Monthly Archives: August 2008

All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Life in the Capital
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Greek Columns and Arrogance

Jefferson Memorial Columns

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but some political candidate apparently gave some sort of speech last night. He gave it in front of a portico with Greek columns, which was roundly scoffed in some corners as “arrogant,” or “presumptuous,” as if said candidate were erecting a temple in his own honor.

Without expressing an opinion one way or the other on any candidate, I’d just like to point out that this is the kind of high-minded political discourse found in those email forwards your crank uncle sends you. Greek columns are only evocative of a temple? Really? Not, say… the White House? I’m pretty sure that when a presidential candidate tries to get voters to imagine him in the White House, it’s called “campaigning,” not “presumption.”

In the spirit of mocking the silliness of our political posturing over common architectural features, I present a small gallery of some of the best examples of Greek columns around DC.  Might make for a good walk around this weekend when the rain stops. And please share your favorite DC Greek column photos in the comments.

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Adventures, Essential DC, History, The District, The Mall
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Archival Lovin’

archives_arch

One of my favorite museum sites to visit in DC is the National Archives. Housing the original documents from our country’s founding, the National Archives Experience (as it is officially called) always evokes a sense of awe and history in me and many other visitors. And it’s missed by thousands of tourists every year.

People are surprised to find out that there’s more to the Archives than the popular Rotunda. In fact, the entire mission of the Archives is to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. As such, the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) was designed to safeguard and preserve the most important documents to American history and our heritage as a country. Thus, NARA serves both the public and the federal government through a network of facilities across the U.S. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Comedy in DC, Entertainment
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Comedy in DC: Politics is Funny. No, Really.

Greg Tindale of Washington Improv Theater, Photo by Katie Jett

Greg Tindale of Washington Improv Theater, Photo by Katie Jett

‘Tis the season, friends: it’s a presidential election year. While we here at We Love DC are fond of reminding everyone that DC is more than just the three-ring circus we call “politics,” there’s no escaping the fact that it remains our primary export. So it should come as no surprise that Washington Improv Theater is presenting two politically-themed shows this fall, each distinct and potentially holding up to multiple viewings.

iMusical: The Secret Lives of Presidents is just that- an improvised musical featuring a different president or first lady each week. I don’t know about you, but I’m already pretty impressed with the cojones of people who can promise not only to improvise an entire musical about Mary Todd Lincoln, but that it will also be funny. The show debuts Thursday, September 4th at 8PM at Source Theater.

POTUS Among Us sounds like it might be funny if only because it’s closer to how I wish elections were really run: Performers take suggestions from the audience to create their campaign platforms, and then improvise their way through speeches and debates all the way to the general election. Imagine the glory of unscripted musings from people seeking elected office, completely dependent on what their constituents- er, audience- demand they talk about. This show debuts Friday, September 5th, at 8PM at Source Theater.

Entertainment
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Social Calendar: August 28 – September 3


“Columbia MD” courtesy of nosauten

Before we get into what you should do, one thing you should not. Please avoid Love on Friday with their totally skeevy “March on Washington” tie-in marketing. Dr. King did not actually approve that flier (and it is not even very good).

Thursday, August 28: First of all, it is a cool, damp, lovely day that suggests autumn will be here soon and I am a major fan. As for tonight, North Carolina-via-Baltimore’s Adventure will be playing the Velvet Lounge and are worth hearing. This is the second date of their busy fall tour (to be followed immediately by a spot on the famous and amazing Round Robin Tour). It weirds me right out that I could see Benny here tonight – and then again in San Francisco where I will be living in just a short while…

Friday, August 29: Remember when everyone claimed that kuduro was going to be the new baile funk? If so, you probably read too many mp3 blogs and should go outside more. Luckily, there is a safe place for you to go: Rad! at Selam. Just read the flier for a near-complete list of popular dancefloor-approved genres of the world. (Note to the djs, should they read this: I noticed you mention Belgian electroclash. Instead, maybe you could play some Belgian jump style? I do not think Diplo has picked that up yet. That would be hilarious/impressive.)
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Alexandria, Fun & Games, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Art of Autumn

Photo courtesy of smleon
32_309 Fish.jpg, courtesy of smleon

Fall is right around the corner…and so is the sixth annual Alexandria Festival of the Arts.

The festival runs this year on Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14. As usual, the festival will occupy the section of King Street between the Potomac and Washington Street, so casual drivers of the area should consider alternate routes through downtown. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro’s Holiday Snarl


Reagan National Apartment
Originally uploaded by buschap

Metro has a present for you Yellow and Blue Line riders this holiday weekend. And no, you can’t re-gift it.

According to this WMATA press release, the track between Reagan National and Braddock Road will be closed for complete rehabilitation over the weekend. The stations, however, will remain open.

Shuttles will be transporting riders between stations every five minutes, but WMATA is warning riders to add an additional 30 minutes to their trip on the rails. The closing begins Friday at 9 p.m., with the expected re-opening of the line on Tuesday at 4 a.m.

Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed
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Assault by mob?

2002 War Protest

I opened the Arlington county crime report mailing just now, trying against hope to catch up with my backlog of mail, and this was the first entry.

ASSAULT BY MOB-ARREST 08/25/08, 2300 block of N. 11th Street. On August 25, at 3 pm, the victim was walking and was attacked by eight unknown men. Victim suffered minor injuries to his face. Police apprehended one suspect. Cain Guevara, 19, of Arlington, was charged with Assault by Mob, and was held on a $3,000 bond.

Glad they picked up 12.5% of the assailants, but I was just fascinated by the fact that there’s a crime called “assault by mob.” My second thought was “how many people do you need to keep your group down to in order to not be a mob?” If one of them had stayed home with a head cold would they just have been plain vanilla assailants? Turns out two can be a mob:

Any collection of people, assembled for the purpose and with the intention of committing an assault or a battery upon any person or an act of violence as defined in § 19.2-297.1, without authority of law, shall be deemed a “mob.”

Interesting stuff, I think. I’m not sure what the point is; both simple assault and assault by mob are class 1 misdemeanors, so it’s not as if the law makes it more serious by classification.

image “2002 War Protest by choofly”

The Daily Feed
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Too much local produce? Pickle it!


Kissin’ The Pickle
Originally uploaded by kk+

Tom and I spent the last week in Seattle on a much-needed vacation. Before the trip, however, I was scrambling to figure out how to deal with the four pounds of peaches and ungodly quantity of tomatoes we still had in the house from our CSA adventures. We lost our monster peach harvest from a few weeks ago due to unexpected life-happenstance, and there was no way I was letting a planned vacation cause the same tragedy.

Unfortunately, being new to the eat-local movement, my preservation skills are pretty much limited to… freezing. I have no canning jars, no recipes, no nothing. I made a sauce out of the tomatoes and sliced up the peaches to freeze in quart-sized bags.

So of course it’s THIS week, with all this frozen produce in my freezer, that the Post runs an article on Heather Shorter, proprietress of Jam Tomorrow. She’s renting space in the kitchen of Ray’s the Classics in Silver Spring and will be selling her homemade pickles to restaurants and specialty shops around the area.
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Food and Drink
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We Love Food: Hello, Cupcake

Hello, Cupcakes!

Hello, Cupcakes!

In my post heralding the arrival of Dupont Circle’s most adorable new buisness, I was a bit snarky about all the hype surrounding the place, even as I was intrigued. Hype and round-the-block opening day queues aside, today I actually stepped in to the pink-and-brown cupcake boutique and sampled a delicious treat. All of my reservations about the cupcake craze having crested were overridden by sugar and cuteness overload.

Going up Connecticut Ave, one notices people walking back to nearby offices, cupcake missions fulfilled. Some carry white boxes with big pink stickers, but most eat the cupcakes in the street as they walk, stopping to wipe frosting and crumbs from their faces before starting back to work.

My cupcake co-conspirator and I each picked a flavor from the extensive menu.
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The Daily Feed
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Your Photo Here


IMG_3632b
Originally uploaded by D©Bloom

There are a bazillion photos photos of the Capitol. The dome peeking out through the trees, the dome at night, the dome rising above the city skyline- it’s an easy shot because DC office buildings are height-capped such that none of them may rise to a level “higher than the house of the People.”

And it’s those acres of shots of the Capitol dome that made this photo of the Capitol stick out for me. There are multiple types of architectural and decorative detail in just this one photo, and the only evidence of the dome is the Lady Freedom statue, out of focus in the background. Good eye, D©Bloom, and thanks for sharing this with us.

Have you checked out the We Love DC Flickr group lately? Better yet, have you joined it?

Entertainment, Special Events
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Flame on!

Photo courtesy of Me

DSC_0693, courtesy of Me

Our scheduled comedy post for today fell through so I am going to attempt to distract you with the highly advanced technique that cognitive scientists call “Look! Shiny!”

Or in this case, “oooh, fire!” I took the above picture – along with a whole lot more – at the Palace of Wonders on August 15th. That’s Reggie Bugmuncher from Philly’s Olde Town Sideshow. I’ll tell you more about the show and show more of my pictures later, but that’s one of my faves.

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Foggy Bottom Metro Escalator Alert

It never ends. It only gets lulzier! We are in receipt of the following alert from alert.ema.dc.gov: Transportation Incident. Disruption at Foggy Bottom-GWU. (All of the station’s entrance escalators are out of service due to mechanical difficulties. Shuttle bus service has been established. The station’s elevator is operational, the station remains open).

We already knew all the escalators were out but if only one is open (not clear from the alert) then that means a possible line outside the station at rush hour like we had on Monday. Click through the jump to see a map of alternative ways home if you want to skip the shuttle bus.

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Talkin' Transit, Technology, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Smart Bike Thief Thwarted

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

Apparently, the first thieves have tried to get their hands on a SmartBike. It was a complete failure, according to WTOP:

Someone tried to steal a SmartBike from the rack at the Shaw SmartBike location over the weekend, D.C. Department of Transportation spokesperson Karyn LeBlanc says.

“The person came and took the back tire and lifted it – physically lifted it over the rack – in hopes that it would snap the lock,” LeBlanc says.

The rack proved too mighty for this thief, however, and the bike did not come off the rack. SmartBikes are secured into racks by steel locks.

You’re going to have to try harder than that to get one of the SmartBikes…

Petworth
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Petworth Eyesore Update

I have an update on the visual pollution at Upshur and New Hampshire NW, the Petworth Eyesore, where a builder is trying to make what was once a shell into several apartments.

After he tore off the porch, the recent rains have flooded the basement. And even though there are a few glassless windows, someone is getting mail.

I just wish he’d obey the notice on the front door and cut the rat-nesting weeds in his yard.

The Daily Feed, The Mall
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The Million DJ March

KRS One, courtesy of Million DJ March

KRS One, courtesy of Million DJ March

“The Million DJ March is here… The time is now,” says the official website of The Million DJ March a two day event which will be staking out space on the National Mall to honor the hip-hop DJ. On Friday and Saturday, numerous performers and speakers will appear to raise awareness about… the concerns of DJ-Americans, I assume.

Headliner KRS-One writes on the event’s blog regarding the goal of the event that, “Once and for all, the American public needs to hear from the DJ’s in a unified voice. There are questions that the American public has for for the DJ and one of the concerns of the American public, for DJ’s in every medium, is the lack of responsibility that DJ’s show to younger ears. The DJ’s I know care about the public they play for; many of them are responsible parents themsleves. It is not that DJ’s are irresponsible, it is that DJ’s do not speak in one unified voice on anything. By signing your name to this event, among other things, you vow to uphold a standard of excellence in the art of deejaying.”

Remember, you too can hold a big event on the National Mall – just remember to get the permits.

The Daily Feed
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ATC at Area Airports : FAIL!


tidal basin with paddle boats and monument
Originally uploaded by needlessspaces

Hey travelers, if you’re rushing out to IAD, BWI, or DCA… slow down. There’s a ground hold for take-offs since the FAA’s flight-plan system is now down, in epic fashion. Some airlines and airplanes are being let out on IFR, instrument flight rules, however, instead of backing up the lounges at the airport, check with your airline before leaving your house or other departure point before you head out. Also, web bonus, if you want to listen to Dulles’ (IAD) tower, click here.