Welcome to the my Web site, v. XII. The blog is typically published Monday - Saturday. My primary topics tend to be the Nats, Penn State (esp. football), BeltwayLand, transportation, media, photos and more. The rest of the site gets updated as warranted and is noted on the blog.
Traffic reports used to originate from the Washington Monument - William World News
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Traffic reports used to originate from the Washington Monument
30 years of steering you home - WTOP The dean of D.C. traffic reporters Bob Marbourg celebrated his 30th anniversary as a traffic reporter yesterday. Congratulations to him, but the most interesting part of the story was that before he took the job, traffic reports used to come from a department of transportation employee stationed on top of the Washington Monument. That's pretty cool and just about impossible to imagine these days with traffic stretching up to 40 miles away from the monument now, but back that then it was pretty resourceful.
Back to Marbourg, what do you suppose the odds that he and morning traffic reporter Lisa Baden have a rivalry with each other?
"The Band That Wouldn't Die" looks good - William World News
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
"The Band That Wouldn't Die" looks good
I have a soft spot for the Baltimore Colts.
While my antipathy towards Baltimore's baseball team is well documented, I have said on a few occasions that the Colts moving out of Baltimore is probably the worst franchise relocation in professional sports history. The fans were great, the team had great, memorable players and a marching band with a catchy fight song. The team moved away ultimately because the owner, Bob Irsay, was a really nasty individual who was also an alcoholic. Indianapolis was and still is completely unworthy of those horseshoe helmets and uniforms.
Noted film director Barry Levinson, a Baltimore native, has made a documentary for ESPN 30 for 30 about that marching band, "The Band That Wouldn't Die." The band played on even after the team abandoned them and eventually became the Marching Ravens after the Cleveland Browns (another bad move, but one that was corrected almost immediately) came to Baltimore. The whole story gets told tonight at 8 p.m.
Why Washingtonians should not cheer for the Twins - William World News
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Why Washingtonians should not cheer for the Twins
Last night the Minnesota Twins beat the Tigers in 12 innings to claim the AL Central crown and a playoff series with the New York Yankees. I noticed a few Nats fans on Twitter pulling for the Twins to win last night. The Twins had been the original Washington Senators. Do you know why thy moved to Minnesota? They moved because owner Calvin Griffith was a racist. He was a liar too.
I'm rooting for the Yankees in that series of course and I hope they can bring an end to indoor baseball in Minnesota in short order.
Randy Johnson beats Nats for 300th win - William World News
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Randy Johnson beats Nats for 300th win
Giants' Johnson wins No. 300 - San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco takes game 1 of the twi-night doubleheader as Randy Johnson wins his 300th game. Jordan Zimmermann took the loss for the Nats, giving up two runs. Joel Hanrahan had a rough ninth too, but the Nationals were already losing.
There were not many people in the park on an unseasonably chilly and wet day. There was also another home run call that did not go Washington's way too.
In April, the Mount Vernon distillery and adjacent gristmill will open to the public for the season. And for the first time in nearly 200 years, liquor fans will soon be able to purchase whiskey made in the distillery, following Washington's own recipe.
"There's nowhere else in the country you can see what a distillery was like in the 18th century," said Dennis Pogue, Mount Vernon's associate director of preservation who oversaw the distillery's reconstruction. And the experience shows visitors an intriguing side of George Washington. "It's an opportunity to talk about different aspects of Washington's career that most people don't know about," he said.
I am quite interested to check out the distillery, though when I learned in the article that the whiskey was not barrel aged, I became less enthusiastic for actual product. Nevertheless, I'll be happy to give it a try.
25 years ago, the Colts were taken from Baltimore - William World News
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
25 years ago, the Colts were taken from Baltimore
On March 29, 1984, Robert Irsay moved the Colts out of Baltimore under the cover of darkness to Indianapolis, an unworthy destination. In observance of the anniversary, the Sun has a number of articles in Baltimore Colts section that basically say "let's get over it already." Yes, there is a bit of irony in those statements since the paper's Web site has a regularly updated section a generation after the fact, but they are probably right. In the end, Baltimore got a new team, one that won a Super Bowl, and stadiums for football and baseball. The new team, the Ravens, came from Cleveland, but the NFL did the right thing and insisted the colors and name be left behind there and put a team back there three years later.
I have said before that while I hope for nothing failure and misery when it comes to the Orioles, I have sympathy for the Colts fans who were on the wrong end of what was likely the worst sports team move ever. Why move out of a football crazy city to an irrelevant midwestern city? The Colts left because of the absolutely belligerent and incompetent Irsay (Sports Illustrated), a drunk who shopped the team for years despite strong fan support. The team only after he died. His son, Jim Irsay, still owns the team and missed an obvious chance to redeem the family legacy when he did not return the colors and logos to the city of Baltimore. Perhaps it was because he was high (Indy Star). The Indy side of the story is here if you care.
On a lighter note the reporting of the move has been, shall we say, imprecise over the years.
With its rolling lawns and secluded glens, Fort Ward looks like a lovely place to take a walk. Turns out, it's far more than a park in Alexandria -- it's one history sacrificed to make way for another, a Civil War military installation that has become a contemporary battleground over whose story gets told.
Occasionally, I take my son for a stroll through Fort Ward Park, located not far from my condo, but I have not yet explored any of the history there. As Fisher points out, different eras are in conflict over what the park is, was and should be.
Also, I kind of like that both my current and former (Pentagon City) neighborhoods were occupied by Union troops during the Civil War.
8 years later: Prehistoric Nats blog post - William World News
8 years later: Prehistoric Nats blog post
Years ago, my Web site had a news section, called Weekly William News (named after the long-lost/lamented Weekly World News) that I updated manually. Essentially, it was a blog, but I didn't call it that since I had not heard of such a thing yet. It also did not have any sort of content management system, so after working with even a primitive one professionally, I lost interest in updating pages through a text editor and FTP.
Anyway, eight years ago today, I put up this "post" on the proto-blog:
Of course, MLB waited another 4½ years to listen to me and I did not blog about D.C. baseball again until April 9, 2004 (fourth item), about a month after I started up William World News. Distinguished Senators, the first blog specifically about D.C. baseball, waited until June 2004.
"We play all or none." In 1946, the Penn State football team voted unanimously to cancel a scheduled game against then-segregated University of Miami, rather than play without its two black players, Triplett and Dennie Hoggard.
For the 1948 Cotton Bowl, Southern Methodist, Penn State's opponent tried to get Penn State to leave Triplett behind, but the Nittany Lions would not do it. Triplett scored the game-tying touchdown in a 13-13 tie.
The story is well worth a read, whether you are a Penn Stater or not
The 1987 film, No Way Out, is a good Washington/Cold War thriller that holds up pretty well, despite some glaring location errors (mostly about Metro), cheesy synthesizer music that belongs in bad sci-fi and Sean Young. Additionally, No Way Out opens with a tracking shot directly over my old apartments in The Potomac at Riverhouse* in Pentagon City. That shot ends on a house on Arlington Ridge Road where the protagonist, played by Kevin Costner, is being interrogated. A while back Fritz and I went looking for the house, but it is long gone. Fritz, who still lives in Pentagon City (his building was barely visible in the movie) found the location of the former house and wrote about it, so go there and read about it. Good detective work Fritz.
Oh and here is the opening of the movie with the tracking shot over the old, barely developed Pentagon City:
*Technically, my father's appartment too, as he lived there when it was called Riverhouse II.
Amen to your feelings on Sean Young! She was horrific in that film.
I forgot to mention this in my post, but at the end of the movie while the end-credits roll, the opening tracking shot gets reversed--i.e., it starts at the house on Arlington Ridge Road, pans right back over Riverhouse, then holds steady over the Pentagon and DC.
# posted by Fritz :
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 12:30:00 PM
Testing
# posted by WFY :
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 9:51:00 AM
Post a CommentWhy wasn't Sammy Baugh above the scroll/fold on Post? - William World News
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Why wasn't Sammy Baugh above the scroll/fold on Post?
The greatest Redskin of all (if not the greatest D.C. athlete ever), Sammy Baugh, died last night. For some reason, washingtonpost.com did not feature this news above the scroll as of 9:45 a.m. Their local competitors washtimes.com and dcexaminer.com both had Baugh in their carousels. On the print edition, Baugh's passing is only noted at the bottom. The front page of The Wash. Times has the news on the fold. Even the Philly Daily News had Baugh's passing noted on the back (sports) page.
Baugh made football in this town and revolutionized passing. He was also one of the greatest punters of all time and an excellent defensive back. His #33 is the only number officially retired by the Redskins. He was the only quarterback to lead the Redskins to multiple titles (1937 and 1942). I hope the Redskins honor him with a #33 patch on their uniforms for the rest of the season.
Depending on the source, Baugh may have never returned to Washington after retiring in 1952, preferring life on his Texas ranch.
Union Station centennial photos - William World News
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Union Station centennial photos
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This past weekend, Union Station celebrated its first century by displaying old locomotives and trains on the Gate B platform. Locomotives and cars from the Pennsylvania, Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O), Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Southern and Atlantic Coast Line railroads were featured. Some of the cars allowed visitors too. The locomotive I really wanted to see, a New York Central 20th Century Limited Hudson was not featured because the were all regrettably scrapped.
The lighting, nothing more than work lights that you might use to paint your bathroom, left something to be desired. I used low light and night-time settings to get my shots. As always, the photos are SOOC (straight out of camera). Hopefully, they will find a reason to do this again in the future and have a little better lighting.
Not that I need an excuse to go to Union Station - William World News
Friday, October 03, 2008
Not that I need an excuse to go to Union Station
This weekend is the 100th anniversary celebration of Union Station. For some reason, the Union Station Web site does not mention this, but an AP/USA Todayarticle does. Some details:
The centennial celebration is Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, noon-4 p.m. The free event will feature an exhibit of historic locomotives and passenger cars from the heyday of rail travel, as well as modern Amtrak equipment. Visitors will be able to walk through the cars and even buy souvenir stamps inside an old railway post office car. Archival photos of the station will also be on display.
My parents took us to the reopening 20 years too. I love Union Station; it is probably my favorite building in the District. The National Cathedral probably places second.
Mickey Vernon; Smooth Fielder, Hot Hitter for Senators - The Post Mickey Vernon was one of the most popular D.C. baseball players ever and probably the best first baseman. He died this week. I don't know if this was acknowledged at Nationals Park as his death may not have been known until after the home season ended. Given that he was from outside of Philly, I wonder if there was a moment of silence for him at Citizen's Bank Park last night. Vernon was also the original manager of the expansion Senators too.
The new light will not be as powerful as the lens that was installed in 1859, Rinaldi pointed out. The original lens, which is on display at the Barnegat Light Museum and Gardens, is about 10 feet by 8 feet with a kerosene lamp at its center.
The soon-to-be-installed lens is about 20 inches high and 20 inches wide, composed of Lucite panels. A rotating turntable behind the panels can accommodate a 10- to 100-watt bulb. The Coast Guard has approved the use of the new light, which is being imported from Vega Industries Limited in New Zealand at a cost of about $15,000, Rinaldi said.
As the turntable rotates, the light strikes a panel that refracts and magnifies the light to create a single beam that can be visible for up to 22 nautical miles.
This is all being done to commemorate the 150 anniversary of the lighthouse, first lit on Jan. 1, 1859. Old Barney is probably one of the most recognizable sights at the Jersey Shore. I have climbed all 217 steps to the observation deck a few times. The first visit, in the 1980s, revealed that about 172 feet below, our car was parked on the helipad. Oops.
Oh be still my heart! A lighthouse post on a Nats blog that was not written by me! Very cool story! (hmm.. may have to look into that NZ light manufacturer...)
# posted by MissChatter :
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 3:29:00 PM
The last game should have been scheduled for the day, not at 8:05 p.m. Of course, I'll get to see some of it this way since I am going to the Nats game this afternoon.
The opponent should have been the Red Sox or at least a team that had been around in 1923. Baltimore were not in the majors then.
This game should have been on the last day of the season, not today.
I am in no hurry to see the new Yankee Stadium. I don't want to go up there until after the current one has been completely removed. Seeing half a Yankee Stadium still standing sounds very depressing. -
Agreed on just about every point you make. First, this game should have been on the last day of the season. Was it scheduled this way to make sure it gets more attention versus the final day of the season and possible divisions and playoff spots being determined? Perhaps.
Second, it is a shame Bob wasn't there in person.
Third, to schedule the game at night was a travesty. ESPN games always go way too late, especially AL games. I stayed up to watch it but it was a shame to see such a historic event happen so late.
Fourth, the O's were probably scheduled to help ensure a Yankees victory. It's only fitting to have the Yankees win their last home game there.
# posted by Kevin McGuire :
Monday, September 22, 2008 9:59:00 AM
What is wrong with this picture? - William World News
Friday, August 22, 2008
What is wrong with this picture?
Um, nothing?
THE BRONX -- Forgive me if I find the case for building a new Yankee Stadium less compelling than say, Nationals Park. The building is old and the corridors are steep, but overall it remains a perfectly viable venue. While I have little doubt that it makes more financial sense to build a new facility, I think Yankee Stadium was special enough and the fan base is strong enough that they could have stuck it out in Yankee Stadium -- four million fans a year can't be wrong. It is all a moot point now, and perhaps when I walk into the new Yankee Stadium someday, I will forget about the old one. After all the new Yankee Stadium will look more like the original Yankee Stadium (in some respects) than the current one. Perhaps I am just being sentimental because my grandfather was born and raised on 161st Street, watched the stadium get built, and could hear the crowd from home when Babe Ruth hit a home run. Also, my mom worked there for the Yankees before the renovations. At least they are staying in the Bronx.
Last year Cliff pointed my in the direction of the excellent Esquire article from 1966, Frank Sinatra has a Cold. It is a great read and perhaps the birth of New Journalism. Among the great lines:
He seemed now to be also the embodiment of the fully emancipated male, perhaps the only one in America, the man who can do anything he wants, anything, can do it because he has money, the energy, and no apparent guilt.
Great writing and insight into the chairman of the board. I figured it was on topic because of this week's Music Tuesday entry.
Are you going to go on the tour? (Monument Park, press box, etc) Enjoy the game. Nathans Hot Dogs are excellent. I have already warned you about the use of Hunts Ketchup there--if you see Hank, please ask him to switch to Heinz in the new Stadium.
Also, take a few minutes to walk around the new ballpark. It has the look of being impressive, at least from the outside.
# posted by The Maryland Bureau Chief :
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 8:24:00 AM
There are no tours that day, but a visit to Monument Park is planned. Thanks again for the warning about the ketchup too, though I have never been a big fan of Nathan's -- I'm a Sabrett man.
# posted by WFY :
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 8:43:00 AM
Post a CommentWorld Champs flag at Nationals Park - William World News
Monday, June 23, 2008
World Champs flag at Nationals Park
I noticed during yesterday's telecast a flag behind the scoreboard has 1924 on it. That was the year that Washington won the World Series, defeating the New York Giants in an epic seven games.
Whether they were the Senators or Nationals then is open for debate, I suppose, since the two names were used interchangeably until the mid-1950s when Charlie Brotman made Senators the official name.
Does anybody know if they have pennants for the 1925 and 1933 AL champions as well?
"SHORT STILL STINKS" (This was the best I could get of an excellent homage to the darkest day in D.C. baseball history)
For the second series in a row, the Nationals face a franchise that abandoned the Nation's Capital. This time, it is the Texas Rangers, formerly Senators 2.0. Owner Bob Short moved them to what Shirley Povich (The Post) called "some jerk town with the single boast it is equidistant from Dallas and Fort Worth."
Before the 1969 season, Short outbid Bob Hope for the Senators with money he really did not have. Short charged the highest ticket prices in the game by a wide margin and made a disastrous trade for washed-up Denny McLain in 1971. Broke, he bolted for Texas, only to be rewarded with lower attendance than the Senators. During a Rangers-Orioles game in 1972, Senators fans, lead by Bill Holdforth, paraded a dummy around him in the stands with photographs of Short and his effigy appearing in sports sections across the country. Even more damaging was Holdforth placing an ad in a Minnesota newspaper during Short's senatorial run.
In 1978, when Short ran for a Minnesota Senate seat, Holdforth and some friends formed the Committee to Keep Bob Short Out of Washington. They held a beer bash at Holdforth's apartment to raise $3,000. "We charged $10 a head, and we had auctions," he said with a chuckle.
The money paid for an ad in the Minneapolis Tribune attacking Short. "Bob Short held our trust for three years, and we were SHORT CHANGED," read the ad, which ran the Sunday before voters headed to the polls.
Short won the primary but lost the election to David F. Durenberger. The night after his victory, Durenberger came into the Hawk 'n' Dove on Capitol Hill, the bar where Holdforth worked, to thank the committee, Holdforth said. "I wasn't the brains behind the operation, that's for sure, because it was fairly successful," he said.
He killed D.C. baseball for 34 years through his incompetence and avarice. Screech's Best Friend says that Short made a deathbed confession that moving the Senators was the worst decision he ever made (duh). That decision is why he is in the Chesapeake Bay watershed wing of Hell*, listening to Calvin Griffith go on and on about how much he hates black people and Bob Irsay repeat his introductory speech to Indiana where he said, "it isn't your team, it isn't the city's team, it's my team."
Bob Short: loser in baseball, loser in politics.
*He's awaiting a new member, from Baltimore, to arrive when the time is right.
The Newseum is now open. Admission is free today, but starting tomorrow, $20. The price seems steep, especially with the Smithsonian's free admission, but it is worth it
I thought I would round up some articles about the museum, some pro, some con. I reviewed it last week after attending a preview.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Since I am a "special friend" of the Newseum, I was able to get free preview tickets to the new museum. Erica, Fritz, dl004d (another media stuides major -- I'm not alone!) and Grand Marnier came along as well. Back when the Newseum was in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Va., I went to original Newseum, which closed in late 2001/early 2002, several times over the years. In fact, when I worked in Rosslyn I parked in a garage at the old Newseum.
The beginning starts of our visit was a little awkward.. Newseum guides recommended we start on the lower level, past the Berlin Wall and into the "holding center" to wait for the next showing of the 4D movie. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Several panels of the wall and a death tower are on display. The wall is not much more than a giant Jersey barrier with graffiti on one side, the barbed wire is all missing.
After moving on into the holding center, 4D glasses (stylish!) are given out and a video about "getting it right" is played. The 4D movie about the power of the media in America is quite good, both for the technology and the message. It is also unintentionally funny in the beginning.
From there, we took the elevator to the sixth floor. They have an outdoor observation area that details the history of Pennsylvania Ave. and provides excellent views. The view of the Capitol building would be absolutely perfect, but for the fact there are maple leaf flags all over the adjacent building, an embassy, across the corner. It is a harsh reminder of Canadian domination on American life. The sixth floor also includes digital versions of today's newspapers.
Moving down to the fifth floor we checked out the history gallery. Newspapers in clear display drawers are heavily featured as well as other artifacts from news gathering. This area is significantly bigger than the previous Newseum -- you could spend all day right there. One disappointment though - the FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD Daily News was not featured. How can you skip that if you are having a gallery of famous newspaper fronts? I skipped the books gallery - next time I'll check it out. I recall there being an exhibit about Edward R. Murrow on that floor as well.
The fourth floor features a 9/11 exhibit with a TV antenna from the World Trade Center, a time line of events and newspaper front pages. Photography is prohibited, which was fine with me. Having felt my office building shake when the Pentagon was attacked, I don't need to have reminders of that day. Also on the fourth floor was an exhibit on the First Amendment, which was quite interesting. We were reminded that burping is not covered by the First Amendment.
The third floor featured the Journalists Memorial and (if I recall correctly) the bombed out remains of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles Datsun. He was killed in the 1970s while investigating mafia. World news is also explored on this floor. I found the color-coded Press Freedom map of most interest.
Since being "On TV" was not of any interest to me, the third floor was skipped. You can do a newscast there with assorted backdrops. It did not seem very well organized.
The second floor is the Hall of News with a large screen featuring still photographs of major news events and a ticker that uses mixed-case letters instead of all capitals, which pleased dl004d. A satellite and news helicopter hang at this level.
Interactivity is a big part of the Newseum experience. There are touchscreen monitors all over the place. There is a downside to this though, the touch screens provide many opportunities to see bad news like the Challenger explosion or several different assassinations. It gets to be a bit much.
Despite spending over four hours in the Newseum, we really just skimmed it. It would probably take several days to see everything there. Also, we stopped by "The Food Section" a cafeteria with Wolfgang Puck food. The prices were high, but the quality was fairly good. On that level there is the first satellite news truck as well as a small exhibit on comics.
Overall, all were quite pleased with the new Newseum. I am sure I will go back sometime, but at $20 admission, it will probably be a while. Even at that price though, the Newseum is a good value if you can devote a day to spending in it.
"Harsh reminder of Canada's domination on American life?" Surely you jest.
# posted by CP :
Thursday, April 17, 2008 12:41:00 PM
I'm as serious as a 5 on 3 powerplay. Watch this video and see what I'm talking about.
# posted by WFY :
Thursday, April 17, 2008 2:40:00 PM
Post a CommentWho hasn't admired the integrity of the Berlin Wall? - William World News
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Who hasn't admired the integrity of the Berlin Wall?
WASHINGTON D.C -- I should have the Newseum write-up done tomorrow. In the meantime, ponder this message: ""In order to maintain the integrity of the Berlin Wall, please do not touch."
Pop Candy notes that Lego turned 50 yesterday! I should have known something was up when I saw Google spelled out with Legos yesterday.
I loved Legos as a kid, especially Legoland and Space sets. Legos were probably my favorite toy all time. I've avoided downloading Lego Digital Designer so far, but one of these days, I might cave in and do it.
As I have previously mentioned, I think Lego has gotten a little too specialized these days, but I'll admit I would have been all over the Star Wars Legos.
Random YouTube magic: End of good NFL broadcasting - William World News
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Random YouTube magic: End of good NFL broadcasting
The NFL ignored the social contract when it sold rights to NFC games to Fox, ending 38 years of CBS coverage. This was the last few minutes of the final telecast.
Well done, even with the cheesy syth music. Terry Bradshaw was restrained back the and not acting like a buffoon every second he was on camera.
The opener before that game was also quite good:
It isn't a stretch to say that my diminishing interest in the NFL began with the move from CBS to Fox. Several factors, primarily my passion for Penn State football, contributed of course, but this was the beginning. By 1997, the NFL wasn't appointment television every Sunday anymore.
I was pleased when CBS got the NFL (though the AFC) back and they do a pretty good job when they're aren't going gah-gah for the Patriots, but it is still a far cry form the glory days.
Rebel Yell is a misleading name for bourbon - William World News
Rebel Yell is a misleading name for bourbon
While I was out in San Francisco, I sampled some of David's Rebel bourbon. In fact, we toasted with it. It was okay, but I don't think I'm in any hurry to add it to my liquor cabinet.
I could not get over two things about Rebel Yell:
Since 1849 -- Putting that year on the bottle is just silly since the Civil War did not begin until 1861 and thus the Rebel Yell hadn't been created yet.
The name -- Rebel Yell. Kentucky, a border state, stayed in the Union during the Civil War. While the were certainly Southern sympathizers there, choosing Rebel Yell for the name is historically misleading.
A Many-Storied Inn - The Post Inside this article about the history of the now-closed Hotel Washington comes disappointing news:
If you waited long enough, waited up here even during winter -- when the rooftop was officially closed but the staff let you up because you begged them -- you could stand on the terrace as blasts of cold wind whipped the plastic window coverings that hang from a balcony. The open-aired balcony gives you unfettered access to Washington. They say the new owners plan to enclose this porch behind glass. What a pity, you think. Behind glass, Washington from this rooftop will not look the same.
I enjoyed sitting up there on a handful of occasions and think the new owners are making a major mistake closing that balcony up.
SAN FRANCISCO -- For years had this desire to buy Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Massage" off the shelf. I don't know why, but it strikes me as a more fun way to find it than ordering it. I was hoping I would be able to walk into City Lights and pull that off, but alas they didn't have one. They did have a McLuhan's "Understanding Media" which I picked up. I also picked up a copy of Howl by Allen Ginsberg and a themed bumper sticker.
Oddly enough, I'm not a big fan of the Beats. Howl, which was first published by City Lights in 1955-56, is amazing poetry though.
America's original Irish coffee - William World News
Thursday, December 20, 2007
America's original Irish coffee
SAN FRANCISCO-- Our host David mentioned that The Buena Vista, a pub near Fisherman's Wharf, claimed to the first place in America to serve Irish coffee. Since we had spent several hours in that area buying chocolate and taken photos of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, America's first Irish coffee bar sounded like a great way to warm up. I'm not a big coffee drinker - Irish or otherwise -, but this experience may have converted me.
We wound up having dinner at The Buena Vista and were pleased with the food, the heater next to the table and especially our waitress who was very attentive and efficient. I had the fish and chips which were quite good, while Erica had Dungeness crab cakes. She noted that they were different than Maryland style in that they had red peppers and green vegetables mixed in. While she prefers the Maryland variety, she still enjoyed her meal. The pub is a popular happy hour hangout too, so it wasn't just tourists eating and drinking there.
50 years of the Harbor Tunnel - William World News
Friday, November 23, 2007
50 years of the Harbor Tunnel
Harbor Tunnel marks 50th anniversary - The Sun The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel is approaching its semicentennial. When I was a kid, it was a traffic nightmare, but once the Ft. McHenry Tunnel (I-95) opened in 1985, the Harbor Tunnel became a good alternate route.
Other notes:
I can't remember it before it was I-895, but I do remember all the non-MUTCD signs that only got replaced about ten years ago.
The Harbor Tunnel Thruway had unusual exit numbering schemes -- sequential starting after the tunnel headed northbound; mileage-based from the northern terminus southbound)
There used to be a Colt 45 brewery near the interchange with the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). It later became a Washington Flour facility.
I also remember the Segram's 7 advertisement that was on a brick building near the highway
The speed limit should be at least 55 MPH throughout the non-tunnel sections and maybe 60 MPH in the stretches without exits.
Heavy Metal Parking Lot story on WTOP - William World News
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Heavy Metal Parking Lot story on WTOP
Driving home and flipping through stations, I heard the unmistakable vocie of the one and only...
ZEBRAMAN!
Sadly, I didn't hear the whole WTOP report. There isn't anything on wtop.com yet either. Anybody know why Heavy Metal Parking Lot was being referenced?
Anyway, while we wait for clarification, take time to read the interview I conducted with the creators of the movie and parking lot cinema, Jeff Krulik and John Heyn.
While I'm at it, I'll also plug Krulik's latest project:
Jimi Hendrix! Canned Heat! Moby Grape! John Lee Hooker in Adams Morgan! Crystal Mesh, Mosaic Virus and Natty Bumppo! The Ambassador Theater Lives! Washington, DC's Psychedelic Concert Hall 40th Anniversary Celebration Saturday, November 3, 2007 3PM DC Historical Studies Conference FREE. No Admission Charge Info and registration at www.historydc.org
50 years of soccer style kickers - William World News
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
50 years of soccer style kickers
DAN DALY - Going sideways into history - The Wash. Times A great article about the history of soccer style placekickers. It was fifty years ago Friday that Fred Bednarski of Texas became the first kicker to make a field goal soccer style in college football.
Brooklyn and the Dodgers parted ways 50 years ago today - William World News
Monday, October 08, 2007
Brooklyn and the Dodgers parted ways 50 years ago today
In view of the action of the Los Angeles City Council yesterday and in accordance with resolution of the National League made Oct. 1, the stockholders and directors of the Brooklyn Baseball Club have today met and unanimously agreed that necessary steps be taken to draft the Los Angeles territory.
-- press release, October 8, 1957
Much has been written about the fabled Brooklyn Dodgers and their move to Los Angeles. Despite having no connection to the borough of Brooklyn (one of my grandfathers was from 161st in the Bronx though1), I've found the legend of the Dodgers to be fascinating. I've read Roger Kahn'sBoys of Summer and countless articles on the subject. I've heard the jokes about hated Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley like "who were the three worst men of the 20th century, Hitler, Stalin and Walter O'Malley" and "if Stalin, Hitler and O'Malley were in the same room and you had two bullets what would you do?" ... "Shoot O'Malley twice" and laughed.
So after processing all of this information about how great it was that Brooklyn had a team and how tragic it was that they left, I have come to the conclusion that despite intense New York provincialism2 on the subject, the Dodgers move was that big a deal. The transfer to Los Angeles reflected the decline of urbanism and the rise of suburbanism as well as anything else.
O'Malley wasn't the villain he was made out to be either. I am convinced he acted in good faith for several years to build a new stadium with his own money in Brooklyn and the politicians and especially Robert Moses wouldn't let it happen. He may not have been a "pure" baseball man, but in his relentless pursuit of profits he invested in his team in such a way that brought championships. He was smart enough to realize that a well-run team was good business.
It is an interesting coincidence that O'Malley's plan to build a domed stadium in the center of Brooklyn's mass transit hub appears to becoming reality with the Barclays Center. One can only wonder how Brooklyn, Los Angeles and America had been if it had been the Dodgers setting up shop there.
Moses was probably the principal villain in the Dodgers exodus, but ultimately, a changing America was probably the biggest reason.
1Grandpa used to always refer to Tommy Lasorda as "the Brooklyn manager." I found it interesting that he still thought of the Dodgers as Brookyln's team so long after they left. He rooted for the team that played down the street from him though and his daughter (my mother) even worked for those Yankees in the 1960s.
2New York is the one American city that has earned the right to be so full of itself because its New York.
Armageddon Cooler -- a brief history of the gin and tonic - William World News
Friday, September 14, 2007
Armageddon Cooler -- a brief history of the gin and tonic
Through the magic of Web analytics, I learned my most recent post about gin and tonic was linked from a year old Wall Street Journal blog post called Armageddon Cooler: G&T by Eric Feltin that is essentially a history of the gin and tonic. I enjoyed this passage about JFK discussing nuclear war:
Asked how many bombs Russia would need to destroy the U.K., Penney said, "It would take five or six, but to be on the safe side, let us say seven or eight, and" -- just at that moment a steward passed by -- "I'll have another gin and tonic if you would be so kind."
This statement, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote in "A Thousand Days," "uttered in one rush of breath, summed up for the Prime Minister and the President the absurdity of mankind setting about to destroy itself." For the rest of the summit, Kennedy and Macmillan used "I'll have another gin and tonic, if you would be so kind" as an all-purpose punch line.
Apparently, Lucy the monkey developed a taste for them as well.
Washington 8 SAN FRANCISCO 6 (CBS SportslineBoxscore)
Barry Bondshit his 756th career homer (The Post) last night and still LOST. Mike Bascik goes down in history(The Post) as the one who threw the pitch that became 756. He joked the other day that he and Al Downing were to get together and play cards if he gave up 756. In an odd coincidence (I'm sure somebody will mistakenly say its "ironic") Mike Bascik, Sr. faced Hank Aaron when he was sitting on 755 homers. The elder, obviously, kept Aaron from hitting it out. Speaking of Aaron, he congratulated Bonds via video. The scene in the stands wasn't pretty (SF Chronicle) and not just because a guy in a Mets jersey got the ball.
The Nats victory was of the comeback variety. The Giants lead 6-4 in the eighth, but Nook Logan knocked in Austin Kearns with one out on a single. Tony "all he does is hit" Batista sent advanced both runners on base, setting the table for Felipe Lopez to knock in Logan. Ryan Zimmerman sacrificed Batista home and the Nats had a two run lead. Chad Cordero got three consecutive outs to earn his 24th save. Kevin Correia took the loss for San Francisco.
Lopez, Kearns and Schneider all homered off of Barry Zito earlier in the game.
Congrats on the win, although Bonds' homers tend to mean an opposition's win.
# posted by Brad Stratton :
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 9:45:00 AM
Our long national nightmare is over.....Can we start talking Penn State football now?
# posted by The Maryland Bureau Chief :
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 11:26:00 AM
Post a CommentKrauthammer defends drunk astronauts - William World News
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Krauthammer defends drunk astronauts
Lit Up For Liftoff - The Post If you have read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, you know that drinking was a big part of the early astronauts' culture. When I heard that two NASA astronauts were drunk on the job, I assumed it was from either the Mercury or Gemini days. I don't recall it being specifically mentioned to happen during the shuttle era.
Columnist Charles Krauthammer thinks the brew-ha-ha about drunk astronauts isn't a big deal and takes it upon himself to defend them:
Have you ever been to the shuttle launch pad? Have you ever seen that beautiful and preposterous thing the astronauts ride? Imagine it's you sitting on top of a 12-story winged tube bolted to a gigantic canister filled with 2 million liters of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Then picture your own buddies -- the "closeout crew" -- who met you at the pad, fastened your emergency chute, strapped you into your launch seat, sealed the hatch and waved smiling to you through the window. Having left you lashed to what is the largest bomb on planet Earth, they then proceed 200 feet down the elevator and drive not one, not two, but three miles away to watch as the button is pressed that lights the candle that ignites the fuel that blows you into space.
Three miles! That's how far they calculate they must go to be beyond the radius of incineration should anything go awry on the launch pad on which, I remind you, these insanely brave people are sitting. Would you not want to be a bit soused? Would you be all aflutter if you discovered that a couple of astronauts -- out of dozens -- were mildly so? I dare say that if the standards of today's fussy flight surgeons had been applied to pilots showing up for morning duty in the Battle of Britain, the signs in Piccadilly would today be in German.
...And by the time the astronauts get to the part of the journey that requires delicate and skillful maneuvering -- docking with the international space station, outdoor plumbing repairs in zero-G -- they will long ago have peed the demon rum into their recycling units.
Obviously, no one would recommend this as a best practice for working in a billion dollar piece of government equipment or even filing your TPS reports. When you get a bunch of former test pilots involved though, these things can happen.
I'm guessing Gordo Cooper was one of them and maybe Alan Shepherd was too, but later in his career. About 15 years ago, my brother personally verified that Shepherd liked to imbibe.
Let's be careful not to assume that because he was enjoying himself at an awards banquet in the mid 90's that he was one of the drunk astronauts.
# posted by CY :
Tuesday, August 07, 2007 11:46:00 PM
I made the assumption based on The Right Stuff.
I'm glad Shepherd enjoyed himself at the banquet though.
# posted by WFY :
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 5:12:00 AM
Post a CommentShopRite fixed what wasn't broken - William World News
Thursday, August 02, 2007
ShopRite fixed what wasn't broken
On the left is the long-time logo of the New Jersey supermarket chain ShopRite. I've always liked it, even if it does look like the shopping cart is full of bowling balls. It is versatile too, fitting on a vegetable can, grocery bag or the side of a store equally well. It even looked good on those blue services signs you see on highways.
Around 2000, ShopRite rebranded itself with the logo to the right.
I'm sure a PR flak would explain that this is a vibrant update of the old logo and shows that ShopRite is an exciting, modern supermarket experience and not the same old grocery store. ShopRite is bursting with savings on fresh items all over the store. Not only that, they sell more than bowling balls -- now you can buy polygons there too!
This strikes me of an example of rebranding for the sake of rebranding. The next time ShopRite needs to rebrand itself, they need to go retro and bring back the original logo. In fact, planning for that should begin now.
Images taken from Wikipedia's ShopRite entry. The official history is here. I never knew the ShopRite story was so interesting.
Oh great, Sen. Clay is playing bartender again - William World News
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Oh great, Sen. Clay is playing bartender again
Last month, dl004d mentioned that he had visited the Old San Juan, Puerto Rico bar that invented in the pina coloda. That reminded that Henry Clay (Whig-Kentucky) introduced the mint julep to Washington (and thus the world outside of Kentucky) at the Willard Hotel. I had been meaning to there for some time as a tribute to one of my favorite historical figures, not too mention my favorite refreshments. Several weeks ago, Erica and I, along with our visiting friend Wiley and his girlfriend Ashley, stopped by the Willard's Round Robin bar after a attending the Smithsonian Folklife festival.
Just visiting the Willard Hotel is fun because it is such a marvelous building, inside and out. The Round Robin itself is beautiful bar tasteful charactetures of famous guests as well and a black marble bar. There are also tasteful chairs, probably made out of cherry, and tables on the outside of the circular bar.
Once we seated ourselves, we each ordered a mint julep. The second bartender (whose name I wish I could recall) made the drinks with Maker's Mark, mint, and sugar. I don't recall if he used branch water (spring water) like the recipe says. I was surprised to see that he put mint in the glass before adding the ice too. There was also a lemon wedge included, which I had not seen with a mint julep previously. Thankfully, it was not squeezed out.
We all enjoyed our mint juleps, though I would have preferred it without the mint in inside because it overpowered the Maker's Mark a little if my straw was all the way to the bottom. I wouldn't have minded another one, but at $14 each, that would have been a too steep. I am not complaining though, since the Round Robin is an elegant place to enjoy a cocktail and conversation. The bartender shared some stories about the Round Robin that were quite interesting and "worth the price of admission." He also let me sample some Bulleit Bourbon on the house. I enjoyed it and may add it to my collection. I certainly enjoyed it more than the Wild Turkey Rare I ordered after my mint julep. At 108.2 proof, the alcohol in Rare Breed overpowers the taste -- I much prefer the smooth Wild Turkey 101.
While the Senator Clay's mint julep recipe is not my favorite, I enjoyed the history and ambiance of the Round Robin enough to want to return. I will certainly do so in the near future.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
<i>Daily News</i> recalls the summer of '77 - William World News
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Daily News recalls the summer of '77
My favorite New York tabloid, the Daily News, has an excellent enterprise section about the city's tumultuous summer of 1977 called The Bronx is Burning. Four topics are covered extensively
Yankees -- who won the World Series despite hating one another
The Blackout -- another blackout struck New York, this time with riotous results
The section is very extensive, so don't try to bite it off all at once unless you have a couple of hours to kill. It will be updated a few times throughout as well.
Am I the only one who was kind of disappointed in the Big Dreams series the CDT just ran about Penn State and the Big11Ten? I didn't really learn anything new in any of the stories. Perhaps my desire to read an examination of what joining to Big11Ten meant to Penn State's academics has colored my perspective. To me, that is the story that needs to be told.
A Tale of Two Cities - The Times There are two exhibits on the legacy of Robert Moses that take a more favorable view of New York's master builder than Robert Caro'sThe Power Broker. I have read the first part of that book and look forward to getting back to it. Had I not just moved, I would have been quite tempted to check these exhibits out.
I spent a lot time in Lakehurst over the years. At one point both sets of grandparents lived in a retirement village on the outskirts. Airships are still part of the local culture and one of the great hangers is still visible from NJ 70, the main road through town.
According to On this Day (The Times), America was named 500 years ago today:
America got its name from German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller, who first used the term on a world map to refer to the huge mass of land in the Western Hemisphere, in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
Readers of WWN might be surprised to learn that I have a lot of respect for the football culture in the next town up I-95 from here. In fact, I respect the football fans up there so much that I will even call their city Baltimore instead of Balmer like I do when I speak of Peter Angelo$ and his franchise.
I am old enough to remember when the Colts still played in Baltimore. Their owner, an evil, cowardly, alcoholic named Robert Irsay moved the team out in the middle of the night on March 29, 1984. His reason -- spite. He was upset about the way his tenure as owner was viewed by the press and mad that fans were growing weary of his incompetence. To this day Irsay is hated in Baltimore, as is his son Jim, the current owner. The younger Irsay may say that he harbors good feelings for the place, but apparently not enough to have sold or even given back the Colts name when Baltimore got a team again. That would have gone a long way to adding a little dignity to the Irsay name, but he missed a golden opportunity to right a wrong; not too mention sell a whole lot of merchandise by creating a new team name, colors, etc. Duh. It's a sin to see those beautiful uniforms representing such an irrelevant place as Indianapolis.
Harboring resentments is not a good thing for any of us, because it turns on you. No matter what the situation is in life. "If I forgive you, that frees me. Resentment is bondage. Whatever those feelings are, the cast of characters that existed when my dad was there" and all the things that went on a quarter-century ago, it's a long time ago.
Is it just me or does he sound like a recovering addict with that sort of talk? Or right, he was a pillpopper (Indy Star)! Thank goodness he's learned to forgive people!
I think the Colts leaving Baltimore may be the worst move in professional sports history. In Baltimore, a tough historical city with a distinctive culture (ever see Diner?), the Colts were passionately loved. In Indianapolis, a bland square plopped into the middle of one of the least interesting states in the union, the Colts have never been embraced the way they were in Baltimore. The fans their had trouble filling the place up until Peyton Manning showed up. It was not even a lateral move.
Now, I know people will argue that the Browns moving to Baltimore was one of the worst moves, which is true, but it was not as bad as the Colts. At least in the Browns case, Art Modell left the legacy and colors behind and the NFL acted swiftly to correct the problem. I also believe that the Dodgers move to Los Angeles is not as bad. Brooklyn's heart was broken, but that was just as much a fault of New York politicians (especially Robert Moses) as it was Walter O'Malley.
Anyhow, I've rambled a lot already and I need to get to the main point. I want to see Indy destroyed by the Ravens this weekend. I want to see a shutout. I want to see Irsay effigies. I want some serious histrionics from the Ravens, something like "we had to beat them to stick up for the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. This was personal. As long as we have anything to say about it, Indy will never win a title. Give up the horseshoe that your drunk father STOLE, druggie!" after the game.
More coverage from The Sun: Ravens & The Indy Star: ColtsIrsays
So you would openly support an organization that has two KNOWN FELONS playing in its ranks?
Regardless of what the Irsays and Modells did with their respective franchises, I would contend that both teams are worthless, IMHO. Cleveland South has been schizophrenic for the past few years, and I'm not convinced that they're ready to return to the big dance anytime soon. Relying on a QB on the downslide is not a long term solution, and the one waiting in the wings isn't that much better. The offense is only successful with a short field. There's also a growing undercurrent from some of the wiser fans (there are a few) that believe anyone with the last name of Lewis is a cancer and should be removed as soon as possible.
Baltimore West has invested too much in one Peyton Manning, and we see how well he's done under pressure. He couldn't even beat Steve Spurrier in his 4 years on Knoxville. And they used to rely on such persons as one Mike "Idiot Kicker" Vanderjagt, only to replace him with Adam Vinateri.
# posted by Muha :
Thursday, January 11, 2007 9:10:00 PM
In the spirit of full disclosure I'll point out Muha's team went 8-8 this season and missed the playoffs.
The important point here is that Indianapolis is completely unworthy of having a team as historically important as the Colts. Can you imagine the Jacksonville Steelers or Orlando Packers? Irsay's move was that bad.
# posted by WFY :
Saturday, January 13, 2007 7:55:00 AM
But you have to realize that what the Modell family did to Cleveland is more or less what the Irsays did to Baltimore. In my mind, those two wrongs do not make it right. Why Tagliabue didn't just give Baltimore the expansion franchise rather than using the existing Browns as leverage is beyond me.
I would put out there that if the Rooney family were to do such a thing to the City of Pittsburgh, the family would not exist, because they would be lynched for even thinking of such a thing. Much like the Browns, the Steelers are a part of their respective cities. Sure, Art Modell left the records and such behind, but what good is that when they sat dormant for three years?
This once again proves the incompetence of any sort of public or private official operating out of the City of Baltimore. What makes the Irsay impasse of 1984 any different than the Modell move of 1996? They couldn't deal with an arrogant owner then, only to be an accomplice with another one years later. This city does business with PETER ANGELO$, and we all know how well THAT team has been recently. I'm surprised he hasn't threatened to move his team yet. Seems like the MO, given the track record.
So, while Baltimore West won, I just have to ask this question:
So I see that the Colts won, but why is the City of Baltimore sad?
Go Saints. They have seen a resurgence this season after such a terrible year last year. They have proven they do not need to suffer the same fate as the Colts and the Browns.
# posted by Muha :
Sunday, January 14, 2007 9:09:00 AM
Modell left the colors, history, legacy, etc. That's the difference. Had Irsay stepped up and returned the colors, etc. I think everybody would be a lot happier. Oh well. How many days until the Blue White Game?
On Wednesday, September 27, I interviewed Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis about the upcoming Capitals season for Metroblogging DC. We discussed the CBA, the new Ballston practice facility, the challenges of the D.C. sports marketplace, the Southeast division and of course Alex Ovechkin.
Ted Leonsis bought the Washington Capitals hockey team in 1999 and immediately brought a new perspective to professional sports ownership. The AOL executive made himself accessible to his fanbase by answering personal emails from fans and writing the "Owner's Corner" column on washingtoncaps.com. Recently, he began blogging as well.
Recently, Mr. Leonsis took the time to answer some questions for Metroblogging DC. The Caps begin their season tonight, in New York against the Rangers. Their home opener is this Saturday with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes coming to town.WFY: We are coming into year 2 of the post-CBA era and the Alex Ovechkin era, both of which must be very exciting to you. Why don't you talk about how the new CBA helps the Capitals in Year 2.
Ted Leonsis: I think we shouldn't focus on Collective Bargaining Agreements. I think that the league went through a very tough gut check into trying to make for a business model that could be fairer to all 30 teams and would also inject more competitiveness into the league. I think we are rapidly getting to that point where like the NFL and the NBA -- no one really knows what their team is spending but feel comfortable that each team has a shot to make the playoffs and win a championship. You do not have that in baseball. In baseball you still have teams that spend 200 million and teams that spend 20 million and in the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL you have more parity, if you will, regardless of market size of if a team owns their own TV network. That is what we were desperate for in our league and we have that and on top of that we have new rules. I think last night was very instructive -- the Caps played the Flyers and in the old days the Flyers were bigger tougher and had a higher payroll. And now the payrolls are pretty much comparable...maybe $10 million difference, but the emphasis is on speed, the emphasis is young legs and skill and you want a league where the stars are allowed to shine and where people want to see great offensive skills allowed to prosper and I think that is what we are starting to see. The new CBA, the new rules are making for a more exciting NHL and I think we have built and organization and a team that was designed for the new rules and the new model and I am very optimistic about where we are headed as a franchise.
WFY: One of the contributors to the new exciting NHL is Washington's very own Alex Ovechkin who won the Calder Cup, which is the rookie of the year in hockey last season, with over 100 points last season. How much has Alex meant to the franchise in the short term; and in the long term, how much is he going to mean to the franchise?
Leonsis: We're blessed in that we appear to have a once in a generation kind of player, he is a phenomenally gifted athlete and hockey player. The season that he had last year really was the best entry of a rookie probably in the last 25 years, but certainly one of the top 3 first seasons of any player in the NHL in 80+ years history. He is only going to get better as he matures and gets stronger and also learns how the league paces itself. it is a very long season and hopefully playoff games and his engine runs at a very high RPM and he is going to have to learn to pick his spots a little bit more. We're most blessed that he is really a terrific young man. I remember once having lunch with Red Auerbach, who told me that your best player also has to be your best person, and as you look back at his history in the NBA winning so many world championships that his best player be, it a Bill Russell or John Havlicek or Larry Bird, they were not only phenomenal athletes, but they were phenomenal leaders and they were humble and took great joy, not in personal success, but in the team's success; and we really do have that with Alex.
Leonsis: This off season he was quoted as saying, "If I scored 20 goals and we made the playoffs, I'd be much happier than scoring 60 goals and not making the playoffs." That is what you want form your foundational player and we have built a team that has a lot of great young talent and the are all in their early 20s and my goal is to build a generationally-good team. I don't just want to make the playoffs just one year, I want us to make the playoffs on a consistent basis and win a bunch of Cups along the way and I think the way you do that is that you have a team that at its core are all growing and peaking together. We're in the second year of this rebuild and I think we are a little ahead of schedule.
WFY: Where are you in terms of the schedule with getting fans in the seats? There are some people who don't believe that Washington is a hockey town. Recently on your blog you are making the argument that it is becoming a hockey town. How are you doing with marketing the team, especially now that you have this incredible talent in an Alex Ovechkin?
Leonsis: You could argue that Washington overall is a Redskins town, but you look and the Nationals are struggling at the gate right now, their honeymoon lasted one year and the Caps always struggled at the gate, and frankly the Wizards don't have an easy time, too. It is all of our challenge to try and connect with our community and be more successful at the gate. What I decided to do is to structure the team in the economic model for the market that we see, and there is nothing wrong with what we see. There is nothing wrong with averaging 15-16 per game which is what I think we can do this year. I would love to have a situation where we sell out, but I think we're struggling to do that; and right now we are at about 85% renewal of our season tickets and plans, which is a very positive sign for us. We have to sell more season tickets and more groups so we can get to what I would think be a fair amount of attendance which is about 80%. The arena seats like 18,500 we can get 16,000 this year, I'd be very happy.
WFY: As part of that, you are focusing on the season ticket holders. Are you doing a lot of outreach to the former season ticket holders who may not have been happy with the direction the franchise went?
Leonsis: Yes, they mostly came back last year; and this year, I would say the core of the fan base has returned and that is what is so positive for the NHL. Of all the leagues we had the most success post-lockout. Our challenge is crossing that chasm and reaching a more casual fan; and when you look at what our challenge is, we need 1,000 new season ticket holders that buy 2 to 3 tickets per game. That is the difference for us between a modicum of success and a grand slam success, 3,000 more people per game. It's another 1,000 accounts. That is what our focus is on, trying to tap into the Maryland/Washington D.C./Northern Virginia area to find that 1,000 new accounts.
WFY: What about single game tickets? How are you going to be marketing towards you more casual sports fan or the Redskins fan?
