In DC
Posted on February 20, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 35 Comments
First, the popular and obligatory picture from the hotel window:
I can see the Washington Monument from my window, but right now the sun’s glare is keeping me from getting a good shot of it, so you’re all out of luck in terms of symbolic phallic symbols. Try to make it through the day anyway.
For those of you e-mailing me about whether I’m in town for a public appearance, the answer is no; friends of mine are getting married and I’m here for that. Also, I don’t know when I will next have a public appearance in DC; I suspect possibly the next time I publish a novel, but that won’t be this year in any event. Or I might finally get down to CapClave, which I keep intending to and keep not managing, because I suck. We’ll see. But in any event, no, nothing public scheduled at the moment. Sorry.
But it’s nice to back in DC; we lived in the area for a number of years and still have a house here, so I definitely feel a connection. Maybe I’ll just pop in on my renters and confuse the hell of out of them. That’s a day’s worth of entertainment right there!
Pah. DC has nothing on Michigan’s historic phallic symbols: http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/watertower.htm
Have a fun trip!
Yeah, but you’re phallic symbols only 147 feet tall, even if it has that cool shape! Ours “stands 555’ 5 1/8” tall, and offers views in excess of thirty miles”. And it even has those different colors of marble, because the civil war delayed the second half of its erection. (DC’s version of coitus interruptus).
Rats (that you’re not here for a public appearance). The reading at Olsson’s a couple of years ago was fun. Have a nice time at the wedding, even if *we* (your adoring public…) don’t get to share in the fun.
Hey when I think D.C. (well Arlington anyway) I think Mario’s Pizza….mmmmmmmmm
It is always worth surprising the renters just to make sure they haven’t added a tar-paper rumpus room onto the back of the house….
enjoy your stay in my home-away-from-home this weekend, phallic symbols and all.
I’ll actually be nearby for the Jonathan Coulton show in Alexandria tonight; clearly the hot ticket in Our Nations’s Capital.
Sterling represent!
You got a hotel room, when you have renters you could impose on? Next time, just show up and tell them you’ll be “inspecting” the back bedroom for three days.
For those of you e-mailing me about whether I’m in town for a public appearance, the answer is no
DAMMIT!
I know that hotel! (Used to work right next door. Small world, ain’t it!)
Anyway, if you get a hankering for Turkish food there’s a wonderful little restaurant in that triangular building down the street. There’s also good Thai, Indian, and Italian up the street. E-mail me if you want other suggestions in the area.
I still say if you were a real man like me, you’d go to Down Dog and do some yoga.
But if you like tea cozies and dressing up cats, then you don’t need to.
Welcome to our fair city. Try to ignore the smell; that’s just politics, the funk settles into your clothes eventually and you don’t even notice it.
Of course I have Awesome Plans for tonight, and that awesomeness is marred by a friend cancelling on it leaving me with a spare ticket… not that I would bribe you do ditch on the bachelor party or anything…
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2009/02/20/alexandria-va-022009/
If you do pop in on your renters, take a chalk line and one of those measuring wheels and walk around the house with them a couple times. Then stand in the front yard and act like you’re taking notes. Periodically squat to look at the foundation and cock your head to one side. Then leave.
I’d like to remind everyone that our gracious host used to LIVE here (well, Sterling, but the ‘burbs count).
Why are you here in DC? I checked the appearance page to see if you are making an appearance and I don’t see one.
I apologize, I missed that you were here for a wedding when I skimmed the post.
Khyron:
Actually, I just saw JC in San Francisco not log ago. But thanks.
I’ve been reading your blog for over a year and just now found out you’re a DC slumlord?
It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.
(PG County resident.)
It’s all in a day’s work for… Confuse-A-Tenant.
Recall the explicit use of Phallic spaceships in Adolf Hitler’s Hugo-winning novel of 1954, Lord of the Swastika, presented by Norman Spinrad as The Iron Dream (Avon 1972).
No novel this year? That’s depressing.
MarkHB:
I discussed it here. That said, the print version of MetaTropolis is coming out, and might have a surprise for people near the end of the year. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to spend money on me.
You SAY you’re in DC, but it sure looks like Wisconsin to me. Hmmmm.
Does the surprise involve music?
marriage, schmarriage. We know you’re really in DC to chat with the White House about being Obama’s CTO.
The best pizza in the area is up Wisconsin Avenue at 2 Amys, but the two Pizzeria Paradiso locations (one on P Street, one on M in Georgetown) are nearly as good, and the M Street one has 12 different draft beers and at least 80 bottled ones.
Hrm. I thought I sensed a disturbance in da Force.
Here’s one vote for CapClave 2009. Harry Turtledove, Sheila Williams, John Scalzi… Sounds great already.
@Scalzi: If you get tired of the DC ratrace, pop up to Fredneck and I’ll buy the beer (in fact, I’ve got 5 gal. of a sort of dark pislner fermenting right now).
@MasterThief: Tell me more about the Turkish place. Fell in love with Turkish food whilst living in Germany and haven’t found a decent bite of it around here.
@Chuck Gordon:
It’s called Cafe Divan. It is the only Turkish restaurant I’ve ever been to, but it’s very, very good. The website is http://www.cafedivan.com/ .
Mr. Scalzi,
Protest as much as you wish. I’m convinced you’re really in DC for the Fark 10th anniversary party tomorrow night.
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=4223543
Regards from your former neighbor (Herndon, 1998 – 2004).
@MasterThief: Thanks!
Fark Party: So close, but so far …
My name is Scalzi, landlord of landlords,
look on my houses, ye renters, and despair!
I am Scalzi, your landlord, who brought you out of the streets, out of homelessness; you shall have no other landlords before me.
If I was renting from you, I’d be sure to pay attention to your whereabouts here. You should pay them a visit just to see if they’re paying attention.
And if you really want to scare them, tell them the bank just told you they’re foreclosing.
On second thought, that would probably be too cruel in the current conditions. There’s a small possibility you could drive your tenants to do something irrevocable.