Remy Munasifi

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Residents Urged to Report Water Main Breaks — “With colder weather in the offing, Arlington government officials are asking the public to serve as a first line of defense against catastrophic water-main breaks… County residents who see a problem are asked to immediately call the 24-hour emergency hotline at (703) 228-6555.” [InsideNova]

Remy’s New Parody Video — “Arlington Rap” guy Remy released a new music video on Halloween, a “Thriller” political parody called “Trigger.” [YouTube]

Airbags, Doors Stolen from Car — Thieves broke a window of a car in a Crystal City apartment building parking lot overnight this past Friday and proceeded to steal two of its doors and the airbag. Police said it was “clearly the work of professionals.” [Fox 5]

Preserving the Arlington Woods — Ecologist Joan Maloof is working to preserve the remaining 12 acres of the once 600 acre Arlington Woods on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, along with other old-growth forests. [Washington Post]

Programs at Arlington County Jail — Inmates have access to a number of programs during their typically short stays at the Arlington County Detention Facility in Courthouse, including English language training, special education, chaplain and library services. For some of the instructors, running their programs is just as rewarding for them as it is for the inmates. [Falls Church News-Press]

Glebewood Neighborhood Profiled — “When house hunters encounter the Glebewood neighborhood in Arlington County, they tend to express admiration for its location, schools, amenities and transportation. That the townhouses, duplexes, apartments and some single-family homes are reasonably priced for North Arlington only adds to the appeal.” [Washington Post]

Podcast: Comedian and ‘Arlington Rap’ Guy Remy Munasifi

By ARLnow.com

Remy Munasifi in Clarendon

We often refer to Remy Munasifi as the “Arlington Rap guy.” But now that he has a prominent role in a new Netflix series, Brown Nation, we might have to tweak that description.

On this week’s 26 Square Miles podcast, we sat down with Remy to talk about his career, the making of the Arlington Rap, Donald Trump (of course), making money on YouTube and about his latest music video. (And yes, that is his wife, in her first co-starring role.)

Remy said Santa Claus was a hard act to follow on the podcast, but we gave it a try. We also forgave him for his recent move from Clarendon to Falls Church.

Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Christmas lights at Penrose Square (Flickr pool photo by Bekah Richards)

Earlier School Closing Decisions — Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy says the school system will try to make school closing decisions earlier this year, preferably the night before a snow or ice event. [InsideNova]

Remy Has Role in New Netflix Series — “Arlington Rap” guy Remy Munasifi has a prominent role in the new Netflix comedy series Brown Nation. [IMDB, Mashable]

Arlington Company Gets $1 Billion Investment — Rosslyn-based satellite internet company OneWeb has received a $1 billion investment from SoftBank. The Japanese company said it’s the “first step” in its $50 billion commitment to President-elect Donald Trump to create jobs in the U.S. [Reuters]

Flickr pool photo by Bekah Richards

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Grand opening for the new Virginia DMV office in Virginia Square

APS Receives Top Ranking — Arlington Public Schools is the top school division in Virginia and in the D.C. area, according to new rankings from Niche.com. All three comprehensive high schools in Arlington ranked in the top 10 in Virginia, according to the website. [Arlington Public Schools]

Alleged Racial Confrontation at Metro Station — A local man says a trio of older white men confronted him last week in the Courthouse Metro station, a few days after the election, and told him “good thing you’ll all be gone soon” — an apparent racially-motivated comment — and “it’ll be great again soon.” [Patch]

Remy Releases Post-Election Song — Arlington’s best-known libertarian comedian/musician, Remy, has released a new original song on the topic of Donald Trump’s election. [Twitter]

‘Isolated’ Schools in Arlington — Two schools in Arlington County, and 136 schools statewide, are considered “racially and economically isolated,” according to a new report from a liberal Richmond-based think tank. [Washington Post]

No Name Change Push for JD Hwy — Seeking a name change for Jefferson Davis Highway, the formal name of Route 1 in Arlington County, is not part of the county’s recently-approved legislative agenda. The chance of the Republican-dominated state legislature allowing the name change in its upcoming 2017 session was “all but nil.” [InsideNova]

Joint Meeting of N. Va. Jurisdictions — County Board and city council members from Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church held a joint meeting last night, in which they discussed ways to cooperate and save money. Together, the three inside-the-Beltway jurisdictions have about 500,000 residents, as compared to Fairfax County’s population of 1.1 million. [Washington Post]

New Remy Music Video Skewers CNN

By ARLnow.com

The triviality of cable news is the latest target of Arlington’s foremost libertarian satirical rapper, Remy Munasifi.

Remy, together with his colleagues at Reason TV, has released a new music video entitled “This is CNN.” The auteur of the timeless “Arlington Rap” skewers CNN in the video, making the point that in the era of clickbait and social media navel-gazing, news of actual international consequence is taking a backseat to petty controversies and zero-calorie election tidbits.

While CNN is singled out in the video, above, fellow cable nets MSNBC and Fox News are also implicated by unspoken association.

“Cover the news, shake up the ranks,” Remy implores. “Rome is engulfed and we’re sitting here fiddling.”

‘Arlington Rap Guy’ Remy Skewers Donald Trump in New Music Video

By ARLnow.com

Remy Munasifi, the maestro behind the timeless Arlington Rap, has a new music video that’s sure to attract some attention.

Rather than parodying Arlington and its many brown flip flops and Starbucks, Remy has this time turned his comic crosshairs on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Borrowing the hook from Drake’s “Started From the Bottom,” Remy skewers Trump’s statement at a Today Show town hall event this week: “It has not been easy for me… I started off in Brooklyn, my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.”

Throughout the video Remy juxtaposes Trump’s “I’m really rich” braggadocio with images of his failed business ventures.

Remy produced the music video for ReasonTV, which is part of the libertarian think tank Reason Foundation. Reason has been critical of Trump’s brand of politics, particularly his anti-immigration stances.

Remy and His Mom Release New Parody Video

By ARLnow.com

Clarendon resident, Arab-American comedian and minor internet celebrity Remy Munasifi has released a new music video.

This time around, the “Arlington Rap” star is parodying the pop hit “All About That Bass” with “All About That Paste,” a tribute to his love of hummus.

In the video, Remy pokes fun at store-bought “white people humis” that lacks tahini, and cautions against dipping carrots and tortilla chips in hummus.

“Hummus is like Katniss, it needs pita,” Remy raps.

The video also features Remy’s mother, who dances in the background in several scenes.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View of Washington D.C. and monuments at night, as seen from an arriving flight (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Arlington Tied for Lowest Unemployment in Va. — Though it once held the title by itself, Arlington is now tied for the lowest jobless rate in Virginia. Arlington and the city of Falls Church both had a jobless rate of 3.2 percent in April. [InsideNova]

Police Release Photos of Burglary Suspect — The Arlington County Police Department has released surveillance photos of a suspect accused of stealing a laptop computer from an office in Ballston. [Arlington County]

CNBC Broadcasts from Crystal City — CNBC broadcast a live shot from Crystal City yesterday morning. The network’s real estate reporter, Diana Olick, profiled the new $50 million Crystal Tech Fund, its collaborative workspace and founder Paul Singh. [CNBC]

Arlington Was Home to the Original Twitter — Arlington residents had access to Twitter as early as the 1950s. Well, perhaps not all residents — mostly Henry Clay Elementary School students. Twitter was the name of the Clarendon-based school’s newspaper, copies of which are now available for review at Arlington Central Library. [Preservation Arlington]

Rockville Gets Its Own Remy — Local comedian-rapper Remy now has some regional competition for his Arlington Rap. An artist going by the name “Rockville Slim” has created a “Rockville Rap.” [Washington City Paper]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Remy Takes on TSA in ‘I Saw Daddy Pat Down Santa Claus’ Video

By ARLnow.com

Clarendon’s own Remy Munasifi, of Arlington Rap fame, is continuing his comedy campaign against the Transportation Security Administration with a new holiday-themed video.

Remy again collaborated with the libertarian Reason TV website to create the video, entitled “I Saw Daddy Pat Down Santa Claus (A Very TSA Christmas Song).”

The video features plenty of suggestive gags at the TSA’s expense, including Remy holding a nutcracker with a sign reading “Only the TSA May Handle Nuts” in the background, and Remy holding a candy cane next to a sign reading “Only TSA may handle kids’ junk (food).” At one point Remy also fondles Jolly Old St. Nick’s groin region.

Reason has been critical of the TSA’s heavy-handed approach to airport security.