Leonsis: There is no ROI on marketing individual games. The average ticket price is $30 and the most you'll sell on a walkup basis is 300 tickets, so it looks like $100,000 worth the business and you could spend $100,000 on television or print advertising pretty easily and so that is why you want to build the Washington Capitals brand. You really want to have the online tools through the blogosphere, online marketing, search terms, having an interactive ticketing engine, to make it very convenient for people to buy tickets. It is also why season tickets and plans are the lifeblood of your team, and I'll be sincere when I say we can sell out Friday/Saturday night games when we play the Rangers, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh; those are easy sells for us. It is the Monday night game against Calgary, and when you sell season tickets you get that revenue, so that is why season ticket sales are so important to NHL franchises.
WFY: One of the other things that you are doing that I imagine was built with building up the fan base. You are building a new practice facility in Ballston. How did you decide to put it in Ballston, as opposed to further out where land might be cheaper?
Leonsis: The first thing was that we were sub-optimized in the space we had at Piney Orchard. The Piney Orchard camp and practice facility was created when we played at the old USAir Arena and it meant that the nexus of living space for the players and the staff were out near Baltimore or Annapolis. When we moved into the MCI Center, now Verizon Center, it didn't make sense anymore. The majority of the fan base changed; it had moved from deep in Maryland to be in Bethesda, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. In fact, Northern Virginia is where 62% of our season ticket base now comes from, so we felt it was in our best interest to relocate the office and the practice facility, and then where the players and staff live to be in the heart of the fan base. So we ended up doing a great deal with the city of Ballston where they donated the land, they owned the parking lot that was adjacent to the mall in Ballston and we built a new office building and two sheets of ice and a big training and practice area for the Caps that we should be moving in November.
WFY: You mentioned blogosphere earlier and on washingtoncaps.com you have a link to several Web sites you call "hockey-friendly blogs?"
Leonsis: The traditional media is not helping us enough. I'll say it as straight forwardly as possible and I'll give you a very graphic example -- last night the Caps played Philadelphia. When the game ended, in Philadelphia there were highlights of the game on all the Philadelphia news stations and their local cable channel was having a sports show talking about the Flyers-Caps game and here in the D.C. There was nothing on television and our local sports channel was talking about the Navy football game on Saturday. We have to find alternative means to promote our team and our players and I have great faith in people who blog. If they are blogging they are not doing it for a living, they are doing it out of passion and love and we are going to be the most blog friendly team and I hope the NHL becomes the most blog friendly league because it is a way to pay back these people on their passions and it also a way to get the good word out. That I am doing this interview with you is a good example. You blog, you care, so you deserve time and respect.
WFY: And it is certainly appreciated. In particular on one blog that sticks out -- that you have certainly appeared on and the Capitals have gotten a lot of mention on is Off Wing Opinion. You have even worked with Eric McErlain to work on some standards and practices for allowing bloggers into the press box. Could you elaborate on that a little?
Leonsis: I think that we have to start looking at the bloggers as part of the landscape and there will come a time when you have to invite the bloggers to come into your press area and come into your locker room. I felt we should be leaders in working with some of the leading bloggers with a fair set of rules of the road and we have been working on that and we have published it and let other bloggers bang away at the rules and I feel very comfortable that it can be self policed well and no one will take advantage of what we are trying to create.
WFY: What's going on with the uniforms? It seems every year we have people scratching their heads wondering if you'll be going back to red, white, and blue uniforms.
Leonsis: We will eventually go back to red, white, and blue. For every person who sends me an email that wants the color change or new uniform, I get as many mails, mostly from mothers, saying "please don't change the uniform because then I have to buy the new jersey for my children and they are very expensive." I am very cognizant of that and when we're changing the uniform I don't want it to look like we are doing it to generate money. To be honest, that is not even how it works. We're not the recipient of individual, additional jersey sales. That is a misconception. The NHL overall is looking at changing the style, the weight and making the uniforms more contemporary. So, I think we'll just wait and see when the NHL goes to a new design and style and new color scheme and logos ready and that would be the time to do it.
WFY: I imagine there will be a lot of effort put into that when the time comes, so there is not a repeat of the Buffaslug disaster.
Leonsis: *laughs* Yes, we will make sure we have total fan buy-in before do anything.
WFY: Getting back to the ticketing, how does the Southeast division impacted you ability to sell tickets?
Leonsis: The realignment was not good for us. We didn't have long-term rivalries with Tampa Bay or Florida or with Carolina. Ironically, the last two Stanley Cup winners have been Southeast division teams. We used to hear about how weak the division was, both Tampa Bay and Carolina won the Cup. Atlanta looks like it could the next great young team and I think we won't far behind. It probably emerged as the strongest division in hockey and yet because we have not had long playoff competition history with Pittsburgh or the Flyers or the Rangers, the fan base doesn't turn out in droves and secondly there is not the built in local fan base of the opposing teams. When we play the Flyers, or Detroit, or Boston or Chicago or Pittsburgh, we probably get 2,00 to 3,000 who grew up fans of that team that come. When we play Tampa, if you see five opposing fans in the arena wearing Tampa bay jerseys I'd be surprised. If I had my way we'd play Pittsburgh, and the Flyers and Detroit and Boston on a Friday or Saturday and sell out every game. That's not the cards that were dealt to us and now we are in a very tough division playing teams 8 times a year that don't draw that well. That has been one of our biggest challenges.
WFY: I have a question about Pittsburgh. There are a lot of displaced Penguins in this area. If the Penguins are to leave Pittsburgh will you make any effort to grab some of disenfranchised Penguins fans who now live in this area?
Leonsis: I have no idea what is going to happen. It would be in our best interest that if Pittsburgh moves that the Caps take their place and move into that division. There has never been a single conversation, e-mail, anything on it, so I have not spent five seconds thinking about it.
WFY: I recall when Hurricane Katrina happened all of the local teams got together for charity purposes. There were donations at RFK during Nats and United games. Is that something we can expect to see in the future? The local major league teams working together on charities.
Leonsis: Lots of things...Ovechkin is throwing our the opening pitch at the Nats game tonight and we'll have a bunch of our players there. The Nats are promoting the Caps and the Mystics. The Caps and Mystics are going to be promoting the Nats. The Lerner family owns a small piece of the Mystics and Caps and we're going to try to be good cooperative co-marketing partners. Our belief is that if the tide rises maybe boats will rise with it. it is in our best interest to be mutually supportive of each other.
WFY: Another issue that comes up regularly is why hasn't there been an All-Star game or NHL Draft in the District yet. Is this something that we can expect to happen or that you are lobbying to have happen?
Leonsis: I have not actively lobbied, mostly because I don't own the building. We have had our hands full in trying to build our franchise. I know there are some discussions here right now about getting the WNBA all-star game to D.C. I am sure at some point we'll have the NHL All-Star game.
WFY: What are Alex Ovechkin and now Alex Semin going to mean to this team and the city? Are you going to market both of them a little more?
Leonsis: I think we have to market the team and let the breakout players stand on their own. I do believe we will have some young, gifted players who will grow up together. We will have four of the top young forwards in the NHL for a long time to come. Ovechkin, Semin, Nicklas Backstrom when he comes and plays... hopefully next year and Eric Fehr -- will be four young, great forwards that will play together for a long, long time. Defensively, Mike Green and Jeff Schultz and Steve Eminger, and Shaone Morrisonn are four young top #1 picks that will grow up together. That is a very very strong core nucleus of #1 draft choices who are all in their early 20s that are getting lots of playing time. they have had success in the AHL -- our AHL team won the Calder Cup last year. We hope we create a culture of winning with higher and higher expectations year after year.
WFY: You mentioned the culture of winning, your AHL affiliate is now the Hershey Bears which is probably the most distinguished minor league hockey team -- they've been for a 100 years or so. How is teaming up with Hershey working out?
Leonsis: It worked out spectacularly well for us. They have a great system, we have a great working relationship. Very close -- when we want to call up a player they drive 100 miles and their hear and they don't have to fly and try to get in and out of a place like Portland, Maine where the is not a direct flights. The system worked so well last year we won the championship. A lot of those players will have the opportunity to make our team this year and that is exactly what we wanted. We felt that doing Hershey, that building a new practice facility, continuing to draft well, managing our cap well so that when people's contracts expire we can keep them and that all of this would culminate into a very, very valuable franchise that is on the incline. That is what we want, we wanted to build an identify. We wanted to basically create a team.. I call it NHL 2.0, it's Washington Capitals 2.0. Be ready for a new league economics, be ready for the new rules, the new NHL and try to anticipate and understand what that will all mean and build a team that takes advantage of what the new rules would be.
WFY: Olie Kolzig means a lot to the Capitals. He's been there for about 10 years.
Leonsis: I think Olie has been in the system for about 15 years almost half our lifetime. He's a remarkable leader, a great athlete and a great person. He and Alex are really the bedrocks of our team right now. He is very loyal to us and we are very loyal to him. My sincerest goal is to build a team he can a cup from.
WFY: He's certainly one of the most popular Capitals ever. What about some of the most popular Capitals ever? Will we be seeing more of the Dale Hunters, Rod Langways around?
Leonsis: Rod, we have totally embraced...Rod has carte blanche with us. Dale we love, but Dale is fully engaged in is hometown. He owns a junior team and the arena, he is very happy up there but, he is still a member of the court here and he brings great tradition and great history and great learning's when we are around him. He is personally one of my favorite people.
WFY: Recently in your blog you noted that every regular season game is televised. Was that not the case when you came on board?
Leonsis: That was one of the deliverables that I promised. We are trying to meet our commitment. The glass is being replaced with brand new glass at the Verizon. Not a big deal, a very nice thing for Washington Sports and Abe Pollin to do for us. It cost a lot of money, but it'll make the viewing experience that much better. Working with television to get every game on was important. Last night, we tried to broadcast our game in broadband, we had some difficulties. You were only able to listen to the game through internet radio. We are tying to do lots of little things to make the whole Capitals experience more pleasant for our fans.
WFY: Speaking of little things, will you be putting up any banners downtown?
Leonsis: We're not allowed to do it. The city has to do it fro you. You can hardly do any outdoor advertising. A couple of walls they'll allow you to do it. I do think the city needs to help us. It needs to help promote baseball and hockey. In case anyone hasn't noticed, Verizon Center is one of the catalysts for the turnaround of downtown D.C. The City is going to put up $600 million or so, they need to continue to help make these franchises successful.
WFY: Are there any parting notes you would like to say to the fans who are excited about Caps hockey or interested in learning about it?
Leonsis: I think we're trying to do right now is explain to people there has never been a better time to invest. I like to explain to people that the Chicago Bulls when they drafted Michael Jordan still had tickets available and then they started to make the playoffs and win championships and you couldn't get near the place. Now is the time to buy in. This is like a young stock -- great company about to IPO and there has never been a better time and it'll never be easier or cheaper to get tickets and get involved and I do think the team is on the upswing and we will build a really good team for a long time.
Today is the 50th anniversary of President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing the legislation that established the interstate highway system, the largest public works project of the 20th century. It reshaped America, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Overall, I will say the former more than the latter.
There are more sites linked from my Transportationsection.
For the record, my favorite mainline interstate is I-95, but you could probably guess that already. My favorite 3-digit interstate is probably I-295 in Delaware and New Jersey, though I have soft spots for I-287 (also Jersey) and . My feelings for our own I-495 are love-hate.
My favorite on-ramp is from I-80 EAST to I-81 SOUTH, near the old school. If you hit it at the right speed, you get a nice slingshot effect.
How I would do it
Just for fun, additions I would make to the interstate system, if I could just draw them on the map and make it real
Eliminate I-97 in Maryland, since it is too precious a number for what should really be I-995.
Promote MD 32 to I-595
Stretch I-95 further south in Florida via the Florida Turnpike. Further north, finish the new connection at the Pennsylvania Turnpike quicker.
Make NJ 495 an interstate again. I know it is substandard, but a road as cool as the Lincoln Tunnel approach needs to have more recognition than a state highway number.
Bring DC 295 up to interstate standards (along with the I-66 extension) a rename it and the B/W Parkway I-295 all the way to Baltimore.
Extend I-93 down MA 3 to Cape Cod
Extend I-86 from Harriman to Rye along I-87 and I-287 in New York State, eliminating I-287 through NY State.
Extend I-83 from Harrisburg to Rochester, NY along the US 15 corridor. There would only need to be 40 or so miles of constuction to pull this off.
Promote PA 581 to I-581.
Upgarde US 15 south of Harrisburg to I-181
Extend I-80 across the George Washington Bridge. The road should literally go from New York to San Francisco
Extend I-78 from Harrisburg to State College along US 322
Make the Leigh Valley Thruway I-278 between Allentown and PA 33.
Make PA 33 something like I-478
Extend I-76 along the Atlantic City Expressway. Also, make NJ 55 something like I-576 and extend to the Garden State Parkway in an enviromentally sensitive way.
Create I-170 for US 340 near Frederick
Create I-570 along MD 100 (and the north end of US 29). Close by, MD becomes I-470.
Extend I-66 down VA 110, across the 14th Street Bridge, down the SW/SE Freeway across the Anacostia Freeway, up Kenilworth Ave. to join US 50 all the way to Delmarva peninsula. The Roosevelt Bridge portion of I-66 would be come I-166. Falling that idea, create Business I-66 along US 50 in the District and have it become regular I-66 when US 50 becomes limited access in NE.
Create I-366 along VA 267 (Dulles Toll Road) to Leesburg
Upgrade VA 28 to I-166 north of I-66 once the conversion to limited access is complete.
Fix the Hampton Road mess -- Move the "eastern terminus" of I-64 to the VA Beach oceanfront, replacing I-264. Extend I-664 from Bowers Hill to the current I-64/I-264 interchange.
And of course
Rename i-99 to a more sensible number, like I-470. Del. 1 becomes the new I-99
Q&A: <i>Heavy Metal Parking Lot</i> 20th Anniversary - William World News
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Q&A: Heavy Metal Parking Lot 20th Anniversary
Today is the anniversary of the 1986 Judas Priest Capital Centre concert that was immortalized in the documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot. John Heyn and Jeff Krulik's 16 minute video of Judas Priest fans tailgating perfectly captured the heavy metal zeitgeist of the mid 80s. The documentary made the rounds at local film festivals before bootlegs made it a cult classic.
Heyn and Krulick's idea of filming teenagers tailgating before a rock concert became the PARKING LOT ODYSSEY, taking them to Harry Potter book signings, a Neil Diamond concert and even a short-lived cable series. But it all started with a two guys from PG County with some video equipment in Capital Centre parking lot. Recently, I interviewed Krulik, now a freelance/independent tv/video producer, about Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Heyn also contributed to a few answers and provided the images in this article.
Q: What was the inspiration for Heavy Metal Parking Lot? Were you guys Judas Priest fans?
A: No. Not in the least. We were into punk rock and the like. But we were never dismissive of the music, and luckily we blindly plicked the Judas Priest concert. Their music really holds up. It's classic and timeless.
Q: What parking lot were you guys in? Was it Stars and Stripes, Liberty Bell, etc.?
A: John and I have absolutely no recollection of the parking lot we started in. That's pretty cool you remember the names of those lots. They all had patriotic themes. I remember it was particularly sad to see all that was left of the Cap Centre after demolition were many of those giant poles with the parking lot names on them.
Q: How many times was Heavy Metal Parking Lot shown in public?
A: If I remember correctly, John arranged a screening at DC Space in the Fall of '86. Later that Spring I showed it at the Vinyl Event Record Convention in Silver Spring at my booth (I was a part-time record dealer) and then there were a few more showings, culminating in our opening slot at the AFI Theater at Kennedy Center in 1988 before the Chuck Berry documentary 'Hail Hail Rock and Roll.'
Q: How long did it take to put the original documentary together?
A: I think we spent about two hours, 2 1/2 hours on site at the Capital Centre. That was it. Stumbling around the parking lot. Then John took the footage and months later really came back with the goods. He's the genius architect behind it. My contribution was the equipment and the title.
Q: To the best of your knowledge, when did bootlegging really get going? Was there a point when you realized, "Hey, we were onto something?"
A: You bet. It was 1994. We had stopped showing it around these parts in 1990, again at the AFI Theater as part of our own self-curated program called the 'Don't Quit Your Day Job Film and Video Festival.' It was a gas. But we realized we couldn't force our friends to watch it anymore, and that was it. Finito. But then out of the blue John got a call from Sophia Coppola and he'll tell you what that was like...
John Heyn adds: Yeah, Sofia Coppola called me in '94 to inquire about using clips from HMPL in her TV pilot for Comedy Central called High Octane. She was a fledgling producer at the time (most knew her from her role in dad's Godfather III) She had tracked me down in Silver Spring thru the phone directory (there wasn't any internet back then).
She said she was a big fan of HMPL. She had rented it at a cult-video store in L.A. called Mondo Video. Mondo Video had been renting it and promoting it (as a bootleg) for some time; through them it was reaching an audience of L.A. scensters such as Belinda Carlisle (the Go-Gos) and Hollywood actor/director Paul Mazursky. This admonition was the first inkling that we had a west coast word-of-mouth following, including film & music cognoscenti. Through the seven degrees of separation, Sofia Coppola turned her cousin Nicholas Cage and filmmaker-husband Spike Jonze onto it. We've susequently sent them "official" copies.
Recently Sofia wrote me to request the newly-released DVD. I sent her a copy in Paris, where she's directing her latest film. She's remained a (fanatical?) fan all these years.
Not Sofia Coppola
Q: Did the success of Heavy Metal Parking Lot influence your career decisions?
A: It just re-inforced my decision that I love verite man on the street true life self-referential filmmaking. Sadly, it was almost 15 years too early for reality television, not to mention it was before the era of videos being submitted to 'film festivals.' It was doomed to cult obscurity early on.
Q: Initially, what stuck out about the Judas Priest fans? Have your views of them changed over time?
A: I loved those guys then. And I love them even more now. Those people feel like family to me. I'm most grateful that they never showed any aggression or hostility to us when we shoved our camera and microphone in their faces.
Zebraman
Q: Was there one fan or part of the evening that stuck out more than all the others?
A: I remember absolutely nothing from the day we taped. All my memories are from the video. Everyone loves the one they call Zebraman.
Q: Your Web site notes that Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford loves Heavy Metal Parking Lot? What kind of feedback have you gotten from Judas Priest fans over the years?
A: Truthfully, most hardcore Judas Priest fans and/or devoted metal fans never even heard of the video. Maybe that's different now, but for the longest time it was held close to the bosom of alternative rockers.
Q: When did Heavy Metal Parking Lot first appear in a film festival? How many has it been exhibited in?
A: I arranged a screening at the New York Underground Film Festival in 1997. Since then, I've lost count. But they're mostly regional fests and alternative microcinema type spaces.
Q: What was your favorite description of Heavy Metal Parking Lot?
A: Alona Wartofsky once wrote in a generally positive review in the Washington City Paper that 'the filmmakers don't reveal themselves to be much brighter than the subjects on screen' and I've always loved that line.
Q: Heavy Metal Parking Lotis now available on DVD (from Filmbaby). Had it been available for sale previously, or had it always been available only through bootlegs?
A: We had it on vhs for at least five years. Before that, it was the domain of the bootleggers and tape traders. Finally, John Heyn and the brilliant Todd Rohal (http://www.ghandshake.com) created the magnum opus DVD that we're currently self distributing.
Q: Twelve years after Heavy Metal Parking Lot, you returned to the Capital Centre/US Airways Arena/whatever for one last time to film Neil Diamond Parking Lot? Was the magic back? Do you feel you captured the zeitgeist like you did with Judas Priest?
A: We were happily surprised to see that the metal fans and Neil Diamond fans shared some sort of common gene: passionate devotion. They were a lot closer than the 180degree arc that I thought first existed.
Q: You even did a Harry Potter Parking Lot and a "parking lot" series on TRIO. Did any of them give you the same satisfaction as Heavy Metal Parking Lot?
A: I'D say the whole PARKING LOT ODYSSEY has been gratifying. Each excursion has its own thang going. I remember when I went to shoot Harry Potter Parking Lot I was thinking 'ugh' here we go again as I lugged my camera out of my car, but then an hour later the results seem to satisfy. The TRIO tv series would have been more satisfying if it was on a network that people could get.
Q: Please tell us about any of your other films.
A: I'm getting THE LEGEND OF MERV CONN ready for the Maryland Film Festival. There's a short trailer on my website. It's part of THE MARYLAND TRILOGY which also ran at the New York Underground Film Festival. I hope to screen that at the AFI if they'll have me back. There's really a pile of short documentaries I've cranked out over the years, most available on my website http://www.planetkrulik.com, although I got lazy after 2003, and there seems to be some recent web meltdowns so forgive if some of this stuff doesn't play at the moment. I've only been able to accomplish this output by the affordability and accessibilty of video. But it still requires a great deal of sweat equity.
Q: The first line of your obituary may contain, "...who created the cult film Heavy Metal Parking Lot." Do you think that this will be your lasting legacy? How do you feel about that?
A: I've always joked that my tombstone will say 'He Made a Lot of Films, But He Was Only Known for Heavy Metal Parking Lot.' This is a bittersweet thing. I guess you could call it our 20-year albatross, but hey, it's better to be known for something than nothing at all.
Q: Okay, probably the most asked question you get -- will you ever produce "Return to Heavy Metal Parking Lot." They are back together you know...
A: WE'd love to produce 'Return to Heavy Metal Parking Lot. We've pitched this thing over and over and over. We got close at VH1 but then they went all Celebreality and that's that. Can't say I blame them.
Q: Thank you for you time, any parting words?
A: I'VE said too much already. I'm a blabbermouth. I love the sound of my voice. I love the clickety clack of my typing.
John Heyn and Jeff Krulik
The story of Heavy Metal Parking Lot ends here...for now. We can only hope that Heavy Metal Parking: 20th Anniversary Reunion finds the backing it deserves. While we wait for that to happen, check out these sites below:
Yesterday, Erica and I went to Union Station for the The Interstate in the District of Columbia exhibit and I wrote it on Metroblogging DC. It was fun, stop by before next Sunday if you get the chance.
William F. Yurasko. What led to your interest in mass transit? Are you a regular Metro rider?
Dr. Zachary M. Schrag. I arrived in Washington at age seven in 1977, when Metro was just getting started, and its growth was one of the big events of my youth. I rode regularly in high school, while working various office jobs during and after college, and while researching the book. These days I drive to work, but my wife commutes by Metro.
WFY. Please elaborate on why Metro is "The Great Society Subway?"
ZMS. I chose the title to remind readers that any human creation is the product of a specific time in history. In this case, Metro emerged from the 1960s, a moment when Americans trusted their government and expected great things from it.
WFY. How has Metro met its "Great Society" goals? How hasn't it? How does Metro's legacy measure up to other Great Society goals?
ZMS. Metro, like Medicare, is a universalistic program; it serves rich and poor alike. Such programs are politically robust, and they help foster a sense of community. The Great Society goal that Metro has not achieved is more residential integration across racial and class lines.
WFY. Overall, would you say that Metro is a success or failure?
ZMS. Metro achieved many of the goals of its creators, who hoped to preserve Washington as a city with a vigorous yet pedestrian-friendly center. Critics have argued that transportation systems should be judged only by the ratio of dollars to rides, but that is not the way I would judge success nor the way most Washingtonians thought at the time they made key decisions.
- If a success, when did it become that way?
ZMS. Metro ran its first train in 1976, and by 1978, it was performing real service. After a long period of decline, total transit ridership (bus plus rail) started to climb. And investors began returning to the District's "old downtown," east of 15th street, that they had abandoned years before.
- If a failure, why?
ZMS. Critics would say the project failed in November 1974, when financial planners were forced to admit that fare-box revenues would never cover operating costs, much less pay off construction bonds. Metro was not in good financial shape before that, but it has been in obviously poor financial shape ever since.
WFY. President Lyndon Johnson wrote a letter about the aesthetics of Metro. How did this help or hurt Metro's mission?
ZMS. Johnson *signed* a letter (this will open in a new browser window) that was drafted for him by the federal agency then planning the system. More generally, I find it hard to imagine what Metro would be like had planners gone through with the utilitarian station designs first proposed. Not only would ugly stations fail to capture the imagination, but I wonder how they would affect ridership.
WFY. How crucial was the Freeway Revolt to Metro's future? Were it not for the Freeway Revolt, could the Metro have been completed?
ZMS. The National Capital Planning Commission proposed a rapid transit system before the freeway revolt got going in 1959, but it called for only two lines, totaling 33 miles. Had a system like this been built alongside the planned freeways, Washington would look a lot more like Atlanta, where transit is generally used by people who have no other choices, and much of downtown is devoted to parking rather than to people.
WFY. Is Metro held to a higher standard by the communities it serves than mass transit in New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.?
ZMS. That's an excellent question, which is how a professor says, "I don't know." New Yorkers do spend a lot of time thinking and talking about their subway.
WFY. The lack of a third track is sometimes criticized. How likely would it have been to get the whole system built with the additional cost of a third or fourth track?
ZMS. Planners rejected third or fourth tracks in favor of more two-track routes. In particular, rather than have one tunnel with four tracks running from Farragut Square to Capitol Hill, they planned two, two-track tunnels: the Red Line to Union Station and the Blue/Orange to Capitol South. I think most Washingtonians today would consider additional routes, such as the proposed extension to Dulles, more valuable than express service on existing routes.
WFY. The tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom has become a major choke point in the system. WMATA is trying to alleviate that by running eight car Orange line trains instead of six car trains more frequently, during rush hour. Can stopgap solutions like this one work and if so, for how long? Is a new tunnel or bridge across the Potomac vital to the system's health?
The proposed Dulles corridor extension has been fighting an uphill battle for a number of years. Some are concerned that it would lead to even more gridlock in the Rosslyn tunnel. Other critics advocating building more lanes on the Dulles Toll Road or Bus Rapid Transit instead. Can either of these alternatives provide the level of service that a new Metro line would?
ZMS. I think that all of these questions are really about the future of employment, especially at Tysons Corner. According to Council of Government statistics (PDF), in the year 2000, downtown Washington (which has 14 stations) employed 356,000 people, compared to 89,000 in Tysons Corner (which has no stations). To me this suggests that rail to Tysons is one of the great opportunities for new transit. Many commuters to Tysons already live in Virginia, so the expansion would not necessarily bust the Potomac tunnel. But rail could shape new development, especially in Loudoun County, far more than adding lanes to the Dulles Toll Road.
Bus rapid transit does have a great deal of potential, but I think it makes more sense for cities that are starting rapid transit from scratch than for a city that already has an established, popular rail system.
WFY. Will another American city ever undertake a subway as ambitious as Metro again? Los Angeles started to build one, but stopped before completing the system, though there are discussions about restarting the program (USA Today).
ZMS. In 1982, Boris Pushkarev, Jeffrey Zupan, and Robert Cumella identified Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu, Houston, and possibly Dallas-Ft. Worth and San Juan, as the only "serious candidates" for new rapid transit. As far as I know, that analysis stands, and only San Juan is actively building. Many more cities are investing in light rail. which generally runs on the surface and must cross surface streets.
WFY. Recently, the momentum for a dedicated funding source for Metro has picked up steam. How crucial is this for the future of Metro? Do you think dedicated funding sources can be achieved in the near future?
ZMS. I am not convinced that a dedicated funding source is a panacea. You would need to guess just how much money Metro will need in future years, then try to guess how much revenue a given tax would provide. If you guess wrong and the revenue stream is too high, the board will be tempted to let fares lag behind inflation, which strikes me as a potentially unjust subsidy to riders. More likely, the revenue stream will be too low, in which case WMATA will have to face critics who complain that it is not living within its means.
WFY. What is currently the most pressing need for Metro? In 5-10 years? In the distant future?
ZMS. Money, money, and money.
WFY. Is Metro getting dirtier?
ZMS. The worst I saw it was in the months after September 11, 2001, when most trash cans were removed for security reasons. Now that people can dump their trash in bomb-proof cans, I think it's a bit nicer.
WFY. Of the major North American subway systems, where does Metro compare in overall service to the region?
ZMS. In terms of trips and miles, Metro provides far more service than any other American rail system except for the New York City subway. I do not have handy figures on Canada and Mexico, but the American Public Transit Association has a great page of U.S. statistics at http://www.apta.com/research/stats/rail/index.cfm.
WFY. Dick White was recently ousted as the WMATA head. How does his tenure measure up to his predecessors? White's interim replacement is Dan Tangherlini; how likely is it that he will become permanent? If so, how successful do you think he can be with improving the system?
ZMS. All I can say is that the job of general manager of a transit system must be one of the toughest jobs out there, combining the largest challenges of government service and private enterprise. No one expects the Navy to finance most of its operating costs, while the chief of an airline can cut unprofitable routes. A transit chief has to provide service like a government official while trying to raise revenue like a businessman.
Dr. Schrag
WFY. How cooperative was WMATA with your research for the book?
ZMS. WMATA provided many wonderful photographs, including the magnificent cover shot by photographer Larry Levine. The Authority does not employ an archivist, so it was not able to meet most of my requests for documents. Fortunately, other institutions, especially George Washington University, hold significant archival collections related to Metro.
WFY. How long did it take you to research and write your book?
ZMS. I did my first interview in the fall of 1998. I completed most of the research between the summer of 1999 and the summer of 2002, though I have worked hard to update the final chapters to reflect recent events.
WFY. Do you have any book readings/signings scheduled?
ZMS. I will be speaking and signing books on Sunday, March 12, at 5 pm at Politics and Prose. As other events are confirmed, I will announce them at http://www.schrag.info/
WFY. Any closing thoughts?
ZMS. The questions you ask, and the questions I get from other Washingtonians, are much the same as the ones that launched me on the project. I had the luxury of devoting several years to satisfying my curiosity, but I hope that my book offers readers quicker answers to their questions.
Washington Monument, Bob Marbourg, WTOP, traffic report
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