Yeah, Hi There

OK folks, I know, I know it's been a while since we've updated. Blahblah we suck, "dead blog" so on and so forth. Whatever.

Sometimes looking for and writing about things you hate can be a bit shitty. Obviously there are plenty of hilariously terrible things going on in DC for me to hate on, but focusing on that all the time can be a bit draining. I've bookmarked countless stories and then sort of lost the motivation. Sorry, that's a "my bad."

So what have we missed lately? Well, just yesterday there was a quadruple shooting in the lovely Bloomingdale neighborhood. You know, that slice of heaven nestled between Shaw and the New York Avenue station. Lots of bloggers live in Bloomingdale, or BloMi, and have lots of love for Big Bear Cafe. I'm surprised I haven't seen more jokes involving "bears" and that coffeeshop. I'm opening that door, let's all walk through it.

Anyhow, yes, it's summertime now. That means more shootings. The police shot and killed someone over near Kalorama and Champlain, and there was a murder in Columbia Heights on 14th Street near Columbia Road. This all means it's also time for bloggers to step up and declare that "These things happen, a reminder that crime happens. Everyone should be careful but remember this doesn't mean we don't love our neighborhoods!!"

Yes, but hello, memo to everyone: DC is not a safe place. That home that sold at 14th and Fairmont for $499,999 was not a good deal. In all of these recent shootings, and Oh, I forgot about the murder outside the Mt. Vernon Square metro--the police have been close enough to hear the shots and respond immediately. Still no arrests in any of these homicides. I'm not about to criticize the officers on the scene, but clearly there is a failing at some level of administration here. Obviously. You don't need someone who rarely updates a blog to tell you that.

My speculation is that things are only going to get worse as summer drags on, with the economy still in the pisser, and gang rivalry flaring up. You can tell me that violent crime is down and all of that (and maybe it is), but we'll see how those statistics work out once it's August. I've lived here long enough (in the grand scheme of things, not very long) to know that we haven't done anything magical to put a lid on crime in DC. Anyone who thinks that Adams Morgan, Shaw, Bloomingdale, Petworth, Mt. Vernon Triangle, H St. NE, etc are safe are fooling themselves. Anyone who blogs about how these places are safe and have turned a corner and all of that are delusional. Someone really did pay almost half a million dollars for a house near 14th and Fairmont. Previously, the house had sold for something around $225,000 a few years ago, and $75,000 a decade ago.

Anyhow, enough about that. Just forget about the shootings, the helicopters flying around (with spotlight) and the sirens... and sit down with a nice juicy Five Guys burger filled with rat feces. Me worry about swine flu? I'm more worried the plague will find its way to Dupont Circle.