Catch Up Lady

Inauguration 2009: Kneeling Before Our New President & Fleeing the National Mall

Some time in 2007 I bought a button that said "1.20.09 Bush's Last Day In Office."  Not only did that day finally come but I was able to get a good enough seat to make sure that the dude actually busted out.

This morning I got up bright and early and headed over to a friends house for the walk down to the Mall.  We had preferred standing tickets SE of the Capital steps, so had to get down there and actually circumnavigate the Mall.  With the help of a cab driver who took us to Chinatown we were able to get there in about an hour.

While walking in to the orange section we were shoulder to shoulder with some kid from High School Musical, some NFL player I didn't recognize but the men I was with were really excited about, and.... OPRAH!  That's right, we followed her and Steadman right in and some how managed to sneak past the preferred standing area in to the seated area, which had a much better view.

This plan was working really well  until a Capital police officer informed us we were blocking an aisle and not only did we have to move to the side, but if we wanted to stay there we had to KNEEL so people behind us could see.  As you can see from the video below, this mandate applied to everyone - from the Catch Up Lady to four star generals.

I mean seriously, some people should not have to kneel in freshly laid sod for 2 hours - General Wesley Clark is one of them.  Also, there were some real asshats in the seated areas yelling "down in front" like we were at a freaking Redskins game (and there was anything to look at at that moment.)  But hope was on the way!

As the Inauguration began it was amazingly cool to be so close to the action.  From my kneeling position I was able to alternately look at this...

and this... (this is Biden being sworn in)

Here is a video of Obama getting sworn in.  He is the dot to the right behind the blue plated glass.

Leaving the Mall was a wholllle other story.  Let me tell you there were about 10,000 websites, newspaper articles and newscasts dedicated to telling you how to GET to the Inauguration - but I would have paid a ransom for directions on how to get OUT.  I mean, this was easily the biggest cluster fuck I'd been in in the last year - which is saying something since I went to the Super Bowl and the Beijing Olympics in the last 12 months.

It took me about 2 hours and a near-crowd induced panic attack to walk down the mall and back to Georgetown - which was do-able.  Not to mention that whole seeing history being made thing, which really made it worth my morning.   Now, off to get my hair done and then to dinner at Nora's and the Eastern Ball at Union Station!

Inauguration 2009: Parties, Parties & The We Are One Concert

Now that the Dems are back in town, I finally have some hook ups here in Washington!  This has resulted in an exciting few days leading in to the Inauguration.

Friday night I headed out with two girlfriends who will be working in the administration (this means no more pictures on the Catch Up Lady - guess I'm still not on par with the WaPo... go figure.)  We attended the National Finance Committee Gala where I watched rich Dems try to break it down to a well known DJ who was apparently forced to spin the soundtrack from an early 90s bar mitzvah.  (But seriously, we loved it.  Who doesn't like getting down to Whitney Houston's I Want To Dance with Somebody?)  

After that we headed to two more parties - rubbed shoulders with some minor (very, very minor) celebs.  Then I left the girls and defaulted to Smith Point to meet up with some other friends.  

Some how, these classy nights always end up at the shittiest bars.  I'd post pictures, but I'm rocking a 40 in most of them - and it just goes to show that no matter how fancy you are dressed a 40 will totally ruin your look.  Why is that I wonder?  If I'd been holding a glass of wine, no one would think anything of it - but a Cobra 40 and suddenly I look like an extra in Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. 

 The next morning the Catch Up Man and I were up and out to head to the much hyped We Are One concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Our tickets were for standing preferred, which means we were up front and actually had a lot of room to move around and mingle - I was able to snap some shots of the "front row" for open standing.  The gates for this area opened at 8:30 so these people up front were there for six hours - pretty amazing. Crowd estimates were in the hundreds of thousands.

The program itself (if you missed it on HBO) was a mix of A-list musical acts and actors giving dramatic readings of varying effectiveness.

The highlights in no particular order:

• Bruce Springsteen: Let's face it, he could have gotten up there and given us all the finger and walked off stage, and I'd still have been yelling "Bruuuuuuuce!"  He 0pened up with "The Rising" backed by a full choir and ended with "This Land is Our Land" with Pete Seager - pretty epic.

• Garth Brooks: The highest energy performance of the day with American Pie and a group get-down to Shout.  I never felt more American than at that moment - doing the "a little bit softer now..." with hundreds of thousands of your country men in the shadows of our monuments.  America - Fuck Yeah!

• Stevie Wonder & Usher: Sang Higher Ground - watching Stevie jam out on a keyboard in front of Abe Lincoln was really something else.

• U2: And of course U2 was just freaking ridiculous.  The closest I ever got to seeing these guys live was the 3D concert I attended at an iMax theater, so seeing Bono calling out the end of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" - Let freedom ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city - as he transitioned into The City of Blinding Light was truly a once in a life time experience.

The lowlights (there are only a few - I mean it was kind of hard to find something to complain about...)

• Kal Penn & Other Assorted D List Celebs: I'm sure all the celebs who were there were "in" because of early and strong support for Obama.  But let's be honest - having Tom Hanks guide you through Abe Lincoln's biography had a little more gravitas than whatever it was Kal Penn spoke briefly about. 

• AT&T Network FAIL: No shock here, AT&T came to a screeching halt the entire four hours I was down there, leaving me unable to text or place calls.  I too had a dream - that I would be able to use my cell phone in large crowds to reach others and Tweet the experience to the world.  Sadly, this privelege was reserved for Verizon customers.  Hoping the same situation won't befall the swearing in tomorrow.

Getting home wasn't too bad - with major road closures we were able to hop on the Whitehurst Freeway and get home pretty quickly.  (And by hop on, I mean on foot...yes that's me dressed like a North Face ninja...)

Stay tuned for more - tomorrow I'm attending the Swearing In and then the Eastern Ball!

Anarchists Hijack USA Today Front Page At Newsstands

On my walk to work this morning (11 blocks from Georgetown to the Golden Triangle) I found it a little suspect, at first glance, that the USA chose to run with this front page story.

A few newsstands later, I stopped and took a closer look - apparently today's edition of USA Today had been "wrapped" with a fake front page by anarchists. Based on the "stories" within they have a bone to pick with everything from deciding "which rich guy" to vote for to corporate ownership of media. Unclear which group was behind the prank, but nine different groups were listed on the back page.   Here's a look at the actual USA Today cover, which I snapped at a gas station.

The Obama Sign Department

Just when you thought we'd seen it all...

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures: Battling Obama Sign Thieves

I just got this email from a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend (you know how these things go...)

Apparently the Cottage Grove, OR resident pictured here erected this sign in his lawn, and chained it to a tree, after his Barack Obama signs were stolen for the third time.  Classic.

Creating a Viral Video: MoveOn.org's Personalized Video

The blogosphere is all abuzz these days about MoveOn.org's personalized video where your name (or the name of a friend) is actually inserted into a news reel in which it is discovered that Obama's one vote loss on November 4th could be traced back to YOU - a single apathetic voter. 

And behold - a viral video!  According to the ticker on MoveOn.org, the video has been sent to over 6 million people. One day I'm going to go blue in the face and die explaining the strategy behind the development and promotion of a truly noteworthy and shareable video. This video works because it's the Purple Cow - it's relevant, it's new, it's remarkable, it's well promoted, and there is a built in "care to share" factor that encourages people to pass it along (hell, I even sent it to myself!) 

I love the social media that's come out of the election - from the GOP Vetting Emporium and Taco Stand to the It's Raining McCain Ladies.  The national spotlight on a common issue combined with the Web 2.0 technology readily available to every freakazoid in the country has given people a way to amplify their voice (for good or for bad) in a meaningful way.  Now if only we could come up with a "viral video" to make DC a state...

Talk To Your Parents About John McCain

OK, irrespective of your political affiliation I think that this ad from MoveOn.org is pretty hilarious.  Sure conservatives will waste no time denouncing it "MoveOn is for flaming libs!  Who cares what the stars of that brain dead show Gossip Girl have to say!"  But seriously, it is in fact hilarious if for nothing more than its spot on satire of every tragic anti-drug commercial I was forced to watch growing up in the 80s/90s. ("I learned it from you Dad!  I learned it from watching you!!"  )

Via Make The Logo Bigger.

Sarah Palin Presidency Actually IS a Bad Disney Movie

Example #2348b of how social media and Web 2.0 have changed this election. 

Not only can we instantly watch, share and comment on clips - like this one of Matt Damon equating a potential Sarah Palin presidency to a "bad Disney movie" - but we can have amazing, high quality spoofs in a matter of days. 

Jon Stewart: Investigative Reporter

I think every person voting in this election should watch this video.  Does it hurt when you talk out of both sides of your mouth?

GOP Vetting Emporioum and Taco Stand

This is hilarious.  Crazy Eddie, wherever he is, would be proud.

 "Next to the Dunkin Donuts in the Mill Street Mall..If you go past the Applebee's you've gone too far!"