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Yup – a five-point-niner. You all felt it. For the record, the library bridge would have never survived.

(Photo courtesy of Lukmire and Associates)

Let that be a lesson to all of you. Hope you’re all okay.

UPDATE: For the record, this appears to the only damage sustained in my office:

Luckily, no peas were harmed or lost.

From IMDB: “A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.”

Thanks to AFI for helping us secure the film. And this one should prove to have many opportunities for audience interaction. As more details emerge, we’ll continue to promote them here and at the Silver Spring Zombie Walk official web site. There you can also find links to photos and video from past years, as well as other resources for zombie preparedness and a list of people who have died over the past year (fodder for costumes of course). Any bets on how many Osama bin Zombies/Ozombie bin Ladens will show up?

Collector’s Edition Zombie Walk Posters

Another bonus for this year will be spectacular posters direct from El Jefe Design, one of the best design shops around. These will be collector’s items, screen printed on heavy paper and available for sale before, during, and after the event. I think you’ll agree that anyone who does something like this as part of their M.O. will be doing something spectacular for the Zombie Walk.

Lots of small things (and some bigger) that have been popping up recently…

Outlets, Schmoutlets

It looks like the much-hyped Outlets at Silver Spring that were in the works for Shitty Place aren’t so much in the works. Sounds like a proverbial “stick our toe in the water” approach to see what reaction would be. Well, they got the hype they were looking for. As for actually attracting paying stores to the location, well, that seems to be an altogether different question.

Walter Petrie, chairman of property manager Petrie Ross Ventures, says “There’s a lot of different approaches to this,” he said. “We clearly want to reposition it.” Translation: “We have no clue what we’re going to do with this piece of shit.” Can anyone tell me what Frank the Rabbit told Donnie in the movie theater?

Snyder Needs Money?

I guess Dan Snyder’s infamous SLAPP lawsuit against City Paper’s Dave McKenna means the purse strings are stretched a little thin in Redskins world. Now they’re sending their minions to help replenish the coffers. And the length of the lockout probably isn’t helping matters.

If you know this man, call the Robbery Section of the Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5100 or Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or 240-773-TIPS (8477).

Off-season ESSCA Nuggets

I haven’t trolled the listserv very much lately, but this past weekend gave us a good message. Someone in the neighborhood (reported as a favor through a listserv member) had a house construction crew wake her last weekend at 6am (word is she lives on Thayer). The reminder:

Montgomery County law is that any power equipment, leaf blowers, mowers, construction, etc. is not permitted before 7am or after 9pm on regular weekdays nor before 9am or after 9pm on weekends/holidays. It is enforced by the Dept of the Environment under the “Noise Control Ordinance” — both the crew and the homeowner who employs them can be fined heavily.

I can hear the construction/improvements work from two different locations on Thayer in the morning. Sure, it’s annoying sometimes, but messages like these make me want to get a gas-powered leaf blower and walk the streets at dawn. Don’t think I won’t.

Last But Not Least

Man Arrested at Starbucks for Public Masturbation

Yes, the Starbucks on Ellsworth. Given the reaction of some people on its preliminary lineup, some will, no doubt, blame The Fillmore.

If you live on the Ave. and have tested your area for FiOS availability, you’ve been running into this for the past, oh, two years or so.

Look! We have four great Verizon services! None of which is FiOS! Soon, I hope, all that will change.

Last week, there was a Verizon technician at Grove and Thayer doing some preliminary testing (or somesuch). No word yet on actual date for installation and function, but we should be up and running in the not-too-distant future. The speeds on RCN are bringing me down, and I hope I haven’t been putting future stock in something that’s only marginally better. The lesser of evils, perhaps (i.e., NOT Comcast).

I spoke with a rep, and they said there should be a flurry of trucks and service activity before the official unveiling, plus a direct mail barrage. I’ve been getting plenty of direct mail from Verizon, and that hasn’t changed a thing yet.