We’re looking for folks to write about DC. Not about the politics, but about the culture, the traffic, the sports, the arts, the life that is DC. Applicants must be willing to write 3 times a week, roughly 200 words per entry or so. While we don’t pay, we will allow anyone to apply for media passes, under our auspices, in the DC area with our blessing and support.

Spend all your time at the 9:30? The Sackler? The Corcoran? The Mayor’s Office? The Metro? Saint-Ex? Tell us about it.

Email a writing sample and biography, and we’ll get to talking.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Saturday night I took the Metro up to U St., dined at Saint-Ex, went to the 9:30 club, ogled the Ellington Condominiums and Sala Thai, and dreamt of living in such a cool neighborhood.

Today I read in the Times that this will be a fiction for me, simply because of the incredibly booming property values. I bought in Virginia a year or so ago, and my property is up about 20%, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be able to afford much more than I’m already breaking myself with.

Of course, I can still want…and play the Powerball…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You know, just from the title, what I’m writing about. Recently, it was reported that DC Metro Drivers are getting speech lessons on how to properly say L’Enfant Plaza and Grosvenor. Personally, I think the problem is more with the speaker systems in the stations than the ones in the cars, but the point is well taken: can you understand what the hell they’re saying when you jolt awake on the train three stops after your usual destination?

Usually not, but elocution’s not going to help in that situation.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A few years ago I put my music degree to work, and I began to sing with a few local groups. Concerts and small venues are wonderful, so very personal, bringing the audience to within your gaze as you finish the end of Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, tears in their eyes, each remembering a different loved one now past. It’s an electric feeling to perform and to watch your audience take it in.

There’s another musician moment that I’ve had twice recently that felt odd. At the Church I sing for, the choir sits in the chancel behind the communion table, giving us a very different view of the congregation and the ministers than I’m used to. Recently, when one of our former choristers passed on, his memorial was held in the Church and we had a large choir sing the event. On the communion table sat two photos of Richard, facing outward to the pews. As we sang the last song, his longtime partner walked up the steps to the Chancel, picked up the frame of one of the photos, brushed his hand across the frame, and with a sad smile he kissed the photo, replaced it on the communion table and left.

That intimate moment, I felt like I was intruding, seeing that depth of emotion that was meant for him, His God, and his former lover, and it was so touching, so bare, and it just awkward.

This weekend, my good friends Lauren and Erich were married in this same church, and a number of us came to sing for their wedding. As we stood in our pews in the chancel and sang for them, we could see Lauren’s nervous and happy tears, Erich’s hand shake just slightly as he came in to stand to receive her, and a glance that was perfect between the two as he received her at the altar. This moment, usually obscured, was mine to share. As we sang the Gratias Agimus Tibi from Bach’s B Minor Mass, I caught her eye, something I would not have been able to do otherwise, and she winked as me as the basses came charging in to bring the piece to its peak. It was special, and it was a naked moment.

This town has its share of secrets, some long in the tooth, some short, but secrets nonetheless. I find myself holding a few, unintentionally.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Hey gang, this is Jenn Larsen, new metroblogger…

This weekend I saw Vanessa Redgrave in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of “Hecuba” at the Kennedy Center. This is the closing weekend, so it’s a litle late for a recommendation (sorry!), but the RSC is in the third year of their five-year summer residency so you have more chances to see this world-class company. The production was tight, a stellar ensemble cast and clean direction – I may not have agreed with all the choices made, but there was no question they were made with conviction. Redgrave is a true acting legend and thrilling to see.

I try to go to KenCen at least once a year, and always end up feeling slightly guilty that I don’t take more advantage of it. There are plenty of free events for when money is tight. I find it has an odd atmosphere – stuck in 1960’s decor, especially the Eisenhower Theater (that icky brown panelling!). But it was nice to see they have installed multimedia interactive displays on JFK now.

The night I was there it was filled with high school graduation parties, dressed-up dates walking arm and arm, watchful grandparents in tow. Fun people-watching. And you really can’t beat chatting about the play afterwards on the fountained terrace, the view over the Potomac of Teddy Roosevelt Island with Rosslyn peeking out from behind, envying the boats as they go by. Great Washington moment.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s amazing how long you can live in DC and miss some of the museums. I’ve been here for about five years now, and I’m still just making it to the Smithsonians. Yesterday, my friend Dave and I met on the mall late in the day, hoping to take advantage of the summer hours at the Natural History Museum, only to be greeted with a sign that told us that those summer hours don’t always apply. Instead, we headed over to the National Archives, as neither of us had seen the Constitution or the Bill of Rights since the new exhibition opened, or, rather, since high school.

Wandering through, I was amazed at the Public Vaults display. I’m something of a technologist, which is just an interesting way of saying “geek”, and so the idea that you can see the handwritten request for a writ of certiorari from someone in a corrections facility, or the diagram for the bus that Rosa Parks was arrested for riding, is pretty damn cool. One of the things they’ve done fairly well is the use of touch screen flat panels that have access to content like letters from the archives, or video footage, and it’s displayed in an amazing fashion.

