Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is the odd sight that greeted me at 16th and M Streets tonight.

Traffic southbound is blocked by DC’s finest but northbound traffic flows freely.

I looked down the block but there did not seem to be a police worthy event. The Russian Embassy and other high profile buildings are on the East side of the street too.

Any theories why the police are stopping only half the traffic?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Wow! What a beautiful day its become.

Last night’s rain and last weekend’s snow are easily forgotten with blue skies and warm breezes.

So what are you doing in the office right now? It is lunch time and the outdoors call.

Get your favorite take out and get out. Hot and sticky summer days will be here soon enough.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Might you be wondering what a Metroblogging DC + Media Makers DC happy hour look like?

Then feast your eyes on Don and be either jealous or just sacred.

That is the look of a cross- dressing discipline get together.

If you want to be a blogger or a vlogger this would be your kind of happy hour. I just hope Don is not your kind of goal.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo of the Pleistecene Dream Team
at 2006’s event, courtesy of DC Rob

If you and your five closest friends are of a mind to dress up, trick out a shopping cart, and race other like-minded folks, well, you’ve got just under 8 hours left to register for this Saturday’s Idiotarod.

Each team is comprised of six people (five pullers/runners [the “dogs” if you will] and one musher), and one cart. The same six team members must start and complete the race, and be present at each checkpoint. Team members may rotate position. Five people pull the cart (by hand or rigging of your own choosing) and one musher runs behind with a hand on the cart. We do not suggest that the musher ride in the cart, and should a musher decide to ride in a cart it is at his or her own risk. IF a musher chooses to ride versus run, we STRONGLY suggest a helmet. Seriously folks, this is for charity, not Jackass.

The charity in question is the Arlington Food Assistance Center and the brouhaha starts 2:30p this Saturday at the Front Page at Dupont Circle, 1333 New Hampshire Ave NW, 20036. If you’ve got better sense than to participate you can contribute $10 at the door for the finish line party at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room that’ll go to charity as well, and it “gets you free beer from the time the first team arrives until we run out!”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Just how bad are the Washington DC parking police ticketing in downtown?

Read the sign:

Not only did this moving company have permits on every parking meter, tape over the meters, and display their permits in on the truck dashboard, they even hung this helpfull sign in the window.

How much you wanna bet they will still get a little pink gift today?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Do you ever wonder how many media outlets are in Washington DC? Television & radio stations, newspapers and the like?

Now, thanks to Center for Public Integrity’s media tracker, you can do a search on your neighbourhood media outlets.

Andy Carvin has a Washington DC breakdown with one interesting stat I would’ve never guessed:

Three (3) radio stations owned by Bonneville Holding Company – a unit of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Anyone listen to WTOP-FM, WTWP, WGMS, or WTOP feel a religious slant to the programming? Or are the Mormons just making bank of radio ownership?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I was surprised to discover – when I checked our archives – that I had never written about my visits to Tapeo, just its impending opening. My darling girlfriend and I have been there at least three times in the year since they’ve opened and have identified several dishes we particularly like. The sopa de ajo – garlic soup – is excellent, with a taste of cream and potato in the front of your mouth and a strong but smooth garlic taste on the back of the tongue as you swallow. The ensalada manchego has a good dressing and a nice mixture of textures, the calamari is not breaded and always done to a good texture, and of the various meats we’re particularly enamored of the pollo de ajillo (clearly nobody wants to be within a dozen paces of our breath after our meals there) and the puntas de solomillo.

When the weather is nice there’s a good assortment of seating outside and unlike a few other area restaurants I’ve never felt like the attentiveness suffered from being out there. Inside, on the other hand, there’s flamenco on certain nights. This weekend was the first time we had opportunity to be there when it was happening and I managed to grab a few clips which I have strung together here.

Tapeo at Pentagon Row
1301 S Joyce St,
Arlington, Virginia 22202

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I don’t fly nearly as much as I used to. Since going into private practice a year ago, my occasion to galavant across the US is certainly less frequent. Today I’m on my way to Phoenix for some sunshine and baseball. They’ve made some real changes since last I’ve been out here to Dulles. For one, there appears to be free wireless internet access in the B terminal (it’s about time!!) which I am using to post this entry. They’ve even added a new cafe option, a tequileria, a new Harry’s Tap Room and even a Potbelly’s. But all is not well at Dulles. I had my longest screening line in recent memory, as they only had one metal detector open, despite a high volume of passengers waiting to get through security. And, of course, there’s the ever-present war on liquids. I saw a guy lose his pressurized hair gel to the screener, he shrugged, I shrugged and commented on the ever present demon scourge of Paul Mitchell. Folks, when the terrorists can deliver up some sort of superweapon capable of rendering serious harm in the form of a well-labelled Paul Mitchell salon product, they’re going to deliver them to CVS and Safeway, not an airliner. And the other thing, what in the name of God died in the tunnel between the main concourse and tunnel B? It was a mixture of mold, rotting lettuce and dear God, what is that thing?! It was so powerful I thought I was going to add some of my own smell to the experience. Clean it up, Dulles!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Metro was a mess yesterday, so I skipped the Orange Line and took a taxi to meet up with a friend in Arlington, but it turned out that said friend got stuck on a Blue just short of Rosslyn and eventually had to cancel because no Orange Line trains were coming. Generally, it seems that when any line outside of the Red has a major problem, the delays cascade to the other non-Reds, since Orange runs with Blue, Blue merges with Yellow, and Yellow joins with Green, so later that night it was with trepidation that I descended into the Southwest Waterfront Metro — in time to see my train pulling out of the station, with an indefinite wait for the next one. (The signs were just showing the time, no arrival info.)

So I walked home. Yeah, it was DC at 10pm, and I thought I would get mugged at least twice, but the path up to the National Mall was well lit, patrolled often by MPD, and I spotted a few other people out and about whom I wouldn’t have expected would be out. A jogger was doing jumping jacks outside the American Indian Museum. The Capitol Terrace and Grant Memorial were deserted, the Capitol Reflecting Pool thawed and populated by sleeping ducks, the normal traffic of DC quieted to a hiss, surprisingly devoid of firetruck sirens for the evening.

So thanks for FUBARing yesterday, DC Metro. I got a nice, relaxing evening walk, and I saved $1.35 which would otherwise have been spent deep underground in a station listening to over-loud Metro Transit Police security reminders while waiting for a train that could have taken longer to arrive than it took to go on foot.

What’s that, Metro? Another track fire near Farragut North and doors opening themselves mid-transit, you say? Well, maybe I’ll save another $1.35 and walk again, then.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Dr Sketchy

After looking at the entry for this thursday’s media maker happy hour event I surfed a little around Upcoming and came across this entry for yesterday’s today’s Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School at Showbar. Shoot! I’ve seen Molly Crabapple‘s work linked off Warren Ellis’ site in the past – an art class presented by her would be very interesting. Plus, any excuse to go to the Palace of Wonders is a good one in my book. And maybe that whole burlesque model thing might motivate me a little too, kinda

Did any of you make it out for this event?

UPDATE: Whoops! When I didn’t see it on the Dr Sketchy schedule of upcoming events listing my brain decided it must have already passed and today is Wednesday. Unfortunately I can’t make it tonight – anyone going and want to give us a review?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This morning I woke up to an eerie sound outside the bedroom window.

“Twit-twooo-wooo-hooo”

Upon closer investigation, I was staring into the sad little eye of a dove, preening on the windowsill. Completely oblivious to my presence, it called and called, fluffing up its feathers, bowing.

My cat started to go wild, meowing and winding around my legs.

And then suddenly a second dove appeared, and the two did the most intricate dance of bobbing heads as if they were kissing each others’ cheeks. From my windowsill to the neighbors and back again, the courtship continued long after I finally had to break away and get ready for work.

I often wonder about wildlife in the city. I remember my junior year at CUA an eagle made a nest in the eaves of the Hartke Theatre. The doves are now making a home for themselves on my roof and windowsills. Maybe they’ll even make a nest outside my bedroom window. My home, their home.

One thing is for certain. Spring is coming…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Have you every wondered how many online dating and hookup profiles are there in Washington DC? Back in my single days, it was a great guessing game that my crew and I would debate when not hunting.

Now that the clock-stopping hottie has my heart, I’m no longer in the game, but I do know exactly how many people are using Salon Personal Ads to look for love in the District of Columbia.

Thanks to their profile sorting system, we now know there are exactly 9,555 online profiles registered as DC residents.

Better yet, Salon Personals will even break them down into groups. There are the usual men seeking women or couples seeking a woman, but the stats get interesting as the kink factor increases.

Do you want to know exactly how many:

• Couples (2 women) seeking Men
• Couples (2 men) seeking Women
• Women seeking Couples (man and woman)
• What body type do men prefer?

then take the jump to see the full list of who is seeking who in DC online personal ads.

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

At Shirlington Library

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

I pulled off 395 heading for the house the other night when I ran into the nigh-blinding glow of the blue light tower that’s attached to the new Shirlington Library. Even from the distance of a tenth of a mile or so, the glow coming off the light tower is just blinding. It dominates the entire Shirlington village, even drowning out the white lights in the naked trees.

What’s it for? What’s it supposed to be? Damned if I know. But, as it gently throbs, I’m calling it the Blue Cylon Tower until someone tells me its real name.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A good portion of Georgetown (or at least the eastern section of it) has no power whatsoever. The street lights are out, the traffic lights are out, the fire engines are going and all manner of havoc is going on downtown today. Between this, the Metro being all fucked up, this is going to be a nasty, nasty commute home.

What the hell happened, DC?!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Metro appears to be broken, yet again. There’s a major service disruption between Smithsonian and Federal Triangle, essentially cutting the Orange and Blue lines in half. According to the Metro Delays site: “Station closed and bus shuttle service requested due to an emergency situation.. “ No idea yet if this will wreck your rush hour commute, but I’m guessing Metro’s gonna suck tonight.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Surprise, surprise! DC has fashion, and this is DC Fashion Week!

A partnership of independent fashion designers, producers and models, DC Fashion Week promotes the area’s fashion design, clothing merchandising and hot models.

It also has the dubious goal of enhancing the visibility of the nation’s capital as a center of international fashion.

While I wish them good luck in that, you should wish good luck to my hottie co-worker Chanelle.

In her fashion finest this week, she’ll be strutting down the runway on February 28th at the Fair Trade Collections, hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Drinks start at 6:00pm, Fashion Show at 7:00pm, and the chance to chat up smoking hot models lasts all night long!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Here we go again, another snowstorm in the DC area. Or wait – is it rain? Either way, you may be getting sick of us talking about snow or restaurant bathrooms, but I thought I’d take this opportunity to show off what I think is a great photo by Linda O’Dell .

At first glance I thought this may have been taken using an antique camera that uses something called “film”. Alas, it’s not film, but merely a Photoshopped digital photo from a Sony DSLR-A100. The framing and composition of this shot is superb, and the grain and shading at the top and bottom add a nice effect. Overall this shot really captures one of my favorite places in this city, our beloved Mall. In the summer you can find free movies, kickball games, and swarms of tourists. In the winter you can find protests, people having snowball fights, and swarms of tourists. I just think it’s great that we have such a huge place set aside for us to keep ourselves entertained.

Good luck navigating that snowstorm DC. I hope your commute is as fun as mine is tomorrow morning.

PS – I’m sure if you’re a Canon enthusiast like I am, you’ve by now heard of their newly announced DSLR, the amazing 1D Mark III. Redesigned from the ground up, this thing shoots 10 frames per second (amazingly fast), has a Live View mode (like a point and shoot), sensor cleaner, all new menu system, custom lens focusing, amazing auto focus abilities, improved ISO range…the list goes on and on. They’ve really set the bar with this one. It will be interesting what Nikon and others do to catch up.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“Honey, it’s a beautiful winter day in Washington DC. What do you want to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the usual: head down to the White House and put my hood on.”

.
“Really? But you’ve done that the last few warm weekends too”

“And I’m going to keep doing it until the illegal Guantanamo prison filled with Bush-declared “enemy combatants” is empty.”

“But that might be for years?”

“So?”

“At least take the knee pads I bought you for Christmas”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Fluffy Snow

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

It’s a fluffy snow out there today, coming down in big, heavy flakes. I got up this morning expecting sleet and slush, and was greeted with this sight instead. I swept the walk at 11, but looking at it now and quarter past twelve, I think I only made the snow angry.

Judging from my discussions with a few people in varied parts of town, snow’s everywhere in DC, with even the treated streets amassing snow. If you’re on the roads today, be careful. If you’re wondering where the plows are, check the new snowplow tracking system, but from the looks of it, they’re salting, not plowing, at this point.

This is just about perfect snowball snow, though, so expect some quality snowball fights in your neighborhood today, and be prepared to make a nice fort. I expect tomorrow will be less than fun, though.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, while Capital Weather says “1-3″ accumulation, esp southwest, west and northwest;” between 10a and 2p, I’d say we already have well over 1.5″. It’s picture-perfect, light and fluffy. Throw em if you roll em… snowballs, that is.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs