01.15 - and still we rise
what’s going on in d.c.
Despite what, in any normal year, would be a weekend filled with pre-inaugural pomp and circumstance, we’re obviously not there. As much of a bummer as it is, given COVID and domestic terrorists (who would have combined those twin terrors a year ago), it’s probably a good weekend to stay safe and stay home.
That doesn’t mean there’s not a plethora of virtual events this upcoming week if you’re looking to celebrate the inauguration - we’re talking pup champagne fundraisers (too cute!), book events, and, of course, the swearing in on Wednesday.
Despite January somehow feeling like one infinitely long day, we’ve already (almost) reached MLK Day. There are tons of places that can use volunteers (and monetary donations) now more than ever, but here are a few ideas: Rock Creek Conservancy’s park clean-up, a D.C. tutoring phone/text bank, and the Friendship Place food pantry drive.
note: if you are out and about this upcoming week, be mindful of tons of road and metro closures. DCist cataloged most of them as of Wednesday, but the restrictions are seemingly fluid and popping up unannounced (I watched cars stuck in deadlock traffic all of Wednesday afternoon due to street closures near me, only for DC to open those streets back up on Thursday). Others things to be mindful of - many parking garages in the extended downtown area are closed, as well as most downtown-ish Metro stations.
let’s talk food and drinks
Here’s a ton of inauguration food/drink specials
Eater DC has a list of 15 of the most exciting new restaurant openings in the D.C. area
what’s on our minds?
Last weekend, a TikTok by a D.C. law student who was randomly able to get vaccinated at the end of a day quickly went viral (all above board - the pharmacy was going to have to throw out the unused doses from a no-show appointment and a quick thinking pharmacist asked a few shoppers if they’d like to be vaccinated). And in a classic case of no well-publicized good deal goes unpunished, some D.C. grocery stores are now overrun with hopeful Washingtonians lining up for any extras. At the Giant on H St NE, the line started at 4 a.m.! The paradoxical scene of people waiting 10+ hours and potentially exposing themselves to COVID in order to have a slim chance of getting vaccinated just feels very…2020.
Re: vaccinations. If you or a loved one are 65 or over, you are now eligible to get vaccinated in D.C. There’s been some snags in the rollout, but hopefully the process will continue to get smoother as the city works out some tweaks in registration.
Given mounting evidence of insurgents using Airbnb to book their violent-tourism last week, Airbnb took the unprecedented step of cancelling all D.C.-area reservations during inauguration week. The pressure is now on for D.C.-area hotels, already reeling from revenue losses during the pandemic, to do the same. While some boutique hotels have closed voluntarily (The Line in AdMo, Downtown-adjacent The Eaton), major chains such as Hilton and Marriott have not taken similar steps. ShutDownDC is lodging a campaign, but so far, the major chains aren’t signaling they’ll shut down.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
The Man Who Turned Credit-Card Points Into an Empire- per The New York Times, “Brian Kelly, The Points Guy, has created an empire dedicated to maximizing credit-card rewards and airline miles. What are they worth in a global pandemic — and why are they worth anything at all?”
“No One Took Us Seriously”: Black Cops Warned About Racist Capitol Police Officers for Years- per ProPublica, “Allegations of racism against the Capitol Police are nothing new: Over 250 Black cops have sued the department since 2001. Some of those former officers now say it’s no surprise white nationalists were able to storm the building.”
Inside India’s booming dark data economy- per Rest of World, “Thanks to lax privacy laws and high consumer demand, details on everything from how you shop to who you date are all for sale.”
what are we watching/reading?
Search Party on HBO Max. The fourth season of Search Party premiered last night (ifykyk). Each season of this dark comedy has deviated substantially from the last, but the general premise is four self-absorbed recent college graduates looking for purpose take it upon themselves to find a missing college classmate. The show significantly evolves each season and, without spoiling the previous three seasons, there were moments in season four that were downright scary - a first for me.
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‘til next time -courtney