‘Metro: Don’t Panic’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

By now you’ve probably seen this unintentionally hilarious guide to DC published by a Maine Tea Party member for his cohorts planning to attend Glenn Beck’s March on DC this weekend (and his commenter’s assertion that the streets of DC are “more dangerous than Baghdad!”). And even better is Laura Olin’s intentionally hilarious Google Map of what areas of DC should be considered “safe.”

As a public service to you, our DC-loving readers, here are just a few of my personal suggestions for things to enjoy in DC that will no doubt not be overrun by protester-tourists*, falling as they do outside of the designated safe areas.

Ray’s the Steaks East River – This incarnation of Michael Landrum’s beef-serving empire is near Benning Rd. and has nearly all the same quality of his Arlington/Silver Spring locations, but at more attractive price points to accommodate the neighborhood it’s in. The smoked prime rib is life-changing.

Ted’s Bulletin on Capitol Hill – On 8th St. SE, near the Marine Barracks, I’ve never felt even a little bit unsafe heading to Ted’s, but since it’s in the SE quadrant, you will not find that the lines will be longer from an influx of our visitors. Try the short rib sandwich!

Ben’s Chili Bowl, Cafe Saint-Ex, and the Black Cat – Since it’s on the Green/Yellow line and our impending guest from Maine advises his friends to avoid those lines entirely, the U St. Corridor in general should be protester-free.

This is but the tiniest sample of what DC has to offer that does not fall in the area suggested by our soon-to-be guest from Maine, based entirely out of my own habits and preferences. No doubt, you have suggestions too, so please share them in the comments.

*Inevitably, persons sympathetic to the protesters’ cause will find this post and arrive to accuse me of picking on the Tea Partiers simply because I do not agree with them. If you think I’m mocking the Tea Party for that reason, then you clearly have not been paying attention to pretty much anything I’ve said about tourists and protesters for the last 6 years of my local blogging career, all readily accessible in the WLDC archives. Take your assumptions and accusations of bias elsewhere, for you are wrong, and  I am tired of hearing it.

‘00207256’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

All summer, local sports writers have been having a blast blasting away at Redskins’ All-Pro Tackle Albert Haynesworth. First, dating back to June, Haynesworth indicated to reporters that he had little interest in returning to Washington, holding out and demanding a trade back in June.

The deluge really started, though, as training camp approached and Haynesworth was prepping for his second season with the ‘Skins since signing a massive seven-year, $100m deal after the 2008 season. Or should I say, “not prepping for his second season with the ‘Skins.” When he showed to camp in late July, he seemed a little out of shape. As per team rules, he wouldn’t be allowed to practice until he completed the team training physical; well, it took him several tries. This is a test that Fox 5’s Lindsay Murphy nearly completed.

Don’t worry, the fun is far from over. Continue reading →

‘Smirking Prez’
courtesy of ‘MichaelTRuhl’

It’s been a few decades since I left the fifth grade, but all of a sudden, I’m itching to go back. Why? Because Barack Obama Elementary School opened its doors today in Upper Marlboro, Md. I’m thinking that with a spectacular name like that, homework will be fun and tests will be glorious. Plus, you must get a lot of playground cred for having this nebulous link to Barry at age six. Adding to the school’s cool factor is its array of green features. The school is equipped with low-flush toilets, motion sensors for classroom lighting, and underground water tanks that will take the place of boilers.

This is the seventh school in the nation to be named after the President, and the first in the DC metro region.

‘Finally’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

The Board of Elections has done some rule-making for messy children. While you always were limited to two replacement ballots and one original they’ve added a requirement that you be told that this isn’t going to go on forever. Here’s your first replacement – after this there’s only one more!

It’s somewhat amazing that this rose to the level of enough of an issue that this needed to be spelled out. We all make mistakes, but who raised a fuss after being provided with two replacements and then being told they were just going to have to make do with that third chance?

‘Yet another street fair, Oct 2009 – 45’
courtesy of ‘Ed Yourdon’

Restaurant Week may have officially ended yesterday, but a number of restaurants have decided to keep the love alive. According to Dining in DC, 42 restaurants have extended their R.W. deals, some for another week and others through the end of August. So if you missed the boat last week, fear not: there’s still plenty of time to eat your bargain-loving heart out.

‘DSC_0063’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Thinking back to where the last few years have gone, it is at least a little surprising to think that the iconic “HOPE” image of President Obama has been floating around for almost two and a half years. The presence of that image in this city is still very much felt, and the original was purchased by the Smithsonian and now a part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery.

In the last few years, there has been more than one law suit involving the artist (Shepard Fairey) and the Associated Press, who argued that Fairey’s reimagination of a photo taken by one its contributors, Mannie Garcia, was not only a crucial piece of the work but in fact infringing on the copyright. Countersuits started to fly, and as resolution is still sought on the copyright side of things between the artist and the AP, there was one other point of conflict. Continue reading →

‘Storm Damage’
courtesy of ‘Amber Wilkie Photography’

With the powerful summer storms over the last few weeks, several parts of DMV have been without power. The biggest outages occurred after the July 25th storms that left many Pepco customers without power for several days.

To prevent more outages of that scale, Pepco unveiled a $256.3m reliability plan that will be implemented over the next five years and help alleviate future concerns. Much of the plan (full PDF here) involves increasing the load capacity and substation improvements. Additionally, roughly 15 percent of that budget will be dedicated to “Enhanced Vegetation Management,” which may be the best euphemism in the world for yard work. Feel free to use it this weekend when you’re conquering your own backyard.

‘lobster being served’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

A hastily assembled Food Truck Tracker for Friday! Be sure to check in with the twitter list before you head out to the location.

Continue reading →

One of DC’s most diverse sounding and revered punk bands of the 80’s, Government Issue, is getting their final line-up back together again to play a benefit show at the Black Cat on December 11th. The benefit is to raise funds for DJ Stereofaith, a mainstay on the DC alternative-dance night scene with his parties “Sorted” and “Feedback”, who had emergency brain surgery earlier this summer.

Government Issue are no strangers to benefit reunions. In 2007, GI played a fantastic show to help their long-time lead singer John Stabb pay his medical bills after a viscious mugging. For this show the line-up will feature John Stabb, Tom Lyle, J. Robbins, Pete Moffett. Tickets are onsale now through the Black Cat’s website.

Continue reading →