The reason to go, though, was to see the Framing Documents, and despite the number of junior high schoolers running around, we were able to. Of course, it didn’t help that despite the numerous signs that read “Do NOT take Flash Photography. Ever. We mean it, we’ll take that camera and crush it,” we saw a few flashes go off.

Afterwards, dinner at Saint-Ex (where I believe it is entirely possible I was the homeliest person there by an order of magnitude), and the massively good Old 97s at 930 club. What amazed me about their set was how much better they sounded live than they sound recorded. For a lot of bands, how they sound in the studio is the best they’ll ever play, aided by countless digital production tricks. Not so, the 97s. With their Refreshments-meets-Social Distortion-with-a-dash-of-western-swing sound, and Rhett Miller’s impossibly rubber limbs, they dominated the stage. On the way out, wandering down U St in the early early morning, the four us (as we’d grabbed Jay and Beth for the sold out concert) headed back on the Metro, tired, but quite pleased with our day in the heart of the city.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ever seen those three and four digit license plates with DC logos and wonder how they’re given out? Turns out, they come straight from the DC City Council and the Mayor’s Office. This week, all 13 council members let loose their lists, but the Mayor won’t give it up, saying that violates the privacy of those who have them.

Of course, WTOP has that list for download (Word Document format) I don’t recognize 99.5% of the names, to be honest, but there are 10 pages of them, with plates numbering from 2 to 1248 and include all manner of folks. I really only recognize Red Auerbach, whose car bears the number 873.

Who are these folks, and how do they rate such special treatment? WTOP also claims that Chief Justice Rehnquist is on Mayor Williams’ list. Know anybody on the list? Let us know in the comments.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Did you miss us? We missed you…

Those of you riding the MARC have surely seen the Soviet posters that the intarweb has been chattering about for a few days. DC Filmmaker and political rantster Bill Coughlan actually called MARC about it and they informed him that CSX, who owns the on a couple lines, commissioned them. Friend of Metroblogging DC Alycia Eck reports that so many people have asked for copies of the poster, that CSX is now out of them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sorry about this afternoon’s outage, our host suffered a severe outage at their facility and discovered some lingering issues in their power distribution model. We’re back now, though.

While we were off, though, major complaints about RFK concessions were noted by W*USA 9, and Food Inspectors are expected to be out at RFK tonight or tomorrow to deal with health issues including old food in use, and unsanitary conditions.

Metro workers, mechanics and bus drivers protested in front of Metro headquarters, and a gas leak evacuated a downtown facility for the disabled.

So really, it’s okay if you didn’t miss us much.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Jason Storch of DC Foodies has the scoop on Galileo Grill:

Then each week, an email annoucement is sent out, telling you the days that The Grill will be open what the menu will be. If you like what you see, you call (202) 293-7191 to order the morning you plan to go (or you can just show up and hope they have some extra food), and at about 11 AM or so, Roberto starts cooking. At 11:45 AM, the doors open, you pick up your food at the bar, and you can eat your food out front on the patio or in one of the back private rooms.

Jason even has the menu for you. I am salivating at the thought.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wait? We get to vote again? Already? Well, you do if you live in Northern Virginia, at least. Republican and Democratic primaries will take place next Tuesday, with polls opening early and closing before dark. Up for grabs are the party candidacies for Governor and Lt. Governor to be elected this Fall, Attorney General, and Virginia House of Delegates districts 33, 35, 37, 41, 45, 54 and 67. Fortunately, the Post has a voter guide for those of you that haven’t kept up with the myriad lawn signs that have infected the medians of the roads like aphids on my roses.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s no secret that we’re a group of Flickr fans. We know that some of you are also fans. So let’s get our flickr on together at the DC Flickr party on 25 June at El Tamarindo. RSVP here. We’ll see you there.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

As I walked from the Metro to RFK for last night’s Nationals’ Game, I was greeted by the usual sights, ticket scalpers, the saxophone guy at the top of the escalators, the usual hotdog vendors, and the ubiquitous HomeStand folks, but last night added a new dimension: free phone cards?

Sure enough, there were 50 or so people wearing blue polo shirts and caps emblazoned with “Washington D.C. All Stars” handing out 15 minute phone cards. Attached to each card is a postcard bearing the large script text “Keep It Fair!” and a pitch by the Capitol Area Minority Contractors and Business Association Action Fund to write the Mayor and advocate against Project Labor Agreements that would affect how hiring for the new stadium will be handled.

What concerns me here is that the walk from the Metro to the Stadium is going to become an avenue meant for every protestor and their cousin with any small cause to harass people who other wise Just Don’t Care™ about the cause in question. The last thing I want to think about on my way to a baseball game is someone’s pet cause.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You would think that after you paid all that cash to have your daughter (or son) study the ancient art of tap dance, you would at least be able to take video of the recital at the Lincoln Theatre.

You would be wrong:

Robert sez, “My daughter had her tap dance recital at the Lincoln theater in DC on sunday (6/3). Despite the fact that I paid for the lessons, paid for the costume, paid for the tickets to the show, and am the father of the child I could NOT videotape my daughters performance because of ‘copyright issues’ with the background music. The issue magically went away apparently if I purchased the DVD they making of the show for $25. There were ushers constantly moving up and down the aisle making sure video equipment wasn’t used. At least this year they allowed still camera, last year they banned even those.”

Hat tip to the Boing Boing folks for sending this one our way. I spoke with the Lincoln Theatre’s Star Brown today, and their policy is that videotaping of events is prohibited by audience members per the regulations drawn up by the Board of the Theatre company.

A non-profit company can request the right to film the concert/event for archival purposes at a cost of $2500, and a for-profit company can pay $5000 for the privilege. Non-profits can use one camera, For-profits can use many cameras.

If you’d like to ask for clarification about the policy, their phone number is 202.328.6000. Also, Lisa Jones is the Board Chair for the Lincoln Theatre, and her address for letters is:

Lisa Jones
Board of Directors
Lincoln Theatre
1215 U St. NW
Washington, DC 20009

Feel free to let her know how that policy makes you feel.

[Update] Welcome BoingBoing Readers! Our RSS feed is Right Here, stay awhile!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sure, in LA, they get freaked out by two cameras covering an Alley Market where some DVD pirating happens. They’ve never been to DC.

I work downtown by Metro Center, surveillance cameras are no surprise to me. All throughout the city there are those ubiquitious black globes concealing a video camera likely controlled by remote to view various viewpoints of all those federal “target” buildings like the BEP, the White House, the Capitol, the Reagan buildings, the Metro, the list goes on and on and on.

I wonder, has anything good actually come of being on tape 24/7 downtown? Is this the beginning of Citizen Oversight of Greg Bear’s Queen of Angels books? Who knows.

Me, I’ll just start noting down where I see them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

That’s right, it’s 87 out there, with some fairly hefty humidity, which means the start of the summer. The heat will envelop you when you walk outside, kind of like wearing a wet wool blanket around your neck, a feeling I was never ever acquainted with until I moved here. Not even in Ohio did I experience such discomfort as a DC summer.

Those of us Westerners who are sojourning in DC are certainly unprepared for all this hair curling humidity. Of course, it does make for a fun light show when the thunderheads roll through, which we’re scheduled for today. Get out the umbrellas…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

By the way, welcome Sunday Source readers.

You’ll find our Atom and RSS feeds in the left column of the page, under the DC Metblogs button and the list of Metroblogging cities. If you’re looking for a good news reader, I hear Kinja, Bloglines, and NewsGator are good, and I use NetNewsWire (Mac only).

If you’re not from here, see if your hometown is a Metroblogging city and check it out.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

That’s right folks, we have a first place team here in Washington. The Nats took over sole possession of First Place in the NL East after taking 3 of 4 from The Braves (take THAT, Atlanta) and sweeping the Marlins. The entire National League East could currently be contained inside a small shoebox, given the split between the teams:

The Nats are on a real tear, and this week they’ll face my sometimes hapless, though currently streaking, Oakland A’s, and the Seattle Mariners over at RFK. Tickets are available for both series at the box office.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I was at a cookout last night and heard someone say that in Venice Beach, where he grew up, there’s a strong ethic of “work hard, play hard.” You do your job, you come home, you enjoy your life. But then he came here, and was astonished by the frenetic pace of working life here. Working on the weekends is a badge of honor. His response is, “Get a therapist!”

My response is to try and keep my life a little more organized. I manage my working life by interruption and so trying to keep my deteriorating attention span in check while being productive is a challenge. So I’ve gotten onto an organization kick lately- what tools do I need (and will actually use) to make sure things get done?

At my previous job, I could use my own PowerBook as my work computer, so things were fairly easy. I went everywhere with my laptop and my calendar was always on hand. I had work and personal calendars in my iCal, I subscribed to Tom’s iCal feed for his travel schedule, and stuff was great.

But now I work for a company where the IT department has standardized everyone on a particular computer system and keeps the whole thing pretty locked down for security reasons. I can’t plug anything into the network that wasn’t issued by them. I also can’t sync anything to my desktop that isn’t company-issue.

Now, this seems oppressive to some of you, and being a gadget-dependent geek, it annoys me too. However, since I have always worked for tiny companies with either no IT department, or an understaffed, incompetent IT department in the past, I choose to accept these restrictions gracefully in exchange for the simple joy of having my computer’s function be someone else’s responsibility. When something breaks, I get to pick up the phone and make it someone else’s problem. This seems a small price to pay for giving up the ability to sync a PDA.

But the question I have still had to wrestle with over the 5 months I’ve worked at this company is this: What tool(s) can I use that will allow me to keep the level of organization I became accustomed to when my work machine and personal machine were the same?

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

The Washington Post has started a series of 4 article covering our sometimes beloved Metro rail system, covering all the foibles of the system, from mismanagement to car problems to my favorite: Escalator “repair”:

And a $93 million project to renovate 178 escalators has managed to make many of them worse. More than a third have been breaking down more often than they did before, a Washington Post analysis of Metro statistics shows.

Definitely required reading for anyone who takes the Metro all the time or just once in a while.

Update: Metro has responded to their initial story, and the Washington Post has posted their second article on the Metro, this time about Safety Warnings Gone Ignored.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs