For those who do keep their finger on the world pulse, tomorrow is World Malaria Day (April 25th), sponsored by the World Health Organization. While Spring is here, and the standing water from the heavy rains a few days ago will sure spawn our favorite Summer pest, the mosquito, it’s good to remember, that here, in the US, we’re lucky enough not to have the scourge of malaria, one of the largest killers of people, young and old, worldwide. So, as a reminder, since we do get other mosquito borne illness here, notably the West Nile Virus, if you have standing water pooling on your property, in buckets, plastic sheeting, or other places that seem innocuous, tip it out and drain it. (Remember, D.C. used to be a swamp, so it makes sense…)

On the upside, Senegalese singer, Youssou N’Dour is performing at the World Bank in the atrium at 2pm. I’m not sure if it’s fully open to the public, but you can try, given that it’s supposed to raise awareness…it’d be dumb to restrict access.

If you’re not an early bird, you might want to set your alarm clock for tomorrow. Nationals single game tickets (save for Opening Day) go on sale at 9am. If you want to get decent seats, I’d suggest the 300 level, as they’re something on the order of $22-5 instead of the lower levels which start around $54. Outfield seats aren’t cheap, either, at around $35 per game. Get out your wallet and prepare to pay heavy prices if you want to sit in the infield, or heaven help you, behind home plate. The best seats in the house are $325 per, which sound more like floor seats at the Lakers than baseball seats, but it comes with some food vouchers and in-seat ordering, so if you’re super wealthy, please consider that option fully.

No word yet on when Opening Day tickets will go on sale for those who aren’t season ticket holders. Mine arrived today in the mail from Tickets.com, I’ll be out in 108 along the left field fence, so feel free to come by and see us on March 30th when the Nats open up Nationals Park.

Two months in and I’m just now hitting my first show of ‘08 due to a lack of interesting show choices and a mammoth research project I’m working on.

Last night I caught a terrific triple-bill at the Rock and Roll Hotel. (Who by the way have recently installed a new, wider stage and a totally sick new sound system that makes RNR a venue to die for).

First up was Young Widows a noise-rock trio in the tradition of Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and Big Black. Imagine any one of those bands with a Fugazi-esque shared vocal set-up and you are pretty close to what the Young Widows sound like. Young Widows brought the fury last night, demonstrating a straight-forward, passionate racket that felt vital and necessary in the face of today’s genre-crossing indie climate. It was great to see this new band shred through a set of angst-shouted vocals set to noisey rhythmic rock, minus any pretention or posing. After their admirable set I am now praying for them to come back around on a tour with These Arms Are Snakes (man that would rule).

Ultra-heavy beat, hip-hop duo Dalek were up next. I’ve seen Dalek about five times over the last eight years. I’ve always considered these guys to be the perfect fusion of Hip-Hop and Digital Hardcore, but Digital Hardcore is a genre long-dead so I don’t really know how to describe them in a way that makes current sense. Dalek are much more than a relic of the late 90’s though, putting on suprising sets everytime they come to DC. Last night I was shocked to see that the duo had expanded into a quartet (adding an a live guitar player and a second DJ-type guy). Hip-hop alone is not a descriptor that does these guys justice. Sure the lead singer is one of the best MCs going, but the music to which he raps is such an intense wall of noise and beats that they really drift into controlled noise territory. The addition of the live guitarist took last night’s set to a whole new level. Adding a thrash/shoegazer element to Dalek’s traditonal noise barrage was a stroke of genius and put Dalek on top for best set of the night.

That isn’t to say headliners Russian Circles were slacking, not in the slightest. Falling somewhere between Post-Rock and Metal, Russian Circles tore into a set that for the most part abandoned their quiet-loud formula in favor of laying down some seriously epic head-bangers. I often consider Post-rock/metal shows to be art installations because of the way they inhabit an enviroment and make it their own (unlike any other genre except maybe traditional noise: ie. Whitehouse). Last night Russian Circles didn’t inhabit the RNR Hotel so much as they reenacted the World War II tank battle at Kursk with guitars and drums. It was a power performance that set heads banging and fists pumping, and left ears ringing (for what feels like will be days).

Barbeque. It’s a controversial subject in these parts, and you need to look no further than Wikipedia’s entry on regional barbeque to see all manner of subtle protest of one state’s traditions over another. Some people prefer St. Louis-style ribs with a heavy tomato-based sauce. Others prefer North Carolina-style ribs with a good solid dry rub followed by thin vinegar-based sauce. Which one you choose specifies the kind of personal preference usually reserved for Religion, Politics or Sports Teams. It’s not a small deal.

