Monthly Archives: July 2008

The Daily Feed
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Spy Magic Sunday


Russian cap gun that disguises itself as a camera.
Originally uploaded by jellywatson

Trying to escape the oncoming heat wave this weekend? The International Spy Museum’s got you covered on Sunday, July 13. Secret Agent Magician “James Wand” is on hand for two one-hour shows (10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) to demonstrate the art of misdirection, sleight of hand, and other illusions used by skilled spies. This one-of-a-kind performance is custom-developed especially for the museum and guaranteed to fascinate both children and adults alike.

Tickets are $12 for ages 7 and up. You can call the museum at 202.393.7798 or hit the website for more info.

Special Events, The Daily Feed, The Mall, We Love Arts
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Opening Tomorrow: Jim Henson’s Fantastic World

Metro Ad for Jim Henson exhibit

Organized by SITES and The Jim Henson Legacy, the traveling exhibit Jim Henson’s Fantastic World opens tomorrow (Saturday July 12th) at the S. Dillon Ripley Center International Gallery, featuring artifacts of the much-missed imagination and visual thinking that brought us the muppets, Yoda, and The Dark Crystal. The Ripley Center can be a bit hard to find if you’ve never been there before, as it’s mostly underground; just look for the copper-domed kiosk sitting between the Castle and the Freer Gallery (map). I’m hoping to see one of my boyhood crushes there, Kira the Gelfling. Rawr.

The Daily Feed
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Heat Stroke Protesting

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

You have to love the stamina of Washington DC protesters. This Saturday, its going to be a high of 90 °F and Accuweather is calling the “RealFeel” at 96 °F.

That would be hot enough to fry some brains, especially those that are crazy, or dedicated enough to wear a black hood on a DC summer day. Whatcha say is the heat stroke probability for our black hood friend here?

I for one say that instead of sweating, this guy should be enjoying the best summer refreshment: Beer + Lime + Ice.

People
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Why I Love DC: Ben

It’s tough to find something unique to say near the end of a week when we’ve heard from so many other great writers about why they love DC. I could echo just about all of their reasons, from Tom’s love of the hidden wonders to Carl’s love of the people here to Brittany’s love of the cultural scene; I love it all, too. Part of loving DC is the sum total of those who have come before both here on the blog this week, and throughout our history as a nation.

But what drew me here 6 years ago was a love of politics and the sense that this town is the best place to experience the process of governing, and also see into the seedier underbelly of the system. While Profesionally I’ve pursued opportunities of a more geeky persuasion, becoming a system administrator and following other technological distractions, I try to remain engaged in local and not-so-local political happenings. In my spare time, I’ve volunteered for numerous campaigns, offered my technological know-how to political and advocacy groups, and even started a successful online grassroots political movement.

Being in DC is the perfect backdrop for such activities. The rich historical tapestry that DC presents, from the monuments to the architecture to the founding documents of our nation, mean there’s no better place to explore the history of our country, and engage in helping to shape it’s future. And that’s why I love DC.

The Daily Feed
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WaPo Shops Baltimore


Photo by Katherine Frey for The Washington Post.

In the Home section of today’s Washington Post, Terri Sapienza writes about “Our Favorite Shops in Baltimore: Where to Go in Charm City For Modern, Traditional And Everything in Between”.

Baltimore does have some excellent shopping. Many of my holiday gifts come from the first store mentioned in the article, Bluehouse. It is a lovely shop with great, eco-sensitive products. (For non-home shopping, I am just crazy about doubledutch boutique in Hampden, but that would be a different article.)

It reminded me, though, of some of the similarly-great home shops here in DC. I am a fan of Go Mama Go!, Home Rule, and RCKNDY, as well as the fantastic mid-century modern vintage store Millennium Decorative Arts – and they can all be found in a few blocks of each other.

Go forth and find the cute little shops – and stop decorating your house from Target!

Entertainment, Night Life
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Social Calendar: July 10 – July 16


Photo of a type cabinet at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center courtesy of erin m

Each week in this space I will be bringing you some ideas of things to do to keep busy around town. Obviously, this is will never be a complete record of everything going on, so please feel free to chime in with comments about your own recommendations or accuse me of suggesting complete rubbish.

Thursday, July 10: Our fellow bloggers over at The New Gay are throwing a party they call “I Heart DC”. How could we not recommend that? The “co-ed and straight friendly” party will prominently feature DC bands in the indie-oriented playlist.

Friday, July 11: Attend the opening of “ACADEMY 2008” at the Conner Contemporary. The show features selected works by recent BFA and MFA graduates of area universities. Reception runs 6-8 (show hangs until July 26).

Saturday, July 12: Wale – Mark Ronson associate, mixtape impresario, and consummate District-representer – headlines the “Welcome to DC Concert” at Love. It is really important to the promoters that you note their dress code – “Please be business casual!” (the many sartorial prohibitions are listed on their site).

Sunday, July 13: Give in to the Frozen Yogurt Zeitgeist that has taken over the city this summer. Stage a tasting and report back. Suggested competitors: Mr. Yogato, Iceberry, Tangysweet, et al.

Monday, July 14: Bastille Day. Organized festivities available, if you are in to those. Alternately, maybe drinks at Napoleon is more than thematic enough.

Tuesday, July 15: The Cato Institute presents a policy forum entitled “McCain and Obama: Comparing Their Economic Platforms”. Experts from Cato and the Center for American Progress will discuss the candidate’s positions over lunch. Knowledge is power. (Note: Event is free, but requires advance RSVP)

Wednesday, July 16: Find something at the Capital Fringe Festival that looks worth a Wednesday night. It could turn out to be good or completely dreadful. Either way, let us know what you picked.

Arlington, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Give Blood and Save a Life

Giving Blood

Come down to the blood drive on Saturday the 12th at Arlington Centennial Glebe Masonic Lodge at 1 S. George Mason Drive in Arlington. You don’t have to be a Mason to donate, just be 110 pounds or more, over 17 and satisfy a few other simple requirements. Can’t make it to this blood drive? Check out the Arlington Red Cross’s site to find one near you.

There is no substitute for red blood cells. Your time – five to ten minutes in the chair – can be the difference in someone’s life.

The Daily Feed
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Stow-Away

I found this little critter in my basement yesterday afternoon as I was photographing my cucumber. Literally. I photograph food, especially when it comes from my garden. I looked around the corner and saw this little mouse, who was apparently hungry and weak.

I have a catch and release policy in our home for any wayward critters I happen upon. I felt bad simply releasing him to the back yard, but I knew my lovely wife would freak if I kept him and tried to nurse him back to health, although the cat would love it.

What do you do with little critters like this?

Entertainment, Special Events
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The Fringe Festival 2008

Another year, another Fringe. I’m looking forward to this one, but before I talk about it I need to take a moment to say: What the HELL is up with this button nonsense?

“$5: A Fringe button is required for entry to all Fringe Festival shows.”

The only reasoning I can come up with for this is (1) we sell quantity bundles and want to make it marginally harder for you to share them amongst yourselves and (2) we’re willing to anger and alienate you – when you forget your button at home and have to spend $5 for a new one – in order to make you do free promotion for us.

Well, free for the Fringe folks anyway – the rest of us pay $5.

That bit of new idiocy aside, there’s a bunch of fun-looking things kicking off tonight. My preliminary list is after the jump, based on a quick scan of the offerings. There’s three specifically I’ll call out though:

The Gilbert & Sullivan Youth Players present The Mikado

We saw them last year and they were superb. These kids are talented and they’ve been well guided.

If you see something, say something

Mike Daisey, possibly best known to the internet-world for an odd incident that was highlighted on BoingBoing, Daisey is an amusing fellow who does a Spalding Gray-like monologue performance. Now he’s taking on the Department of Homeland Security.

Jerry Springer: The Opera

Even if this didn’t sound like fun, this is a show at Studio Theater that would normally cost you almost twice as much. However during the Fringe they’ll accept the $20 per Fringe tickets for admission as well. It’s one more step – you need to get your tickets through the Fringe office or online – but I’ll do a little more to save $50%.

the rest of my initial eye-catchers after the jump… Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, Technology, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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iPhone App for Metro

itransdc.png

At $15, the price is a little high, but starting tomorrow you can navigate the Metro system on your iPhone. The details of all the functions aren’t available on iTrans’ website just yet, but there are a couple pictures in the new iTunes app store (link requires iTunes) which seem to indicate it’ll be pulling train times from the published Metro schedule.

itransdc2.png

If they’re not using the Metro train-position API, one has to wonder why they bothered at all. Oh well.

At least it’ll get line service updates?

Life in the Capital, People
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Why I Love DC: Jenn

Hallway, Rock and Roll Hotel

Hallway, Rock and Roll Hotel. Photo credit: Jenn Larsen.

I came to DC on a whim, an instantaneous attraction. Initially the classicist in me was drawn to the cool solemnity of the federal architecture, the romantic to the cherry blossoms. But the pragmatist could see the long-term benefits, and so here I am, after nineteen crazy years.

(Or perhaps it’s because the procrastinator can’t make up her mind where to live next… Paris… Buenos Aires… Antwerp…)

I grew up thirty minutes outside what many people consider to be “THE City” – New York, naturally – but when it came time to go to college there, I balked at it, even though it was the pragmatic choice for a drama student. I also resisted the lure of that other Nor’eastern city, Boston, the classical choice for a chowda-oysta-slurping Yankee.

No, somehow I was seduced by the balmy breezes (what a shock, that first 100-degree day in September!), the courtly charm (what a surprise, that first night in the dorm, gunshots across the Metro tracks!), and the decorous beauty (oh, those baby rats hungrily gnawing in the alley outside my first solo apartment!) of our Capital City. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Crime & Punishment, Technology, The District, WTF?!
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Does the House Misunderstand Technology?

Dusk on the National Mall

The answer’s probably yes. I know, I know, traditionally it’s the Senate that is the home of the whackjobs like Ted Stevens who claim that the Internet is a series of tubes, and not a truck. But, here’s the deal. Representative John Culberson (R-TX) seems to think that the House has it out for Twitter and all of the various video services. Specifically, he’s pointing to a letter written by Chair of the House Franking Committee Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) which suggests that any member of the House who conducts anything related to official business be done only on the House.gov domain.

That means any member of the House who embeds YouTube, Blip.tv, Qik, or any other video on their website is doing so in violation of the regulations of the Committee on House Administration. That also means that microblogging via a service like Twitter (Hey, follow us!) But, the letter that Rep. Capuano has written is actually promoting the changes necessary to allow for such a service to be used, but in exposing the current regulations, he’s putting current House members in jeopardy of disciplinary action for using social networking technologies like YouTube, etc.

Nice work, guys. Nice work.

Dusk on the National Mall originally uploaded by spinfly.

Crime & Punishment, Downtown, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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How Can I Stop What Isn’t Going On?!

That’s the gist of what Judge Richard Leon is saying in response to the request from the Partnership for Civil Justice, who want the program that debuted DC’s Trinidad neighborhood from ever being used again. Specifically, he raised the concern that since there’s no current implementation of the “Neighborhood Safety Zones” plan, where exactly would he enjoin the MPD from operating?

Looks like we get to see this one played out only after the MPD tries to put the cordon up around another of DC’s neighborhoods.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Laich, Fedorov Stick Around

ESPN is reporting Brooks Laich signed a 3-year deal worth $6.1M, ending his arbitration suit. If he can maintain his frenetic scoring pace, he’ll be a bargain-basement steal for the Caps and another feather in McPhee’s hat. If he slacks off…well, I’m sure the fans will let him know.

Also of note, the Capitals and Sergei Fedorov came to a deal; the former Red Wing signed a one-year contract worth $4M – surprising, since it’s a 34% pay cut from his prior contract. Most likely, it has to do with the reported friendship with a fellow Russian, some guy named “Ovechkin.”

Technology, The Daily Feed
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HacDC Announces Grand Opening Festivities


Smooth Sine on Scope
Originally uploaded by phrontist

Mark your calendars, DC geeks. HacDC has announced Grand Opening festivities for the week of July 22-27.

      

  • Wednesday, July 23: monochrom presents LAW AND SECOND ORDER. (8:30 PM)
  • Thursday, July 24: A town hall meeting with members of DorkbotDC, MakeDC, and HacDC.
  • Friday, July 25: HacDC invades The Brickskeller! Come by and enjoy great beer
  • Saturday, July 26: Paying homage to Grace Hopper at Arlington National Cemetry.
  • Sunday, July 27: OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING CEREMONY! HacDC opens at 3:00 PM, Ceremony at 8:00 PM with reception to follow.
The Daily Feed
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Outside Mag Loves DC Too!


Stupont
Originally uploaded by maxedaperture

We’re Number 1! We’re Number 1! And for once, it’s not the number of murders, or per capita crime, or drug use, or any of those unfortunate Number 1s we’ve been picked up here in the last couple decades.

No, this time it’s really something special, we’re the Best Town in America! Well, at least according to Outside Magazine. Not that they’re wrong, or anything. But yeah, we’re the Best Town in America! Here’s their top ten:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Chattanooga, Tenn.
3. Ogden, Utah
4. Portsmouth, N.H.
5. Tacoma, Wash.
6. Ithaca, N.Y.
7. Louisville, Ky.
8. Eureka, Calif.
9. Crested Butte, Colo.
10. Columbia, Mo.

Now, will they update their cool website with our victory? Who knows.