Category Archives: Life in the Capital

Life in the Capital, News, Technology, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Maryland Students, Legislators Still Tussling over Film

Photo courtesy of
‘White Booby on Letterbox plateau’
courtesy of ‘drewavery’

I figured after the Maryland Legislature threatened not to fund U-MD for next year, the screening of Pirates 2 was all over but the crying (and the mopping, and the disinfecting), but that appears to not be the case. Apparently a group of students is intending to hold a screening anyway, and hold a free speech discussion before the movie. Of course, that means the legislators who threatened to withhold funding are doing so again.

I’ll give you one guess which party they belong to.

Business and Money, Life in the Capital, Media, The Daily Feed
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The Post and Tech Crunch

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_3957’
courtesy of ‘nrkbeta’

There’s some consternation going on about TechCrunch, and their reporting style, and Jon Gruber has a pretty interesting response: “The Washington Post must be so proud to have such high-quality bullshit running under its name.”

I had forgotten, The Post does rebrand Tech Crunch, which makes it’s the Post’s problem, too, when Michael Arrington goes out on a limb and the branch snaps off. How’s that got to feel over on 15th street when one of the people that’s not under their control wrecks a story like that?

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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RIP N22: New Circulator Woes

Photo courtesy of
‘Bus Signs’
courtesy of ‘FredoAlvarez’

The new Circulator routes, which promise easier and faster transport between Columbia Heights-K St./Woodley Park-McPherson Square, launched this week. The Columbia Heights route has been long-anticipated and the switch seemed to hold promise. The change also, however, replaced the 98 and N22 bus routes, leaving us wondering, really, why?

The N22 route Circulator is essentially the same route, except it eliminates many of the stops of the N22, including several between the Capitol Building and Union Station. My friend and co-worker takes this bus and has been 15 minutes late everyday since the Circulator began. Not only is the commute from Barracks Row to Union Station longer, the stops now promise a longer walk on both ends AND while the Circulator professes to stop every 10 minutes, the wait has been closer to 25 minutes, every day. 

It’s still early – they could definitely still be working out the kinks. Has anyone else’s commute been disrupted by the switch? Better or worse?

All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Kite Festival In Pictures

Photo courtesy of
‘Flying a Kite’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

It may have been a gray and drizzly Saturday, but that didn’t stop Inspiration DC‘s Rebecca and I from heading out to take pictures of the Smithsonian Kite Festival on the Mall.

Packed with kids of all ages, flying kites of every variety, the turn out was more than I expected. Even with the grey sky, the kites dotting the air made the mall festive and full of life. To live vicariously through us (and the WLDC flickerattzi), click on through. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, People, The Features
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Why I Love DC


‘Cherry Blossoms at Tidal Pool’
courtesy of ‘mtngirl9999’

Some people have affairs when they want something new and exciting. I moved to DC instead.

I’d lived most of my life in Richmond, the land of generations-old traditions and flowery dresses. But eventually I felt smothered there, and I wanted out. So I fled north, 100 miles yet worlds away, to live among what a friend’s mother called “those Virginia Yankees.”

In DC, I found room to breathe. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed
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Econopocalypse – WaPo’s Help for the Employment Forlorn

Photo courtesy of
‘Fannie Mae Stole My Job!’
courtesy of ‘sinksanctity’

The Washington Post’s employment website just launched a new feature to help those recently displaced from gainful employment with a feature “How to Survive a Layoff“. I’ve personally been reading this feature due to my recent separation from my employer. It’s a handy To-Do style list of things folks should take into account once they’ve found themselves missing the daily enriching (in both definitions of the term) routine of going to work. The chief one, and one that I had to use every day due to my job as an computer incident response professional was “Don’t Panic!”. But the other useful proverb is also “use your network”. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed
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Here they come…

Photo courtesy of
‘sidewalk hazards’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Love them, hate them, want to plow over them in the Metro, whatever your feeling is about tourists, I know one thing: HERE THEY COME! It’s about spring break time, and the cherry blossoms are about to burst into color, and we all know what happens to the city’s floodgates in spring. I hate to be the one to report it, but the influx of bumbley-directionally-challenged-overly-friendly-standing-on-the-left-side masses into our dear city has begun.

Metro Center has been noticeably more crowded, especially with the dreaded high school tour group clogging the platform and escalators.  I hate accidentally walking straight into someone holding a map just because they randomly came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. I loathe trying to navigate around middle school students holding hands three across on the Metro platform. Don’t get me wrong, I love my city, and I’m happy to share it, but at this rate, we’re in for a long summer.

So I ask you – what are your tourist pet peeves, and where have you spotted the greatest number of them?

