If you are interested make sure you read the complete rules on the Facebook invite: no down pillows, respect people with cameras.

The invite states to arrive with a pillow but keep it out of sight. Head towards the World War II monument side of the Washington Monument and wait for a fake shouting match to occur- that will be your cue to take sides and get in on the action. The fight will last for 15 minutes and then attempt to move to Dupont Circle.

Really ambitious for a pillow fight to move across the city.

• Dec. 26-30 and Jan. 2, close at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, close at 5:30 p.m

America’s favorite collection of free museums will be closed on Christmas Day, but is open the other 364 days of the year.

Star Spangled Banner_Moving Light Table courtesy flickr user catface3

Courtesy Washington City Paper

Is DC jumping the Hollywood shark?

All of a sudden we’ve become the new Toronto or Vancouver in terms non-LA filming locations. Forget about the slew of reality shows including Real World DC which should of started filming at their house on the corner of S & 20th. Forget about SilverDocs, the film festival that’s eaten most of my time this week. We got a new Hollywood distraction in town this weekend!

If you have been living under a rock (or maybe the Bethesda Metro Station), filming on Untitled James L. Brooks Project (however it’s speculated that the title is How Do You Know?) has been under way in Adams Morgan for the past few days and will wrap up at the end of next week.

The cast is packed with names like Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd. Which has caused everyone in DC to momentarily stop planning ways on how to get into the MTV hot tub and into Paul Rudd’s pants. My friends have already had their own personal encounters with the cast: The Pumpernickel made eye contact with Rudd and my friend Sarah got to go on a bike ride with Owen Wilson.

According to DCist, “other scenes will be filmed inside the lobby and outside of the office building at 875 15th Street NW, aka The Bowen Building, for big chunks of the weekend — a security notice sent to workers in the McPherson Square-adjacent building says they’ll be there pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday, and then again overnight at the end of next week.” The film is expected out this December.

Here are some clips of the filming, note Paul Rudd was filming a scene for the movie and probably wasn’t really hit by a car- but when you are trying to walk DC it’s totally possible.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-U3Rasnfws[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erx0_WGhF5k[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D42jOTJOQk[/youtube]

SS-20 at NASM*

The three most popular museums on the Mall are now open from 10:00 AM through 7:30 PM daily (except when there’s a special event scheduled).  Hours apply at the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, and the National Museum of Natural History until Labor day!  If you, like me, have still not been to visit the newfangled Star-Spangled Banner exhibit, or the Einstein Planetarium, or the new Ocean Hall, because you’re just too tired after a hard week’s work to fight the crowds on the weekend – now is your chance!

I have taken full advantage of the later hours (11:30 AM – 7:00 PM daily) at the National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum on 8th Street.  It’s thisclose to my Metro stop, Gallery Place, so I visit quite often in the winter when I commute on the bus and train.  In the summer, I bike commute, and my ride takes me down the Mall past the three biggies each workday.  Now, when I’m overcome by the urge to visit the SS20 missile at the Air and Space Museum, I’ll be able to stop in on the way home.

So, DC, take advantage of your free museums, and if you’ve got any touristy visitors coming this summer, be sure to let them know!

*photo by flickr user ptufts, used under a Creative Commons license

"Washington Monument" courtesy of Flickr user "CrimsonMage"

Can you believe there are some people out there that don’t know what The Washington Monument looks like?

In fact there are, albeit they are probably tourists from outside the United States and tourists that also don’t know who The President is.

I read an article in The Washington Post about plans for a new signage system on The Mall that would help identify the many attractions, everything from the Lincoln Memorial to the Jefferson. While the National Park Service sees the need to help direct and point out these places, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and local residents disagree.

The article goes through both arguments of the planned improvements, the Park Service would like to make The Mall more accessible for those that visit it, and others feel it may detract and that the landmarks are so famous that identification marks are not needed.

Isn’t it a tad presumptuous to think that everybody knows The DC monuments? Sure if anybody that lived in the city didn’t know these places we’d ask if they have been living in a cave. However we do need to consider that while word of these places have reached many countries and the tourists from these countries that visit, they may not know exactly the location of them or what they look like.

