drivers would speed up, going for double points if you bounce off their hood.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Apparently, no one’s been watching the toll-breakers on the Dulles Toll Road. The clanging bells, the lights, they’re just for show. At least, until the first of the year… Virginia is finally installing cameras to watch the toll plazas along the Dulles Toll Road in order to fine those who don’t pay up the $0.50 or $0.75.

Now, while Virginia drivers appear to be more honest than most (only 1.7% of the tolls aren’t properly paid), can I just ask a quick question? How is it that there have been a ton of red-light cameras in the area, supposedly for safety, but never on the Toll Road, where it costs the State money? Isn’t this backward, or something?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Thanks to Victoria E’s post on San Francisco Metroblogging, I now know Self Magazine’s Best Place For Women 2006

And where might DC rank on their revered list?

Population: 5,276,900
Ranking: 27 out of 100

+ Below-average rates of depression
+ Among the top five areas for rates of women getting Pap smears
+ Among the top five scores for dental health

– Among the 10 highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases
– Longer-than-average commute of 72 minutes a day
– Among the 10 highest rates of asthma on list

At 5 million and long commuting, they’re including the suburbs, which is a wonderful counter balance to the STD rate numbers. But I’m still disappointed that we’re 27th.

I’d tell you who was ahead of us, but the web database only goes by places, not ranking. Bummer. I wonder where is the “best” according to Self?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Most of us who have been here for a while have a pretty good idea about what goes into a presidential motorcade, but Slate’s Explainer column actually went and did the research.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Has anyone noticed that WASH-FM 97.1 seems to be playing only Christmas music? Good gracious – it’s like indoctrination. I don’t know what they usually play but I hope my wife isn’t upset when she discovers that I changed that radio setting to some all-Spanish station so at least we can have some musical variety.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, okay, we admit it. It’s time to come clean.

Here in DC, we’re terrible re-gifters. Here we are, claiming the cherry blossom trees along the tidal basin as our gift to the world, when the first 3000 trees were in fact a gift to the city from the mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki in 1912 as a way to build friendship between Japan and the United States. Ozaki was a liberal who opposed the rising tide of Japanese militarism, and would be imprisoned during both world wars for his anti-war activities.

In 1965, twenty years after the end of WWII, Japan gave another 3800 trees to the US. In 1981, we gave cuttings back to Japan to replace trees which had been destroyed in a flood.

While the grove along the Tidal Basin is certainly the most famous, and the water and the monuments certainly add to the overall effect of viewing the blossoms, you have plenty of other options if crowds aren’t your thing. Yoshino cherry trees have been planted in smaller groves all over the area- they’re easy to spot because they bloom before almost anything else does. My personal favorite spot for hanami, or blossom viewing, is actually under the tree on the hillside across the street from our house. A blanket, a bottle of wine, and a picnic lunch make sakura season complete.

So, maybe this re-gifting thing isn’t so bad?

Tags: Metblogs7Gifts 7Gifts Metroblogging7Gifts

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I know, I know. It’s entirely possible that I spoke too soon about the best shot of the Air Force Memorial. I take it all back and throw this out instead: There is no best shot. I will say this however, a memorial of this size really lends itself to a wide angle lens or even a fisheye lens such as j6 photo has used here. His Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 lens was perfect for the job here, not only because it captures the entire memorial but also lends to the swooping spires and exaggerates their lines. I could do without the bent human in the foreground, but sometimes you’re just not patient enough for people to clear out of your viewfinder (or sometimes people rudely step into it). Santa, if you’re listening, I’ll take a new Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens. Oh wait. I guess I’m Santa seeing as how I buy my own Christmas presents.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Arlington Co. web site reminds us not to park on the leaves that line many of the streets. The site also refers to a Post article from last December about a fellow who parked in a pile of leaves and lost his car to flames just minutes later. I’ve seen this happen elsewhere as well. It’s not pretty to see a burning car with the owner running around screaming, unable to do anything as firefighters douse the heap of junk.

It’s been quite a number of years since I was behind the counter of a car parts store, but as I recall, your catalytic converter can reach temperatures up to 1000 degrees. Why, that’s even hotter than two rats in a wool sock. The converter is essentially a chemical reaction box that restricts the flow of exhaust gasses, causing major heat build-up and thus danger when parked in leaves, which apparently ignite at around 400 degrees.

I am pretty certain that other areas outside Arlington can benefit from this warning as well, but since it was on the Arlington web site I wasn’t sure…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs