Category Archives: WTF?!

People, Sports Fix, WTF?!
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Minding the Net

Photo courtesy of ivanomak
Jose Theodore, courtesy of Ivan Makarov

I watch hockey. A lot. So when stuff happens that seems unusual, I’m not entirely phased. Tonight, however? Yeah, totally amusingly unusual and worth posting here.

My friends and I were engrossed in Boston’s ugly beat down of Atlanta tonight before we switched to Chicago’s eventual win over Colorado when we got wind of the ‘unusual’ over at the Caps game.

We’d heard that Theodore went down with a hip injury (or is that a “mid-body injury,” to use the NHL’s new method of reporting boo-boos?) earlier in the day and that Brent Johnson – he of the hot glove hand lately – would be in the net against the Senators. The NHL Network had been reporting Sergei Varlamov’s call-up to back up Johnson, so what was all the buzz about?

Lo and behold, Varlamov was going to be running late flying in from Houston where his other team – the Hershey Bears – was on the road and wouldn’t make the start of the game. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t sound unusual. Yet. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors, WTF?!
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Ginkgo Stinko


Ginkgo Berries
Originally uploaded by brownpau

With regard to Wonkette’s report on widespread city stink, the most likely culprit is the malodorous ginkgo seed, which the trees shed in late fall to early winter — to fall all over the sidewalk. The seed is encased in a fleshy berry-like layer called a sarcotesta, which contains butanoic acid — a chemical found in vomit, feces, and rancid butter. (And delicious parmesan cheese!)

You’ve probably had to step through a few layers of ginkgo while walking around for the last few weeks, thus carrying a sarcotesta-rrific fragrance on the soles of your shoes around the city, into your homes, offices, on to the Metro, and everywhere else. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and wipe your feet thoroughly before going indoors. Gladly, winter is arriving, and ginkgo seeds will not be dropping from the trees for much longer.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Health Alert!


Washing the hands
Originally uploaded by Jsome1

Brownpau shot me this health alert; since he’s swamped, I’ll post it for him. Seems the Norovirus is back…

“Local health authorities have identified an outbreak of norovirus (“Cruise Ship Disease”) in the metropolitan Washington Area. It has been identified in hospitals in Washington and Montgomery County and seems to be spreading rapidly. It is recommended that for the next several weeks that you make heavy use of hand sanitizers and engage in frequent hand washing. That is particularly true if you make use of the Metro system, gyms, or attend church, movies, sporting events, or other events where large numbers of people are present (like holiday parties).”

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, possible diarrhea, stomach cramps, low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of fatigue. It can last 24-48 hours, isn’t serious to healthy individuals (just uncomfortable), and requires fluids and rest.

So be a good person and wash them hands, okay? Carl just had it, so take it from him: “Here’s my assessment: It sucks.”

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Superior Blockage

Superior Blockage
Originally uploaded by brownpau

This is from yesterday afternoon. Hey Superior Tours of Baltimore, MD, thanks for blocking the K Street crosswalk to Washington Harbour so thoroughly that I had to walk about halfway to Key Bridge just to get around the back, where I was promptly blown with hot bus exhaust.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Truck Chase Ends in Tysons

semi.png
IMG_0551 by Justin Thorp


Thanks to everyone on Twitter who pointed out that there was a crazy Semi-Truck chase/crash that ended in Tysons Corner this afternoon around 4pm. Apparently it started on I-370 in Maryland and finished in Tysons near the Galleria. No word yet as to exactly what’s been going on. Got information or pictures you want to share? Email me, and let me know.

Many thanks to Justin Thorp for his photos at the scene.

Life in the Capital, The Hill, WTF?!
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Somebody Going To Emergency, Somebody’s Going To Jail

91181864_cf5af05946.jpg
Kilmainham Jail (Gaol) by Sean Munson

There’s Politics, there’s politics, and then there’s Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois. He was arrested this morning on a Federal warrant for corruption charges. You can read the press release (PDF) or you can read the whole complaint (PDF).

