Despite a show of some kind coming up, we haven't heard much from the Borf folks or John Tsombikos in awhile. It's probably best for young Mr. Tsombikos, since he is still not allowed to handle art supplies according to his probation. The last time we heard his name, we watched a "video communique" projected on a wall on 12th Street, in which some kids dressed like Zapatistas claimed Tsombikos was "purged." But while Borf's... more ›

We wouldn't want anyone to think that we revisit these topics in a deliberate, cynical way, but there's no denying that certain subjects are evergreen here at DCist. Church parking, smoking bans and ticket presale passwords: we know you can't get enough of them. Neither can we. Yet there's one topic that towers above all the others. We're referring, of course, to Borf, aka John Tsombikos. As you might imagine, we were fascinated to... more ›

Everyone's favorite (or least favorite) graffiti artist seems to be planning a comeback -- lately we've noticed posters around U Street announcing a "video communique release and street party" on July 29. Sounds strange, and the website it directs people to, www.borfyou.com, doesn't seem to work. Maybe it's Borf, maybe it's a prank, maybe it's people who aren't John Tsombikos, but in any case we're curious -- espectially with the "video communique" part. Are they going to wheel out a TV and play a video, a la substitute teacher in school? Or will Borf be reporting in to his followers from his family's home in suburban Virginia? We don't know, and the folks at the Borf Support blog aren't much help, as they haven't posted anything since March. more ›

With the news last week that uber-tagger Borf -- born John Tsombikos of McLean, Virginia -- was to serve one month in jail, it was only a matter of time before his supporters crawled back out of the woodwork to express their allegiance to him and his art. more ›

To all those who hated Borf and his many tags across the region, your wishes may have come true -- according to NBC 4, Borf was sentenced to one month in prison today. more ›

As has been widely publicized in 2005 year-end wrap-ups, Borf's reign as master tagger is over. Late last month, he was charged with a felony, fined, and forbidden to enter the District, with the exception of attending classes at the Corcoran. Despite my Borf fatigue, I miss him. John Tsombikos--Borf--certainly wasn't a unifying figure. In wallpapering D.C. with his etchings, he seemed to provoke love or loathing among people who were paying attention. Those... more ›

Yesterday we explored the contentious issue of double-parking around area churches on Sundays. Many commenters echoed a basic question we asked: Since double-parking is against the law, why don't police officers crack down on it, churchgoer or otherwise? Today the Washington Times has provided us with an answer. Straight from the mouth of Mary Myers, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works, which is charged with enforcing District parking regulations: I think overall there... more ›

Borf. Perhaps you thought you'd heard the last about him when Metropolitan Police arrested John Tsombikos in July, a teen from Great Falls, Virginia, who admitted responsibility for the once-ubiquitous tags around the city. We certainly considered the matter somewhat closed when we posted our thoughts about the meaning of Borf's work several days later. more ›

Anyway, though as far as we could tell John Tsombikos wasn't there, the Borfites were happy to chat with anybody who showed interest, even the police. Just another Saturday in Dupont Circle. More pictures can be found here. more ›

So the Nats are having a little post-All Star Game slump. In any city, fans would blame the players, the managers, the umpires, anything. Here in Washington, where the beloved Nationals have electrified a baseball-starved populace? It's the fans, like the one at right that Justin DC snapped a pic of at Monday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The bandwagoners, to be exact. Writes the Post: When the bandwagoners first showed up -- yapping on... more ›

Happy Thursday, D.C. Well, if another day of high humidity and the threat of thunderstorms could be "happy"... In good travel-related news, scheduling your restroom trips on flights to and from Reagan National Airport just got easier: the restrictions on leaving your seat within thirty minutes of takeoff or landing have been lifted in the wake of a restructuring of the Department of Homeland Security. Created in response to the 9/11 attacks, the regulations... more ›

We know, we know, we'll get it out of the way first -- we cover Borf too much, Borf sucks, he's a tagger without talent, we're "crackers" for even writing about him, etc, etc, etc. Believe us, we've heard it all. Over and over. And over. more ›