Yes (I sure hope) we can!

After eight years playing the backdrop for late night comedy shows, DC is suddenly cool again. Or it was cool again, until it made the front page of J00ster. That's the blog equivalent of Alex Rodriguez endorsing those all natural vitamin supplements that are proven to improve muscle tone in just 30 days or your money back (less p&p).

And now, back on topic since it's ad time on Sports Center, here's your first shot from DC, the capital of the fre... hmmm... perhaps it's best if we let that one go through to the keeper... err... catcher. Funny, but it looks suspiciously like China. Now there's got to be a socialist joke in there somewhere. Except Rock's already used up his stock of those at Mei's expense.

Let's get straight down to business folks. This is the set of 24. Which means Jack Bauer has exactly 3 minutes and 21 seconds left until the next ad break to kill three terrorists, find the tracking device, tell six minor characters that they have his word, unmask the traitor, remask the traitor who's actually not a traitor because she's really an undercover member of CTU, kill another two terrorists, reactivate the tracking device to make the terrorists think the he doesn't know their plot even though he's already stopped an almost identical plot in the last three seasons...and make sure that the suitably progressive minority President doesn't fall victim to the nerve gas/incendiary device/sniper bullet/rocket launcher before he/she can complete a suitably inspirational speech.

Ok, it's not the set of 24, it's actually the real thing. The interior of the Capitol of the United States of America. Which means the rather lengthy preamble was primarily designed to distract from a somewhat boring photo.

Now that the number one attraction - Chinatown - is out of the way, there might be a bit of time to check out secondary attractions like, let's see, the Capitol for instance.

Rock contemplates stimuli packages, and decides that the only stimulation he needs is another generous helping of Peking Duck from the adjacent Chinatown.

Reflections on the State of the Union.


Reflections on whether my hair is going to look ok in this photo.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the cheapest of them all?

Amazing! The subway is actually clean - quite a shock to a Manhattanite. Of course, it might have something to do with the fact there's not a person in sight...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words (or ten thousand of Rock's words). This one speaks for itself. Of course, commie jokes don't have quite the same ring to it when your whole banking sector is state owned.

A shot from a more civilized time. A time before lobbyists and this-gate and that-gate and cigars and WMDs. This is the quaint Old Towne of Alexandria, just 30min out of DC.

More action from outside the Beltway.

Where's my stimulus check buddy? And aren't you a little short for a president?

The Waterhouse Bar and Grill. Serving up American favorites like... battered oysters in wasabi sauce? You won't catch Denny Crane in there.

The Beltway Boy.

Senator Zhu prepares to do the hard yards for her constituents. Like spending up big with their tax dollars to get this economy going. Hey someone's gotta do it.

This is Christ Church. What it lacks in an original name, it makes up for in history. George Washington was a regular here, as were a whole host of founding fathers. In fact, just about every President from General W to Dubya has worshipped here.

The National Air and Space Museum gives you the chance to relive the history of flight. You can even go all the way back to ancient times when NASA actually had funding.

American? Not until you drop maaate from the vocabulary.

Crossing the Atlantic? Breaking the sound barrier? Bah, Mei is only interested in whether any of these offer Continental airports.

Ok, for those who haven't seen Apollo 13, skip to the next photo. But let's face it, if you're sad enough to be reading this blog, then odds are not only have you watched it eight times, you also know the difference between a concussion missle and a proton torpedo, you know where Dr Gordon Freeman got his doctorate, and you know the floorplan of de_dust better than your own apartment. And you might even live in the city where "we have a problem"...

If you couldn't understand any of the above, I rest my case.

But back on topic, Gene Kranz is cool, but not nearly as cool as Ed Harris playing Gene Kranz.

This is Georgetown. Named presumably for the first dude, not the 43rd dude, despite what Fox News tries to tell you.

The restaurants might just outnumber the lobbyists. But only just.

No sign of the Commander in Chief. That's 'cause she's behind the camera.

Pretzels are back on the menu now that you know who has departed back to the ranch.

The National Mall. Mei reckons that's a bit of a misnomer, why are there so few shoe shops?

Rock is happy because he found the Wyoming pillar of the WWII memorial.

Mei puts on a brave face. The distance from the Washington Memorial to the Lincoln Monument didn't look quite so far on Google maps.

Lincoln still has the best seat in the house. And the coolest hat. Although Mei's comes pretty close.

Four score and seven years ago... Hang on, just bear with me while I see if Google can convert scores to years or days or something so that I can make an approriately witty comment.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States of America. Marine One soars over the National Mall after dropping the first family off on the back lawn of the Whitehouse.

The Korean War Memorial. There's even a section remembering New Zealand's contribution. Which leaves many a yankee tourist scratching their head while trying to remember which state that's in.

If the stimulus package fails then it's back to the feudal ages. Luckily DC already has a convenient castle all ready to go.