Ever-popular online photo server Flickr has launched a sweet new Geotagging feature that takes advantage of locational data that you can put into your stream.

Check out this awesome map of DC with spots that show off some of the locations that have been photographed by all you DC shutter bugs! Great shots of the Capitol, of the monuments and Mall, of DC’s districts and wards all over town. Isn’t this awesome?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

When I first moved here, it was Ningaloo, and I played pool on the tables there in the summertime, drank beer out of pitchers and flirted with the bartendress. Then it was closed, and it eventually became Dr. Dremo, or just Dremo’s. Good beer on tap, old video games, interesting interior decor, and famously, no air conditioning. Now they’re down to what could be the last days of Dremo:

Dremo’s lease runs out at the end of August ’06. The developer’s plans are up for review at two Arlington county meetings: project planning meeting Sept 5 ’06 and the county board meeting September 16 ’06. We are guessing we are safe until Sept 16th. If the plans are approved, then the sale will take place and we will have to get out. What we don’t know, is when we will have to get out. It could be Sept 1st, it could be January 1st. We don’t know.

It would suck to lose such an august member of the Beer Bar Family in the DC area, air conditioning or no, just to put up yet more condos. Please go out and support Dremo at the Arlington County Council Meeting on the 16th.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

PNC Bank is giving out free ice cream right now in front of its new K Street branch.

If you want your own, hurry up. I got a Nutty Buddy and they were going fast.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A friend who is new to town tipped me to the salsa nights held by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission. For $5, you get a salsa lesson, drink specials, and door prizes. Your super-cheap salsa lesson fee will benefit the GHRC’s mission to end political violence, violence against women, and other human rights abuses in Guatemala.

Shaking your ass for a good cause. What could be better?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Last week, we wrote about the the bus driver who loved some Vitamin C, and promoted Vincent Orange for Mayor on his bus route, asking his riders to think about the votes on September 12th. While I can support his civic-mindedness, and certainly his drive to educate DC’s voting populace about the upcoming race, his devotion to his candidate has indirectly cost him his job. After the Post’s article on Sidney Davis, he was suspended for improper behavior on the job, and now he’s been fired for failing to disclose a criminal record.

Davis has been out of prison since 1992, and crime-free, so it strikes me that Metro’s decision, while to the letter, policy-wise, will do it more harm than good. We hope they reconsider, as it appears that aside from Davis’ proselytizing for Vincent Orange, he’s been a good driver, and we all know how rare that is on the Metrobus system. WMATA has released Dan Tangherlini’s response to Vincent Orange (PDF) who had petitioned for Davis to be given only disciplinary action, not a dismissal. In addition, WMATA’s Lisa Farbstein has said that the Post and other news sources have “missed the point” with regard to their stories.

So, what is the point? That their driver was fired for failing to disclose a criminal record, something that apparently they were not checking on their own? How “routine” was the personnel file review, if it resulted from the Post’s initial story on Davis? Goes to show, if they’re looking to fire you, they’ll find just about any reason under the sun to do it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So you and your family wanna see the Nation’s Capitol, but you are concerned about he cost of hotels. You are worried that after you pay $100 a night, minimum, for accommodation, you’ll be eating Ramen noodles for months to pay off the credit cards.

Photo by DC Metroblogger

May I offer you an alternative: Urban RV Living

See this mini-RV? That was parked out in front of my downtown office building two nights in a row, windows covered in A/C cold condensation as a tourist family slept cheap in the city.

Best location perk: they parked 20 feet from Starbucks and 2 blocks from the White House.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You may have heard their ads on the radio, or seen their ads on WTOP.com or WashingtonPost.com, they have a big media buy in the DC area right now for the windows and shades. But here’s what happened when I tried to get some new windows for my condo.

After doing a bunch of looking around, and asking friends for recommendations, I’ve been calling places and getting appointments and quotes. Today, I called Thomson Creek. The woman who I spoke with asked for my information, which I gave out, but then started prying, “Is there a Mrs. Bridge?” Um. Yes. Her name is Tiffany. “And when will you both be available for a meeting?” Well, she works downtown, I work from home. I’m glad to meet with your salesperson whenever… and that’s when she cuts me off.

They don’t do meetings with just one person, if you’re married.

What the fuck is that? I just want the quote for the windows, I don’t need you to try to manipulate my spouse against me out of some stylistic choice. I just want to know what you’ll charge me for 9 windows! Now, I respect that it’s their legal right to run their business however they want, I just want to point out that when you have two people working in the same household, and on different schedules, you’re not going to get their business if you insist that you have the meetings on your terms instead of those of your clients.

Screw you, Thomson Creek, that’s a dumb and fucked up policy.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Washington Post has a great video piece on last night’s demolition of the old span of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, including an interview with Daniel Ruefly, who got to start the chain reaction of explosions that destroyed the old span of the bridge. I didn’t make it out to the detonation last night, demoralized after a Pub Quiz meltdown in the last round. Did you see the detonation? What did you think?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

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While darling girlfriend and I were looking for someplace to damage our livers kill some time in oldtown on Saturday night we started to walk past Austin Grill…. and saw the giant turtle.

Since normally this is the kind of thing that we start seeing after the imbibing we had to go in.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that our daily dose of weird was coming to us courtesy of the Alexandria-Olympic branch of The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, a charitable organization that serves the needs of children of all races and creeds. So of course they were doing this from a bar.

Seriously – the giant turtle was to help promote the impending 2nd annual Turbo Turtle Trek. At 2pm on September 3rd they’ll release about 10,000 rubber turtles into the great wave pool at Cameron Run Water Park, each with a number that identifies who “adopted” it for $5. Prizes range from an airfare-included trip to St Thomas to 25 personal training sessions to Nats and Redskins tickets – 11 in all. We, of course, threw down our $5 each.

There’s no support for online signup but you can stop in the office between 11am and 6pm this week to make your entry or, better yet, show up on Sunday after 11am and buy one there. There’ll be carnival activities but the real show’s gotta be 10,000 rubber turtles in the wave pool. I’ve gotta miss it – I’ll be visiting one of our sister cities – but I’m counting on someone to go take pictures.

And in case you’re wondering, St Thomas has leatherback, green and hawksbill turtles so it’s a wonderfully apropos 1st prize. I’ll send y’all a postcard when I win.

Alexandria-Olympic Branch
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
401 North Payne Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone: 703.549.3078

Great Waves at Cameron Run Regional Park
4001 Eisenhower Avenue,
Alexandria, VA
703-960-0767

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

That’s right, if you are a’ hankering for your V1agra or Cali*s and you’d rather not buy it from the plentiful email pitchmen, the District’s website can direct you to a better way: import it from Canada.

To quote the DC Examiner:

On the D.C. government’s home page, www.dc.gov, is a link to Minnesota’s RxConnect program, which “provides information on safety and cost-saving tips and access to low-cost medication from Canada.” In addition, some medications ordered through Canadian companies can be filled by affiliate pharmacies in Britain, offering even more price options.

Yes, of course importing drugs from Canada is technically illegal. If we didn’t overpay the pharmaceutical mafia industry, we would have more affordable healthcare.

And we all know that’s the first step towards sanity affordability communism.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

If you are single guy in DC, on the prowl for new supermodels for your harem, there is one sign you do not want to see on your way to the bathroom.

Granted, I don’t want to be stepping over drunk GW students either, but I was hoping that “Baby Changing” would not be a service offered at the bar I wandered into last night.

No, I do not remember which one, it was that hopeless good of a night. I just remember finding this sign an affront to my sensibilities.

That and a reminder that while my Mom is ready for grandkids, I’m still trying to figure out how to find someone to practice with.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

At lunch today an Italian was told that his Italian drivers license was not sufficient to prove his age to drink.

The (bitchy) server said she needed a US Government ID or a foreign passport for her alcohol age check. She claimed that this is a new law in DC.

DC servers, have you heard of this? Is this right? Is this new?

Back when I waited tables a few years ago I do not remember this rule. If it is the law, what a pain in the ass.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Another summer, another Lyle Lovett appearance at WolfTrap. It’s usually one of the highlights of the year and one concert I never miss. I can almost hear the eye-rolling out in our readership – my experience in trying to convey my love for his work is often similar to what this writer describes. “Who? Isn’t he country? Yuck.” Then they put their Melissa Etheridge CD back on, to “rock out.”

For those of us who looked beyond LL’s country roots the rewards have been great. His stuff is often quirky & funny, sometimes heartbreaking(“Nobody knows me”) and compelling. Odds are that you’ve enjoyed a few of his songs without even realizing it – almost certainly you’ve heard his duet with Randy Newman from Toy Story, “You’ve Got a Friend In Me.” All that aside, even if you (*gasp*) were to decide you didn’t care for his work, I’d be astonished if anyone couldn’t enjoy seeing Lyle Lovett in concert.

Why? Because even aside from the variety in musical style that the night contains – from some swing-tinged to bluegrass to soulful crooning to gospel spiritual – a Lyle Lovett concert is almost as much a showcase of all the other performers on stage as it is a performance of LL’s music. At various points in the show you’re given the opportunity to enjoy the solo work of the fiddle, drums, steel guitar, piano, and bass. That’s not counting the amount of time given to his backup singers, particularly Francine Reed who does two songs on her own.

In addition to the amount of time most of the musicians get to shine on their own, the lineup from song to song can change drastically. Sometimes the entire 18 person ensemble is working at once, sometimes it’s just the trio pictured above. The show opened with just Lyle singing and Jeff White playing the mandolin. It’s abundantly clear that there’s not a person on that stage who isn’t excellent at what they do and it seems certain they’re all enjoying the hell out of themselves.

So were all of us out in the audience.

If you were at the show or already are a Lovett fan you might be interested in this excellent New Yorker article about Lyle Lovett that I came across while looking up how to spell a few of his band’s names. It’s a good read. If you’re reluctant but I’ve convinced you to give him a stab I recommend the older album “Lyle Lovett and His Large Band,” which contains “The Blues Walk,” the song that first hooked me on Lyle Lovett when I saw him perform it on Leno. “Pontiac” is also a good choice, which the crowd-favorite “If I had a boat” leading it off and followed immediately with the amusing “Give back my heart.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Chesapeake Bay Bridge, near Annapolis, Maryland

Originally uploaded by bridgepix.

This is one of those stories that absolutely boggles my mind. Apparently, if you are afraid to drive your car across the Bay Bridge, the State of Maryland will provide you with a driver, free of charge, for that leg of your trip. Or, rather, they were doing this up until recently. They’re now bidding out the process to private contractors who may charge as much as $50 to do the task.

Seriously, can you really be that afraid of the Big Bridge that you’re unable to drive it? And keep your license?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

We’re 18 days from the DC Mayoral Primary, and chances are, you’re starting to think about who you ought to vote for. Bring on today’s sweet google maps mashup from DC Wannabe: Contributions Mapping for DC for this September’s election.

The data is about ten days old at this point, but the message is still there. See who your neighbor is supporting, check out your area of town to see which way the wind is blowing. Not that I even remotely recommend making up your mind solely off financial data, but this will let you know who in your area to talk to and ask why they’re supporting their candidate of choice.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Secret Service: Hey V-DOT, would you mind if we closed down the HOV lanes for six hours on Wednesday?

V-DOT: For What?

Secret Service: Well, *wink*, I understand that a certain world leader will be travelling that day and might like to make use of it.

V-DOT: The President wants to close 395 South’s HOV lanes during rush? Are you high? He may be the leader of the Free World, but this is Rush Hour, dammit.

Secret Service: But, but, but, he’s the President of the United States.

V-DOT: So? 8600 cars have to make their way home tonight. His poll numbers suck enough without 25,000 more people hating him, don’t you think?

Secret Service: Well, he’s the President and Senator Allen needs him at a fundraiser.

V-DOT: Did you even talk to the Allen campaign about this? I just talked to his campaign manager. He said: “We would not have supported such a proposal. Oh my Lord. Wow. No. Not aware of any such proposal. Certainly grateful it didn’t happen that way.” Don’t you guys have helicopters?

Secret Service: Okay, fine. Be that way.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

One of my goals in writing for Metroblogging DC is to expose the unexposed raw talent that’s sitting right here in our little state city of Washington DC. There are photographers, and then there are photographers, but some of them take the medium to a new level, a level that approaches “art” status.

One of these photographers is Joshua Yospyn. Originally from Detroit (aren’t we all from somewhere else?), Mr Yospyn has been living, breathing, and documenting the DC area for over five years now. His photos “provoke response, elicit emotion, or give obvious definition to the viewer.” Not many postcards here. The goal is ART.

I love this shot of his titled “Tunnel Tracer”. The exposure and shutter speed were dead on to catch this stream of light through one of the tunnels in town. The lines, the flow, the slopes, the patterns – all incredible. Even if he is a Nikon man (yes, he’s the proud owner of a D2X and a boatload of other gear), he knows his stuff and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for his eye, his lens, and his shutter finger.

Be sure to check out his website at www.yospyn.com.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Architecture nut? Like the cool buildings in DC but want to be able to talk about them a bit more intelligently? The DC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is putting on its annual Architecture Week celebration starting September 9th. Events include a walking tour of Penn Quarter, tours of architects’ offices, and a house tour in Rosedale.

Some of the events sound pretty cool, so check them out and mark your calendars.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s not a happy feeling to drive by the local hoitsy-toitsy child-care place, Creme de la Creme, and see two ambulances outside with the lights on. Here’s hoping it’s something benign.

I’m not sure what causes such a feeling of additional empathy in a case like this. It’s not like I’ve never seen an ambulance with its lights on out in the world, and with a mom who worked as an RN I practically grew up in the local hospital waiting room. Somehow it seems worse when it’s children, though. Is that a biological reaction? Assumption of innocence? Simply the fact that they have – one hopes – longer lives in front of them and more time to potentially lose?

Good luck, little ones.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs