Two people were shot this afternoon at the Excel Institute, a vocational school associated with the DC Public School system, this afternoon around 2pm. The gunman, identified by one witness as a student of the school, then carjacked a series of cars before he was caught by police. The victims were identified as a student, and the director of the school.

Neither of the victims received life-threatening injuries, but both were taken to the hospital. Apparently, the suspect was caught when his stolen car was involved in accident that injured a police officer and a pregnant woman.

Here’s hoping he gets a speedy trial and a lengthy sentence.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Are you the type of person who starts thinking about weekend plans around 4:30 on Friday or do you start planning Monday morning when you say hi to your homies and play catch-up at the water cooler? Me, I like to keep an open mind all week and see what develops, but this weekend is a bit special because I am donating blood on Saturday, which I am a bit embarrassed to say is something I have not done before, and then on Sunday I am leading a photography class, something I look forward to and have not done in a while. It’s good to get back in the groove with teaching and sharing and hope to do many future classes.

How much of your weekend is planned this early in the week? What’s going on in your neck of the woods that we should all know about?

Photo of Orange by Carl Weaver Photography

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Golden Triangle BID announced their summer lineup for their popular “Sounds in the Square” concert series. The concerts are free at the Farragut Square Park on Thursday evenings in May and June from 5:00 to 7:00pm. Rain dates will be held in September.

This year’s series will feature concerts by some of the area’s most popular bands like No Second Troy, and local favorites including Everyone but Pete and JunkFood. So if you’re looking for some great local music fused with warm summer evenings in the middle of downtown DC, this might be your thing.

The current schedule is:

May 8 No Second Troy
May 15 Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
May 22 Everyone But Pete
June 5 JunkFood
June 12 The Kelly Bell Band
June 19 Crowded Streets
June 26 Reflex

You can check for any updates at the Golden Triangle’s website and if you’re myspace-savvy, add them as a friend.

OmegaBand, courtesy of stgermh

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sure, it’s chilly out today, and maybe it feels more like late March than it does late April, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little chilly in exchange for some free ice cream, does it? Ben & Jerry’s is giving out a free scoop of ice cream, for as long as their supply holds, in the greater world today. There are five B&J’s Scoop Shops in the District. Click on the pretty map for all the details.

There are a few outliers as well, including Old Town, Bethesda, and Fairfax, so zoom back if you’re out a bit further so you can get the ice cream love, too. Scooping starts at noon, be prepared to wait in a bit of a line.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

As a fledgling local journalist, I’ve been spending some time on community blogs lately. Many of them are charming and compelling, and unfortunately wind up eating up hours as I go from one link to another. What I love is reading about the little issues that can be so important to residents, and the chiming in of various voices to give their two cents that creates a distinct flavor and sense (or illusion) of community.

Some of my favorites so far (and this is a very incomplete list, since I’m still new to this) are Prince of Petworth, Frozen Tropics (covering H Street, Trinidad, and north of Capitol Hill), and Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space (urban planning issues). I think a lot of people like these blogs too–their owners post very frequently, write about relevant subjects, and are clearly passionate about their topics. The Prince of Petworth blogger, for example, posts constantly about an area that probably doesn’t get written about much otherwise; he’s got a great eye for the unusual and, best of all, writes with a funny, fresh, cynicism-free style.

Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space is funny because it seems to break a lot of blogging rules–besides the long title, the topic is sort of dry and the blogger tends to write really long posts. But his obvious passion about the topic of city planning shines through and makes the blog interesting. It’s a great reminder of that lesson, “pursue what you love and stick to it, and you’ll be successful,” or whatever the adage is.

I also joined a Brookland listserv recently because I’m thinking about writing something about that neighborhood soon. Reading it is like taking a step down from blogs into the granularity of neighborhood issues: the listserv is full of recommendations for good handymen, discussions of school closings, and debates about new city development plans for the neighborhood.

This city’s neighborhoods are clearly humming with busy citizens and activity, which is great. My only reservation is to question the diversity of voices found online. I think most of the bloggers try to be racially ‘sensitive’ and it’s my impression that some of the posters are black or maybe latino, though I have a feeling they’re in the vast minority. That’s kind of odd, given that some of the most dynamic neighborhoods are ones that were probably 90% black/latino just a decade ago. It’s cool that new residents are such boosters for where they live, but it also bums me out to think that they might be (unintentionally) drowning out other voices.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You know how it is. At best, a Metro commute is something you zone out for, where you take a little vacation in your head and enjoy the opportunity to not be productive. At worst, it’s an ordeal to be endured stoically with earbuds firmly attached, while trying not to notice how smelly the guy next to you is, or that someone threw up in the seat in front of you.

But every once in a while, you get a little Metro serendipity, like I did recently on the Green Line platform at Gallery Place. These three gentlemen regaled the assembled commuters with Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, the Temptations, and a number of other famous old doo-wop/Motown songs that anyone who has ever flipped past an oldies station should recognized. And they were good, too.

Doo-wop at the metro station

Originally uploaded by tiffany bridge

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A group of truckers was supposed to drive very slowly through DC during morning rush today in order to protest gas prices (by wasting it? I don’t get it.) and then go over to the Capitol to raise heck with the Congresscritters and Senators and demand a gas price cap.

Sadly, they got stuck in traffic on I-270, and missed morning rush.

I’m seriously laughing at my keyboard right now that they got screwed by the very force they intended to screw us all with. Surely, they’re going to be present today, messing with our street traffic for a bit, but at least they had the common decency to get stuck like the rest of us…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I took a whirlwind 24 hour trip to Harrisonburg, VA, this weekend, and forgot all about DC for a while. I was in H’burg to dance, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see many of the sights–whatever they may have been–but it was still a worthwile vacation.

Three reasons to go to Harrisonburg:

1. The trip there, along 66 and then 81, is lovely. 81 in particular is great this time of year, with light green spreading everywhere and the roadside dotted with blooming redbud trees.
2. The Little Grill Collective, a small hippie joint serving tempeh, tofu, and all the typical veggie food, but also meat for those who can’t live without it. The place was cluttered but charming, and everyone was friendly. I’ve long bemoaned DC’s lack of a genuine hippie culture, so it was good to feel at home for a little while.
3. The Artful Dodger, a downtown cafe (pictured below) serving coffee, alcohol, food and sweets. It’s just the right kind of cafe–funky, relaxed, cultivating the “hang out here” vibe but not at all overly pretentious (gasp!). The owner clearly has a thing for the ’50s and early ’60s and has the most amazing collection of star-shaped clocks I’ve ever seen.

Those two joints were the coolest places I’ve been in a while. This city could learn a thing or two from Harrisonburg, perhaps.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

13 people were shot in a weekend-long crime spree, four of whom succumbed to their wounds. Seriously, people, what the hell is going on? Did everyone just get up on Friday wanting to kill somebody? The Post has a quote from Assistant Chief that lays the blame on the warm weather, and the increased availability of guns: “Police saw no links between them but that the availability of guns and warmer weather might have played a role.”

I’m not quite sure what factors lead to the increase of firearms on the street, as they’re still just as illegal as they were in January, and it’s not as if the Supreme Court waved their judicial magic wands just yet to make guns legal and prevalent in stores across the District.

What the hell, man?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Shakespeare Theater Company has two works just starting which will run on alternating days (that’s in repertory to you theater nerds): Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. That’s the Royal Shakespeare Company‘s Suzanne Bertish there as Cleopatra.

I had the pleasure of going to a quick reception on Friday, complete with a tour of the Harman and a few minutes of watching rehearsal – when I took this picture. As you can see they’re in full dress, what with their first performance for the public happening on the following day.

Aside from the fun of getting a little behind-the-scenes look at the production, I got to meet several other local bloggers, one of whom I’ll tell you about later in the week.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

After all the incessant flogging and flyers about today’s Hazardous Waste drop-off at Carter Barron, I rather expected it all to run smoothly. Really, it seemed so well-publicized that they had to have been expecting a serious crowd, right?

Sigh. I really should’ve known better. But after two hours of waiting in the car in a line that stretched for blocks and blocks in both directions of 16th Street and the surrounding cross streets, with horns honking and people flailing and (cue sad irony alert) gas-guzzlers chugging, we finally bailed. Our car was low on gas and there was no end in sight. At the corner of the main entrance, with still aways to go to the designated drop-off at the parking lot, people were just walking up and dumping the contents of their cars, with the DPW people waving their arms “no” and “we don’t have the manpower today to carry this stuff back there for you” and other such protestations. As we were leaving a cop was on the scene, talking people down in the their cars as temperatures rose. No one could adequately answer why the delay was so bad.

But no one needs to – it’s obvious. They were simply unprepared for the amount of residents who took their civic duty seriously and decided to commit to legally disposing of hazmats. They didn’t think through the manpower needed or the difficulties of traffic flow for a drop-off location that basically traps cars. There was even a kids soccer game in progress which probably clogged the parking lots as well, adding to the congestion. Incredible, with the amount of advertising that they did, also considering the additional PR of Green Week, and that everyone knows the way to Carter Barron is a two-lane mess in both directions on a regular day anyway…

Oh, it’s a a waste of invective. The least I can hope is that they will re-evaluate this debacle for next year’s hazmat collection, and strive to improve.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Last post for the day: where the hell did COB (close of business) come from? I find myself saying it now too, but five years ago, before I’d moved to DC, I’d never heard of it. Is it just a DC thing?? And why not EOD (end of day) instead?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Art is getting intimate. First there were house concerts, then public dance performances that take place inside people’s homes. Now there’s the home art show.

The first time I heard of it was Monday night. I’d met a woman at St. Ex who was planning to hold an art opening in her home to show off her collages, so I dropped by tonight. My friend and I got to her Columbia Heights house early, giving us a chance to ask a lot of questions. Turns out that the house’s main living spaces had recently been emptied—a roommate who’d owned most of the furniture had moved out—and that gave the artist in question an idea. She added that she’d looked into showing her work at a regular gallery, but many of them were located in old row houses like hers, and she thought, “Why go elsewhere?”

I was impressed with her moxie. The collages were arranged on walls throughout the dining and living rooms, and while each was accompanied by a short description about its meaning, the texts were covered with removable pieces of paper in case the viewer didn’t want her experience spoiled by an explanation. There were also Discmans placed here and there, for people to listen to the artist’s voice describing specific works of art.

It was quite lovely, and beautifully inventive.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Turns out the new Adams Morgan Harris Teeter did indeed open on time this week. Things were pretty low-key there yesterday when I dropped by around 5pm. There were a bunch of folks signing up to get their VIC (Very Important Customer, aka how the supermarkets track our tastes) cards, but otherwise most folks were just going about their business.

The place is pretty swanky, with sushi, lots of happy produce, and a million brands of everything—toothpaste, cereal, canned goods. It’s all regular supermarket stuff, but still in the just-stacked stage and therefore looking extra sparkly. Otherwise I’m not sure it’s that impressive. Yes, there are more produce options and some items are cheaper even than at the old dingy Safeway around the corner, but the selection (of items I buy, that is) didn’t seem enormously better. But I guess people will vote with their feet.

There was a guy picketing outside, a Mr. L. Napoleon Cooper, Jr. (“Coop”), who was willing to take a moment to discuss his gripes, though I had to walk with him in order to comply with DC laws governing demonstrations. It seems that, according to zoning laws, having a 50,000 square foot supermarket that sells beer and alcohol undermines the neighborhood corner shops, but the city provided HT with a license anyway. He was incensed, though I’m not fully convinced he was just doing this out of pure civic duty.

Anyway, the charge didn’t seem too egregious to me. I wandered over to the Dorchester Market, one of the small markets Mr. Cooper had referred to, and chatted a bit with the Ethiopian employees. They weren’t particularly angry about the new HT.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I know – it would have been even better had Cold Stone been outside, rather than in the Ballston Mall. However, you can’t deny that even the Weather Channel is predicting ongoing ice cream weather until about late September.

My choice this evening was a malted shake with French vanilla ice cream. For those of you who are uninitiated, French vanilla is the king of the ice cream jungle. It can kick ass all over chocolate any day. Plus, it tasted rich enough that it was like sweet butter and vanilla flavoring.

What’s your favorite ice cream place? What do you get when you go there?

Photo: Ice Cream! Originally uploaded by carlweaver

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

From time to time, you just need to embrace the lolcat. Thanks, rsplatpc, for embracing it in a uniquely DC fashion.

Couldn’t resist — Originally uploaded by rsplatpc

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I kicked off work about 4:45 today to come down to Nationals Park for tonight’s Nats/Cubs game, getting to the game around 5:45. Imagine my surprise when I could get into the stadium….but not to my seat. In fact, none of the inner ring of the ballpark was accessible until 6pm, 90 minutes before the start of the game, and more importantly, 10 minutes after the Nationals had stopped taking BP.

How are young fans supposed to engage with the players and get to know and love them? I mean, I understand that the team’s in a slump, and maybe you don’t want them pressured to have to perform for an audience, but why open the park at all, then?

I don’t get it. You want us to bond with the team, you have to let us bond with the team. You have to let us inside the park to do that. Don’t just leave us stuck in the centerfield entranceway where the players are specs in the distance.

What’s better? This is Little League Support weekend. The idea being that the Nats are holding a used equipment drive for the local Little League groups. You want us to do everything we can to support youth baseball? Let us take kids to the park and watch how the pros get ready for game.

Standin’ Around — Originally uploaded by tbridge

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Found this via Wonkette, with a much bigger picture. Apparently, they’re having some sort of firearms training group (Warning, website has sound, which may or may not make you hate humanity…) demonstrating their wares in various House of Representatives offices today. Laser Shot’s mission is: “Our mission is to be the leader in firearms training products specializing in “Use of Force” and “Judgmental Training” to save lives emphasizing on military and law enforcement products.”

Hysterically, their Mission statement includes links to their four major branches: Military, Law Enforcement, Hunter Education and…

…Home Theatre?

No really. For real. They will sell you a kit to install in your home theatre so you can practice pistol shooting, rifle shooting or shooting skeet! The best part of all of this? The “firearms” they sell are probably the only legal ones for the District.

I guess if somebody breaks in you can put a dot on their chest…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I had the dubious pleasure of being in Fair Oaks mall in Fairfax on Wednesday night to meet some people and walked by this ad that set off my latent hippie genes. Seriously, that’s your advertising technique? Forget those dirty clothes, just buy new ones!

I feel like I should go eat granola and wear hemp, I find this so disturbing.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

A few days ago, I found myself in a foreign land known as “Capitol Hill”. It took me about 45 minutes to find my way over there from NW DC, partly because my GPS told me to get onto 395 like the stupid gadget that it is. When will I learn to turn that thing off while driving through our complicated crisscross of roads and quadrants? Alas, after going from Dupont to Union Station to L’enfant Plaza to Eastern Market, I had finally made it to my destination on 8th street SE in what was probably the most difficult possible way.

After meeting with my underground stonecutters group and drinking the blood of an English sheep, I decided some food was in order. “What do these people of ‘Capitol Hill’ eat?” I wondered. Do they partake in the sushi, the steak frites, or the spaghetti and meatballs? It was then that I remembered a tale once told by my friend about a place known at Kenny’s BBQ and how it was legendary in this far off land. Low and behold, this famous eating establishment was a mere ten minute drive away.

As I made my way into the establishment, I was greeted by a fine young lady behind the counter. Actually that’s not true. She didn’t say a word and just stared off into the distance, waiting for me to order. She used a toothpick to clean underneath her fingernails. I perused their menu and started to salivate because one, I was starving and two, it’d been ages since I’d eaten some good BBQ.

I asked the customer service oriented counter lady, “What comes with the platter?” She replied, “It’s a platter.” Mmmmm. That was sounding good. I then remembered how much I like baked beans with my BBQ and asked, “Do you have baked beans?” As she stared down at the cash register and ran her fingers over the buttons she replied, “No.” So I decided on the shredded beef platter with a side of macaroni and cheese, and in the absence of baked beans I chose a side of black eyed peas and rice. In ten minutes my food was all bagged up and ready to go, so assuming I could find my way back to NW, I would be eating in no time.

When I got home, I unpacked my Styrofoam container of shredded dead cow as my dog anxiously drooled nearby. To my surprise they had included some cornbread along with my massive meal. I couldn’t wait to see how much of it I could stuff into my face at 10:00 at night. I dove into the BBQ beef and at first thought to myself, “Arrrggggghhhh….BBQ….sooo delicious….” My dog looked at me and said, “Arrrggggghhh….I know…BBQ…sooo delicious…give me some noooow you bastard….” But as my hunger wore off and I actually thought about critiquing the taste, my thoughts changed to, “Hmph. It tastes like shredded beef with sweet and sour sauce on top of it.” The macaroni and cheese had almost no flavor to it. It was more like macaroni and Elmer’s Glue. The black eyed peas and rice tasted pretty good but would have been much better had they been baked beans. And the cornbread you ask? It was pretty dry and tasted like it was premade or had been sitting on a shelf all day long.

So all in all, my Kenny’s BBQ experience wasn’t one that I’m going to highly recommend to you. In fact, I’d rather eat with my grandma in her retirement home’s cafeteria where they serve a delicious ham with applesauce. Plus I get to eat in the warm company of my grandma.

Photo of a flying pig by Grundlepuck

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs