photo courtesy of PhotoCatcher

The other call you could make today would be to your congresscritter about the upcoming bump in internet radio royalties. The jump is going to be big enough to drive some organizations out of the market, including WAMU’s BluegrassCountry.org site. You can read about the issue on the Washington Post here, but don’t expect to find a link in the story to the site organizing today’s day of silence, SaveNetRadio.

There are two calls you should really make today. No, it’s not a hallmark holiday, no you don’t need to call the florist to get flowers for your secretary. Really, it’s not Blogger Appreciation day (though, if you want to drop off a bag of unmarked bills for me, I’m sure arrangements could be made…). It’s time to give two Senators a call.

Yes, I did just see you wince. Your shoulders also dropped, I saw that too. But pick up the phone. It’s time to do some work. Your Targets? Senators Webb (D-VA) and Specter (R-PA). Why? DC Voting Rights. The two gentlemen are as of yet undecided how to vote on the DC Franchise. Perhaps you might give them a ring with your opinion? Stealing straight from DCist, here are the contact points:

Webb can be reached at (202) 224-4024 and Specter at (202) 224-4254. If you’re more the writing kind, email Specter’s Chief of Staff Scott Hoeflich at scott_hoeflich (at) specter (dot) senate (dot) gov or Webb’s Chief of Staff Paul J. Reagan at paul_reagan (at) webb (dot) senate (dot) gov.

Email’s fine too, but I’m down with the phone call.

Nothing livens up a party quite like showing off your way-cool cell phone. Wayan here is showing off his latest DC Metroblog post to his Clockstopping Hottie girlfriend, who is visibly impressed with his dashing genius and Wi-Fi enabled 5MP camera phone. Well, if she wasn’t, at least I was. That phone was sweeter than agave nectar. Oh, how I would love such a phone so I can post on the road, on the fly or however I am on the go.

Nokia – can you hook a brother up?

The other guys at the party looked on in envy, sure that it was the phone, not the cool shirt, that got him his gal. Truth be told, it was hanging out with guys like me that got him his love trophy. No doubt.

Here was the scene this afternoon at Metro Center as I transferred to the Red Line from the Orange at rush hour: delays on the Glenmont side, platform filling to capacity, signs giving no train arrival times, with no announcements over the PA system. After a few minutes of waiting, the train labels changed to the dreaded "-- TRAIN", which could mean out-of-service ghosts, or no train at all. Estimated arrival times started to appear which exceeded the amount of time it would have taken me to walk home from Metro Center. Next train expected in nine minutes, next one after that in 16, and the platform continued to fill up with harried travelers. Judging from the crowd, no way I would be able to cram myself into either train. All the while, still no announcements from station managers.

So I left the station and walked home. Ten minutes later, from home, I checked out WMATA to see what was up, and was greeted with, what else, “There are no service alerts at this time.” Hard to believe.

Great work, Metro. Nice to see the added revenue from all that advertising finally kicking in, eh? How much did you spend on those station performers again?

Stop! Or I’ll say “stop” again!

If you think that photographer harassment by private companies only happens in Silver Spring, think again.

Bill Adler was harassed yesterday when photographing a building in Chinatown. As Bill tells it:

[W]hen I stopped to take a photograph of a building on 7th Street, NW between Eye and K Streets. Two security guards emerged and one asked me what I was doing. I responded that I was taking photographs. The dialog then went this way:

Guard: “You can’t take photographs of this building.”
Me: “Yes, I can. There’s no law against it.”
Guard: “This is a Federal building and no photography is allowed.”

Better yet, Bill went back to the building with the now-famous Chip Py and took more photographs.
Now that’s the way to stand up to The Man.

I’m going to be generous and assume that both the advertiser here and the Giant management – who I presume police the board for objectionable and illegal material – are unaware of what a blatant violation of the fair housing laws this is.

DC from Air Force Memorial

Originally uploaded by matt.herzog.

Last night coming into DCA, before the snafu at the luggage carousel, we had the most wonderful descent into the city. Following the Potomac from the north, we coasted over the river, looking down over my adopted home, seeing the residential portion of Northwest blink in and out beneath the canopy of trees like so many fireflies on a warm summer night. Then it was the Cathedral in view, majestic and tall among the otherwise squat buildings, the red beacons on its prow welcoming the flight home.

We flew close over Rosslyn and the view over Georgetown was just incredible, the Key Bridge, then the Memorial Bridge, then the holy trinity of DC Landmarks, the Lincoln, the Washington and the Capitol lined up like some sort of man-made constellation of gleaming white marble. I hadn’t remembered seeing the crenellated skylight there the last time I fly over. Then it was down over the water, then the brief spot of beach, and then touchdown.

“Welcome to Washington, D.C., the local time is ten to eleven. Please set your watches forward to Eastern Daylight Time.”

While I’m impressed someone managed to get this plate I think it would be more fun if it was being ironic, like on a minivan or something. As it is I think it’s more a contribution from The Department of Redundancy Department.

A coworker was recently conducting an interview and I couldn’t help overhearing the candidate using language I sure wouldn’t use when trying to make a good impression on someone. Yes, I go to an actual office a few days each week. Get off my case. It’s part of my socialization plan developed by Wayan, who thinks I should be getting some discipline and doing something with my life.

Last year I was in an interview and the person who was trying to recruit me cussed like a broke sailor at a cash-only liquor store. I was shocked but others I talked to later on seemed to take it as normal.

I know DC isn’t part of the polite South that I grew up in, but for crying out loud, shouldn’t we have some decency in formal settings? I would especially refrain from swearing during a job interview unless I really did not want the job. On the other hand, I once laughed out loud at something a prospective boss said, thinking it was so ridiculous that it must be a joke. Turned out he was just full of bad ideas.

So what’s up, DC? Is it part of the culture here to use such foul language during interviews?

That is what these nannies screamed at me when I tried to take a photo of their very cool four-kid stroller, on 19th Street: “Photography is against our polices!”

What they, and many others fail to realize is people (including children) on a public street have been found by the courts not to have an expectation of privacy and their photograph can be taken and even published without their consent. Using such images of the public for purposes of general commentary and criticism is also well established, and supersedes any “policy” these nannies or their company has.

So no matter how much or how loudly they yelled, even pulling out the race card at one point, when on a public street they can’t stop me, or you, from taking a photograph of them or anyone else.

And this yet another example of when photography is NOT a crime and why you should join Metroblogging DC in our Silver Spring Photo Walk – a declaration of photographic freedom on the perfect day: July 4th.