What's That You Say?
Konnichi wa, good people. Welcome to yet another exciting edition of What's That You Say?
One comment thread this past week really rang true with us here at What's That You Say?, and no, it wasn't about Nissan Pavilion, marching on housing projects, or even the pseudo-fourth day of Ice Creampocolypse (although that was important). No, this thread was about something so neurotic, that we were convinced that no one else really thought about it. Frankly, it's good to know that we have so much support when it comes to trivial things like this. It makes us feel a little more human. Of course, we could only be talking about the best strategies for dealing with people who cut you off, or just do something that's obviously unsafe while you're walking.
On the heels of our being named the fifth most road-raging town in the land, all you seemed to want to talk about is your personal civilian "sidewalk rage," to borrow a phrase. So, this week, we're going to honor connie dobbs with our Comment (Starter) of the Week for kicking the whole thing off. See, it pays to be a firebrand, people.
Does road rage count when I'm a pedestrian in a crosswalk (the kind with reflective-yellow-green posted signs and broad white stripes painted across the road) flipping off the car that's speeding by two feet in front of me?
Don't speed around a stopped bus, people!! There are passengers getting off that might be in the crosswalk you're trying to rocket through. Road rage. Urk.
After the jump, read more methods of bitter pedestrian behavior, plus your roundup of the best comments and threads of the week.
photo by ImaginaryGirl.
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Some more civilian rage ideas:
Yeah Connie, I think we should call that sidewalk rage. I get bad cases of that too - like when I almost got run over this morning by a very old man driving a very large SUV who failed to notice me rightfully walking across the street in a crosswalk.
For me, it's more of a silent rage - I've perfected the evil glare, which I will inflict on drivers unrelentingly as I walk around their cars that are taking up the crosswalk.
For me it's hand-gestures (not necessarily obscene) and shaking my head at the driver. Though sometimes I just want to kick their bumper.
I'm surprised that the road rage study didn't mention taxi cab drivers' horrible and varied driving skills as a key finding of causing road rage.
Finally, and luckily for us, this thread corresponds nicely with this week's episode of The Magical World of Monkeyrotica. Take it away, monkey:
What kind of f***ing IDIOT still uses their legs to walk around? Tysons Corner is proof positive that you need nothing less than an Escalade to drive 250 feet to buy your goddamned lunch. If you want to commit suicide, trying to walk across Route 7 isn't the answer. That road wasn't built for pedestrians. It was built for people with no spare time and even less brains. Goddamit, I didn't pay $80 to fill my tank just to deal with little pukes who can't walk across 8 lanes in less than 4 seconds! And I sure as hell didn't pay $60k for my ride just to have to think about anything besides my tiny little penis.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my Grande Double Chocolate Mocha Frappucino is ready and the people in line behind are yelling and giving me the finger.
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Well, it sure had been a while since we had one of our noted, all-out comment wars about something going on in the community. This time around we're talking about what will decrease crime in East Capitol Hill - the destruction of housing project Potomac Gardens, or the continuation of neighborhood residents to encourage low-income residents to achieve more?
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Oh, and speaking of loud, angry (and justified) comments: that whole Radiohead thing was a mess, eh? From the one of the more bullish DCist wake-up calls in a while, to our actual review of the show, you certainly made your ill-wishes known. Kudos to our commenters that managed to even get quoted around the web - MikeB, Tom S, hungeegirl, and ellabellalee. Good job, guys!
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ginwedding makes an interesting point about the new bike sharing program:
This is weird. I've never heard of anyone who enjoys riding a bike/rides a bike with any frequency, etc. who doesn't own a bike. It's not like car ownership.
But washcycle points out that the target audience isn't necessarily biking freaks:
What the heck do you need the bike for longer than 3 hours for. The stations are so close together that it'd only take you 10 minutes to get from one to the farthest away. In Paris the average rental is 18 minutes.
I see this being used at lunch hour (to get to lunch or run errands) or after work to get to a happy hour or restaurant or late at night for some bar hopping. Not for commuting or tourists.
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Yup, buses tend to bunch up here a lot.
Esmerelda keeps things in perspective, though:
By the way, here's a fun fact -- DC's highest ridership bus line (the 30s line) has about 20,000 riders a day. That's the same as the ridership for Birmingham, Alabama's entire SYSTEM.
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anonymous troll notes that in the fickle world of radio political shows, as in life, there's just never enough time:
It's a time problem. WAMU's audience sprawls across what, seven counties and how many independent cities ... ? There's no way to cover all the issues in all those jurisdictions in sixty minutes. Especially not if you expect to take calls and interview guests. What you get is:
1. Twenty minutes on Adrian Fenty's Fleet Feet t-shirt. Oh snap!
2. Ten minutes on those racists in Prince William County. Grr!
3. Ten minutes on slots in Maryland. Again!
4. Twenty minutes on some obscure dispute relating to the teacher's union, including a seemingly endless interview with a mealy-mouthed bureaucrat.
Dump Metro Connection, I say, and give Kojo another hour on Friday. Who needs yet another story about the corn maze in Leesburg? Or the remarkable transformation of the Uline Arena into the city's latest Best Buy / Bed Bath & Beyond / Pottery Barn / Marshalls?
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Ever wonder where to get good fresh crabs? (Nice delivery on the venereal disease cracks, by the way - we set 'em up, you knock 'em down.)
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You know the sad part NotoriousREG? We laughed at this tirade because it's just so plausible. Fort Reno's tennis courts are sacred, don't you know:
Really ksamm? Tennis courts? I mean because obviously those are the only tennis courts in the city and playing at those tennis courts is a thirty year old tradition and an integral part of Washington, DC's culture.
"All you crazy whippersnappers and your loud rock and roll music! Cut down that racket, me and Roger Federer are trying to play some serious tennis over here. Grrr, now I guess we'll have to go to one of the millions of other tennis courts located throughout the area. You bastards!!!"
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Other Fort Reno fallout: some concern arose about eating from a community garden that had been planted there. Luckily, there are solutions provided by fine citizens like OldPosterKnownAsCranky:
And yeah, if I had eaten veggies from that Ft Reno community garden, I would be a little worried. But then I would just drink to forget.
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JoanArkham, so is post-9/11 life in America:
Wait, we used to put water and dry ice into 2-liter soda bottles and watch them "blow up" for the Fourth of July. That's a bomb now?
Why does everyone hate science?
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Let's give out some awards, shall we?
This week's Avatar Award for Achievement in the Field of Avatars is presented to Spiral Stairs, who has only commented once, but obviously has their priorities straight - avatar first, then comments. The shot of a descending spiral staircase is pretty dizzying for such a small area. Nice job, Spiral.
And the Username of the Week goes to Captain Easychord, who probably really digs Stereolab. There's really not much else to say; we kinda dig Stereolab too. Good work.
Hey, if you've got someone that you'd like to nominate for any of these fine awards, why don't you give us a shout at dcist.wtys [at] gmail [dot] com. We expect to hear from you.