Life in the Capital, The Features
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Taking a Few Laps

 Photo courtesy of
‘Going for the Gold’
courtesy of ‘evoo73’

Before moving to DC, the last pool I frequented was that in my high school friend’s backyard. Though I took swimming lessons every summer day during my adolescence, in general “swimming” meant flopping around in water to cool off between tanning. Now I’ve come to embrace swimming as a really satisfying form of exercise thanks to my former collegiate swimmer roommate and DC’s free public swimming pools. 

Swimming is my new favorite winter-months mode of exercise. I’m a little too cash-strapped (read: cheap) to pony up a gym membership and often find working out in a gym, with its mirrored walls and flourescent lighting, to be a bit soul-crushing. Running outside is great, and I’ve been so pleased to find that DC is really a Running City. However, in January, when it is pitch dark both when you wake up in the morning and get out of work at night and below freezing, it’s a little hard to motivate. Plus, running is an alone activity; Swimming at the DC pools makes me feel like I’m part of the community. Something about a group of people all breathing into the same water really fosters bonding, you know? Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Women’s Hoops: When Nerds Heckle

Photo courtesy of
‘Flags and Geese at Comcast’
courtesy of ‘blunck2’

Yesterday at the Comcast Center, the Terps continued to carry the torch for DC-area basketball in an 82-53 win over the Dartmouth Big Green. The 16th-seeded Dartmouth made it to the tournament by winning the Ivy League conference, but faced near-insurmountable odds coming up against Maryland, a strong contender for the Championship. And did I mention this was a home game for the Terps??

Perhaps the most hilarious part of the game, was a lone Big Green fan, sitting amongst a sea of red, who insisted upon heckling the Maryland players during time outs and free throws. However, this was not just any heckling — this was nerd heckling. The fan in question was reading aloud from passages from the Dr. Seuss book Yertle the Turtle.

Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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Accepting Representation at the Point of a Gun

Photo courtesy of
‘Bang!’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

There’s a hard choice on the table. The Senate will be taking up the revised legislation that would grant the District a voting Representative in the House, but would do so only if we also accepted that all of the District’s gun laws would have to come off the books for good.

The decision puts DC in between a rock and a hard place, as representation that the city has long sought is within grasp, but comes at what could be a terrible price. So, it seems we’re stuck. Compromise one principle to get access to one we’ve been long after? Or stick to your guns (uh, or lack thereof) and keep the dream of true voting perception at arms length still. It seems a bit of a Foustian bargain for the city. What are our leaders saying?
Continue reading →

Foggy Bottom, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Goodbye to the Rock Creek Parkway Pedestrian Crossing Button Moat

Button Moat IMG_0185

Much gratitude to DC DDOT for paving over what I affectionately call “The Button Moat” around the pedestrian crossing button at Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Ave NW in Foggy Bottom. (Bigger before-and-after-pictures after the jump.) Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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The best Manchester Cosmetic Dentists in Town

Photo courtesy of
‘Tooth X-Ray’
courtesy of ‘Rex Roof’

I’ve been looking for a good dentist, and I’m getting frustrated, so I’m going to use my status as a blogger and call out – ya’ll, I need a recommendation for a dental supplement so check this Steel Bite Pro reviews.

I was reading some Steel Bite Pro reviews and this supplement can help you end the terrible, never-ending pulsating pain caused by tooth infections and gum disease. It can also stop your teeth from excessively moving or suddenly falling off.

Steel Bite Pro is also for people who wish to gain back their smiles. This supplement helps with developing better oral health, thus decreasing the sight of inflamed and bleeding gums. Experts recommend to combine this supplement with a professional dental whitening system like the one you can find at the link to get the best o it.

Nasty breath can also be prevented with invisalign clear braces, and you can smile with confidence once again. With Steel Bite Pro, you do not have to feel embarrassed about various oral conditions.

Ever since I moved up to DC, I’ve been looking for one until I found the soma beverly plastic surgery. The first one I went to here was shady, I won’t name names, but I got a weird vibe, and the office was more like a hospital waiting area with only sheets between the chairs than a dentist office with actual offices. So I started asking around – turns out none of my friends like their dentist, if they even HAVE a dentist at all!

So… fortunately I was able to find the best cosmetic dentist in town, book an appointment at www.360dentalcare.co.uk.

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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FBI Raiding OCTO

Photo courtesy of
‘the very scary but not secret service’, courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Stay tuned. (Updating with latest info first.)

3:05 Update: Segraves is reporting now that the White House knew about the raid before it went off this morning. Well, that’s good news I suppose.

11:56 Update: According to WTOP, both men are being held on bribery charges. At this time, there seems to be no link between them and former CTO Kundra. If anything further pops up, we’ll let you know.

11:40 Update: OCTO employee Private contractor Sushil Bansal has been arrested now. Bansal is the CEO of the Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation, which was awarded two contracts last year worth a total of $350,000. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors
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Park it.

Photo courtesy of
‘National Gallery – Mirror Burst – 9-1-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

Did you feel it this morning, DC? The underlying warmth sneaking through the morning? It’s coming, I tell you, and no one is more thrilled than I am for this weekend’s 68 and 70 degree temperatures. They’re lurking right there, I could feel them walking to work this morning.

So what is a girl to do this weekend? Well, I’m itching to try out a new park. Iwo Jima is a staple in my household, we regularly head there when the weather gets warm, but I think it’s time to break out of the bubble and head somewhere new. I’ve admittedly never been to East Potomac Park – I’d love to go out along the water this weekend, and I hear the biking out that way is great!The second place I’ve never been is Meridian Hill Park (which Tom JUST wrote about!), with water features and plenty of monuments and statues, it seems like the perfect city oasis.

Thirdly, my back-up option is the Georgetown Waterfront which holds good memories for me from last summer – there you can  grab an ice cream cone and sit along the water and watch the kayakers and boats go by. But hey, I’m open to reader suggestions – what is YOUR favorite DC park that I must visit?

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Is Your 2009 Commute Worse?

courtesy of philliefan99

courtesy of philliefan99

It seems to me that the first two months of 2009 have been a commuting nightmare. The morning traffic report on NPR is always citing a series of major delays on the metrorail, metrobus or the DC Metro area roadways.  In recent days it’s been an Orange/Blue line derailment and traffic ridden lane closures on Route 50, not to mention the havoc caused by Monday’s Snowpocalypse.  Even for those of us on foot, the congestion and hecticness of navigating the DC streets seems to have multiplied in 2009.  Pedestrians and drivers are more irritable, hasty and almost reckless with their decision making.  Yesterday, I saw a jaywalker hastily cross the “Vortex of Doom” (aka the Farragut North junction) without looking both ways and he quite nearly got creamed by a double decker bus.  Could the state of the economy and the accompanying angst be trickling down into the state of our daily commutes?

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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2 Hour OPM Delay

Photo courtesy of
‘Late Snow in DC / Two Rabbits’
courtesy of ‘little-wings’

Well, it’s not a total snow day out there, but there is a two-hour delay on the Federal Government, and most of the schools in the area are closed (except DC, who are on a two-hour delay as well). So, check the closing list, or check your email, to see if you can bundle up with some hot cocoa and television and make it a three-day weekend before going in.

All Politics is Local, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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DC Voting Rights Act Passes the Senate!

DCVRA.png

This just in, S.160, the DC Voting Rights Act, has passed the Senate 61-37! It’s onward to the House, at this point.

There were a couple of amendments attached today, including:

The Ensign Amendment, which relates to Gun Control

The DeMint Amendment, which relates to the FCC and the Fairness Doctrine

The Durbin Amendment, which also pertains to the FCC, but to Media Ownership Diversity.

Get the full text of the amendments and the bill via Thomas at the Library of Congress

Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Capitol Hill Style Exposes ChickDownTown Site

Photo courtesy of
‘Dress’
courtesy of ‘farrelley’

One of my all-time favorite local blogs, Capitol Hill Style, has a post today about an internet scam that had me glued to my computer monitor. The lovably snarky CHS author Belle tells a sordid tale of buying from a scam Web site ChickDownTown – and how the “company” is a tangle of deceit, lies, fraud and credit card scams. I felt it my blogging responsibility to share her horror story, and save others from ChickDownTown’s sketchy behavior . Plus, she’s one of the people behind DC’s fashion uprising, and we can all appreciate efforts to make our fine city better looking.

She’s not all florals, dainty jewlery and lingere advice, she’s rock solid and I appreciate the fighting fashionista in Belle!

Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed
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Better than voting for American Idol…

Photo courtesy of
‘marry’
courtesy of ‘anthrovik’

Our beloved morning Metro read, The Express is running the “Express Wedding Giveaway Contest“, the winner of which will win $35,000 in prizes. Readers are to choose from five couples and vote for who they believe deserves the prize (coughJessicaandAnthonycough) – whichever couple receives the most votes, wins! (Duh.)

The contest debuted in the Express last week, and I was thoroughly enthralled. So much so, actually, that I almost missed my Metro stop. So if you’re in the mood for love, or you like voting, stop on by and help a lucky couple get free stuff.