Good morning, Washington. Flickr user zenfrisbee went down to the West Lawn yesterday to catch the festivities surrounding the Dalai Lama's visit and acceptance of a Congressional Gold Medal. China, naturally, had "solemnly demanded" the cancellation of the event, which saw President Bush appear with the Dalai Lama in public -- something no sitting U.S. president has done before. Bush dismissed China's concerns over the event, saying he didn't think it would severely damage relations... more ›

Pandas come in more flavors than just butter. Flickr user billadler took this great shot of one of the red pandas at the National Zoo's Asia Trail, which provides some real close up views of the animals. Have you stopped by the new exhibit to see them yourself? EXIF.
more ›

If you're a child of the District, it's a distinct possibility that dozens of trips to the National Zoo over the years formed very strong memories for you. There's the good old reptile house; the good old elephant house; and of course the good old pandas. Even a dozen or so years after my childhood, return trips offered up the same sort of feeling: not much is ever different at the zoo. Which is... more ›

Good morning, Washington, and our apologies to the residents of Montgomery County — we hate to be the bearers of bad news. But it looks like speed cameras will be coming to your fair municipality. The general assembly has overridden Governor Ehrlich's second veto, putting the wheels in motion for a statewide program. Montgomery County will be the lucky recipient of the first pilot cameras. Gallaudet Still A Mess: Protests; counter-protests; defiant non-resignations. And now... more ›

Because nothing says "fun times" like terrifying giant panda-costumed folks traveling in a motorcade and handing out single-use cameras across the metropolitan area, we just had to alert you folks to the zoo's newest promotional event.

Starting Friday, October 13th, in order to celebrate the grand opening of the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat and Asia Trail, the fine folks at the Zoo and FONZ will be taking the panda show on the road.

Apparently, the 13th through the 15th, according to the press release sent our way, "two FONZ volunteers will don giant panda costumes and distribute Fujifilm QuickSnap cameras to 400 people at each of 12 locations throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area." Which -- do you really think these are "FONZ volunteers" so much as "people who probably for nefarious reasons owe FONZ a lot of money"? Because donning enormous panda costumes for fifteen hours doesn't sound so much like something people are scrambling to do. But maybe that's just us.

Additionally, three random people who show up to the locations will be receiving a ticket that entitles them to a VIP tour of the new trail, a digital camera and, best of all, a "private visit" with Butterstick and his folks. What do you think a "private visit" with a bunch of pandas entails? Cracking open a few cold ones and watching the game? Cuddling? Sitting around, staring blankly at each other, trying to think of clever things to say? The pressure!

In order to figure out where the panda van motorcade will be stopping around town, you can head over here, where somebody has painstakingly put together several rhyming clues as to where it will be each day. We're counting on our Flickrites to capture these special moments.

Tasteless-yet-totally-awesome graphic brought to you by the Photoshop skills of Tom Lee

more ›

Just like everyone else this, we got so wrapped up in the election-related results this morning that we all but forgot that there's other, well, news in the news. more ›

Earlier this year, Toni, one of the National Zoo's resident elephants, was euthanized after a two-decade-long struggle with arthritis in her legs. While zoo officials maintained that Toni's condition was pre-existent, animal rights activists claimed that the tight quarters of the zoo's Elephant House only worsened her mental and physical health. Though an isolated incident, Toni's death brought to light an issue that has long afflicted zoos across the country -- are certain animals meant to be kept and displayed? more ›

We told you earlier this month that the National Zoo's lone camel died. Sure enough, a walk though the zoo this weekend pretty confirmed the camel's demise, as you can see above. The status of Mr. Camel had been changed to that of a temporarily closed exhibit. We now all know that the creature is dead, but we're sure the zoo wants to spare the little children the thought of friendly Mr. Camel being no more. more ›

Any blogger worth their salt should know that the -ist family's executive editor, Jen Chung, loves pandas. So Jen, here you go. We know you can't see pandas at the Bronx Zoo (but there are red pandas there -- our red pandas here in D.C. died after eating rat poison buried in their enclosure), so here's the next best thing. We're sure pandas in their natural habitat don't have to deal with the construction... more ›