DC Blogs Noted
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The stress, excitement and expectation of a first date can deliver some vivid writing, and that’s what Alejandra at sent from my dell desktop produces when she recaps her WaPo Date Lab date. Excerpt: I looked him over. My first reaction was an unexpected one. He looked like a shorter version of my little brother.
The students arrived this weekend at local universities for the fall semester. In the Watergate Safeway parents of GW students took their children shopping, passing on last bits of worldly information before leaving them with some detergent and freedom. It wasn’t sad, it wasn’t poignant but you just knew that nobody was rushing anything and the Safeway checkout lines do a very good job at providing time for lingering moments. So here they are again, the new, the young, the dreamers and the bloggers. What a tasty city! Writes I’m just sipping on chamomile about her second night in DC. Except the rice options at Safeway made me want to cry.
The False Promise of Metro is the title of analysis by City Desk arguing against expanding the Metro rail. Excerpt: Besides encouraging speculation, damaging the bus system, and not competing with the automobile, Metro has other problems. It favors the upper and middle class over poorer residents both by the neighborhoods served and the routes themselves, which are designed to bring wealthier suburbanites into the city rather than helping less wealthy city dwellers get to jobs in the suburbs.
Why do men buy flowers? Brunch Bird and conversations on the Metro.
DC’s automated traffic cameras accuse the writer at Where’s My Cape of running a red light. She shares the photographic evidence and her analysis about its hair trigger enforcement. Excerpt: The "automated" read-out also said that the light was red in Photo #1 for 0.4 seconds. Not even half a second! This is certainly not enough time to react and I had no choice but to responsibly clear the intersection.
Mysterygirl discovers a wasp nest in her bedroom. From Heart Tribute Band Super Fan Page.
Metro observation: One rider who keeps his money in a sock. A report by Do Not Cross.
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DC Blogs Noted
The DC school department is dumping brand new school supplies, which Lonnie Bruner’s father finds very disturbing. He shares an email from his dad reporting about discarded 
bags of “old school supplies” tossed in dumpster that found their way to some “old-timers” at a Maryland diner. Excerpt:
For a depression-era guy whose family and friends struggled to overcome many obstacles so that we could share in the American dream, it is incomprehensible that someone would approve of dumping the very implements that got me where I am today.
No Dogs in the Market. Dogs are now banned from the Dupont Circle market, writes My Little Kitchen. Excerpt: I had a hint this was coming two weeks ago when I overheard one vendor telling another about some incident involving a dog and saying that dogs were to be banned from the market. I had assumed at the time that they were discussing a market other than Dupont Circle. Wishful thinking.
A very good post about finding right balance in life and work: Maybe the goal shouldn't be having it all. Maybe it should be to have as much as you want -- professionally and personally. By Mommy at Work, in a post titled A tale of two colleagues.
Why people are single in DC. A thoughtful post by DC Pinays that sees the possibility of hope at a flower vendor. It starts: It has been said that if you're single in DC, chances are that you'll probably remain single for quite a while. True, I've only been single for a few months now and true, I've only been spending 90% of my time in DC for the past 2 weeks. But I think I'm starting to understand why this phenomenon occurs.
Vacation concluded. This is a critique of the city and its people by a tourist from New York. DC’ers were evidently on their best behavior during this traveler’s visit. He writes: People outside of New York are almost always nicer. This was true for DC, where people talked to you randomly without worry about pretense. On the subway, you’re not supposed to make eye contact with anyone. On the metro, if someone bumps your elbow they say excuse me or sorry. There’s a definite difference in culture. From Chronicles of Waqar.
About the photo: Scene from the French Quarter in New Orleans, where I spent last week, a city that remains one of the most beautiful in America. This is the anniversary week of Katrina and the media will be saturated with photos of damage. But I wanted to share a little scene from an area in the French Quarter that struck me, with its quaint A&P and lively arts community, as the perfect place to live. I didn’t want to leave. There are many areas of the city where flood damage extends for mile after mile, and the challenges facing its residents are monumental. But the French Quarter and central business district are in good condition, and many shops and restaurants along St. Charles Avenue as it winds up to Loyola, which is as far as I traveled in that direction, are back. You can help New Orleans by including a visit in your travel plans. You'll be rewarded by the city's charms as well as the thanks of its residents. – kob.
Important note concerning Blogger beta upgrade: Unless you have a compelling reason to do so, don’t upgrade to the Blogger beta if you get an invite. This concerns blogs in the live feed. The beta changes your feed URL and your blog will appear at an incorrect time in the feed. We can fix this by changing your feed URL but we will likely have to change it again once the beta ends. If you have already upgraded send a note and we will make the fix. There are other reasons for avoiding this upgrade -- please see: Sent from my dell desktop’s post on the upgrade.
DC Blogs Noted:
If you have been worried about crime in the District – and by extension, the police’s response or lackthereof to it – these two posts won’t do anything to ease your mind. David Gaines cites some examples. Fair warning: Kris Hammond’s account of what happened to a neighbor’s son is particularly disturbing. Kris, a resident of North Capitol Street in the Eckington-Bloomingdale neighborhood, is running for a spot on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
From the Date from Hell Diaries. Paul’s Blog: “She asked me where we were going, and my reply was "I don't know, we'll decide when I pick you up". To my surprise, she said "that's not good enough, call me when you have decided where we're going.” Meanwhile, Lula Dates DC reminisces about her last -- literally, she swears -- blind date. She writes: So as we're waiting for the check, he asks if I want to go out again. I said, "umm... I'd really need to think about that." And he kind of looked at me and said, "So you're saying it's not true love then?"
If you want to know, exactly, what it’s like to get a tattoo, then read this post. Well, it hurts, writes the Iron Fist of Love.
A
new to DC medical student talks about his orientation to the city and classes. On Saturday, he writes: This was the white coat ceremony. This is the day that we received our white coats signifying our entry into medical school. From Waiting Around.
A, umm, alternative look by Just up the Pike at some of the qualifications and endorsements of Montgomery County’s local officials.
DC Daily Photo at work.
Learn what differentiates a feral cat from other domesticated cats at a meeting Wednesday night (tonight) hosted by Alley Cat Allies. Details at Stop, Blog and Roll: Hear about non-lethal, humane, and effective means of controlling stray and feral cat populations. See what a humane trap looks like. Learn about available spay/neuter resources in the DC area. Come voice your concerns and learn more about what you can do to help your neighborhood cats.
