C A P I C O S T I A

  "...She was about two years old before she really started understanding and comprehending me,” she continued. Maybe it was because she was home alone with her father at seven-weeks-old when I went back to work and they bonded. He would talk to her only in Spanish and when I would come home, she did not quite understand me,” said Graham interviewed at her Penn Branch home on P Street SE that she shares with Anna Elizabeth’s father Efren Martinez Montero. In Ann Elizabeth’s case, her crayon became a life line, earning her a national art award..." A Penn Branch girl, living with autism, who is an artist...and Afro-Latina? Though I am not, myself, autistic, ..my sister is. My family is Cameroonian, Ghanaian, Mexican AND American. We are also artists and proud  Branchers, since 1965 [I was born in 1969]. So, we check ALL of those above boxes, and we are so proud. Congratulations, Anna. Read more in East Of The River magazine... https...

  "...The move follows months of speculation in the Russian media about whether Putin will attempt to stay in power beyond 2024 without changing the constitution or forming a unified state with friendly neighbor Belarus. Critics have suggested he is considering various options to remain at the helm, including by shifting power to parliament and then assuming an enhanced role as prime minister after he steps down in four years. Another option often mentioned is his heading a state council, a body that Putin said Wednesday he thought should be given more powers under the constitution..."   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-government-resigns-putin-seeks-constitutional-shakeup-n1116176

by Mel Dyer Just finished browsing  DCLofts.com  and found one--ONE--converted loft property in Southeast, on Capitol Hill (of course) called the  Bryan School Lofts , ..which are all  sold out .  The Bryan School  was done by award-winning  Abdo Builders , and probably cost a vital organ AND a limb to own. Frankly, they are a little too polished for my tastes--scrubbed of all the rugged, Industrial Era charm that ought to be evident in converting an old school, garage, trolley car barn or factory into functional living space. These Abdo lofts look like the  Sex In The City  ladies hang out there. They're sissy lofts, and I hate'm. Lofts used to be the large, unattractive, slate gray ruins of an obsolete industrial era that no style-conscious yuppy would be caught dead in. In the 1950's, lofts were places, where a  large , lower income, working class or struggling immigrant family could stake a claim in the steamy, jazz-scored urban e...

A new vignette, every WEDNESDAY, ..starting right here. Right now. More changes to come in 2013! To all who followed this quirky, little experiment called Steak Island, ..a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everywhere! Mel Dyer

Bullethedd.com , the Official Website of Steak Island, has a new look, this week! From now on, the week's latest vignettes - the fresh steak - will be featured right on the index page, making some pretty smart changes to the way you get this cartoon. Tweeted links will now bring you directly to the latest feature, while also giving you easy access to all the features of the homepage! Your favorite archived issues of Steak Island,  a quick introduction to Island' s creator, (me) Mel Dyer, and (soon) mini-bios of the characters, and all of our Twitter, Facebook and Blogger, with the latest news and developments on the cartoon; all of that can now be accessed with one link! That's a big pile of new-new, my friend! Stay tuned for a Special Presidential Debate Night Edition of Steak Island, ..posting the evening of President Barack Obama 's second debate with GOP candidate, Governor Mitt Romney - Tuesday, October 16, 2012! That's only TWO DAYS! S...

  In STEAK ISLAND, the red-skinned, pointy-headed alien strongman, Bullethedd, stocks shelves and unloads trucks for the metamythically gargantuan Bygmo warehouse store. Among the denizens of Steak Island, are Bygmo's general manager, the Iron Munkee, a grumpy, living statue, a fallen health goddess and others – all brought to life in weekly, one-panel vignettes, struggles desperately ..to be liked. Steak Island creator, Mel Dyer, is an American freelance website developer and weblog publisher, who grew up in a hard-working, middleclass, Catholic family in Washington, D.C. Between them, his parents privately operated two successful small businesses, a print shop and a detective agency, for nearly fifteen years, while holding down full-time jobs. At home, the political views of his mother, a right-leaning liberal, and his father, a pro-labor conservative, inspired strong populist patriotism at an early age that endures, today, ..and he is very proud of his Southern American her...

Pompeii knew you couldn't keep a good weiner down. (Yahoo! News) "After days of denials, a choked-up New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed Monday that he tweeted a bulging-underpants photo of himself to a young woman and admitted to "inappropriate" exchanges with six women before and after getting married. He apologized for lying but said he would not resign. A conservative website that last week started a furor over a lewd photo sent from Weiner's Twitter account posted new photos..." A difficult, but, all too typical story of political intrigue about a complex and driven man! Read more of the Yahoo! News article here

As the so-called liberally biased American TV news media intentionally or unintentionally rewrites the history of America's War On Terror with chinny, cinematic video clips of President George W. Bush vowing to get the people, responsible for the 911 attacks, I think it's important to keep the record straight. As conny bloggers and wingnut journalists ask questions like, "Does Obama deserve credit for killing Osama Bin Laden?" and "Does Bush deserve more credit for Bin Laden's death, than Obama?", I think it is easy to forget the Bush Administration's dismissive attitude regarding Osama Bin Laden's capture. As we give well-deserved credit to the U.S. Intelligence Community and our armed forces for the elimination of the global threat of Bin Laden, I think it's important to remember how many lives had been lost, tracking this guy through the mountains of Afghanistan, at the time that President George W. Bush told us he wasn't concerned ...

(NYTimes.com) As the four of us headed toward the eastern gate of Ajdabiya, the front line of a desperate rebel stand against the advancing forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, a car pulled up alongside. “They’re in the city!” the driver shouted at us. “They’re in the city!” Lynsey and Steve had worried that government soldiers might encircle the town, trapping us, but Tyler and Anthony discounted it. We had covered the fall of two other rebel-held towns — Ras Lanuf and Brega — and each time, the government had bombed and shelled the towns for days before making a frontal, methodical assault. When they did, rebels and journalists fled in a headlong retreat. If Ajdabiya fell, Colonel Qaddafi’s forces would be on the doorstep of Benghazi, the opposition capital, and perched on a highway to the Egyptian border, from... Read full story here

(Yahoo! News) "Radio host Rush Limbaugh poked fun at Michelle Obama's waistline Monday; the latest entry in a string of conservative attacks on the First Lady's anti-obesity campaign. During his show yesterday, Limbaugh pounced on a report that the Obama family (minus the president) had dined on ribs while vacationing in Vail, Colo.: The problem is -- and dare I say this -- it doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary ..." Can somebody tell me what in the hell this guy is talking about? What are 'First Lady' and 'swimsuit model' even doing in the same sentence, ..without mind-warping drugs that make you bounce up and down at CPAC being involved? There was a time, some twenty years ago, when my late granduncle and I (listening to Limbaugh's show on tape) were occasionally awakened to something sensible or even clever from Rush Limbaugh's radio program. Something about integrity and the patriotic dignity of i...

See who wrote us up on his weblog, right here .

(WUSA9.com) "WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- DC Police confirm that they are investigating an allegation of sexual abuse against Washington Redskins player Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth is accused of touching a waitress' breast while paying his bill Sunday night at The W hotel on 15th Street, NW. According to the police report, the waitress' hands were full of dishes when Haynesworth wanted to pay his bill and he asked if he could put his credit card in her blouse near her breast area. She nodded yes and he placed the card in her blouse, sliding his hand further..." Read more here

(Politics Daily) "Democrats and Republicans in Congress will battle over proposed cuts in federal programs in President Obama's proposed FY2012 budget, unveiled on Monday. But the administration, seeking to put its own house in order, is looking for savings in many corners of the U.S. government. The Obama administration is looking to squeeze a few million in savings from reducing federal travel costs, to eliminating printing expenses to painting the roofs of embassies white. Some samples of savings the Obama administration is proposing that do not need Congressional approval..." Full story here

(Developmentally-Speaking.com) "“The TV is too loud!" "Turn it down!” “Turn it down some more!” “Turn it WAY down!” Ok. Now I can barely hear the TV, and am straining my ears to the point of getting a headache. But if I don’t turn it down, then I will hear the crying; loud cursing-like-a-sailor; banging on walls; stomping across the floor; banging doors; and maybe stomping down the stairs; then the glaring, unrecognizably large spirited eyes—all to demonstrate extreme..." Read more here

(The Huffington Post) "Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) delivered the keynote address on Saturday night at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference. Topics discussed in West's speech encompassed a wide range. From the state of nation's economy and federal budget to social issues, the congressman covered a lot of ground. He stressed the importance of adhering to conservative principles while also taking time to criticize Democrats. "Liberal progressivism evolved after our Constitution," explained West to his audience. "It has repeatedly failed all over the world..." Read more here

Bullet-proof, Amazon yuppies get along just fine in River East, I'll have you know! People have a lot of stupid ideas about life east of the Big Dirty, and River Easters are fed up ! What do you think is the most common 'wrong idea' about our great neighborhoods? Take the poll on the right and share your views.

AOL News' prodigious 2009 upstart (and a GREAT e-read), Politics Daily, takes a smarting and timely little swing at the latest efforts to shame Congress into moving on D.C. statehood--namely, the re-branding of Pennsylvania Avenue as 'Statehood Way' or 'Voteless' some-such. The short article is written competently by author/columnist, Tom Deimer . It'll never happen, by the way, for one very simple reason. If shame , and heaping lots of it, is the requisite element in lighting the D.C. Statehood fire, the forces in Congress, who ritually oppose it (like Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell), have none on the matter. As there are sound arguments on both sides, whether they should or shouldn't be ashamed is a matter to be settled in the court of local public opinion. Not, typically, very forgiving on this issue. Have a look, here . Then, take the poll to give the State Formerly Known As D.C. a name: Washingtonia would add an 'i' and 'a' to ...

Penn Branch Center, charming as ever! (Clockwise from top right) Penn Branch Liquors, CVS Pharmacy, Beltway Beauty and Star Pizzeria, below it. (Originally published, July 15th, 2009) She sits at the corner of Pennsylvania and Branch Avenues, this brick and concrete goddess. Our Penn Branch. She sits there, with a mouthful of meatball subs, twinkies and Cool Ranch Doritos and washes it all down with a Colt 45. She sits there, fixing the one good eye she’s got left on you, as your car makes a mad rush for the John Philip Sousa Bridge. For Capitol Hill. National Harbor. Adams Morgan. Cool places. Exotic places. Faraway places, where cafes litter the sidewalk. Where laughter, foreign accents and live jazz tease the imported air. Where people linger. Celebrate. Hook up. I cannot honestly say that I remember the last time I wanted to visit Penn Branch Center, the prehistoric strip mall at the corner of Pennsylvania and Branch Avenues, for anything, ..and I don’t know anyone else, who does, ...

No that is NOT David Bowie! Check out the 80s revisionist profile pic on Nadia Ackerman 's Official Facebook Group wall! Not at all the tone I'd expect from the mistress of earthy, urban art village sublime and acid jazz undercurrents, ..but, I love it. The new biscuit, A Little Moment, is chock full of depth and haunting inspiration, chillingly edgy in some places and sensually cocoa-warm in others, ..and if this kind of duality or mutability is any indication of what Nadia's upcoming website is bringing, we're in for a treat. I honestly tried to find some clever, exploitative way to use "Hang Me Out To Dry" or something from it in this post, since it's lingering in my head, anyway. Give me time, I'm sure I will. For those of you completely in the dark about all things Nadia, thumb through your mental rolodex for a funky, but playful, acid jazzy rendition of Dean Martin's hit, That's Amore', currently playing on the UPS commercials ...

Just finished browsing DCLofts.com and found one--ONE--converted loft property in Southeast, on Capitol Hill (of course) called the Bryan School Lofts , ..which are all sold out . The Bryan School was done by award-winning Abdo Builders , and probably cost a vital organ AND a limb to own. Frankly, they are a little too polished for my tastes--scrubbed of all the rugged, Industrial Era charm that ought to be evident in converting an old school, garage, trolley car barn or factory into functional living space. These Abdo lofts look like the Sex In The City ladies hang out there. They're sissy lofts, and I hate'm. Lofts used to be the large, unattractive, slate gray ruins of an obsolete industrial era that no style-conscious yuppy would be caught dead in. In the 1950s, lofts were places, where a large , lower income, working class or struggling immigrant family could stake a claim in the steamy, jazz-scored urban experience...the Big City. They were open frontiers for the ...