That also means that I won’t be remaining quiet this weekend, in fact I’ve already declared my weekend a “Weekend of Destruction.” That means every day til Wednesday will probably be a day I will rock out- leading to a destruction of my health, morals, and what little social life I had to begin with. It only makes sense I declare this a Weekend of Destruction- after all DC is technically in a state of emergency.

So let me share with you my nightlife last night.

While DC has been pretty satisfied with the extended bar hours, the crowds are only starting to come out. On my way to Dupont Circle the metro was packed from the Caps game that just ended however I did see a lot more suitcases than usual in my crowded car. I also noticed that there were a whole lot of tour buses dropping folks off when I got to Dupont.

The Big Hunt was terribly crowded but I was out pretty early at the point- the crowds grew as the hour approached midnight- luckily there was still a whole lot more nightlife to go.

I met up with some friends at Columbia Heights house party which was ok but the keg was kicked soon after my arrival and my crew and I were soon walking over to The Wonderland Ballroom which would of been cool since I’ve never been there but when we arrived we found out they were one of the unlucky ones that decided not to go for the late night license.

That reminds me, make sure you check out the Washington Post’s list of bars open late so you don’t make the same mistake we did.

We ended up grabbing a taxi over to U-Street where Local 16 was finishing up a priviate Inaugural party on their deck (it looked really nice all tented and heated.)

It was great being able to stay out til 4 AM last night- what I didn’t like was trying to get a taxi to get myself back into Virginia. It appears that a few cabs that we stopped didn’t want to leave The District. Concerns over security? Did anyone else encounter this?

Well today should be a little more chill- unlike Anthony I won’t be heading out to the concert but I will be enjoying the Ravens/Steelers game tonight and maybe try out another neighborhood.

Bomb Squad Investigating Abandoned Greenpeace Stuffed Bear At Columbia Heights

Not that the topic needs to be dragged through the news any more on the DC blogs, but homeless polar bears holding signs that say “SOS” are not the works of random activists. Ready for the surprise? It’s Greenpeace at it again. Man, those guys are so clever.

It has been an amusing protest of off-shore drilling and we all get the message, but can’t we continue without wasting the valuable resources of DC? On Tuesday a suspicious package shut down the Columbia Heights Metro station during the morning. It turned out to be a gigantic stuffed polar bear that Greenpeace left by a garbage can outside of the Metro without informing authorities. The taxpayers paid to send the bomb squad out, but Greenpeace got their message on the news, so we can be happy about it without complaining.

Yesterday another bear was placed by the Reflection Pool, leaving park rangers to spend their time, energy, and most importantly their attention dealing with the bear and getting Greenpeace on the news again.

Politics are all over Washington, DC. I point to the nuclear proliferation protesters who sit in front of the White House as an example of a good protest. The authorities know that they are there, and they do not leave their protest materials unattended for police to deal with at the taxpayer’s expense.

By all means Greenpeace, get your message out there by putting people in bear costumes on the side of US-50 (see post below by Frank), but don’t think for a moment that Washington will take your message seriously if you delay their Metros and basically use police resources to get press. Not cool.

The first time I heard of it was Monday night. I’d met a woman at St. Ex who was planning to hold an art opening in her home to show off her collages, so I dropped by tonight. My friend and I got to her Columbia Heights house early, giving us a chance to ask a lot of questions. Turns out that the house’s main living spaces had recently been emptied—a roommate who’d owned most of the furniture had moved out—and that gave the artist in question an idea. She added that she’d looked into showing her work at a regular gallery, but many of them were located in old row houses like hers, and she thought, “Why go elsewhere?”

I was impressed with her moxie. The collages were arranged on walls throughout the dining and living rooms, and while each was accompanied by a short description about its meaning, the texts were covered with removable pieces of paper in case the viewer didn’t want her experience spoiled by an explanation. There were also Discmans placed here and there, for people to listen to the artist’s voice describing specific works of art.

It was quite lovely, and beautifully inventive.

Columbia Heights was absolutely buzzing with energy at 2pm on a Tuesday. What surprised me most of all was the ubiquitous construction, which I’d wrongly assumed had ended when the big DC USA complex opened. The neighborhood is still in the process of reinventing itself, with buildings-in-progress stretching north towards 16th Street Heights. But the central area, around where Park Rd. meets 14th Street, is pretty much done. It’s pretty great, too, with a semicircle of restaurants and cafes and even ice cream shops surrounding an open area. I know, I know–gentrification, prices, displacement, etc. Still, an area of the city that didn’t feel super welcoming in the past has opened up to more District residents.

Anyway, some things aren’t too different. Not everyone in the area has somewhere to go, or a way to get there. A really nice guy stopped me as I left Julia’s, asking for $.85 to get across town so that he could show up for his bimonthly urine test. I gave it to him, and he thanked me, saying he’d pray for me that night.

When you’re out walking to lunch today, in the glorious spring sunshine, take a moment to think about what you’re having. Is it trucked in by Sysco after being canned somewhere in the midwest? Or is it hauled in from area farms?

I’ve fallen in love with the area farmers markets, which are about to start their season again. The Post sent over a very neat Google Maps Mashup with a bunch of local farmers markets. Be sure to play with the days of the week on the map, as that made me miss my two favorite farmers markets initially.

If you’re interested in Farm Shares, please check out the VABF’s listing of CSA farms in the northern virginia area, most of whom will have dropoff points in the District. It’s not too late!

Strawberries — Originally uploaded by tbridge

Remember last week’s shocking Columbia Heights Tenant Eviction?

No matter if you were shocked or not about people being evicted in Washington DC, (I wasn’t), I think we can all be shocked at the amount of possessions casually tossed on the sidewalk and into the street.

My photo doesn’t really do it justice, but Prince of Petworth has a photo that does.

And his readers report that DPW:

“sent 4 street sweepers, two dump trucks, a bull dozer, a dumpster loader and a crew of about 25. From 10 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., the city was cleaning up the street.”

They also say it was the home of a lady who passed away a few years ago and the grandson squatted in the house till it was taken from the family.

So sad.

Now this is some cold-ass eviction. This is the street outside 2918 Sherman Avenue NW last night in Columbia Heights.

That mess on the street isn’t garbage, it’s the combined possessions of the tenants, or now ex-tenants, of what was their communal rooming house. Neighbours say that a contractor came by yesterday and had his workers toss the residents’ belongings out the building’s windows, with no regard for the lives destroyed or the street trashed.

And so we now see the result. Chaos and sadness for the former occupants, a hazard for city dwellers, and a lawsuit waiting to happen because the building owner couldn’t follow DC eviction rules or even decent street etiquette.

Good luck to the tenants, that shit ain’t right.

Given that The Heights is part of the EatWellDC “empire” (Grillfish, Logan Tavern, Merkado Kitchen) it’s possible their bloody mary menu is a feature at their other restaurants. Given that brunch is a concept my lazy self loves in theory if not in practice, I wouldn’t know. But it was just the thing to save my soul. I went for a mix of Absolut Peppar, spicy tomato juice, lime juice, and a hunk of cucumber. I would definitely return to sample one with salty beef broth. The combinations seemed endless. Revive AND fortify yourself!

While munching down on a decadent overkill of crab cake eggs benedict, I was filled in on the rapid development of Columbia Heights by two friends who live there. Sure, I could get my scoop from everyone’s favorite Petworth resident, but I just can’t abide his grammatical mistakes.

(sorry Wayan, couldn’t resist the joke!)

The last time I was at the intersection of 14th and Kenyon it was ages ago to go to a play at the Tivoli, which was then surrounded by massive holes in the ground. Now those holes are mostly completed buildings. Frankly, it just looks like New Clarendon to me. We spent some serious time debating whether there was anything wrong with that (see an earlier take on the neighborhood’s development controversy).

As we were debating the pros and cons of gentrification, a woman lurched into the patio area and made a lunge at my friend’s purse. Deflected, she then got in my face and asked for change. Her eyes were bleary and bloodshot. No comprehension, no connection. Devoid and numb. The ghost of a neighborhood past. And suddenly an article about a slothful girl and her decadent brunch became embarrassing to complete.

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…

More washer/dryer photos

Washer Details:
White-on-white Kenmore 3.2 cu. ft. Super Capacity Washer features a Dual Action Plus Agitator that effectively and gently cleans a large load. 8 cycles and 3 temperatures

Automatic Temperature Control provide the versatility you need to clean Heavy Duty loads and care for a variety of fabrics. Includes a Prewash cycle for heavily-soiled or stained items.
* Bleach dispenser
* Fabric Softener dispenser
* Spreckle porcelain wash basket
* 2-speed motor

Dryer Details:
White-on-white Kenmore 6.5 cu. ft. Super Capacity Electric Dryer features Auto Dry Control that senses when the load is dry and shuts off dryer. With Air Dry cycle. Wrinkle Guard tumbles the load without heat to help reduce wrinkling.
* 3 temperatures
* Timed Dry – 60 Minutes
* End-of-Cycle signal
* Drum Light

If you are reading this far, you should be interested enough to email me now and start haggling.