When my friend Jonathan told me about the Rocklands re-opening on Lee Hwy in Virginia Square, I couldn’t have been more excited. For a long time, Rocklands shared a space with the pool-bar Carpool right off the Metro. But, apparently, the management agree expired in 2005, and since then Arlington has been left largely rib-less. Sure, tons of places served the dish, but none really gave it the deep and abiding respect and love that good ribs deserve. Four of us went over that way last night, the new location is next to the Georgetown Valet (and the Ron Paul Revolution World Headquarters) where Pica Deli used to be.

When you open the door, the sweet, tangy smell of barbeque wafts gentle out into the outside, followed by the hickory smoke that makes their food so good. Rocklands is an order-then-sit type of restaurant, with both family-style and individual-sized meals. Tiff and I had sandwiches (Lamb, Brisket) and some of their spicy onion rings, while our friends had a full slab of smoked ribs. As we ordered, they were moving full-sized briskets and pork shoulder from the smoker to the carving platform, and they were huge cuts of meat, steaming from the heat, and smelling like heaven to any barbeque lover.

Rocklands will be a favorite of ours, I’m sure. Welcome back, guys, we missed you.

Rocklands
3471 Washington Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 528-9663

Capital Weather Gang suggests we’ll get one to three inches, followed by rain in the District. Less to the south and east, more to the north and west. Be prepared for a nasty evening rush.

Weekend Platform Repairs to Slow Metro

Metro Center will be getting some heavy duty platform repair this weekend, causing delays of up to 30 minutes, so if you avoid the literal center of the Red, Blue and Orange liens, by all means, do. This weekend is the first of two weekends that WMATA will be fixing platform sag on the red line platforms. Presidents Day Weekend will also suck for transit.

Rhee Promises Change in Schools Facility Plan

DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has promised that changes to her facilities plan will be made, though the extent of these changes is currently unknown. Rhee had announced that she would close 23 schools, but that plan may well change in the near future, in response to feedback from the community.

Hearsay Now Considered News at NBC4

A Lieutenant in the DC Fire Department is alleged to have read an insensitive letter aloud at a DC Firehouse, and is now under investigation. The following quote is all I have to go on, but I suspect it’s regarding a new fireman’s orientation: “He’s a Libra,” the letter said. “Boy George is his favorite singer. He’s originally from Calvert County, but looking for a one-room, two-person apartment in the Dupont Circle area.” I suspect tone is certainly more telling than content at this point.

Driver Fees on Repeal Path

The Virginia Bad Driver Fees are on the long road to repeal, passing a bill out of a Senate subcommittee yesterday. Don’t get excited just yet, there’s a long way to go before a vote.

I know that most of us here are avid Flickr users, but I don’t know if I’m the only DC metblogger here who uses their geotagging feature or not. I hope not, since I’ve just discovered - through a post on reader Justin Thorpe’s blog - that Flickr has enhanced the way you can see those tagged images by offering Flickr Places.

The DC Flickr Places page has a neat selection of shots, though they are kinda heavy on the touristy and flashy stuff, like this shot of the 4th of July fireworks behind the Washington Monument. It’s fun, though, to click through on those shots and see the “Taken in Washington, District of Columbia” under the Additional Information header on the right, where the link will show you that user’s local shots.

The screen full of DC entries has one minor flaw, in my opinion, in that it’s not immediately obvious how you move to another block of photos. See the screengrab here with the block of shots? Those left and right arrows are only visible once you mouse over them, making it not immediately obvious there’s more than one bunch of shots when you first load the page. Personally I’d have made them always visible, but they got bought for a bazillion dollars by Yahoo whereas I’m sitting in a cube, so what the hell do I know? So just realize - there’s more than those 12 shots to page through.

This is my fave so far.

image courtesy of Clav

My darling girlfriend and I are in the process of moving, one of life’s lesser joys. I’ve got a few stories to tell, though several of them are hers, since she’s shouldered the burden of dealing with most of the utility companies. I don’t really suggest changing jobs a few weeks before a major move but I have to say it’s a great trump card when trying to convince your partner to pick up some of your slack. “Gosh honey, could you do that? I just don’t feel like it’s a good message to send for me to be on the phone so much on my third day.” Grod love her, she’s good to me.

One of the first hurdles we jumped was a mover for her. Being a long-time bachelor myself I’ve got more computer toys, saws, and books than furniture. She, however, is bringing the majority of the heavy gear to the new place, so she was determined to hire someone. Whoo-boy! I knew a fellow who once quipped that “finding an unbiased drug study is even harder than finding a sober Kennedy,” but drug policy is a snap compared to determining is a mover is trustworthy and fairly priced.

We spoke to several, including ones suggested by fellow metblogs authors, but in the end went with someone used by one of her coworkers, Charles in Charge. Others seemed good, but the biggest deciding factor in the end was that CiC didn’t want to charge a minimum travel time. We felt that was kinda unreasonable from a mover whose office was one mile away to move objects between two houses that are… let’s see what Google says…. 1584 feet apart. So paying for two hours of travel stuck in our craw.

I’ll give you a review when it’s done. Here’s hoping.

Some people try to forget the tragic day of September 11, 2001 while others will always remember. No matter who you are or what you believe in, you will no doubt have a memory of that day etched in your mind. More than anything, it was a day that defined many things in our world.

In the days and months after the attack, our country pulled together and became united as one. Bickering subsided and people embraced each other as fellow Americans. Patriotism was reborn, and I remember people selling American flags on the street corners of L.A. for $10 showing that capitalism runs deep. George W. Bush stood with firefighters at Ground Zero showing strength and courage, perhaps the pinnacle of his career as president. People wore FDNY hats and t-shirts and donated millions to show support for those who lost their lives. America was reminiscent of times past.
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So last Friday over lunch I dropped by the Watergate Hotel Liquidation to see for myself what it would be like, and maybe snag some nice table lamps for the apartment. I walked over to the hotel, and with some directions from security, found the way up to the entrance, which was graced by an hour-long line of eager bargain hunters and Watergate gawkers. They were letting in buyers in groups of fifty, at irregular intervals depending on how many people were in the hotel at the time.

At the entrance I had to pay a $10 fee, but word is that the entrance fee was just crowd control for the first few days of the sale; from today onwards entrance is [supposedly] free. From there the group was directed to the lobby, where sample items like chairs, desks, armoires, beds, and other standard hotel room furnishings were on display, each with a tag showing a code number and price. Buyers were given order sheets, then were told to take note of what standard items they wished to purchase and in what quantities, that only a certain range of floors was open to the public, one-of-a-kind items would be individually marked, and payment could be made by cash or card at the concierge. Fixtures attached to the walls like bathroom vanities, toilets, chandeliers, and such were not to be removed, and could be ordered by code number and delivered later.

Floors 8-14 were open that day, but there were only two tiny elevators (and a service elevator which doesn’t go to the lobby) to serve the group of fifty, so I ducked into a back hallway, looked for an EXIT sign, and found the stairs. Broken light bulbs littered several steps, probably from past unfortunate buyers with hard-to-carry lamps. On the eighth floor I emerged into a dimly lit hallway, mostly empty but for the occasional buyer drifting from suite to suite, and a couple of delivery men bringing a large table to the service elevator.

About half of the rooms had been cleaned out of lamps and other small, easily-carried items. Most of the lamps lacked finials, but did all still have light bulbs. Very few armchairs were left. In one room a woman sat in an armchair and spoke quite loudly into her cellphone, “Honey, guess where I am? No. No. I’m AT THE WATERGATE HOTEL!! Yes! It’s great!”

After admiring the view from a few of the rooms, I finally found two working blue porcelain ginger jar lamps with shades — one with a finial and one without — and hauled them back down the stairs. They were not too heavy at first, but were rather bulky and difficult to carry, seeming to grow heavier and heavier as I descended. Back in the lobby, there was a bit of a queue for the concierge, but nowhere near as long as the entry line. The cashier was even nice enough to give me a spare finial. Price: $25 each lamp. These go for anywhere from $60 to $300+ each brand new.

After a long walk and a stopover at the office, the lamps are finally in our bedroom, making it much more home-like as compared to the old BB&B plastic desk lamps we used to have — as evidenced by this photo from my wife:

Thanks, Watergate Hotel Liquidation Sale!

More washer/dryer photos

Soon after assuming my half-million dollar mortgage, I started thinking on how to convert my basement to a livable space for friends and family.

The first step on the long path to add a kitchen is to sell the high capacity & heavy duty Kenmore washer dryer set that came with the house.

They are clean and modern, in perfect working order - just like new. As a Metroblogging DC special, I’m selling the washer and dryer for only $350, a ~60% savings from their retail prices.

You can see the current model equivalents here: washer: 02627542000 dryer: 02667422000.

I’m even offering free delivery in Petworth & Columbia Heights neighbourhoods of Washington DC. Or you can pick them up. I can also deliver them for $15-$50 elsewhere in the Metro area, depending on distance, but cash payment is required before delivery.

Email me now if you are interested or read more details after the jump…
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