I’d say it’s a pretty fair bet that none of us looked this cute playing in the snow last month. Check out the rest of the snow photos over here and a number of other non-snow Tai Shan shots over here.

My darling girlfriend got us tickets to attempt to see Tai Shan and his parents for this coming week. I say attempt because you get entry for a particular time and have to simply hope they’re in a gregarious mood for your timeslot. You can do your ticket requesting on the Panda section of the National Zoo’s website and get a ticket for up to six spaces, maximum of two tickets a day. More than that and you have to talk to the group co-ordinator.

Maybe we should arrange a DC Metblogs group visit. Could we get 10 or 20 of you Constant Readers to join us?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wanna sip wine with simians? Get drunk with gorillas? Then sign up for the FONZ Young Professional’s first annual “Grapes With the Apes” wine tasting on April 21st.

Sample wines and hors d’oeuvres from Virginia and Maryland wineries and area restaurants; enjoy live music, wine seminars with a local expert, and exclusive access to the Zoo’s Great Ape House.

Oddly enough, proceeds from the event benefit the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, not an Ape conservation fund.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Candice Martinez, aka “The Cellphone Robber”, was sentenced today in Alexandria for committing several bank robberies in Northern Virginia, all while chatting away with her accomplice and boyfriend on her cellphone. The sentence was 12 years in (Federal PMITA) Prison: 7 for the use of a gun in a bank robbery and 5 more for the actual robbery.

The judge said he had reviewed Martinez’s life story, including her seeming rise to success at Boys and Girls Town and her enrollment in college. “Reading your life story,” Lee said, “one would have thought you’d be graduating from college. But now, you’re graduating to prison.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So, the time has finally come, it’s Gym Time for Tommy. I looked at a bunch of gym’s around the area and ended up going with the Energy Club at the foot of the hill in Shirlington. I thought about going the YMCA route like Wayan, but the locations were just too far from my house, and proximity is key to keeping me going every day.

But, can I ask one thing…when did going to the gym become like going to a nice restaurant? The lockerroom at the Energy Club had real oak cabinets (I can spot the fakes) with towels and digital combo lockers, and italian tile floors, not to mention beautiful hardwood floors in the gym?

Hey, not that I miss the circa 1950s spare room feeling that I used to get at the Arlington Y…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Shaggy Paul

So I find that over in Cali there’s Burbed, a blog devoted to (essentially) bitching about insane real estate prices. Burbed admits to being inspired to start by Curbed, a blog devoted to bitching about New York’s insane real estate prices. What about us? Where’s our whiny real-estate blog? The cost of homes is certainly just as insane here and god knows we’re not short on people who like to bitch and complain – look at the author list to the right of this post! C’mon, who’s gonna step up?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

How hard core DC lawyer are you? Do you bill clients by the hour or half-hour? What about six-minute increments? Six-minute increments including time you’re in the bathroom thinking about a case?

If you’re that insane hard core, now you have a way to set you’re whole life around the six-minute billing increment, to flaunt it even, with The Billable Hour watch.

That’s right, you can be even more a bore to those of us who already hate your overzealous Crackberry use.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There I was, sitting in the coffee shop, working on a bunch of spreadsheets, taking in my morning latte. Minding my own business.

Sipping the Joe, and Crunching the numbers.

Soaking up the free wifi. Then they came in. In velour jumpsuits. If it sounds like I am still in shellshock, that’s because I am still in a state of absolute shock. Three of them, average age well above 60. In velour jumpsuits. One purple. One…brown.

Kids, this cannot stand. I need a new coffee shop. Preferably with WiFi and decent coffee. The latter is negotiable. The former is not. Where can I go?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I understand the value of the interstitial ad. They’re good ways of making a boatload of cash. They’re just also really, really good at making your readers a little pissy. Which is probably why we don’t have them anywhere near Metblogs. That doesn’t explain why I got an interstitial ad this morning when I dialed up washingtonpost.com. Seriously, isn’t the idea that the front page is a “free zone” and that interstitial ads only really apply after the front page?

What’s going on here, WaPo?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“Mona Lisa has a moustache now?” our cab driver laughed as we pulled under the banner at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building.

Yes indeed, she does. Marcel Duchamp’s “L.H.O.O.Q.” is the main advertising used for the Dada exhibit. It’s a print of the Mona Lisa, with a scribbled moustache. A whimsical image now, once highly subversive, but easy on the masses used to Warhol. This worried me somewhat at first – though I love the eccentricities of Dada, I like it more when it’s going for the jugular. But there’s nothing light-hearted about beginning of the exhibit, which starts off with a submersion into the horrors of World War I. The first blood red room has no art, only a looped film of the carnage surrounded by striking photographs. It forces the viewers to get into the mindset of the Dadaists, to understand what they were rebelling against, and to see that Dada itself was born out of chaos.

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

photo courtesy of Celebdu

According to Capital Weather we’re likely going to see weather a little colder than average for the next week and have a slim chance at some snow & accumulation next Mon/Tues, but that’s probably it for this winter season. Personally I’m fine with that. As much as I enjoy the winter season, I feel like this one has done its magic and done it well. Let’s end on a good note. We had a February that was much much less gray than usual and such a nice snow that at age 35 I got to make my first ever snowman! Let’s move on to BBQs and ourdoor patios. Just leave the ice out of my beer, please.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The gang over at Deadspin is bagging on Screech pretty hard today. Sure, our mascot might be better suited to a bizarro children’s show written by Hunter S. Thompson, but at least he’s ours, right?

Right?

*crickets*

Right?

Okay, so yeah, Screech sucks, but what should we do about it? Should we turn him into the modern day San Diego Chicken and have him travel with the team and harass mascots and umpires? Turn him into troubled teen Screech? No, you’re thinking about Saved By the Bell. Stop that.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Westin Arlington Gateway opened yesterday in Ballston, right across from the Ballston Mall on Glebe Road. The Westin brand is one of the real luxury brands of hotels, along the line of a W or a Ritz Carlton. View from the Wing has a good summary of the space:

The new building is a site to behold inside! That new hotel feel is just great, and the design is pretty sweet. It’s very light and airy, modern in look and feel. It reminds me of the Westin Melbourne, at least for the lighting.

The top two floors aren’t done yet. The official open for those floors is supposed to be March 15, but staff concede that isn’t going to happen. That’s where the executive lounge will be (top floor), so there’s no lounge available yet. Apparently there’ll be at least one larger suite suitable for entertaining with a small cocktail reception on the top floor. There might be more than one between the two floors, but they apparently haven’t gone final on configuration yet.

I’m told that the parking garage will be connected underground to the metro, but I’m really not sure how that’s going to work. In any case, since they say 9 months off I’d expect it to take even longer.

Rates start at $379 normally, but are $199 per night via an internet special right now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

pittsburg and richmond in san francisco?

I am trying to get from San Francisco to Berkeley to meet friends for dinner and its getting all pear shaped. I have to take a Pittsburgh train then a Richmond train to get there.

Anyone else find it odd that I need PA and VA on BA to travel in CA?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

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Hot Food!, originally uploaded by tbridge.

At the end of the Dulles Toll Road, well outside the Beltway sits Leesburg, best know for its Outlet Malls, but there’s more to it than that. As I left Market Station, the most amazing smell wafted through the air. I followed my nose to this amazing sight:, the Mighty Midget Kitchen on the corner of Royal and Harrison. This little metal shack, er, mighty midget kitchen, delivers great food for little coin. If you’re out that way, it’s worth a stop.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Looking for the daily Japanese NHK broadcast? Or maybe BBC World Service? What about Arab Net News? Or my favorite Russian NTV? And you don’t know when they might be on MHz (CHANNEL 56) or another station?

Look no further, now you have a guide to foreign news broadcast on Washington TV channels thanks to the cool people over at World Future Fund.

Now get ‘a watching, your CCTV test will be tomorrow – in Chinese!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Saving someone from choking is no laughing matter. Anyone who’s ever taken the Red Cross CPR class learns how the Heimlich Maneuver works and how hard it is, you can even end up bruising someone’s ribs doing the manuever properly. But, that didn’t stop Maryland State Senator John Giannetti from saving his opponent’s life in an Annapolis restaurant last night. The Post has the whole story about the two political combatants who ran dead on into fate last night.

Here’s hoping it might soften the war of words between the two men.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

dogs in dc hotels

So what do I spy in my San Francisco hotel room but a dog checking in with her owner. A short conversation later I learn this is a common guest in the west. And here I thought that dogs, like smokers, should be kept outside.

Although some properties have many pet-friendly rooms, pets cannot be left unattended in them, and hotels are allowed to charge for any damage caused by an animal being kept on the property 

When looking for dog accessories for sale, you should always consider buying an accessory from a place that is trusted and well-known. Dog accessories are among the most fun for your pet dog to have. Whether its dog collars, leads, leashes or anything else that you can think off-the-rack, you can definitely find these things and more at Dogblogtv. They are a one stop shop where you can get a wide variety of different dog accessories for sale without much hassle. Here’s how you can find dog accessories for sale:

Whether you’re going on a road trip to the beach or planning a weekend full of hiking, taking your dog when you travel can add to the fun. And just like you have designated supplies for your trips, there are certain travel products available for dogs to help make trips safe, fun, and easy.

Do any DC hotels allow pets in rooms, especially ones as big as Precious here?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Whenever my darling girlfriend and I drove past Taqueria Poblano we’d say “we should try that place.” This had gone on for two full years before we finally reached our snapping point last weekend and went there for an early dinner. I’m almost sorry we did, because now I think about all those meals I could have eaten there and cry myself to sleep every night.

Okay, not really, but it’s a close one. The food is superb and the prices are reasonable, which is apparently no secret to the people in the Del Ray area; by the time our food arrived the joint was packed. My darling girlfriend pronounced their salsa “the best ever,” an opinion I do not quite share. Part of the joy of a tomato is the texture and TP makes their salsa as finely chopped as it is delicious and I prefer a chunkier style. This is not to say that we didn’t both damned near ruin our appetite eating it and the equally excellent warm chips.

Feel free to bring your lawn apes and rug rats. To judge by the clientèle on the evening we were there they’re exceedingly family-friendly. While we weren’t the only childless couple there, we were one of the few mono-generational tables.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Bubble? Bubble? What Bubble?

Real Estate assessments are up 21% on average. Trinidad is up 47%. Congress Heights up 41%. Median House price in the District is $400,000 right now. But it’s not all painful news, as the homestead exemption’s up to $60,000, and the rate per hundred dollars has gone down to 92 cents, but that does make the annual tax bill on a $400,000 house over $3,000.

I know from personal experience that the assessments went up in Arlington, as I’m looking at yet another net increase in my taxes, though the rates won’t be set until mid April. How’d your assessment go this year?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

good morning dc

I love living on the east coast. We are the first to know and do in the nation. The leaders if by time zone alone. Leadership that is magnified whenever I head west.

This morning for example, I went for a long run at 6am before most were even awake. Well those in San Francisco anyway.

DC was already leaving me voice and emails before I made the first mile.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs