News Bullets, craft Slurpee Friday;

It's been one of those weeks. I know it's been a bit light on content here, I've been busy with other projects as well as the whole having a job thing. Too bad I can't afford to hire a personal assistant. I've been kicking around the idea of spending a bit more time expanding each news bullet with more commentary (and in appropriate instances humor! what a concept!) and then posting those throughout the day. We'll see what happens. But for now, it's Friday, and here's your update.

File under incredibly awkward. Matthew "Question Mark Guy" Lesko appeared with embattled DC Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) at the Lincoln Theatre last night to open the Betzen Ball Comedy Festival. They warmed up the crowd for headliner Patton Oswalt. I always just assumed Graham and Lesko were the same person, given their striking resemblance to one another. Though it is hilarious to see the man whose office is being investigated for taking bribes appearing with the man who tells you how to get free money from the government.

Metro to begin testing prototype of a 'real time' sensor monitoring system. Yesterday Metro announced they are ready to run some tests of the new safety monitoring system developed by an Annapolis contractor. This system was ordered in response to urgent NTSB recommendations following the 6/22 crash. It's unclear at this point when this new safety system will be ready to go, or how much it will cost. This is a good development, to be sure, but it also speaks to the fact that the Automatic Train Control system does not fail in a safe way. If we have to spend millions of dollars to develop a system to check to the ATC system in real time, perhaps it would have been money better spent earlier to develop a better train control and signaling system. I'll have more on this as more information becomes available.

Flower pot closes 12th Street downtown during rush hour. Yup. The Post tells us about how a flowerpot near the Federal Triangle Metro station sparked a suspicious package investigation. MPD, DC Fire and EMS and Metro Transit Police shut down part of 12th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue for about 40 minutes last night. It's always good to err on the side of caution, I suppose... but who calls in a flowerpot as a suspicious package?

DDOT imagines up to eight streetcar lines in the District. Go big, or go home... right? Or do both, it's Friday. The District Department of Transportation unveiled new plans for streetcar lines throughout the city. Greater Greater Washington has a whole lot more on this, as well as a map. A system like this would be amazing, given the number of District neighborhoods not serviced directly by Metrorail. I'm glad Gabe Klein and company have put together these pretty maps and plans, but the "what's next" part is difficult. Securing funding for a project of this scale won't be easy, and many people won't understand how "streetcars" are relevant in the 21st century. Shouldn't we all have jetpacks by now, anyways?

Stop the fucking presses, slushies are now a food trend. Yeah, you read that correctly. "Craft" slushies will soon be coming to the former second location of Garden District on 14th Street. Metrocurean writes, "Proof bar man Adam Bernbach has a playful roster of libations planned. Slushies — yup, just like the ones at 7-Eleven — will be served." The slushies will be served at Estadio, a new Spanish restaurant planned by the owner of Proof. OK, this is really a trend that can stay in New York. Here's a concept restaurant. A gourmet 7/11. It will look just like a real 7/11, except the Slurpee machines will be filled with slushy cocktails, and it'll serve deconstructed taquitos and donut foam.

By the way I went to ChurchKey. Yeah, I stopped over at the new destination beer bar in Logan Circle. It was the opening night, along with the downstairs restaurant Birch and Barley, and it was packed. It probably wasn't a good sign that when I arrived the front door was locked. They were not at capacity... I think the staff may have been unsure how the door works. The place has a lot of promise, and they do have an impressive beer list. My biggest gripe is the deceiving menu. Beers are listed with price and and serving size. Many are listed as 16 oz servings. I ordered the Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, advertised as a 16 oz serving. It was brought in a glass that could not have held more than 8 oz. In fact, I didn't see a single glass in the place that was a true pint. Time to reprint those menus. Anyways, it's a very promising development for a spot south of P Street in Logan.