We have to come to terms that those outside the U.S. just aren’t as smart as us when it comes to knowing U.S Landmarks. What do you think?

While it may have been nice this weekend, it looks like the weather is going to get cooler as we get back to work tomorrow. It won’t get back up to 70′s but it will stay above freezing at least.

That’s what I love about DC, we get a winter but it doesn’t stay too long for us to hate it.

Anybody else do anything interesting with the warm weather out?

I started out the morning well bundled. I wore many, many layers and had hand/toe warmers, water, snacks, and maps ready to go.

At 8:30 AM my friend Carrie and I proceeded down to the Clarendon Metro stop to check out that option, if everything appeared all right a possible entry route was to simple Metro into a station and walk to The Mall. While that option was the simplist it was also one of the most popular and I expected to see the Clarendon stop overflowing with people as we walk the short two blocks to the station.

I was surprised to see the station empty, like it regularly looks on a holiday in the morning. The station appeared almost inviting as we walked but we decided against it, we wanted to check out one more option I thought up.

My secret, dark horse plan to get try and get on one of the Metrobuses running special routes to The National Mall. I figured that buses would have no problem getting over the closed bridges and roads, and that the Metrobus would be a less popular option, and thus possibly less crowded. I was wrong.

We started to walk down Clarendon to check out what the bus scene was like. We got out answer when a packed Metrobus drove by the bus stop we were at. Others at the bus stop heard from others that the buses weren’t even stopping in DC as planned. Instead they were dropping off patrons at Rosslyn. At that point we decided to give the Metro a look before plan C- walking all the way.

We continued walking down Clarendon to Court House, I was happy to see that there were hardly anybody at the station except a few other celebrators. The Metro was running trains at rush hour pace so each train was only 2 minutes apart. Good thing because when the first train showed up it was absolutely packed, with no chance of anybody new getting on. We were lucky that the next train had some space for us at the end of the train. We rode it all the way to Foggy Bottom.

We had to wait a bit on the way to the station because Vice-President’s motorcade was traveling by and they temporarily closed the station. Excitement filled the car when the conductor passed along the news.

From Foggy Bottom we made a quick bee line to The Lincoln Memorial. The plan was to just get to The Mall and once on the ground, figure out how far up we could  go while still getting a good view of the Jumbotron screens.

As we exited the station we saw a Vienna train arriving, traveling away from the city. It was quite a sight to see the packed train unload opposite an empty one.

As we made our way to The Mall, it was cool to see the road closures enforced by the National Guard, a little bit cooler than the usual Metropolitan police. When we arrived we were greeted by happy and excited volunteers wearing red hats. Once at The Mall we saw that everything appeared to be open to the Washington Monument. I was expected crowds reaching the World War II memorial at this point, so I was excited and quickly made my way to get a spot.

Some people decided to sit on the steps of the Lincoln and enjoyed the Jumbotrons left standing from the concert, which was playing on the screens. We made our way to the Monument to U2 and it was awesome.

Once we reached the Washington Monument we saw that we reach pretty much the end of the line. Everything past the Washington Monument looked like a sea of people. So we just found a nice open spot to view the Jumbotron and got ready for the ceremony.

I was a geek and I wanted to try and call my mom- cell phone reception was spotty as expected but I was able to get a call through.

The Inauguration ceremony itself was great. There were lots of funny moments such as when the audience was told to sit (obviously meant for those with tickets and when Rev. Rick Warren said, “We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.” He added some extra emphasis on Sasha’s name.

All the former Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and even Speakers of the House were on hand. Everybody booed anytime George W. Bush was mentioned. I got some video and it was quite the scene. It was also weird but still sinister to see Dick Cheney in a wheelchair. It appears that he pulled his back moving- why didn’t he have movers take care of that job? It’s not like he doesn’t have the money.

The audio wasn’t all that great on The Mall but we were able to hear the moment everyone was waiting for: the oath of office. The crowd rumbled with glove covered applause when it happened. I thought the muted clapping was funny.

After the address the escape began. We made our way past Independence heading towards Eastern Market. The plan was to have lunch and watch the parade from a much warmer locale. The street closures left Inauguration goers with lots of space to make their way. At one point I was on 395 south walking in the middle of the highway. It had that post-apocalyptic feeling.

Unfortunately I under estimated the crowd in thinking they wouldn’t make it all the way to Eastern Market, but they did. All the restaurants on 8th street were crowded and the station was already over flowing. We walked over to Northeast but we found nothing but a ghetto.

We ended up back in Eastern Market and managed to snag some bar space at Cafe 8 and we watched the parade and enjoyed a well deserved lunch. It was sad to see Kennedy carted off during the Inaugural lunch, as a Massachusetts native I hope he’s ok. Joe Biden was a class act, choosing to walk the rest of the route and really hamming it up with his smile and pointing out of people he must of knew.

The escape back into Virginia was painless, after all the walking, eating, and parade watching, crowds died down and we rode an empty train all the way back.

It was a fun weekend to celebrate a historic event. The day after I was talking about the Inauguration with a co-worker who offered the smart-ass comment, “so you basically saw what I saw.” It really got under my skin. Why did I decide to go out? Well besides the point everyone else was doing it, I really wanted to say, “I was there.” Others can say they were with their family or their closest friends, I can say I was there and I was with 1.8 million people. Neither chose is right or wrong, there are just different and “where you were” when it happened is simply an individual choice every makes, much like a favorite color or movie. And despite all the cold, walking, and hassles I endured, I’m glad I made it.

Those were the words I wrote in my last post, as I decided at the time I wouldn’t try to go on the mall.

However something funny happened. I made the decision confident that I was falling into the position held by many other of my friends. However upon talking with them on Inaugural plans I found out that I am actually one of the few. All my friends know the risks and perils but still intend on giving it the old college try on Tuesday.

After talking with them I thought, “well why not me then?” Let’s give this a try.

After all how can I spend months blogging about the event and not even try and experience it first hand- of everyone at least I know what’s going on, I should be able to plan this out.

So with those words I am going to try and join the frey on Tuesday. I’m from Massachusetts after all and the weather shouldn’t keep me away, why should throngs of people?

Ok so now I need to plan out this operations of sorts. If I want to go out on Tuesday you have to have a plan. I urge everyone to really think long and hard before you go out (that’s what she said.)

I stumbled onto the Washington Post’s Inauguration Survival Guide and I found it really helpful. It has tons of maps, info, and links to everyone you need to prepare your own trek downtown.

So I printed out some maps, spread them out on my desk like I was David Petraeus, and started planning my approach. Having Google Maps with Street View was also very helpful in visualizing my routes as well as consulting with WMATA’s Inauguration page for exact details on Metro and Metrobus routes and closures.After much study I’ve developed an entrance (and hopefully an exit) strategy:

Operation Celtic Renegade
(named after Biden & Obama’s code names. For those that know me, I’m not a Celtic nor a Renegade.)

The Situation: The Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States will have significant importance as a historic event. The swearing in of the first African-American President is expected to attract crowds across the country; each determined to witness the event first hand.

While initial estimates of 5 million attendees have been cut in half, crowds of 2-3 million will still provide a strain on local mass transit resources. Access to various roads and bridges have been restricted or closed for security reasons. Nearby Metro stations will also be closed, or restricted for entrance only/exit only use. Due to the historic nature of the event there are also heavy restrictions on items that can be brought into the secured perimeter. There is also the threat of limited/no communications with cell phone congestion expected to spike that morning. Weather conditions are expected to be cold- with temperatures ranging from 20s – 30s

The Mission: To successfully enter the The National Mall in order to witness and observe The Presidential Inauguration. While observing events in person would be optimal, the main goal will be to occupy territory on The Mall that will be hospitable for the duration of the event.

