D.C. News

Wish I Cared

3:34 am EST February 3rd, 2010 | Sports | 11 Comments

Congrats to the Caps for winning 11 straight games, which is apparently some kind of DC area sports record. In most other sane sports towns that would be the top sports story around, but I bet overall there will be more chatter about what Clinton Portis plans to do with the Redskins.

Nobody is more guilty of that than me, and I will state plainly: Portis needs to move on. The Caps play hockey, right?

Topic: D.C.

Matt Taibbi Fail

12:37 pm EST November 2nd, 2009 | Sports | 4 Comments

Look, I’m no hockey fan, but it’s a pretty sloppy job by Matt Taibbi to pretend as if the Caps dont’ exist in a piece taking down The Danny and the DC sports scene.

Topic: D.C., Redskins

Dan Snyder Accomplishes The Impossible

3:06 am EST October 26th, 2009 | Sports | 6 Comments

redskins facepalm

Redskins fans abandoning the team. For many of you not familiar with this region and the Skins, this is unprecedented.

There are other signs that as some Washingtonians stand by their floundering team, which is 2-4 in regular-season play, others are standing a little farther downwind. Nielsen ratings show that the average TV viewership of game broadcasts for the first six weeks of this season has dropped by about 120,000 households from the same period last year.

And the national market for burgundy and gold jerseys, banners and hats has plummeted, down 47 percent in the past month compared with the same period last year, according to sales data.

“This is something new,” said Matt Powell, chief retail analyst for SportsOne Source, an industry research firm. At least as judged by the merchandise sales index, he said, “nationally, the fan base is clearly abandoning this team.”

Through the last decade plus of the suck, the ownership of the Redskins could rely on the most dedicated fanbase around. I’ve seen it myself when I lived out west and regularly dragged myself out of bed at 8:30 on a SUNDAY so I could get to Joxer Daly’s sports bar with the other Redskins fans for a 10:00pst kickoff. But the ineptitude has pushed us to the breaking point this season, and the gravy train may be coming to an end.

Personally, I’m pretty fed up with them, and won’t be attending any games in person. But I still watch and live and die with them on the field. I’d just like something decent to cheer for for a change.

Topic: D.C., Maryland, NFL, Redskins, Virgina

WJFK Shows CBS Radio Is Brilliant

6:58 pm EST October 8th, 2009 | Media, Sports | 3 Comments

WJFK is essentially exactly where it was when they flipped from guy talk to sports talk. This region surely needed another outlet to discuss how Dan Snyder mismanages the Redskins.

Not.

Topic: D.C.

Duke Ellington First Solo Black On U.S. Coin In Circulation

12:43 pm EST February 24th, 2009 | News | 4 Comments

duke ellington coin Woot.

The United States Mint launched a new coin Tuesday featuring jazz legend Duke Ellington, making him the first African-American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin.

Ellington, the composer of classics including ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing’ appears on the ‘tails’ side of the new D.C. quarter. George Washington is on the ‘heads’ side, as is usual with U.S. quarters.

The coin was issued to celebrate Ellington’s birthplace, the District of Columbia.

Duke Ellington – Perdido (1964)

Topic: D.C., History, Music, Race

Recognize The District

7:14 pm EST February 23rd, 2009 | News | 48 Comments

Washington D.C. may get a good step forward from its current state of taxation without representation.

Supporters of D.C. voting rights believe that they are on the verge of their biggest victory in at least 30 years as the Senate prepares to take up a bill this week creating a full House seat for the District.

Two years ago, a similar measure failed to clear a key procedural hurdle in that chamber by three votes. Democrats picked up at least seven Senate seats in the elections last fall, boosting the current bill’s chance of passage. They also expanded their majority in the House, where the bill is expected to be approved as early as next month.

Topic: D.C.

Grant Morrison Really Does Suck

1:25 pm EST February 2nd, 2009 | Comic Books | 17 Comments

: Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been reading and collecting comic books for maybe 25 years now. I’m almost exclusively a DC reader and especially since I’m a Superman fanatic, I have been a devotee of their big Crisis-style crossovers. Final Crisis is the first one of them I’ve ever quit reading before it ends because I frankly had no idea what was going on. I thought I was alone on this, but I’m not. It’s not like this is a complex thing, but writer Grant Morrison has thrown out the basics of literature in this offering. It doesn’t make sense. There are shifts in time, characters pop in and out, and it just turned into a bowl of mush. I like when comics take chances, when they break the mold of the safe superhero genre… but they’ve got to make sense!

I really don’t understand what DC was thinking. The “Crisis” events generally form the spine of the DC Universe and set things up for the future. But if the spine comes out like its been through the meat grinder, that just devalues everything else.

It was a huge mistake for DC to put Final Crisis into Grant Morrison’s hands. And he’s completely screwed it up.

Topic: D.C., DC Universe, Final Crisis, Grant Morrison

President Obama PWNs DC Area Reaction To Winter Weather

1:27 pm EST January 28th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Oh, Mr. President, we’re total sissies around here.

Topic: D.C., Humor, Ice Storm, Maryland, Weather

Change Is Coming

7:53 pm EST November 22nd, 2008 | News | 4 Comments

I was down in D.C. today on The Mall (I was visiting the re-opened National Museum of American History) and from there I could see the scaffolding of the stands being built on the Capitol for the Inauguration. It took me right back to election day to see that. Very exciting, America.

2008 final election map

Topic: D.C., History, President Obama

Dear God:

6:07 pm EST June 25th, 2008 | Media | 15 Comments

I have seen David Brooks on the streets of DC four times now. In the future, should you choose to make me see famous tv news people in real life, please substitute new DC resident Lara Logan of CBS in lieu of any more Brooks.

Thanks,
Oliver

Enclosed is a photo of Lara Logan. You are omnipotent, but I figure this should help if there is any confusion as to which Lara Logan I want to run into.

lara logan