Photo courtesy the author

Fresh off one of the best WrestleMania events in recent memory, the WWE Superstars invaded a packed Verizon Center last night for their weekly RAW Supershow. The boisterous crowd was on their game, filling the air with several “yes! yes! yes!” chants (for Daniel Bryan) and dueling “let’s go Cena” “Cena sucks” cheers.

Continue reading →

Photo by Marvin Joseph, Washington Post

You might have seen yesterday’s long-form piece on the transformation of Mount Vernon Triangle, a neighborhood making the transition from parking lots and empty lots to being a vibrant part of the fabric of the city. You should read the whole piece if you haven’t. But I want to talk about this excerpt from Marvin Joseph’s photo of construction in the area. 

The full photo, available here, is a picture of construction along K Street between 3rd & 7th Streets NW, but it features this dad and child on Bikeshare. Now, I’m no believer in sheltered youth, I’m going to be the sort of parent that sends Johnny and Janie out to play outside as much as possible, and when they get boo-boos, there will be requisite fawning over their injuries – but also praise and reward, for risk-taking can be a valuable skill.  However, I’m not sure that strapping your newborn to your chest, and hopping on a Bikeshare bike (sans-helmet, natch) is a great way to go through life.

But maybe that’s just me. What do you think? REI has a good guide to biking with your kids, so try that before you hit up Bikeshare with the Baby Björn.

Campaign signs
courtesy of tbridge

The world of city politics in the District is often murky, and as of late, ridden with scandals. On Sunday afternoon, local political consultant and commentator Chuck Thies put on a little lecture on what it takes to be a candidate, and how important it can be to plan ahead. The tweets seemed to come out of left field, though, but when I talked with Thies (via Twitter, naturally) he pointed at the editorial from the Post today on Instant Runoff Voting.

“[It was] a few things. 1) I was wholly unimpressed with the challengers’ campaigns this cycle; 2) the WaPo editorial on IRV is not the answer,” Thies said. He continued, “IRV is roulette where the weak can prevail.” For Thies, the biggest issue is not just the quality of candidate stock, but rather the conditions we’re operating in: “[the] biggest impediment [is] the state of our politics. Very few people in their right mind would willfully wade into a sewer.”

One need not look far to see how quickly local politics devolves. The brief and abortive campaign of Fiona Greig is but the most recent example of the difficulties facing challengers. I’m not saying that Greig handled her brief candidacy correctly, but that’s certainly something that a lot of potential challengers’ families and friends can point to in opposition to a run for office.

When I asked Thies about how to fix the conditions that he decries, he was quick to point out two prongs of the approach: “Ronald Machen continues to shake things up and ferret out crooks, and; strong 2014 contenders begin to organize soon.” That means that everyone who wants a shot at the 2014 elections (Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6, the council chair, and three at-large seats, as well as the Mayor) had best start work.

Thies also had a set of remarks for local organizers: Start building. “[T]he reform-minded activists and residents need to get organized. They need a political boss who has fortitude, knowledge, guts and soldiers. Build a machine. [T]oo often, liberals and progressives eschew the concept of political bosses and arm-twisting. [I]n politics the strong survive.”

Below is the guide that Thies tweeted out, in Storify form, in the order they were tweeted. Continue reading →

Washington Monument (201204050005HQ)
Originally uploaded by nasa hq photo

Initially, I was told that NASA wasn’t going to release any of the photos that were taken from their T38 jets that overflew the city on Thursday, but they changed their minds, and this beauty was one they released.

Just gorgeous.

Update: Too good to be true. This was not taken by the T-38 trainers that NASA flew over DC yesterday, it was taken from a Bell Huey UH-1N Helicopter that was carrying NASA photographer Bill Ingalls, who took the photo listed above. Sorry for the confusion. Still kinda want to see those photos from the T-38s, though.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Sunrise
courtesy of deg.io

When NASA released information yesterday about two T-38 jets doing a low flyby over the city of DC, it probably didn’t spark a whole lot of interest. The DC region is often abuzz with low-flying jets for military funerals at Arlington Cemetery or various training missions.

The additional details NASA provided today, however, should cause more than a few ears to perk up. The T-38s were taking photography in preparation for a potential flyby of the National Mall and Capitol by the Space Shuttle Discovery on April 17th. Discovery will be delivered to the Air and Space’s Udvar-Hazy Center on the 17th on the back of a specially-modified Boeing 747.

If all goes as planned, this presents the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity. So mark April 17th on your calendars as a day to bring your cameras to the office and take an extra long lunch if you work downtown, or to just take the day off to enjoy the sight of a true American marvel in the skies over our city.