It reads like a bad novel. Seriously, writers couldn’t make up corruption this blatant, this ridiculous, this hubristic. The blatant “pay for play” and pure escapist’s collusive fantasy, it’s hard to take in without thinking, as my friend PJ does, that Illinois no longer deserves the right to hold free elections.

There are as many as five potential senate candidates listed in the complaint, though none by name. I suspect the big name journalism outfits are attempting to do a game of “who’s goin’ to the pokey” by identifying characteristics from the complaint and attaching them to actual names. This one will likely get uglier and uglier, and may very well taint some of the President Elect’s campaign and advisors before we get too much further.

The Post’s Carrie Johnson has a detailed examination of the situation, and I suspect that this one is going to get much, much uglier before it gets any better.

Just a sampling, so you can see just what kind of Jail this guy belongs in, assuming he doesn’t get strung up by the masses, please check out this choice quote:

“[I]ntercepted phone conversations between ROD BLAGOJEVICH and others indicate that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is contemplating rescinding his commitment of state funds to benefit Children’s Memorial Hospital because Hospital Executive 1 has not made a recent campaign contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH.”

Yep. He’s just that sleazy.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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White Obama on Metro Billboard

Dental Ad on Metro with Obama Lookalike
Originally uploaded by brownpau

I was about to comment on this earlier but Life Outtacontext beat me to it: doesn’t this guy in a stock photo on the DC Dental Spa billboard ad in various Metro stations look just like a white version of Barack Obama? I do a double-take everytime I see it.

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro Zamboni Strikes Again

The Metro Zamboni is back, this time at Foggy Bottom! This isn’t quite as crowded a platform as before, and at a slightly later hour, but while it’s not entirely clear in this fuzzy mobile video, he does plow straight towards a crowd of tourists standing by the escalator. I’m surprised these cleaners haven’t pushed anyone off the platform yet.

Crime & Punishment, Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors, WTF?!
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MPD Divers in the Potomac

Police Divers in the Potomac

What was up with those MPD scuba divers in the Potomac just off Washington Harbour this morning? Did someone throw evidence into the river? Or was someone sent to sleep with the snakeheads in cement shoes? In any case, thanks to the officers for letting me go pseudo-paparazzi on the diving action this morning and indulging me in a bit of scuba talk. No way I’d dive in the cold, muddy Potomac River right by a sewer outlet in December — unless the city was paying me for it.

Special Events, WTF?!
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The Office Holiday Party

BYT Holiday Party 2K7, by Flickr user pjarrettphoto

BYT Holiday Party 2K7, by Flickr user pjarrettphoto

Today is ordinarily the day when I tell you about some comedic happening in DC, why you should go see it, and when some malcontent starts snarking in the comments about whether or not the comedian in question is funny.  But not today.  Why?

It’s December, and the back and upstairs rooms of bars and restaurants that house the semi-pro comedy scene in DC are largely booked up for that most dangerous of winter distractions: The Office Holiday Party.

The Office Holiday Party is a sneaky beast, with the volatile mixture of alcohol and coworkers, holiday spirit and people you would not otherwise choose to socialize with. For couples, there’s often double the holiday party peril, with the added landmine of introducing a spouse or partner to that geechy dude in Accounting. I’ve got some advice for you on how to get through the most common hazards of the season with your dignity- and your paycheck- intact.
Continue reading →

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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The Eternally Receding Horizon of Metro Escalator Repair Deadlines

Still Broken

I don’t even remember what date WMATA originally put on the repair notice when they closed the middle escalator of Foggy Bottom back in summer. I just knew that there was a 100% chance of them changing that date as soon as it came close. Sure enough, they changed it to Nov 29th. And when Nov 29th rolled by, naturally the repair deadline became Dec 19th. Will they make that deadline?

Of course not. Watch for when they bump that date to late December or early January, as the on-again-off-again nightmare of Foggy Bottom traffic bottleneck management continues.

