Miscellaneous: October 2009 Archives

Lots of presumed weirdos were overheard this week saying bizarre things. Perhaps Halloween has gotten everybody acting strange. Sometimes you just wonder if people ever think before speaking.

• The New Gay asks straight people at the High Heel Race whether they're there laughing with the gays, or at them. The answer? Maybe a little of both.
• Huffington Post shares the Allbritton memo on the new Jim Brady-helmed local D.C. news web site, which will merge "the current WJLA.com and News8.net websites into a site whose aim is to set a new standard for media coverage of local news, with a staff of more than 50 people."
• Maryland has confirmed two more H1N1-related deaths, the Post reports. The cases involved "two adults from the Baltimore area who apparently had no underlying medical conditions."

              

Despite the rain and chill, the DCist Flickr pool is chockablock with fun images of last night's 24th annual High Heel Race along 17th Street NW. Here's some of our favorites.

• Members of the D.C. Council met behind closed doors today, claiming to be working on a "personnel matter" and not taking any official action. [D.C. Wire]
• Convicted D.C. Sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad will be put to death by lethal injection, after declining to choose between that method or electrocution. [WashTimes]
• Upgrades to Metro's SmarTrip system have been delayed, again, citing the need to comply with a federal IRS mandate. [Greater Greater Washington]

DCist readers had plenty of opinions about the unusually bad ginkgo season that Washington experienced last year. As the fragrant fruits fell on sidewalks and streets last autumn, ending up crushed by passersby, that familiar vomit/jizz/poop stench combo emanated from all corners of the city. But the Georgetown Metropolitan observes that at least so far, it looks like the city's efforts to curb the female trees from producing fruit may have paid off this time around.

This time last year we we’re under a deluge of foul smelling berries. The city had switched to a new concoction to stem the growth of the ginkgo berries. It was a total disaster. We had berries straight through the spring.

Continue reading "Is the Ginkgo Situation Better This Year?"

       

In a circular plot of land in upper Northwest, the U.S. Naval Observatory has acted as America's timekeeper for over 150 years. Most people associate the USNO with the Vice President, but Number One Observatory Circle – a house sitting on the grounds, separate from Navy operations – has only been the VP's official residence since 1974. The real cultural and scientific draw of this institution is its role in using the Sun and stars to create our modern concept of time and navigation.

• We've now got an ID on the man who was fatally shot by police in Petworth over the weekend. He was identified Monday by authorities as Jamaal Grant, 23, of no fixed address (via the Post).
• The first half of the D.C. Council's same-sex marriage hearing keeps on trucking along. City Desk already has a nice summary of one back and forth exchange between Bishop Harry Jackson and David Catania.
• More bad news for the Washington Post's circulation, courtesy the Washington Business Journal: average daily circulation dropped 6.4 percent in the six months that ended Sept. 30.

I don't know about you, but I enjoyed a Sunday devoid of heartbreak, frustration, incomprehension, incompetence, and the ungodly combination of the four. It was a restful day, one which got my week off to a nice start. Of course, that will all change tonight -- when the Redskins new play-calling system proves to be the glorious failure we all knew it would be in a 24-9 loss to the visiting Eagles -- but at least we're one day closer to the following weekend after it does.

Phillyist watched MLB.com call it too soon before celebrating the Phillies' second consecutive trip to the World Series. Sorry, LAist—but at least you still have one hometown team in contention.

            

The Washington Humane Society pledged in 2006 to find a good home for every adoptable animal. This is no easy task while providing care for over 20,000 animals a year, taking in an average of 33 animals a day at two different shelters. Their goals are to "increase adoption, decrease the number of animals in need, and teach responsible pet ownership." With shelters around the country being forced to euthanize 4 to 5 million dogs and cats a year, we applaud the WHS's efforts to find good homes for the pets of D.C. So we've decided to help by highlighting adoptable dogs and cats in the District. This new column will feature some of the four legged friends who are currently waiting to find a loving family.

It's been a while since we've posted such a sweet piece of transit porn; so, streetcar advocates, feel free to keep drooling as you read the rest of this text. To the right (and in more detail here), you'll find DDOT's comprehensive idea for an expanded streetcar network, based on the existing plans for H Street NE and Anacostia.

