So, I do generally love New York, and I miss it terribly (though Berlin has won my heart). But I'll always stand up for Washington. I made my first real home there, met my man there, had my first real job, learned to love salvadorean and vietnamese food, made lovely friends, got to hold my first niece and nephew there. It has beautiful seasons, interesting and passionate people, it's heaven for history geeks, etc., etc. The Metro may not be comprehensive like the MTA, but it's clean and you can understand the announcements pretty consistently. And the museums are generally free (oh, snap!). There are con's, certainly, as with anywhere, but it's not all Hill wonks and creepy lobbyists and insufferable NGO do-gooders. Though they do all keep it interesting.

So in seeing briefly a headline, upon waking, on the Times, that New York was feeling sort of out of touch and neglected, with all eyes on Washington and the inauguration...I mean, really, come on, New York. The nation/world isn't touting you as the place to be, to experience, for one measly week and you're whining about it? Did you forget the "miracle on the Hudson" from two days ago and the pluck and quick-thinking of your ferryboat captains and rescue crews? Is New Year's in Times Square not high profile enough (even if New Yorkers avoid it)? Fashion Week is boring? Gossip Girl? Eh? Obama went to Columbia, for goodness's sake - you can claim him, too, okay?

Methinks reporting on the awful crowds expected for the inauguration just tastes ever so slightly of...sour grapes. It's a historic event, suck it up! And it will be insanely crowded: I've heard 5 million people - and there were only 700-800,000 in the district proper when I lived there, maybe?

But then, a little thought creeps in...what if Washington did become a cooler city for a while? What if the kids rejected the glitz and money of Wall Street and Madison Avenue and whatever else to make government work attractive...or even sexy?! Jesus!

That will not be. DC will be the dowdier sister in more sensible shoes with a weird, all-consuming hobby, cheering for lesser sports franchises. The flash she has is government-sponsored. But she does have Jaleo, Ben's, Cakelove, Viet Corner, the Taft Bridge, the Jefferson memorial. I just giggle - and I'll review and comment, if I can actually locate the article.