Business and Money, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, WTF?!
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Gird Your Loins For Battle, It’s Black Friday

shoppingpreview.jpg
an Easter inflection by Intangible Arts

The economy is looking pretty dire. The numbers came out this morning, and both disposable income is down, and so is the rate of growth of the American Economy. But, that means sales are what we’re looking for this holiday season, right? Okay, so what we’re really looking for is good deals. Black Friday will have those deals, provided that what you’re willing to do is get up so early on Friday you’ll think it’s still Thursday, and brave hordes of shoppers whose nearest evolutionary target is either the barracuda or the great white shark. So, with that in mind, get yourself ready. Continue reading →

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Foggy Bottom Metro Line

I post about this altogether too much, but here we go again: epic lines to enter the Foggy Bottom Metro Station because of a rush hour escalator bottleneck. Of three escalators, one is closed for repairs till Nov 29th, one seems to be up-only, and the remaining nonworking one is split between down and up lanes. The result: a forked pair of lines stretching down the block in either direction.

I skipped the scene altogether and walked to Farragut West instead.

Comedy in DC, WTF?!
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Comedy in DC: Poonanza 6: Electric Poonaloo

 

Poonanza 6 at the DC Improv

Poonanza 6 at the DC Improv

When I mentioned to Tom that this week’s Comedy in DC feature was going to be on the sixth-ever Poonanza, he looked at me skeptically and said, “That doesn’t sound like a comedy show, hon.” Yeah, I know. 

The brainchild of local comedy icon Larry Poon, Poonanza is a largely sketch-based show written by the Pooninator himself as well as co-performers Ryan Conner, Jay Hastings, Justin Schlegel, Danny Rouhier, the apparently controversial Aparna Nancherla, and Jon Mumma.  (While I was checking all these comedian URLs, I noticed how many of them are referred to as either “outrageous” or “one of the hottest young comics in [geographical area].” Time to come up with some new promotional copy, kids.)  Poonanza attendees will also enjoy some standup comedy from David Angelo, who is the top Google result for a search on his name but still managed to get stuck with a .info domain, and Erin Conroy.  The show will be on Saturday, December 13th. There will be two shows, 8 and 10:30, and tickets are $10. All the previous Poonanzas have sold out, so you’d better act quick.

Having seen many of these comics at a number of standup shows around the area (three of them at Chief Ike’s the night of the infamous Olive Oil Incident), I’m interested to see how they translate to sketch.  And as if the above photo of Larry Poon doesn’t tell you enough, there’s video behind the cut. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Broken Escalator Glass at Metro Center

Broken Escalator Glass, Metro Center
Originally uploaded by brownpau

I’m not sure what happened here. Angry Metro rider? Angry Redskins fan? Angry that the escalator wasn’t working? Rush hour jostling accident? General horseplay incident? Repair work flub? In any case, this escalator from the lower level of Metro Center to the Glenmont-bound Red Line platform has been closed for two weeks, and is now likely to stay closed for a bit longer while they replace the broken glass.

Crime & Punishment, News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Virginia Tech – Pritchard Hall Investigation – “All Clear”

Virginia Tech Logo

[UPDATE] 3:00pm EST

From VT.edu : NO THREAT – Pritchard Hall has been reopened. Police have concluded their search and found no evidence of gunfire. Further details on Virginia Tech News website.

[UPDATE] 2:56pm EST

An e-mail sent from VT Alerts to students stated that, “During the course of the investigation, eyewitnesses reported seeing people, possibly students exploding firecrackers or something else in or near a dumpster near Pritchard.  Police have found no evidence of gunfire from within or outside the building and believe the noises likely came from something other than gunfire.” 

[Original Post]

Virginia Tech’s current web page notes that Pritchard Hall (student dormitory) is on lockdown after shots are supposedly heard around 1pm EST. Virginia Tech spokeswoman says police are searching room by room; currently unknown if there were injuries. No access in or out of the dorm.

CollegiateTimes.com currently has a live blogger covering the events,  WTOP has similar details. AP reports that the sounds may be from a nearby construction site, the campus police are still investigating. We’ll update you as more becomes available.

WSET-TV Reports: “An alert on the university’s website says police are conducting a room by room search in Pritchard Hall on the Blacksburg, Va., campus. “Police have walked the halls and report NO residual smell of gunpowder.”

