Help a tree out

I was meaning to post this link earlier.
The 7th Street Garden is moving to Le Droit Park to the Gage-Eckington School. This Saturday they are looking for volunteers to help out. One of the huge tasks will be moving some of their trees.

The garden staff currently don’t have the resources to uproot and relocate a set of trees from the space, including two each of peach, apple, and cherry trees. We want to make sure these trees can find a home in a new spot, and to make that happen – according to Susan Ellsworth of the Garden – we need “a tree spade, a flat-bed truck that lowers to the ground, and a small miracle.” Maybe one of the members of our community can help provide at least the first two? Please let us know!

So help a tree out.

Halloween in the Hood 2008

Tomorrow is Halloween, and yes, kids do trick or treat in Shaw.
Last year Frozen Tropics had some really good tips for prepping for the day. Also if this is your first Halloween, you may want to check with neighbors to see if there is anyone else giving out candy, ’cause if yours is the lone house, it may decrease the numbers of kids showing up.
Kids have shown up on our block between 5:30 or 6:30 or 7PM and 8PM when some of us stop giving our candy. The sign of when to stop giving out candy is when you’ve get bands of uncostumed teenagers coming to your door for candy. I stop when the cute kid signal fades out with the crappy teen noise. Then I turn off my porch light, turn off the 1st floor lights and retreat to the rear of the house.

Former Halloween Posts
Trick or Treat
Halloween Recap
I Don’t Want to Hear Any Halloween Excuses
Reminder: Halloween
Halloween II: Curse of the Signs
Halloween III: Death & Candy– Warning mouse death described.

Michael A. Brown, G-ddamned A*hole

Guess what I came home to today? I think it was the fifth fuking phone call I got from his piece of shyte campaign. I now hate Michael A. Brown’s guts with a passion. But before I came home I was introduced to a colleague whom, I was told, also lived in the District. The first words out of my mouth was, “Don’t vote for Michael Brown.” He had no idea who Michael Brown was, so if I see this person before Election Day I will give him several reasons of why he should not vote for Micheal A. Brown (the A. stands for Ass).
So far from his campaign it appears the Micheal Ass Brown is pro-litter, anti-neighborhood, and anti-human. Let’s explore his pro-litter stance. Earlier in his campaign Mr. Brown sought to plaster his pudgy bald head on cars indiscriminately. DC cars, MD cars, VA cars, don’t matter. I’ve also spotted several of these glossy strips of campaign paper in the gutter, a gutter that would then take these slips to the Potomac and so I guess he’s also against the environment as well. Then the litter spread to my yard, and my neighbors’ yards and so forth. So if you’re willing to vote for Rap Snacks, or a used condom wrapper you may be the kind of voter Michael Brown is looking for. Since litter, in addition to crime is a neighborhood issue, Michael A. Brown hurts neighborhoods with litter, and that brings to question, does he help neighborhoods in anyway?
Brown strikes me as a big picture guy so your corner drug problem, the trash in your alley, the trash his campaign helped add to, probably would be too small to concern himself with. I found my last robo-call preposterous. In it Micheal A. Brown plays the friendly character that appeared in the neighborhood. Can anyone tell me what neighborhood functions he’s appeared at? I saw Carol Schwartz and the Cult of Kwame at the BACA meeting. Of course, there is usually someone at BACA willing to tout Kwame. Kwame got people at the grassroots level. So I wonder if Michael A. Brown would even hear you at that level. Has anyone in Ward 4 seen him since he tried running as council man for your ward back in 2006? Did he go back to playing with the big boys on the national level? On his website he claims to be a community activist. Community doesn’t necessarily mean neighborhood, or local level. Bankers are a community, there’s the lobbying community, and so forth.
Anti-human. Okay I have a stronger argument that he’s pro-litter. To say Michael A. Brown hates people is untrue. To say he hates people who have answering machines and don’t want to be called five friggen times, is possibly true. Well it’s true at my house. And he’s pro-robot, hence the robo-calls. He’s denying some actual human the ability o annoy the hell out of me with a live call. Since he likes funding his campaign every few years why couldn’t he have funded a little job training program that has people, not robots? Or was he litter program the jobs producer?
Yes, I know I said I’d post a profanity filled post but I tend not to curse, and it isn’t really my voice. However I welcome your words so I’ll lift the profanity rule for for this post (and this post only) so you can tell how you really feel about Michael Brown.

I really like the Bloomingdale Farmers Market


Ethopian Baked Goods Stall
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

I don’t care that it isn’t in the TC. Nor do I care that it isn’t in my single member district or whatever political or government designated boundary. All I know is that a 5 minute walk from the house brings me to a small collection of tents where I meet neighborhood friends and see familiar faces.
But you know what I really love about the market? The vibe. It is a vibe that everyone contributes to. The vendors give samples and talk about their produce and it isn’t always busy so they can take the time. There are the visiting and occasional vendors mixed with the vendors that are there every week. There aren’t that many vendors, and the market succeeds despite or because of it. At one point this year there may have been just 4 vendors, yesterday there ware about seven. The vendors, what they sell, where they sell, that can be planned.
What can’t be planned is the turn out. That’s you and me. People come from near by, from way over from central Shaw (in my lazy moments I consider 9th St far away), they bring pooches, or leave the can’t play well with other pooches home, and kids. The toddlers aged kids are really entertaining. It’s amazing how the 5 second rule gets applied with them.
In all this people come together. Dog owners chat with other dog owners. Maybe they’ve seen each other walking around but this is their first time to actually introduce themselves and say hi. Parents, sort of the same. I overheard some parents talking about pre-K and the process, one set was telling about their experience while the other set asked questions. The non-crowded-ness of the market allows the kids a little bit more free reign. Freer than what I’ve witnessed at Dupont, where a kid can easily be temporarily lost.
All this, and the adjacent Big Bear Cafe, contributes to a wonderful casual vibe.

Addendum- I couldn’t figure where to put this above, but I need to mention a failed market in Eckington/Bloomingdale. Back in 2003 there was the short lived North Capital Farmers Market that operated at North Capitol St and Florida Ave in the unpaved dusty parking lot. There were like 2 vendors and the produce was sad and pitiful looking like something left in the refrigerator too long. It wasn’t welcoming as I remember it. We learn from failure as well as success, and we need to remember that farmer’s markets can fail too.

New Vendor Rocks


Vendor’s Coolers
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

I got veal bones. Now I don’t have to trek over to Eastern Market so I can make veal stock. I also picked up some bovre from the Painted Hand/Keskwick Creamery vendor. I also wound up overhearing the vendor talking to a camera person about her farm, and how she took land that wasn’t producing anything and turned it into a real working farm. She also produces a few other things that weren’t at market.
Unfortunately I missed out on the mushrooms, and the eggs. But I was able to sample the butternut squash soups. Oh my they were soooooo good.

RANT- The Planet Earth is Doomed

This post is written in sadness and anger. Also it has nothing to do with Shaw in particular, but the planet Shaw resides on. Hopefully I’ve edited it in a way that it makes sense.

Going to the greenie save the Earth concert/rally won’t save the Earth.
Changing one light bulb from incandescent to CFC, won’t do it either.
Neither will recycling do it either.
They are great starts to greener living. But those little things won’t solve anything if we keep clinging to and promoting lifestyles that undermine and cancel out green efforts. Or worse mocking, demonizing, and criminalizing others efforts to live green or simply. The New York Times did a piece almost calling people who live green mentally ill. One of the subjects in the article, a Jewish woman who cooks and heats the house with a wood burning stove, has a beautiful (but long) response, that if you have time you should take a read.
She says several things that I’ll try to sum up. We can’t really expect other countries, like India and China to clean up their emissions and their environment if we can’t lead by example and show that you can have a good quality of life for your citizenry without destroying the planet. We, as Americans, need to find ways that change the American Dream in to a Green American Dream that other nations admire and desire. But we’re not there yet, and only G-d knows if we’ll ever get there.
My dryer, followed by the AC is the biggest energy hog in the house, and that saddens me because I know what the green solution is, and I don’t want to do it because it would crimp my quality of life. Air drying. When looking at my Pepco meter, the dial speeds at 100 mph when the dryer is on. But I will not stand in the way of people who air dry or want clothes lines in their back yards (things that forbidden in many HOAs).
The Green movement in some parts is just another product to be consumed; bamboo sheets, hybrid cars, stuff made from recycled stuff, LEED buildings, organic anything. What of making stuff last longer so you don’t have to keep buying more stuff and having the send your old stuff to the landfill? Keeping and maintaining a 1989 Honda, doesn’t show the world how green you are as well as a 2008 Prius. Buying a eco-sensitive house doesn’t make much sense if it requires a 2 hour commute, part of which is spent idling on the beltway.
This year as a nation we’ve been freaking out about energy and the ability to borrow money so we can go out and buy cars and buy more crap we don’t need. Maybe we should spend more time figuring out how to use less electricity, less gas, less water and how to make cars and other things last longer, and consuming fewer non-necessities.
But until we truly change the way we live day to day, until we find living green rewarding, we are doomed.

Michael Brown, I hate you

I’m sure Michael Brown is a nice man who loves puppies, but the 2 robo-calls I received since posting my last post about his campaign littering program, has turned great annoyance to hate. What genius thought that constantly calling people would make people want to vote for your candidate? It serves to get your candidates name out, but why the heck would it make me want to vote for him?
DC is a city of neighborhoods and I don’t know if the man recognizes that, and instead sees it as a national city. It is a capital city, but as far as city government and governance goes it’s that down to the block stuff that makes this city livable. Even the Cult of Kwame [Brown] gets that. I’m not convinced Michael knows that.
The other thing that annoys me about his campaign, besides the litter, is his trying to ride the coattails of Obama. And second, he’s running as an independent. Independent my ass. That last robo-call I got was a very partisan message.
In closing, the only thing I think Michael Brown has proven is that he can raise money, buy a lot of campaign lit, and annoy the crap out of DC citizens. He may know how to run national programs but I don’t know if he knows boo about getting trash cleaned out of an alley or getting DC Employee X to call you back.
Vote for Schwartzman or Mara or write in Carol Schwartz*. But whatever you do don’t, don’t reward this fool with your vote.

PS- if I get one more f’ing robo call, I’m posting a profanity strewn piece written to be high in the Google search results.
*I don’t endorse Kwame ’cause he told Si’s mom to get a HELOC to pay her taxes.

Wanted for violence against women

WANTED
wantedmpd
From the flier from the crime meeting I didn’t go to:

The above subject is wanted for “Felony Assault” warrant number 2008CRW003906 by the Fifth District Detective’s Office. The assault occurred on October 16, 2008 in the 400 block Q Street NW. Please contact Detective Martin at 202 698 0660
IF THE ABOVE SUBJECT IS SEEN DO NOT APPROACH, CALL THE POLICE

Subject’s description- Name: Kenneth Lewis; Year of Birth 1984; Height- 5’09”; Weight-165 lbs

OMG! CHEEEEEESE @ the Bloomingdale Farmer’s Market


Scenic Artisan has it up on the Bloomingdale Blog, but this Sunday…. rain or shine, cheese comes to the BFM. I’m so happy. What makes me even more happy? It’s Keswick Creamery. I love-luv-love their cheese. When at the super crowded Dupont Circle Market, I would buy their yogurts and sometime the bovre. Love the bovre. Especially the bovre with herbs. I’m so happy I may burst. No, I’ll just squeal in delight like an oversugared 2 year old.
Also coming will be humanely raised veal, some beef, ‘shrooms, and eggs.