Back when the Orioles traded for Anna, er, Kris Benson in January, I predicted either a complete nutjob, or the happiest Orioles clubhouse ever. Well, turns out the whole thing’s a wash, as Anna Benson filed for divorce. However, this does mean that all of Baltimore now actually has a pretty solid chance with Anna, especially if you’re a ballboy.

Wait, you haven’t seen Anna yet? Pity.

The O’s are in town tonight at RFK, and tickets are still available if you’re interested.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You, Me, EKG

Today I went for my annual physical, and as you can see, even got an EKG. While discussing my adventuress with alcohol and wounds from dancing with toro El Tamarindo my doctor, Dr. Bruce S Rashbaum, said I have a heart murmur. I was stressing about it until he told me to chill and said I am HIV-free.

Discussing my joy to be virus clean, Dr. Rashbaum took an odd tangent. He said that HIV today is not like it was 10 years ago. Now it’s more a chronic disease than a killer, diabetes not a death sentence. Wait, check that.

He said that if he had to pick between the two, HIV would be easier to manage and live with than diabetes. That somehow a blood sugar deficiency is worse than an immune deficiency.

Now that is a novel statement, what with all the sex = death hype that HIV gets in this town. Might Dr. Rashbaum be on to something here, or should I be worried about that murmur more than he let on?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

candid cvs camera

The next time you enter the CVS at 15th and K streets, be sure to smile as your on camera.

While cameras in stores is not new, and cameras in stores connected to TV is 1980s, cameras in stores connected to 20 inch flat panels is very 2006.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I spend a good amount of time at my darling girlfriend’s home in the Pentagon City area and we’re always on the lookout for good places to eat that would be a pleasant walking distance. We both like to walk and are employed in situations where the car-free DC movement isn’t doable for us.

So we were pleased when the 23rd street assortment expanded by one. Cantina Mexican looked like it could be anywhere between heaven and hell, so we dawdled a bit on going there. The call of the margarita was too much to resist one day in February, so off we went. We’re glad we did.

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

sidewalk mopeds

This is the scene outside of 901 15th street right now and I am not sure how I feel about mopeds on the sidewalk.

On the one hand I am so anti-car that I celebrate any transportation alternative, especially one so walker friendly.

On the other hand thanks for taking up bike rack space with your pollution producers.

Which hand do you count?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

What do you call a nightmare that happens during the day? Daymares? I really got nothing here, other than it could best be described as trying to get a parking space anywhere near the Mall right now. I had a good business lunch in Clarendon and figured I’d celebrate by going to see the cherries after that. I drove. Critical error in judgment, for sure, with all the transit options, but I figured it would be the best way to keep my mobility after I was done.

Yeah, not so much. 14th Street was jammed up, Constitution was jammed up. Independence was a lurking horror. Parking was nowhere to be found and there’s no way I was going to pay a garage to hold my car for just a quick hour or two of flower gazing. I settled for just driving around the tidal basin and enjoying the sights, before swerving back across the river. Looks like it’ll have to wait until the weekend.

Is there super secret rockstar parking down by the Mall I just don’t know about? Or a cheap garage? Or should I just stick to the transit system?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

clean now

I have to hand it to DC’s Graffiti Patrol. Two days after I called in about Verizon’s sidewalk graffiti, they power washed it away.

And yes, I know the graffiti is chalk not paint, and it will wear off in time, but why should we stand by and allow Verizon to get its “visual imprints” with this vandalism?

I ask you, dear Metblog reader, to join me in calling in every Verizon graffiti to the DC Graffiti Patrol, and erase this visual pollution from our sidewalks.

If I had a Verizon account, I’d cancel it based on this alone. Luckily, I already know that Verizon sucks and wouldn’t use them if you paid me.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ever since 9/11 there’s been a huge amount of concern about the readiness of the DC area in case of another attack. With disparate and disjointed emergency response systems across eight counties and the District, you’d think that we’d have enough people to make sure that there was a plan.

You’d Be Wrong.

There is no plan. Six months ago, there was supposed to be a plan, developed by Homeland Security. There’s still no plan. Of course, why it would take them nearly 4 years to put together a plan after the attack, I’m not entirely sure, but I’d imagine that we might have had a plan even in 2 years.

Sadly. No plan.

There are some response plans, sure, but no overarching strategic plan that’s part of that process. Congress was pretty well pissy. I’d have the same response.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Last night, I took it upon myself to check out the new watering hole on Georgia Avenue at Petworth that folks are talking about: Temperance Hall.

With a swank old-school decor (velvet wallpaper!) and a damn fine drink selection (good beers and rye), the atmosphere was first rate. The service however, was slower than molasses. Luckily Manager Dan here had the great idea to jump out and help the newbie & slammed server get back to speed.

While we waited for our drinks, a pool challenge was thrown down. I was game till cash came out. It seems there’s a hustler or two at the lone pool table in the back and I’m way too Scratch Fats to compete for a Jackson.

Darpino will be pleased to note that the music selection was first rate and eclectic. Not sure if it was jukebox or owner selected, but a good night is when I sing Prince’s Little Red Corvette on my walk home.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I couldn’t make this kind of stuff up. Apparently Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) circumvented security at her office building, as people who are elected to the Congress frequently do, except she wasn’t wearing her insignia as a member of Congress, and as a result the Capitol Police pursued her down the hallway. When the officer caught up to Rep McKinney, McKinney assaulted the officer, punching him in the chest. No word on whether charges will be filed, but I’d bet this will be the tempest in the teapot for the day. Just look, Wonkette’s all over it like white on rice.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Is Metroblogging DC’s RSS feed not enough for you? Well, then, welcome the new All Cities Feed which will give you all of Metroblogging in one easy to read RSS feed for your syndication pleasure. With 44 cities circling the globe, you can pick up a lot on the world in just one place. Give it a go.

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We’re getting reports that MPD officers are giving out jaywalking tickets downtown today so please be careful while you’re out and about elsewhere in the city, as DC is clearly wasting its resources downtown, which means that you may find yourself mugged while a cop is giving out a ticket for walking improperly.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

cherry blossom alert

I do not know about the Mall, but it is peak cherry blossom time in Mt. Pleasant. Trees like this one are a riot of color in my hood. Better yet, I am wearing a T-shirt sans coat this morning.

Whoo hoo! Spring is here!

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Tomorrow morning, at a station that WMATA has not disclosed, transit police and a special K9 team will surveil the Metro platform during morning rush. There may be as many as 20 officers on the platform at any given time during the 90 minute rush hour that begins at 7:30am tomorrow. No word on whether or not Metro is under any specific terror threat or the reasons behind the random station policing.

If you happen to travel through this station tomorrow, let us know what you saw. Also, if you’ve got an opinion about Metro’s security, which has seen more crime lately than ever before, tell us in the comments.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

That’s right, Dr. Sam Beckett himself is doing an online chat at the Washington Post tomorrow at 1pm, with the subject being his performance in the musical Shenandoah which is at Ford’s Theatre through April 30th.

Me, I’m dying to know about his Quantum Leap experiences, but I’ve got a feeling he won’t be too amenable to taking too many questions about his old school television days, though, the chat description says he will. Got a good question for Scott?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

WTOP News is reporting on their radio broadcast that the District may be adding a few taxes to real estate closings in the coming months that would add up to $2000 to the closing costs of any real estate deal in DC. I know that people are talking about a real estate bubble, and a decline in the prices, but I have to wonder whether or not the Mayor is trying to make things worse.

Anyone out there have more details on this? I googled around, and looked for the original piece on WTOP and on the Washington Business Journal site, but nothing’s coming up. Closing costs are one of those godawful crazy moments where you’ll pay pretty much anything to be done with the process, and adding $2000 to the cost seems to be some sort of extortionist measure to me.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Where are the hotdogs?!

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Every once in a while I get this craving.

You know the one I’m talking about. You stare out the window on a gorgeous day, and dream of grabbing a half-smoke from the hotdog vendor on the corner, with extra onions and mustard.

Sitting on a park bench, enjoying the creature comfort of smoked sausage and tangy brown mustard with the bite of the onion.

Sadly, I’m at home waiting on the Wells Fargo Wagon’s modern descendent to deliver my replacement TiVo and some new business cards, so popping into the city is a no-go. Going to Safeway, though, for a package of Hebrew Nationals, though, that I can handle.

Except there weren’t any. I could have had a ton of different sausage types, but not one hotdog. How the hell does this happen? Dammit, now I really want a half-smoke.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

not clean

So Verizon’s graffiti is washable chalk, not spray paint, as I originally thought. But its not easily washable chalk – it took me a good 5 minutes of scrubbing just to take off a “F” and it’s the actual act, more than the paint, that should piss us off.

Here is Verizon, a multimillion dollar company, defacing public property for its own marketing purposes. Defacing public property as it will take DC’s Graffiti removal team (and my taxpayer dollars) a good power-washing to remove their blatant ad from what should be a ad-free public space.

Where does this differ from bOrf or even Cool Disco Dan?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

graffiti

While we can debate if bOrf was an artist or a vandal, there can be no mistaking the stencils I noticed on my walk to work today.

Those spray-painted ads for Verizon’s Yellow Pages along the K Street sidewalk – that would be graffiti, straight up and ugly.

Now I wanna know – how did that get on the sidewalk? And why isn’t the District suing Verizon to clean up it’s defacing of District property?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

15th street closed

Good luck on that drive home tonight. Bush is at a meeting on 15th street and its closed between K and M streets NW. As you might expect, downtown is a parking lot as a result.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs