The cover art from one of their most
commercially successful albums

I’m sorry to see Warehouse go away – as it exists now, anyway – but I’m pretty excited by this Sunday’s final show: Negativland. An acquired taste, to be sure, and I have not a clue what a live show from them will be like. If you’re a geek copyfighter, however, you should probably know who they are even if you don’t enjoy their music. They’ve been the focal point for a number of interesting events, including the one around their U2: Special Edit Radio Mix, available here. Worth a listen to hear Casey Kasem lose his shit, if nothing else.

Their website indicates that this tour “is an effort to bring our 25-years-on-the-air Over The Edge radio show to the live stage for the first time. No puppets, no film projectors, no bells and whistles… just “theater of the mind”” I don’t have the slightest damned idea what that means but I’m looking forward to finding out.

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Over in Fairlington, I ended up with a 54, but I know some neighborhoods in DC, like that of the White House, or Wayan’s favorite Petworth, can score well into the 80s. Check out your Walk Score and see how you do. I was surprised my current neighborhood is so low, and that my older, potentially less-walkable neighborhood was a much higher 65. How’s your place fare?

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Josh Speerstra as Plucky the ghost elf, Baughman as Jesus the narrator, Jen Tonon as Rhonda

What the hell, I’ve got the knives out and sharpened, let’s get yank this bandaid all the way off so I can start talking about things that didn’t suck. My second-worst Fringe experience this year was Carrie Potter and the Half-Blood Prom. I think what’s worth mentioning here is that dissapointing an audience who’s walked into what is obviously going to be a gag on Harry Potter and the movie Carrie takes some work. None of us walked in the door expecting genius-level writing, brilliant songs, or flawless staging. Instead what we got was the dream made reality for anyone who ever went to see a Cherry Red show and thought to themselves “this would be way better if the staging wasn’t so precise, the story so tight, the acting so regal, the costumes so elaborate, and the cast so awake.”

I honestly feel dirty comparing this show to anything Cherry Red ever offered up. While both groups set out to make something silly and fun, I never once was made to feel in a CR show that they flat out didn’t give a crap how well they did anything. The actors in Carrie Potter wander about, make flubs that stink of a lack of rehearsal, and just overall fail to entertain. Unlike Butter, where you kind of feel bad for the apparent lack of awareness of what’s not good and not working, this show just gave you the sense that they didn’t care.

There’s some funny stuff in here, though it’s over-used in a tedious way. “Transitional song” is probably the best example of this, a piece that Baughman and the band do several times in between scenes. It made me snicker the first time and then was pulled back out again with no improvement or elaboration. Before the show begins Geeky Kid, played by Ally Jenkins, comes out in character and demands all the audience members take a post-it and write a phrase on it that will be read at some point in the show. “Because,” we’re told, “the script isn’t very good.” Could have been funny, but again, done in a half-assed manner. Five minutes into the show Carrie Potter, played by Jennifer Berg, picks one up on the stage floor, where they’ve been scattered, and realizes they’d read that one already. Obviously nobody has considered what to do with the notes once they’re read or if there’s a dupe. Instead it just hits a flat note and we move on.

I came to this show expecting nothing more than goofs and laughs… and that the performers wanted to have fun with us and cared if we had fun. There wasn’t the slightest indication that they gave a rat’s ass, or at least not enough of one to make more than the most minimal of efforts. The next time you take my $15 I’d appreciate a little interest and energy.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

…some of tonight’s NSO patrons, apparently.

The National Symphony Orchestra and Wolftrap have produced a podcast to accompany tonight’s program, called “Fantastic Planet: A Symphonic Video Spectacular.”

The program features video footage of assorted geological wonders from around the world, accompanied by ecologically-themed classical selections played by the orchestra. Patrons choosing to add the podcast to their experience will hear conductor Emile de Cou in one ear, providing notes and commentary on the pieces he is conducting.

Not being much of an expert on music, I would probably find this kind of option really helpful and educational, and I know some music geeks who would probably be interested in it as well. In any case, it’s an unexpected way to extend the concert-going experience for those who enjoy a more guided approach to classical music without spoiling it for those who don’t- just remember to keep the volume low enough that no one around you can hear it.

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who tries this out- report back and let us know what you think!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Under other circumstances I might be tempted to come up with some quip here about artery-clogging and the name of this show, or something in that vein. Even five days later, however, the suckitude of this event, start to finish, continues to lay on me like a smothering blanket. My darling girlfriend and I only had two unpleasant experiences at Fringe this year and this one won the race to the bottom. By about a mile. Or twelve.

Part of me feels bad pulling out the knives for this. Butter: A Love Story is, after all, the creation of a person who signed up to present at Fringe because she had something to say and a passion to perform, and a big part of the Fringe mission is providing such people with a venue they wouldn’t otherwise have. The problem is that while Cantwell’s creation had a somewhat interesting idea and story, she’s clearly got no awareness of that fact that she’s just flat-out bad and there’s apparently a lot of people failing to give her anything resembling constructive guidance. The show she put on could have been somewhat fun and interesting – if not fantastic – if it was done with the awareness that her singing and acting are, to say the least, rough.

The concept of the show is that Sandy Patti has, though pluck and determination, managed to get herself a cooking show despite the fact that she isn’t much of a cook. “Almost home cooking,” she calls it, this assembling of pre-made food into something more for the sake of entertaining. The fact that she’s out of her depth and not quite up to the challenge that she’s set herself up for would be a fine way to make Cantwell’s weaknesses work for her. It wouldn’t even contradict the empowerment message that she’s woven into the show. If it might be a little to winking and ironic, well, that’s almost a requirement at Fringe anyway.

Instead it’s sad and painful, as both Cantwell and her creation Sandy Patti cause you to wince your way through an hour as she’s flat, fails to hit notes, hams it up in all the wrong ways, and just generally make you wish someone would take her aside and say “you are completely failing in what you’re setting out to do.” Somehow I doubt it’s going to happen – the program for Butter included not only thanks to her voice instructor but an ad from him as well. Seeing this show isn’t an enticement to hire him, it’s a warning. The best thing Cantwell could do is realize that if he’s telling her she’s sufficiently competent to do these shows at her current level then he’s pretty clearly unable to accurately asses her and her skill.

Barring that, the rest of us need to just stay away from his teaching and her performing.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I guess they didn’t specify which 24 hours.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s not local but it’s important: the I-35W bridge across the upper Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed today, right in the middle of the Wednesday rush while a Twins-Royals game was going on at the nearby stadium. Erica on our sibling site Metroblogging Minneapolis has 35W Bridge Collapse updates and an open thread right now. Flickr user Adamwolf has photos from on the scene.

Update: Greg has snagged security camera footage catching the bridge collapse, and I’ve made an animated GIF. Just keep following Minneapolis Metroblogging for updates.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Bumper rails

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

DC’s probably one of the top three geekiest metros in the US (under SF Bay Area and Seattle), thanks to the large tech presence in the area. So, if you can get a laugh out of this bumper sticker, or understand the general premise why Rails might be a good platform for your next web 2.0 project, or know how to change the WPA key on your home wireless network, or have set up a blog, or manage to do geeky things, thank a geek.

Seriously, while the Post writes on the resurgence of geek culture as if it’s a quaint phenomenon (awwwwww, look at the geek fit in! So cuuute!) and not a revolution in social systems, geeks have become mainstream. Jokes about Rails, or YouTube (built by a geek, powered by geeks) or 37 Signals (the prototypical geek-run company), or even Google, the big pieces that run our digital economy are built on the backs of geeks all over DC. Thank them, they rock.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Interesting.

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

As I stood at the Ballston Metro yesterday, waiting for the bus that came only 30 minutes late, this 2D barcode caught my eye. It’s a placemark for Arlington VA, and a visual link made with something called Semapedia, which creates 2D barcodes that lead to the various WikiMedia projects out there in the wild.

It works with various cellphone cameras (though not my iPhone, sadly) that then process the 2D barcode into a URL and take you there, so if you were just hangin’ out at the bus shelter, waiting forever for the bus, you could read the Wikipedia entry for Arlington. Now, I don’t advise slapping stickers up on municipal property, but I suppose this is one way to graffiti that might actually be interesting to some…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

logo courtesy of ZipCar

Must be hump day here at Metblogs as well as everywhere else – only two posts before noon? I blame myself – I owe y’all more than half a dozen Fringe reports. Soon, I swear! In the mean time if you’re interested in joining the Car-free DC crowd there was a flyer in one of my Fringe handouts from sponsor Zipcar: join now and use promo code ‘capfringe’ and get $50 in driving credit. Presumably you Alexandria residents can stack this with the reimbursal your city offers.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

#1. Brad Ellsworth

#2 Crystal Hayslett
Photos from TheHill.com

Thanks to the ever-friendly and attentive MBFan#2, we have been alerted to TheHill.com, which has compiled a list of the 50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill.

That’s cool and all, but what about those of us who don’t work on the Hill and were thus automatically disqualified? What about the Tom Bridges, Don Whitesides and Carl Weavers of the world? Aren’t we sexy enough?

It is for this reason that I am now taking nominations for our own contest, the 50 Most Beautiful DC Bloggers and Blog Readers. Who cares about the folks on the Hill? Come on – like Mustafa Ali has anything on Doug Clifton. Ladies, am I right?

Here are the rules. The person you nominate cannot be on the list TheHill.com has already compiled. We have already established that that list is elitist because it does not include us. The nominee has to be either a blogger or avid blog reader living or working in the DC area. Nominate and discuss in the comments and be sure to link to a photo so we can make a sound decision. Also include a link to the nominee’s blog or favorite blog.

Who would you nominate? Let’s get those votes coming in! Self-nominations are always appropriate, by the way, for those of you who know you are among the beautiful bloggerati.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You have to feel for Simon Mahteme, owner of LeDroit Park Market. While he’s trying to serve the neighbourhood with a mix of convenience store services, local youths are serving themselves his hard earned cash.

On July 10, he was robbed for the 10th time since October, and exasperated with the crime wave, he made this video from his camera’s footage of the crime and posted it on YouTube:

Today the Washington Post reportedthe result of Simon’s YouTube justice:

Late last week, police charged a 17-year-old. They are not saying whether YouTube played a role, but the video got the attention of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier.

Fenty and Lanier, along with a sizable retinue of their deputies, listened last week as about 100 LeDroit Park residents demanded increased police presence. Fenty (D) said he had heard about the video clip on YouTube, and Lanier has seen it.

“If this is one way that more people will see a potential suspect that will identify him, then I think it has some redeeming value,” Fenty said in an interview.

Yeah, Fenty, YouTube definitely has redeeming value. I know if I were Simon, or if I had video of a crime, and DC police were not quick in finding the criminal, I’d go all YouTube with it too.

Wouldn’t you?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Look closely at the flag on the back of this truck. Notice anything odd about it? Like its a pair of shorts?

Now I commend the driver for having a flag, every object sticking out past a vehicle bumper should have one. But a pair of Nike shorts?

A pair of now ruined Nike shorts so new they still have a price tag attached! A sure red flag of white wealth waste.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs