DC Taxis

Not sure why this matters to me, but DC taxis must officially be painted red & silver over the next few years (as they age out of service or get bodywork).  So over the next few years, we'll be phasing in the red & silver cabs

Maybe it's my love for order.  Or my sense of aesthetic.  But I'm excited that one day, there will be an official DC taxi color.  I imagine the red & silver taxis zipping around town, easy to spot, and helping make a more vibrant city.

Vouchers are available for painting work this month, with work to be completed by September 15.

Because I'm a dork, and I'm bored, and I need something to think about while I walk around trying to get 10,000 steps on my Fitbit....I occasionally do an unofficially tally by cab stands or in streets. My totally unscientific estimate is about 1/4 to  1/3 of DC taxis currently sport the red & silver scheme.

I'm alive!

I know because ...

Not today's real weather map, but I love all the swirly colors.

It's freezing cold.

I wouldn't mind some warm and spicy daal right about now.

I think I'd like to get back to blogging.

Music, movement, breath, beauty

Wow.  Isn't this gorgeous?  This interactive media feature in the New York Times shows how conducting works with the musical director of the New York Philharmonic.  With very cool videographics from the Movement Lab, we can see the invisible lines and waves he makes with the tips of his fingers and the swoops of his hands.  We see him crouch and lift, bend and nod, as he explains what he his trying to draw out of two classical pieces.  I especially like the way he explains the draw of the note (how it finishes) and anticipating the arrival of a new instrument.

Classical music can be so  supremely beautiful.  At my trip to the Kennedy Center last month to see a special concert of the National Symphony Orchestra, I was so enchanted with how classical music just holds you.  There is something in classical music where the individual sounds of the dozens of instruments and an odd hundred musicians swirl in the air, blend, and become one beautiful sound.  I remember trying to just listen for the strings or the woodwinds, and it is a difficult task, as they become indistinct from one another as they fill each corner of that magnificent hall.

Beautiful (but also sad)

Isn't this a beautiful infographic representing the voter divide and the voter turn-out data for the DC Primary election for At-large City Council member?  I love infographics, and I love data.  I wish I were better at presenting and depicting data in this beautiful visual and clear way.

Washington, Post. April 4, 2012

On a sad note, this city is so racially divided, depicted so clearly on the map - the white (blue) -black (green) divide feels more demarcated and prominent than ever as the city's demographic change.  See how Upper Cupcake aka Upper Northwest is so blue, and the blue travels south to Georgetown, and eastward to 16th Street NW.  Travels that Golden Mile, crosses over to Mount Pleasant and the now gentrified Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle and the lofts of downtown Chinatown, and condos of NoMa.  It stays blue across The Mall, well into Capitol Hill, and south to the SW waterfront and Navy Yard.  If only we could track that voter spread against real estate prices, household income, and of course race.  Likewise, the green stays east - first in Petworth,  down and over to Bloomington, Trinidad, and Benning Road, and across the Anacostia to Congress Heights and Minnesota Avenue - in the blackest parts of our city.

The red map is good, too.  It seems our low interest in voting traverses the entire city hovering around 15% across the voting precincts.

Will this city ever overcome its racial divide?  And how?  What would that look like?  I mean Marion Barry just got re-elected to City Council in Ward 8 with 72% of the vote!  Then, he got a little giddy with that victory, and began talking trash during his election night speech at the Player's Lounge about getting rid of the Asian-owned businesses.  SMDH.

Car-free in DC

 

Interesting data from Greater Greater Washington shows a nice swath of car-free households! Of course, there are two main reasons you might not have a car: 1) you need a car, but you can't afford it or 2) you can afford a car, but don't need it. I'll take glass-half-full for both. For those that can't afford a car, they can be car-free just by virtue of public transport available in cities.* In far too many places, public transit is unavailable or abysmal. There, even the poor need to own a car to get to work or school and buy groceries - and by necessity must shoulder the costs of gas, insurance, maintenance and car payments. For those who can afford a car, but don't need it, public transit and walkable communities allow them to choose to live car-free. Yippee!

I do own a car, though I arguably don't need it.  I have a metro station 1.5 blocks a way, a bus on my corner, and a Capital BikeShare membership - plus, I like to walk.  I can get to work door-to door by public transit in less than 30 minutes (Thank god!).  My neighborhood amenities are plentiful - a coffee shop within 3 blocks, a supermarket within 5 blocks, and a commercial district with shops and restaurants within 1 mile of my house.   Despite all that, my car sure makes things easier when lugging around a kid and her associated stuff.  On most weeks, my car does not leave it's parking space for 4-5 days straight. 

And Happy 4th Birthday to my Prius!  You look and feel great @ 28,118 miles, 40+ mpg!

*Yes, I'm aware that the poor are increasingly squeezed out of great city living because of lack of affordable housing.  Haven't reconciled this.  More affordable, housing and mixed income development!  But that's a different post, I'm not capable of taking on here and now.