Blog Group is Born
Olives Bruised or Spanked Hookers and Blow There is a promising endeavor on the horizon which is due to officially launch on December 2nd: a new blog called Hookers and Blow: An Online Journal. This writing collective is to be “manned” by six women and one man in the D.C. – Baltimore Metropolitan area with seven graduate degrees between them. Some of the contributors are names you might already be familiar with: Momentary Academic, Megarita, Jordan Baker, Retrodragon! and Mystery Girl with Grad School Reject and Cracklin’ Rosie joining the crew. Their URL is 
gradschoolneverends.We’ve been to the deep end and have found it wanting. Join us as we bring our literate chicken fights to the heretofore underprivileged shallow end. We’re having big thoughts, but we’re having them about whether we want those olives bruised or spanked. Gather round, children, and leave your starched blue shirt on the settee.
involving two very talented DC blogosphere veterans. Jeff Gates, of the blog Life Outtacontext, designed the blog and managed the project, and Kriston Capps of Grammar Police, is its writer. This is the Smithsonian’s first blog, and it has national trend setting potential. Institutions and businesses are only beginning to use blogs to interact with customers and audiences and the Smithsonian is taking a leadership role. In a note, Jeff described it as team effort, and wrote:
… Using the museum’s collection as a touchstone, the conversation at Eye Level will center on the ways in which the nation’s art connects to its history and culture. The discussion will extend beyond works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum to include other collections, exhibitions, and events. Eye Level presents an extraordinary collaboration among curators, conservators, historians, enthusiasts, critics, designers, and of course bloggers-all participants in the story of American art.
Neighborhood by Neighborhood BeyondDC BeyondDC is an attractive, informative and addicting resource about DC Metro area neighborhoods, architecture and urban planning issues. It’s rich with photos and interesting facts, such as heights of the area’s taller buildings.
The blog is by J. Daniel Malouff, a recent city-planning graduate of the University of Colorado who works for local government in Northern Virginia. The posts are topical, but what I really liked were the neighborhood critiques. For instance, here’s an excerpt about Brookland:
More than just the presence of so many religious institutions, the physical environment of Brookland emits a more Midwestern character than other DC neighborhoods. It’s not as dense – populated with few of the traditional rowhouses and more by detached bungalows. It’s not as old, and it’s a whole lot quieter than most of the other college neighborhoods in the city. Indeed, walking in Brookland one might just as easily think he were in a close-in neighborhood of Denver or Cleveland.
Also Noted:
The PostSecret book is being released! This world famous blog is now a book. The blog is the work of local blogger Frank Warren. It’s 288 pages. All the postcard images are in color and many have never been seen before. From PostSecret. The Year-End Blog Bash Wednesday, Eyebar. The ladies running this effort are City Sparkle, DC Cookie, Kathryn On…, and Rhinestone Cowgirl, and they are welcoming everyone. Santa. Jimbo. Tourist Report: What kind of sick city puts up signs that say things like, “Don’t Block the Box” or “Left lane use only 7:15am – 2:45pm” or (my personal favorite) “No buses” above a sign that says, “Metro buses only this lane”? From Blog Monkey. Green Party Elections: General Body meeting Thursday of the DC Statehood Green Party at the University of the District of Columbia. Elections will be held and our writer is up for a spot. If you subscribe to the following 10 key values of the Green Party, you should consider switching parties (they’re listed). From The Daily Render The Vlogging Revolution, From DC Art News New blog about dogs: The Dogs by Day “Blog for Dogs”
