Ever wondered what the view at the
very top of the Washington Monument is like? Construction workers erecting scaffolding (for repairs needed after the 2011 earthquake) donned helmet cams on the day they reached the tip of the monument,
so you need wonder no longer.
posted by EvaDestruction
on May 15, 2013 -
42 comments
Let Blelvis, the Black Elvis, tell you what he is not doing. He is not begging, and he is not homeless. But Blelvis would never dream of denying you the opportunity to donate to his favorite charity, which, incidentally, is named
Blelvis. So he'll just turn around, nice and discreet, while you see what you can spare.
The best nation in the world is a do nation, and that's the truth.
posted by josher71
on May 3, 2013 -
18 comments
150 U.S. city flags, ranked from best to worst. Top-rated flags are typically tasteful and abstract, like
that of Washington D.C. (#1) or subtly representational, like
Madison, Wisconsin's flag(#11), which is more or less a glyph of Madison seen from above. The bottom of the list has some that seem stuck in a briefly popular graphic style, like
Provo (#143), but most are timelessly
ongepotch like the
flag of Milwaukee (#147), which features a boat, a skyline, some smokestacks, some grain, County Stadium, a Native American,and a church. And then there is Pocatello (#150), whose flag
was memorably profiled on badflags. (Vexillology
previously on MetaFilter.)
posted by escabeche
on Apr 14, 2013 -
126 comments
The Things They Leave Behind. "When the Vietnam Veterans Memorial opened 30 years ago, something unexpected happened: People started leaving things at the wall. One veteran has spent decades cataloging the letters, mementos, and other artifacts of loss — all 400,000 of them."
(Via.) [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Mar 15, 2013 -
26 comments
Givens occasionally wonders why his unique fitness regimen creates such inexplicable antipathy. But he doesn’t let it bother him too much. “I just keep on going,” Givens says. “Look here. A man my age ain’t supposed to be doing this. Once they see the shape I’m in, they think, ‘Well, he can’t be too crazy.’ ”
Cedric Givens, DC's backwards jogger. Direct link to
Video
posted by peeedro
on Mar 9, 2013 -
28 comments
The original point of the sequester was that it would be terrible and “inflexible,” which would force Congress to choose a less terrible path, but obviously trusting Congress to not pick the most terrible of all available options was something of a gamble. So yes, sure, “flexibility,” but also maybe just “let’s not do this.” Unfortunately, “let’s just not do this” never comes up as an option on any of the shows, which all presented the argument as, on one side, “flexibility,” and on the other side, “a balanced approach,” which means a shitload of unnecessary cuts plus a bit more tax revenue, which sound nice but is still pointless contractionary policy.
Alex Pareene
watched the sunday morning shows so you don't have to.
posted by crayz
on Feb 25, 2013 -
189 comments
In 1977 Dial Press of New York published Robert Mayer’s first novel, Superfolks. It was, amongst other things, a story of a middle-aged man coming to terms with his life, an enormous collection of 1970s pop-culture references, some now lost to the mists of time, and a satire on certain aspects of the comic superhero, but would probably be largely unheard of these days if it wasn’t for the fact that it is regularly mentioned for its supposed influence on a young Alan Moore and his work, particularly on Watchmen, Marvelman, and his Superman story, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? Alan Moore and Superfolks:
Part 1: The Case for the Prosecution,
Part 2: The Case for the Defence,
Part 3: The Strange Case of Grant Morrison and Alan Moore.
posted by Artw
on Nov 18, 2012 -
37 comments
Hellblazer, the DC/Vertigo comic starring Alan Moore created occult investigator John Constantine, is being
cancelled at issue #300 to make way for a new comic set in DC's New 52 universe. Hellblazer was
DC's longest running continuously numbered comic and it's cancelation marks the last of the DC Comics characters with Vertigo titles being taken back into the mainstream DC universe (
previously). Vertigo was originally an imprint for mature readers occult themed titles and creator owned work, though it has changed over the years with an adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo becoming the first Vertigo to
receive TV advertising.
posted by Artw
on Nov 9, 2012 -
85 comments
The November 6th elections saw a lot of historic decisions made in the United States --
the first black president re-elected,
marijuana legalized for the first time in two states,
gay marriage affirmed by the voters in four, and even
the first openly gay senator. But perhaps the most underreported result yesterday came from outside the country altogether:
in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a solid majority voted to reject the island's current status and join America as the long-fabled
51st state.
How the bid might fare in Congress is an open question, but both
President Obama and
Republican leaders have vowed support for the statehood movement if it proves successful at the ballot box (while
D.C. officials ponder a two-fer gambit to grease the wheels). Though it would be the
poorest state, joining the Union
might bring economic benefits to both sides [PDF].
And politically, some argue the island might prove to be
a reliably red state, despite the Hispanic population, although
arch-conservative governor and Romney ally
Luis Fortuño appears headed toward
a narrow loss. But the most important question here, as always, is:
how to redesign the flag?
(Puerto Rican statehood discussed previously.)
posted by Rhaomi
on Nov 7, 2012 -
108 comments
“I was a monster,” Malvo said. “If you look up the definition, that’s what a monster is. I was a ghoul. I was a thief.
I stole people’s lives. I did someone else’s bidding just because they said so. . . . There is no rhyme or reason or sense.”
posted by silby
on Sep 30, 2012 -
158 comments
Eater DC's monthly interview series, '
The Gatekeepers' talks to the hosts and hostesses at some of the city's most prestigious restaurants, discussing hard-hitting topics such as securing lucrative reservations, choosing the best table, and the favorite dishes of the famous dignitaries that pass through Washington. Their
most recent interview, however, went a bit differently, perhaps revealing a bit more than intended about the world of fine dining -- a world where bribes are
de rigeur, black customers are not seated next to each other, and well-dressed patrons are given preferential service. Though few in the industry will admit to it,
bribing the host appears to be the fastest way to get a table (unless you're a tourist, or the Maitre d' happens to be the
CEO of Groupon).
HuffPo and the
City Paper react.
posted by schmod
on Jul 23, 2012 -
53 comments
While the world ponders the impact of superheroes on the population in the wake of this weekend's tragic (and still unfolding) events in Colorado, and some ponder what a return to
the bad of days of comics might mean, Warner Brothers has released two slightly different trailers for their attempt at latest updating Superman for the modern era:
The Man of Steel, in Pa Kent or
Jor El flavours.
Via i09.
posted by Mezentian
on Jul 21, 2012 -
101 comments
"You want to be a pitchman for warlords? You want to carry the Devil's water in Washington? Go for it. But just don't tell me how to fucking talk" -
Jon Lovett responds to
Lanny Davis, in the aftermath of the Corey Booker's comments defending
private equity
posted by crayz
on May 27, 2012 -
51 comments
The
results of the
2012 Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest are in. The winner:
Occupeep DC. Runners up:
Peepius Maximus,
What People Think Peeps Are (based on the popular
meme),
The Black Peep (based off of DC's
Black Cat music venue), and
Just Peeped (based off of the
2011 British Royal Wedding). In addition to the
finalists, check out
Peeps in Washington,
Political Peeps, the
full gallery of submissions that the Post received this year, and the winners from
2011,
2010,
2009,
2008, and
2007. (
Peepiously,
peepiouslier,
peepiousliest)
posted by schmod
on Mar 29, 2012 -
19 comments
Tag Challenge! "The infamous Panther Five has pulled an audacious new heist: they’ve stolen the world’s 3rd most expensive jewel, the Adly Diamond, from the Overholt Showroom in Washington, DC. Now they’ve split up and fled—dispersed to five different cities. We’re offering a reward to help find them. We’ll release their mugshots here on game day: March 31, 2012."
If you can get a team together that can cover these 5 cities, then you've got a shot at $5000 (USD).
Washington, DC |
New York City |
London |
Stockholm |
Bratislava [more inside]
posted by juliplease
on Mar 12, 2012 -
28 comments
