Category Archives: washington, dc

ten on tuesday: things to do in 2012

OK, so it’s Wednesday Thursday, but this seems like a good topic to start of 2012, right? As usual, Carole posted a lovely topic, and both sprite and Sarah posted their lists. So, here goes: 1. Read more books. I read a couple books in 2011, but I really would like to be a bit

random thursday rant

A few random thoughts about recent happenings in DC: I’m dismayed that the DC Council’s monthly breakfasts tend to be lavish affairs, especially when the Council is dealing with high levels of unemployment, corruption, and whatnot. Yesterday’s breakfast had a rather flashy spread, complete with individual glass bottles of Voss sparkling mineral water. This water

another angle on the tommy wells demotion

A quick thought about the whole, ill-advised shakeup within the DC Council that found Tommy Wells suddenly on the outs with Chairman Kwame Brown: Wells, in his role as Chair of the Transportation Committee on the Council, worked hard to improve transit infrastructure throughout DC. In particular, he worked had via his (now former) position

things i used to love

A post on NPR’s All Songs Considered blog has me thinking about things I used to love (or, at the very least, like) but don’t anymore. The NPR post speaks specifically of bands, and I’ll start with that. U2. This is a tough one for me, because I really like U2′s music. But I have

a note regarding the impending federal government shutdown

To all my friends out there who may be cheering the impending shutdown of the Federal government: Please note that this shutdown will also shutter most of the District of Columbia’s city government. We have no control over our own money, so Congress’ petulant bickering will result in trash not getting collected, many social services

why dc doesn’t need udc

On today’s Kojo Nnamdi Show, Tom Sherwood called the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) a “backwater school.” This didn’t go over well with some of DC’s old guard politicos. One of them, Eugene Kinlow, demanded (via Twitter) that Sherwood apologize and then said the following: “Educating people who might be the first in

can we just send the committee of 100 out to sea?

Seriously, that the Committee of 100 has influence on DC politics is frightening. They wield power over old-school DC politicians in a way that drags the District and its citizens down by the balls, advocating governmental moves that would hurt the city and its potential for future growth and livability. Here’s how they describe themselves:

“Socialist!”

That’s what was yelled at me as I sat at a traffic light near Union Station last Friday. I’d just dropped off sprite an an hour too early for either of us. Our car bears only one bumper sticker: a circa 2004 “Dean for America” badge. And one recently-arrived member of Glenn Beck’s idiot zombie

getting diabolical (and other thoughts)

Must be the heart of cycling season, because the insanity is stepping up a notch. This weekend I’m taking on the “Diabolical Double” at the Garrett County Gran Fondo. It’s a tough course: 125 miles with almost 16,000 feet of climbing, most of it in short burts of 12-16% grade. It’s insane, and should be

surviving snowmageddon

This winter has been a real winter in the District of Columbia. Rather than overreacting to the chance of an inch or two of snow, this winter has packed two storms that have dumped a grand total of 40 inches at The Burrow. Other, smaller storms have dumped an additional 7 or so inches, making