Do you have national name recognition and at least 6 years of journalism-preferably in hosting radio?

Well NPR wants you for their new host of Weekend All Things Considered.  That’s right-you can be a national news outlet based in Washington DC looking to hire someone to expand one of the best known products in radio-and you still have to post your jobs online.

You would think that these types of jobs are done with headhunters and “people who know people” finding each other-but there you go, Joe Q. Public, you get your shot too.    

Maybe President-Elect Obama can put a posting for Secretary of Commerceon USAJobs while we’re at it.

It appears that Nancy Pelosi is taking a page from Barney Cam and posted a video on her YouTube channel that appears to be a cute video of her cats in the Capitol- I urge everyone to check it out for the pleasant surprise at the end.

After watching the short video I have to say that she may be the hippest Speaker of the House ever.

Remember that movie The Siege? The one with Danzel Washington and that guy from Monk?

Well a scene I’ll always remember from that film is the part where crazy Bruce Willis seals off NYC and puts troops on the bridge. Well right now I feel like one of the New Jersey people looking in. Hey at least I’m not one of the crazy people caught up in the mess just past that bridge.

Well as I write this a week from Inauguration I realized I’ve been writing about the big event however I have still not yet thought through my own plans for the weekend, which is only a few days away!

Ok well allow me to think out loud as I fill you in on the latest news.

So let’s approach Inauguration from a weekend standpoint. It’s going to be a crazy long weekend from Friday – Tuesday. Unfortunately I have a hot date with a play I’m helping to stage manage on Friday and Saturday morning, so my weekend starts that night. (more…)

West Side Story album cover by flickr user exquisitur

As theater buffs already know, there’s a production of West Side Story in town.  It’s been at the National Theatre since last month on its way to Broadway, in a reprisal of its path 50 years ago.

Other reviews have made note of the decision by director Arthur Laurents to allow the Sharks and their girls to sing and talk amongst themselves in Spanish.   A love-it-or-hate-it decision, it endows the dialogue between characters with an authenticity and intimacy that hasn’t been seen before, and provides an instant update and relevance.  I know I hear conversations that I don’t understand (not just in Spanish) around DC every day!  Strategic sprinkling of key English phrases allow the non-Spanish-speaking audience members (like me!) to know where we are. (more…)

Props to joezilagyi on Flickr

I guess I understand why FedEx offers this service; “real” FedEx is aimed at delivery to offices during the business day.  But then FedEx began contracting out Home Delivery (not without issues) for online orders to folks who are not often home during the day.

I find it interesting that FedEx recently changed its ad campaign from Relax, It’s FedEx to We Understand.  But I don’t think they understand the differences between home delivery to country mice and city mice.  Case in point was delivery this morning of a rug ordered online.

9:55 am: Loud knock at the door.
9:56 am: I open the door and am almost beaned by a rolled-up rug falling at my face.   The guy driving the Penske rental van (illegally parked across the street) calls out “Sorry!” as he gets in and drives away.  I drag the 60-pound package into the house.
9:58 am: I check the FedEx tracking website to see that the package was left “on the porch”.

Okay, I live in a rowhouse in the densest urban neighborhood in DC.  I do not have a “porch”, I have two cast-iron steps outside my front door, which I don’t even own.  No one in their right mind should leave a package at my door.  Right.

And so I will rant briefly about being a responsible online-orderer in the city, which includes:

• planning accordingly for when one is home to answer the door and when one is not
• getting to know one’s regular FedEx, UPS, and USPS delivery professional
• knowing one’s neighbors and relying on one another to get accept packages

I won’t add “expecting a delivery person to be able to read a note taped to the door”, because that’s been kind of hit or miss.  </rant>

"Down Pennsylvania Avenue" courtesy Flickr user brmurray

You don’t need a ticket to stand on the sidewalk and watch the Inaugural Parade but if you are interested in some of the bleacher seats you’ve seen being built along the streets of DC your chance to get a ticket is NOW!

The Presidential Inaugural Committee will sell 5,000 tickets for at 1:00 PM EST today. The tickets will be $25 each on Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 202-397-SEAT(7328), 410-547-SEAT(7328) or 703-573-SEAT(7328).  Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. There will be a limit to four tickets per person.

If you are lucky enough to get tickets you must be in your seats by 1:00 PM on January 20th.

Now we’ve all heard of concert tickets selling out in minutes- how fast do you think these tickets will go? I predict the tickets will be sold out at 1:05 PM today after Ticketmaster crashes at 12:47 PM today.

John Patterson, RFK Stadium, 7/4/06 by Flickr user Scott Ableman via Creative Commons

John Patterson has been hammered with arm injuries over the past couple of years. He has finally reached a point of such frustration that he chose to announce his retirement at the too-young age of 30. MLB.com commenter flannys sums up my feelings on the matter well:

"Michelle Rhee" by Flickr user angela n. via Creative Commons

Michelle Rhee has turned heads since becoming Chancellor of Schools in DC. Her unorthodox policies such as weakening tenure power, firing hundreds in the public school system, evaluating teachers in person, and paying students for good grades have been featured in Time Magazine and here on Metblogs. Rhee is now rolling out her new student disciplinary policies, geared towards keeping children in school and instructing constructively through appropriate consequence. She is holding three public forums to discuss these new policies.

Forums (via NBC DC)

So far I’m a believer in Michelle Rhee. The problems in DC are drastic, and drastic problems call for drastic measures. She has a forceful personality; she prioritizes on the spot and makes difficult decisions that ruffle a lot of feathers. Since I have not experienced Rhee in person yet, I will attend one of these forums, either on January 13th or 28th. The changes that are happening in the DC school system will have long term impacts on the local culture. Everyone in the DC area should be a part of these changes.

Take a look at this video at Time.com. If you have time read the article too. Enjoy this quote from the article, courtesy of Time Magazine.

“We’re in Washington, D.C., in the nation’s capital, and yet the children of this city receive an education that every single citizen in this country should be embarrassed by.” -Michelle Rhee

My bike at the Jeff Mem, on my summertime commute

…Even the Presidential Inauguration!  Well, bike valet, that is.  As Frank mentions in the post below, yes, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association is offering its ever-popular Bike Valet service for those of you who don’t want to deal with Metro delays, dodging tour buses, or finding yourself parked on the Beltway in your car ten miles from the Mall. 

Bike Valet service will be located at the Jefferson Memorial, and north of the White House at K Street.  Today on WAMU’s Morning Edition, WABA’s Henry Masias noted that cyclists “will be able to get just as close as anyone taking Metro or bus,” even though you won’t be able to ride right up to the Capitol.  Bike racks will be available rain or shine, but in the event of rain there won’t be valets to park your bike for you.   So, DC, will I see you on the bike path?

Happy New Year DC (is it too late to say that already?)

About a month ago I agreed to take a little trip over inauguration weekend rather than stay for the event.  Not that I needed my arm twisted-a few seconds of imagining the traffic nightmare this city would be was enough to convince me that missing the most historic inauguration ever wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

As we get closer though, and reports that there won’t be as many people as originally anticipated surface I’m beginning to rethink the quickness to which I volunteered to jump out of town.  I’m still going to be leaving, don’t get me wrong, but a survey of some web site tend to show that the city looks like it is getting its act together regarding “how to get there.” 

So while I’ll be watching the inauguration from a couch several hundred miles away (and reporting here from said couch) I thought I’d pass along some helpful transport links for those who are staying in town:

Take the Train:  Despite the fact that everyone else will do it too, I’m guessing that Metrorail will be your best bet if you have more than a mile or two to cover. 

The commemorative cards are now available online at the WMATA site and at sale centers.  They look a lot sharper than I was prepared for. 

Strangely-Metro has decided to close some of the metro stations and parking lots for the event.

For Metro’s full coverage of Inauguration Day-click here.

Or…Don’t take the train:  Is Public Trans not green enough for you?  Well then ride your bike!  WAMU had the story this morning about bike racks and valets (Bike valets?) being made available on Inauguration day. 

Stretch those Legs:  How about a nice walk?  Right along the parade route.  The city of DC’s home page has a great Inauguration 09 site, including this “getting there” page which highlights some walking routes.

Roads?  Where we’re going we don’t need…roads:  And neither should you.  Unless you have a flying Delorean (which I would also suggest not taking to DC for the Inauguration) it looks like cars and buses are going to be severely limited in where they can go and what they can do.  Do your best to avoid trying to park in DC or drive anywhere near the mall-the sooner you can get out of a car the better. 

Can we Sail?  Yes We Can!:  Yep-you may have missed booking it already, but at least one group of Obama fans will be sailing to the Inauguration.  No clue where they are going to park it, but even taking a boat here you’ll still be subject to the rules of the road once you land. 

Other tips?