C A P I C O S T I A

"Artista. Intelecto. Periodista guerrero . We need more young writers like this, my friends..." I once used those words to describe a dedicated journalist, whose understanding and whose substantive and investigative reporting on complex D.C. issues, like poverty and gentrification, has been truly inspired and will be sorely missed on this weblog network. I once wrote that "anyone calling themselves a journalist in a city as diverse and (often) divided as Washington, D.C. will do well to follow Carlos In DC 's lead" and that, amidst "so much routine criticism of the blogosphere by established journalists and politicians, if you are not reading Carlos In DC , you are missing a fine example of how consistently relevant weblogs can truly be." For that reason and too many others to name here, this Brangler is a follower of the journalism of Mr. Carlos A. Quiroz, today, and will continue to be a follower of his work, now that he has left Blogger.com to co...

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 ...

Get ready for a ground-breaking, NEW blog, called And The Autism Thing, written by my brilliant and dynamic hermanita, Shielda Dyer! Shielda is a grown woman living and thriving with autism, who has been keeping daily journals for nearly an entire year, ..only recently sharing her experiences online. Sometimes surprisingly insightful and always brutally honest, she is very committed to continuing her work and bettering our understanding of what living with autism is like. And we, her family, are all very proud of her and couldn't be more excited. If you have not followed Shielda's blog before, you can find it at its new location here, right here . Mel Dyer

Penn Branch has some problems that won't wait, until 2012 [Movie poster for '2012', above]. I predicted trouble on the horizon for Penn Branch, just a few months back. In spite of the fact that the good folk of Penn Branch are working very hard to feed their families and struggling to keep a roof over their heads, I fear a greater struggle may be ahead for us. As Washington, D.C. descends further and further into the dark future of revenue-creating gateway communities rising, east of Anacostia, ..and the emergence of 'Business Improvement Districts' (or BID s), west-of-River, I fear stable-but-static neighborhoods, like Penn Branch, will see the quality of their services (power, police, EMS) go down. Unlike Penn Branch, the BIDs, according to DC.gov 's Business Resources page, "collect a 'self tax' from property owners to provide services and programs to the entire BID...cleanliness, maintenance, safety, promotion, economic development, and othe...

[Second Edition] A 'Capicostia' blog?  Again? Kinda trying this on. Feeling it out. Capitol Hill + Anacostia = Capicostia?! I think River East needs a blog that speaks to the frustration and quiet hysteria of what it's like to live here, but, sometimes, feel some small part of you might belong on the other side of the river, ..where political intrigue and urbanity slink down the sidewalks, stopping for the occasional latte or imported beer. Mmmm...I'll cop to the angst. Even if you won't. There's something about living here, ..in Penn Branch, Fairfax Village, Pope Branch, Dupont Park, Twining, Hillcrest, the Randall Highlands and probably Fairlawn, too, ..that's different than living in other parts of River East, and the culture-angst is something only we can understand. When you think about it the only thing separating us from Capitol Hill and everything the Hill represents--sophistication, culture, history, relevance, style--is a stupid b...

This Ilyushin Il-96 (above) isn't the alleged jumbo jet, but looked very much like this one. At about 4:13 pm EST, I saw a white jumbo jetliner, with red markings, pull in low enough over Penn Branch to clip the treetops and dive toward Alabama Avenue in Fairfax Village! It looked like it was going to land at the strip mall, down the hill, on Pennsylvania Avenue! I can also say, with some measure of certainty, that its design identified it as a Boeing 747 . Military helicopters--Navy-commissioned, if I'm not mistaken--were seen in the air, shortly afterwards. Though I only saw one, it was admittedly hard to tell how many because of the trees, and it sounded like more than one. This might have been perfectly inconsequential, considering some kind of helicopter are seen speeding over Penn Branch, almost every half an hour and especially during rush hour. I heard police and emergency sirens following all of that, and there is a difference. Trust me--River East hears enough pol...