Continue reading →

Entertainment, News, WTF?!
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XM Sirius: Destroying the Point of Satellite Radio


XM Sirius, photo by maxedaperture

I certainly wouldn’t call any XM Sirius a “monopoly” when it has to compete with free terrestrial radio, not to mention my iPod and CD changer, but I’m still not at all sure how I feel about the latest development in the XM Sirius merger.  Subscribers to each individual service woke up today to new channel lineups that, theoretically, maintain the best of both services. The new XM lineup replaces my beloved Ethel, Fred, and Lucy with similarly-formatted Sirius channels (though it sounds like some of the XM deejays were retained). The new Sirius lineup replaces the Sirius decade channels with the XM equivalents (though after the XM program directors for those channels were laid off, I’m not sure if the quality is going to stay the same).

Having only had limited time to listen to my XM subscription, I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, “Ethel” as a station name has way more character than the prosaic “Alt Nation,” and the deejay during my commute this morning was just awful- I’ll particularly miss the local flavor of the DC-based Ethel deejays. On the other hand, all my preset buttons seemed to give me the same types of music as they did yesterday, so it’s possible I won’t even notice that much. And I’m actually kind of excited about having BBC Radio One where I previously had U-POP. (Yes, I’m a closet Europop junkie. Sorry.)

There do seem to be some weird programming choices- I’m not sure why the “Latino/World” category needs TWO stations for Canadian pop, only one for “Latin/Tropical,” and apparently no channels for music from outside the Western Hemisphere. Wasn’t satellite radio supposed to bring us lots of interesting and quirky little niche programming instead of just more channels of homogenized crap? Do we really need an all-Springsteen, all-the-time channel in any universe?

So what do you think, DC satellite listeners? Are you keeping your sat radio subscriptions? Cancelling to protest the loss of DC-based jobs? Adding new programming from the other network to your subscription? throwing up your hands and going back to free FM?

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Funny Holiday Gifts: Metro Swag

overexposed metro

My co-worker Kelly dressed up as the Metro map for Halloween, a totally awesome costume if you ask me. Which triggered a discussion of Metro gear. You know, wearing stuff by Metro. So with a little googling, I discovered a multitude of Metro swag from WMATA.

Now, I personally loathe Metro. But not so much WMATA itself (though I know more than a few of you have beef with WMATA), but I mostly hate being cramped next to someone smelly and gross and smooshing myself into a crowded car while the doors closing gong goes off. It’s the part of my day that I do and then promptly forget I did. But at the same time, I’m sort of oddly fond of Metro. It does get me from place to place, and I’m ALWAYS curious about Metro’s random facts, like how fast cars can to go (max of 59 mph) to the fact that Wheaton has the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere (!). So I can see how someone would want a history book on Metro. But… WMATA.com provides so much more swag that just a book. Did you know you can buy a tee shirtfor your favorite metro stop? A mouse pad? Or a coffee mug? There are even customizable metro note cards!

I’m dying to know how much revenue it makes. But more than that, I’m dying to know who actually owns it, and why – so I ask you, reader, do you own some Metro swag? And WHY? Do you have a Dupont Circle tee shirt that you wear proudly on the weekends? Did you send your mom a personalized Metro note card? Please, please tell!  I promise I won’t make fun of you… too much.

Photo courtesy of flickr user Needlessspaces.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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We Love Lost Lunch Lists

Lost Lunch List

Just not on election day. It’s a fine day for the list of sandwiches for people in line to go flying out of your coworker’s hand, isn’t it? It’s not enough that you had to spend your lunch hour(s) in long lines, but on top of it the person who made the food run screwed the pooch.

Did you actually get proper sustenance today or were you stuck in line with a bunch of other grumpy, hungry people?

Regardless, at least you did your civic duty. For that I thank you.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro Zamboni

Metro Man passed through Metro Center in the middle of the afternoon recently and was greeted with the infamous Metro Zamboni, which polishes platforms and pushes people aside at the most inconvenient times.

Why does Metro do maintenance like this in the middle of the day or at rush hour when there are tourists and travelers on the platform, risking people slipping or even falling (or getting pushed off the platform) onto the tracks? It’s incredibly misanthropic, more so when riders are being yelled at to get out of the way of a cleaning machine that should be doing this work after hours.