When DC Metblogs launched in late July 2004, I felt like a fraud. I had moved to DC two years before, and had spent a lot of that time getting lost due to my legendarily poor sense of direction, defining my world based on its relationship to 395 or a Metro station, and coping with the sense that my grand quarterlife crisis plan of moving to DC was not turning out the way I expected, but suddenly I was writing about life here as if I had any idea what I was doing.

Four years later, I’ve grown into DC pretty well, and I think writing for DC Metblogs has been a huge part of that. With my fellow bloggers, I’ve explored corners of the city I would never have thought to see on my own and made friends I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

Thanks, everybody. It’s time for Metblogs and me to part ways, but I’ll still be writing about the city I love at the appropriately named We Love DC.

Goodbye Mr. Sun See You Tomorrow

Originally uploaded by moonjazz

It’s hard to believe so much time has gone by; it’s been a little shy of three years since I wrote my first post here and kicked off what would be a lot of posts and pictures about funny Virginia license plates. At the time I was a little reluctant to sign up and participate, not actually being a blogger on my own. Writing about myself seemed to self-indulgent, and who would care? Writing for Metblogs, however, provided a structure and a reason for writing and I’ve loved it. It’s been a way to meet new people and a motivation to try new things and, perhaps most importantly, an impetus to really examine my involvement and my feelings about the things I do and see.

I credit Metblogs for helping me love this city even more,  in a dozen ways. New people, new friends, new places, new experiences, new opportunities. Like the best jobs, this one kept me on my toes and pushed me to develop new skills… sometimes under fire, sometimes by putting me next to people who knew things I didn’t, sometimes by forcing me to teach and thereby learn my subject matter even better.

That said, surely you know a eulogy when you hear it. Well, a resignation letter anyway – I’m not dying unless someone aims badly with a bottle rocket tonight. Maybe this is more an overly wordy break-up speech. It’s not you, Metblogs, it’s me.

It’s come to be time for me to move on to a different place – electronically anyway – and a different sort of writing. I’m still interested in life here in DC and I’ll be writing about it over at We Love DC, where some things will be new but others will surely stay the same. Anyone interested in a betting pool on how long before I post a picture of some interesting license plates… well, I wouldn’t go too far into double-digits if I were you.

Thanks for reading, I home you come visit me over at the new digs. Have a happy Fourth of July.

photo courtesy of Zaid Al Balushi

Four years ago, I took the reins of a brand new fledgling city blog. In that time, I’ve come to meet a whole host of awesome people, written a whole lot about DC, and gotten to love the city I once was ready to leave, having shaken the dirt from my feet in disgust. I’ve made some incredible friends while blogging here, and learned a lot about how to run a blog, and how not to run one. Where am I going? No, I’m not leaving DC, and I’m not leaving the blogging world either. I’m leaving Metroblogging to strike out on my own. My new project is called We Love DC, and will feature many of the writers you know and love from this site, in a new format.

Thanks also to all those who’ve written here these last four years. Thanks to those who’ve commented here and made it a community all its own. Thanks to all the other captains in all the other cities I’ve gotten to know.

Now, though, it is time to move on from Metroblogging and to let this canvas be writ anew. I have nothing but thanks for Sean Bonner for creating this network, to Jason Defillippo for his incredible coding skills, to Mack Reed for wrangling the Captains and keeping them fed and happy, and to Richard Ault for making the deals that keep the network running smooth. You guys have done amazing things, and I’m sure we’ll continue to see fruits of your work.

Good night, Metblogs DC, and Good Luck.

Fireworks #1 — Originally Uploaded by Camera Slayer

Street traffic is cordoned off and pedestrians are being kept away. The World Bank and surrounding facilities have instituted a “shelter in place” policy. It seems to be centered around the Edward R. Murrow Park across from the World Bank. Traffic is diverted down 19th and 17th, no cross traffic down I or Pennsylvania or up 18th is moving. Please avoid the area.

When my parents were here in March we happened to head a little farther west than we normally do, and ended up having a late lunch in Manassas. When we parked there it was hard not to notice the particularly large sign across the street and wonder what its story was. It was notable enough that I took a picture.

So when I saw this story on the front page of the WashingtonPost.com I was curious to read the story behind it. It’s an interesting one – based on the message above I’d wondered if this wasn’t a religious organization, with their message of love and empathy. “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” The sign has changed notably since March 9th – the WaPo story has a small shot of the presumably current sign, though it’s small and they provide no transcription.

Unfortunately WaPo writer Nick Miroff decided to do a little editorializing in the WaPo story, which summarizes the sign’s content thusly:

The sign’s text has changed a few times, but its message has essentially remained the same: Latino immigrants have been exploited by ungrateful, racist white residents who took advantage of their labor and now want them to leave.

Anyone see any assertions of racism or ingratitude in the sign above?  This is why you should report facts and not interpret them, Mr Miroff.

Transcriptions of old and new sign after the jump. (more…)

Apart from seeing a businessman borrowing his daughter’s Winnie the Pooh backpack today on the Metro, I’m not sure how many of us could publicly regress back into childhood at a moments notice. So it did warm my heart this morning when my inner child was revealed to me in a sign for the “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” which will open July 12th at the Smithsonian’s ’s International Gallery. Given the description of the program, I’m hoping it will be better than the last lackluster 5-6 item exhibit last trotted out to fans a few years ago. It is an amalgamation from the “Jim Henson Legacy” exhibit as well as the Smithsonian’s traveling “show”, which should be the best of both worlds.

For those of you who are more transient residents to D.C., or visitors stopping in to say a hearty “hello” to the National Capital region, the global phenomenon known as The Muppets was started here at the University of Maryland through Henson’s first show, “Sam and Friends”, broadcast on WRC-TV in D.C. starting in 1954. Who knew Kermit was that old, right?! Besides the Muppet characters, Henson was an experimental filmmaker, collaborating with composer and electronic music pioneer, Raymond Scott (Henry Warnow) on several films. If you can’t get enough of Henson at this exhibit, swing by UMD for the bronze statue and garden or visit the library there for more collections (the online version is also a treasure trove).

Jim Henson Memorial

Originally uploaded by zhurnaly