Today's DCist MR.

 From the DCist Morning Roundup, an article on Ward 5 fundraising details:

In the crowded Ward 5 race, Gordon Andrew-Fletcher turns to local seniors for cash to keep pace

And from the article: 

And for the sake of completeness, it’s worth noting that Thomas didn’t report raising any money in his short-lived bid to reclaim his Ward 5 seat. He’ll now pursue the shadow representative seat instead, so long as he can avoid any additional plagiarism scandals.

Indeed.

*snort* *snuffle* *cough*

GOOOOOOOD MORNING, BALTIMORE!!! 



I mean, good afternoon, commentariat.

Story in Omni Reboot; this blog.

First, the link to the story:

http://omnireboot.com/fiction/the-landline/

It'll take less than 10 minutes to read it. Bruce Sterling wrote it. Please consider taking it on.

Second, unless Sarah turns into a raging WABE, I suspect this blog can go silent until it's needed again. I'm not going to delete it, or do anything drastic. Just an au revoir.

#MetroBaby repackaging.

In all honesty, I try not to be too harsh toward the Ist. Blogging one post daily is tough when you're trying to be original, or even just thoughtful. Being responsible for multiple posts a day is even harder.

Today's #MetroBaby post is a new low, though.

I find myself judging Brain's work by college writing standards, which is a separate topic. If one of my former students had handed me an essay that's constructed like the #MetroBaby post is, I'd have failed it. There's essentially no effort to offer any kind of observation or thought to what's already been said about the story. It's a regift.

Hell, maybe most of the Ist is last year's fruitcake.

Fast Company article on aggressive drivers and cyclists.

Not a cyclist myself. Just tossing a bone(r) to those who are.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682751/capturing-the-inconsiderate-drivers-who-make-it-dangerous-to-bike-in-the-city#1

...biking on the sidewalk remains the third most common summons issued by the city, ahead of reckless driving and carrying pot, even.

OMG, Omni is coming back.

http://omnireboot.com/

I don't know if any of you guys ever heard of Omni magazine, but it was staple reading for me. A little less surreal than Heavy Metal and way meatier than most other publications, Omni had all the things I was looking for: interesting art, well-written articles, and a science fiction/scientific bent.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the reboot does justice to the original.

Friday, 9:09 a.m., no MR.

My bet is near 9:15.

My overheard of the week

That other blog never posts my Overheard contributions so I'll just share them here. But the other day I was walking by the Howard U dorm at 16th and Euclid, when a group of students was walking by laughing and looking at pics on a phone, and one of the dudes in the group yells out "Girl, I had my thumb so far up your butt, you couldn't tell if it was shit or a thumb."

More coding shenanigans on the way?

The comment counter on the Richmond Flying Squirrels piece is at zero on the main page, but it has nine comments on the article page. Perhaps more coding shenanigans are to be expected.

Also, bravo to those who posted remarks. I had to do actual paid work today and couldn't get to it.

On the fine line between shaming and self-promotion.

When does shaming others become near-pathological self-promotion?

Johnny...

Lordy.

Article on traffic ovals.

So Bran (I like the irony of the name "Bran") includes a quote from the original article that is massively insulting to those of us who live in DC:

"The games I’m worried about include lane-changing and traffic-dodging. There’s nothing like these traffic ovals in D.C., and it would certainly take a while for travelers to adjust to them — assuming they ever do."

You can't have it both ways, Bran--DC as one of the smartest cities in the nation, evidenced by a list you posted yourself, and DC as a place with drivers too stupid to learn. 

Editor versus ass. editor.

The employment pipeline has been that the assistant editor eventually becomes the editor (at least through the previous three editors, anyway).

So what's the current opinion on the editor versus the assistant editor? What's anyone's sense on potential changes in tone, style, topics, etc.?

DCist Should Not Be a Four-Letter Word

I'll start the ball rolling. We have all noticed the (less than gradual) decline in the quality of the articles in the blog we love to hate, DCist.

We know how accepting we are of new personnel, but I for one bucked the trend of "let's see how he/she works out" or "let's give him/her a chance". I'll say up front I didn't like him from the start. Of course there is his view of what is or isn't Pornography (evidenced by my semi-nude photographs of the coeds on the beach), but it was his attitude that struck me first. I felt it was obvious he didn't like criticism, he felt himself above his readers, and damned be what you are interested in, I'll write about myself.  ... That's all for now, more to follow.