Crime Pooch Punch-Out

McGruff the Crime Dog® was on a Washington street corner last week when a DC bus driver ran over and socked him in the snoot. The canine crimebuster did not bite back, but the bus driver was fired.

But why punch the pooch?

Simple. He’s a low-down hound, that’s why.

McGruff® ain’t nuttin’ but a freakin’ snitch.

 

McGruff the Crime Dog® name and likeness are registered trademarks of the National Crime Prevention Council, used here under the “satire” provisions of “fair use,” even though “Hello Kitty®” is cuter.

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Maryland Motorcycle Helmet Choice

There is a bill before the Maryland State Senate to make the wearing of motorcycle safety helmets optional for riders and passengers. Senate Bill 776 has many reasonable and science-based provisions, like requiring state health officials to scrape fallen cyclists off Maryland roads, see if they were wearing helmets or not, make two separate piles, and compare their heights.

The bill fails to explain who is going to pay the resulting additional ambulance, emergency room, medical, and highway cleanup costs. On the other hand, It will set riders free to feel the diesel exhaust blow through their hair.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Congress Wants Guns in DC. No Problem.

The District of Columbia Voting Rights Act of 2009, giving the U.S. citizens of the District of Columbia representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, passed in the Senate. But partisan opponents appended an unrelated “poison pill” amendment, a provision to throw out local DC gun laws.

Many congressmen face a dilemma. They want to end two centuries of congressional neglect and give DC citizens something even residents of Baghdad have, voting representation in their national legislature. On the other hand, they do not want to overturn local laws established by the duly-elected city government, critical laws concerning public safety.

Congress: vote “yes.” But add one more amendment to the bill first, one that requires a gun shop in the new Capitol Visitor Center.

Barbie’s Big Birthday

 

Barbara Millicent Roberts, better known as Barbie, was born at the International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. Today the youthful-looking Pisces celebrates her 50th birthday with several million of her closest gal pals in the biggest single event of Women’s History Month.  

Barbie has undoubtedly received a birthday card from AARP announcing her eligibility for membership and inviting her to join. Barbie never formally retired from any of her 108 occupations, but AARP doesn’t stand for “American Association of Retired Persons” anymore. It stands for “AARP.”

Blogs With Bite

Blogs with Bite is an occasional omnivorous sampling of food blogs and sites we find particularly tasty. Follow the trail of bread crumbs back to earlier editions, starting here. 

Today’s serving of Blogs with Bite:

Spices: Exotic Flavors and Medicines– Attractive online exhibit by UCLA’s Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library. Spices in medicine, cooking, perfume, incense, aphrodisiacs. Spice database with descriptions, images, sources, medical and culinary properties and historical facts. Keyword search function.

Lobstersquad– “A food blog with drawings,” written and illustrated by Madrid’s Ximena Maier. Portions are personally-prepared, fresh and tasty.

Daily Bread — “The Business of Food” from Slate, a feature of the Big Money blog. Daily coverage of Big Food by Dan Mitchell in a convenient single-serving size. 

CES Index of Wild Game Recipes – Useful, usable database by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Cook some critters today.

50 of the world’s best food blogs – A well-balanced buffet served by Lynne Robinson in Times Online. The introductory appetizer is optional.

Museum of Food Anomalies^TM – “Regular Food Gone Horribly Wrong.” Gawk and gasp at the galleries; upload your own photos of grotesque grub.

Spring Ahead ….

Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States on Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 2 PM EST.

Best Quotation:

Sunday morning, by federal mandate, the sun will rise at 7:30; today, Saturday, it came up at 6:32. Sunday night, the sun will set at 7:08; tonight, at 6:07.
– Marc Fisher, Washington Post

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Eliot Spitzer Buys Low in DC

Eliot Spitzer, disgraced former governor of New York, just bought a real estate bargain in Washington, DC. Mr. Spitzer and his father paid $180 million for a $209 million office building at 1615 L Street, NW. Tenants include PR giant Fleishman-Hillard, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, and the Nixon Center think tank (Dimitri K.Simes, President), a division of The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation.

The 418,000-square-foot L Street building is convenient to the Mayflower Hotel, where Mr. Spitzer is better known as “Client Number 9.”

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Now Showing at the Wilson Building

Sign up to see the magnificent collection of fine art at DC’s city hall, the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) at noon on Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

The permanent exhibition in the historic Beaux Artes building includes work by Lilian Thomas Burwell, William Christenberry, Manon Cleary, Gene Davis, Sam Gilliam, Willem De Looper, Renee Stout, Lou Stovall, Alma Woodsey Thomas, James Lesesne Wells and other artists of importance, many of whom have lived and worked in Washington DC. The collection has been assembled under the auspices of  the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH).

The 70-minute tour of paintings, prints, photographs and sculpture will be led by DCCAH Art Bank Coordinator Beth Baldwin. Space is limited, so RSVP now. If you miss this tour, others are scheduled for June 24th and September 30th.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here.Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

DC Cherry Blossoms 2009

Update: The 2009 NPS Cherry Blossom Web Cam is now working.

Washington expects a spring-like weekend, so even jaded natives are thinking about the Capital’s blossom-viewing opportunities next month. The Japanese people gave flowering ornamental cherry trees to the U.S. to thank us for inventing the transistor, and these are planted throughout the District of Columbia (the trees, not the transistors). 

When these trees bloom each spring, Washingtonians celebrate the subtle, evanescent mystery of life in the tradtional Japanese manner by contemplating the delicate blossoms and having a big honking parade with a giant “Hello Kitty” balloon, roller derby teams, Alex Trebek, a beauty contest, and tap dancers. 

John Cephas, 1930 — 2009

Singer and guitarist John Cephas passed away on Wednesday, March 4, 2009. A talented, warm, and gentle man, he is remembered by many friends, admirers and neighbors:

Washington Post

The Blues Foundation

PostRock, Washington Postweblog

Richmond Times-Dispatch

New York Times

Sing Out!

National Public Radio

Guitar Player