Execution: The National Mall will be approached from the west either by bus, Metro, walking, or a combination of the three. Several entry routes have been planned that utilize walking over the Roosevelt or Memorial bridge. Exact details on execution plans will be briefed at a later time.

Once entry onto the National Mall has been made, a survey will be conducted of the immediate area. Judging on crowd and weather conditions made at the scene a decision will be made to advance to one of the following objectives:

• Objective Alpha: World War II Memorial Jumbotron
• Objective Beta: Washington Monument Jumbotron
• Objective Charlie: Smithsonian Corridor
• Objective Delta: Air & Space Museum

Once the objective has been reached, we will hold position and observe the Inauguration.

At the conclusion of the event conditions will be judged on whether to advance to a secondary objective, Objective Echo: Pennsylvania Avenue, for observation of the Inaugural Parade; or to advance to the extraction point.

Extraction will be made through a Metro stop east of the Capitol, away from the crowds attempting to enter the system through L’Enfant, Capital South, and other stations. It may be necessary to delay extraction due to conditions, in that case a position will be taken up at a nearby restaurant.

Secondary extraction routes consist crossing over Roosevelt Bridge or Memorial Bridge by foot.

Service Support: There will be no air support on this mission.

Command and Signal: An abort order can be given if at any point before entering the District of Columbia it is determined that conditions will not permit easy entry into the secure perimeter. If the mission is aborted after arriving at The National Mall, we will then retreat to the primary extraction point and take a observing position at a nearby restaurant or viewing party.

Communications will be done through cell phone however it will be expected that service will be limited. Predetermined rendezvous points will be made in case of separation.

Ok well the plan has been set. Now it’s time to see if it’s going to work.

"Clinton_inauguration_1993_crowds" courtesy of Flickr user dpape

Did estimates of up to 5 million people scare you from coming out to see the Obama Inauguration?

Well how about 2-3 million? Does that number sound more appealing to you?

Inauguration officials are now revising earlier estimates of Inaugural attendees by half. According to the Washington Post, “turnout could easily reach 2 million, officials said, far outstripping the 400,000 who attended the 2005 inauguration of President Bush.”

It doesn’t surprise me that only 400,000 people came out to see Bush swearing in again. I wonder how many of them were protesters.

The WP article notes that 5 million people may come into the DC Metro area, but it seems unlikely that the entire 5 million will actually make it to The Mall and parade route. So does that mean that a fallback plan of watching the festivities at a local pub may not be smart? Trying to fight through the other 2 million that came into town but didn’t want to go the extra mile to be there in person may make leaving my house a nightmare no matter what I do.

I also wonder if this story will entice even more people to try and see the events in-person. Next thing you know we really do have 5 million people in DC because they thought, “5 million people? No way! But 2 million people… maybe I will try and make it in…”

Now for some more Inaugural news.

Obama’s playing the part of Lincoln very well

"Lincoln Bible" courtesy of the Presidential Inaugural Committee

So the Obama’s got the Lincoln train ride thing down. He’s also kicking off Inaugurapalooza with a concert at the Lincoln memorial. And of course we all know Obama’s from the “land of Lincoln.”

He wants to make sure we get the whole Lincoln metaphor down with his decision to use the Lincoln bible to take his Inaugural oath. The bible hasn’t been used in over 150 yearsm since- you guessed it- Abe Lincoln used it. With the announcement the Lincoln bible came out for a little photo op and CBS has some video of it on display.

More Inaugural Weekend Details

It looks like the Inaugural committee has released some more details on the events that weekend, here’s the latest details from the Presidential Inaugural Committee:

Sunday, January 18th
No new details on the welcome event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial except that it will be in the afternoon

Monday, January 19th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
The President-elect, Vice President-elect, and their families are going to honor Dr. King through various community service activities. The earlier reported youth concert at the Verizon Center will be held that evening.

Tuesday, January 20th – Inauguration Day

"the president's own" courtesy of Flickr user happy via

The festivities will start at 10 A.M. but officials say that if you have tickets that you should try and get into the areas around 9. Remember that there’s no overnight camping on The Mall and that you can’t stake a parade spot til 7 AM.

Musical groups to perform include The United States Marine Band, Aretha Franklin, The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”, The San Francisco Boys Chorus, and The San Francisco Girls Chorus. John Williams will conduct an ensemble including Itzhak Perlman,  Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill.

Here’s a the current rundown of the ceremony:

• Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks: Senator Dianne Feinstein
• Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren
• Musical Selection: Aretha Franklin
• Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will be sworn into office by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the Honorable John Paul Stevens
• Musical Selection: John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma  (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet)
• President-elect Barack H. Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln’s Inaugural Bible, administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.
• Inaugural Address
• Poem: Elizabeth Alexander
• Benediction: The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
• The National Anthem: The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”

President Obama will escort President Bush to a departure ceremony then attend a luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.

The Inaugural Parade will march down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. Here’s a preliminary list of parade participants that have been invited.

Wednesday, January 21st
No new news on the prayer service that will take place that day.

How cushy is an Honorary Co-Chair role?

The committee has also announced their Honorary Co-Chairs which include former President Carter, Clinton, and Bush (the first one.)  Mayor Adrian Fenty and Colin Powell are also on the list. While I don’t know what exactly an Honorary Co-Chair does at the Inauguration- I bet he/she will have really good seats.

Talking about seats I was showing a friend around DC last night and we visited the White House where we saw the VIP Grandstand still under construction.

The work looks top notch and there’s a round frame at the top- probably for the Presidential Seal. I also noticed glass partitions installed in the front and center rows. I bet those are probably bullet-proof. There’s also another grandstand structure opposite of this one. That’s probably as close as  I’m going to get to the parade- or anything Inaugural for that matter.

More Inauguration Links

The Inauguration Committee on Twitter: http://twitter.com/obamainaugural

Volunteer for the Inauguration: http://www.pic2009.org/page/s/volunteer2

Thank you for contacting Senator Webb’s office regarding Inauguration tickets.  As you may know, the Senator’s office has received more than 35,000 total ticket requests and has been allotted only a few hundred tickets.   Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to accommodate your request for tickets to the Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol. However, please note that the remaining sections of the National Mall will be open to members of the public who were unable to obtain the limited tickets available.  These areas will have large screens to ensure that the general public can easily view the ceremony and festivities.

We wanted to give you this status update well in advance of Inauguration Day so that you can plan accordingly. Please also be aware that in addition to the public viewing area on the National Mall, there are a number of events during the week, including the Inaugural Parade, that do not require tickets.

Due to the extraordinarily high interest in the Swearing-In Ceremony, Senator Webb has sent a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, requesting additional tickets to account for Virginia’s proximity to Washington D.C.   Should Senator Webb receive additional tickets from the Inaugural Committee or any other source and be able to accommodate your request, we will be sure to let you know.

The Swearing-In Ceremony is the only Inaugural event to which our office has received tickets.   Please see the links below for updated information on other Inaugural events that may interest you:

www.inaugural.senate.gov

www.pic2009.org

Thank you again for your interest.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Wilmoth

Administrative Director

Office of Senator Jim Webb

I’m not surprised that I didn’t get any tickets, but it’s a bit of a bummer to get on Christmas Eve. If his office sent it on Boxing Day- then it’s another story. I wonder if thousands of others got the same e-mail on Christmas Eve.

"Jim Webb Speaks 2" courtesy of Flickr user kalexnova

There are some tidbits to glean from the letter. We know that the tickets will be impossible to get and that Virginia, Maryland, and DC are already trying to a bigger slice of the ticket pie. We also know that even without tickets we can expect people to flock to The Mall so they can say, “Hey I was there!”

However there has only been speculation about possible accommodations for the general public and now this is the first “official” word on having screens on The Mall. Of course no further details on how many and where.

Well I hope everybody has a happy holidays- I’ll be checking my inbox to see if any of the other members of congress I requested tickets from come through. It would be a Merry Christmas indeed if I was one of the lucky ones.