We've mentioned the International Year of Astronomy in passing, but not in great detail because Washington, D.C., disappointingly, doesn't seem to be hosting too many events. The IYA is a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the year Galileo Galilei first gazed through a telescope to look at the universe. Organized by the International Astronomical Union, IYA events have been planned all over the world all year, including tonight, the last night of Galilean Nights: three evenings encouraging the public to look up and get a closer look at our Moon and Jupiter and its moons (all of which will be close together in the sky this week) -- the objects Galileo first studied. If you're outside of D.C., see if there's a Galilean Night event near you, or follow other people's observations online through various webcasts and Twitter feeds (many with photos), or just head outside tonight and wait for a break in the clouds. You might consider buying a Galileoscope for just twenty bucks, which should give you a nice view of the Moon's craters, or participate in the last night of the Great World Wide Star Count.

Mary Cheh is a smart lady. She's got tenure at George Washington University Law School and has a master's degree from Fair Harvard. That said, it was slightly mystifying to read the following, located about halfway through an interview Cheh gave to the Washington Post magazine. Cheh's gee-whiz tone throughout (the best part of being a politician: "hugs and the free food") certainly didn't help when the magazine asked what her biggest "goof" was. Cheh's answer:

Dating can be tough. You have to look nice, be funny, talk about things that interest you, but not talk too much. Or you can take a wholly different approach, and just be like this guy.

Dupont Circle's Blockbuster Video store, located at the corner of 17th and P Streets NW, will rent its last DVD on Sunday afternoon, as advertised on the dry erase board of the adjacent photo. Another one bites the dust for the chain of video rental stores that in its heyday put many mom and pop shops out of business, but is now falling victim to the competition of Netflix, cable and on demand programming, and of course, the Internet. The Adams Morgan and Eastern Market Blockbuster stores will remain open, however.

• The National Capitol Region Transportation Planning Board is making a pitch for $13 million worth of stimulus funding to help expand D.C.'s SmartBike bicycle sharing program. [DC StreetsBlog]
• Know any theater companies who'd like a chance to take over the Crystal City space that's been housing Arena Stage temporarily? The Crystal City BID is looking for a new tenant for its theater once Arena moves into its new Southwest D.C. digs. [Washington Business Journal]
• Metro looks like it is finally about to cooperate with Google Transit. [GGW]

• Do local organizations Bread for the City and New Community for Children a solid and vote for them in this Tom's of Maine contest. They're each up for a $20,000 grant if enough people vote for their local community projects, and you can vote once every day up until Oct. 30
• Looking to get a taste of that infectious Bloomingdale whimsy? Richard Layman recommends an upcoming Bloomingdale House Tour. It's this Saturday, Oct. 24, costs $15 and benefits the Bloomingdale Civic Association.
• Silver Spring, Singular is anticipating a "significant zombie horde" for this weekend's Zombie Walk, natch. The big event is Saturday at 9:30 p.m., and a lot of local businesses have clued in and are planning related parties and happy hours.

• Looks like that Dulles Toll Road rate hike is really gonna happen.
• Georgetown sophomore posts an ad seeking a personal assistant to do stuff like run his errands and make his bed. On top of that apparent ego, he's also insanely cheap: "Tasks such as doing laundry that involve a lot of waiting around (time when you could be doing other tasks or doing your own stuff) will be counted for the approximate amount of time it would take to do the labor involved. For instance, laundry will be counted for half an hour even though a laundry cycle takes 1.5 hrs to complete."
• A United Airlines employee was taken into custody at Dulles airport this afternoon after he ran away from a TSA inspector.

It may be dark, dark days for those loyal to the Washington Redskins, but those with glass half-full attitudes will recognize this as an opening for a golden age of 'Skins-related self-deprecating humor. The product on the field might be downright unwatchable, but at least we've stumbled upon: a) the subsequent parade of funny homemade T-shirts, b) the quintessential Zorn-face, and of course c) one of the most ridiculously hilarious stories in NFL history: the "consultant" who hadn't coached a down in the league for four-plus years and whose previous job was volunteering as a bingo number caller, who this week was given a promotion to the role of offensive playcaller after only two weeks on the job.

• For your RSS updating pleasure: Why.i.hate.dc's Dave Stroup has launched a new local "news and media analysis" web site, District Daily. Lookin' sharp, Dave!
• Pretty incredible story from the GW Hatchet about a 28-year-old freshman at the university who spent the last 10 years in prison, thanks to a murder conviction that was later overturned.
• Fishbowl DC foments some smack talk between WTOP and The Washington Post over who has more readers/listeners. WTOP makes some sense ... until you start counting online readers, that is.

• Chicagoist made a pair of great discoveries this week: entertaining graffiti at a University of Chicago library and a treasure trove of old street photography.
• Gothamist looked at how some local stores seem to be encouraging little girls to dress in slutty Halloween costumes.
• DCist wondered whether city bus drivers were overreacting by deciding to drive "by the book" after a series of gruesome accidents involving pedestrians.

No, you cannot be Balloon Boy.

In a week when virtually every major writer in the area has taken their crack at the 'Skins (for me, the best was Tracee Hamilton's), the frustration and boos seemed to have reached a tipping point with the fans, too. A raft of, shall we say, revolutionary organizations are calling for a) a "blackout" at Sunday's game, b) true fans to not buy beer in the stadium, and, the biggie, c) owner Dan Snyder to relinquish complete control and to quit worrying about who his employees are and how they perform and go back to simply worrying about turning a profit. Call it the least Marxist revolution imaginable, but it would still constitute some kind of shocking upheaval for this team. At any rate, everyone's heard the gripes about management and coaching and Sherman Lewis' "fresh set of eyes", but there's still football to be played. Played badly, perhaps, but played nonetheless.

The news isn't good for stargazers this weekend. Both events we mentioned last weekend, the National Capital Astronomers "Exploring the Sky" in Rock Creek Park and NOVAC's 27th Annual Star Gaze, are certainly going to be rained out. We'll let you know if the annual Star Gaze is rescheduled.

by DCist contributor Brett Gellman The Coastal Division of the ACC is representing the conference well, as two teams are currently ranked in the Top 25. It's going to be a real battle between Virginia Tech, Miami (FL), and Georgia Tech to see who will ultimately reach the conference championship game in Tampa Bay. As for the Atlantic Division? Well, it's just an utter mess.

So DCist's music coverage was a little all over the place this week. As sometimes happens when Monday falls on a holiday and most of our staff isn't around, we totally didn't get the "Weekly Music Agenda" done at all – huge apologies. Then on Thursday, our most excellent photog/concert rat extraordinaire Francis Chung filed his shots and copy from Wednesday's Them Crooked Vultures show completely on time, and yet, we didn't manage to get them up on the site until this morning. An editorial failure of massive proportions.

Dads giving advice to their kids can be sweet. It's even better when it's funny.

• Breathe easy, D.C. entire world. That balloon kid was found safe and sound. You'll have to find something else to distract you from work tomorrow.
• Whoa, Jack Evans tells News Channel 8's Bruce DePuyt that he'll run for D.C. Council Chairman if Vince Gray decides to run for mayor. Sounds like someone might have an inkling Gray is going to pull the trigger.
• D.C. will be one of the first markets to get 7.5 oz Coca-Cola cans in stores ... because everything small is cute?

If you love guns, Whitetail deer, or even just want everyone to know you're a horse enthusiast, Virginia's the place for you. With 180 designs for personalized and commemorative license plates, the commonwealth caters to drivers of all sorts (well, except advocates of traditional marriage, it seems). But while Virginians who love hunting things have long been able to get a license plate celebrating that fact, vegetarians have largely been left without a way to tell drivers on I-66, "Hey, I love broccoli!" Until now.

Comedian David Cross, of Arrested Development and Mr. Show fame, (he also recently published a book!) is coming to D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 21 for a special night of stand-up at the Warner Theatre. And Live Nation is offering DCist readers an exclusive chance to win one of two pairs of tickets up for grabs to the show.

The following post is from our advertiser, D.C. United.

• It’s the team’s final game of the year, and they’re making the push for the playoffs (must win!)
• You can get 35% off all team merchandise throughout the entire stadium.
• College students can get 50% off tickets if they order in advance
• The club is celebrating the ‘99 team that won MLS Cup with a special halftime presentation.
• 5,000 fans who are 21 and over get a free Budweiser koozie.
• There will be 5,000 free ‘99 reunion DVDs handed out.

Local blogger Ben Somberg writes in to let us know he's had just about enough of front page stories about Facebook from the Washington Post. And he's got the evidence to prove he's not just a big whiner: since September of 2006, the Post has now devoted A1 space to stories about the social networking site a total of 15 times, by Somberg's count. Today's story, penned by youth reporter Ian Shapira, focuses on those rare individuals who aren't too old for Facebook, but still refuse to participate. Says Somberg: "It's alright, though I don't see exactly what it adds -- I don't leave the story having learned much I didn't already know. It belongs inside, not on Page 1."

• A group of local architects have developed "an audacious proposal" that "essentially calls for bringing Paris, mansard, Seine and all, to the Capital of the United States." [Greater Greater Washington]
• The View 14 development at 14th and Florida NW will finally open its leasing office next month. Feels like that place has been a construction wasteland forever. [Housing Complex]
• Private school students at the Latino-focused San Miguel school got a surprise visit from J. Lo and husband Marc Anthony this afternoon. The celebrity couple stopped by to push a stay-in-school message. [WJLA]

• City Desk looks at which Cathy Lanier initiatives may have helped contribute to this year's drop in homicides. "Assistant Chief Peter Newsham, who is in charge of the Investigative Services Bureau, attributes the homicide drop to a series of Lanier-endorsed initiatives from IT upgrades to personnel moves to a push to investigate not only fatal shootings but non-fatal shootings."
• WUSA9 reports that a "pack of dogs" menaced a mounted U.S. Park Police officer and his horse at Ft. Dupont Park in Southeast today. No injuries were reported to people or animals, but a woman was reportedly arrested for letting the 20 some odd dogs roam without leashes in the park.
• DCmud previews tomorrow's public meeting for comments on the Environmental Assessment of the K Street Transitway Study.

A couple of readers have written us to ask why the Master Clock at 34th Street and Massachusetts Ave NW, at the entrance of the U.S. Naval Observatory, hasn't been working for the last few months.

• WMATA says Green and Yellow Line service will definitely be back to normal at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.
• AP reports a seemingly needless tragedy: "Police in Hagerstown say a woman who died after apparently falling from an eighth-floor balcony had told an officer about 30 minutes earlier that she was locked out of her apartment."
• Fascinating: The New York Times says there is no evidence to suggest that washing your hands with warm or hot water is any more effective than washing with cold water.

• Torontoist checked out the weird and wonderful sights on their city's newly launched version of Google Street View, including this keeper.
• Gothamist was part amazed and part horrified by this crazed fight between a taxi driver and pedicab driver.
• Shanghaiist rolled their eyes as Jackie Chan put his foot in his mouth yet again, insinuating during an interview that the heavens cleared themselves for China's national day parade (no, Jackie, an anti-rain airforce squad did), that he would've been shot dead if he shook President Hu Jintao's hand, and that Chinese from overseas are traitors (Jackie has an American passport).

I think NASA would agree with me when I say, had I known the LCROSS mission -- which impacted the Moon early Friday morning -- was the mission that the mainstream media would finally report on en masse, getting it so unbelievably twisted in the process, I would have tried to explain the details of the mission much more clearly in the weeks leading up to it. Which isn't to say the coverage and the subsequent opinions by empty-headed followers hasn't been hilarious.

No one knows what to make of this team. If I sound more confounded, week to week, it’s because I am, and I imagine I’m not alone. I think we all know that if they’re going to win, they’re going to win ugly. The Redskins will labor over every win they get this year, because the chance for potentially easy ones just passed with successive games against the Rams, Lions, and Bucs. The great stat of the year so far is that the Skins have yet to face a team with a win in 2009 (counting the Giants who came into Week 1 at 0-0, natch). The Carolina Panthers are similarly winless, but ultimately more talented than any of our last three opponents, and certainly more talented than our boys. I have to take Carolina over the ‘Skins, 24-13.

The Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, with its unique ambiance and stunning acoustics, has fast become one of D.C.'s best music venues since it began hosting concerts just a couple of years ago.

A sea of pink swept through the city today as Susan G. Komen for the Cure®'s Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk kicked off and twisted its way through Washington. The event extends through Sunday, so keep your eyes peeled for thousands upon thousands of pink clad women—and several men too—winding their ways through the Nation’s Capitol. Walkers will cover 20 miles per day, and the Bethesda Metro Station will serve as an official cheering station on Saturday from 10:30 to 3:30 p.m. Dupont Circle serves as Sunday’s cheering station, as participants wind their way through the Zoo, past the White House, and to a closing ceremony at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Download the map of the route here.

For whatever reason, this week's overheards were primarily sexual in nature. Maybe we've gone too long without a Congressional sex scandal, so locals folks have felt the need to make up their own? These cops seem to know what's up.

• In case you somehow missed it, Behind the Badge has all those naked photos of D.C. United players from a recent ESPN The Magazine shoot. Marginally NSFW, but well worth a looky-loo.
• In other local sports trivia, the Sports Bog shares the statistical odds of going to 19 Nats games this season and seeing them lose every single one: 1 in 131,204. Impressive.
• Frozen Tropics reports that the methadone clinic on Bladensburg Rd. has been evicted for non-payment of rent.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty just put out his statement reacting to the passing of Ben's Chili Bowl co-founder Ben Ali. More statements we've received today from local politicos are rounded up after the jump.

• A U.S. District court judge ruled today that Franklin Shelter advocates have to take their case to the D.C. Court of Appeals, Darryl Fears reports in the Post, further delaying any chance they might have to reopen the building as a shelter before the city manages to sell it.
• Unsuck DC Metro quotes purported wife of MTPD officer worried that those T3 Segway trikes will leave transit police officers "not in a position to draw their weapons to protect themselves or others."
• Prince of Petworth posts Jim Graham letter outlining plan to offer tax relief to organic grocer Ellwood Thompson's, in an effort to help them finally open in Columbia Heights.

One of the biggest crime problems in the Metro system has long been thefts from autos parked in the lots at the end of the different rail lines. Thieves know that Metro's large, outer parking lots are filled with cars whose owners won't return until the end of the day, so they prowl them like kids in a candy store.

• Quite possibly the dumbest survey question we've read all year, courtesy the Washington Business Journal.
• The Triangle spots a Shepherd Fairey poster being removed by the Downtown BID. Does this mean the glow from the 2008 election is officially over?
• And Now, Anacostia has an image of the street car tracks currently being installed along Firth Sterling Avenue.

• D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Leon Swain speaks! To WUSA9's Bruce Johnson. He "says it took him less than a month to collect almost 40 bribes from individuals looking for illegal licenses to operate cabs on the city's streets."
• Via Prince of Petworth, the Bates Area Civic Association blog brings word that the contentious billboards at 4th and P Streets NW have been ordered removed by close of business on Tuesday.
• It's a big night for At-large D.C. Council member David Catania (I). He appears in a new documentary called OUTRAGE, about the practice of outing closeted politicians, which premieres on HBO at 9 p.m. tonight; and we assume he'll be busy preparing for tomorrow morning's introduction of his gay marriage bill at the John A. Wilson Building – which is sure to bring out scores of activists on both sides of the issue.

Gothamist asked its readers if bicyclists should ride with the cars on the roadway—not the walkway—of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Back in early August, we previewed the Public Observatory Project at the National Air and Space Museum; this week the ribbon was cut and the telescope is officially in business. (Before I get too far, I should disclaim that I'm now a volunteer at POP -- having worked in observatories during college, this was too good an opportunity to pass up -- so I'm obviously a big fan of the project, and you may attempt to complete your DCist editor bingo card by trying to find me there during my weekly shift.) The observatory is focused on daytime observing and will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The research-grade 16" Boller and Chivens telescope, on loan from Harvard University, is fitted with a solar filter, making it perfect for viewing the Sun and Venus. On especially nice days, a portable 11" Celestron scope is rolled out, to which are attached two smaller scopes fitted with H-alpha and CaK filters, allowing viewers to see different wavelengths of light coming from the Sun -- during my first training session we caught spectacular prominence through the CaK scope. Programs with D.C. Public Schools will begin in November. The museum also has a new program in the Einstein Planetarium, Journey to the Stars.

It's an age old debate: who's worse, Maryland or Virginia drivers? Of course, they both would say D.C. drivers, but then again, D.C. drivers seem to know how circles operate and that pedestrians get right of way. Well, some of the time. And at least these guys know your hands go on the wheel.

• Looks like a number of businesses in Cleveland Park were vandalized last night. Among them: Palena, Zoo Bar, Byblos Deli and Nam Viet.
• Former D.C. Housing Authority director Michael Kelly is moving on up to New York City.
• D.C. cab drivers picketed the Wilson Building this morning, with plenty of anger to go around for Fenty, Graham, Bowser, et al.

By Eli Resnick and Elisabeth Meinecke With another hockey season upon us – the opening faceoff in Boston is mere hours away – it's time for the DCist hockey crew to look foolish and guess what the Caps will do this year. We'll take a wide turn of the stories heading into tonight's opener, offering our prognostications on the season to be along the way.