If you’re of a mind and persuaded by my fanboyish writeup from last year of the excellence that is a Lyle Lovett concert, there’s tickets at about all levels available for tonight’s show at Wolf Trap. At $30 for the lawn it’s not the cheapest show you’ll ever see but as you can tell from the picture above you’re getting plenty of musician for your money. This time around he’s also joined by k.d.lang, which should be interesting.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Passport wait – two lines long!

If you’re trying to get a passport at the Passport Agency on 1111 19th Street, N.W. in downtown Washington DC, these long-ass lines awaits you.

The line for the proletariat who are flying soon stretches all the way down 19th Street, several hundred people and a few hours long.

The line for the bourgeoisie, those with letters from their Congressmen, is relatively short if hard to get into.

Curiously, there isn’t a line for those with appointments. Probably because it’s impossible to get through to the automated appointment phone number – I know I tired for a week before I gave up.

This passport issue and renewal line is not a new phenomenon, its been here almost every day since new rules went into effect January 1 that require a passport to return to the USA when traveling to most North American destinations, including the ever-popular Caribbean.

To the very end of the block

I know I’ve watched this line grow since our office moved to 19th and M Street and even created a Passport Line Flickr Set.

The Washington Post finally felt it was a news story on June 15th, and since then it is covering the scene almost daily with reports of the government reaction to the unfolding drama.

My favorite government reaction so far is to ask Foreign Service consular workers who are on home leave in the US to volunteer at their nearest agency. Al Kamen had a great response to that idea in today’s Post:

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

Technology. It allows us to do so many cool things. It also results in things like this morning’s posting outage here at Metblogs. Our servers, currently living over in Herndon, were affected by a bad power supply cable very early this morning. You can check out pictures of the nastiness that ensued at the forums of our host. We’re able to post now, kinda, and comments seem to again be working, kinda. Things will settle out here shortly, and we’ll tell you all about the two security guards who got in a gunfight at Walter Reed (with eachother!), the guy who got stabbed near Chinatown metro, and the stupidity on the Green Line yesterday. Bear with us. We’re coming back!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Remember last week when I found the stop work order on 4143 New Hampshire Ave, the Petworth Eyesore? The house even Prince of Petworth curses?

Well I went and took a few close-up photos just to document how bad the renovation is. My favorite is this one:

Do you see that total mis-match of the new addition to the original structure? I am not talking just the colors or texture, I’m talking the gaping overhangs from one structure to the next.

Might the designer been drunk? The carpenters blind? The owner insane? Regardless, the neighbours had enough. 4141 New Hampshire Ave is up for sale & rumor says is listed at $560K.

I wonder if that’s $560 for the blind, $20k less for those who have to see 4143 every day?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So the folks over at Metroblogging LA are all pissed off that their Congresscritters are silent about CNN’s report on Congressional pork. CNN says:

Despite the new Democratic congressional leadership’s promise of “openness and transparency” in the budget process, a CNN survey of the House found it nearly impossible to get information on lawmakers’ pet projects.

Staffers for only 31 of the 435 members of the House contacted by CNN between Wednesday and Friday of last week supplied a list of their earmark requests for fiscal year 2008, which begins on October 1, or pointed callers to Web sites where those earmark requests were posted.

Metroblogging LA wishes their elected representatives would be more open about the bacon they are bringing home. As a District resident, I have only one complaint: why can’t we get more? Why don’t I have voting representation in the Senate or House that can filibuster more cash for DC constituents?

Until then, let others bemoan earmarks. I’ll bemoan our lack of them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Not once, but twice today I saw people blatantly littering on 267 on my way to work. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s one thing to spit your gum out the window, but to throw a water bottle and some sheets of paper away like the toll road is your trashcan?! Come on people. It’s just ridiculous. Keep the trash in your car and throw it away when you get home or to work. It’s really, really not that difficult. It’s people like this that make me think that caring for the environment is an interest of the minority. Is it just me? Have you seen these idiots too?

Photo by super chicken.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Tortilla

Originally uploaded by stina_sj.

Local Blogger Jeff Harrell wants to know, Is there really no place on the eastern seaboard where you can get a decent, fresh-made tortilla? Having moved from Dallas, a land he considers the “milk and honey” area for tortilla, to otherwise acceptable DC, he’s looking for a great place to get fresh and delectable tortilla, not the crappy stuff in bags marked “Mission” from the grocery store, but real, homemade stuff.

Tell us, DC, where can Jeff get a good homemade tortilla he can take home to enjoy?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Good Morning Mr. Mouse

Walking into my kitchen the other morning, I realized I had an overnight visitor, a mouse in the house.

Now I was not alarmed, and unlike Prince of Petworth, didn’t go out and get a cat, I did what any red-blooded American man did. I ignored it.

But when the clock-stopping hottie came in, I had another “Honey do..” on my list: “Honey, do kill them!” And so to Home Depot I went to buy my way to mouse-free living.

I bought every single mouse and rat killing weapon they sold. Traps classic and new, bait, poison, sticky pads, you name it, and deployed my mouse-killing arsenal throughout the house. Then I waited.

I waited for a snap or a squeal or some sign of death…

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

With those ever so famous words of the Sex Pistols’ Johnny (Lydon) Rotten, you have a chance now to play the Redistricting Game courtesy of the USC Annenberg Center for Communication and the USC Game Innovation Lab.

I think this is an interesting exercise for the general public to understand how the system is now “gamed” for elections and keeping the incumbent in power. I remember just a few years ago when Texas had their own real-life redistricting game with now disgraced Tom DeLay and the Texas Legislature, even going as far as to play “Where In the World is Your Texas Caucus”? For those who care, it’s not too late for 2008 to consider, are we being cheated? (NPR Story)

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Moby74

Adding to the “I can’t believe you haven’t commented on this” kind of list is the latest entry in the TSA’s ongoing War on Liquids. Odds are good you’ve seen some coverage of the ‘incident’ between a woman going through security at National Airport and the TSA who said she couldn’t take that sippy cup through – it had more than the magical three ounces of liquid in it. When she declined to simply surrender the cup she was told she’d have to go out and back through security again with it empty.

What makes this so sad is that it only became news when there was some kind of altercation as she was on her way out the exit hallway. The she-said they-said has actually escalated to the point where the TSA has put security camera footage on their website that they claim clearly proves the woman was the one in the wrong, not them. Sad, because this is about on the level of a security guard following a young black man around the record store for an hour then pointing to his losing his temper at the harassment as proof that he was right.

I’d like to see video on TSA’s website showing this woman waiting though the security line, passing through the metal detector and having her bags all fully screened and pronounced okay, then being told that she couldn’t just drink the water in the cup and keep on going – she’d have to go out and go through the whole process again. That might be more illuminating. Perhaps some supplementary material of a TSA expert explaining how her drinking the water on the spot is less secure than her stepping out, drinking the water, then going back through. Other than how it increases the wait time for people behind her.

Bonus points for explaining why the liquid would be allowed through if it was formula and not water and what capacity the TSA screeners have to distinguish formula from so-called hazardous liquid. My favorite fun fact is that “nursery water,” water with extra fluoride that is otherwise indistinguishable from tap water, is allowed through.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Dupont Cherries

Thanks to Max, I now have the perfect photo to accompany an interesting sight at the intersection of 20th and M Streets NW – a fresh fruit vendor.

I am not talking mangos at a kiosk, I am talking about a full-fledged fruit vendor who only sells fresh fruit each day to hungry office workers.

I’ll have to ask him how business it compared to a hot dog or burrito stand, but no matter his income, I love the idea. We should all eat more fresh fruit when in season, like these tasty cherries that Max captured in Dupont.

I think I’ll even go look for a watermelon dessert right about now…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Orioles sent Sam Perlozzo packing today, as the Orioles were a lousy 1-8 on their latest homestand, complete with a 3 game sweep at the hands of the hapless Nationals. Perlozzo finishes a nearly two season stint with the O’s at (122-164), a percentage of around .427.

There’s talk of former Marlins Manager Joe Girardi taking the helm of the struggling O’s, though, it’s far from a sure thing. Personally, I can’t fathom why anyone would want to work with that management group, though the addition today of Andy McPhail, formerly of the Cubs, is a positive sign for the otherwise struggling birds.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Did you forget Father’s Day? Well, it’s not too late to go get him something that says, “Thanks for teaching me to throw the football,” or, “Geez, Pop – you’re swell!”

Here is the perfect gift for the father who has nearly everything: a wig and mustache combo from Crown Wigs at 706 King St. in Alexandria. Dad will be speechless and will know the love runs deep when he tries on this wig and mustache combo and the ladies hang off him like a cheap suit.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Timing. The key to relationships working out. The key to finding a good job. The key to getting pregnant (or not). The key to placing your bet on the roulette wheel to cash in 37 to 1. And in photography, being in the right place at the right time, like Pa-ya-so was for this shot. It’s almost like a pea, perched on top of an inverted golf tee…or something.

Speaking of moon shots, my dad just shipped me a telescope that he’s had in storage for years, as well as a camera adapter for my Canon 20D. If all goes well, be on the lookout for some sweet, sweet moon. Oh, and if you live in Dupont Circle, make sure to keep your shades pulled tight.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Large packages with coffee cup
for size reference

Tiny sandwich, huge box

I don’t typically go to La Madeleine. In fact, I have been to the location in Bethesda probably five times, each time stepping inside, getting the sense that my type didn’t belong there, and then leaving. I could never put my finger on what it was, but I never felt like I was welcome there. Too many stuffed shirts, maybe? Delicious-looking fancy desserts? An air of wealth and contempt? Sure, all these are reasons to stay away from such a place but having actually been a customer, I now have a new reason on top of these.

Normally I am not one to be so intimidated so I decided today that I would stick it out and get a bite for breakfast. $8.38 later and I had a croissant with egg and cheese and a cup of coffee. Apparently they only have one size cup. It was giant – about 20 ounces.

The nice young lady who took my order handed me a bag that looked like it could have been filled with a week’s worth of groceries. I looked inside and found a large plastic container that looked like it might hold enough food to gorge myself on until I purged. I opened the plastic box and found that only about a quarter of the space contained actual food.

A comment on the food – it was good but not $8 worth of good. It was more of a $4 meal. The sandwich was tasty and had sliced tomatoes, which were nice although I had not requested them. Overall, the food met my expectations for a breakfast on the way to work.

In the end, I am still pretty sure that my type doesn’t belong at La Madeleine. Not because of the obvious difference in wealth and self-perceived importance but because of the obvious difference in beliefs about conservation and being a good environmental steward. La Madeleine is a hotbed of waste and over packaging. Thanks, but I will not be back. Not even for an overpriced tasty pastry.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While briefly surfing washingtonpost.com while eating, I noticed an article labeled “Think Outside the Box : Boxed wine is making a comeback — but is it drinkable? We put six brands to the test. ” I’m a beer drinker who the nuances of wine are largely lost on, but technological innovation and marketing interest me, so I opened the article. What a waste of my time.

Writer Dave McIntyre talks about six boxed wine options but I see no reason to bother considering what he has to say. After an opening paragraph that makes little sense – somehow equating boxed wine with stealing your parents’ alcohol from the fridge – he launches into this paragraph.

Yet wine in a box has some advantages: A three-liter carton takes the space of two bottles but offers the buzz of four. Smaller boxes offer possibilities for covert sipping in places where alcohol might be frowned upon. Boxes fit neatly into a picnic basket and won’t break on a patio or pool deck. And they are cheaper than bottles and corks, so the winery can pass that savings on to you.

Of the four possible reasons Mr McIntyre thinks you might want boxed wine, one is quantity of “buzz” and the other is drinking on the sly. If the standard we’re going to be talking about here is how ripped you can get, doooooooood, then why bother to talk about taste? Why not just print the alcohol content percentages, my man? You’ve clearly already made up your mind about this test and the possible outcomes.

The best bit, though? The opening of the following paragraph.

Despite these conveniences, the stigma remains.

Gosh, I wonder how those stigmas keep getting perpetuated, Dave?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Floyd, you are now an asshat. Congratulations. Your parents must be proud of such an asshat as you.

Graffiti found in the head at Dr. Dremo’s at 2001 Clarendon Blvd. in Arlington.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs