Remember about six months ago when a big hunk of the Supreme Court came tumbling down? Well, after fixing it temporarily crews are back to do the real job. They are securing wobbly bits and cleaning. Rumor has taken root that they are also silently carving a small version of the ten commandments onto Liberty Enthroned.

If you haven’t been to Arlington in say the past 5 years or so, you’ve probably missed all the development that’s been happening along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. While I’m all for the growth of my fair city, and the economic stimulation that comes with it, there are many things about the changes I have not enjoyed… Construction crews that wake me up every morning at 8AM with jackhammers and block traffic along narrow two lane roads…Increased automobile and foot traffic that creates chaotic levels of congestion around the new Crate and Barrel or Cheesecake factory…

But growing up in Northern Virginia, I’m used to adapting to the changes brought about by fast-paced development rates. When I was a kid Kingstowne was a forest – until one day someone decided to tear it all down and build townhouses for the growing number of people living in this area.

But there is the one thing that I truly hate about it: Trash. The picture below is a road in my neighborhood on a good day. See the one really big trashcan? Yeah, that’s mine. While I’m all for reusing the plastic bags you get at the grocery store – I can’t imagine leaving piles of them filled with trash from my kitchen rotting on the side of the road.

Apparently only one neighbor in my little areas is keen to the idea that trash shouldn’t be left on the side of the road in a manner that allows any manner of vermin to get into it. While some people may like the idea of finding rats outside nesting in their gardens, scurrying through their parking lots, living in their backyard shed, running along the outdoor dining areas of local restaurants (true stories all) – I do not.

In fact, the Arlington Environmental Health Bureau specifically provides the following frequently asked question on its website: What foods bring rats into my yard and neighborhood? Garbage that rats can get into, like garbage cans with loose lids, plastic or paper bags, and litter.

So to the people who provide the local rat population with an all-you-can-eat buffet every Monday and Thursday night – the blood of any rat that I am forced to kil to keep my property free of vermin is on your hands…and believe me I got some really wicked traps.

Not that I’m looking forward to killing something, but I have to get better results than what the Health Bureau’s Vector Prevention group seems to be doing…sometimes "ongoing monitoring, consultation …designed primarily to focus on prevention efforts, rather than extermination" isn’t enough.

Another summer, another Lyle Lovett appearance at WolfTrap. It’s usually one of the highlights of the year and one concert I never miss. I can almost hear the eye-rolling out in our readership – my experience in trying to convey my love for his work is often similar to what this writer describes. “Who? Isn’t he country? Yuck.” Then they put their Melissa Etheridge CD back on, to “rock out.”

For those of us who looked beyond LL’s country roots the rewards have been great. His stuff is often quirky & funny, sometimes heartbreaking(“Nobody knows me”) and compelling. Odds are that you’ve enjoyed a few of his songs without even realizing it – almost certainly you’ve heard his duet with Randy Newman from Toy Story, “You’ve Got a Friend In Me.” All that aside, even if you (*gasp*) were to decide you didn’t care for his work, I’d be astonished if anyone couldn’t enjoy seeing Lyle Lovett in concert.

Why? Because even aside from the variety in musical style that the night contains – from some swing-tinged to bluegrass to soulful crooning to gospel spiritual – a Lyle Lovett concert is almost as much a showcase of all the other performers on stage as it is a performance of LL’s music. At various points in the show you’re given the opportunity to enjoy the solo work of the fiddle, drums, steel guitar, piano, and bass. That’s not counting the amount of time given to his backup singers, particularly Francine Reed who does two songs on her own.

In addition to the amount of time most of the musicians get to shine on their own, the lineup from song to song can change drastically. Sometimes the entire 18 person ensemble is working at once, sometimes it’s just the trio pictured above. The show opened with just Lyle singing and Jeff White playing the mandolin. It’s abundantly clear that there’s not a person on that stage who isn’t excellent at what they do and it seems certain they’re all enjoying the hell out of themselves.

So were all of us out in the audience.

If you were at the show or already are a Lovett fan you might be interested in this excellent New Yorker article about Lyle Lovett that I came across while looking up how to spell a few of his band’s names. It’s a good read. If you’re reluctant but I’ve convinced you to give him a stab I recommend the older album “Lyle Lovett and His Large Band,” which contains “The Blues Walk,” the song that first hooked me on Lyle Lovett when I saw him perform it on Leno. “Pontiac” is also a good choice, which the crowd-favorite “If I had a boat” leading it off and followed immediately with the amusing “Give back my heart.”

Photo courtesy of fairlyawesome

We’re tied with San Francisco, ranked 20th out of 35 cities compared in Forbes’ America’s Drunkest Cities.

20th out of 35? I guess that’s pretty respectable. I put our stats below. You can read the study’s methodology here.

Washington-Baltimore Score
State Laws 4 (score out of 8)
Drinkers 14 (rank out of 35)
Heavy Drinkers 24 (rank out of 35)
Binge Drinkers 25 (rank out of 35)
Alcoholism 16 (rank out of 35)

Our numbers suggest a weird parabola of moderation. Our liquor laws are mildly restrictive. We’re not especially hardcore drinkers, our heavies and bingers are in the back of the pack. But we’re not teetottalers either and our score is buoyed by social drinkers who had at least one drink in the past month but fewer than two per day on average. But those heavies and bingers we do have must be going to AA meetings because we’re ranked 16th in that area.

That last figure is interesting, especially compared to a city like Philly which has absurdly high scores (6th for social drinkers, 4th for heavy drinkers, 5th for bingers) but ranks for 30th for AA attendees as a percentage of its population. Maybe Washingtonians are just more likely to realize they have a problem?

Finally, some will be cheered to hear that DC beat NYC, #32, if this is an important contest to you.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge, near Annapolis, Maryland

Originally uploaded by bridgepix.

This is one of those stories that absolutely boggles my mind. Apparently, if you are afraid to drive your car across the Bay Bridge, the State of Maryland will provide you with a driver, free of charge, for that leg of your trip. Or, rather, they were doing this up until recently. They’re now bidding out the process to private contractors who may charge as much as $50 to do the task.

Seriously, can you really be that afraid of the Big Bridge that you’re unable to drive it? And keep your license?

We’re 18 days from the DC Mayoral Primary, and chances are, you’re starting to think about who you ought to vote for. Bring on today’s sweet google maps mashup from DC Wannabe: Contributions Mapping for DC for this September’s election.

The data is about ten days old at this point, but the message is still there. See who your neighbor is supporting, check out your area of town to see which way the wind is blowing. Not that I even remotely recommend making up your mind solely off financial data, but this will let you know who in your area to talk to and ask why they’re supporting their candidate of choice.

Manassas Regional Airport/Harry P. Davis Field is offering rides on a B-17 this weekend.

EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) is offering historic flight experiences in its beautifully restored B-17G Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast.” This aircraft is an example of the American heavy bomber that helped turn the tide of battle in World War II. Fly a mission back in time and feel the might of this magnificent aircraft, just as those brave young men did more than 50 years ago.

A flight will set you back $399. A one-year membership to EAA is included. Current EAA members save $40.

Hat tip to WTOP radio.

Secret Service: Hey V-DOT, would you mind if we closed down the HOV lanes for six hours on Wednesday?

V-DOT: For What?

Secret Service: Well, *wink*, I understand that a certain world leader will be travelling that day and might like to make use of it.

V-DOT: The President wants to close 395 South’s HOV lanes during rush? Are you high? He may be the leader of the Free World, but this is Rush Hour, dammit.

Secret Service: But, but, but, he’s the President of the United States.

V-DOT: So? 8600 cars have to make their way home tonight. His poll numbers suck enough without 25,000 more people hating him, don’t you think?

Secret Service: Well, he’s the President and Senator Allen needs him at a fundraiser.

V-DOT: Did you even talk to the Allen campaign about this? I just talked to his campaign manager. He said: “We would not have supported such a proposal. Oh my Lord. Wow. No. Not aware of any such proposal. Certainly grateful it didn’t happen that way.” Don’t you guys have helicopters?

Secret Service: Okay, fine. Be that way.

One of my goals in writing for Metroblogging DC is to expose the unexposed raw talent that’s sitting right here in our little state city of Washington DC. There are photographers, and then there are photographers, but some of them take the medium to a new level, a level that approaches “art” status.

One of these photographers is Joshua Yospyn. Originally from Detroit (aren’t we all from somewhere else?), Mr Yospyn has been living, breathing, and documenting the DC area for over five years now. His photos “provoke response, elicit emotion, or give obvious definition to the viewer.” Not many postcards here. The goal is ART.

I love this shot of his titled “Tunnel Tracer”. The exposure and shutter speed were dead on to catch this stream of light through one of the tunnels in town. The lines, the flow, the slopes, the patterns – all incredible. Even if he is a Nikon man (yes, he’s the proud owner of a D2X and a boatload of other gear), he knows his stuff and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for his eye, his lens, and his shutter finger.

Be sure to check out his website at www.yospyn.com.

Architecture nut? Like the cool buildings in DC but want to be able to talk about them a bit more intelligently? The DC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is putting on its annual Architecture Week celebration starting September 9th. Events include a walking tour of Penn Quarter, tours of architects’ offices, and a house tour in Rosedale.

Some of the events sound pretty cool, so check them out and mark your calendars.